You can't have a TV show that's meant to be set in our future using technologies that were obsolete in the '80s. It just wouldn't have the necessary appeal.
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You can't have a TV show that's meant to be set in our future using technologies that were obsolete in the '80s. It just wouldn't have the necessary appeal.
They backed themselves into a corner by setting the new series in a period where the design ethic was established 50 years ago. The new movies made an attempt to give that kitsch, retro TOS look a 21st century gloss with some success but there were some naff elements there too.
If you want consistency, then you have to stick to canon and continuity, even it's something of a straightjacket. If you want to go and use your own design ethic, then set the series in a period that hasn't been viewed before.
My favorite era is TOS so I initially welcomed Discovery as a return to that period. Discovery, at least as far as the trailers have suggested, does not look anything like that era. That, and various other aspects of the show, in front of and behind the camera, aren't leaving me with a warm fuzzy feeling. Fans of TOS for the most part will not be happy if it doesn't have the look and feel of TOS. TNG/DS9/VOY and new movie fans for the most part probably won't like the series if it does, in fact, look a lot more like TOS than the trailers have led us to believe. The TNG and later fans wanted a series set post-Voyager, so they're already unhappy.
The conclusion I'm drawing is that CBS are going out of their way to upset all fans, whatever show their allegiance is to. I get the feeling that CBS see this as a TV Star Trek reboot that has more in common with the new movies to appeal to "modern" audiences and that there's big F.U. to the existing fans.
Make no mistake, this new show is purely about the money CBS believe they'll make from it. Everything and anything will be compromised in pursuit of that goal. CBS CEO Les Moonves himself said that the only reason Discovery will air on CBS All Access (in the USA) is because he saw how well Trek did on Netflix and CBS wants its cut of the subscription payment pie.
While I don't have a good feeling about the show, I'm not dismissing it out of hand. Trailers can be very misleading. The proof is in the pudding and we'll have to see how things play out over the 15-episode season.