When Star Trek fans found out that CBS was committed to bringing another small screen iteration of the classic franchise to life there were a lot of people who cheered and a lot of people who just got plain nervous. No one wants to see the Star Trek legacy besmirched, and the production has given us blessedly little information on what exactly this new series will be like. Now, though, thanks to showrunner Bryan Fuller, we have at least one idea of how this Star Trek will play out.
While speaking with Collider on the red carpet of the Saturn Awards yesterday, new Star Trek showrunner Bryan Fuller confirmed that this series will tell one story over the course of 13 episodes. While there have been some serialized story arcs on the other Star Trek shows, the prevailing show structure has always been that of individual episodes that tell separate stories. With the notable exception of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's overall story conflict, which lasted throughout the entire series and featured a large cast of recurring players along with show regulars. Along with previously working on Star Trek: Voyager, Fuller also had a hand in crafting stories for Deep Space Nine, so this is something he clearly knows how to handle from the Star Trek perspective.
Seeing as how only one of the five Star Trek shows relied on an overall story arc during the entirety of its run, this is indeed a pretty big change for the new Star Trek. One thing the show already has going for it, though, is that it should be much easier to tell stories that way with only 13 episodes per season to construct. This should make it relatively simple for the writers and producers to craft an interesting arc and make sure the storytelling doesn't lag because of too many episodes that simply hold back the main action for the sake of keeping things going for a full 22 episodes.
During the interview, Bryan Fuller also noted that they already have the full season arc planned out, and the first six episodes broken down, which is certainly good to hear. It's another sign that the production is taking the challenge of bringing fans new Star Trek stories seriously, and that there shouldn't be any sudden surprises that seem to make no sense within the overall plot.
OK, I'll admit, my first thought when I heard that we were finally, after a TV absence of more than 11 years by the time the new show airs, getting brand new Star Trek was along the lines of "Y'all better not fuck this up". And, while we still don't have anywhere near enough details about the show, knowing that Bryan Fuller worked on Deep Space Nine (my favorite Star Trek anything ever), and that his team has already done a considerable amount of mapping out for the debut run, has made me feel a lot better. So, are you looking forward to this Star Trek, or are you still too nervous to tell? Let us know in the comments.
