What 'Star Trek Discovery' Can Learn from 'Star Trek: The Animated Series'

Star Trek: Discovery is an upcoming American TV series created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, which will be shown on CBS All Access. It's been said that the series will follow the crew of the USS Discovery as they begin to discover brand new worlds and civilizations, while exploring the franchise's signature and most recognizable themes. We are all dying to know where the ideas for Discovery have come from. So let's compare Discovery to Star Trek: The Animated Series and see what Discovery can borrow from TAS.

Star Trek: The Animated Series has the original cast and some acclaimed episodes. However, TAS is not canon and will always be a curiosity to many people. With that said, Star Trek Discovery is coming, and there are some hidden gems in the old and classic animated series.

So What Makes 'Star Trek: The Animated Series' So Special?

For a start the original cast are back and ready for new adventures on the Enterprise. William Shatner returned as Kirk, Leonard Nimoy returned as the well-known character Spock and DeForest Kelly is back as Bones. The list goes on and on. The only person that didn’t return was Chekov, who was unfortunately cut out due to financial reasons at the time.

Star Trek: The Animated Series was not specifically made for kids. Unlike Doctor Who which was originally made as a kids show to reflect on events in the past, TAS based their target audience at the older generation. When we say it’s returned as an animation for adults, it doesn’t mean it is dark, and grim, and horror-like, as Star Trek really isn’t like that. It is pretty much the same as the classic live action version and featured lots of examinations on philosophy, morality and a heck of a lot of science fiction concepts.

The characters! In order for 'Star Trek Discovery' to be popular across many countries, they will have to keep the character the same as they used to be. Now obviously they won't have the same original cast, but the similarities are precious and that is one of the key factors that keeps that spark in the franchise lit.

1. Kirk: The Captain of the Enterprise and is an Academy Graduate. Kirk has been described as a "space-age Captain Horatio Hornblower" that is always trialing himself. He keeps his personality strong and very complex towards other characters of the show.

To keep 'Star Trek Discovery' a success path, Captain Kirk needs to remain as he is. That mind thinker who has the common sense to resolve problems with a click of the fingers. Not only that, he will need to continue to push himself to the limit in order to create success for the entire team. If that means taking risks, then that is going to have to do. If Discovery don't keep this important aspect in the production, some brand new will be brought to our attention and people without doubt will begin to question what is actually going on.

2. Spock: Straight up, many people are likely to tell you that Spock does not have a personality. But he does. He is just like any other character on the show. Feisty but rather quirky. We all know that Spock shows no expression or any type of emotion whatsoever. Despite him showing no expression towards anyway, this is looked as not an act of rudeness or disinterest, but a Vulcan trait. We sometimes got the occasional smile from Spock himself and this may appear that he is in a good mood, but sometimes judging by his tone, he defiantly isn't.

If Discovery come around and change Spock completely, the show is likely to get quite a bit of hate from the Trekkies out there. TAS showed that Spock had a gentle sense of humour but was slightly hard to interpret. Making fans and the characters trying to work out whether Spock was cracking a joke or being serious really kept the fans gripped and intrigued. Engaging the audience like that is vital. This is purely because it will make the viewers come back the following week to watch another episode and begin to venture out into the franchise even more.

The same goes to all of the other characters, take their personalities, put them in a jar and shake it up. Open it to find the exact same personalities but with a slight tinge to it to make them blend in slightly with the present day attitudes. But teaching this to Discovery is a top lesson as Discovery are going to want to stand out to the crowd and aim to be the best and be classed as the number one science fiction production of it's time.

The Second Thing 'Star Trek: The Animated Series' Can Teach 'Star Trek Discovery'

A science fiction production isn't science fiction without it's weird and classy aliens and races. Now for TAS, and of course the original series, the aliens were iconic and well known on a high scale. From Bandi's to Gorn's, TAS and the original series really went out there to create all kinds of original and unique creatures from another dimension if you like.

A lot of the Star Trek aliens really were weird and ridiculous in a good and fascinating way. It shows that when it comes to science fiction, the aliens don't just have to be robotic or completely human. Having fangs or what appears to be a big head really stands out to the crown and will catch your eye when you take a quick glance at the show. Some of the most wonderful Star Trek aliens are listed below.

1. Edosian:

The Edosian's made their debut appearance in 'Star Trek: The Animated Series' in the episode "Beyond the Farthest Star" in 1972. They are classed as a tripedal species that are rather skilled in using their three arms and three legs at piloting and navigating. Lieutenant Arex, who was the loyal Enterprise Navigator is a member of the Edosian species and then began to reappear in TAS as a recurring popular character. After appearing in TAS, Arex began to pop up in the Star Trek novels and comics and started to become a really popular member of the Enterprise.

2. Cygnians:

The race of technology advanced humanoids with an olive type skin with large catlike yellow eyes which originate from the planet Omega Cygni. A lot of the Cygnians were gifted and had powerful telepathic abilities which could enable them to see what other were saying and what they were doing.

These two examples show the differences of all the races and aliens in the Star Trek universe. The aliens don't always have to be a different but unique creature, but they can also resemble a human being. Star Trek TAS can learn from this by throwing a wide range of aliens and races so the fans can compare and contrast in which they prefer better. Human or alien?

The Third Thing 'Star Trek: The Animated Series' Can Teach 'Star Trek Discovery'

Television shows these days all go upon "big ideas" that will keep viewers on the edge of their seat or showing nail biting cliffhangers. During TAS broadcasting between 1973 and 1975, a wide variety of episodes were broadcast to keep the public entertained on a Saturday. In the 70's big ideas weren't really a huge highlight of television like today. Back then, people would watch the show because they actually liked it. They didn't stop watching because the ideas weren't good enough or were terrible. TAS has an IMDb rating of 7.7 stars which shows the show had a phenomenal run and fans wanted to see more.

With Star Trek Discovery beginning soon, the showrunners will need to focus on their ideas to a high level in order to keep their fans entertained and amused. People today will just simply flick the television off or change the channel if the show doesn't reach their standard. With the original Star Trek being fifty years old now, people have high hopes that Discovery will be a success and a great way to honour Star Trek's fiftieth anniversary.

So What Will Star Trek Discovery Look Like?

With Discovery just around the corner, we're all beginning to speculate and ponder what Discovery will actually be like. So far a full cast is unknown but details have been released by the showrunners which gives us a few ideas on who will be playing who. When asked about casting, Bryan Fuller said:

"When we introduce our protagonist, she is called Number One. She needs strength, sensitivity and an amusing neurosis that goes with exploring space, which is extraordinarily dangerous and has the potential to be terrifying."

So with a female lead coming into place, this gives the show an entirely new look. Compared to TAS, we had a male lead (obviously). It's also been said that Discovery will feature a lot of brand new aliens and races. This comes to show that Discovery hasn't taken a lot of inspiration from previous series like TAS.

With a female lead and new alien races, Discovery is making out to be a Star Trek reboot. For now we'll call it a reboot. With that in mind, the reboot could possibly borrow TAS continuity and have the show set in the "classic continuity". But there is the chance that hanging in the balance, it is unknown if the show will create a whole new path and go against TAS and be set in a whole new era.