The second season of Star Trek: Discovery premiered on 17 January 2019 on the CBS All Access streaming service, with fourteen episodes that ran through 18 April 2019.
The second season broadcast on Space/Z in Canada, with episodes released to an international audience on Netflix the next day.
Episodes[]
Title | Episode | Production number | Stardate | US release date |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Brother" | 2x01 | 201 | 1025.19 | 2019-01-17 |
"New Eden" | 2x02 | 202 | 1027.32 | 2019-01-24 |
"Point of Light" | 2x03 | 203 | 1029.46 | 2019-01-31 |
"An Obol for Charon" | 2x04 | 204 | 1834.2512 | 2019-02-07 |
"Saints of Imperfection" | 2x05 | 205 | Unknown | 2019-02-14 |
"The Sound of Thunder" | 2x06 | 206 | 1035.86 | 2019-02-21 |
"Light and Shadows" | 2x07 | 207 | Unknown | 2019-02-28 |
"If Memory Serves" | 2x08 | 208 | 1532.9 | 2019-03-07 |
"Project Daedalus" | 2x09 | 209 | Unknown | 2019-03-14 |
"The Red Angel" | 2x10 | 210 | Unknown | 2019-03-21 |
"Perpetual Infinity" | 2x11 | 211 | Unknown | 2019-03-28 |
"Through the Valley of Shadows" | 2x12 | 212 | 1048.66 | 2019-04-04 |
"Such Sweet Sorrow" | 2x13 | 213 | 1050.8–1051.8 | 2019-04-11 |
"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" | 2x14 | 214 | 1201.7 | 2019-04-18 |
Summary[]
Background information[]
- Even before Star Trek: Discovery started to be released, Aaron Harberts was already hopeful that this season could tie up some of the loose ends of continuity as regards how the series related to the rest of the Star Trek franchise, thereby answering inevitable questions about that aspect of the show. "What I hope happens is […] [in the] second season, we'll start creating our own slice of it," he said, "so that we're adding to canon in our way, and those questions come up less and less." [8]
- In this, Harberts had to an extent already undone the emphatic statement his colleague Akiva Goldsman later made at the October 2017 New York Comic Con, shortly after the series had premiered, that "(…)Discovery will exist within its own universe," and while "[w]e are wildly aware of everything that appears to be a deviation from canon and we will close out all of those issues before they arrive at the 10-year period and hit The Original Series," adding that "Discovery viewers will never see Spock". [9] The apparently premature second season introduction of Christopher Pike and his ship and crew (including Spock) after all, was therefore indicative of the producers' reconsideration of their position in the wake of fan criticism regarding canon/(Roddenberry) philosophy/(visual) continuity issues, conceded as such at a later point in time by co-creator, show runner and Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman himself in his 2019 podcast interview (see: below).
- Harberts also expressed hope that this season might include many episodes which Goldsman would direct. [10]
- On 23 October 2017, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season. [11]
- Filming for Season 2 began on 16 April 2018, with Shazad Latif stating that he would begin filming in May 2018. [12][13][14]
- It was originally reported that Season 2 would have two fewer episodes than Season 1, but Anson Mount revealed on 8 December 2018 that an additional episode had been added. [15][16]
- In May 2018, co-creator Alex Kurtzman stated that season two wouldn't be broadcast until 2019 at the earliest. "Breaking story is, in some ways, the easier and faster thing; it's the ability to execute on it that's much harder. We want to take the right amount of time and don't want to rush," he stated. [17] In July 2018, he confirmed that the season premiere was being targeted for release in January 2019. [18]
- Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg resigned as showrunners after production on the fifth episode, after the budget for the season premiere overran, and reports that they had become abusive towards the show's writers, [19] though in the latter case, not a single independent corroboration from any one "abusee" has ever materialized in support of that particular claim, making it in all likelihood a fake assertion to begin with.
- The season premiere date was announced at the New York Comic Con Discovery panel on 6 October 2018, [20] and a trailer for the season was shown there, being released online immediately afterwards. [21]
- As had been the case with the first season, episodes were released internationally on Netflix the day after their CBS All Access debut. [22]
- Accompanying the season two debut on 17 January 2019 was a red carpet premiere affair held at the multiplex movie theater of the Conrad hotel in New York City, which was attended by the series' cast and crew. [23] Also invited were members of Visual Effects Society in the hope of improving the show's chances of a 2019 VES Award, [24] to no avail however, as season two was not considered for a 2019 VES award by the society, contrary to season one which received two award nominations – but no wins.
- Unlike the first season, however, there was not a mid-season break. [25]
- Characters which 'cross over' from other incarnations of Star Trek: Christopher Pike and Spock ("Brother"), Una Chin-Riley ("An Obol for Charon"), Vina and The Keeper ("If Memory Serves"), Siranna ("The Sound of Thunder"), and Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po ("Such Sweet Sorrow").
Reception[]
The critical review site Rotten Tomatoes has given the second season of Discovery a score of 81%, with an average rating of 7.32 out of 10, similar to the score for the preceding season. However, it has also recorded a worsening audience score of 36%, with an average rating of 2.33 out of 5, indicative of the developing rift between critics and viewers/fans growing even stronger after Season 1. [26] Unlike with that initial season, Rotten Tomatoes' audience findings were not corroborated for this season by the customer reviews on Amazon.com, which showed a substantially higher audience rating of 3.8 out of 5, as well as a higher rough 70/30 like/dislike divide within the viewership/fanbase itself [27] – though the Amazon rating system has become suspect since.[1]
On the other hand, the critical review site Metacritic did corroborate Rotten Tomatoes' critical findings by quoting the equal 73% critics' rating score for the second season – against Tomatoes' 73.2% average rating – and also reported a similar viewership rating of 5.3 out of 10, with the like/dislike divide showing a rough 52/48 split, a very slight improvement over the first season. [28]
What both Amazon and Metacritic had in common though, was that the from season one carried over like/dislike divide remained rather sharp in all reported cases, with fans pitted against each other at either end of the spectrum with very few positioned in the middle. The what Kurtzman had hereafter called "course-correct" had not resulted in the hoped-for improvement of the series' overall perception by fans.
Exemplary of the deep fan divide was the one-minute homage clip initially made for the Apple TV+ app and also featured in a Carpool Karaoke episode (Season 2, Episode 11, 31 January 2019) in which the uniform-clad primary cast of Discovery were singing a song (adapted from a song featured in the musical Rent) on the bridge set, profusely thanking the "nerds" – "nerds" being emphasized with flashy, sing-along captions – for keeping the franchise alive for all these decades. As social media reactions to this supposedly well-meant clip have shown, Discovery fans loved the homage, whereas the critical fans seriously doubted CBS' motivations for even allowing the clip to be made in the first place, and took offense, vehemently so, considering it a severely misguided derogatory slur – and an intentionally insulting one at that, in their opinion. [29][30][31] The clip would never be mentioned again, be it in any of the aftershows, or in any of the special features of the later released second season home video formats.
After the second season had concluded its run, showrunner Alex Kurtzman did concede the fan base split in a 17 June 2019 Deadline podcast, though he endeavored to put a positive spin on it by stating that "(…) if you are at a 50/50 split, then you're doing well. It's when you're at 90/10 then you're in real trouble." In the same podcast Kurtzman concurrently added, "I can definitely start by saying that I have, and this isn't just lip service, I actually...the fan's point of view has become necessary for me, because the fans have kept Trek alive for fifty-three years. And the internet has now made it possible for me in real time to know how people are receiving our choices and as you're writing you can suddenly course-correct you know." [32] In this, Kurtzman – who reiterated his stance almost ad verbatim one year later to Space.com [33] – distanced himself from the presumed "Old Guard" racial/gender bias left-wing critics had accused the critical classic fanbase of after the conclusion of season one, but rather addressed concerns those fans had with what they perceived as canon/(Roddenberry) philosophy/continuity violations, something only a handful of their critics actually touched upon or were even willing to address, [34] though those very few that did kept concurrently maintaining that in their opinion white male racial/gender bigotry still remained the actual root cause. [35][36] Kurtzman referred to the "course-correct" again when he made the later released remark, "We make huge moves in the [second season] finale. So both synchronize with canon and then free ourselves from it". (DIS Season 2 Blu-ray-special feature, "Putting It Together") He thereby confirmed in his closing remark that Goldsman's aforementioned "arrival" at The Original Series was definitively off the table, something that had already been implied in the Star Trek: Short Treks season one episode "Calypso", [37] which streamed two months before the second season of Discovery did.
Even though the producers had bowed in to the fan's concerns about the series, fans remained sharply divided in their opinions of the series proper as not only evidenced by the ratings and Kurtzman's concession, but also by the impromptu polls organized on several Star Trek (fan) websites, among others those on the reference website Ex Astris Scientia. However, fans were by and large unanimous in their praise for the Original Series characters introduction, Anson Mount's Christopher Pike in particular, which infused the series with some, what they deemed, much needed Star Trek spirit, in no small measure due to the way Mount played the role. Kurtzman had actually implied at the end of season one that the introduction of the Original Series characters had from the very start been part of his master plan all along, when he stated in AT: "Will You Take My Hand?" that, "(…)the whole season was reverse-engineered knowing really at the beginning where we wanted to end," [38] contridicting not only his own, later made "course-correct" statement, but also his producer collegues. Mount's Christopher Pike was so well received that at least two separate online fan petitions were organized for his very own Star Trek series, with several petition signers in their motivations to do so, preferring it to become a replacement for Discovery altogether. [39] [40]
In the wake of the December 2019 "reunification" of the Star Trek film, and television franchises, reports started to surface that this option had indeed come under consideration with both CBS All Access Head of Original Content Julie McNamara and showrunner Kurtzman on record stating that "fans have been heard", though concurrently stressing that if it came to pass, as an addition to the Star Trek line-up (at the time already consisting of three more series, beyond Discovery, Short Treks, and Star Trek: Picard alone), and not as a replacement. [41] [42] [43]
Initially, the producers intended the introduction of the Original Series characters to be a temporary one, as they were signed for season two only. [44] [45] It prompted Anson Mount to quip with a "#WillActForFood" hashtag on his Twitter account that he and fellow Spock performer Ethan Peck were on the job market again shortly after live-action production on season two had wrapped. [46] It solicited a fan outpouring in support for his own series instead of Discovery, which provided the spark for the online petitions in the first place, [47] as a happy aside not something Mount was likely and intentionally after when he made the humorous posting on his account – even though he was by then well aware of the favorable reception of his character (reiterating how "humbled and deeply touched by this amount of love" he was on his 14 April 2019 Facebook entry [48]) as the season had already premiered when he made his posting on 27 January 2019. He and Peck subsequently did reprise their roles in three late 2019 season two episodes of Short Treks (as did Una Chin-Riley performer Rebecca Romijn), all three of them taking place outside the Discovery framework, and therefore arguably conceived as preambles for a potential "Christopher Pike" series.
On 15 May 2020, CBS formally announced Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, featuring all three characters, along with a video message recorded by Mount, Peck, and Romijn uploaded to social media channels, all three of them expressing their gratitude for the fan support. Aside from emphatically restating his April 2019 Facebook posting, Mount additionally stated that they were going to get "(…)to work on a classic Star Trek show, that deals with optimism and the future," indirectly referring to the perceived Roddenberry-philosophy violations in Discovery, critical fans had put forward. [49]
Awards[]
Several industry award nomination announcements have followed suit in the wake of the series' second season, such as for five Saturn Awards on 15 July 2019, [50] and for four of the prestigious Emmy Awards on 16 July 2019, [51] in the latter case doubling its number of nominations in comparison to the first season. Other award nominations were added to the array, eventually bringing the total for the second season up to twenty-four, one more than the preceding season had garnered.
Still, having won six out of the twenty-four award nominations, including the series' first Emmy Award, it actually meant that Season 2 was in the mind of critics twice as successful than the preceding one had been – achieving a win ratio of 25% versus 13%.
The increasing number of Canadian industry awards incidentally, such as the CAFTCAD Awards which were first issued in 2020, [52] is indicative of the growing importance of the Canadian motion picture industry and the diminishing one of Hollywood; Discovery is entirely Canadian produced. The below-listed older Directors Guild of Canada Awards are among Canada's more prestigious motion picture awards and was won for the first time in 2019 for the franchise by Discovery's Tamara Deverell. [53]
2019-2020 Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 awards and honors | |||
---|---|---|---|
Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
CAFTCAD Awards | Best Costume Design in TV Sci-Fi/ Fantasy ("Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2") | Gersha Phillips (costume designer), Daina Valiulis, Kim Harkness, Paria Shirvani, Erin Holman, Kaitlyn Fifield, Kimberly Memory Stanley, Daniela Agosta, Tanya Batanau-Chuiko, Wing Lee, Nina Topic, Ray Wong, Gulay Cokgezen, Christy Zaporozan, Bonnie McCabe, Ian Campbell, Andrew Cook, Jenn Burton, Robin Careless, Lisa Creelman, Heather Constable, Kymn Keating, Chelsea Oliver, Alexandra Boultzi, Karen Lee, and Carly Nicodemo | Nominated |
CDG Awards | Outstanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy Television Series | Gersha Phillips | |
Directors Guild of Canada Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Production Design – Dramatic Series ("Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2") | Tamara Deverell | Won |
Dragon Awards | Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series | Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman | Nominated |
Emmy Awards | Outstanding Main Title Design | Ana Criado-Zahonero (creative director), Nader Husseini (animator), Francisco Sanchez de Cañete (art director), Zachary Kinney (animator), Christian Antolin (designer), and Kyle Cooper (creative director) | |
Outstanding Special Visual Effects ("Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2") | Jason Michael Zimmerman (VFX supervisor), Ante Dekovic (VFX supervisor), Ivan Kondrup Jensen (VFX supervisor), Mahmoud Rahnama (associate VFX supervisor), Alexander Wood (VFX plate supervisor), Aleksandra Kochoska (VFX producer), Charles Collyer (lead VFX artist), Fausto Tejeda (CG supervisor), and Darcy Callaghan (special effects coordinator) | ||
Outstanding Sound Editing for a One Hour Comedy or Drama Series ("Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2") | Matthew E. Taylor (sound supervisor), Tim Farrell (sound designer), Michael Schapiro (sound effects editor), Clayton Weber (sound effects editor), Dan Kenyon (sound effects editor), Rickley W. Dumm (adr editor), Sean Heissinger (dialogue editor), Bob Jackson (dialogue editor), Matt Decker (music editor), Alyson Dee Moore (Foley artist), and Christopher Moriana (Foley artist) | ||
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special ("If Memory Serves") | Glenn Hetrick (special makeup effects department head), James MacKinnon (special makeup effects department head), Hugo Villasenor (special makeup effects artist), Rocky Faulkner (special makeup effects artist), Chris Bridges (additional makeup effects artist), Nicola Bendrey (special makeup effects artist), Neville Page (prosthetic designer), and Michael O'Brien (prosthetic designer) | Won | |
GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | CBS Television Studios/All Access | Nominated |
Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards | Best Special Makeup Effects – Television and New Media Series | Glenn Hetrick, James MacKinnon, and Rocky Faulkner | |
Hollywood Music In Media Awards | Best Original Score – TV Show/Limited Series | Jeff Russo | |
Hollywood Post Alliance Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects – Television Over 13 Episodes ("Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2") | Jason Michael Zimmerman, Ante Dekovic, Aleksandra Kochoska, Charles Collyer, and Alexander Wood | |
IGN Awards (2019) | Best TV Action Series | CBS Television Studios/All Access | |
Best TV Ensemble | Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Emily Coutts, Shazad Latif, Oyin Oladejo, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Ronnie Rowe, Wilson Cruz, Sara Mitich, Michelle Yeoh, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rachael Ancheril, and Hannah Cheesman | ||
Joey Awards | Best Actress in a Principal Role in a Television Series 11+ | Arista Arhin | |
OFTA Television Awards | Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Series | CBS Television Studios/All Access | |
Best Visual Effects in a Series | |||
Best Best Costume Design in a Series | Gersha Phillips (costume designer) | ||
ReFrame Stamp | Top 100 Popular Television 2018-2019 (Season two) | CBS All Access | Won |
Saturn Awards | Best Streaming Science Fiction, Action & Fantasy Series | Accepted on behalf of CBS All Access by showrunner Michelle Paradise, and writer/producers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt [54] | |
Best Actress in Streaming Presentation | Sonequa Martin-Green | ||
Best Supporting Actor in Streaming Presentation | Doug Jones | ||
Wilson Cruz | Nominated | ||
Ethan Peck | |||
World Soundtrack Awards | Television Composer of the Year (DIS Season 2, among others) | Jeff Russo | |
Young Artist Awards | Best Performance Recurring Teen Artist – TV Series | Arista Arhin | |
Young Entertainer Awards | Best Recurring Young Actress – Television Series |
Credits[]
Starring[]
- Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham
- Doug Jones as Saru
- Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
- Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly ("Brother"–"Perpetual Infinity", "Such Sweet Sorrow", "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber ("Brother", "Saints of Imperfection"–"The Sounds of Thunder", "If Memory Serves", "The Red Angel", "Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Shazad Latif as Ash Tyler ("Point of Light", "Saints of Imperfection"–"If Memory Serves", "The Red Angel"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- And
- Anson Mount as Christopher Pike
Special guest star[]
- Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou/Philippa Georgiou (mirror) ("Point of Light", "Saints of Imperfection", "Light and Shadows", "If Memory Serves", "The Red Angel"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
Crew[]
- Casting by
- Margery Simkin, CSA
- Orly Sitowitz, CSA
- Music and Theme by
- Jeff Russo
- Costume Designer
- Gersha Phillips
- Visual Effects Supervisor
- Jason Zimmerman
- Edited by
- Jon Dudkowski, ACE ("Brother", "An Obol for Charon", "Light and Shadows", "The Red Angel", "Such Sweet Sorrow")
- Scott Gamzon, ACE ("New Eden", "Saints of Imperfection", "If Memory Serves", "Perpetual Infinity")
- Andrew Coutts, CCE ("Point of Light", "The Sounds of Thunder", "Project Daedalus", "Through the Valley of Shadows", "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Matthew Kovach ("The Red Angel")
- John Mullin ("Perpetual Infinity")
- Production Designer
- Tamara Deverell
- Director of Photography
- Glen Keenan, CSC ("Brother", "Point of Light", "Saints of Imperfection", "Light and Shadows", "Project Daedalus", "Perpetual Infinity", "Such Sweet Sorrow", "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Colin Hoult, CSC ("New Eden", "An Obol for Charon")
- Philip Lanyon ("The Sounds of Thunder")
- Tico Poulakakis, CSC ("If Memory Serves", "The Red Angel", "Through the Valley of Shadows")
- Co-Producers
- Bo Yeon Kim
- Erika Lippoldt
- Producers
- Alan McElroy
- April Nocifora
- Produced by
- Thom J. Pretak
- Consulting Producer
- Dan Dworkin ("Light and Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Jay Beattie ("Light and Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Akiva Goldsman
- Co-Executive Producers
- Andrew Colville
- Jenny Lumet
- Jordon Nardino ("Brother"–"Saints of Imperfection")
- Michelle Paradise ("An Obol for Charon"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Ted Sullivan
- Vaun Wilmott ("Brother"–"Light and Shadows")
- Aaron Baiers
- Executive Producers
- Olatunde Osunsanmi
- Frank Siracusa
- John Weber
- Eugene Roddenberry
- Trevor Roth
- James Duff ("Light and Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Heather Kadin
- Gretchen J. Berg ("Brother"–"The Sounds of Thunder")
- Aaron Harberts ("Brother"–"The Sounds of Thunder")
- Alex Kurtzman
- Based Upon Star Trek Created by
- Gene Roddenberry
- Created by
- Bryan Fuller
- Alex Kurtzman
- Supervising Associate Producer
- Dana N. Wilson
- Associate Producer
- Emma Sampson
- Robyn Johnson ("Light and Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Production Managers
- David Till
- B.E. Sharp
- First Assistant Director
- Woody Sidarous ("Brother", "Saints of Imperfection", "If Memory Serves", "Perpetual Infinity")
- Patrick Tidy ("New Eden", "An Obol for Charon", "Light and Shadows", "The Red Angel", "Such Sweet Sorrow"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Felix Gray ("Point of Light", "The Sound of Thunder", "Project Daedalus", "Through the Valley of Shadows")
- Second Assistant Director
- Ben Marrello ("Brother", "Saints of Imperfection", "Perpetual Infinity")
- Jeff Muhsoldt ("New Eden", "An Obol for Charon", "Light and Shadows", "The Red Angel", "Such Sweet Sorrow"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Shannon Hawes ("Point of Light", "The Sound of Thunder", "Project Daedalus", "Through the Valley of Shadows")
- Sara Macdonald ("If Memory Serves")
- Executive Story Editor
- Kirsten Beyer
- Story Editor
- Sean Cochran
- Executive Consultant
- Bryan Fuller
- Canadian Casting by
- Lisa Parasyn, CSA
- Jon Comerford, CSA
- Original Star Trek Theme by
- Alexander Courage
- Set Decorator
- Peter Nicolakakos
- Property Master
- Mario Moreira
- Supervising Art Director
- Joshu De Cartier
- Art Directors
- Matt Middleton
- Jody Clement
- First Assistant Art Directors – Motion Graphics
- Timothy Peel
- Stephanie Chris
- Matthew Harris
- Nicola Rose ("Brother"–"Saints of Imperfection")
- Alex Melvin ("An Obol for Charon"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Jane Stevens ("Such Sweet Sorrow"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- First Assistant Art Directors – Graphics
- Andy Tsang
- Kristin Herbst ("Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- First Assistant Art Directors – Illustration
- Chris Penna
- Joelle Craven ("Such Sweet Sorrow"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- First Assistant Art Director – Illustrator (Costumes)
- Bartol Rendulic ("Brother")
- First Assistant Art Directors – Set Design
- Michael Stanek
- Hayley Isaacs
- John Kim ("Brother"–"The Red Angel")
- Matt Morgan
- Dan Norton ("Brother", "Point of Light"–"An Obol for Charon")
- Emilie Poulin
- Shirin Rashid
- Monica Navarrette
- Itsuko Kurono ("Brother"–"Point of Light")
- Robert Emery ("Brother"–"New Eden")
- James Usas ("Brother"–"New Eden")
- Third Assistant Directors
- Ross Vivian
- Brooke Fifield
- Script Supervisor
- R. Emerson John ("Brother"–"New Eden")
- Angela Mastronardi ("Point of Light", "Saints of Imperfection"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Tammy Rae Beltrami ("An Obol for Charon")
- A Camera Operator
- Francois Daignault
- B Camera Operator
- JP Locherer
- Sound Mixer
- Ao Loo
- Boom Operator
- Sean Armstrong
- Casting Associate
- Gina Gallego
- Canadian Casting Assistants
- Emily Johnston
- Sara Dang ("New Eden"–"An Obol for Charon")
- Meghan Maguire ("Saints of Imperfection"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Location Manager
- Tim Owen ("Brother", "Point of Light", "Saints of Imperfection", "Light and Shadows", "Project Daedalus", "Perpetual Infinity", "Such Sweet Sorrow"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Melissa Warry-Smith ("New Eden", "An Obol for Charon", "The Sound of Thunder", "If Memory Serves", "The Red Angel", "Through the Valley of Shadows")
- Assistant Location Manager
- Justin Cossette ("New Eden"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Studio Manager
- Tom Nicholls ("Brother")
- Robert Jones ("New Eden"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Assistant Studio Manager
- Tom Nicholls ("New Eden"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Location Production Assistants
- Ramin Radnik
- Dan Potter ("Brother"–"Saints of Imperfection")
- Josh Campbell ("The Sound of Thunder"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Costume Supervisor
- Karen Lee
- Assistant Costume Designers
- Carly Nicodemo
- Sydney Cavanaugh ("Brother"–"If Memory Serves")
- Kim Harkness ("Project Daedalus"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Daina Valiulis ("Brother", "Point of Light"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Lead Creature Designer
- Neville Page
- Department Head Make-Up
- Shauna Llewellyn
- Department Head Hair
- Sandy Sokolowski
- Make-Up Effects Department Heads
- Glenn Hetrick
- James MacKinnon
- Prosthetic Makeup Special Effects and Specialty Armor Designed and Created by
- Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page's Alchemy Studios
- Production Accountant
- Joanne Barrington
- First Assistant Accountants – General
- Rose Lister
- Tim Hay
- First Assistant Accountants – Payroll
- Melanie Foley
- Jesse Rupert
- First Assistant Accountant – Construction
- Emily Halfon
- Second Assistant Accountants
- Rebecca Pearson
- Vanna Roopchand
- Lighting Design by
- Franco Tata
- First Company Grip
- Robert Daprato
- 1st Assistant A Camera
- Andrew Stretch
- 1st Assistant B Camera
- Rob Mountjoy
- 1st Assistant C Camera
- Andrew Macklin
- 2nd Assistant A Camera
- Stephen Gould
- Digital Imaging Technician
- Ron Schlueter
- Production Coordinator
- Alison Waxman
- Script Coordinator
- Dan Hindmarch
- First Assistant Production Coordinators
- Allison Lahav
- Taylor Danton
- Second Assistant Production Coordinator
- Laura Miles
- Office Production Assistants
- Chris Stiebel
- Tom Fitzpatrick
- Kevin Hazlehurst
- Storyboard Artist
- Rob McCallum
- First Assistant Art Director – Concepts
- Lucas Wareing ("Brother", "An Obol for Charon")
- First Assistant Art Directors
- Jane Stoiacico ("Brother")
- Tijana Petrovic ("Brother")
- Digital Asset Manager
- James Jarvis
- Art Department Coordinators
- Taylor Flook
- Cassidy Watkins ("An Obol for Charon"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Jennifer Jozwiak ("New Eden"–"Point of Light", "Saints of Imperfection"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Stunt Coordinator
- Christopher McGuire
- Fight Coordinator
- Hubert Boorder
- Special Effects Coordinator
- Darcy Callaghan
- Special Effects Key
- Mike Kavanagh ("Brother"–"Light and Shadows")
- Lead Dressers
- Jesse O'Connor ("If Memory Serves"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Matt Ceolin ("If Memory Serves"–"Project Daedalus")
- Mark Pellar ("Brother"–"Light and Shadows")
- Chris Deeley ("Point of Light"–"Perpetual Infinity")
- Yuri Shevts ("Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Contact Lens Supervisor
- Mandy Ketcheson
- Key Scenic
- Jason Kirk
- Head Painters
- Tim Campbell
- Clinton Guitard
- On Set Painter
- Gregory Aquila
- Construction Coordinator
- Marc Kuitenbrouwer
- Head Carpenter
- Traceley Young
- On Set Carpenter
- Peter Constantenides
- Transportation Coordinator
- Rob Davis
- Transportation Captain
- Andrew Langevin
- Transportation Co-Captain
- Craig Dwyer
- VFX Supervisor
- Ante Dekovic
- VFX Producer
- Aleksandra Kochoska
- VFX Lead Artist
- Charles Collyer
- Lead VFX Coordinator
- Julie Rothfarb
- VFX Coordinators
- Shawn Ewashko
- Chelsea Wynne
- Valeria Rocha
- Julian Boice ("The Red Angel"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- VFX Plate Supervisor
- Alex Wood
- Associate VFX Supervisor
- Mahmoud Rahnama ("Brother"–"New Eden", "Light and Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- VFX Previs Supervisor
- Stephen J. Pavelski ("Brother"–"New Eden", "Light and Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Additional Editing by
- John Mullin ("New Eden", "Saints of Imperfection")
- Assistant Editor
- Matthew Kovach ("Brother", "An Obol for Charon", "Light and Shadows", "Such Sweet Sorrow")
- Corey Trench ("Point of Light", "The Sound of Thunder")
- Preston Rapp ("The Sound of Thunder", "Project Daedalus", "Through the Valley of Shadows", "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- John Mullin ("If Memory Serves")
- VFX Editors
- Jason Sikora
- Greg Minihan ("Perpetual Infinity"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- VFX Assistant Editors
- Kevin Laneave ("Brother"–"Saints of Imperfection")
- Greg Minihan ("Brother"–"The Red Angel")
- Post Production Coordinator
- Ruben Michael Molina
- Post Production Assistant
- Ryan Miles ("Brother"–"Light and Shadows")
- Researcher
- Anthony Maranville
- Assistants to the Writers
- Chris Silvestri
- Brandon Schultz
- Eamon Hartnett ("The Red Angel"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Dialect Coach
- Rea Nolan
- Additional Dialect Coach
- Jeffrey Simlett
- Translator
- Robyn Stewart
- Kelpien Language Consultant
- Marc Okrand ("The Sound of Thunder")
- Craft Services
- Star Grazing Inc.
- Servers
- Darlene Ibbitson
- Monica Madden
- On Set Caterers
- Gourmet Catering
- Assistants to A. Kurtzman
- Robyn Johnson ("Brother"–"The Sound of Thunder")
- May Darmon ("Brother"–"If Memory Serves")
- Monica Shapiro ("New Eden"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- T'Essence Minnitee ("Project Daedalus"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Assistant to G. Berg and A. Harberts
- Chris Danby ("Brother"–"The Sound of Thunder")
- Assistant to J. Duff
- Chris Danby ("Light and Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Assistant to H. Kadin
- Megan Talmidge
- Assistant to A. Baiers
- Kristen Gross
- Executive Assistant Toronto
- Cornelia Audrey
- Writer's PA
- Eamon Hartnett ("Saints of Imperfection"–"Project Daedalus")
- Ryan Miles ("If Memory Serves"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Sound Services by
- Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services
- Sound Supervisor
- Matthew E. Taylor
- Sound Designer
- Tim Farrell
- Re-Recording Mixers
- Alexander Gruzdev
- Brad Sherman
- Mix Tech
- Brad Bell
- Sound Effects Editor
- Michael Schapiro ("Brother"–"Perpetual Infinity")
- Sound Editors
- Michael Schapiro ("Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Clayton Weber ("Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Dan Kenyon ("Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Dialogue Editors
- Robert Jackson ("The Red Angel"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Sean Heissinger ("Brother"–"Project Daedalus", "Through the Valley of Shadows", "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Foley Editor
- Travis Crotts ("Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Rickley Dumm ("Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Foley Artists
- Hilda Hodges ("Brother", "The Sound of Thunder")
- Alyson Moore ("New Eden"–"Saints of Imperfection", "Light and Shadows"–"Project Daedalus", "Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Alyson Dee Moore ("The Red Angel"–"Perpetual Infinity")
- Chris Moriana
- Patricia Nedd ("The Red Angel")
- Foley Mixer
- John Sanacore, MPSE, C.A.S. ("Brother"–"Project Daedalus", "Perpetual Infinity"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Kyle Rochlin ("The Red Angel")
- Sound Assistant Editors
- Deron Street
- Damon Cohoon ("New Eden"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- Music Editor
- Matt Decker
- Score Engineer and Mixer
- Michael Perfitt
- Scoring Assistant
- Perrine Virgile
- Orchestrator
- Amie Doherty
- MIDI Tech
- Tracie Turnbull
- Score Wrangler
- Matea Prljevic
- Camera, Lenses, and Post Production Services by
- SIM
- SIM Supervising Producer
- Byron Smith
- SIM Online Editor
- Chad Cole
- Final Colorist
- Todd Bochner
- Editing Systems
- Pacific Post
- Grip and Lighting Equipment by
- Sim Lighting and Grip
- Main Title Design by
- Prologue
- Visual Effects by
- Pixomondo
- Crafty Apes
- Ghost VFX ("Brother"–"Perpetual Infinity", "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
- FX3X ("Brother", "An Obol for Charon"–"The Red Angel", "Through the Valley of Shadows"–"Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2"")
- Spin VFX ("An Obol for Charon", "The Sound of Thunder", "If Memory Serves"–"Such Sweet Sorrow")
- Filmworks FX ("Saints of Imperfection", "Light and Shadows")
- CBS Digital ("Saints of Imperfection", "The Red Angel")
- Double Negative ("Project Daedalus")
- Produced with the Participation of the
- Canadian Production Services Tax Credit
- CBS All Access Originals
Uncredited[]
- Nicola Bendrey – Special Makeup Effects Artist (Emmy Award winner)
- Chris Bridges – Additional Makeup Effects Artist (Emmy Award winner)
- Rocky Faulkner – Special Makeup Effects Artist (Emmy Award winner)
- Michael O'Brien – Prosthetic Designe: Alchemy Studios (Emmy Award winner)
- Erin Palmer – Rigging Electric
See also[]
Footnote[]
- ↑ Quoted are the figures as reported on 13 September 2019, but Amazon has, after its streaming service Prime Video had been granted the exclusive foreign streaming rights for Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks, redacted the audience ratings to even more favorable ones by removing most of Discovery's negative reviews, a general but questionable practice not uncommon for Amazon. [1] As Amazon has also become the owner of film website Internet Movie Database, it is reasonable to assume that similar ratings manipulations take place there as well.
Even Rotten Tomatoes itself has since then come under intense scrutiny when Hollywood studios started accusing private reviewers of (negative) "review bombing" in order to sabotage their productions, those with a heavy political messaging, aka "woke" and/or "DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)" agenda, in particular. A scathing 6 September 2022 exposé by new site Vulture.com however, demonstrated that it were actually the studios themselves who were the ones consistently rigging the Rotten Tomatoes ratings system to their advantage by review bombing through paid for "official" film reviewers which they are doing as standard operating procedure in a formalized and institutionalized systematic manner. The exposé identifies Disney and Amazon as the main culprits, but notes that all Hollywood studios are in varying degrees of complicity guilty of the practice. The recent explosive emergence of artificial intelligence is only expected to severely aggravate this state of affairs. [2] CBS Studios appears to have been complicit in the dubious practice for quite some time as well, as it would explain the very large discrepancy of rating reviews given by "professionals" and the general audience to Kurtzman-era Star Trek productions, ever since they were launched in 2017.
The Vulture exposé rekindled in full a decades old discourse of Hollywood studios being accused of bribing film critics to their advantage. Paramount Pictures itself was in effect among the ones sued for this in 2001, when the Star Trek franchise was still theirs, [3] the accusation in Paramount's case even harkening back to 1992. [4] But it also lent credence to the oft-reported extortion practices of Hollywood studios of denying reviewers studio access by barring them from the soundstages and/or advance screenings if a review is not favorable, which actually led to a considerable upheaval in July 2017 when Disney barred several newspapers from their advance screenings because of what Disney had perceived as negative reporting on their prior productions, which incidentally, backfired big time for Disney as they found out that news papers, even deep in the digital age, were still a force to be reckoned with. The mainstream press media has been hostile to Disney ever since. [5][6][7] Smaller media outlets though, the online-only ones in particular (like TrekCore or TrekMovie.com who are extremely reliant on the franchise's goodwill for their Star Trek content), are susceptible to this kind of blackmail.
External links[]
- Star Trek: Discovery season 2 at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Star Trek Discovery Season 2 episode reviews at Ex Astris Scientia
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