One of the big selling points of Paramount+ streaming is all the new Star Trek projects viewers can watch. This is the latest frontier for a franchise that’s previously launched a broadcast network. Star Trek: Discovery became a major hit for the new streaming format. The show could be rather bold in its new internet based home. The series doesn’t have to worry about appealing to a normal viewing audience. The people who watch Star Trek: Discovery want to watch the show. This means Star Trek shows can now focus on the fans who want to press the button. There was no longer a worry of appeasing people who turned on the TV and thought they were going to see another police procedural. Because the show is streaming, the show doesn’t have to worry “what if a viewer missed last week’s episode.” Streaming means a viewer watches all the episodes in order. This site lets you know what was the last episode you saw. Now the creative talent behind the series doesn’t get completely confined to episodic limitation. Star Trek: Discovery – Season Three journeys into an even more distant future without losing the viewers.
Not to give away too much, but at the end of Season 2, Michael Burnham (The Walking Dead‘s Sonequa Martin-Green) has flown through time and space and arrived in 3188. Her plan to save humanity has worked since she encounters people in the distant future. However massive changes did take place because of events in the previous season including “The Burn” that has altered the way the Federation works. Turns out there’s an issue with dilithium in the future. She can’t immediately figure out the fate of the USS Discovery although viewers will find it out in the second episode. Acting Captain Saru (Weight of Water‘s Doug Jones) has to get the ship repaired after it crash lands on a frozen planet. While the locals seem helpful at first, it turns out they want to get their hands on Discovery’s precious dilithium. They need Burnham’s help as things get rather cold around the starship.
The bulk of the season is taken up with trying to figure out how to solve what the Burn did to dilithium. Burnham and the crew of the Discovery want to unify the Federation once more. The 13 episodes are meant to be watched in order and not skipped around. This gives Star Trek: Discovery its own sense of being in a universe that has already spawned so many spin-offs since Star Trek first aired 55 years ago on broadcast television. It’s much more engrossing as a show as the narrative of the season builds until the finale.
While Star Trek: Discovery is available on streaming, it’s good that the season is being released on physical media. A certain other studio has announced it won’t release their streaming shows on Blu-ray. There are people who really need Blu-rays of streaming shows because they live in parts of the country where broadband internet speeds aren’t accessible. People who use satellite internet services can get charged a small fortune to stream a high definition video. Plus there are quite a few Star Trek fans who prefer to have all the shows collected on their video shelf. Star Trek: Discovery – Season Three comes in three home video formats: DVD, Blu-ray and a limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook. The show has already been renewed for a 4th season.
The video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The Blu-ray really brings out the glow in the show. You get to see the theatrical level special effects clearly. The Audio is 5.1 DTS-HD MA. You get a room filled with the action when you crank up the surround sound system. There’s also a 5.1 French dub. The subtitles are in English and French.
Deleted Scenes on People of Earth, Forget Me Not, Unification III, Terra Firma Part 1 & 2, Su’Kal, There Is a Tide and That Hope Is You, Part 2.
Writer’s Log: Michelle Paradise (13:49) is her talking about writing on the first and last episode of the season. She’s also an executive producer on the show so she does more than type. She takes us on location in Iceland.
Star Trek Discovery: The Voyage of Season 3 (28:32) is best watched after you’re done with the episodes since there’s a lot of giveaway moments as cast and crew discuss what went down.
Stunted (14:33) goes deep into how they pulled off stunts at an industrial park. We follow them from script to storyboards to rehearsals to shoot to post production. There’s a lot more to stunts on Star Trek now then when the crew would go back and forth to the beat of a pot being hit.
Being Michael Burnham (24:20) gets into the character with Sonequa Martin-Green. She takes us to the hot spring in Iceland for the opening episode. They had to aim the camera the right way to avoid showing the resort on one side.
Kenneth Mitchell: To Boldly Go (18:04) is about the actor and his battle with ALS. He does a lot of masked characters on the series. By this season, he needs a wheelchair so the producers created Aurellio, a scientist who needs a wheelchair.
Bridge Building (25:37) is about the characters (and actors) that work on the bridge and might not get to be major players in an episode. But they need to be there to make it seem like the ship is working.
Gag Reel (4:33) are those moments where the cast cracks up or the effects go odd. There’s a fine moment when an actor forgets his character’s name. Also you see Doug Jones dealing with his shoes.
CBS DVD and Paramount Home Entertainment present Star Trek: Discovery – Season Three. Starring: Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Jason Isaacs & Wilson Cruz. Boxset Contents: 13 episodes on 4 Blu-ray discs. Release Date: July 20, 2021.
