If you’d never seen a Star Trek series before Discovery, you may have assumed that the season 2 finale opened a wormhole for the exit of the titular starship, while opening a door for a new show about Captain Pike, Spock, Number One and the crew of the USS Enterprise circa 2257. Because the original Star Trek doesn’t happen for another eight years in the established timeline, the idea that we could see the adventures of the Enterprise before Captain Kirk took over isn’t that all that crazy. Even before the season 2 finale of Discovery, fans began petitioning for a new spin-off series featuring Spock and Pike aboard the classic Enterprise with Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, and Rebecca Romijn reprising their roles from Discovery.
Here are five reasons why this retro-spinoff is a great idea, and three reasons why this starship needs to stay in spacedock.
Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery season 2, “Such Sweet Sorrow, Parts 1 and 2.”
On the one hand…
1. Pike’s fixed destiny creates great storylines.
Because Captain Pike is now aware that he’s destined for an accident aboard a Starfleet cadet vessel sometime before 2266, his character in the relative “present” of 2257 becomes a little more interesting. If a series depicted Pike’s second five-year-mission on the USS Enterprise, it would be centered around a captain who on the one hand, was temporarily invincible, but on the other hand, was living on borrowed time.
2. CBS already has the sets.
As confirmed by Star Trek: Discovery designer Tamara Deverell, the sets for the USS Enterprise are totally new, and not redresses of any of the Discovery sets. That’s a lot of effort for only two episodes! If a series set aboard Pike’s Enterprise did happen, everything is ready to go.
3. Ethan Peck, Anson Mount, and Rebecca Romijn are all perfectly cast.
This almost goes without saying, but part of why fans are so down with an Enterprise show set right after Discovery’s second season is because the cast members are already beloved. Anson Mount’s Captain Pike set a fantastic tone for Discovery while Ethan Peck’s Spock brought a dimension to the character that didn’t even seem possible. And though she was only in three episodes, Rebecca Romijn’s Number One is hilarious, heroic and excellent.
4. The transition to Kirk’s era would be clearer.
Part of the puzzle of Star Trek: Discovery has always been figuring out how the world of “The Cage” connected to what we saw in “The Vulcan Hello,” and then, eventually morphed into “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” and the rest of TOS. The second season of Discovery certainly made great pains to connect those dots, but a spin-off with Spock, Pike and Number One on the USS Enterprise could make all of that a little clearer. Even if it wasn’t an ongoing show like Discovery, even a limited series, set perhaps a few years after what we just saw could be a treat for longtime fans.
5. It allows for more original series cameos.
Though some might consider the Talos IV episode or the old school Klingon ships in season 2 to be overzealous fan service, the idea of an ongoing series reimagining the classic era still feels like it has potential. While Discovery’s first season gave us a great new version of Harry Mudd played by Rainn Wilson, there are a ton of interesting concepts from TOS that could be given similar treatment. From Gary Mitchell to the Klingon commander Kor, to the Gorn, there all sorts of interesting aspects of the original series that could be revisited in surprising ways.
Then again…
1. Discovery needs canon breathing room.
Part of the reason why the finale of Discovery season 2 works is because it does let the Enterprise go one way and the Discovery to go another. At this point, season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery is pretty much a blank slate in terms of canon. This is a good thing for creativity and originality, which could be undercut by the existence of a Pike–Spock show. If season 3 of Discovery goes forward, boldly into the future, while a Pike–Spock looks backward, it feels like the confidence of Discovery season 2 will suddenly look misplaced.
2. Sixties Trek canon is going to start to get…uncomfortable.
Dipping a toe into TOS canon is one thing, but wading waist-deep into the regressive Trek of the 1960s probably isn’t a good look. Sure, TOS was diverse and progressive for its time, but for modern audiences a lot of its “diversity” can scan as tokenism. And while TOS was forward-thinking in terms of racial diversity, many aspects of the series are uncomfortably sexist. After the diversity and gender parity Discovery, do we really want a new Trek series where all the lead characters are white and only one of them is a woman?
3. It doesn’t seem like CBS is going to do it anyway.
There’s pretty much nothing to indicate a Pike–Spock series is going to happen. CBS hasn’t made any announcements, and there aren’t even any lowkey rumors about the series. (Even undeveloped projects like that perpetually-delayed Nicholas Meyer Khan miniseries are based in some facts.) Anson Mount has also publicly said that in order for him to come back to Trek, “creative conversations,” would have to happen. This means there aren’t plans for it to happen, and if we read between the lines, it seems like CBS bringing back Mount, Peck, and Romijn right now might not be logistically possible. If these actors really had limited projects, then it seems likely they’ve already got work lined-up. This doesn’t mean Pike, Spock, Number One or any of the crew of the USS Enterprise couldn’t show up in flashbacks on Discovery, or, somehow, on the Picard series, but for now, the idea that this version of the classic Enterprise will have its own series seems to be more of a Trekkie wish, than an order coming from Starfleet Command.
Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery arrives sometime in 2020.
The next confirmed Trek series is the as-yet-untitled Picard series, debuting sometime late in 2019.
Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Tor.com. He is the author of Luke Skywalker Can’t Read (Penguin Random House 2015) and an editor at Fatherly.
A Pike-led Enterprise show would be immensely more popular than Discovery. Thus, it won’t happen.
“After the diversity and gender parity Discovery, do we really want a new Trek series where all the lead characters are white and only one of them is a woman?”
Two of them – Number One and Yeoman Colt. That’s about as many as Discovery season 1 had.
Love to see a Pike-led spinoff!
Rebecca Romijn was superb. But please, CBS, get her a better wig.
Correct me if im wrong but i seem to recall that the navigator for Enterprise during the pike years was a guy. It should be interesting where Discovery ends up at and it would also explain why Discovery was abandoned in the short story “Calypto”. The ball is in CBS court now..maybe after season 3?
The first season of Kirk’s Enterprise is set in 2266. The Menagerie occurs during the first season, and flashes back to events that took place on and around Talos IV some thirteen years before, while Pike is commanding the Enterprise with Spock is his science officer. 2266 minus 13 is … not 2257, now is it?
@5 – The events of The Cage have already taken place. Pike entered the show having already gone through the events depicted in The Menagerie.
I can think of another good excuse for bringing back Pike/Spock/#1 crew on the Enterprise: Now that the JJ Abrams/Kelvin timeline movies have stalled out and it is doubtful they will fly into Warp ever again, the Enterprise could fly into theatres with this crew. They have a terrific energy! Look at the enthusiasm they have engendered! So if Discovery is going to stay on the small screen, put the Enterprise back into theatres.
@2, Hell yes! Diversity is no replacement for interesting characters. And you can always introduce more.
Mount’s Pike is incredible and it seems a pity to waste him, not to mention Number One. On the other hand Austin’s right, Discovery is not going to want the competition,
And the last thing I’d want to see is more ‘Original’ cameos. Let’s open up the Universe a little.
From what I’ve read, Mounts concerns seem to be about the expansive shooting schedule relative to the number of episodes produced. Season 2 took about 8 months to film. So maybe a limited series or a tighter production would work for him.
@8/Roxana: “And the last thing I’d want to see is more ‘Original’ cameos. Let’s open up the Universe a little.”
Oh yes.
By the way, as far as I am concerned, “Pike’s fixed destiny” is the only reason against a Pike series. I don’t believe in fate, and I don’t want fate to become a fact in Star Trek.
Who said anything about a series? Ninety minute stand-alones, say, one a year would keep the fans happy, and give the actors freedom to undertake other projects.
It just seems a shame to take all the hard work that cast and crew have put into the Enterprise stories…. And just stop.
That’s assuming the Discovery Pike is on the same trajectory established by TOS and not the one in the recent reboot movies. He may well have seen a possible future (with which we’re familiar) rather than a definite end point.
Just a thought (and a workaround if someone got serious about a new series).
What “lack of diversity” ? Just bring ”em back.
The universe will take care of the rest.
I get that it would compete with Disco which is an issue, but they could wrap up the mess next season and go with a Pike series. No competition and the fans would he happier.
Anson Mount’s Capt. Pike has made me re-think my own list if best Starfleet Captains, ESPECIALLY BEST ENTERPRISE CAPTAIN. Sorry Shatner/Kirk, you are now at #2.
CBS…greenlight the series, pay the actors what they are worth, and make it happen PLEASE. I need to justify the $9.99 I pay you each month just to watch Discovery in old reruns of Cagney & Lacey.
I love the idea of a potential series for a few reasons. First, as stated above, it allows us to fill in an already-established gap between Captain Pike and James Kirk. Secondly, since there’s already talk of a Starfleet Academy series, wouldn’t James Kirk be there by now or getting ready to go? That would allow for some great potential stories as well. Just think of some of the characters from TOS. Kirks crazy Irish friend Finnigan, or Gary Mitchell from “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Even if they did it as a limited series, I think it would be amazing. Not to mention the fact that Anson Mount and Ethan Peck are phenomenal. It can also be a showcase for the gradual evolution of the original series technology. We’ve already seen that with the 3D communications gaffe. Personally, I love the idea, and I’d be a much bigger fan of this than the idea of a Picard series. Sorry (not sorry)….
I think they could easily work around the diversity issue by doing a Lower Decks type situation on the Enterprise. The actors already in place are great, but there’s nothing that says they have to be the leads in every single episode. Let’s see what those red shirts are up to.
As for the sexism, that’s an even easier fix. Make the majority of admirals and commodores women and ditch the miniskirts for pants. (They already wore pants in “The Cage” anyway.) Done.
Why not some tv movies?
Just fill out the cast with a diverse crew of capable and interesting characters. Use aliens to explore progressive issues in an intelligent ways without resorting to heavy handed Twitter tactics. Give the opposition the progressive views by giving them conflicts requiring resolution that make them think rather than simply alienating them. This was done in trek series prior. This whole notion that discovery is so woke and we can’t go back now is foolish . Discovery preaches in an echo chamber. They are not influencing culture or opening the oppositions’ minds the way past treks did.
Just shows how awful Discovery is and how unlikeable the characters are. A Pike Spock series sounds better, as long as Discovery showrunners aren’t involved.
A Pike/Spock series would re-affirm the tradition of white men as leads in a Trek series. Let’s be honest. Many are still threatened by the concept of a non-white woman as a Trek lead, let alone a white woman.
Nobody is threatened by a woman or the color of her skin. Also, what tradition is this you speak of? We have had other captains that weren’t white and/or male and they were accepted with enthusiasm by the trek community. People don’t like discovery because it stinks and denying Mount the chance to portray Pike further while robbing the fans if what they want to see because of his skin color isn’t progress.
@21. I would agree with that — if they canceled Discovery and put a Pike series in its place. We can have both, and judging from CBS’s plans we’re going to have several Trek series anyway.
And again, just because it’s a series set aboard Pike’s Enterprise doesn’t mean that Pike has to be the lead character. We could even have a spinoff of that spinoff and follow Number One as she commands her own ship.
Pike Kirk and Number One
Yes please there’s nothing good on regular tv anyway. i’v see everything sifI out there .so tired of reality / diy shows a few star trek shows at once would be awesome. Needless to say if we are paying for it let’s get it done .
A Pike-led spin-off must be done. Anson Mount practically brought life to Disco after Lorca bit the dust. While Anson Mount brought life to this show, Peck brought soul. Seriously, if these 2 actors/characters weren’t introduced, Disco would be boring as hell and doubtful it would have fans clamoring for S3. Now fans want a Pike spin-off and CBS must listen. Petition.org already has 25k sigs asking for this to happen
I grew up watching the original Star Trek and remember Captain Pike was only in the pilot episode and the reason Kirk took his place was because the actor shot himself and the powers that are decided that having another actor play the part would not work. The character appeared in a later episode after his so called accident to allow them to revisit the pilot’s plot. I do not remember the so called Pike years ever happening
#27
That’s not what happened at all. Jeffrey Hunter (Pike) decided not to do more Star Trek after filming the first pilot; he wanted to concentrate on his movie career instead. He did die young but it was the result of an on-set accident.
@16/KR: Kirk was in his first Academy year fifteen years prior to TOS (“Shore Leave”), so he should already be finished by now.
@19/Realklingons: “Discovery preaches in an echo chamber. They are not influencing culture or opening the oppositions’ mind the way past treks did.”
Yes. An echo chamber or a hall of mirrors -Star Trek in conversation with itself instead of the world.
@21/CTrent29: Or someone who isn’t American? I’ve wanted a Chinese female captain for thirty years. But I want likeable characters and good stories more.
@27/Heidi Souster: No, the actor died of an accident in 1969. As far as I know, Kirk took his place because he didn’t want the part.
Firstly, Pike/Spock/#1 has to be made to appease me as an original series fan, to fill in the gap created by the story writers since deciding to bring ‘Enterprise’ into the picture. I always wondered how we got to Kirk and this simply completes the time line.
Secondly, the PC balance has always been on it or close enough. What is PC balance anyway? There are far more differences between people’s on earth than a cast of leads or otherwise can represent. Anyway we get to meet races of vulcans , klingons, romulans, and many many more so the race thing is frankly a misuse of the word. BTW, I’d like to see Q emerge more often.
Lastly, also regarding the PC and gender balance, let’s consider what makes Star Trek so popular. Yes the character’s diversity perhaps a little bit, but by far is the storyline and action. The ‘who’ is largely drowned out by the what, when, where, why, and how that forms the story.
So let’s get on with a spinoff in the future with Michael battling 31, and a one off series for NCC-1701 in the hands of #1 who is clearly the hero, to pass on the ignition keys to Chris Pine as Kirk after Pike’s demise.
@30/Neil Winter: Yeah, the gender balance in Star Trek has pretty much always been the same: two thirds men, one third women (with the exception of the 1980s TOS films and DS9). I haven’t watched DSC season 2, so it may be different there. It would be nice to bring it up to fifty-fifty, but I agree that this isn’t the most important issue.
Personally, I’ve always loved when they showed people from all over the world working together. Not just different races, but different nationalities (or cultural heritages, in Star Trek’s united humanity future). Since we don’t know Number One’s name yet, that could be a great opportunity: For all we know, her ancestors could be Spanish or Israeli.
I wouldn’t want to see Kirk in a new series because I like Shatner Kirk too much. But I’d love to see Number One get her own command.
But most of all I want to see stories about alien societies with problems that mirror our own. That and an imperfect, but benevolent Federation.
Reason Number 1 a spin off shouldn’t happen is, and has been for the last 20 years, this: Star Trek used to be about the future, and now it’s stagnating in nostalgia for the retro-futuristic past. It is a travesty that the last 20 years of Star Trek properties have all been prequels and reboots and alternate universe fill in the gaps of early Star Trek continuity, a century earlier than Next Gen/DS9/Voyager took the show. It’s left a whole galaxy (heh) of potential left unexplored. Every time I think about the fact that DS9 went so far in pushing the limits of the Federation’s idealism and moral superiority, and for 20 years we have seen virtually nothing about the aftermath of the Dominion War, I get riotously angry.
I know, I know, I should just read the expanded universe novels or whatever. But there’s a whole generation of people who grew up not on Kirk and Pike and Spock, but on Picard and Sisko and Janeway, and when do I get some nostalgic indulgent exploration of their alternate adventures, or the implications of the ways they ought to have drastically changed the Federation’s status quo? I guess I’ll have to hang my hopes on the upcoming Picard series, but IIRC that’s going to be more of a characters study than a continuation of the universal story?
@32/JillRedhand: I grew up on TOS and still like it best, but I agree that Star Trek should be about the future. It should tell stories about kind people in a believable, likeable future society, “strange new worlds”, and political/philosophical points that are relevant today. These stories could take place in the 23rd or in the 24th century – both are the future and could be portrayed accordingly.
And neither one will be portrayed accordingly if the writers want to convey nostalgia. At this point, a Picard show is just as nostalgic as the reboot films. Which I hated, by the way. I wouldn’t wish what they did to Kirk on Janeway or any other Starfleet captain. So be careful what you wish for ;-)
I’m not particularly fond of “pushing the limits of the Federation’s idealism”. Sadly, that’s been the only constant except nostalgia in the last decades – the Federation has become increasingly unlikeable. It seems that nobody believes in good societies any more.
@33: I get what you mean about the idealism of the Federation as a good society; I also like the utopian idealism of Next Gen, for example, and the optimistic idea that all of our current society’s problems can be solved. That the future is bright, if you will. But what I appreciated about DS9 pushing back against that is that it theoretically opened up a lot of potential to show the Federation having to work to keep those ideals, instead of just resting on the laurels of “we achieved a technological utopia of equality and progress, job’s done!” I don’t want a series that drives too far down the grimdark Section 31 stuff, or where the Federation turns out to be corrupt or rotten to the core- but I do want to see a series where, in the aftermath of having to make moral compromises and facing the temptation towards authoritarianism, the Federation has to consciously work not to give into those impulses and make sure they’re not straying from the right path.
I haven’t watched Discovery (there’s my salty bias against these prequels), but I’m sure that Discovery has also dealt with those themes- they come up all the time in all the series, of course. I just mean, that by continuing to stay in prequel and alternate universe territory, on a macro scale Star Trek has kind of shied away from showing that justice is always a work in progress that must be continually worked to keep in place, in favor of resting in an easy place of nostalgia where the utopia can just be taken for granted.
@21, that is crap. Mount is an attractive actor who gave a great performance as a likeable character. That is why fans want to see more of him. Finis. End of Story.
I’d love to see an alien captain. How would they run a ship differently than a human? It would take some creative writers to make it work so it wasn’t just a human being in makeup. Even simply things like an alien from a planet with heavier gravity and a longer day along with different lighting. How would the humans adapt? What would diplomacy look like with a non-human captain?
Well, as a non trek-fan (I don’t hate it, it’s just not my favourite universe), I’d prefer more Discovery. There’s already been two three* whole series based around the Enterprise. It’s time to have a more interesting ship, one who’s future isn’t written in stone, and who’s quirks and crew we’re not all intimately familiar with (although Mount as Pike has been brilliant). I honestly groaned everything they stuck Enterprise on the screen.
Trek has always been one of the more interesting universes, it’s time we had some new stories in it, rather than what has felt like like fan-fic at times.
As far as I remember, Saru is captain of Discovery now, so your wish might be coming true for season 3. Also, more Doug Jones is always good.
* I forgot about ‘Enterprise‘ ironically enough.
Regarding reason #2 as justification for there not being a Pike-based series: there’s no reason the cast of such a series would be the same ethnically/gender-wise as “The Cage” because the events depicted in that episode were several years before Discovery Season 2. For all we know, there could now be a female Andorian CMO, a female Tellarite chief engineer, or a female Orion security chief serving aboard the Enterprise. So there’s plenty of wiggle room in filling out the main characters of the crew.
For con reason #3: just throw enough money at Mount for him to overcome his “creative” concerns. :op
@39/GHiller: Orions aren’t Federation members. Apart from that, I agree.
@40/Jana: I was just throwing out random TOS-era aliens as examples but I don’t believe one’s species being a member of the Federation is a requirement for becoming a Starfleet officer. I’ll give you a few examples, Saru on DSC, Nog on DS9, Ro on TNG. Besides, we saw an Orion Starfleet officer (or cadet, anyways) in the film Star Trek (2009): the one James Kirk is sleeping with in the Kelvin-timeline.
@41/GHiller: You’re right.
That scene in the 2009 film was one of the most annoying scenes in a film full of them. He behaves like an asshole, and she loves him for it.
There are two reasons why I desperately want a Pike/Spock-led series. The first is the actors. I did not expect to fall in love with Anson Mount and Ethan Peck, but I did. I want a series about them because these two actors playing these two particular characters spoke to me. I am all for diversity and gender equality — but you don’t know when you’re going to fall in love.
Secondly, a series with Pike, Spock and Number One was Gene Roddenberry’s original vision of what he intended Star Trek to be when he wrote and produced “The Cage” in 1965. Jeffrey Hunter, rest his soul, wasn’t memorable as Christopher Pike. Anson Mount is. And Spock is the most popular character in the Star Trek universe for a *reason*. It’s not about going backward. It’s not about slighting Next Gen or Deep Space Nine. It’s about what fans want to see. Clearly, CBS needs to realize and address the fact that this is what we want to see.
@32 I hate that I agree with you. Mount was amazing as Pike and I’d love to get more of him. But Star Trek needs to look forward instead of back. Though it might be worth it if they use the retro setting as an excuse to do TOS-style heavy-handed SJW episodes. Because why not use nostalgia as an excuse to ditch subtlety?
If Disco season 3 does well maybe we can get another Enterprise mini-series when Disco is off the air.
“The transition to Kirk’s era would be clearer”? Seriously?? Since when is it the task of “Discovery” to connect to “TOS”? I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life?
I don’t need a series about Pike/Spock on the Enterprise. I don’t need a 4th series set aboard a ship called the Enterprise. Nor do I need a series to connect to TOS. I’m not one of those fans who worshipped “His Blandness, Christopher Pike.
the reboot of the Kirk era star trek was well done, I welcome this series![.](//s04.flagcounter.com/mini/Jkzv/bg_FFFFFF/txt_CCCCCC/border_DBDBDB/flags_0/" alt="Free counters!" border="0"></a>)
I never realized that so many Trek fans nearly worshipped Christopher Pike for reinforcing (in their eyes) the race and gender hierarchy in the Trek fandom for white males.
@44/noblehunter: A series that does TOS-style SJW episodes would be great, heavy-handed or otherwise.
@47/Lee Jones: I haven’t seen anyone give this particular reason for liking Pike.
Would you be okay with a Number One series?
@47, that is such a sad and reductive way to look at a great character and the fine actor who plays him.
I thought about the lack of diversity on Pike’s Enterprise as well, as seen in “The Cage”. I figure since “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2” is three years after “The Cage”, some of those parts seen in the unaired pilot could be changed, rewritten, or written in altogether.
We already had an excellent character in former Enterprise Security Chief Commander Nhan, who left Enterprise to join Discovery full-time, and others could be added on. We don’t know who Pike’s Communications Officer was, and we haven’t seen the Chief Engineer. Honestly, the only Enterprise officers from “The Cage” who made a lasting impression were Pike, Number One, Spock, and Yeoman Colt. José Tyler was fine; he could have transferred out; Doctor Boyce could have retired. So that opens up the CMO and the navigator. The only challenge would be casting J.M. Colt with someone as charming as Laurel Goodwin; they nailed the casting of Pike, Number One, and Spock, and Melissa George was a decent Vina, so I’m confident they could.
Just as with Enterprise herself, a little updating could really sell a Pike-led series/miniseries/Short Treks/whatever.
Kirk would already be in Starfleet and graduated from the academy at the time of these events. It might be fun to have “cameos” with him in a Pike series.
@50 –
INTERVIEW: Diving Into STAR TREK: DISCOVERY’s Finale with Season 3 Co-Showrunner Michelle Paradise
TREKCORE: There was an actor credited as ‘Yeoman Colt’ in Part 1, a character from “The Cage” – the original episode with Captain Pike – but she wasn’t called out by name that we noticed. Was she in a scene that ended up being cut, or…
PARADISE: No, she was one of the Enterprise bridge crew. We had Lt. Mann, Lt. Nicola, Lt. Amin, and Yeoman Colt.
TREKCORE: Was she the alien character with the spiked face? In the original pilot, she was a human…
PARADISE: Yes, I believe that was her. Amin was at the helm, Mann and Nicola was a bit further back, so yes, that would have been Yeoman Colt.
Lieutenants Mann, Nicola, Amin… and a new look for Yeoman Colt.
http://trekcore.com/blog/2019/04/interview-star-trek-discovery-season-finale-michelle-paradise/
@52, That’s J.M. Colt? Wow. Assuming Michelle Paradise wasn’t mistaken, we need a Short Treks episode just to explain that.
53. DanteHopkins – Nope, no explanation needed. Later canon overwrites earlier. In the “Prime” universe Colt has always looked like that.
@52/kkozoriz: Unrelated observation: Across species, all three women twist their mouth the same way. The only one with a natural facial expression is the man.
“Strange New Worlds” was announced today, starring Mount, Peck, and Romijn.