Friday 28 September 2018

Short Treks - But Not For the UK?


So how are the fans in the UK going to get their next fix of Discovery?

News from the CBS fold is that the four 15 minute “Short Treks” will not be landing on Netflix leaving followers of the show to miss out on these tasters to keep us engaged until season two drops in 2019.

Focusing on Tilly, Saru, Mudd and Craft, the four bite size instalments will be released once a month giving new insights into each character. 

Now whether or not these four pieces will dovetail into the second season I don’t know but if they do and Netflix isn’t going to carry them then that means the UK - and potentially every territory outside the US - won’t be getting the full Discovery experience. 

Starting just next week we will have Runaway featuring Tilly encountering a mysterious visitor on the Discovery. The trailer released today seems to show a cloaked alien female character trashing the mess hall while Tilly ducks for cover with some sort of red goop also involved. The brief 26 seconds of footage doesn't give much to go on apart from the mess hall carnage but at least it means this isn't just a big media conspiracy and it's really going to land....! 

Then it's Calypso on November 8th centering on Craft played by Aldis Hodge. Now this is a totally new character and the only one of the four Short Treks that does so. We will find Craft awakening in an unfamiliar sickbay, trying to survive with only an AI interface for company. 

Certainly the much-advertised Saru short has been widely anticipated since it will give more information on the first officer’s homeworld as well as just who or what the predator species that stalks the Kelpiens is. Entitled The Brightest Star it will take us back to Saru's early life and explain the path that he has taken. This will air December 6th with the final piece, The Escape Artist premiering January 3rd 2019 and centering on Harry Mudd attempting another con in a very dangerous place. I would think that will be a month before season two hits Netflix given the way these have been planted going forward.

I think these little teasers are a great addition to the franchise to build up to the next season of stories but will removing them from UK access prove to be a bad move? I doubt that it will stop fans from finding and downloading them via that wonderful thing called the "internet" because where there's a will there's a way but does holding it back suggest something else?

Might this be a taster to see how Star Trek is accessed by fans when it isn't on Netflix with the potential thought that the now in early production Picard series won't be heading to the online service? 

It's just a random thought that popped into my head today but might this be a test of the waters to see if there might be other ways to more successfully market Star Trek's newest shows overseas that will profit CBS more directly?

I'll leave that one right there for now...

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