Women of Trek Finally Front and Center in First Look at Star Trek: Discovery

While the road to Star Trek: Discovery has been tumultuous to say the least, we’re still excited for many reasons. First, because we’re Trekkies, and any new Trek is reason for celebration, but also because this particular installment puts not only women, but women of color front and center. I mean, just look at that majesty above. This is the first official image the production has released, the first impression the show wants to make, and it is beautiful.

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we now have this awesome first photo of Michelle Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou of the Starship Shenzhou and Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham of the Discovery. There’s a lot to love about this image.

I love the desert attire that is nonetheless decked out with a tricorder and a communicator. More often than not, away teams on Star Trek shows tend to visit planets in their standard uniforms (budgets, I know) rather than altering their clothing and gear to be planet-appropriate except in rare instances. It’s cool to see that desert planet gear this intricate is being worn over what I assume are Federation uniforms. I also love that there’s no Federation emblems on this stuff. Don’t gotta put your logo on everything, Federation, damn.

Then again, this series takes place before Kirk went on his “five-year” mission. Maybe the Federation gets more concerned about branding after this?

Something else to love is that we have two different officers from two different ships in a shot and, I assume, working together. I love that this is shaping up to be a show that’s not limited to only one crew. Obviously the show is called Star Trek: Discovery, so a lot of the action will likely involve that ship. However, if this is the first image the production is releasing (and you wouldn’t put someone of Michelle Yeoh’s caliber in a throwaway, one-off role), that makes it seem like this type of team-up is going to be standard on the show.

Lastly, let’s get back to the fact that we have TWO WOMEN OF COLOR BEING PRESENTED AS A STAR TREK SHOW’S FIRST IMPRESSION. That’s huge. And yes, Jason Isaacs is playing Captain Lorca of the Discovery, but the show isn’t about him. It’s about Michael Burnham. It’s all about Sonequa Martin-Green. And from the looks of things here, it’s all about how she teams up with Michelle Yeoh’s Captain Georgiou to get shit done.

Of course, who knows what’s going on around the frame. This is meant to be a teaser image after all. There could be fifty white dudes in Starfleet uniforms surrounding them here. But to paraphrase Voyager’s Captain Janeway for a second: in the absence of evidence to the contrary, I choose to believe these women are running this show.

(via SyFy Wire, image: Dalia Naber/CBS)

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