11 Star Trek Things That Only Appear In Discovery
Star Trek: Discovery revolutionized the Star Trek franchise by introducing new concepts and characters unique to the series. Starring Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham, the show successfully relaunched the Star Trek franchise on television in 2017, 12 years after the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise. Discovery led the way for the resurgence of Star Trek on Paramount+ and is a hub of innovation and progress, including more LGBTQIA+ representation than previous Star Trek shows.
Originally planned as an anthology series, Discovery creator Bryan Fuller intended for the show to rotate cast and settings every season. However, after he left due to creative differences, Star Trek: Discovery made history by centering on Michael Burnham, the first Black female Star Trek series lead and Discovery’s central hero. At the end of season 2, the show made another unprecedented move by jumping from the mid-23rd century era to the 32nd century, placing Burnham and her starship at the farthest point in the Star Trek timeline.
Here are 11 more things that can only be seen in Star Trek: Discovery.
11. Kelpiens – An agrarian, pre-warp civilization, the fearful Kelpiens were invaded by the Ba’ul, who subjugated the planet Kaminar for centuries. However, when the USS Discovery’s Commander Saru underwent a biological process called Vahar’ai, he learned Kelpiens were meant to shed their fear. Saru and the Discovery liberated Kaminar from the Ba’ul, and the Kelpiens rapidly evolved into a technologically advanced, spacefaring race after their society embraced Vahar’ai. Kelpiens haven’t appeared in another Star Trek series besides Discovery.
10. The Spore Drive – The most brilliant technological innovation of Star Trek: Discovery is the displacement-activated spore hub drive. The spore drive allows the USS Discovery to enter Black Alert and instantaneously jump to a destination by traveling on the mycelial network. The spore drive was immediately controversial for violating Star Trek canon by existing in the mid-23rd century. In the 32nd century, however, the spore drive is a boon to a Starfleet rebuilding from The Burn. The USS Discovery is still the only ship in Star Trek with a reliably operational spore drive.
9. Discovery’s Klingons – Star Trek: Discovery season 1 reinvented the Klingons to be more animalistic and alien. Klingon identity was a central theme of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 as the warrior race went to war with the United Federation of Planets. Discovery’s version of the Klingons haven’t been seen since season 2.
8. Vulcan & Romulan Unification – After arriving in the 32nd century, Commander Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery learned that Ambassador Spock’s dream of the unification of Vulcans and Romulans had come true. The shared planet was renamed Ni’Var, and its inhabitants include Vulcans and Romulans, as well as the Qowat Milat sect of Romulan warrior nuns introduced in Star Trek: Picard.
7. Zora – Zora is the USS Discovery’s computer that became fused with 100,000 years of galactic data from the Sphere in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. The result was Zora, who evolved into a female persona and cares for the USS Discovery’s crew. Zora was made into a member of Starfleet with the rank of Specialist in Star Trek: Discovery season 4.
6. Discovery’s Starfleet Uniforms – Star Trek: Discovery introduced a completely new, monochromatic blue Starfleet uniform in season 1. The uniform style lasted into season 3 when the USS Discovery was fully integrated into the 32nd-century Starfleet. The uniform style changed to a monochromatic gray design at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 3 before the series gave Starfleet color-coded uniforms in season 4.
5. Programmable Matter – Programmable matter is a substance made of nanomolecules that can redistribute and redesign itself into pre-programmed shapes. From starship control interfaces to the miraculously shape-shifting starship belonging to Cleveland Booker, programmable matter is an eye-popping innovation unique to Star Trek: Discovery.
4. 32nd Century Starfleet Ship Designs – Starfleet ship design is radically different in Star Trek: Discovery’s 32nd century. The Starfleet of the distant future embraces flattened, sleeker shapes and organic curves, as well as unusual upgrades like detached nacelles.
3. The Burn – The Burn shattered the Federation by causing every dilithium-powered warp-capable drive in the galaxy to simultaneously explode in the 31st century. Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery ultimately learned the cause of The Burn and brought warp travel back to the Federation in Star Trek: Discovery season 3.
2. The Federation President as a Recurring Character – President Laira Rillak is a hybrid of human, Cardassian, and Bajoran, and she takes a hands-on approach to governing the Federation. During the Dark Matter Anomaly crisis of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Rillak took a special interest in Captain Burnham’s investigation of the DMA.
1. Species 10-C – Star Trek: Discovery season 4 built towards Captain Burnham leading the USS Discovery to cross the Galactic Barrier to find the creators of the Dark Matter Anomaly. In a brand new galaxy, the Discovery made First Contact with Species 10-C, a true extraterrestrial complete with an emotion-based language Discovery’s crew had to decipher and learn.
Star Trek: Discovery has brought a host of groundbreaking concepts and characters to the Star Trek universe. The show’s innovation and progress continue to push the boundaries of the franchise, and fans eagerly await the premiere of Star Trek Discovery season 5 in 2024 on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Discovery introduced several concepts and characters that have remained unique to the series starring Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham. Star Trek: Discovery successfully relaunched the Star Trek franchise on television in 2017, 12 years after the cancelation of Star Trek: Enterprise. Discovery led the way for the remarkable renaissance of Star Trek on Paramount+ and the series is a constant hub of innovation and progress, including more LGBTQIA+ representation than Star Trek had boasted previously.
Amazingly, Star Trek: Discovery was originally planned as an anthology series. Before he left due to creative differences, Discovery creator Bryan Fuller intended for the show to rotate cast and settings every season. Instead, Star Trek: Discovery made history differently by not centering on the Captain of a starship but rather making Michael Burnham the first Black female Star Trek series lead and Discovery‘s central hero. At the end of season 2, Star Trek: Discovery made another unprecedented move by jumping from its original mid-23rd century era to the 32nd century so that the voyages of Burnham and her eponymous starship now take place at the farthest point in the Star Trek timeline. Here are 11 more things that can only be seen in Star Trek: Discovery.
11 Kelpiens
Kelpiens are one of the first new alien species introduced by Star Trek: Discovery. An agrarian, pre-warp civilization, the fearful Kelpiens were invaded by the Ba’ul, who subjugated the planet Kaminar for centuries. However, when the USS Discovery’s Commander Saru (Doug Jones), underwent a biological process called Vahar’ai, he learned Kelpiens were meant to shed their fear. Saru and the Discovery liberated Kaminar from the Ba’ul, and the Kelpiens rapidly evolved into a technologically advanced, spacefaring race after their society embraced Vahar’ai. In the 32nd century, Kaminar is now peacefully shared by the Kelpiens and the Ba’ul. However, Kelpiens haven’t appeared in another Star Trek series besides Discovery.
10 The Spore Drive
Star Trek: Discovery‘s most brilliant technological innovation is the displacement-activated spore hub drive. The spore drive allows the USS Discovery to enter Black Alert and instantaneously jump to a destination by traveling on the mycelial network. Other Star Trek shows had introduced faster warp drives, but the spore drive was a true leap forward. However, the spore drive was immediately controversial for existing in the mid-23rd century, which violated Star Trek canon. In the 32nd century, however, the spore drive is a boon to a Starfleet rebuilding from The Burn. The USS Discovery is still the only ship in Star Trek with a reliably operational spore drive.
9 Discovery’s Klingons
Star Trek: Discovery season 1 reinvented the Klingons to be more animalistic and… alien. Klingon identity was a central theme of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 as the warrior race went to war with the United Federation of Planets. Discovery‘s Klingons were a flashpoint of fan ire that led to the Klingons not being featured in Star Trek for several years. Discovery‘s version of the Klingons haven’t been seen since season 2, and when the Klingons made their return in Star Trek: Strange New Worldsthey more closely resembled their more popular Star Trek: The Next Generation design.
8 Vulcan & Romulan Unification
The unification of Vulcans and Romulans, who separated thousands of years ago, was the dream Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) devoted his life to in the 24th century. After arriving in the 32nd century, Commander Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery learned Spock’s dream had come true. After the Romulan homeworld was destroyed by a 24th-century supernova, the Romulans returned to their original homeworld. The shared planet was renamed Ni’Var, and its inhabitants include Vulcans and Romulans, as well as the Qowat Milat sect of Romulan warrior nuns introduced in Star Trek: Picard. Star Trek: Discovery is the only show where Vulcans and Romulans now live side-by-side.
7 Zora
Computers have always had A.I. and voices in Star Trek, but Star Trek: Discovery innovated by creating the first fully-sentient starship computer. Introduced in the Star Trek: Short Treks episode “Calypso,” Zora (Annabelle Wallis) is the USS Discovery’s computer that became fused with 100,000 years of galactic data from the Sphere in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. The result was Zora, who evolved into a female persona and cares for the USS Discovery’s crew. Zora was made into a member of Starfleet with the rank of Specialist in Star Trek: Discovery season 4.
6 Discovery’s Starfleet Uniforms
Starfleet uniforms have evolved throughout the decades, but Star Trek: Discovery introduced a completely new, monochromatic blue Starfleet uniform in season 1. This uniform style lasted into season 3 when the USS Discovery was fully integrated into the 32nd-century Starfleet. The uniform style changed to a monochromatic gray design at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 3 before the series gave Starfleet color-coded uniforms in season 4. Now, every new Star Trek series has Starfleet uniforms specifically designed for their shows, but Star Trek: Discovery started this ongoing fashion trend.
5 Programmable Matter
Programmable matter is another leap forward for Star Trek technology introduced by Star Trek: Discovery. Existing only in 32nd-century Star Trek, programmable matter is a substance made of nanomolecules that can redistribute and redesign itself into pre-programmed shapes. From starship control interfaces to the miraculously shape-shifting starship belonging to Cleveland Booker (David Ajala), programmable matter is an eye-popping innovation unique to Star Trek: Discovery.
4 32nd Century Starfleet Ship Designs
Starfleet ship design is radically different in Star Trek: Discovery‘s 32nd century. The Starfleet of the distant future embraces flattened, sleeker shapes and organic curves, as well as unusual upgrades like detached nacelles. Federation headquarters is also an oddly shaped space station formerly hidden by a cloaking device. The USS Discovery of the 23rd century was an outmoded relic when it arrived in 3189, and Michael Burnham’s starship was refitted stem to stern with programmable matter, detached nacelles, an upgraded spore drive interface, and renamed the USS Discovery-A.
3 The Burn
The United Federation has faced all manner of cosmic calamities in Star Trek, but The Burn succeeded where the Borg, the Klingons, and the Romulans failed: it shattered the Federation. In the 31st century, every dilithium-powered warp capable drive in the galaxy simultaneously exploded in a catastrophe called The Burn. Without warp drive, the Federation collapsed, and the galaxy embraced isolationism. Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery ultimately learned the cause of The Burn and brought warp travel back to the Federation in Star Trek: Discovery season 3, but the 32nd century Federation continues to feel the after-effects and is rebuilding from the unimaginable damage of The Burn.
2 The Federation President As A Recurring Character
Star Trek has introduced several characters as President of the United Federation of Planets, but they were usually guest appearances. Star Trek: Discovery season 4 broke the mold by making the Federation President not only a recurring character but an impactful one. President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) is a hybrid of human, Cardassian, and Bajoran, and she takes a hands-on approach to governing the Federation. During the Dark Matter Anomaly crisis of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Rillak took a special interest in Captain Burnham’s investigation of the DMA. Rillak and Burnham worked uneasily together, but the unwelcome presence of the President aboard the USS Discovery did positively influence Burnham and made her a better leader so that Rillak and Burnham emerged as respectful allies.
1 Species 10-C
Star Trek: Discovery season 4 built towards Captain Burnham leading the USS Discovery to cross the Galactic Barrier to find the creators of the Dark Matter Anomaly. In a brand new galaxy, the Discovery made First Contact with Species 10-C. With Species 10-C, Discovery eschewed the traditional Star Trek humanoid aliens to create a true extraterrestrial complete with an emotion-based language Discovery’s crew had to decipher and learn. Nothing quite like Species 10-C has been seen in Star Trek before, and they’re yet another innovation to the franchise unique to Star Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek Discovery season 5 premieres in 2024 on Paramount+.
