The new Star Trek series would make Gene Roddenberry proud!

[LongTomH]

I've had my doubts about the newest entry in the Star Trek franchise; but, Wired magazine states: The New Star Trek Series Finally Realizes Gene Roddenberry's Ultimate Vision:

WE FINALLY KNOW who will be taking the lead in Star Trek: Discovery, the first new Trek TV series in over a decade, when it launches on CBS’ streaming platform next May: Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Sasha on The Walking Dead. While she won’t be a captain, Entertainment Weekly reports, she’ll be playing Rainsford, a lieutenant commander “with caveats,” aboard the U.S.S. Discovery.

Regardless of insignia, Martin-Green’s casting in Star Trek: Discovery fulfills a long held ambition on the part of the show’s original showrunner. Bryan Fuller, who has since departed from the show, has said for years that he wants an African-American woman to play the lead in his Star Trek project. But more importantly, this news also brings Discovery closer to living up to the ideals that Star Trek always tried to live up to.

From its beginnings more than 50 years ago, Star Trek has always been about humanism. Creator Gene Roddenberry was famously a secular humanist himself, and he spoke eloquently about wanting to portray a future in which people use science to solve our own problems. That commitment to humanism is why Captain Kirk is always meeting gods—and refusing to worship them—in the Original Series. And it’s why Captain Picard, in The Next Generation, tells the all-powerful Q that humanity has left behind our old bloodlust. Picard would always rather talk than fight.

It’s all too easy to see Star Trek‘s humanism as merely a matter of embracing science and rejecting barbarism—but that’s missing what makes Trek‘s version of humanism so powerful. Diversity was always a key part of Star Trek‘s vision of a better future for humanity. In the ideal world of the 24th century, every human being has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential, either in the sciences or elsewhere; anything less doesn’t represent real progress.

The purest expression of this comes towards the end of the first season of Star Trek: TNG season one, in the episode “The Neutral Zone.” Talking to a man who’s been frozen for hundreds of years, Picard explains that the purpose of life in a post-scarcity world is “to improve yourself.” And TNG, in particular, is full of moments where the improvement of the individual is shown to be the most important value of all—even if it means an awful lot of Riker’s trombone-playing and Data’s various artistic endeavors..

I know Star Trek's optimism is not popular these days. Perhaps we could even say it's 'politically incorrect;' but. as an old Liberal, I remember a day when optimism was one of the things that defined liberalism.

[Yavin4]

1. Cue the online outrage from the Alt.Right

Even though Gene clearly (and accurately) predicted a cultural/gender diversity future.

[Warpy]

5. They can all go fuck themselves

Does anybody think those inbred losers are Trekkies? Most of them were probably in diapers when Grandpaw shot the TV out after the first TV interracial kiss on the first series and nobody's had the guts to turn the show on since.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. Yup.

[X_Digger]

2. Not a fan of this latest star trek being available only for extra $$

Besides, Sisko did it better.

[wcmagumba]

4. Agree...

CBS and their paywall for access seems at odds with the Star Trek themes...even with the monthly paid access the lowest price plan includes "limited" commercials.

[Achilleaze]

8. CBS will choke off lots of viewers who might otherwise get a clue or two

People will have to choose to raise their TV budgets, some of which are over a $100 a month. Some will spend the extra money of course, but many will not - especially those shrunken, fearful souls who think women and minorities should be "kept in their place."

[Coventina]

10. This is the first I've heard of this. Well, guess I won't be seeing it.

Bummer!

[LanternWaste]

11. Sisko did indeed, play a female role much better.

Sisko did indeed, play a female role which no one has yet to see so much better than the current female playing the female role no one has yet to see...

[Buckeye_Democrat]

3. Goodbye, Sasha.

There must not be a dumpster available for you to hide under in The Walking Dead.

Hello, better series for Sonequa Martin-Green!

[Javaman]

9. her death has been telegraphed for a while now.

It's just a matter of time.

[JI7]

6. This is why many people voted for Trump

for those who want to know how to win over these people. the truth is they get upset at things like this. it doens't matter that the people who created the shows, books etc wanted it to be that way.

they think it belongs to white people.

in 2012 when gabby douglas won the gold medal in the olympics many americans were claiming she got it unfairly. even the people from the countries where her opponents lose said Gabby DID win. so you had foreigners defending the black american while many white americans had a hard time giving credit to her and see it as a black girl winning something unfairly over a white non american.