‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Is Back This Sunday and We’ve got the Season 1 Recap Ready for You

What is Star Trek? It’s a question that has been tossed around the corners of the internet since the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in September. The question invariably invites comparison between Discovery and what its detractors consider “real”: Star Trek: The Original Series, or the Next Generation, or more recently, The Orville. Conversations on discussion boards focus on what Discovery isn’t—how it falls short of the ethos of Gene Roddenberry’s utopian vision or how it fails at the sense of exploration and wonder that space travel in the Federation is supposed to be. But let’s step away from the comparisons and answer the question. Star Trek is a franchise that has punched above its weight class for over fifty years. The various television series have been canceled three times, forced into alternative means of distribution (first-run syndication for TNG and DS9, an online streaming service for Discovery) and propped up as a flagship series for a network which would eventually fold. Star Trek has at least as many terrible episodes as great ones—for every “In the Pale Moonlight” and “Year of Hell” there is a “Sub Rosa” and “And the Children Shall Lead.” The movies have performed moderately well, both in terms of critical reception and the box office. Yet Star Trek’s track record of greatness interspersed with mediocrity doesn’t begin to encompass the effect it has had on the world. “Beam me up, Scotty” is a phrase that people all over the globe instantly recognize. Gener…