Naked aliens? Foul-mouthed Starfleet officers? Theoretically, you could be seeing and hearing such things in the online-only shows that’ll be part of CBS’ “Star Trek” reboot.
That’s the word from CBS Interactive CEO Jim Lanzone, who discussed what’s coming up on CBS All Access with Recode Media’s Peter Kafka. The online versions of “Star Trek” will be part of a $6-a-month subscription package.
“Star Trek: Discovery,” due to make its debut on CBS next May, takes place on a timeline that’s set 10 years before the events of the original series (which aired 50 years ago). The show will air first on television, where it’ll have to comply with broadcast standards. But then the series will move to CBS All Access, where the standards could be, um, looser.
“Naked aliens, or humans?” Kafka asked.
“Theoretically.”
“And swearing?”
“Whatever future swearing, 300 years in the future, would be.”
“I’m much more excited about ‘Star Trek’ now than I thought I was.”
Truth be told, titillation has been part of the “Star Trek” experience from the beginning. Back in the 1960s, it was all about concealing artfully rather than letting it all hang out. Examples range from Yeoman Rand’s miniskirt to Lt. Uhura’s costume in “Mirror, Mirror” to Ricardo Montalban’s plunging neckline in “Space Seed.”
These and other costumes created by series mastermind Gene Roddenberry and designer William Ware Theiss inspired an axiom known as the Theiss Titillation Theory: “The sexiness of an outfit is directly proportional to the possibility that a vital piece of it might fall off.”
As for swearing, the “Battlestar Galactica” reboot on the SyFy channel revolutionized that field by having its characters use “frak” and “frakking” as the f-words of choice.
What would you nominate as a colorful curse word for the “Star Trek” reboot? I’d vote for “shat,” but I’m afraid the original Captain Kirk would throw me out the airlock.
Lanzone’s comments about “Star Trek” start at about the 20:30 mark in Recode Media’s podcast. And for a trip down the 23th century’s memory lane, stop by the “Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds” exhibit at Seattle’s EMP Museum.
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