In 2017, CBS decided that following the relative box office disappointment of the preceding year’s theatrical effort “Star Trek: Beyond,” then was the perfect time to bring the half-century-strong uber-franchise back onto small screens via their Paramount+ precursor CBS All Access, operating with the desire to launch something analogous to the interconnected media of Marvel’s MCU. The result, spearheaded by the King of Mixed Results Alex Kurtzman and dubbed the Star Trek Universe, would officially launch with “Star Trek: Discovery,” a prequel series set ten years before the events of “Star Trek: The Original Series” and focusing on Starfleet Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), as she commandeers the USS Discovery in an effort to end a war with the Klingons, travel both through time as well as parallel universes and boldly go…you know the rest.
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Ever since ‘Discovery,’ CBS has proceeded to ship out additional programs geared toward both older audiences (“Star Trek: Picard,” “Star Trek: Short Treks,” “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”) and even the youth of today (“Lower Decks,” “Star Trek: Prodigy”). With additional shows in the works, as this article is assembled, CBS has proclaimed “Make it so” to three full-length films set within the STU, which barely rolls off the tongue in acronym form. “Star Trek: Section 31” is the first such endeavor, focusing on a pivotal character originating on ‘Discovery’ and serving to add additional pages to the already-dense lore holding the franchise together; it’s an interesting effort and undeniably looks terrific, with nary a poor performance to be found but were one to enter with limited knowledge of all that’s come before, even if to focus on the half-dozen or so shows since merely 2017, no amount of close attention paid is likely to convert the non-fans or even help that same audience understand what exactly may be happening.
As seen in the second season of ‘Discovery,’ a time jump relocated the ship’s crew into the future, now situated between the events of “The Original Series” and “The Next Generation,” where an alternate version of the USS Shenzhou captain/Burnham mentor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) has arrived from an alternate universe where, in contrast to the benevolent Georgiou of ours, this variant carries with her an overflowing cargo of past sins, something seen in the traitorous opening scenes and which will eventually lead Section 31 agent Alok (Omari Hardwick) to recruit Georgiou for…something. A mission, perhaps? Section 31, for those outside the know, is a piece of Star Trek history originating as far back as the landmark ’90s series “Deep Space Nine,” a secret division of Starfleet meant to carry out covert operations much like the IMF might relate to the FBI. However, it plays out like the recruitment scenes from any classic heist outing à la “Ocean’s Eleven” as a ragtag group of Section 31 team members soon assemble to assist Georgiou. Aside from Alok, there’s Starfleet representative Rachel (Kacey Rohl), shapeshifter Quasi (Sam Richardson), rageful Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), the Krang-esque Zeph (Robert Kazinsky), and Melle (Humberly Gonzalez), all of whom are after a MacGuffin and some just may or may not be who they seem. Don’t expect strange new worlds, though new civilizations exist, usually inhabiting seedy intergalactic taverns as seen in the film’s first of many shootouts.
From here, things unfold as expected, though Richardson’s casual humor is toned down to a degree, instead opting for scene after scene of Hardwick and Yeoh exchanging endless lines of barb-laden dialogue. The betrayal Georgiou committed plays out in the film’s prologue, a weight carried and referenced throughout but ultimately rendered lost amongst another line uttered or shouted seemingly every other second, with a frenetic editing job to suggest keeping the pace high but only offering confusion in the process. It’s a clear alternative to the adventure of the core universe from which it spawned. Still, by existing too off-base, it feels all the more like an outcast, and certainly not in the way director Olatunde Osunsanmi and writer Craig Sweeny, both veterans of ‘Discovery,’ intended.
It’s a respectable experiment, akin to a particular sister franchise’s “The Acolyte” or “Skeleton Crew.” Still, it lacks the connective tissue to engage its audience in stark contrast to how, say, Nicholas Meyer or even J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot so effortlessly pulled off such a feat. No one can fault the cast for giving it what might be seen as a decent shot, but if “Star Trek: Section 31” leaves you with one thing, it’s that the final frontier, which is future spinoffs, might be best left alone. [C-]
