We have taken a closer look at the newly released teaser for Star Trek: Short Treks. We can now put it in context with what we have been learned about Short Treks over the last couple of months. The episodes are short, the teaser is short and so this analysis is going to be short and contains speculation that may turn out to be POSSIBLE SPOILERS.

A Short history on Short Treks

First announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July, executive producer Alex Kurtzman described Star Trek: Short Treks as short films that can be released in 2018 while they spend the time and effort required to finish the second season of Discovery, which will debut in early 2019. CBS says that Short Treks are an “opportunity for fans to dive deeper into key themes and characters that fit into Star Trek: Discovery and the expanding “Star Trek” universe.”

While it doesn’t appear that Anthony Rapp will be featured in any of the Short Treks the Stamets actor did give his impressions of the mini-episodes when speaking to Trekmovie at Star Trek Las Vegas, saying they are “a great new way to explore the world and the characters” and drawing a culinary analogy on how they are “little treats before the meal,” with the meal being the second season. Rapp also noted these mini-episodes are not being short-changed in terms of effort, saying “Even though they are short, they are still a lot of work and take a lot of resources.”

Production on the Short Treks has taken place overlapping with the second season and utilizing the same sets in Toronto. Each one takes significantly less time to shoot than a full episode of Discovery, for example, “Calypso” was shot in three days. It appears they were shot in the same order they are to be released, with the first two (“Runaway” and “Calypso”) being filmed prior to San Diego Comic-Con in July. The third (“The Brightest Star”) was likely shot in August and the final one (“The Escape Artist”) was in production just last weekend. The teaser released today appears to only have new footage from the first two episodes, although the composite teaser image has shots from all four.

Runaway – October 4

Official synopsis

On board the U.S.S. Discovery, Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) encounters an unexpected visitor in need of help. However, this unlikely pair may have more in common than meets the eye.

Background and analysis

At Comic-Con it was said that this mini-episode will feature Tilly form a “friendship with an unlikely partner.” Today’s teaser featured a shot of this “unexpected visitor,” who appears to be some new kind of alien. Since Tilly is a commissioned ensign, her short takes places some time after the Season 1 finale.

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A mysterious moment

We also see a close up on an alien hand. It looks to be the hand of the alien Tilly finds in “Runaway,” it appears to be grasping a wall or console on a Starfleet ship.

The hand also appears ghostly, so the alien in question may be out of phase, or perhaps it’s a dream-like flashback. There is also a brief moment that is easy to miss but when the hand brushes by a crack on the wall or console, there is a spark of light at the point of contact.

Calypso – November 8

Official synopsis

After waking up in an unfamiliar sickbay, Craft (Aldis Hodge) finds himself on board a deserted ship, and his only companion and hope for survival is an A.I. computer interface.

Background and analysis

This episode is the only one of the Short Treks to focus on a new character. It was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, who shared a moment geeking out in the Captain’s chair while on set. Chabon is also one of the executive producers on the new Picard series, and so it is possible this episode is tied more to that “expanded universe” CBS refers to in their official press release.

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The Brightest Star – December 6

Official synopsis

Before he was the first Kelpien to join Starfleet, Saru (Doug Jones) lived a simple life on his home planet of Kaminar with his father and sister. Young Saru, full of ingenuity and a level of curiosity uncommon among his people, yearns to find out what lies beyond his village, leading him on an unexpected path.

Background and analysis

At Comic-Con it was revealed that the second season of Discovery will feature an episode with a visit to Saru’s homeworld. This Short Treks episode looks to be set before the first season and may be a sort of prequel to the Kelpien-focused episode in season two. “The Brightest Star” will be the first time we see Kaminar and may be our first look at a female Kelpien (if all the Kelpiens seen in the Mirror Universe were males like Saru).

Speaking to TrekMovie at Comic-Con, Doug Jones described how both the season two Kelpien episode and this mini-episode will explore Saru’s history, saying: “questions will be answered as to why am I the only Kelpien who ever joined Starfleet and how did that happen. That is going to be addressed. Between that regular episode and the mini-episode, I am going to be doing as well.”

The Escape Artist – January 3

Official synopsis

Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson), back to his old tricks of stealing and double-dealing, finds himself in a precarious position aboard a hostile ship – just in time to try out his latest con.

Background and analysis

As this episode only started shooting last weekend there is no new footage in the trailer, with the title card re-using footage from the fifth episode of Star Trek: Discovery titled “Choose Your Pain.” This may just be a convenient way to show Mudd behind bars. However, if it’s indeed a hint, then this mini-episode may show how Mudd got out of the Klingon prison ship. Since he later appears free in episode seven “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” to torment the crew of the USS Discovery in a time loop.

We also know thanks to Wilson’s tweet over the weekend that the episode will feature some Orions, known to be just as shady – if not more so – than Mudd himself. The episode is written by Rick and Morty’s Mike McMahan so we should expect a different tone than usual for Discovery. Wilson has described his mini-episode as “funny” and “weird” and has also noted it features “twists and turns.”

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Writer’s Room Wears Short Shorts

After the release of the teaser this morning, the official Star Trek writers room Twitter account shared their take on Star Trek getting into shorts.

From the ShortTreks production office: pic.twitter.com/xrSFDdNmjk — Star Trek Writers (@StarTrekRoom) September 20, 2018

TrekMovie will review the Short Treks as they become available each month. Be sure to check back after October 4 for our review. Click the links to see all of the Star Trek: Short Treks and Star Trek: Discovery news and articles here at TrekMovie.