In a new series of mini-interviews this week, CBS has profiled five of the frequently-seen cast members of the Star Trek: Discovery bridge crew you are likely to have noticed during the first half of the season.

There’s nothing new revealed about the characters they play — save for confirmation of name spelling and Starfleet ranks — these little profiles do come with nice set photos of each cast member along with some anecdotes from each actors’ time on the set.

A favorite moment from the set: One of the many laughing fits we all fell into in between takes. I can’t remember who set us off this particular time—maybe one of Doug [Jones’] dance sequences as Saru or the amazing poses he’d strike across the Captain’s chair—but I’d end up laughing so hard, I’d have to press my fingers to the edges of my lips, trying even harder not to laugh (which always makes it worse!) so the prosthetic wouldn’t rip or fall off! I couldn’t plug my ears because of the helmet, so I couldn’t tune out everyone else laughing their heads off. Eventually I had to walk away and meditate through the giggle fits happening inside my body.

On keeping her casting secret: I came on board after the show was announced, though we were not allowed to reveal that we were in it. And since I wasn’t that active on social media at that time, it wasn’t difficult at all. However, to my close friends and family, it was excruciating.

A favorite moment from the set: We dreamt up a Discovery musical one day on set of the Shenzhou. A few of our songs were “We’re Locked On,” “I Could Be Captain One Day,” and we also had a sweet Kelpien ballad for Doug [Jones]. When you’re in hour 16 you start to become delusional and that’s when the fun begins.

A favorite moment from the set: Crew Appreciation Day! It’s a ritual that began on set this season. Every day before we set up the first shot, the cast and crew gathers together on the bridge of the Discovery. A member of the crew is selected to wear the honorary “Crew Appreciation Day” vest, which is pretty much a reflective construction safety vest with an enormous amount of pins, badges, and other accouterments added by previous honorees. It’s a chance to celebrate what each individual brings to the table to produce our amazing show.

Favorite Trek series: The Next Generation – and now Discovery. Favorite Trek captain: Jean-Luc Picard. On keeping his casting secret: I’m pretty low-key, but for this role it was tough because of the history behind it.

You can read the full interviews at CBS’s Star Trek: Discovery page, and the full-sized character photographs can be seen in our Discovery image gallery.

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In another bit of hiatus-filling content, CBS has also put out this video detailing the evolution of the Star Trek: Discovery logo from its debut in early 2016 through the final version now familiar to us all.

It all began with a name, a badge, and a logo. Suddenly, a new @StarTrek series was born. #StarTrekDiscovery pic.twitter.com/7EftT0HhlE — Star Trek: Discovery (@startrekcbs) December 15, 2017

Keep coming back to TrekCore as Star Trek: Discovery returns on January 7!