The Star Trek Special Effect So Realistic The Authorities Got Involved
The final season of Star Trek: Discovery had plenty of things going for it, including the fact that the show has never looked better. The special effects are amazing, and they help bring to life the futuristic world of the 32nd century, including epic space battles between Starfleet and the Breen. One of these effects involved bringing a fire planet to life, and the effect was so realistic that a concerned citizen ended up calling the Fire Department.
The Progenitors
The context for this Star Trek: Discovery special effect is that it was part of Captain Burnham finally meeting the Progenitors. The entire final season revolved around her and her crew solving mysteries that would help them learn more about the Progenitors, an ancient race responsible for creating intelligent life throughout the galaxy.
Their technology was beyond anything the galaxy had ever seen before, something Burnham discovered for herself in a kind of pocket dimension created by these ancient aliens.
Burnham Vs. Moll
Before Burnham can have a heart-to-heart with the Progenitors, she and the rebel Moll encounter these large portals that lead to various worlds that are vastly different. The first world Burnham encounters in this Star Trek: Discovery finale is a kind of rain planet.
Next, she and Moll do battle on a kind of purple world (Pokemon fans, take note: in this planet, every town would be a Lavender Town) before crashing into another world like video game fighters knocking each other into different stages.
Burnham And Moll Team Up
The next world is a fire planet, and after winning (more or less) a fistfight that even Captain Kirk would have been proud of, Burnham teams up with Moll to try to solve the Progenitor mystery together.
For these two Star Trek: Discovery characters, that was the last they had to worry about the fire planet. However, the effects used to bring that world to life caused some drama for the cast and crew that went beyond anything these conflicting characters had done onscreen.
The Fire Planet
According to Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Michelle Paradise, “The fire planet was so bright that the fire department got called from someone who had seen the fire.” You might think this would have made the TV veteran angry, but she seemingly saw this incident as a sign of how realistic the show’s special effects really are.
“It should not be possible to pull those kinds of things off in a television show, even on a bigger budget show, with the time limitations that you have,” she said, pointing out that “every episode of every season, we’re still coming in on time and on budget.”
Impressive Effects
She and Star Trek: Discovery actor Sonequa Martin-Green discussed this in a recent interview, and Paradise said that she recalled shooting “The rain planet and the fire planet…one day after the other.”
At this point, Martin-Green interjected, saying she remembers shooting those wildly different scenes on the same day.
No matter who’s correct, we can’t deny the results were insanely impressive, and we find it fully believable that someone might have thought Paramount was on fire thanks to these special effects.
We’re going to sound like rabid fanboys here, but this special effect is just a drop (or should that be an ember?) in the bucket of Star Trek: Discovery’s excellent special effects this season.
The show has always been beautiful, but the final season has managed to bring down the house. Given this anecdote, we’re just happy the house didn’t end up burning down in the process.
Source: Variety
