Did Star Trek: Discovery need to drop an f-bomb?

Star Trek: Discovery this weekend chose to boldly go where no other Star Trek has gone before: Deep into f-bomb territory.

Now, the question that we have to wonder here is this: Was it necessary? Did it contribute anything to the story? In our opinion is a pretty decisive “no.” The f-bombs almost served as a way to take us out of the Star Trek world and felt almost referential to the CBS All Access platform more so than anything going on in the story.

There are arguments to be made all across the board about this language (which came about as a result of a Tilly – Stamets conversation) — you can easily argue that in real life, people in their situation would probably curse. We feel like if you were to take a straw poll of most of America the majority would admit to dropping at least an f-bomb or two a week. Not everyone would be proud of it, but we’re sure that it happens. The argument here is that if the producers want to make Star Trek: Discovery a mirror to real life, with outer space, Starfleet, and everything else thrown in, it makes some sense.

Yet, we would also argue that part of the joy of Star Trek is that it’s an adventure for everyone. There are many kids out there who grew up watching syndicated repeats of The Next Generation, and did so because many kids’ shows of the day weren’t altogether appealing. While we’re not saying that every single episode was the most kid-friendly in the world, the majority of them still met a certain standard to make it on TV. It was a show that could be universally accessible and parents didn’t have to overtly freak out over excess language, violence, or anything of the sorts. That sort of stuff is a way for kids to get their foot in the door.

While of course kids probably hear f-bombs at school and in other places, if a parent hears it on a show it’s often an automatic turn-off-the-TV moment. This is the sort of thing that takes this show away from some kids and limits that imagination. We don’t want that to happen so that future generations aren’t stripped of the amazing imagination that comes watching this franchise. They can still go find earlier versions of the show, but maybe they aren’t as superficially appealing.

In the end, we understand that there’s a place for edgy entertainment in 2017. We just don’t think that it needs to be in the Star Trek universe. By throwing in this language, it’s becoming something that it’s not. (We know that there’s been some cursing in some of the movies, but we don’t always love that, either.)

What do you think about Star Trek: Discovery dropping an f-bomb, and did you think that this was something that really needed to happen on the show? Share in some of the comments below!

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