Star Trek: Discovery Klingons were inspired by the ancients

One of the signature elements of Star Trek: Discovery is the striking reinvention of clbadic Trek villains the Klingons.

The warlike alien race featured heavily in the debut season of the latest Trek show, which comes to Blu-ray this month, and this exclusive behind-the-scenes clip reveals a glimpse inside their memorable new look.

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Inside Star Trek: Discovery’s striking Klingon redesign

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Production designers Tamara Deverell and Todd Cherniawksy take you inside the spectacular set of the sarcophagus ship. Inspired by ancient cultures — actual real-life ones, from Earth — the huge set is designed to reflect the history of the Klingon race in a church-like ship.

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Since Discovery premiered on subscription service CBS All Access in North America and through Netflix elsewhere, this is the first chance for fans to catch the Star Trek prequel outside of streaming services. The season 1 Blu-ray will be available as a limited-edition steelbook (a collectible housed in a metal case) in the US and Canada starting Nov. 13, in the UK from Nov. 19, and Australia from Nov. 28. (Disclosure: CNET is owned by CBS.)

The four-disc Blu-ray and DVD sets feature all 15 episodes of season 1, plus deleted scenes and documentary featurettes:

• Discovering Discovery: Interviews with producers, writers and stars of the show about the process of creating the debut season.­­
• Star Trek theme: A tuneful chat with executive producer Alex Kurtzman and composer Jeff Russo about creating the music for the show.
• Creature comforts: The makeup and prosthetics department update well-known Star Trek species including the Klingons, Vulcans and Andorians, and introduce a brand new species, the Kelpiens.
• Designing Discovery: Insight into the production design department, led by Tamara Deverell, which creates the planets and the starships that warp between them.
• Creating space: An exploration of how the visual effects team, headed by Jason Zimmerman, conjures the space, planets and starships.
• Prop me up: Propmaster Mario Moreira takes a look at Discovery’s props, with an inside view of the design process from inception to set.
• Feeding frenzy: A look at the on-set food stylist who creates “a galaxy of cuisine”, apparently.
• A female touch: With women producers and writers off screen and powerful female characters on screen, Discovery exemplifies the groundbreaking inclusionary ideals exemplified by Trek throughout history. 
• Dress for success: Costume designer Gersha Phillips and her team create an array of clothing and uniforms for the many different species in the Discovery universe.
• The voyage of season 1: A look at the plot twists and turns in the first season.

Discovery season 2 arrives on CBS All Access in January 2019, introducing Ethan Peck as a new Spock. That will be followed at some point by a new series following the continued adventures of Next Generation star Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. In the meantime, online mini-episodes called Short Treks are continuing the Discovery story, with the latest mini-sode written by bestselling author Michael Chabon.