The Shorthand for Star Trek: Discovery is NOT 'STD'

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No, The Shorthand for Star Trek: Discovery Is Not 'STD'

By Anthony Couto

Published Sep 27, 2017

Yes, it's very funny to refer to Star Trek: Discovery as "STD," but that's not what you should be calling it -- let's go over the proper shorthand.

Whether you love it or hate it, Star Trek: Discovery has taken the Internet by storm this week, spurring all kinds of high-brow conversation about its contemporary allegory and ability to hold its own in the context of a 51-year-old franchise. However, not all the conversation has been so high-brow. There's been some chitter-chatter about the proper shorthand for the series, and a lot of jokesters out there are tempted to go ahead and -- inspired by the ex-term for venerial diseases -- call it STD.

Sorry, you hooligans, but STD is not the shorthand for Star Trek: Discovery, and we will not allow you to corrupt our beloved franchise.

It's DIS, Not That

Back in the '90s, if Trek fans wanted a comprehensive encyclopedia of everything from Tribbles to Talosians, they had to buy nifty CD-ROMs that broke down every bit of Trek history for the overly curious fan. Today, we have the Fandom-run Memory Alpha to provide all the Trek information under the sun(s). And, as indicated on the Holy Grail of Trek websites, Discovery is short-formed "DIS," using the first three letters of the series' subtitle in the tradition of Trek spinoffs Voyager (VOY) and Enterprise (ENT). Simple enough. So, get the giggles out while you can, because "STD" will not be tolerated (or remembered centuries from now) as the shorthand for Discovery.

The Colon Conundrum

Star Trek and colons have a relationship as fascinating as Riker and Soren's in TNG's "The Outcast." It's... complicated. Typically, Trek spinoffs -- including movies and television series -- include a colon. That was until Mr. J.J. Abrams came along, and with 2013's oh-so-controversial Star Trek Into Darkness ditched the almighty colon, turning Star Trek into... a verb?! He once again shunned the colon with Star Trek Beyond, and while it's likely just an aesthetic choice, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Is "Trek" the verb in the context of the title? Then what the heck does "Star" mean?

Anyway...we don't have to worry about the verbiage of "Star Trek" in Star Trek: Discovery because, quite simply, the series does have a colon in its title.

In Conclusion...

It's Star Trek: Discovery, and the shorthand for it is DIS.

Set 10 years before the adventures of Kirk and Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series, Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones and Anthony Rapp, with Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Fuller, Heather Kadin, Gretchen J. Berg, Aaron Harberts, Akiva Goldsman, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serving as Executive Producers.

The series is currently streaming on CBS All Access in the United States, Crave TV in Canada, and Netflix internationally; it kicked off on September 24, and will run until November 5 before taking a short break until airing its second half in January 2018.