When I write about DISCO, I use a variety of vocab. Sometimes I use words that are common, but have a variety of meanings, sometimes I make up terms or use abbreviations. This page is here to clear up confusion, explain abbreviations and my vocabulary as it pertains to my Star Trek DISCO series.
DISCO– Star Trek Discovery
ENT– Star Trek: Enterprise
VOY– Star Trek Voyeger
DS9– Star Trek Deep Space Nine
TNG– Star Trek The Next Generation
TAS– Star Trek The Animated Series
TOS– Star Trek’s first series, colloquially called The Original Series. You will notice I explained the Star Trek abbreviations in order in which the series where produced, newest to oldest.
Character—when I write the word character, I mean a character who talks, has flaws, and is key to the plot. A figure who walks on screen and works at work station is not a character. A security guard who shoots a few shots and then dies is not a character. A person who talks and gives advice to a main character and never appears again is not a character. In TOS these are Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, Scotty, and later nurse Chapel
Main character– is a character who talks and appears on screen at a high frequency as well as being key to the plot. A main character is also classified as a character. In TOS these are Kirk, Spock, and Bones.
Frequent character-is a character that talks less, appears only for a few seconds (or possibly a minute or 2) per episode at most and is usually not essential to the plot. Who is a main character and who is a frequent character can change by episode, though tends not to. For example, if a frequent character is featured in an episode, that character becomes a main character for that episode. In TOS these usually are Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, Scotty, nurse Chapel.
Red shirt— is a character who appears in one episode and usually dies before the end of the episode. The term comes from original series’ very minor characters who wore red uniforms, and though Scotty had a red uniform, he is not a red shirt, dew to him not dying, having a name, lines, flaws, and plot importance.
Show—I use this word as an umbrella term for a movie, a TV show, a play, even a book… any form of story telling with, for my rule, human or humanoid characters who represent humanity. A story about an alien race living on a planet with social structures, that is an imagination or examination of a dystopian, utopian or realistic human society is referred to as a show.
ATP– all the power. A character who is male, white, strait, cis, non-disabled, and what mid-20’s to mid-50’s? IDK what the “ideal” age range is exactly.
Diverse aspect— an aspect of a character that provides much needed diversity to shows. If a character is wildly outside of the norm age range, is a person of color, is queer, is female, has a disability, or and has a mental illness.
Tokenism— This is when a character is a walking talking stereotype. The character who is included just so the creators can say the show is diverse. The black guy who is the only person of color in a movie filled with white guys. Yeah, he’s only there so the movie is “diverse”.
Race– A socially constructed categorization of people primary based off skin tone with in a species.
Racism– Thinking and treating yourself and others who you categorize as in your race better than another in a different race. Discriminating against and/or saying offensive words to a person of a different race or about another race.