TV Talk - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Well, it’s been a while. It’s been pretty busy over here in the House of Williams. We’ve been preparing for a wedding (September, y’all!), raising a son, and doing a lot of work in general. Writing here isn’t the big priority it once was. Heck, it wasn’t that much of a priority to begin with, but I somehow found time to get something out. I still haven’t finished Discovery or even got past the first episode of Picard Season 2. So, how did I skip all of that and watch all ten episodes of Strange New Worlds? I guess the power of Anson Mount’s hair has no bounds. Also, it was pretty dang good!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds pretty much carries off from where Season 2 of Discovery left it. Folk were so enamored with Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike that CBS made a show around him. One of the best things about Season 2 were Pike and Bearded Spock, so I can’t blame them. It would be a bit of a long wait, but we finally got to see the Enterprise return in all its glory in Spring of 2022. We not only got the return of the original Enterprise crew (Pike, Spock, Number One), but we also got to see younger versions of characters from TOS. I’ll get to them later.

Strange New Worlds (SNW?) takes place about a year after Season 2 of Discovery. Even though he’s reeling from some the events of Discovery Season 2, Pike is tasked by Uncle Phil—I mean, Admiral Robert April, to command the Enterprise again. After the Enterprise saves one of their crew members on a pre-warp world, they start their adventure into the unknown. They face a variety of new worlds as well as some familiar races.

PROS

So, this was one good first season. Some folk have been saying that’s the best first season a Trek season has had, and while I don’t agree (TOS is still king), it’s not far from that. It’s definitely the best first season for modern Trek. One of the show’s biggest pulls was the fact that it was going back-to-basics. Each episode is pretty much standalone with its own plot. While there was some character development and arcs throughout the season, each episode stands on its own. It also felt like a nice modernization of TOS-era Trek. We’ve come a long way from Discovery’s take on the era.

I though the cast here was awesome. Thankfully, the show doesn’t revolve around the awesomeness of Pike, Spock, and Una (Number One). With the show having more of an ensemble cast, we get to see each of these characters have a moment to shine. I can’t really say who my favorites were because they all did a tremendous job. We end up seeing younger versions of characters we meet in TOS and beyond. Nurse Chapel, Dr. M’Benga, and even T’Pring (yeah) were handled well here. I was pretty surprised by the new Uhura played by Ceila Rose Gooding.

So, the durag makes it to the 23rd century? Sweet!

The stories were pretty good for the most part. We get some new worlds (ha ha) as well as the return of some aspects that didn’t get touched on much in Trek. For example, the Gorn return in a way that worked really well. We also got a few callbacks to the weirder parts of TOS. There are swords involved so, any Highlander fans should be pleased. We even get a callback that I bet no one was expecting, and no, I’m not talking about Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk either. I’ll touch on that below unfortunately. Lastly, the music was good and the effects were top notch. Heck, all these new Trek shows rule there.

 

CONS

While this is probably my least favorite episode (the costume-themed episodes are hit or miss for me in general), this was still fun.

This is gonna be a short one. I didn’t have too many issues with this season. It’s as close to perfect as it can be. That being said, I do think the writers could’ve been a little more original with some plots. They weren’t bad, but you can tell that they were aping stuff from the franchise, and even other franchises. “All Those Who Wander” is definitely an example because you could’ve definitely switched the Gorn out for some Xenomorphs or something. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of Paul Wesley’s Kirk. Mind you, that final episode took place in an alternate timeline, so hopefully Wesley gets to shine as Kirk in the next season. Look, Paramount didn’t shield this, so just know that Kirk might be around.

Finally, and this is not on the show itself, we only had 10 episodes. There are times where I can’t stand modern TV. Yeah, we may have little fluff in seasons, but give at least three or four more episodes! Come on, Kurtzman!

 

FAVORITE EPISODES

What an ending... that's all I'll say.

Finally, here are my top five episode so the season. There were only 10, so this’ll be easy:

1. Memento Mori – The Enterprise ends up battling a mysterious species called the Gorn.

2. Spock Amok – While the Enterprise is on shore leave, Spock and his fiancé, T’Pring, decide to undergo a ritual in order to get to know each other better. They instead switch bodies.

2. Lift Us where Suffering Cannot Reach – The Enterprise comes across a perfect world where a former flame of Pike’s is its leader. She enlist their help in protecting a child that is special to their culture.

4. A Quality of Mercy – A familiar face shows Captain Pike what would happen if he changed fate and never got injured in his eventual accident.

5. Strange New Worlds – Captain Pike is ordered by Starfleet to command the Enterprise and save his XO on pre-warp world.

……………………………

Overall, SNW had a pretty good first outing. It honestly felt like a nice throwback to old-school Trek. Hopefully, Season 2 will continue to bring the goodness. Anyway, that’s all what I got for now. Maybe I’ll finally catch up with Picard’s season 2 or something. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. 

Also, don’t look Pike’s hairdo straight in the eye. It might bite ya or flirt with ya.