The Strange New Worlds series premiere was this week, and I’ve got to tell you, I have such feels.
Who else got chills when they heard Pike come on with “Space, the final frontier”? I was such a child about it. I told my wife, this is the first time we’re hearing these words since The Next Generation. Oh, and some movies, obviously. But I mean in this format, in long-form storytelling. This is the first time you’re hearing it, and it’s got the Enterprise, and he’s giving you the ongoing mission, the five years. It’s just wonderful, and I’m all about it.
The Orville Was My Star Trek Fix
When The Orville came out, a friend told me, you’ve got to watch this, it’s amazing, it’s Star Trek like you haven’t seen in a long time. I said all right, cool, and I started watching. Sure enough, Seth and them have got the vibe. It feels like Next Gen. The camera angles, the storytelling, how the music’s being underscored, everything really feels like that Next Generation Star Trek. It’s episodic, but you get characters who are also evolving.
So they’ve kind of blazed a trail, and it sounds terrible to say, but I feel like it’s helping inform the current generation of Star Trek fans. For a minute in time, The Orville was my Star Trek fix. It clicked the minute I watched it. This is what I’ve been missing. I’ve been missing this style of episodic storytelling.
Then I start seeing Discovery, and Discovery for me at first was a no. It was a non-starter, a no sell. I wasn’t down for it. I’m saving most of that for my Discovery retrospective, and I’m calling it a retrospective instead of a recap because recapping implies telling the entire story, and I’m not going to do that. I’m going to live with you guys in that time frame instead.
What I will say is this. Season two and on of Discovery, I’m in. Season one I’m very critical of, because I didn’t understand where they wanted to go. I don’t even care if everyone’s saying they had no clue where they were going to go. That’s a bunch of nonsense. Look, man, I had no clue where they were going to go, and you had no clue where they were going to go. I’m not going to put words in anybody’s mouth, and I don’t care what interviews say about anything. Seeing what they took and where it eventually went, now you get a picture that I like.
Pike Sold Me in Discovery
We were introduced to Pike in Discovery, and I was immediately on board. I liked how they were representing him. I liked that they represented Number One. I had issues with Spock early on, but as we progress I’m okay with more and more of what they’re doing with him, because I’m getting a new level of story. They’re finally going to fold that era into something I’m used to seeing, or at least it feels like it.
There was nothing wrong with the sets the way they were. They were gorgeous for the time. They were extraordinarily advanced. But I heard someone say it recently in an interview, I think it might have been either Akiva Goldsman or one of the other executive producers: this is Star Trek, but using today’s visual language, using how we film today. I’ve got to agree. The sets are gorgeous. The production design from the original series exists. It’s there. Anybody who tries to say it isn’t just isn’t paying attention.
And none of that means the Star Trek you love is gone or dead. Like I said on the very first Trek Talk Tuesdays, my dad still has the Columbia House VHS tapes. I still have the original series digitally, all remastered, on my Amazon, that I’ve purchased. You’ll always be able to see it. It’s not going anywhere.
At the same time, I really love this. I think the Enterprise is being treated faithfully. I think Pike’s love and adoration of the ship is completely on brand. I feel like they’re being very respectful to what came before, and to what’s coming for Pike in the future.
The episode didn’t disappoint either. It felt like a classic Star Trek episode, and by classic I mean Star Trek storytelling the way it’s always been done: a modular, episodic story. It wasn’t rushed. I felt like you got everything you needed out of it. I enjoyed the heck out of it. My full review of the premiere is up on the channel if you want it.
The Season Trailer
The episode finishes and you go right into “this season on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”
The very first thing is a red alert. Captain Pike gets called to the bridge, and you hear Spock saying, “Captain Pike, we have a problem.” I love that we’re jumping right in. I don’t know if these shots are specific to actual episodes, and I don’t think they’re in order. I think this is exactly what it seems like, an opportunity to show off what’s coming.
You get to see this really cool comet hitting a planet. I can’t tell if that’s a VFX shot or if it’s supposed to be a simulation, because it looks a little bit sloppy at the moment. I’m willing to bet it’s a VFX shot that’s just incomplete.
Then we get our very first shot of Uhura in a new getup. She’s got the classic black collar, but they make it look relevant, and I’m kind of digging the look. She looks amazing. Is this the evolution of that particular brand of outfit? I’m down. I’m here for it.
Of course you see the various people who are going to be on the ship, and they get a couple of really good jokes in. All right, fine, I get it. You’ve got to have some humor in this thing.
Then you get this really intense moment between Number One and Pike. Clearly he’s told her what’s going down, and she understands. She’s telling him, look, you can’t let your knowledge of the future affect how you are today. It’s the same through line he dealt with in the first episode. So while the episodes are episodic, everyone’s traveling their own journey. Each character is still learning the lessons of the previous episode. You’re not going to get a character dealing with a particular topic one week, only to have that same character deal with something similar the next week like it never happened. People evolve. I love that. That’s very Star Trek.
Then somebody is apparently beginning to attack them, and you get your first look at what I think could end up being a season arc of some kind. I don’t know if they’re going to have a season arc, but it’s possible. You can see an enemy who looks particularly powerful.
I’ll also say they’ve turned up the contrast. The premiere, while glossy, was also bright. This has a little more dramatic lighting going on, and I’m okay with that. Seeing the shadows really helps make the environment feel real, and that’s just from a TV production standpoint.
Then you have Spock giving the equivalent of what I guess was supposed to be a pep talk, and she calls him out on it. Was that supposed to be a pep talk? Because not so much.
I Think We’re Getting the Gorn
Then you get this awesome scene that looks like something straight out of a horror movie. There are flashes, there are blood streaks in the snow, everyone’s wearing suits, and you see La’an.
La’an already proved in the first episode that she’s very prescient when it comes to this stuff. She knows how to put the math together. Fiction will sometimes take real-life trauma and try to make it a superpower. One of the versions I’ve seen done a lot is people who deal with abuse at home learning to visualize trouble, so they can assess it very quickly. La’an is definitely someone who’s had to deal with some trauma. She was a kid. Her family was captured by the Gorn, the very first time the Gorn had been encountered at this level. She had to watch as her family was either eaten, fed on alive, or turned into breeding sacks, which sounds disgusting all by itself.
So here’s my prediction. I think this season we’re going to get the Gorn. I think we’re going to see the Gorn in a light we’ve never seen them in before, and I am down. Show me modernized Gorn. If you can somehow be faithful to the original and still do your own take on it, I’m down. Even if they make it so they don’t necessarily move their mouths with that slithering way of talking, I’m down. Dude, I’m here for it. I feel like that may end up being a major villain this season, or at least a major point of contention, and I’m excited to see what they do with it.
Everything Else in the Reel
Then you get a series of really cool shots under Pike’s voiceover, we’re going to seek out the unknown. You see aliens and spaceships. You see Pike as two blade things come up. You see people dealing with stuff, and you understand there’s going to be an awful lot of self-reflection and character building in this, and I’m really enjoying that.
You see this really cool clash that looks very “Amok Time.” I’m just saying.
You also get to see a relationship or two, even if it’s just in terms of how these people interact together, and I’m very much here for it. Chapel and Spock have a moment. There are a lot of Spock moments with people, but whatever. It’s exciting.
There’s a really dope moment where you get to see Uhura in what I’m assuming is her cadet uniform, or some sort of formal outfit. I’m hoping it’s like a dinner scene with her family or something. It’s very cool. She gets some of the neatest outfits in this promo.
And then they end on a great flash, with Pike saying, let’s get to work. I love his Pike. Anson Mount can do no wrong in my eyes right now. Not a bit of wrong. The man’s doing amazing work.
Every Star Trek Is Someone’s First Star Trek
Overall I’m just excited to death about everything happening in this series right now. I think they’re doing a really good job of setting the tone for Star Trek moving forward. And you have to remember, every single Star Trek is someone’s first Star Trek. For somebody, the first captain of the Enterprise will be Chris Pike. Let’s go. I’m down, man. Show me what’s up.
I loved the Kirk misdirect last week, too.
We can all keep enjoying what they’re putting out there, and I want to reinforce it again: none of this changes what’s come before. Give me new stuff. Give me stuff we never saw before. There’s nothing wrong with that.
The other criticism I’ve been hearing is the characterizations, how everybody’s being written. These are all young, new people. This is a new Chapel. This is a new Spock. This is a new Uhura. New as in themselves. They’re young, and they’re new to this. You really can’t judge the character they’ll be in TOS by the character they are right now in Strange New Worlds. This is the beginning of those journeys. Everyone learns something and grows into the characters you eventually know. Spock will eventually become the Spock we know. Same thing with all the rest.
Where I Think It Goes
Here’s what I’m looking forward to: the transition.
I believe you take Pike through three seasons, maybe some more. But I think you eventually pass Strange New Worlds off to James T. Kirk, who we’re getting in season two. I don’t know in what capacity. I’d love to see him captain the Farragut, or something along those lines.
And ultimately something happens, and Pike steps aside, steps away, whatever. I think they’re going to tease us first. Somehow Pike, similar to what he did in Discovery, is going to go on a mission, do a thing, and they’re going to lend the Enterprise to James Kirk. Whether it’s a two-parter or one episode, you’re going to get a moment where he’s like, yeah, I could see myself coming back here. They’re going to do something clever like that, because that’s what Star Trek does.
I’m telling you, I’m excited for them.
Drop a comment on the video above and tell me what you think of Strange New Worlds, what that type of show looks like to you, and where you’d like to see it go. And if you’re critical of the show, jump in anyway. Let’s talk.
