‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Review: Hits The Feel-Good, Comfort Watch Sweet Spot. But Needs To Boldly Go Get Exciting

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Review: Hits The Feel-Good, Comfort Watch Sweet Spot. But Needs To Boldly Go Get Exciting

I believe a disclaimer is in order. I’ve never been a hardcore Trekkie, and most of the Star Trek that I have followed, I’ve enjoyed. You could say I came into the fandom late, basically for William Shatner after I watched him in Boston Legal and wanted to see more of his work. And because I wanted to deep dive into the stories before watching the Chris Pine movies, which I learnt were set in an alternate (Kelvin) timeline. And of course, our favourite Trekkie, Sheldon Cooper, convinced me that I needed to know how amazing Leonard Nimoy’s Spock is. The first five episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Voot Select evoke a feeling of familiarity with the Star Trek I have come to know, possibly because of the adventure-per-week format. And this much I can say with my limited knowledge, that while the characters in the show are poised to boldly go where no man has gone before, the show itself harkens back to the very familiar essence of Star Trek. It tackles not just space exploration but also themes of prejudice, inclusivity, human curiosity, the effects—good and adverse—of technological advancement, and of course the idea that there could be more to the universe.

 

 

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Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet, Strange New Worlds is set a decade before the events of Gene Roddenberry’s The Original Series (TOS), when the USS Enterprise was under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner. This means some core characters and faces from Discovery Season 2 return, with more fleshed out arcs that will eventually lead them to the versions that we know. For the most part, you don’t need to have watched TOS and Discovery to understand what is happening. And I love when franchise films can be inclusive of non-fans without overusing exposition. However, you might miss out on some of the nods, like why the arrival of Dan Jeannotte as xenobiologist Lt. Samuel Kirk at the end of the first episode is so exciting. Or the controversial familial history of La’an Noonien Singh.

The first episode does a pretty good job of ushering you into the Star Trek Universe. And if you feel like a newbie, don’t worry because while there are some older characters that have been freshly cast to play their younger selves, there are some completely new characters too. And their general awe of being in the presence of Captain Pike or Number One by association makes you feel you’re in the presence of Starfleet legends.

Pictured: Rebecca Romijn as Una, Anson Mount as Pike and Ethan Peck as Spock of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ ©2022 ViacomCBS. All Rights Reserved.

Anson Mount reprises his role as Christopher Pike, Captain of the USS Enterprise, who is not keen to assume command. Why? Well, it’s a nice little throwback to an old episode (which I actually have seen!) where his character discovers a grim fate, giving him a major existential crisis. Nevertheless, he returns to the bridge after he is told by Starfleet that Number One—Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley—has gone MIA and might need to be rescued. Joining him on this mission is our favourite Vulcan and science officer on the ship, Spock, played by Ethan Peck, who actually gets one of the more interesting character arcs this season—a love life! In fact, congratulations are in order because he is engaged to T’Pring (Gia Sandhu), a Vulcan, even as he himself struggles to reconcile with his half-human half-Vulcan origins. 

There’s Babs Olusanmokun as M’Benga, Jess Bush as nurse Chapel, Christina Chong as Defence Officer La’an Noonien-Singh, Melissa Navia as Helmsmen Erica Ortegas, Bruce Horak as the Aenar engineer Hemmer, and Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura (an older version was played by Nichelle Nichols, while Zoe Saldaña played her in the Kelvin timeline). In addition, Adrian Holmes is Admiral Robert April, the first captain of the Enterprise.

 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding

Last, but not at all least, the U.S.S Enterprise gets a swanky update. I mean, sure the Trekkies will look at the bridge and feel like it’s homecoming, but there are a few changes I did notice that struck me. Like, did the Enterprise have so many windows before? Or were the crew’s quarters this, excuse the expression, hi-tech? Honestly, I love it, because it’s one way to sort of get aboard the technological advancement that has happened in the real world, while it still tells stories set both in a fictional future and… in this future’s past? Wow, I’m gonna need a minute here.

With its episodic, adventure-per-week format, Strange New Worlds has a tryst with the unknown to offer up in every episode. I am a fan of this format that always has something fun and interesting to look forward to. The adventures feel OG Star Trek: linear, surface-level with its themes and geopolitical subtext, with some old-school workplace humour sprinkled to lighten the mood. At the same time, they have a very feel-good quality to them, where you know that at the end of the episode, Pike & Co. will have managed to sort an entire planet’s crisis even when it is a strange and new world they’re encountering, and live to see another warp. It’s the kind of optimism that would make Star Trek: Strange New Worlds a kind of comfort watch for both fans and non-fans.

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It helps that the visuals are great. In one particular episode, where the Enterprise encounters a comet and has to practically sing to it (yeah, let the episode explain itself), the whole sequence looks beautiful and has a very predictable, cheesy end. But somehow, it works because the episodes still offer up some wonder and action even as they slow down and become thoda drab for the non-Trekkies not yet invested in the new characters.

Yet, Strange New Worlds isn’t entirely immersive or exciting at all times. Perhaps because in the age of Space X and great CGI, the fascination with space adventures demands a lot more than what worked back then. Or maybe we’ve just outgrown anything that is way too optimistic when cosmic stakes are involved! Even the format can sometimes be counterproductive because the action, the high stakes, and the life-or-death situations that some of the Enterprise crew find themselves in don’t bring in the adrenaline rush since you know that at the end of the episode, things are going to be fine. What will then keep you engrossed is the dynamic between the characters and their own internal conflicts. But other than the original trio, Nyota Uhura, and Ortegas, I’m still trying to warm up to the others and find reasons to care about what happens to them.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

I do sense the potential of it all though. For starters, the Enterprise does have some pretty interesting women aboard. Nyota Uhura, the earnest newbie eager to prove themselves but unsure of their place in Starfleet, played convincingly by a sincere Celia Rose Gooding. Chong’s La’an Noonien Singh, grappling with her troubled past and associations with a popular Trek villain, is a character I’d like to know more about before deciding how much I like her. There’s a scene where she and Una wonder if they really are the boring peeps on the ship with no plans during their off time, and I really do think that’s a nice dynamic I want to see more of. Navia’s Ortegas brings the humour and style that I am already loving.

In an exclusive interview with Hauterrfly, Rebecca Romijn revealed that the way she and Anson Mount have played the relationship between Una and Pike is a lot like exes who are so familiar with each other that everything is very ‘matter of factly’ between them. That Number One is attracted to Pike has been alluded to in the canon so it is going to be interesting to see how that relationship develops, especially with the existential crisis Pike’s hiding deep within. Anson Mount as Pike is charming and perfect, and commands screen presence as he should, being the leader of this ship. I might just have a crush. As for Peck’s Spock, he’s up for a very interesting exploration of the legendary character that we haven’t seen much of yet, and I am low-key excited.

I have a feeling I will be a tad more invested once they bring Paul Wesley on board as Captain James T. Kirk. He played the hell out of Stefan Salvatore with the hero hair, and moving on to play another iconic character is a tough challenge that my TVD fan self is eager to see him work at.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Verdict

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is pure OG Star Trek so far, and I don’t think that’s necessarily bad. If anything, I find it mildly enjoyable and peg my hope on its potential. It’s something I will begin watching because of its pedigree and the names associated with it both on and off-screen. But considering this is an episodic release, what will ultimately keep making me come back and follow the series is if the action, drama, and conflict start amping up.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently streaming on Voot Select, with new episode every Thursday.

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Jinal Bhatt

A Barbie girl with Oppenheimer humour. Sharp-tongue feminist and pop culture nerd with opinions on movies, shows, books, patriarchy, your boyfriend, everything.

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