Some of the praise for the latest "Star Trek" series, "Strange New Worlds" has rubbed me the wrong way because it often doubles as thinly veiled criticism of the other currently running "Star Trek" shows, "Discovery" and "Picard." "Strange New Worlds" is actually a "Discovery" spinoff, and its main characters, the current versions of Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), originated there. "Strange New Worlds" is far less ambitious than "Discovery," establishing itself as a fun throwback to older "Star Trek" shows.
Alongside Pike and Spock, other crew members include first officer Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), ship's doctor Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), chief of security La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), Andorian chief engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak), helmsman Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and promising cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). A young James Kirk is also scheduled to show up in the second season. "Strange New Worlds" occupies a place on the timeline a little earlier than the original 1960s "Star Trek," where the Klingons are still enemies. The biggest foes are currently the Gorn, a reptilian species that only showed up in the original series as rubber suited monsters. In "Strange New Worlds" they've gotten an upgrade to be more menacing.
Everything about this show is familiar - the Starfleet hierarchy, the very episodic, self-contained adventures, and the dynamics of the crew. Compared to some of the other recent "Star Trek" shows, It's very formulaic and very safe, but the execution is excellent. All the characters are well defined and easy to become attached to. There are no outsized stakes or pressures to make the plotting epic and impressive, so there's plenty of room for character building, and a lot of smaller, more procedural stories. My favorite installment is an honest-to-god campy shipwide delusion episode, which haven't been a thing in non-animated "Star Trek" in years, and I can't imagine ever happening on "Discovery."
There are still serialized elements to add some drama. Pike is facing down a terrible foreordained fate that will leave him disfigured and crippled in a few years time, Dr. M'Benga and Lt. Cmmdr. Chin-Riley are harboring big secrets, and half-Vulcan Spock's relationship with his full Vulcan betrothed, T'Pring (Gia Sandhu) is a regular source of friction. However, there's little urgency to any of these ongoing storylines, and developments are allowed to be more gradual and organic. When they do pay off or resolve, it's often a pleasant surprise. Dr. M'Benga's ongoing dilemma, for instance, wraps up much quicker than it would have on "Next Generation" or "Deep Space Nine" back in the '90s.
I appreciate that "Strange New Worlds" never feels too obviously retro and doesn't lean too hard on the pre-existing "Star Trek" stories with these characters. The production quality is very modern, though its design choices are closer to the 2009 theatrical "Star Trek" film than "Discovery." I think it's the uniforms, mostly. You could easily watch "Strange New Worlds" without any knowledge of the previous "Star Trek" shows, though it helps to know things like what Andorians are, and what the deal is with Vulcan emotions. The more casual atmosphere and ability to pace itself also portends well for its longevity. I could easily see this one running for five or six seasons.
On the other hand, "Strange New Worlds" also comes with a very clear endpoint. This part of the timeline is well-tread ground for the "Star Trek" universe, and I expect that the show is going to continue to take advantage of the franchise's existing mythology and introduce more familiar characters like Scotty and McCoy and all the rest. Khan is probably inevitable. Time travel, mirror universes, and multiple timelines are always a possibility - and the show has already proved willing to go there with the season finale. Hopefully "Strange New Worlds" will learn from other prequels/reboots and avoid the common landmines.
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