Plot: What’s it about?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that during my lifetime, it’s likely there’ll be some sort of Star Trek and/or Star Wars movie or television series. That’s a bold statement, but given that Star Trek is now 50+ years old, I think the odds are good that it might happen. Nevertheless, it’s “now” and we’ve got Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery and also serving as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Given that my favorite Star Trek show was The Next Generation, it’s also been a sour spot for me as no Star Trek series has come even close to comparing with that. That’s just me, of course. There have been no shortage of choices…we’ve had Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery and Picard. Suffice it to say, if you’re a Trekkie – there’s got to be a show for you.
Strange New Worlds follows a relatively episodic first season as we focus on Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his pre-Kirk crew of the USS Enterprise: second in command Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), science officer Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), tactical officer Lieutenant La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), pilot Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), chief medical officer Dr. Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), and communications trainee Cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). The series also includes recurring characters like Aenar chief engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak), Pike’s superior officer, Commodore Robert April (Adrian Holmes), Jim Kirk’s older brother Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), and Spock’s fiancee T’Pring (Gia Sandhu).
Here’s what to expect in the third season. And if you’ve ever wanted an episode of Star Trek (or any of its offspring) to have the characters break out into song – your wait is finally over.
Episode synopsis (courtesy of TrekCore)
- Hegemony, Part II – Pike risks it all, taking the Enterprise on a daring rescue mission behind enemy lines, while the landing party attempts an escape from a deadly enemy.
- Wedding Bell Blues – At a Federation celebration, an uninvited guest disrupts Spock and the crew’s reflections.
- Shuttle to Kenfori – In order to cure Batel, Pike and M’Benga travel to Klingon space, where M’Benga’s past resurfaces on a dangerous planet.
- A Space Adventure Hour – When La’An tests a prototype holodeck with a fictional case only she can solve, the consequences of failure get greater and greater, with the Enterprise hanging in the balance.
- Through the Lens of Time – Chapel and Korby’s quest leads the Enterprise to ancient ruins hiding a dark secret.
- The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail – Kirk’s first day as captain turns disastrous when a scavenger ship seizes the Enterprise.
- What is Starfleet? – While aiding a war-torn planet, Pike and crew face scrutiny from a probing journalist.
- Four-and-a-Half Vulcans – After a mission turns crew members into Vulcans, trouble arises when they try to revert to human.
- Terrarium – Stranded on a toxic moon, Ortegas must defy her deepest beliefs to survive.
- New Life and New Civilizations – When an ancient evil resurfaces, Pike faces a life-altering choice to stop it.
Video: How’s it look?
I suppose I’m being a bit lazy, but to do an all-new description as to how these episodes look is a bit futile (that’s for you Trekkies). The main draw to this set is the 4K picture quality as well as the advantage of HDR (or, if it’s your thing it’s also a steelbook). And while it’s odd to see a Star Trek television series presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, but here we are. And it looks splendid. Everything about this excels be it the level of detail, the colors, the overall ambiance and everything in between. We can see the coarse hairs in Christopher Pike’s mane of hair, the textures in the suits and the crisp displays of the computers. It might be running on the small screen, but I’d put the way this looks up there with any feature-length film. Given the color palette used during the series and added benefit of HDR, if you want to see the show in its best-looking format then look no further.
Audio: How’s it sound?
I won’t be picky here. As good as the episodes look, you’d figure Paramount might throw us a bone and give us a Dolby Atmos mix. Nope. But it’s OK. Really…it’s OK. The DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack is more than enough with scenes that fill the air with clicking gadgets, the sound of the warp drive and as we might expect – vocals are crisp and sharp. I’d remarked in a previous review (though for the life of me I can’t remember which one) how I found it odd that a television show would sound as good as a movie. Well, it does and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is yet another caveat to that statement. Simply put – it rocks.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes – Ranging from a minute to nearly ten minutes’ worth, several episodes feature extended and deleted scenes: “Hegemony, Part II”, “Wedding Bell Blues”, “Shuttle to Kenfori”, “A Space Adventure Hour”, “Through the Lens of Time”, “What Is Starfleet?”, “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”, “New Life and New Civilizations.”
- Exploring New Worlds – Perhaps the most robust supplement included, we find the progression of the show from its inaugural season to now as well as how it plays a part in the larger Trek universe.
- Personal Log – If you wanted to follow actress Melissa Navia around for a day on the set, here’s your chance. While not mind-blowing, it gives us a good indicator as to what it’s like there. Navia plays Lt. Ortegas on the show.
- Virtual Visionaries – Basically that. We get a look at the new technologies that are part of the show and can only imagine what it might look like if we’d had that technology during the initial Star Trek series (though the episode “A Space Adventure Hour” does come very close).
- VFX Flights – In essence, we get a look at some of the visual effects used in the show.
- Gag Reel – There’s laughter in space. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
The Bottom Line
I know one shouldn’t use words like “always” and “never” but…there’ll never be a Star Trek series that will replace Star Trek: The Next Generation as my favorite. It’s too embedded in my history. But I have to say that with all the Trek shows that have come after – Strange New Worlds is the only one that comes close. I love the cast, it’s visually-appealing and seems to get back to the more fundamental roots of what it is that we like about Star Trek. The second season is better than the first.
