Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (season 1)
release year: 2022
genre: sci-fi drama TV
viewing setting: home streaming 9/2-4/22
synopsis: Before the time of Captain Kirk's command of the Enterprise, a different captain (and mostly-different crew) undertake similar missions.
impressions: I've somehow missed most of the Star Trek series over the years, but I joined Paramount+ and decided to give this one a try. Overall, this was fun and engaging - a lot like the original series except with nicer-looking technology and special effects. It brings up what I call "the Prometheus issue" which is simply the fact that a subsequent show/film set before an earlier production has newer and nicer-looking ships and technology. I like how they tied into people and elements from the original series, using certain characters, the Gorn, and the Romulans. Here are capsule reviews (the episodes I liked the best are boldfaced) of each of the ten episodes in this first season:
(1) Strange New Worlds
summary: Pike has to make a decision on whether to take the command or not, Spock has to decide whether he should get married, and a missing ship that was exploring a new planet has to be found.
(2) Children of the Comet
summary: A comet headed for a primitive but populated planet turns out to be more than it appears, and Uhura has a chance to test her confidence and figure out whether she belongs.
(3) Ghosts of Illyria
summary: The crew must deal with strange happenings on and above a planet whose species is long-dead...or are they?
(4) Memento Mori
summary: Space battle! The Gorn! A black hole! Awesome.
(5) Spock Amok
summary: Amidst some shore leave and a couple of diplomatic endeavors, Spock and his fiancee get to know each other better.
(6) Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach
summary: The Enterprise gets involved in the doings of a strange planet where a child is set to play a key role.
(7) The Serene Squall
summary: Pirates!
(8) The Elysian Kingdom
summary: An alien consciousness transforms everything into a fairy tale.
(9) All Those Who Wander
summary: The ship comes to the rescue of another ship, and finds that it was a victim of a savage alien attack...and still has some of those monsters running around.
(10) A Quality of Mercy
summary: Captain Pike considers (mostly in some sort of detailed hallucination) possible courses of action that will impact the future. The alternate-future bit contains a lot of conflict with Romulans, which is fun.
acting: Well, it's an ensemble cast. Anson Mount is Captain Pike, who has to live every day knowing that in a few years, he'll be crippled. Ethan Peck does a great job as Spock, who's (as always) pulled between two different cultures. Christina Chong is the tough security chief. Celia Rose Gooding is a young Uhura, who's still figuring out what she wants out of life. Jess Bush is a young Nurse Chapel, who's competent and sassy. Melissa Navia is a hip, wisecracking helmswoman. Bruce Horak is the blind alien chief engineer. Rebecca Romjin is Number One, some sort of second-in-command.
final word: Good stuff - it really reminded me more of the original series than any of the other series since the 1960s.
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