With the episodic format it feels right at home, moving from location to location, exploring the universe, and I for one would love to see more of it.
BY ELLIOT LINES MARCH 29, 2023
I have to admit, I've never classed myself as a huge Star Trek fan, and for many years I didn't even dip a toe into this universe. But in 2009 JJ Abrams Star Trek hit the cinemas, and I loved it. This caused me to, especially in recent years, venture into this world a little more. Star Trek Discovery hooked me for a couple of seasons, whereas Picard lost me after the first few episodes. But seeing that a few character from Discovery were returning, I was intrigued.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds comes in the format that I originally expected from the Star Trek universe. Week by week travelling the galaxy, boldly going where no man has gone before. Quite simply they should stick to it. The episodic format let's you meet new races, in a confined story that has a conclusion each time. There may be over arching themes across the series that lead into something, some of which are rolling over from what we learned of these characters in Discovery.
The final two episodes are easily the stand outs. With one re-visiting the deadly Gorn species we see earlier in the series and the other exploring the events that could happen if certain outcomes are altered. The latter may feel like the stakes of the episode are redundant, yet the intrigue the episode brings is exciting enough for a finale, and brings questions to what happens moving forward. Over the whole season there is an episode for everyone, from transport missions to medieval mind flares, the series has it all.
Strange New Worlds brings back a couple of characters seen in the Discovery series, but they are more than recognisable. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and of course Spock (Ethan Peck) are the most notable and bring a familiarity to the screen. We also get a chance to see a young Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) right at the start of her Starfleet career, which made for an interesting story arc.
There's been something about the recent Star Trek shows that haven't felt right, and that's coming from a "Star Trek rookie". Yes, Discovery may have hooked me to start with but lost me completely just like Picard. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds however feels different. With the episodic format it feels right at home, moving from location to location, exploring the universe, and I for one would love to see more of it.
STAR RATING
