Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Where No One Has Gone Before

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Hello my Pop Clouds. The entertainment world has been buzzing with new tv series lately and the Star Trek universe is on the top of the list by putting out new series lately. So far we have had four seasons (with a confirmed upcoming fifth season) of Star Trek Discovery, two seasons (with an upcoming third and final season) of Star Trek Picard, two seasons (with an upcoming third season) of Star Trek Lower Decks, and one season (with a confirmed upcoming second season) of Star Trek Prodigy. Now we add to this list with a new series that recently premiered on Paramount+ that all die-hard Trekkies/Trekkers have been waiting very anxiously for: Star Trek Strange New Worlds.

By the posting of this article we have had two episodes premiere of this series and it was definitely worth the wait. Just to give you background on this series, it is based off the original very first pilot episode of Star Trek The Original Series (as it is known by fans) from 1965 that had Captain Christopher Pike (then played by Jeffrey Hunter) in charge of the Enterprisealong with Number One (now known as Una and originally played by Majel Barrett) and Spock (which most know was originally played by Leonard Nemoy).

And as a reminder or in case you are not aware, this series is yet another Star Trek series that can only be viewed on the Paramount+ streaming media app. I strongly recommend downloading it and signing up for this service if you’re a huge Trekkie/Trekker. They have all of the major Star Trek tv series and movies on this app to view anytime. Click here for special promotions when signing up for Paramount+. Let’s get on with this new series. 

The Enterprise Crew:

In Strange New Worlds (SNW) we have Anson Mount playing Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn playing Number One/Una Chin-Riley and Ethan Peck continuing his Discovery role as Spock. In addition to these ever popular characters we have the return of some familiar characters and the introduction to some new ones. When it comes to classic characters we have Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, Jess Bush as Christine Chapel, Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M-Benga, and Dan Jeannotte as Sam Kirk (future captain James Kirk’s brother). And with new characters we have Christina Chong as La’an Noonien-Singh, Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas, Bruce Horak as Hemmer, and André Dae Kim as Chief Kyle. This cast is very well rounded and after two episodes I’m already developing a fondness for each and every single one of them. 

The Series Premise:

Please be aware that I’m posting a SPOILER ALERT!!!! From this point forward you will find information that has come to light from the first two episodes. So if you haven’t watched those episodes yet, I strongly recommend watching them now and coming back to this article afterwards. 

This series takes place after season three of Discovery when that ship’s crew took off to the future. The crew of the Enterprise are now off “discovering strange new worlds” and going places “no one has been to before.” Which is pretty much what Captain James T. Kirk did on The Original Series. This series is going to tell us everything that happened to Pike and his crew before James Kirk took over as captain. This is unexplored territory so a large chunk of what we end up seeing on this series will be brand new. The other interesting fact is that SNW is going back to one-episode story arcs that most fans know and love from the earlier series such as The Next Generation and Voyager. The more recent series have had season long story arcs in which the story from one episode was continued into the next until it reached its ultimate conclusion in the season finale. 

I have to admit that it took me these first two episodes to get readjusted to one-episode story arcs again. At the same time I am seeing seeds being planted for a story-arc that may take the entire season or even possibly the entire series to come to a conclusion. What I’m speaking about here is the fact that Captain Pike found out that his life is pretty much going to come to an end in 10 years (as seen in Discovery season 3) as a result of rescuing future crew members and he will end up totally immobile and unable to speak. In the first two episodes we see him trying to come to terms with that. And also in episode two we see Una consoling him and trying to convince him that because this is a future event, it is not set in stone and he can change it so that he saves himself as well as the crew members. Only time will tell where this story goes.

Episode 1 Review – Nice To Meet You?

As mentioned earlier, SNW takes us back to the concept where the story introduced in that episode will be concluded in the same episode. Keep in mind that there is indeed the possibility that during the lifespan of this series we might come across a story that is so huge that it might take two or three episodes to conclude (as was the case in legacy series previously mentioned). Here I will be going over each of the first two episodes and giving my impression of what I thought about the episodes. I’ll be rating these episodes on a scale of 1 to 5 Pop Clouds where 1 is the worst score possible and 5 being the best. 

Episode one entitled “Strange New Worlds” was a great way to be introduced (or maybe I should say reintroduced in some instances) to the story and characters of this new series. We see a bearded, scruffy Pike on shore leave at his home (while the Enterprise is being worked on) dealing with his mental trauma after catching a glimpse of his distant future that seems to have a tragic end. While eating breakfast we see a glimpse of his communicator constantly bleeping which he chooses to ignore. It isn’t until later while riding his horse through the snow that we see Pike being stopped by a shuttle craft. And out comes Admiral Robert April (played by Adrian Holmes). This is yet another classic Star Trek character. He was the original and first captain of the constitution class Enterprise ship and was only ever shown once on Star Trek The Animated Series. When the Admiral approaches Spike he tells him that he is needed back on board the Enterprise. Pike is adamant about not returning for his own “confidential” reasons. It isn’t until April tells Pike that Una has not been heard from since an away mission she went on that Pike changes his mind. 

Next we see Spock on his home planet of Vulcan out with his partner T’Pring (played by Gia Sandhu). She proposes to him and the end up going back home to make love when they get interrupted by Captain Spike who recalls Spock to the Enterprise to figure out what happened to Una.

On board the Enterprise is when we get introduced to some of the other characters. We get to see Uhura who at this point is a cadet fresh out of Starfleet Academy and is in charge of communications. We also meet Ortegas who is in charge piloting the ship and Noonien-Singh who is in charge of security but at this point temporarily becomes the number one on the ship. We find out that Una and her 3 other shipmates were imprisoned by the people of the planet Kylie 279 while they were on a first contact mission. 

This is when Pike decides to go on an away mission with Spock and Noonien-Singh. Before they do, they end up going to sick bay. This is when we get introduced to Dr. M’Benga and Nurse Chapel. In order to not go against Starfleet General Order 1 (to be called the Prime Directive at the end of the episode and from that point forward) the away team has to temporarily get their genes rearranged so that they can look like the Kyliens. 

From this point on we find out that the warp signature detected on Kylie 279 was actually from a warp bomb. After rescuing Una and her shipmates, Pike takes it upon himself to fix the situation on Kylie 279. He admits that he’s an alien and by skirting General Order 1 he shows the Kyliens what could happen to them if the one side uses the warp bomb against their enemies on the planet. Pike does this by showing them the history of Earth. Ultimately he does change the minds of the Kyliens and they even petition to become a part of the Federation of Planets.

This was a great pilot episode for this next Star Trek series. I really felt we got introduced to both classic and new characters in such a great way. I think I’m enjoying Nurse Chapel a lot while still maintaining my favorites of Captain Pike and Spock. The story was also very nicely told while sticking to the confines of only one episode from start to finish. And I loved the set used for the Enterprise. Everything looked amazing especially the bridge. I’m going to give this episode 5 Pop Clouds because I really found nothing to complain about and I was entirely entertained for the full episode.

Episode 2 Review: A Song to Move With

The second episode is when we finally get to see the complete Enterprise crew in action out in space. This episode called “Children of the Comet” starts off with some members of the Enterprise being invited by Captain Pike to have a meal with him in his quarters. We see Ortegas in her casual outfit meeting Uhura in a dress uniform outside a turbolift. We find out that Uhura is going through a hazing ritual as one of the newest members of the ship. Apparently everyone was instructed to come in comfortable attire to the meal. 

During the meal we get to see a very nice, more fun side of the crew members involved. This includes Hemmer (played by legally blind Bruce Horak) who is a member of the vision-impaired Aenar a sub-species of the Andorians. We only got a brief glimpse of him beaming aboard the Enterprise at the end of last week’s first episode. Hemmer comes across as a bit more abrasive in his personality but I can see that adding some spice to the crew. Uhura is trying her hardest to get along and understand everyone while tripping up a few times.

 Later on we come across the bridge crew finding out during a survey mission that a comet is about to hit a planet. When they scan the planet, they find out that it is inhabited by an alien species that is still a bit early on in their development. This is when Captain Pike decides that the Enterprise must do what they can to change the flight path of this comet so that it doesn’t hit the planet and kill everyone living there.

After discussing how to move the comet with the bridge crew, the decision is made to fire some missiles at it. After they do that, everyone is surprised to see that the comet somehow has a forcefield protecting it. When this doesn’t work, the comet is scanned and it is discovered that the comet is housing a structure. This is when Spock instructs Captain Pike that there is the possibility of beaming down to the comet to try to learn more about this edifice. Spock is then accompanied by Uhura, Noonien-Singh, and Sam Kirk to investigate. 

While the away crew is on the comet the bridge crew notices that the ship is being fired upon by an unknown source. Then we see a massive ship show up on the bridge’s screen. Apparently this alien species is known as the Shepherds and they are on a mission to protect the comet at all costs. 

As all this is happening, the away team finds a path underground in the comet. They see a floating egg-looking structure and are trying to figure out what’s going on. They see a lot of strange symbols all over the room and on the egg. This is when Spock instructs Uhura to try to figure out what’s going on. We learned in this episode that this version of Uhura speaks 37 languages which makes her an expert in linguistics and also the main reason why she was chosen to go on this away mission (which was also her first mission).

Meanwhile, the away team finds a path underground in the comet. They see a floating egg-looking structure and are trying to figure out what’s going on. They see a lot of strange symbols all over the room and on the egg. This is when Spock instructs Uhura to try to figure out what’s going on. We learned in this episode that this version of Uhura speaks 37 languages which makes her an expert in linguistics and also the main reason why she was chosen to go on this away mission (which was also her first mission).

On the comet Uhura is having a hard time deciphering the symbols and is succumbing it seems to her inner saboteur. During this high stress situation she starts humming which is what she does when she’s nervous. This actually is what ends up being the key to discovering what’s going on in this comet. Spock joins her in singing different tones until the egg opens up and they are able to lower the forcefield so they can beam out of the comet.

As this was happening the bridge crew of the Enterprise had their hands full trying to convince the Shepherd to let them move the comet before it can hit the planet. Eventually Ortegas has to do some pretty creative piloting through debris and shots being fired at them to steer the Enterprise in front of the comet. While holding stationary there, Spock pilots a shuttle craft towards the comet to try to move it. But while he’s doing that Una brings up the comet’s trajectory and sees that it’s moving away on its own.

Later Uhura explains that this was all preordained. Apparently somehow the comet knew all this was going to happen and waited for it to happen to steer itself away from the planet and thus saving the aliens living there. It also introduces rain and a more favorable environment for plant growth there.

I really liked this episode a lot. We got to learn a lot about Uhura and even though I already loved this character I’m more fond of her learning her back story. The only thing I could nitpick about was when the Enterprise was dodging debris, it kept being hit by the Shepherds ship a bunch of times. The percentage of the shield being drained by these hits was not mathematically correct and the ship should have been blown to pieces due to the amount of hits it received. This was a fact that was brought to light by my friend Sean Ferrick over at Trek Culture (on YouTube). Due to this I’m going to give it a 4 out of 5 Pop Clouds for still being amazing. 

Well that’s it for the first two episodes of Star Trek Strange New Worlds. Make sure you catch all the new episodes as they are on Thursdays on the Paramount+ streaming media app. 

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