Star Trek: All Things Trek

[Ickles]

Anybody else watching this? So far it's my favorite new Star Trek series in quite a while. I know there's some Star Trek fans on here from the old Dugpa Picard thread so curious to hear any thoughts on this new series. Love the classic "adventure a week" feel so far and the cast is stellar.

 

[Stavrogyn]

So far it's my favorite new Star Trek series in quite a while (...) Love the classic "adventure a week" feel so far and the cast is stellar.

I'm thrilled to hear this!

I'm not watching it yet because I'm mostly trying to watch one series at a time, while following at least some kind of a chronology. An illusion of chronology!

Since I started watching Star Trek (the franchise) in January of 2021, I've seen the entirety of The Next Generation (including the four films), the three Kelvin timeline films, Picard, and Deep Space Nine. Currently, I'm on the second season of Voyager. I'm looking forward to Strange New Worlds, but the problem is that I will have to first finish Voyager and catch up with Discovery in order to start with it.

I've generally liked all of Star Trek I've seen so far, but the three series from the 80s and 90s are definitely superior to the new films and Picard, especially Deep Space Nine, which is my favourite. I loved the structure of that series: it was somewhat ahead of its time regarding serialized storytelling on TV and especially Star Trek, but still had a lot of more-or-less standalone episodes (which were often at least tangentially related to the long-running stories). When I was starting with Voyager, I was afraid that I would miss that kind of structure too much because I knew the episodes would be more standalone - but I love it. Despite my excitement about Picard, I already like Voyager more. There is something to that "adventure a week" feel!

So you say that Strange New Worlds is good? I read a few headlines on Indiewire, and they sounded very encouraging!

 

[Ickles]

So you say that Strange New Worlds is good? I read a few headlines on Indiewire, and they sounded very encouraging!

So far it's pretty great, yeah! It's hard to judge it fully in the context of the rest of the Star Trek canon since there's only been 3 episodes so far but right now I'd say I'm enjoying it more than Discovery, Picard and certainly Enterprise. It's still no Next Generation (still my favorite series) but again, it's tough to fairly compare a show with 7 seasons to one with a whopping 3 episodes under its belt. I think I'm mostly excited because it captures the original Star Trek ethos pretty well. As the title suggests it's all about exploring new worlds and really encapsulates the "western in space" final frontier idea. Curious to hear your thoughts once you catch up to it but at this point you're probably better served just waiting for the entire season to be released so you can watch it at your preferred pace (waiting once a week is killing me right now)

 

[Stavrogyn]

Curious to hear your thoughts once you catch up to it but at this point you're probably better served just waiting for the entire season to be released so you can watch it at your preferred pace (waiting once a week is killing me right now)

Your words just made me want to start the series immediately!

I'm reading Rotten Tomatoes right now, and yes, a 98 % approval score is not bad, not bad at all. "Strange New Worlds treks across familiar territory to refreshing effect, its episodic structure and soulful cast recapturing the sense of boundless discovery that defined the franchise's roots." It sounds great!

For as long as I can remember I've been creating certain rules and imposing restrictions for myself - I have to first finish this to start this, etc. - but sometimes spontaneity is the only right way. (After all, it's television, not my job, it's not like I have to follow rules or anything.) I will share your impressions with my girlfriend right now, and knowing her sentiments towards Star Trek, I'll probably be up to date and ready for discussions about Strange New Worlds before the weekend

 

[Rigpa]

I’m watching, and am enjoying it. I was in my early teens when the original series aired, so Strange New Worlds has a certain nostalgia for me. The standalone episodes, the sense of wonder in exploration, the moral center, and of course Captain Pike played such a huge role in the Hugo award winning two-part episode The Menagerie from the first season of the original series. I have watched all things Trek, but this one feels the most like Gene Roddenberry since TNG.

 

[Stavrogyn]

I have watched all things Trek, but this one feels the most like Gene Roddenberry since TNG.

That sounds great, lets's hope it stays as good for the rest of the season!

 

[Ickles]

No specific spoilers but...wow, last night's SNW ep was pretty great. Favorite episode of the series so far by a mile and honestly one of the best episodes of any Star Trek property I've seen in several years.

 

[Stavrogyn]

A few weeks how passed and seven episodes are now out, with the eighth one on its way today - how is everyone feeling? Is the series still as good as it was in the beginning? (I still haven't started watching it.)

 

[MasterMastermnd]

I've liked all the new Trek, though Discovery has been a mixed bag. There's something special about SNW, though. It's the first where it feels like the producers are remembering standalone storytelling, and more importantly, it's true benefit: patience. Patient storytelling lets the story reveal itself organically.

 

[Ickles]

Yeah, it's still great so far. Last week's episode might be my favorite yet. I've been so invested in the new series and missing it in between episodes that I've actually gone back and started re-watching Discovery from the beginning, to get a little Star Trek fix. While I like Discovery reasonably well, and find a lot of the first couple of seasons very enjoyable, it's still a night-and-day difference from Strange New Worlds.

I echo MasterMastermnd's sentiments about patient standalone storytelling, which in a weird way makes it more compelling than massive season long arc with cliffhangers. I feel like contemporary TV, especially dramas, is all structured with season-long arcs that hit the usual beats that anybody with a copy of a screenwriting structure how-to guide can see coming a mile away (i.e. this is the "all is lost" episode, etc.). It feels oddly innovative to pivot back to a "monster of the week" structure of storytelling and it gets me excited to tune in every week to see what new adventure they will be in.

 

[MasterMastermnd]

Yeah, a lot of the great shows benefitted from patience. It's a full season or so before the serialized elements begin to show up in shows like The X-Files, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Millennium, etc. Even a lot of the best shows with strong serialization are patient, chief among them of course Twin Peaks.

 

[Stavrogyn]

It feels oddly innovative to pivot back to a "monster of the week" structure of storytelling and it gets me excited to tune in every week to see what new adventure they will be in.

This is similar to how I feel toward Voyager at this moment. After finishing Deep Space Nine - which is by far my favourite Star Trek - I was concerned that the return to standalone episodes would feel like going backward, and that it would be underwhelming compared to DS9. However, I've been enjoying it from the very beginning. And it's not like the episodes are standalone in a way that everybody forgets what happened in the previous one; no, there is character development and there are continuing stories as well, so all in all, if done right, it can be a rather rewarding format.

 

[Ickles]

With last night's finale the first season is now complete. What a great debut. Some episodes were better than others but it was generally pretty damn solid and I can't wait to see season 2. Highly recommend to any Trek fans, or, honestly, just fans of good TV who are curious enough. My girlfriend isn't very familiar with the Trek canon and she absolutely loved it so it's not just for fans.

 

[Stavrogyn]

With last night's finale the first season is now complete. What a great debut. Some episodes were better than others but it was generally pretty damn solid and I can't wait to see season 2. Highly recommend to any Trek fans, or, honestly, just fans of good TV who are curious enough. My girlfriend isn't very familiar with the Trek canon and she absolutely loved it so it's not just for fans.

Thank you for keeping us up to date!

I'm nearing the end of season two of Voyager, so there's still a lot coming (I'm loving it more and more as the show progresses), but I'm sure that we will find the time to watch Strange New Worlds sometime before the second season debuts. I'm looking forward to finally being able to properly discuss it with you!

 

[Cappy]

I really loved how the finale

Spoiler

revisits "Balance of Terror", my hands down fave episode from TOS.

 

[Stavrogyn]

I finally watched the first season of Strange New Worlds!

Unsurprisingly, both my girlfriend and I loved it. All the things mentioned in the previous posts were true: great format (standalone episodes mixed with patiently developing narrative arcs), good cast (Spock and Pike being my favorites), impressive visuals, and all in all a true Star Trek feeling.

My favorite episodes by far were Spock Amok (episode 5) and The Serene Squall (episode 7): the first one was a great combination of humor and character-related drama, while the second one was simply fun (I loved Captain Angel).

I haven't seen The Original Series yet, but I'm thrilled to learn that the two shows are connected in more ways than I imagined. For example, I thought that T'Pring and Samuel Kirk were new characters, and - I'm kind of ashamed of this - I even jokingly complained a few times about how they introduced a menacing "new species", the Gorn, which isn't mentioned in any subsequent series

 

[Stavrogyn]

Is anyone watching Star Trek: Lower Decks? I began watching the first season yesterday.

 

[Cappy]

I had trouble getting into Lower Decks personally — the humor just doesn’t really work for me. Although I do appreciate the deep cut references to older Trek.

 

[Stavrogyn]

I don't mind the humor, but I rarely laugh when watching films or television anyway. My main issue is that there's a bit too much action, but it doesn't matter that much, I still enjoy it.

As for the "deep-cut references to older Trek", that's probably the best part and what I was looking forward to the most. One of my favorite things when watching Star Trek are references to other shows or films from the franchise and especially crossovers, like when my favorite Star Trek character, Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, became a recurring character in Voyager. I hope to see cameos and similar appearances in Lower Decks as well.

By the way, the first season has a 68% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, while both the second and the third have a perfect 100, so it's supposed to get better as it progresses.

 

[MasterMastermnd]

It does get better. Ends up like The Orville where the parody realized it was better off as legit science fiction. I'm hoping it fulfills the role of Sin Eater for Trek nostalgia. Don't need it in the other shows if you can get it here sort of thing.