Trek Thoughts #1: Strange New Worlds
Jul. 1st, 2023 08:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alchemicinkI've been in a very Star Trek mood lately, so I thought it might be fun to get back into the franchise more. And what better way than to write down all my thoughts!
So here's the first of hopefully many future posts where I muse on Star Trek stuff.
I was really excited that Strange New Worlds was made available on YouTube for free in June, giving me the opportunity to finally dive into one of the new Trek shows that I was actually interested in checking out. (I don't have Paramount+ but I did get a chance to watch a bit of Discovery season one. But I just didn't vibe with that series for various reasons.)
Anyway, I enjoyed the first season of Strange New Worlds because it was a grand return to the episodic style. It made me nostalgic for Voyager, my favorite series, which also favored one episode stories over season-long arcs. And, of course, SNW was reminiscent of The Original Series too. Which is fitting considering that they are on the Enterprise after all!
I've only ever watched bits and pieces of TOS, so some of the Easter eggs in SNW were a bit lost on me. I've never seen "Balance of Terror" for example, so the season finale did not resonate as much with me as previous episodes. But the show is just as enjoyable to watch without prior knowledge of the classic series that started the whole franchise.
Honestly, I don't really have any substantial criticism of season one other than the fact that episodes 8 and 9 both made me cry at the end! Overall, I'm pretty easy to please when watching stuff and the cast and plots were all very charming to me. Sometimes the stories were a bit on the nose, but that's what I expect from Star Trek anyway: unbridled optimism for the future, even if it's a little cheesy.
Some things I especially enjoyed in season one: Cadet Uhura's story arc (loved watching her grow more comfortable with the crew and her job); the fiery storm ghosts in episode 3 (yeah ghosts!); all the hijinks in episode 5 (no sci-fi series is complete without at least one accidental body swap); the entirety of episode 8 (the fantasy costuming was fantastic); and Lt. Ortegas (I just love her, she needs more screentime).
All in all, I think this is a season I would buy on DVD and invite friends over to watch together with as a good intro to Trek in general. Maybe I'll actually get the DVD one day! And hopefully will have a chance to watch more seasons in the future.
In other brief Star Trek thoughts: I was disappointed to hear the recent news about Star Trek Prodigy's cancelation. According to reporting I read, Paramount is shelving it for a tax write-off (ugh), and now it's no longer available streaming (and only half of season one is available on physical media). What I find particularly egregious is not just the simple axing of the show, but doing it as season two is very nearly completed and almost ready to air. How devastating for everyone who worked on episodes that may never see the light of day!
I never got an opportunity to watch Prodigy but it's one of the few that connects to Voyager, so I was interested. Just gotta cross my fingers that something good happens to the series in the hands of someone else maybe.
Lastly, once life calms down for me soon, I'm hoping to dive into the Ad Astra fanfic site, join the community, and probably crosspost my handful of Trek fics. It seems fun!
So here's the first of hopefully many future posts where I muse on Star Trek stuff.
I was really excited that Strange New Worlds was made available on YouTube for free in June, giving me the opportunity to finally dive into one of the new Trek shows that I was actually interested in checking out. (I don't have Paramount+ but I did get a chance to watch a bit of Discovery season one. But I just didn't vibe with that series for various reasons.)
Anyway, I enjoyed the first season of Strange New Worlds because it was a grand return to the episodic style. It made me nostalgic for Voyager, my favorite series, which also favored one episode stories over season-long arcs. And, of course, SNW was reminiscent of The Original Series too. Which is fitting considering that they are on the Enterprise after all!
I've only ever watched bits and pieces of TOS, so some of the Easter eggs in SNW were a bit lost on me. I've never seen "Balance of Terror" for example, so the season finale did not resonate as much with me as previous episodes. But the show is just as enjoyable to watch without prior knowledge of the classic series that started the whole franchise.
Honestly, I don't really have any substantial criticism of season one other than the fact that episodes 8 and 9 both made me cry at the end! Overall, I'm pretty easy to please when watching stuff and the cast and plots were all very charming to me. Sometimes the stories were a bit on the nose, but that's what I expect from Star Trek anyway: unbridled optimism for the future, even if it's a little cheesy.
Some things I especially enjoyed in season one: Cadet Uhura's story arc (loved watching her grow more comfortable with the crew and her job); the fiery storm ghosts in episode 3 (yeah ghosts!); all the hijinks in episode 5 (no sci-fi series is complete without at least one accidental body swap); the entirety of episode 8 (the fantasy costuming was fantastic); and Lt. Ortegas (I just love her, she needs more screentime).
All in all, I think this is a season I would buy on DVD and invite friends over to watch together with as a good intro to Trek in general. Maybe I'll actually get the DVD one day! And hopefully will have a chance to watch more seasons in the future.
In other brief Star Trek thoughts: I was disappointed to hear the recent news about Star Trek Prodigy's cancelation. According to reporting I read, Paramount is shelving it for a tax write-off (ugh), and now it's no longer available streaming (and only half of season one is available on physical media). What I find particularly egregious is not just the simple axing of the show, but doing it as season two is very nearly completed and almost ready to air. How devastating for everyone who worked on episodes that may never see the light of day!
I never got an opportunity to watch Prodigy but it's one of the few that connects to Voyager, so I was interested. Just gotta cross my fingers that something good happens to the series in the hands of someone else maybe.
Lastly, once life calms down for me soon, I'm hoping to dive into the Ad Astra fanfic site, join the community, and probably crosspost my handful of Trek fics. It seems fun!
