Rent Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Series 1 (2022)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Series 1 review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

I wasn’t sure how to feel about a series like Strange New Worlds, acting as both a prequel to The Original Series and a spin-off to Discovery. Given the track record of Discovery and Picard, there was cause for concern. But considering the current crop of Trek, Strange New Worlds is easily the best new Star Trek show to come along this century. It embodies all the stuff I love about classic Trek while still having its own voice and style.

The series follows the adventures of the Starship Enterprise before James T. Kirk commanded it. In this story, Christopher Pike is the Captain, and a refined, stern, and charming Anson Mount expertly plays him. He’s immediately made all the more interesting captain by having a strong concept behind him. Pike has been given a preview of the future and realizes how he'll die. This paints the series uniquely, where the central character is just as aware of the future as the audience. This existential dread that Pike feels carries right up to the season finale with a powerful punch.

In between this arc, there’s a fantastic crew assembled for a series of classic-style Trek adventures, more bound by standalone stories with serialized elements. Ethan Peck is perfectly cast as no-nonsense science officer Spock, given a lot to chew on in a role where the Vulcan must deal with a marriage he’s not sure about and a family he doesn’t get along with. Jess Bush brings a lot of appeal as Nurse Chapel, becoming the charming medical expert that forms a will-she-won’t-she romance with Spock throughout the season. As the security officer La'an Noonien-Singh, Christina Chong has some great pathos for being an orphan, thanks to the bloodthirsty Gorn. Celia Rose Gooding pulls off a wet-behind-the-ears Uhura, acting as the plucky communications officer working her way up the ranks. Bruce Horak serves well as the grumpy Andorian engineer Hemmer made all the more interesting with him being blind. Rebecca Romijn has plenty of spunk to spare as the daring Number One, Una Chin-Riley.

In addition to the strong cast, the writing is just as powerful. The various stories touch upon Trek’s most engrossing aspects. There are blunt observations on history (as with the first episode's overt condemnation of the January 6th riots) and clever moral tales of handling other civilizations (one tale involves the sacrifice of children as a tradition). The many villains of the Gorn, Klingons, Romulans, pirates, and alien entities are brilliantly woven into the narratives. Most importantly, though, these are episodes with consequences. There’s real loss and deep conflict present in this first season. It makes every episode engaging, especially with the embracement of dark horror and hilarious comradery (especially the fantasy-themed episode).

The series also looks so gorgeous. The entire cast is beautiful beyond belief, especially with their variety of astounding hairstyles. The special effects are also top-notch. Aside from the eye-popping starship battles, the many bridge areas are immaculately shot. This is due in no small part to the high-quality projection sets, making the engineering bay a believable environment considering the actors are working with a projection instead of green screens.

Strange New Worlds is truly a triumph of a Star Trek series, considering how perfectly it sticks the landing after one season. It usually takes Trek a season or two to reach their finest potential, considering The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine took some time to take off. Every episode of the first season of Strange New Worlds has been better than the last, and I’m all the more jazzed to see this series continue.