Star Trek enjoyed prominence in the 90s with multiple long-running series and blockbuster movies that eventually faded out of the cultural sphere. Trekkies might have been thought to have disappeared, but there seems to be a new generation being ushered in and many original fans still exist. Paramount Plus has helped keep the Star Trek legacy alive by releasing new series and one of the most highly favored could also be a sign of the positive turnaround for the franchise. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 recaptures the magic the series has been missing for three main reasons.
Memorable Ensemble Cast
The most important part of any Star Trek series, let alone any story, is its characters. Previous Star Trek series have all been built on their main protagonists and supporting crew. It all started with Admiral James Kirk and Spock and expanded to Captain Jean-Luc Picard with supporting characters like Uhura, McCoy, Scotty, Chapel, Sulu, Riker, Data, Worf, and many more.
With an interesting cast of characters, each season of Stark Trek is able to explore new worlds and the lives of the characters aboard their enterprise spaceship. This leads to the necessary human connection that stories need and fuels the drama between the diverse characters onboard. As a result, characters become more real, and relatable, and audiences can connect with them. The characters also grow and this helps evolve the overall story of the series and mythos. It’s a win all around.
Star Trek Discovery has all of these elements in spades. Starting with Captain Pike, the leader’s story has a new twist when he has seen his future and how it leads to his demise. This haunts him endlessly from the very beginning of the show and is the primary internal struggle he must deal with when making every single decision for his crew.
Other key members of the cast include a young Spock, who is aboard this crew and helps build more backstory into this legendary character and fan-favorite. Christine Chapel, too, is a civilian nurse whose background is modernized to deal with the evolving portrayal of female characters. La’an Noonien-Singh, meanwhile, is a tough security chief with a tragic past. Then there’s Nyota Uhura, a linguist who develops from a fearful rookie into a confident crew member, and Erica Ortega, a sharp and strong helmsman and veteran pilot who has a positive attitude and is skilled with her gun. Joseph M’Benga is the lead medical officer and doctor who has an ill daughter and a crucial role to play aboard the ship. Finally, Number One is revealed to be of a highly scrutinized race and becomes the subject of themes of racism and genetically modified lifeforms.
This diverse combination has the potential for complex plots, relationships, and all kinds of fascinating surprises that will keep audiences coming back for more. And the perfectly cast actors help bring personality traits, mannerisms, and quirks that elevate the crew to new heights. There are also other minor crew members like chief engineer Hemmer the Aenar who play vital roles, and there’s no telling what new characters might come on board in the future.
Diverse Episodes
Once the crew is all assembled, each Star Trek series needs episodes that detail plot points and events that keep the adventures of the enterprise steering forward with momentum. From its inception, Star Trek worked best as a serialized show that showcased episodic adventures with a complete plot structure from beginning to end. Although there have been multiple part story arcs, each episode left audiences with a sense of completeness while simultaneously expanding the overall series and leaving more to be desired.
The best part about the Strange New Worlds series is that each episode has a longer run time than a standard 30-minute tv show. And this has allowed for a mix of episodes that focus on drama and characters, as well as action and adventure. This keeps the formula balanced and more engaging overall. All of these factors help Strange New Worlds capture the original magic of the earlier series with each episode being a brand new adventure and discovery, along with the expansion of the Star Trek mythos.
For example, the second episode started with the crew having dinner, hosted by Pike, who happens to have a passion for cooking. The crew has an intimate conversation and learns more about Uhura’s past and her weaknesses.
For the rest of the episode, she accompanies her fellow crew-mates on her first away mission to investigate a suspicious comet that houses a subterranean structure and turns out to be an instrument/arbiter of fate to an alien race who chooses to follow the comet’s destructive path. Only with Uhura’s skills are the crew able to escape the comet and the episode closes with another deep and intriguing dinner scene between the crew.
The remainder of the first season has an even more elaborate mix and variety of different episodes. And the best part about Star Trek is how audiences can be taken to new worlds every episode and be introduced to a host of different races, characters, and sci-fi situations that bend our understanding of space and time. As a whole, the complete first season offers it all; various genres, moods, and tones that’ll leave audiences feeling wholesome and intrigued for more.
Homage to Original Characters & Movie Reboots
The final piece of the equation for Strange New Worlds is the evident homage to the original series and character, along with how it also utilizes cinematic flair from the newer rebooted movies. As soon as you start watching Star Trek Strange New Worlds, you’ll recognize the cinematography and wider scope if you’ve seen the rebooted movies. The cinematic style is infused with this new series without it being overly done. There are plenty of lens flare effects and more scenes with low-key lighting, as well as a darker emotional tone overall.
Instead of creating a brand new cast of characters and disregarding previous historic characters, the Strange New World Series is building off the most iconic Star Trek crew in new and exciting ways. For example, Spock’s life and history have more depth than ever before. James Kirk makes a cameo that shows his risk-taking youthful nature in new perspectives. Pike is the main protagonist and more background on who he is and why he’s such a highly decorated captain are being revealed.
The series does a great job of offering further explanations about Star Trek history while moving things forward in new and distinct ways that are relevant to modern times. What’s been accomplished here is a prime example of how to honor and respect retro shows and franchises while bringing a new update to the property.
It’s also important to note that the Strange New World series can be enjoyed by anyone who wants to experience a sci-fi story about space travel. Even if you’re new to the Star Trek mythos, you’ll easily understand everything that’s going on and can delve deeper later if you wish. And if you’re a true Trekkie, you’ll want to check out the new Star Trek Resurgence video game slated for 2023. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 recaptures the magic the series has been missing and will help take the franchises to boldly go where no man has gone before.
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