Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Hegemony & Full Season 2 – TV Review

TL;DR A tense end to a remarkable season.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

La'an looks through blood stained glass.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review

Well, it has been a rollercoaster of a season, with episodes flying, time-travelling shenanigans, and cross-overs happening, but we have now come to an end for now. So in our review today, we will first look at the season finale, Hegemony, which brings up back to the Gorn question hinted about back in The Broken Circle, before looking at how the season went as a whole.

So to set the scene, the USS Cayuga, under the command of Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano), is visiting a new colony on Parnassus Beta just outside of Federation space. The colonists wonder if Federation Membership is the protection they need or the target on their backs. But the subspace communications go down out of nowhere, shuttles fall out of the sky, and a Gorn battleship appears in orbit. Admiral April (Adrian Holmes) cautions Pike (Anson Mount) that this could cause a war between The Federation and The Gorn, and he is only to engage in reconnaissance to see what happened. But that is not what Pike has planned. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Subspace Rhapsody– TV Review

TL;DR Look, this was just fun from start to finish.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The USS Enterprise near the subspace fold.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review

Voltaire once periportally said, ‘Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.’ And I have seen many examples when that rings true. So, you would think that suddenly dropping a musical episode would be a significant risk. But My Musical from Scrubs and Once More, With Feeling from Buffy has shown that you can shine if you put your all into it.

So to set the scene, the USS Enterprise has found a subspace fold that could be used to boost subspace communications across the sector. Many attempts have failed, and Spock (Ethan Peck) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) are at their wit’s end when Pelia (Carol Kane) recommends trying music. It causes an effect, just not the one they were looking for when the whole crew starts singing, which is most peculiar. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow – TV Review

TL;DR – An interesting episode on its surface narrative, but even more intriguing once you think about the ramifications.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review

If there has been one thing that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has excelled at, it is making the most out of its ensemble cast. Nearly every central cast member gets to play a role in the A or B story for the week. However, they also make sure that everyone gets their own focus episode. [well, almost everyone, shout out to Ortegas (Melissa Navia)]. This week it is La’an turn to shine as we get whisked away from the Enterprise to somewhere a bit closer to home.  

So to set the scene, La’an Noonien-Singh’s (Christina Chong) role as chief of security means that she has the unfortunate job of knowing everyone’s business, even when they don’t want it, which is amplified given her mixed emotions regarding Una (Rebecca Romijn) and her behaviour when Una came out as a modified Illyrian. But as she was walking the deck of the USS Enterprise, a white light exploded out from another room, and a gentleman in a suit and a gun wound walked out, talking about an explosion that she had to stop. He disappears in another bright light, but when La’an makes it to the bridge, James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) is now the captain and no one knows who she is. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Broken Circle – TV Review

TL;DR – is a good grounding for the rest of the season while being an excellent adventure romping through the quadrant.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

Cajitar IV

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review

Last year we got one of my recent joys was discovering the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I have been enjoying this new batch of Star Trek, but this hit something a little special. I loved the wild swings in the genres that we got, some truly spectacular effects, and some solid character work. It was a new high watermark for modern Science Fiction, and I am glad we are jumping back into it today.

So to set the scene, the USS Enterprise is back in Spacedock for a complete refurbishment and inspection after everything it has been through. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has gone on leave to find someone to defend Commander Una ‘Number One’ Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), who is still under arrest for lying on her Starfleet application. He leaves Spock (Ethan Peck) in charge and tells him not to worry because what can happen in Spacedock? Fast forward to Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) getting a secret message from La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) that there is a danger on a planet on the Klingon border, and it could be a problem for the whole Federation. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Countdown – My Personal Top 10 Films of All Time List

TL;DR – Today we countdown my Top 10 films of all time; from towns where there are a lot of ‘accidents’, to all forms of Sci-Fi, to do you know the man with six fingers on his right hand, and everything in between.

Countdown

Recently I watched the CineFix crew countdown their Top 10 films, and it had me thinking what are mine? Now it was at this point where I of course naturally spiralled as how can you reduce thousands of films that you have seen into only a Top 10. Just before I threw my hands up in resignation and chucked in the towel I happened to catch an episode of Movies with Mikey on how he determined the best sequel. With this in mind I wondered if there was a set of criteria that I could use to categorise the films into a list that I would be happy with, and after some work, I came up with the following criteria that work for me.

  • Films that are beautifully constructed
  • Films that mean something to me
  • Films that are always re-watchable
  • Films that have added to my love of the craft of cinema

With this criterion in mind I went through all the likely candidates and with a bit of a struggle I think I have been able to come to a final list, well at least until I change my mind next week, which is always a chance.

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