Tag Archives: Star Trek

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – New Life and New Civilizations [S3E10] & Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – An odd end to a strange season of Star Trek.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

Well, we have gotten to the end of what has become a very odd season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It rolled from one wild entry to the next, giving such tonal whiplash that you have to look back on it in awe. However, there was also a thematic throughline throughout the season. And. Well. Look. It’s not great. But let’s take a moment to dive in and see if they at least stuck the landing before we look back at the season as a whole.  

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise is getting ready to take Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) back to Earth so she can take up her position as the head of Starfleet JAG. Captain Pike (Anson Mount) is feeling a lot of emotions as he is happy to see Batel finding her place in the world, but it does mean that they have to go back to long-distance. But as they start giving the Enterprise a much-needed detail, Scottie (Martin Quinn) finds that someone has patched himself together in the medical transporter and escaped. But who would do such a thing? 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 – What is Starfleet? [S3E7] – TV Review

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TL;DR – An experiment that has its frustrating points but is made better with one of the best performances in Star Trek history.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

In Accordance with the United Federation of Planets " Freedom of Information Act" This documentary includes security footage that has been declassified by Starfleet Command in the spirt of Transparency"

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

One of the lingering plot points that has been bubbling away since Wedding Bell Blues is that Beto Ortegas (Mynor Luken) is going to film a documentary. What kind of documentary he’d make has been debated. In a world where ‘following orders’ faces growing scrutiny, it feels like a timely reminder.    

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise has been tasked by Starfleet to lend aid to the Lutani, a people that had been previously hostile-adjacent to the Federation, but who are now under attack from the nearby Kasar people trying to lay claim to their home system and all its resources. Millions have died. However, there is a quandary with The Enterprise’s orders; they have to deliver ‘supplies’, obviously weapons, but also help escort the Jikaru, which is an ethical time bomb waiting to go off. 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 – The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail [S3E6] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating exploration of leadership and command when time is running out and your back is against the wall.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The USS Farragut in orbit of Helicon Gamma.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

Today’s episode gets to the heart of the very premise of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. When you have a prequel so connected to the very origin of Star Trek, you always knew the direction the show was heading towards, the endpoint. But to get there, you need to lock some key features in, and today is just one such time.

So, to set the scene, the USS Farragut is off surveying an uninhabited planet called Helicon Gamma. It was a standard, almost dull mission for Second-In-Command Commander James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley). Until a gravitational beam tears the planet apart and heavily damages the ship. The USS Enterprise was able to arrive and help, only to discover the thing that was destroying the planet had returned and swallowed the Enterprise whole. 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 – Through the Lens of Time [S3E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is one of those episodes that, structurally, I should love, but is filled with these moments that pull you out of the narrative.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

The away team down on the planet.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a bit of a frustrating episode of Star Trek, because it is filled with incredible highs and, unfortunately, deep lows. It is one of those contrasts that can derail an episode, which is what happened here to an extent. It is filled to the brim with all these classical elements that make it shine, but which crash against serial elements that pull it all apart.  

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise have been invited by the M’Kroon to the planet Vadia IX. The M’Kroon are a very wary people and have politely declined Federation involvement in the past. But Roger Korby (Cillian O’Sullivan) has found a magnetic anomaly in one of their most sacred locations. After much work from Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), the M’Kroon have allowed a small landing party to explore the site. Only to discover there may be more to this place than meets the eye. 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 – A Space Adventure Hour – TV Review

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TL;DR – Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Adventure. Its episode-long mission: to make meta commentary; try and outdo Lower Decks with a Riker reference; and serve shade on William Shatner like never before!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Maxwell Saint

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

Today, I might have watched one of the profoundly odd episodes of Star Trek that has ever Star Treked across the universe. That is, on one hand, a deep love letter to the Original Series in all its camp glory. But it is also a strong critique of the era, while it skirted the edge of canon. It is an episode where you spend most of the runtime wondering: just what did I watch?

So, to set the scene, while the USS Enterprise is at station watching a pulsar starting to collapse, the admiralty thought that this would be the perfect time to test the new holodeck, because if ships are going to be away from base for more than five years, they will need more entertainment opportunities. Thinking of the best candidate to test the holodeck to the limits, there was only one candidate, La’An Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong). So, she decides to base it on the Amelia Moon novels that she loved as a child. 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 – Shuttle to Kenfori – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is time to get our Horror on as something creeps in the dark, waiting to strike. Oh, and the Klingons are here too. 

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The USS Enterprise approaches Kenfori.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

One thing you need to know about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that it is not afraid to take wild swings in tone and also go “how about we do an ‘insert x’ episode? The sort of episode that makes no sense being in a Star Trek show, but goodness, do they pull it off more times than not. Sometimes this can be a musical episode, but today it is time to dip our toes in some straight-up horror.  

So, to set the scene, back in Hegemony Part II, Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) caught a bad case of Gorn larvae, and while they thought they had cured the infection, unfortunately, the Gorn are resilient. She didn’t have much hope left, save for one Hail Mary, a Chimera flower only found in Kenfori. There was once a Federation research base on the planet, but it was evacuated during the Klingon-Federation War. Now, it is in the Restricted Zone drawn up after the war. Which means they must undertake a black ops mission, and Pike (Anson Mount) and M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) take a shuttle down to the surface. The research station is still there, and so is the flower. But why is there no animal life on the planet? And why is there a Klingon beacon blasting a warning above the planet? 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 – Wedding Bell Blues – TV Review

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TL;DR – A profoundly silly episode about love, amazingly silly, yet that is what makes it such a joy.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The USS Enterprise at Starbase One.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

One of the great strengths of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been its ability to shift from genre to genre on a dime. Sure, everything is still couched in that Sci-fi/Star Trek world. But last season we got Those Old Scientists, Under the Cloak of War &Subspace Rhapsody back to back, and it worked. Well, last week’s episode, Hegemony Part II, was all about war, trauma, and potential harvesting into food by the Gorn. This week, we have a wedding episode. Okay, maybe there isn’t that much of a difference after all.

So, to set the scene, the USS Enterprise has been stuck at Starbase One getting repairs for three months thanks to their battles with the Gorn in Hegemony Part II. But it is coming up to the Federation Day Centennial, and it is time for a ceremonial gala. For some, this is a time of un. But for Spock (Ethan Peck), it is a time of nervousness because Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) is coming back from her three-month fellowship. He is taking out all the steps to make a grand emotional gesture, even getting dance lessons from La’An (Christina Chong). Buuuuuttttt, that doesn’t consider Chapel bringing Dr. Korby (Cillian O’Sullivan) back with her… as her date … Sure hope some entity with cosmic powers doesn’t want to mess with everyone right now. 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 – Hegemony Part II – TV Review

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TL;DR – it is time to bring the battle to the Gorn, if they can save everyone from a gruesome death.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Shields at 30%.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

It is that wonderful time of year when I get to welcome some new Star Trek. After the smorgasbord of shows in 2024, it has been a bit of a wait, but I am now and always will be here for more Strange New Worlds. We may only have three seasons left of the show, but I am ready to enjoy each and every episode, starting with the follow-up to last season’s cliffhanger.  

So, to set the scene, after hinting for two seasons, the Gorn are here, and not only are they here, but they have also started taking Federation planets. Fighting across the planet to save the colonists, while Starfleet headquarters called them back, it is what Enterprise crews are made of. The only problem is that when they beamed out all the survivors, some of the transporters were green, and the Federation does not use green transporters. Now, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) must work out how to save his crew and the woman he loves before they fall to the Gorn. 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: Section 31 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – There are some interesting ideas here and some fun action sequences, but it is held back by serious pacing issues that occurred when they crunched this into a movie.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

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

A Section 31 communicator.

Star Trek: Section 31 Review –

Well, if there is one series of Star Trek that always seemed to get brushed aside, it was Deep Space Nine, and while a lot of people have come around on it in recent years, even the other Star Trek production teams at the time didn’t truly understand it, which meant that up until maybe Lower Decks, we have never seen the impact of the show on the broader universe. Well, almost never. Because there was one part of the show that nearly everyone since has picked up and run with: Section 31. Which would be great if that was not the one bit of Deep Space Nine that I didn’t like. Well, if Star Trek is going to dabble in making movies again, and they are going to use Section 31 as the base, then headlining it with Michelle Yeoh absolutely should be the best way to start it off.   

So, to set the scene, Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) was the Terran Emperor of the Mirror Universe, brought into our Universe before being sent far into the future. There, she was unable to live, and she was sent back to a time that would be more stable for her by The Guardian of Forever [sometime in the early 2300s]. Here, Georgiou has been living under the guise of Madame du Franc at the space station Baraam. But there is an alien selling a bioweapon Godsend, and a Section 31 team led by Alok Sahar (Omari Hardwick) was sent into to neutralise Georgiou and take out the weapons dealer. But of course, it all goes wrong.  

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Awards – My Top 15 TV Shows of 2024

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This was an odd year for TV, with a bunch of shows that started strong and then just didn’t have the hold to keep me, but then we found a higher level of quality this year than many of the past, which has led us to a slightly longer list this year.

 
So this year, we will look at all the shows we reviewed last year, SEE HERE, and pick our Top 15 of the 35 shows we reviewed. For a show to count, it needed to end its run or season in 2024.  

Highly Commended – Buried, Citadel Honey Bunny, Doctor Who,The Gentlemen, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters & Star Trek: Discovery

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