It is amazing to think that at this moment, there are three live action Star Trek television shows, in addition to some animated series. This is a huge change for the long period of time we had between Enterprise and Discovery. The latest is Strange New Worlds.
Strange New Worlds focuses on the the USS Enterprise before James T Kirk was the captain, back when it was commanded by Captain Christopher Pike.
My first introduction to Pike was in the original series episode, The Menagerie. That particular Star Trek episode is constantly in the background of this new series. In that episode, they use footage of the previously unaired pilot for Star Trek. It takes place when Pike has been terribly injured and has a low quality of life.
This brings us to Star Trek Discovery, which first number of seasons also took place in that pre-Kirk era. We were re-introduced to Pike and Spock and caught a glimpse of the pre-Kirk Enterprise. In one of those episodes, Pike receives a vision of what will happen to him in the future, the fate we see in The Menagerie.
The appearance of Pike was so popular that fans demanded a spinoff series and that is what we get with Strange New Worlds. At this point, I have only seen the first two episodes and so this is not a review of the season.
I absolutely love Strange New Worlds. I really liked Discovery and Picard but we are on a totally different level with Strange New Worlds.
The best way to describe it is that Strange New Worlds is that it takes the best elements of the original Star Trek series and mixes it with the best elements of Discovery.
It is nostalgic in the most positive sense of the term but its entertainment value is much more than how it reminds us of the old days.
There is a feel to the series that is just what we need right now. There are some familiar characters (Pike, Spock, Number One, Uhura, Nurse Chapel) as well as plenty of new ones. The way they interact with each other and with their mission really works.
I would describe Strange New Worlds as the television series that I have enjoyed most in a long time.
