As a lifelong Star Trek fan, I found myself cautiously optimistic when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was announced. After years of serialised storytelling and darker themes in recent Trek offerings, the promise of a return to episodic adventures and the optimistic spirit of the original series felt both nostalgic and necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I love Star Trek Discovery and its exploration of darker themes. But, I am also a big fan of the Next Generation and its ‘planet of the week’ or ‘alien of the week’ format.
The fact that this new show grew directly out of fan enthusiasm for the characters introduced in Star Trek: Discovery’s second season made it feel like a true collaboration between creators and the passionate Trek community that has sustained this franchise for over five decades.
Origins and fan demand
The genesis of Strange New Worlds is itself a demonstration of the power of fan voices in shaping the Star Trek universe. When Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn’s Number One, and Ethan Peck’s Spock appeared in Discovery’s second season, the response was mostly positive. Fans clamoured to see more of these characters, with online petitions and vocal support campaigns calling for a Pike-centered series. The creators listened, and what emerged was a show that feels like both a love letter to classic Trek and a bold step forward for the franchise.
The premise: A classic Trek setup
“Strange New Worlds,” the series premiere, establishes a wonderfully familiar yet fresh premise. The episode opens with Number One (Rebecca Romijn) delivering a stirring monologue about first contact, accompanied by footage of an alien civilisation tracking a UFO in their skies. This immediately sets the tone for what Strange New Worlds promises to be: a return to the exploration-focused, morally complex storytelling that made Star Trek a cultural phenomenon.
The episode’s central plot revolves around a classic Prime Directive dilemma on the planet Kiley 279, where a pre-warp civilisation has developed warp technology not for exploration but as a weapon of mass destruction. The twist here is both clever and consequential: the Kiley civilisation only discovered warp technology because of unintended consequences from Star Trek: Discovery season two’s finale, “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2.” During that epic battle near Xahea, Federation, Klingon, and Kelpien starships were engaged in the fight against Control, creating over a hundred warp signatures that the Kiley were able to observe through their telescopes.
Using this telemetry, they reverse-engineered matter-antimatter reactors, but instead of building warp drives for exploration, they constructed a devastating warp bomb for use in their ongoing civil war. When Number One goes missing during a first contact mission gone wrong, Captain Pike must emerge from his self-imposed exile on his Montana ranch to rescue her and potentially prevent a planetary catastrophe that Starfleet inadvertently made possible.
A stellar cast breathing new life into beloved characters
What immediately strikes you about Strange New Worlds is how perfectly the cast inhabits these roles. Anson Mount’s Captain Pike is a revelation—a leader who embodies the best qualities of Trek captains while bringing his own unique approach to command. Mount’s Pike is thoughtful, empathetic, and collaborative, a huge contrast to Gabrielle Lorca, who left the crew of Discovery shell-shocked, and even, dare I say it, Captain Picard, who underwent a change in Star Trek: Picard.
The issue of what Pike saw on the Klingon planet Boreth, as depicted in the Discovery episode “Through the Valley of the Shadows”, is addressed earlier on. We see him struggle with this foreknowledge during discussions with Una and Spock. He tells Spok that he saw his own death. And although it’s almost a decade away, it suddenly feels soon. The tragic accident is a throughline not just from Discovery but from the Original Series episode “The Menagerie”.
He questions if he’ll be hesitant or cautious. He admits he’s already second-guessing himself. The storyline adds a layer of sadness without overwhelming the character’s inherent optimism.
Ethan Peck’s Spock strikes a good balance between honouring Leonard Nimoy’s iconic portrayal and creating something distinctly his own. This younger Spock is still learning to balance his human and Vulcan sides, and Peck brings both vulnerability and wisdom to the role. The episode shows him interrupted during an engagement ceremony with T’Pring, immediately establishing personal stakes and connections that will undoubtedly drive future storylines.
Rebecca Romijn’s Number One serves as both the episode’s catalyst and its moral centre. Though she spends much of the episode captured, her presence looms large, and when she does appear, Romijn commands the screen with authority and intelligence. The character’s relationship with security chief La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) hints at deeper backstories that promise rich character development.
The supporting cast is equally impressive. Christina Chong brings complexity to La’an, a character clearly carrying trauma while maintaining professional competence. Celia Rose Gooding’s Cadet Uhura is a delightful interpretation of the beloved communications officer, showing her as an eager young woman excited about the adventures that await her.
Jess Bush’s Nurse Chapel is reimagined as a brilliant scientist rather than just a love-struck assistant, bringing depth and humour to the role.
Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) gets more development in one episode than his original series counterpart received in two appearances, and Melissa Navia’s pilot Erica Ortegas brings a confident energy to the bridge crew. Bruce Horak’s Hemmer, the Aenar chief engineer, represents meaningful representation as the first legally blind regular actor in a Star Trek series.
A story that tackles contemporary issues through science fiction
The episode’s plot cleverly uses the Kiley civilisation as a mirror for our own world’s divisions. The planet is embroiled in civil conflict, with two factions at each other’s throats while possessing technology that could destroy them all. Pike’s solution—showing the Kiley leaders Earth’s own dark history of civil wars, the Eugenics Wars, and World War III—is classic Star Trek moral storytelling at its finest.
The episode’s use of contemporary footage, including images from the January 6 Capitol siege, is more direct than Star Trek has ever been, but it serves the story’s themes perfectly. Pike’s message about how violence escalated throughout Earth’s history until it nearly destroyed the planet resonates powerfully with our current moment. The show doesn’t shy away from drawing parallels between the fictional Kiley society and real-world divisions, maintaining Star Trek’s tradition of using science fiction to comment on contemporary issues.
Stunning cinematography and production values
Visually, Strange New Worlds is a feast for the eyes. The production design strikes an impressive balance between honouring the original series’ aesthetic and updating it for modern television. The Enterprise feels both familiar and fresh, with sets that capture the optimistic, exploratory spirit of the original while incorporating the visual sophistication that contemporary audiences expect.
The cinematography by Brandon Cox lends a cinematic quality to the series, elevating every scene. The shots of the Enterprise in spacedock during the opening sequence are particularly striking, conveying both the ship’s majesty and its readiness for adventure. The alien world of Kiley 279 feels lived-in and authentic, with a production design that creates a believable pre-warp civilisation without falling into tired tropes.
The visual effects work seamlessly integrates with practical elements, particularly during the climactic sequence where the Enterprise appears in Kiley 279’s atmosphere. This moment serves as both a spectacle and a storytelling device, demonstrating Pike’s tactical brilliance while creating a genuinely awe-inspiring visual.
Music and sound design
The series’ approach to music deserves special mention. Jeff Russo’s main title theme is a beautiful adaptation of Alexander Courage’s original Star Trek theme, incorporating the distinctive electronic sounds that many fans will recognise from the classic opening credits. This perfectly encapsulates what Strange New Worlds achieves throughout: taking beloved elements from classic Trek and updating them for contemporary audiences without losing their essential spirit.
A return to optimistic storytelling
Perhaps what I appreciated most about “Strange New Worlds” is its unabashed optimism. Pike’s solution to the Kiley crisis doesn’t involve superior firepower or clever tricks—it requires honesty, vulnerability, and a willingness to share humanity’s own failures and growth.
This optimism extends to the character relationships as well. The crew genuinely likes and respects each other, working together not just out of duty but from a shared purpose and mutual regard. There’s humour throughout the episode that feels natural rather than forced, and even in moments of tension, the underlying message is one of hope.
The writing by Akiva Goldsman balances multiple storylines and character introductions without feeling overstuffed. Every scene serves either plot advancement or character development, often both, creating an efficiency that allows the episode to feel complete while setting up future storylines.
Minor criticisms and room for growth
While the episode succeeds on almost every level, there are a few areas where future episodes might improve. Some of the exposition feels slightly heavy-handed, particularly in establishing Pike’s knowledge of his future fate. The resolution, while satisfying, comes perhaps a bit too easily—though this may be intentional as a return to the more optimistic problem-solving of classic Trek.
We got an info dump on La’an’s ordeal with the Gorn, but it gave Pike an idea of how to solve the situation on the planet.
Staying on the topic of La’an, I don’t know how I feel about having a
Noonien Singh on the crew, given the history of Star Trek: The Original Series history with Khan Noonien Singh. It felt like a forced link, a cheap trick, if you will. But Star Trek: Discovery did it with the connection between Michael Burnham and Spock, so let’s see where this goes.
The episode also had a lot of setup work to do, introducing multiple characters and establishing the series’ tone and format. While it handles this admirably, it leaves some characters (particularly La’an and Ortegas) feeling slightly underdeveloped. However, this is clearly intentional, setting up character arcs that will unfold over the season.
A triumphant return to form
“Strange New Worlds” succeeds brilliantly as both a series premiere and a return to Trek’s foundational principles. It demonstrates that episodic storytelling can be just as compelling as serialised narratives when executed with this level of care and craft. The episode manages to be both nostalgic and forward-looking, honouring the past while creating something genuinely new.
What impressed me most was how the episode made me feel—that sense of wonder and optimism that drew me to Star Trek in the first place. In our current moment of division and uncertainty, Strange New Worlds offers something increasingly rare: a vision of a future where our better angels prevail, where differences can be resolved through understanding, and where exploration and discovery remain humanity’s highest calling.
The series premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds delivers on its promise to return to classic Trek values while updating them for contemporary audiences. With stellar performances, beautiful production values, thoughtful writing, and an unshakeable faith in the power of hope, “Strange New Worlds” announces the arrival of a series that honours the best of Star Trek’s past while charting an exciting course for its future. For longtime fans like myself, it feels like coming home to the final frontier.
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