Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1x06 - "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach"

[Jedi Marso]

2) Quick nitpick: When the kid asked Spock about the lightyear numbers, I was fully expecting Spock to come up with an exact numerical figure. It totally took me out of the story when he said "roughly 50K". Say what?

I was a little surprised as well. Ususally TOS made a point of Spock giving numerical answers down to at least a decimal point.

3) I've been FULLY expecting SNW to retcon Pike's fate in The Cage, and this episode did something I'd been expecting. Pike's fate is actually part and parcel of his and Arola's involvement in this episode. At the end of his revelation to her, I had a distinct feeling that they're setting up a future retcon by giving Pike the idea of a possible alternative future -- the ability of this society to cure ANY disease coupled with her not-so-subtle invitation to him to STAY with them (not just then but IN THE FUTURE) made me think that THIS was the alternative arrangement that Pike might just be mulling.... and then ALL of it was ruined (for him) by the end and what she did and how he took it. THAT, in my head, was the actual twist.

That is an interesting takeaway.

 

[Timofnine]

You know, if they took out the fluff (i.e. most of the Uhura/La'an stuff), and added Hemmer, I would have given this a higher mark. But, they didn't, so I give this episode a 7.

On that note, I wonder if this episode is a metaphor for how adults use children to push their agenda, which has been done as early as the Children's Crusade debacle 1212 CE/AD. In my remake of this episode, there would be a satisfying resolution, and Pike would have learned that the boy was his son, by way of Alora. But that's the point: we're literally seeing a darker version of "The Needs of the Many..." line, which is surprising that Spock never uttered in this episode. It would have been interesting to see Spock or Una taking an opposing side, siding with Alora on the fate of the First Servant.

Still, at least the First Servant got a chance to be a kid, one final time, and may have helped his new friend, Rukiya.

I do feel sorry for Pike on this one, which may have hardened his ability to be charitable towards non-Federation worlds. Time will only tell if this will be the case.

Nice ideas!

Maybe they should have based the character of the First Servant on Greta Thunberg, including activist speeches, mannerisms and all? This would have got this analogy across in a much firmer and obvious way to the audience? Maybe they did not want to create such an obvious caricature though?

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

So...these people must not have evolved on that planet, right? It's a volcanic hellhole. They either came there themselves or got transplanted.

 

[fireproof78]

It's kind of funny. For all the rap Kirk gets about 'banging those green alien chicks', does anyone have a definitive list? He hugged a few yeomen in moments of duress, met a couple of old flames along the way, but Elaan of Troyius is the only one I can actually recall off the top of my head. Where can we find Kirk's actual scorecard?

Deela from Wink of an Eye, as well.

 

[Charles Phipps]

So...these people must not have evolved on that planet, right? It's a volcanic hellhole. They either came there themselves or got transplanted.

I see two ways this went down as a sci-fi author:

1:] They immigrated to this planet and found some ancient Precursor stuff which was pretty common in the TOS era and not uncommon in TNG.
2:] Their ancestors made the child eating machine as a way to save their population from extinction during the early days of the disaster but they never made any improvements.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

I see two ways this went down as a sci-fi author:

1:] They immigrated to this planet and found some ancient Precursor stuff which was pretty common in the TOS era and not uncommon in TNG.
2:] Their ancestors made the child eating machine as a way to save their population from extinction during the early days of the disaster but they never made any improvements.

Or a race of Preserver-esque aliens transplanted them there and set them up with the child-brain tech. Maybe the aliens adhered to a strict 'needs of the many' philosophy.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

Deela from Wink of an Eye, as well.

Does it even count if he only lasts 0.05 miliseconds?

 

[fireproof78]

Does it even count if he only lasts 0.05 miliseconds?

Clearly worked for her

 

[StarMan]

Just finished watching it. Ridiculous.

Are we expected to believe this alien lady would not have messed up Pike's irresistible, gravity-defying quiff during intimacy?

Post-coitus chat, not *one* hair was out of place.

Aside from that, good episode. I think this format demands more episodes per season though. Surely there'd be little objection to scuttling the other ones and plugging their budgets into SNW to give us a solid 26?

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

Clearly worked for her

She was probably just being nice. She wasn't gonna call him back.

 

[Charles Phipps]

Or a race of Preserver-esque aliens transplanted them there and set them up with the child-brain tech. Maybe the aliens adhered to a strict 'needs of the many' philosophy.

I wouldn't be surprised if the machine isn't designed to kill children either but they've got it working "good enough."

Maybe the original design is primed for Iconians or whatever race built it so they can only get it working for kids they've cybernetically modified.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

I wouldn't be surprised if the machine isn't designed to kill children either but they've got it working "good enough."

Maybe the original design is primed for Iconians or whatever race built it so they can only get it working for kids they've cybernetically modified.

Yeah maybe it's something more akin to the chair device from Stargate. It's designed to work with one species, in an innocuous way. Maybe not even full-time. But someone somewhere along the way figured out a way to adapt it and make it work with child brains, albeit in a deleterious manner to the user..

 

[Belz...]

It's kind of funny. For all the rap Kirk gets about 'banging those green alien chicks', does anyone have a definitive list? He hugged a few yeomen in moments of duress, met a couple of old flames along the way, but Elaan of Troyius is the only one I can actually recall off the top of my head. Where can we find Kirk's actual scorecard?

Kirk's "sleeping around" reputation is completely unwarranted, as is his "reckless" reputation.

 

[Yistaan]

Alora: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Pike: Is that really the hill you want to die on Alora?

Alora: It's the hill your friend Spock will die on.

It's kind of funny. For all the rap Kirk gets about 'banging those green alien chicks', does anyone have a definitive list? He hugged a few yeomen in moments of duress, met a couple of old flames along the way, but Elaan of Troyius is the only one I can actually recall off the top of my head. Where can we find Kirk's actual scorecard?

There was an old website that analyzed this and found that the only woman Kirk ever actually had s-- with in TOS was Deela from Wink of an Eye, after she more or less coerced him I think? I can't find the website now.

 

[137th Gebirg]

"S--"? Really?

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

"S--"? Really?

That is a worship word!

 

[Mudd]

Man, that machine sure looked like something from TOS.

 

[Mudd]

On that note, I wonder if this episode is a metaphor for how adults use children to push their agenda, which has been done as early as the Children's Crusade debacle 1212 CE/AD.

This episode is a metaphor for quite a number of things, none of them happy.

In my remake of this episode, there would be a satisfying resolution, and Pike would have learned that the boy was his son, by way of Alora.

Nope.

 

[Uhura's Song]

I probably rated it a bit too high (8). But it was still good. It would have been better if there was any attempt at saying WHY the child was needed. How exactly does the planet go to hell? They got nothing there. It is about the twist and the emotions rather than also making some logical sense. Typical NuTrek.

Still, well done and I love Booth, she did great work here.

 

[Vince A]

It's kind of funny. For all the rap Kirk gets about 'banging those green alien chicks', does anyone have a definitive list? He hugged a few yeomen in moments of duress, met a couple of old flames along the way, but Elaan of Troyius is the only one I can actually recall off the top of my head. Where can we find Kirk's actual scorecard?

Deela from Wink of an Eye, as well.

I wish I could find it now but a few years ago I came across an article that sought to either confirm or debunk the idea that Kirk was a James Bond-style womanizer who slept around. They watched all the TOS episodes and movies and “tallied” Kirks carnal endeavors; the grand total was extremely low, like 2, possibly 3, one of which was Edith Keeler, a woman he fell in love with and fell outside the parameters of what most would consider “womanizing”. The article concluded that the idea of Captain Kirk being a womanizing Lothario who slept around was a bunch of malarkey. I agree with this assessment.

I wish I could find the article. If I come across it I’ll update and link to it.