Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2x01 - "The Broken Circle"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
I was not won over by S1 (which I attribute to my weariness of all things NuTrek and general glumness at the time), but the praise and near-universal acclaim the show enjoyed was irritating. Let me in on some Trek I like, already! Was I being too cynical for my own good? Was my unfavorable opinion of everything else NuTrek coloring my perceptions? Probably.
After the half-baked nonsense of Picard S3 and with SNW S2 on the horizon, I decided to approach this season with a fresh mindset - don’t bring in any baggage or hold it up to a vague, preconceived notion of the Trek I think I want. Basically, start again from zero and give it a fair go. If I like it - cool. If not - whatever.
And I really enjoyed it. It seemed a lot more assured. I love that this is an honest-to-God ensemble (with nary a mystery box in sight). I caught myself smiling several times. Compared to what we were more recently served up, this felt so much more authentic and well-realized. There is charisma and chemistry and goodness – Peck. He’s fantastic. I don’t look at him and see a pretender to Nimoy – he is making this character his own.
I might be “getting it”. It's not a 5 / 5; there were one or two things I could have done without (the magic serum fight sequence), but it was incredibly refreshing, Easy 4 / 5, I think.
And screw the canon. If writing over it serves to build a better story (ahem – Chapel / Spock) - dew it.
After the half-baked nonsense of Picard S3 and with SNW S2 on the horizon, I decided to approach this season with a fresh mindset - don’t bring in any baggage or hold it up to a vague, preconceived notion of the Trek I think I want. Basically, start again from zero and give it a fair go. If I like it - cool. If not - whatever.
And I really enjoyed it. It seemed a lot more assured. I love that this is an honest-to-God ensemble (with nary a mystery box in sight). I caught myself smiling several times. Compared to what we were more recently served up, this felt so much more authentic and well-realized. There is charisma and chemistry and goodness – Peck. He’s fantastic. I don’t look at him and see a pretender to Nimoy – he is making this character his own.
I might be “getting it”. It's not a 5 / 5; there were one or two things I could have done without (the magic serum fight sequence), but it was incredibly refreshing, Easy 4 / 5, I think.
And screw the canon. If writing over it serves to build a better story (ahem – Chapel / Spock) - dew it.
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Now that was some good Star Trek.
It's her Simka voice from Taxi, just now coming from an older woman. I totally feel the voice because I grew up with her on a weekly sitcom that my family liked to watch. You'll get used to it.
And the fact she's supposed to be an alien will just help the voice go down easier.
I honestly thought the "magic serum" was going to be the one used in the first episode that makes them look like the targeted aliens. Not the stuff Wolverine uses near the end of Logan.
I was expecting the green serum to give them Klingon ridges so they could infiltrate the bridge and send the emergency transmission. I was totally convinced it was going there. I'm glad it was just "kick the crap out of your opponent" juice.
That was a solid 8 I think, and a good start to the season. It was an interesting creative choice not to follow up on the cliffhanger regarding Una from last season.
I think that the new engineer added a breath of fresh air to the proceedings and can't wait to see more.
Spock getting drunk (and subsequently hungover) just to preserve the peace treat gave me a hearty chuckle.
It seems that Spock has feelings for Nurse Chape. I thought her reaction to him saving her life was so funny.
I think that the new engineer added a breath of fresh air to the proceedings and can't wait to see more.
Spock getting drunk (and subsequently hungover) just to preserve the peace treat gave me a hearty chuckle.
It seems that Spock has feelings for Nurse Chape. I thought her reaction to him saving her life was so funny.
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Personally, I thought this week's episode was good but not great. Thankfully some advanced reviews suggest that this is the weakest episode of the first six, so it's uphill from here.
There was a lot here to like. I enjoyed that not only Una, but Pike was sidelined this week, allowing for the focus of the episode to be on supporting crew. This was really a Spock/M'Benga/Chapel episode, with a somewhat lesser focus on La'an and Uhura (as is usual, Ortegas was a quippy nonentity). Spock had a complete character arc here, even if the framework of the story somewhat counters what we know from The Galileo Seven. A lot of the small character moments were great as well.
I was more mixed on the idea of M'Benga and Chapel (I think) not only being Klingon War veterans, but taking some sort of super-juice and turning into action heroes. It felt like a decision not rooted in what was established regarding their characters, but the needs of the plot and a desire to buck convention. It also made somewhat little sense to me that not a single Klingon was armed with a disruptor or anything, because that would have turned the action scenes into something much less visceral.
I also felt like some of the dialogue was just...bad here. Most of it was fine, but there were plenty of "as you know, Bob" type lines that were clearly only there because some fact needed to be established for the audience. It's a major failing of show, not tell. Star Trek always tends towards a bit of exposition, but that's what group meetings and the like are for.
Also, the new engineer (Pelia) feels like she walked off of another show and clashes in every scene she's in (feels like a "poochie"). I don't know who instructed her to use that raspy Eastern European voice, but it sounds appropriate to play Baba Yaga, and doesn't match with the pretty understated costuming of her character. The lines as read on the page, they're fine, I just think Kane's being directed horribly in regards to how to present her character.
That said, after three paragraphs of nitpicks, this was still an entertaining hour of Trek. Just not the smartest hour.
There was a lot here to like. I enjoyed that not only Una, but Pike was sidelined this week, allowing for the focus of the episode to be on supporting crew. This was really a Spock/M'Benga/Chapel episode, with a somewhat lesser focus on La'an and Uhura (as is usual, Ortegas was a quippy nonentity). Spock had a complete character arc here, even if the framework of the story somewhat counters what we know from The Galileo Seven. A lot of the small character moments were great as well.
I was more mixed on the idea of M'Benga and Chapel (I think) not only being Klingon War veterans, but taking some sort of super-juice and turning into action heroes. It felt like a decision not rooted in what was established regarding their characters, but the needs of the plot and a desire to buck convention. It also made somewhat little sense to me that not a single Klingon was armed with a disruptor or anything, because that would have turned the action scenes into something much less visceral.
I also felt like some of the dialogue was just...bad here. Most of it was fine, but there were plenty of "as you know, Bob" type lines that were clearly only there because some fact needed to be established for the audience. It's a major failing of show, not tell. Star Trek always tends towards a bit of exposition, but that's what group meetings and the like are for.
Also, the new engineer (Pelia) feels like she walked off of another show and clashes in every scene she's in (feels like a "poochie"). I don't know who instructed her to use that raspy Eastern European voice, but it sounds appropriate to play Baba Yaga, and doesn't match with the pretty understated costuming of her character. The lines as read on the page, they're fine, I just think Kane's being directed horribly in regards to how to present her character.
That said, after three paragraphs of nitpicks, this was still an entertaining hour of Trek. Just not the smartest hour.
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It's far from perfect but damn, was it sharper than most episodes of PIC Season 3.
'S'alright I guess
Not as good as PIC S3 for me though.
Particular things I didn't like:
Particular things I did like:
Not as good as PIC S3 for me though.Particular things I didn't like:
- Them practically staring down the camera every time there's a thematic beat connecting back to established Trek lore. "Let's steal the Enterprise." Because that's a thing. They did it in the movies. You remember, WHEN THEY STOLE THE ENTERPRISE.
- Spock switching back and forth between emo/comic relief. I have never been a big fan of Ethan Peck's portrayal and once again he does nothing for me here. I just can't see how this guy grows into the Leonard Nimoy version. It's the only consistent thing about SNW I dislike.
Particular things I did like:
- Loved Carol Kane straight away. She's a hoot. Really liked that whole "I get bored so I'm happy to indulge your shenanigans as long as I can join in" thing. Reminded me a bit of the Doctor in Doctor Who. Also loved how someone who's been a warp drive specialist for over a hundred years was in no way fooled for a second by their simulated warp core breach. Wonder if she'll link back to Enterprise in some way?
- PROPER KLINGONS. Huzzah.
- Memorial credit to Nichelle Nichols. Not a dry eye.
I was just gonna say.... Maybe I'm showing my ever growing personal bias, but I enjoyed this episode far more then any episode from Picard season 3.
It had action, emotion, humour, and Starship porn galore. It had everything I personally want from an episode of Star Trek. But, most importantly, it was fun!
Was it perfect? No. Few things are. But dammit, it was great.
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Lord Terry could stand to learn a thing or two from Strange New Worlds...
They replaced a couple shots in the opening credits with new scenes.
All types of Klingons are proper.
Since it'll be a while before I see the episode but am eager to see what happens, what the heck happens with Una and the whole issue with the Illyrians as a whole? Or is that next week?
Unresolved until a later episode. Next week, I'm thinking.
Episode #3 is the La'an and Kirk alternate timeline episode.
Episode #3 is the La'an and Kirk alternate timeline episode.
Methinks that's going to happen this year. At some point.
Good. The Illyrian issue has been annoying me since S1. It makes the attitude towards Klingons in STVI look downright tamed.
I learned from watching Doctor Who years ago that having subtitles on is incredibly helpful. It's like a back up guide just in case you need it.
Bluntly I don't think we'll ever see them again, simply because Augment Klingon makeup is too much like blackface which is found offensive. I'm surprised they got away with it on Enterprise honestly. Maybe they could rectify that by having African ethnicity actors play the Augment Klingons, but my guess is we just won't see any Augment Klingons at all period.