Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x10 - "New Life and New Civilizations"

[Yistaan]

There's a difference more obvious to Vulcans between connecting to coordinate thoughts and actions and connecting to search thoughts. He's never used that particular melding technique on a Human.

As an example of what I meant, you may have painted on a canvas before, but always with a brush, never my fingers or a paint sprayer. You may have sung before, but never opera or yodelling, always choir singing.

You might be onto something. In TOS he melded with Dr. Gelder to get information. That's not what he was doing with Kirk here in SNW. So technically, he hadn't melded to obtain info with a human before in TOS. It barely fits, but it works, sort of. Perhaps Vulcans are more exacting about how they label these techniques that are performed than us humans who just label them all "mind melds". In fact, the word mind meld isn't even used in Dagger of the Mind, just "ancient Vulcan technique".

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Why is it so difficult to accept that continuity has never been the franchise's strong suit?

It was pretty good up to a certain period in time, then it got worse.

 

[Macgyver]

I think it's great that Dr. Korby's research is sort of what inspires future five year missions. It vaguely works that in TOS, we keep seeing humanoid species and abandoned ruins that are all in similar environments, and that because these are trade routes for ancient civilizations, so we have an excuse for some of the commonality.

 

[fireproof78]

Alternate timelines were canon long before Lower Decks or the Abrams movies were a thing. Why is it so difficult to accept that continuity has never been the franchise's strong suit?

Because fans in the 80s and 90s who started with TNG had a different experience than fans with TOS.

 

[Paul755]

Marie Batel…you ARE The 5th Element

I liked the episode but it felt like the entire story was a set up just to do the Pike/Batel happily ever after fantasy. To be fair, it was a fantastic sequence, reminiscent of The Inner Light.

We know their relationship was always gonna be doomed so better to end it like this than in tragedy. Also, good to get confirmation that he did tell her about his accident.

The Spock/Kirk stuff was fine, although it was weird how sidelined the Farragut Captain was the whole time. The interaction over the chess game was good.

The Dr. Who stuff feels like them playing a prank/troll job on the people that really want that crossover. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they did really put out feelers on making it a reality.

I’d give this a solid 8/10.

As for the season as a whole. I do think it’s the weakest of the 3. It just felt like everytime they tried something light hearted it fell flat. The wedding episode was a stinker, holodeck episode…stinker. Documentary episode…half credit. Wacky Vulcan sitcom episode…worst of the series.

“Through the Lense of Time” was the best ep of the season, followed by the Kirk Year One back door pilot “The Sehlat Who Ate its Tail”.

Still think Young Scotty was a misfire and still think it was rediclious that Ortegas got reprimanded worse for being reckless than M’Benga did for murdering a guy.

Strangely enough, Pelia might be my favorite character on the show. She’s firmly in the Reno/Shaw category of awesome part-timers.

I’d give the season a 7/10.

 

[ialfan]

I went 7/10 for the finale and agree this has been the weakest season with 2 being my favorite.

Oddly I found the lighthearted episodes more enjoyable even Four and a Half Vulcans if I don’t take it too seriously. I’d rewatch that, Wedding Bell Blues, and A Space Adventure Hour.

I’m happy they are possibly finished with the Gorn and pretty much have a clean slate for the last two seasons. Maybe even Una and M’Benga can get some more focus again.

 

[Yoda]

Buffy was a great show but I'm not sure why they think Buffy villains are a good fit for Star Trek. Speaking of the Buffyverse, wasn't there supposed to be a muppet episode or something? Doesn't sound like a good idea but it would probably be better than this.

The Kirk Spock Mind Meld Synchronicity might be the most lamely shoehorned contrivance I've ever seen in any form of media ever, not to mention the general disgustingness of it.

And LMAO at Pike's line, but at least it prompted a rewatch of:

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Had to give it a 1. It was maybe a 3 if they just cut out the Kirk/Spock thing, but that sullies the whole franchise and the people involved should be ashamed.

 

[Dar70]

I think people have been reading way too much into “he called him Chris” since they introduced Kirk in SNW.

Maybe when Kirk first met Pike when he was promoted and handed off command Pike said “just call me Chris” when Kirk kept repeatedly calling him Captain.

And to show sympathy and be nice after the accident Kirk just called him Chris. It wasn’t like in that moment at the starbase they were in a super formal setting.

Haha. I know it's dumb. People come up with the weirdest explanations to try to shoehorn this show into regular Trek. Why wouldn't Kirk Call him Chris in TOS after one meeting?? That was his name. I have met ton of people briefly and the next time I see them I call them by their name not title.

 

[FredH]

Kirk and Spock experienced it together in this episode so that question or statement now makes no sense. It's like going to a football game with a friend and then years later asking the same friend "Ever been to a football game before?"

I guess at worst case, we can throw this into the “all the time travel changed some stuff” category from “Tomorrow and Tomorrow”.

 

[JohnCrichton1999]

On second view, its a 7 for me. I was amused with the callbacks and nods to other episodes and other scifi franchises, but that was it mostly. The whole Batel thing felt like it was a last minute made up thing, but then again the statue was there in that other episode. Just figured it was something else, but guess not. So the whole Batel saga just was pointless in the end, well at least she can now go back to Letterkenny with McMurray and help save the goddamn geese!

 

[Sakonna]

I find that the far more likely scenario than they digitally inserted the Captain into the scene. Indeed, it wouldn't surprise me if all Paul Wesley's scenes in this episode were filmed off to the side of the other episodes he was in this season. IE, the Farragut bridge scenes were done while Sehlat's Tail was filmed, the scenes where he's in the Enterprise's lounge while something like 4 1/2 Vulcans or something like that.

I suspect it would probably be easier on the production to have Wesley in to shoot with both episodes separately. At least, that was was the case on all the shows I worked on. Generally speaking, you're always going to just make the actors come in whenever it works best for all the other production needs, and it's just easier to shoot the episode all as one piece if you can (unless you're fully block shooting, which this show doesn't do). You aren't prioritizing actor ease in scheduling unless you really MUST, and I don't think Wesley has enough other stuff going on for that to be an issue.

I think the Captain guest actress was there. She was credited. Streaming Trek usually doesn't credit when it's a re-edit of existing footage.

Which I always found kind of scummy, TBH. It's been a long time since I've read the language in the SAG contract on this, but IIRC it's kind of a gray area where you can probably get away with paying them as if it's a clip re-use, but if you're editing them into a scene as if they are actually in the episode and it's not just a flashback, you really are supposed to be paying them as if they came in and shot that episode separately.

Though I could definitely just be out of date. Perhaps in the current contract, this practice I find scummy is explicitly allowed.

Spock doing a mind meld in public. I guess it shouldn't have jumped out at me since mind melds aren't nearly as private in these prequel shows as they were when the concept was introduced, but it still felt weird to be doing this in the Enterprise Bar and Grill.

This also jumped out at me as a production problem! I would bet that they initially intended to cut to Spock's quarters, then you're overbudget and need to find things to cut, and you tell yourself, OK, we can just absorb that into the bar scene and then we've saved on the additional setups.

I've sat in many a production meeting and watched the producers talk themselves into "it'll work, we don't need it!" We needed it at least 70% of the time! As I think these producers did this time.

 

[Sakonna]

Kirk and Spock experienced it together in this episode so that question or statement now makes no sense. It's like going to a football game with a friend and then years later asking the same friend "Ever been to a football game before?"

You and your friend have simply been visited by the Metrons, who have reset your perceptions of football.

 

[V'Lias]

Why did they need ancient phones not long ago to sync their thruster operations?

Spock was on the Farragut at the time, and wouldn't have had any reason to meld with anyone beforehand.

 

[Mudd]

As far as the sf aspect is concerned, these critters are less ridiculous than the Pah wraiths and the destiny angle no more so than Sisko's Emissary foolishness.

Loved the "flash forward."

Liking Kirk and Spock together. Who knew, when everyone was calling this series a prequel, that it would turn out to be a prequel?