Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 DVD Review
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is the Trek series you’ve been waiting for.
After the characters of Christopher Pike, Spock and Number One made a splash in the second season of “Star Trek: Discovery,” a spin-off featuring those characters (and more) was greenlit. Enter “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” which takes place after season 2 of ‘Discovery’ and before “Star Trek: The Original Series.” In the 10 episode debut season, fans are introduced to the crew of the 5 year mission bound U.S.S. Enterprise which contains the 3 aforementioned characters, Helmsman Erica Ortegas, Nurse Chapel, Dr. M’Benga, Cadet Uhura, Chief of Security La’an Noonien-Singh, and Chief Engineer Hemmer. Plots in this season include: Number One missing on the planet Kiley 279 (which is on the verge of war), Spock and T’Pring’s relationship, a comet, a missing Illyrian colony, Number One’s mysterious past, M’Benga’s daughter, the Gorn, Spock and T’Pring swapping bodies, the planet Majalis, space pirates led by Angel, the Enterprise crew engaging in a fantasy orchestrated by a sentient nebula, and an alternate timeline.
“Star Trek: Discovery” and “Picard” were very different Trek series that polarized the fanbase. With “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” creators Akiva Goldsman, Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman go back to the roots of Trek by crafting an episodic Trek series. Although there are ongoing character arcs here (including arcs for supporting characters and not just Pike and Spock), the episodes themselves each contain a unique episode plot. That’s not to say that events from episodes aren’t touched upon in other episodes, but there’s no big ongoing storyline ala ‘Discovery’ here. We actually get to see the Federation exploring the galaxy again which is refreshing. For the avid Trek fans, expect to see several references to the Original Series and some genuine surprises (including a character from “Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier” of all movies).
Among the episode highlights here include the comical “Spock Amok” which finds Spock and T’Pring switching bodies, the emotional and action packed “All Those Who Wander” which features the Gorn and a major character moment, and the deeply eventful finale “A Quality Of Mercy” which involves 2 Christopher Pikes and a Captain you just might be familiar with.
The cast is where ‘Strange’ really shines. We all fell in love with Anson Mount’s Captain Pike and Ethan Peck’s Spock. Not only do they embody both characters, but they both bring their own spins to them as well. Other characters that are bound to become fan favorites here include Rebecca Romijn’s Number One (who has an unexpected character arc), Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel (who has A LOT more to do in this series than TOS), Melissa Navia as the wisecracking Ortegas, and Bruce Horak who steals every episode he’s in as the Aenar (a Andorian subspecies) Hemmer.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1. Grade: B+. Note: This title is also available on Blu-ray.
Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1. Grade: A-
Extras:
* Commentary on “Strange New Worlds” by star Anson Mount and producer/writer/creator Akiva Goldsman.
* Deleted scenes for the episodes “Children Of The Comet,” “Ghosts Of Illyria,” “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach,” “The Elysian Kingdom,” “All Those Who Wander,”
* CBS/Paramount ads
* A nearly 3 minute gag reel.
* One of the best episodes of “Star Trek: The Original Series” “Balance Of Terror.”
* “Pike’s Peek”- 17 ½ minutes of Anson Mount video diaries.
* “World Building”- A featurette on the AR wall/sets.
* “Exploring New Worlds”- The biggest extra here is a 54 minute piece about this series. Interviews, episode clips, discussions about the series and the characters, and much more.
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