Musings on Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"

* This is the Star Trek we've all been waiting for.
* As well done as they may be, to us there's just something dour and unpleasant about the recent Discovery and Picard shows.
* It's a sign of where we are with television right now to feel this kind of joy for a show that relies on tightly-written, self-contained episodes that clearly conclude at the final fade out.  We've grown tired of suffering through seasons-long slogs of tangled mysteries and twists and cliffhangers that are extended across way too many episodes simply because that's what shows do now.
* Ethan Peck has definitely captured the Leonard Nimoy vocal vibe.
* As other critics have noted, this show did a better job in ten hours to flesh out Uhura than was done for the character in the previous fifty years.
* Extra credit for the subtle little touches that tie this show to the original series, like the door whoosh sound effect or the little strange viewer that Spock uses at his science station.
* Anson Mount is fantastic.  We can't decide if we want to be just like his Christopher Pike character or just make him our boss so we can work for him and attend his awesome cookout meeting dinners
* We liked Seth MacFarlane's The Orville because it captured the ensemble essence of Star Trek: The Next Generation despite a number of very annoying characters and a vague sort of smugness about it.  But Strange New Worlds is so top-notch on every level that it makes The Orville look like sad, stale fan fiction mimeographed after hours in an office supply room.
* The show was much pretty clicking on all cylinders right out of the gate.
* A whole lot of the fun in this show comes from the interaction of the characters.  As with The Next Generation, this is a group you'd like to hang out with.  It's not about shocking plots or gee-whiz special effects.
* All of this, plus a return of the Gorn.

Strange New Worlds episodes ranked
1. "Spock Amok" - The one where Spock and T'Pring switch bodies.
2. "The Serene Squall" - The one with the space pirates.
3. "The Elsyian Kingdom" - The one where everyone is in a fairy tale.
4. "Quality of Mercy" - The one with Captain Kirk and time travel.
5. "Lift Us Where the Suffering Cannot Reach" - The one with the creepy ascension ceremony.
6. "All Those Who Wander" - The one with the Gorn eggs.
7. "Children of the Comet" - The one with the comet.
8. "The Ghosts of Illyria" - The one with the light addiction virus.
9. "Strange New Worlds" - The one where Starfleet invents the Prime Directive.
10. "Memento Mori" - The one with the Gorn ships.

Sam Lindbergh at The Ringer also loved the show and we 100% endorse his endorsement.

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