Already the introduction of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ gives us a clear declaration of intent with the new series of the franchise, which is one of the spearheads of the launch, worth the redundancy, of SkyShowtime. Anson Mount provides his voice for a new version of “The space, last frontier” thus introducing us back to the Enterprise. We come back home.
Located a decade before the original series, the new fiction takes us through the adventures of the crew commanded by Christopher Pike, which must come out of a long period of retirement as the ship goes through a state of maintenance and remodeling. However, a first contact mission gone awry forces Pike, Spock (Ethan Peck) and company to set out again to explore worlds.
Where neither Discovery nor Picard go
The most important thing about ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ is how it se recovers the most episodic character of the saga. Thus, he abandons the trend of his contemporary series of the franchise, ‘Star Trek: Picard’ and ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, fiction of which it is technically a spin-off (in fact we saw them in the occasional arc), to drink Straight from the adventurous, planet of the week, episode danger, 1960s style.
Being aware, yes, that Sixty years have passed since those first wanderings from the science fiction franchise. Something that is so noticeable in the production design, which preserves that aesthetic in the machines and on-board computers or even the simplicity of the uniforms. All with the facelift that time requires.
It also shows with the already familiar characters. On the one hand I It seems like a pretty good casting job (Celia Rose Gooding’s Uhura is strikingly similar); on the other, it is inevitable to compare personalities. Mount’s Pike is much kinder than decades ago (Mount justifies it by being at different times in life), something similar happens with Spock.
But that doesn’t stop the good impression they make when they meet this new federation crew. Without major complications, the script by the architects of the franchise Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet immerses us in that friendly and luminous science fiction that has characterized the universe created by Gene Roddenberry for decades.
Classic cut modern trekkie
So who was waiting for the most classic Star Trek, here it is. Chapters of that cut, with light adventures, cosmic mysteries, the occasional moral dilemma, the internal sufferings of each protagonist, etc. Unfortunately, it also retains that curse of the first trekking seasons, with episodes that become somewhat arduous in which the writers (and their characters) make continuous readjustments to see what works and what doesn’t.
It is not that it is something serious either since it is simply a matter of patience in what ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ she is claiming her position as the true heiress of Roddenberry’s legacy before fans who were surely disappointed and who preferred the adventures of the Orville to those of the Discovery. If you find yourself in that group, give Pike and company a try.