The problem with this show lies not within its stories. The little adventures themselves are thought out well and connect to the bigger plot in some way somehow. The unforgivable problem with this show is the appalling characters with their ridiculous haircuts, the dumb and dumber dialogues they are having, poor decision making of said characters, and finally, the "modern" special effects boring the hell out of anyone who has seen two or more popular sci-fi movies. Complete with useless CGI zoom ins, asteroid dodging space vehicle race, disregard for thermodynamics, gravity, biology, common sense or simple logic. Just pretty moving pictures straight from the PC of some overworked and over-payed dude with no imagination of his own insulting the intelligence of the viewer. By the way, nice harem the captain of this universe has going for him, the first time he steps on his bridge not a single man in sight. Which does not reduce the quality of this show to trash of course, the poor writing achieves that on its own just fine.
This series took until near the end of season one to get ahold of me.... Once it did (get ahold of me) I was hooked!
The characters are well put together (even Spock) and the stores get better and better with each new one. The only exception to this, was S02E09, which is one of the infamous 'singing' themes. Yes, you heard me. So many TV shows have done a singing episode... and they rarely work (for me). With the exception of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode titled; One More Time With Feeling. That was a brilliant singing episode.
The last episode of season 2 is a Cliff hanger, unfortunately. So we have a LONG wait to see the conclusion. Let's hpe they renew it for a season 3 :O)
The only thing strange about this series is the notion its radically different from Picard and Discovery. As far as I'm aware it utilises essentially the same team, who created the other "new Trek" shows.
In my opinion, its writing is mediocre, full of plot holes and predictably woke. Sure, the political correctness has been toned down but it's still there, in all its fussy, lecturing, needy, simpering glory.
I tried one episode and that was more than enough for me to walk away. To my mind, this is original Star Trek "dress up" devoid of the quality story telling, wit and honest charm, that made the original series a sci fi cult classic.
Sorry but this "aint Jim Kirk" or anything even close......
This series is a great relief from the altogether forgettable drama arcs in the most recent of the 2020s Star Trek series. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds throws back to the episodic 'Lesson of the Day' format familiar to and loved by the fans of TOS, TNG, and VOY.
The episodes are written in the same style with somewhat standard plot lines that make the series feel fresh with takes on modern morality and a broad range of character archetypes. Watching the series feels like a welcomed step back in time. Stories can be told in 45 minutes without needing cliffhangers to keep the audience engaged. Character development is well integrated.
Writing this at the end of Season 1 the series has yet to prove itself a more worthy prequel than Enterprise in the question of revisionist history. There are many pitfalls to avoid for any prequel series and so far Strange New Worlds has navigated them with few questionable decisions.
The first season was truly great Star Trek. I have hopes that the second season will be just as great or better than the first.
*****
Some folks should not write reviews. Their negativity so obviously reveals their desperate need to sound cultured and knowledgeable; straining to sound relevant as if they have an opinion that matters because of their vast experience as a filmmaker. All the while taking a break from playing video games in their mom's basement to try to find problems with a program they streamed.
Each of the Star Trek series had their own personalities, their own charms and attractions, and their own foibles. The common thread separating them from other sci fi being a fable daring the viewer to think about their preconceptions and the things that they believed are true. This isn't "woke", it isn't preachy. Its putting a story in front of a shallow, narrow minded audience (like those who use labels like "woke" and "preachy") and challenging them to first even recognize what's happening and then to think about it and their own world view.
I remember watching the original Star Trek series on my parents black and white tv.
Each week seemed like another message that challenged my young views and beliefs. And it seemed that, like now, so many think more about critiquing the medium and never consider the message.
I've watched and enjoyed to varying degrees all of the trek series (even the animated one!). This Trek is different. Its not Next Gen, its not Enterprise, its not DS9 or voyager. Its not even Discovery even though it seems to have grown from that branch. No, this Trek is the first one that feels like the original series. It took nearly 60 years, but i think they finally re-captured the lightening in the bottle that made Gene Roddenberry's "wagon train to the stars" so special.
Sadly, like the original Trek, the average shallow viewer focuses on minutia and just doesn't get it. I fear that, like the original Trek, this one will go the way of the pearl before the swine. I hope its not the case, because this one, perhaps more than the others that were commercially successful, deserves to go the distance.
Strange Indeed. Really, this series, as far as I'm concerned, has nothing remotely in common with the original Star Trek.
Instead, even season 2 which I dipped into recently, hasn't improved. I suspect, this is, once again, really only going to appeal to a very narrow demographic of wet and whiny, pretentious wokester's.
Whats really unfortunate too, is armed with decent writing, sensible characterisations that evoke the vibe of the 60's series, this could have actually worked. What a shame....."beam me up Scotty, there's still nothing to see here".
Best Trek Ever!
Strange New Worlds uses the episodic format of the original series, which allows the writers to experiment without locking a whole season into a single story. While it doesn't shy away from darker themes the show manages to keep a positive tone overall - something that has been lacking in many of the other recent Star Trek series.
The negative reviews are rather funny with their complaints about "wokeness" and going on to say how Strange New Words is not like the original series. They make it clear these doofuses have never actually watched the original. ST:TOS had a very diverse cast for broadcast television at the time, and many of the episodes were not even close to subtle in terms of message.
For example:
"This Side of Paradise" (s1e24) had strong themes reflecting the peacenik, hippie "drop out" subculture, and psychedelic drug use of the late 1960s.
"The Devil in the Dark" (s1e25) had a misunderstood enemy who was reacting to the unthinking destruction of their young by humans.
"Friday's Child" (s2e11) was specifically written to be a story about a strong woman who did not necessarily want children.
"A Private Little War" (s2e19) was an allegory on the Vietnam War
"Plato's Stepchildren" (s3e10) included one of the first instances of a kiss between a white man and a black woman.
Strange New Worlds continues the tradition set by the original series of calling attention to societal issues in a science fiction setting. Complaints about this reflect more upon the reviewers themselves than the actual show.
EarthAndGravity
October 14, 2023
1
I am a big sci-fi fan. And Star Trek is one the many that I love to watch. Season 2 just gave me the bitter aftertaste of it. A courtroom drama? Really? The whole episode? What's next, a musical? Oh wait, there is an episode further down with it. Season 2 is disappointing. STRANGE NEW WORLDS for me talks about discovering new planets and beings from that world. NOT a courtroom drama. I kind of seeing what's in store for Season 3, Days of Our Lives. Sorry, I have to stop watching it. I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS.
