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Geek Girl Authority
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
4 STAR TREK Romances
In the most recent Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode, 'Wedding Bell Blues,' Spock (Ethan Peck) and Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) almost get married (sort of). But that's just one of the romances we have seen unfolded on the Franchise over the years. For this week's Trek Tuesday , we're exploring four Star Trek romances. Did we include your favorite? Troi & Riker Photo Credit: Trae Patton/Paramount+. ©2021 Viacom, International Inc. All Rights Reserved. The relationship between Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is one of the most famous and popular romances from the Star Trek Franchise, and with good reason. This romance was first introduced in the very first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, 'Encounter at Farpoint.' In that episode, it was established that Troi and Riker had been in a relationship that had concluded before The Next Generation even began. However, from the very first shared psychic communication, it was clear that a connection still existed between the pair. As the series continues, many episodes hint that the romance between the two has not come to a conclusion. Just one example is The Next Generation Season 3's 'Ménage à Troi,' which even shows the pair sharing an onscreen kiss. RELATED: Trek Two Takes: Is it 'I do' or 'I, Q'? But eventually, Riker and Troi's romance reaches a more stable situation. In 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, the couple's wedding served as a key set piece. Not only was the entire U.S.S. Enterprise-D/U.S.S. Enterprise-E bridge crew present, but even Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) showed up for the proceedings. And in Star Trek: Picard Season 1 and Season 2, as well as Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1, it is confirmed that Troi and Riker's relationship persists decades into the future. While there are many Star Trek couples, few have the staying power of Riker and Troi. Culber & Stamets Photo Cr: Michael Gibson/CBS ©2018 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. On Star Trek: Discovery, Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) are a couple whose love story has more than a few wrinkles. They are married when they first appeared in Discovery Season 1. But their relationship ran into trouble when Culber is murdered by Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif). However, that was not the end of the romance between Stamets and Culber. You do know about the Black Mountain, right? In Discovery Season 2, Stamets found Culber alive in the mycelial network while rescuing Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), in the episode 'Saints of Imperfection.' This allowed Culber to return to the land of the living. RELATED: Star Trek: 8 Visitors to the Black Mountain At first, Culber and Stamets found their relationship on rocky ground. At one point, Culber intended to transfer away from the U.S.S. Discovery and into service on the U.S.S. Enterprise. But he eventually determined that his place was on Discovery alongside his husband. As the series progressed, Stamets and Culber's relationship remained in a stable situation. On many occasions, the couple can be seen offering support and reassurance to one another. Sisko & Yates When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine begins, Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) is still mourning his late first wife, Jennifer (Felecia M. Bell). But as the series continued, he began to emotionally heal. His son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) subsequently introduced Benjamin to Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson). Yates was a cargo pilot who regularly made stopovers at Deep Space 9. Sisko and Yates shared an interest in baseball, and the couple bonded over their enthusiasm. Eventually, Yates took a job working for the Bajorians, allowing her to live on the space station full time. RELATED: Book Review: The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko However, Sisko and Yates' relationship ran into trouble when he discovered that she was smuggling cargo for the Maquis. Yates was subsequently sent to prison, and her relationship with Sisko seemed to have concluded. But Yates was subsequently released and returned to work for the Bajorians. This gave Sisko the opportunity to apologize to her for their breakup. The couple was reunited, and eventually, Sisko proposed. After the couple was married, Yates unexpectedly became pregnant. While Yates has yet to have the child when Deep Space Nine concludes, their daughter has appeared in several expanded universe stories. Jariner Photo Credit: Paramount+ On Star Trek: Lower Decks, Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) initially has an antagonistic relationship with Jennifer 'Jen' Sh'reyan (Lauren Lapkus). But in the second season finale, Mariner finally admits to Jen that when she likes someone, she's prone to making fun of them. Soon, a relationship has kindled between the pair. As Lower Decks Season 3 continues, it becomes more serious. In 'Hear All, Trust Nothing,' Jen even asks Mariner to accompany her to the 'Salon' being held by Jen's friend, Castro (Gabrielle Ruiz). While the event does end with Jen and Mariner stunning everyone there (including themselves), they nevertheless have a fun time. RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks : 7 Non-Franchise References But in the penultimate episode of Lower Decks Season 3, 'Trusted Sources,' Jen breaks up with Mariner as Mariner is transferred to Starbase 80. In the Season 3 finale, 'The Stars At Night,' it seems as though Jen is open to a reunion. However, Mariner ignores her. In the Lower Decks Season 5 episode 'The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel,' Jen gets her revenge. Assigned to an away mission with Mariner, Jen pretends she doesn't realize that Mariner had broken up with her. Eventually, this forces Mariner to admit that she never had a proper conversation with Jen about the end of their relationship. However, Jen's subterfuge sets the stage for them to clear the air. At the conclusion of the relationship, Jen and Mariner part ways as friends. These Star Trek episodes are currently available for streaming on Paramount+. Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: CHRISTINE CHAPEL Avery Kaplan (she/her) is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. With her spouse Ollie Kaplan, Avery co-authored the middle school textbook on intersectionality Double Challenge: Being LGBTQ and a Minority. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 - 2024 Cartoonist Studio Prize Awards and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, the Gutter Review, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, in the Comics Courier and in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
Courier-Mail
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Courier-Mail
‘Unapologetically heartful': Actors praise Strange New Worlds as it returns to resolve massive cliffhanger
Don't miss out on the headlines from TV. Followed categories will be added to My News. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns to our television screens tonight with its third season – and with a promise that the charming earnestness of the franchise remains undiluted. Season two ended on one of the more dramatic cliffhangers in Star Trek's history, with the Enterprise locked in a seemingly hopeless struggle against a bloodthirsty, lizard-like race of aliens called the Gorn. When we last saw this crew, the ship was outnumbered and under heavy fire. Starfleet had ordered Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) to retreat. But multiple key members of his team, and hundreds of human colonists, had been abducted by the Gorn, and faced a horrific fate if Pike were to abandon them. Quite the impossible choice, then. The face of a captain with no good options. Meanwhile his love interest, fellow Starfleet Captain Marie Batel (Malanie Scrofano), was quarantined in the Enterprise's sick bay and infected with Gorn young which, as we resume the story, are set to tear their way out of her, Alien-style, within hours unless a miraculous solution can be found. The season closed with a shot of Pike's tortured, indecisive face on the bridge, and his crew begging him for orders. So, the first order of business is to resolve that cliffhanger. Only then will Strange New Worlds be able to settle back into its usual rhythm. Speaking ahead of the new season's two-episode premiere, the show's actors stressed that it will remain true to the spirit of the franchise. 'I think, for me, personally, the thing about Star Trek that always touches me – and it has not dulled at all in the five years that we've been doing this show – it just opens my heart a lot to engage with it,' said Australian actress Jess Bush, who plays Nurse Christine Chapel. 'Star Trek is so unapologetically optimistic and heartful. It just believes in goodness, in the inherent goodness of humanity, and a positive version of what the future could be. 'What I find with a lot of other TV shows that I've watched is there's almost a cynicism, or self-deprecation, or you know, there's a fear of being earnestly pro-stuff. 'And Star Trek is really different in that way. It's just very positive, and wondrous, and curious, and really owns that characteristic for itself, which is something I am so proud to be a part of.' Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel and Ethan Peck as Spock. The characters have a complicated relationship. Picture: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ Another fairly unique quality of Star Trek is the freedom with which it can dip in and out of different genres. One episode might be serious and philosophical; the next a silly comedy; the next something approaching horror. Strange New Worlds has been criticised at times for its handling of this inconsistent tone, most famously after its, ahem, offbeat musical episode Subspace Rhapsody late in season two. That was immediately followed by a deeply dramatic finale, with its aforementioned cliffhanger. The actors, however, enjoy the dancing between genres, which gives them a chance to explore their characters more fully. One upcoming episode in season three features an early version of the holodeck, a staple of Star Trek later in the in-universe timeline. Christina Chong, who plays the outwardly serious security chief La'an Noonien-Singh, leads the cast in a Knives Out-style detective story. She described the episode as 'a huge gift'. 'I mean, to be able to number one, play a different character – or be La'an playing a different character – to be able to get into the film noir/sixties world, to be able to mash those two kind of periods together and play with all the amazing characters the writers created. The holodeck was an incredible excuse to do that,' said Chong. 'It was the most incredible episode. I cried at the end of it.' Christina Chong as La'an Noonien-Singh and Paul Wesley as James Kirk in the film noir-style episode. Picture: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ And her character on a more normal day at the office. Picture: YouTube Asked whether it was difficult to pull off the show's tonal shifts, and to keep their characters feeling consistent and believable, Bush said it was, in fact, quite the opposite. 'Actually, I think it's an absolute gift for an actor to have that,' she said. 'As soon as I feel comfortable, they shift it to something else, and you're constantly moving and evolving in a way that's kind of like a jungle gym, for an actor. 'And I don't think you often get opportunities like that with long-running shows. So while it is challenging and thrilling. Like, actors are masochists.' 'Exactly. What other show do you get to do this on? Or will we ever get to do this on in our lifetime?' said Chong. 'It helps you feel more three-dimensional,' added Martin Quinn, introduced to Strange New Worlds' cast in season two's finale, who plays the beloved legacy character Scotty. 'You're learning so much more about your character as another episode, or another scenario, something completely different, comes up.' You can look forward to many of those wildly different scenarios as season three progresses. The show remains as eclectic as ever and, to steal Bush's term, unapologetically 'heartful' – as every Star Trek story should be. Season three of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres tonight on Paramount+ with two episodes. You can read our review here. Originally published as 'Unapologetically heartful': Actors praise Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as it returns to resolve massive cliffhanger
