Latest news with #StarTrek:StrangeNewWorlds
CBS News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Paul Wesley talks honoring William Shatner without imitation in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"
Actor Paul Wesley said he made a conscious decision to develop his own interpretation of James T. Kirk rather than imitate William Shatner's iconic portrayal when he joined "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" as the younger version of the legendary captain. "I watched, I rewatched every episode of T.O.S. prior to getting onset," Wesley said Tuesday. "I made a conscious decision. I thought about should I imitate or try to emulate William Shatner in any way. I thought, god, he did such an amazing job. He was so iconic, why not do my own spin?" Wesley plays Lt. Kirk in the Paramount Plus series, portraying the character before his promotion to captain of the USS Enterprise. He said he approached the role by considering Kirk's earlier development. "This is pre-captain so maybe he is still sort of figuring it out," Wesley explained. The actor received Shatner's blessing before taking on the role. Wesley said Shatner tweeted him: "Take care of my crew and my ship." "It was such a beautiful moment for me," Wesley said of the endorsement. Wesley described "Star Trek" as one of his favorite projects. "What I love about this show, first of all, it is incredibly optimistic and it is sort of an escapist playground," he said. "We get to watch this imaginative world filled with hope and positivity, inclusivity." He said that each episode presents different challenges for actors. "Every episode is its own movie. You get to play a different character in a weird way or experience a different world in every episode. So as an actor it is thrilling." Season three of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is currently streaming on Paramount+.
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Pulled Off Something Better Than a Classic Zombie Story
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds loves itself a trope, and sometimes that really is a 'for better or worse' kind of situation. So when this week's episode, 'Shuttle to Kenfori', revealed that its antagonists were some very fast-running plant-based zombies (The Last of Who?), I braced myself to hit all the very well-worn marks of the genre. But thankfully 'Kenfori' surprised me, and sidestepped a thematic cynicism to deliver a surprise sequel to one of season 2's standout episodes.'Shuttle to Kenfori' sees the Enterprise facing an off-the-books mission to a demilitarized zone between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, when it turns out that Captain Batel's not-so-happily-cured of her Gorn infestation as last week's premiere largely handwaved. Needing the aid of an exceedingly rare plant being studied by Federation agri-scientists before the outbreak of the war with the Klingons as Batel's only hope, the Enterprise is forced to watch from afar as it sends off Dr. M'Benga and Captain Pike to the abandoned research station on the titular planet to find the chimera plant before any passing Klingons discover Starfleet's flagship violating peacetime treaties. 'Shuttle to Kenfori' jukes and jives as it reveals its true layers. At first you think you're getting another episode about the aftermath of Discovery's Klingon war, especially with the pairing up of M'Benga and Pike to contrast the doctor's experience on the front lines with Pike's relative distance from the events of the war—and especially when a (wonderful-looking) Klingon D7 drops out of warp above the planet and sends a scouting party and promptly blows up their shuttle. But as Pike and M'Benga prepare for a shootout, we're hit with our first twist: the station's research into using the chimera planet to hybridize sustainable crops led to a viral outbreak that consumed all living matter on the planet, Federation and Klingon alike, leaving running, clawing, moss-covered zombies in its wake. So in quick succession, we get all the typical zombie story hallmarks. There's plenty of gross-out horror, from Klingon disruptors vaporizing the undead, to smushed body parts, and even one of the Klingon scouts getting swarmed and eaten alive—gut-ripping galore that doesn't go quite into full horror, but still makes you squirm. M'Benga admonishes Pike over his use of 'the z-word.' Tensions about Batel's conditions get put aside the second Pike stands next to a viewport that practically screams 'a zombie is about to slam on this for a jumpscare,' only for exactly that to happen. And then, of course, differences are put aside when the one remaining Klingon offers to work together with the Starfleet duo in order to try and make it off Kenfori alive. If this was all 'Shuttle to Kenfori' was, it might be a bit of a letdown. For as much as the show loves playing with genre tropes, at its best it does so by doing more than what 'Kenfori' does here with zombies, largely pointing at things and situations you'd expect and shrugging as it puts a veneer of Star Trek over it. But thankfully, there's another twist in store. When the Klingon, M'Benga, and Pike get to the top of the research station, with a Klingon scout ship waiting to take them to freedom, the Klingon reveals her true intent. It turns out their vessel wasn't patrolling the demilitarized zone, it was hunting for M'Benga—and that she is Bytha, the daughter of Ambassador Dak'Rah, the Klingon turncoat who had some very personal history with M'Benga and Nurse Chapel's wartime experience in last season's 'Under the Cloak of War'. Bytha, it turns out, wants vengeance, but not for the death of her father. She wants to kill the person who killed Dak'Rah—something 'Shuttle to Kenfori' has M'Benga be much more specific about, compared to the fascinatingly morally vague conclusion of 'Under the Cloak of War'—to try and regain her family's honor in the eyes of Klingon society, their house diminished for Dak'Rah's allegiance with the Federation after the war. On a dime, the episode turns again, now not about ticking off zombie tropes but bringing a fascinating extra layer to that prior episode, and to M'Benga again. But not in the way you'd expect 'a zombie episode' to be about that idea. If anything, especially by having M'Benga at least fully admit, to the shock of Pike, his role in Dak'Rah's death, you might think we're about to get into that whole 'humanity (and Klingons alike) are the real monsters' kind of deal, as M'Benga and Bytha engage in an honor duel to the death. But in a stark contrast to the season opener's view of the Gorn, instead we get a much better parallel to 'Arena' here than any of Strange New World's Gorn episodes have managed to deliver so far: a Starfleet hero dealing with their capacity for violence and darkness, acknowledging it, but also learning to go beyond it. Even as M'Benga remarks about his blasé relationship with his part in the Klingon War (he even says to Bytha, when she asks if he recognizes her, that he's killed so many Klingons that he pays no attention to specific identities), the duel becomes a fight for him to move past that history, the history that saw him lead to a violent continuation of that cycle in confronting and killing Dak'Rah, and show her that he has become a better person. In doing so, he is willing to accept an amicable understanding of Bytha, and of Klingon rituals around honor, sparing her from their duel but respecting that she chooses to sacrifice herself to the zombie hordes to buy M'Benga and Pike time to escape with their chimera plant sample in tow. It trades the dark ambiguity 'Under the Cloak of War' ended on when you'd expect a tropey zombie story to revel in that kind of darkness, and offers instead a perfectly Star Trek message: that even having been touched by darkness, this is a future that represents a possibility that people can grow and become better versions of themselves. So it's interesting then that what 'Shuttle to Kenfori' ends on isn't really M'Benga reconciling with the progress he's made, but the slipping of another member of the Enterprise crew. While all the zombie action on Kenfori has been playing out throughout the episode, back aboard the Enterprise, the bridge crew (among whom all the women have suddenly got their hair tied up, the hilarious reason for why revealing itself in a brief moment where the bridge loses artificial gravity—I guess no one on production wanted to deal with floating hair!) have been playing a bit of a space-submarine game with the Klingon battlecruiser. Not wanting to be seen violating the treaty, and getting into a risky fight that could stop them from rescuing M'Benga and Pike, Una approves a plan to slowly enter Kenfori's orbit, cloaked by an asteroid field, rather than Ortegas' risky, loud move of trying to warp into orbit, beam the away team out at speed (with a bit of help from Scotty, who of course will have history with that kind of risky maneuver!), and warp back out. Things go awry when the D7 notices Enterprise anyway, leading to the crew falling back to Ortegas' original plan… only for Una to realize that Ortegas, who has her own troubled history as a veteran of the Klingon War, purposefully disobeyed orders to force a potential conflict with the Klingons. It's clear that, despite suggestions to the contrary, her traumatic encounter with the Gorn has left Ortegas in a vulnerable state, one that is going to be antagonized by Number One's punishment of her by taking her off the bridge roster for weeks. Not only is it an interesting continuation of Ortegas' arc this season (at last, she has something to do, even if she's just been punished by being given nothing to do!), it's a fascinating parallel with how M'Benga's arc develops this episode. After all, journeys of learning and healing aren't linear paths: there is progress and setbacks, recoveries and slips. But Star Trek is about the potential of allowing people the chance to go on those journeys in the first place, to grow into a place among societies that have managed to do that on interstellar scales. Placing that utopian ideal at the heart of a zombie episode is perfectly Star Trek, and far better than just playing the shambling hits. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
At 'Vampire Weekend,' 'Diaries' stars Wesley and Somerhalder reminisce and banter
BOSTON — Fandom for 'The Vampire Diaries' is alive and well. And, if anything this past weekend's 'Vampire Fan Weekend' proved July 19 and 20, it's bigger than ever. Despite the blood-sucking, nighttime soap opera being canceled eight years ago, fans packed into Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel to celebrate the defunct but never defanged series and its stars. Then again, with streaming and binging, a series about the trial and tribulations and romantic pitfalls of the good-looking undead never stay truly dead for too long. And, the reason why 'The Vampire Diaries' has risen from grave of rerun hell, is because of the star power of Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, who played the devilishly handsome bloodsucking brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore, as the crowd of predominately young women — many of which weren't even preschoolers or out of rubber pants when the show debuted in 2009 on the CW — would attest. Brother act Wesley and Somerhalder were the main attraction of 'Vampire Fan Weekend' and the toothsome twosome didn't disappoint fans during their unabashed, free-wheeling, F-bomb-laced panels where nothing was sacred or off-limits. Sadly, the only minor disappointment at 'Vampire Fan Weekend' was no one took the opportunity to partake in some cosplay. I stand corrected, there were two fans dressed in Starfleet uniforms in honor of Wesley landing the role of a young James T. Kirk on 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.' Thankfully, an appreciative Wesely made myself and my brother not feel awkward being more appropriately suited up for a 'Star Trek' convention, with toy phaser and communicator in hand. In addition, Candice King, who plays Caroline Forbes on 'The Vampire Diaries,' and Matthew Davis, who plays history teacher and vampire hunter Alaric Saltzman on 'The Vampire Diaries,' turned out to be very popular drawers. While Nina Dobrev, who played vampiric love triangle interest Elena Gilbert and her doomed doppelganger Katherine Pierce, was not on the bill, the actress was there in spirit and conversation. During their batty, fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants panel, Wesley and Somerhalder, who also played Boone on 'Lost' prior to 'The Vampire Diaries' gig, cheekily joked about their relationship off the set. The truth of the matter is, the two men who played brothers act like brothers in real life, finishing sentences and slapping each other down with their self-lacerating wit. Behind the scenes When asked if they could have picked another series to do a 'crossover episode' with, Wesley immediately riffed 'A cross-dressing episode?' before saying, that he was surprised that the Salvatore brothers never joined forces (or were at odds) with Dean and Sam Winchester (aka Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki) from 'Supernatural,' which was also on the same network as 'The Vampire Diaries.' When the two men were on topic, they chatted about how the show taught them patience and Somerhalder had the biggest makeup bag. 'We were supposed to be on the set at 10 a.m.,' Wesley said of Somerhalder. 'He was there four a.m. doing his hair.' 'My make-up bag was bigger than Candice's (Candice King), or Nina's (Nina Dobrev), or Bonnie's (Bonnie Bennett)' Somerhalder boasted. 'At least, he admits it. It was like Anthony Hopkins in 'Silence of the Lambs,' nine face masks,' Wesley insisted. 'Dude it was like an ER surgery. Nine people. It's like what 's the (expletive) is going on here?' 'You learn a lot because unlike Paul I had a method,' Somerhalder snapped. 'What was your method?' Wesley countered. 'Moisturizing your face for nine hours?' Forced to examine their characters by a fan, the two actors said they saw striking similarities with their small screen counterparts.' 'These characters were resilient, like we are, fiercely loyal, love their family,' Somerhalder said. 'And (they commit) murder(s),' A question from closet shrink, who admitted that she works in HK, started Wesley and Somerhalder to allude to the infamous jumbotron scandal four days before at Gillete stadium. 'Don't go to any Coldplay concerts,' Wesley interjected, before Somerhalder took it to a another level, talking about a guy he saw online beaning his kid off the head with a baseball and the caption, 'I might not be the best dad in the world but I don't go to Coldplay concerts' Ouch. When asked if they were in horror movie who would sacrifice the other to survive, Wesley snapped, 'If we were on an island, I'd want to eat his (expletive), I wouldn't be hungry. I would just do it. Even if there were plenty of fruits and (expletive), I would just eat it.' When asked what has been your biggest lesson that has helped you stay focus and on track, Wesley chimed, 'Adderall, without missing a beat. When a fan asked which one of them should have ended up with Elena Gilbert — the brothers' shared love interest played by Nina Dobrev — Wesley and Somerhalder agreed that neither deserved her, because she was too good for either of them. 'We deserved each other," said Wesley. 'Crazy as craziness gets' Before the end of the afternoon, the two actors drove a stake into 'The Vampire Diaries' fans over the romantic notion of two brothers swooning over and competing for a teenager. 'These guys were 150-160-something years old dating a 17-year-old high school student who turned 18, thankfully, and you approved of it,' Somerhalder said. 'And then I killed her brother twice. Still approved of it. I just want you to know you are crazy as craziness gets.' When Somerhalder joked that he loved seeing Wesley's character get killed, Paul said he felt like he could have moved out of the way of the fireball from hell and also been able to save Matt Donavan and Elena at the same time from the sinking car. 'She was like, 'No save him.' Ok. I was a vampire. I had vampire powers. So I could have taken both of them,' Wesley said. 'The truth is I am so glad Stephan didn't end up with Elena. If he did, I would have to hear about it for the rest of my life.' And the TV brothers weren't too keen with the show's ending, they said. 'The brothers should have just died and let the town go back human. Let everyone go to back to being alive and happy,' Somerhalder said. 'And, by the way, this is all endorsed by you lunatics.' When the audience started lobbying for Somerhalder return to television, the actor snapped, 'I need a television show like I need an (expletive) on my elbow … You know messy that be? Every time you shake someone's hand (making a fluctuance sound). That would be horrible.' Antisocial media Before leaving, Wesley and Somerhalder got nostalgic for the simpler, carefree days before lashing out at social media. 'You can really go down a rabbit hole, people criticizing, being mean and all things being anonymous,' Wesley said. Wesley says he does two things about posts about him on social media — consciously, he doesn't look at it. And, for chances he does, he said doesn't give a '(expletive).' Somerhalder added when social media first came out in the forefront his initial thought was, 'If this catches fire, this is going to be hell.' 'It gives someone mean to say something anonymously that they would never say to your face,' Somerhalder said. 'They are now saying it online because they can do it without repercussions.' Somerhalder went as far to say teenagers were better off without social media. 'When we were in school, if you said something mean to someone, they would punch you in the face and then you knew it was cause and effect,' Somerhalder said. 'Oh, when I hurt someone with my words, they might either say your words back to me or they are wrack you in the jaw. Now, that went out the window.' 'In our case, we say something mean, we make up and make out,' Wesley added This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Wesley and Somerhalder hold court at 'Vampire Diaries' convention Solve the daily Crossword
Tom's Guide
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
How to watch 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' season 3 on TVNZ+ - it's *FREE*
Buckle up for 10 new adventures, not only through the farthest reaches of the galaxy but right at home on the the U.S.S. Enterprise, in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3. The "Star Trek" spinoff is fun, visually spectacular, unpredictable and extremely popular, having garnered a 94% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. Here's how to watch "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 from anywhere with a VPN — and potentially for FREE. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 airs each Thursday, starting July 17.• Watch FREE — TVNZ Plus (New Zealand)• Watch FREE — CTV (Canada)• U.S., U.K. — Watch on Paramount Plus• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk-free "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" has been so well-received, in fact, that it's already been renewed right the way through to season 5, which will be its final run. If you hadn't guessed already, that means the season 2 cliffhanger that left La'An, M'Benga, Ortegas and Sam in the clutches of the Gorn doesn't spell the end for Captain Pike's close-knit crew. One of the most crucial things the show, which serves as a prequel to "Star Trek: Discovery", gets right is its variety. Unlike "Doctor Who" for instance, "SNW" chooses not to instil every episode and incident with a potentially catastrophic, existential capacity. Some foes, such as Rhys Darby's Trelane, are purely in it for the chaos. The alien worlds depicted in the series are genuinely captivating too, as are the dynamics between the background members of Pike's crew, who have each developed into credible, complete characters. Read on and we'll tell you how to watch and stream "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 online and from anywhere. Trekkies in New Zealand and Canada are amongst the luckiest in the world, as they can watch "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 for free. In New Zealand, the show is on free-to-air TVNZ Plus, and in Canada it's on CTV, which lets you stream episodes free of charge for a limited time, the day after transmission. Traveling abroad right now? You can use a VPN to watch "Strange New Worlds" season 3 as if you were back home. NordVPN is our top pick of the options and we'll show you how to access it below. Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the show on your usual subscription? You can still stream "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear as if they're back in your home country regardless of where in the universe you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market: NordVPN deal: FREE $50 / £50 Amazon gift card Boasting lightning fast speeds, great features, streaming power, and class-leading security, NordVPN is our #1 VPN. ✅ FREE Amazon gift card worth up to $50/£50✅ 4 months extra FREE!✅ 76% off usual price Use Nord to unblock TVNZ+ and watch "Star Trek: Strange New World" season 3 live online with our exclusive deal. Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view a Kiwi service, you'd select New Zealand from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the show. Head to TVNZ Plus and stream "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" for free. In the U.S., "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 premiered on Paramount Plus on Thursday, July 17. Episodes are now landing weekly. Never signed up for Paramount Plus? You'll get a 7-day Paramount Plus FREE trial, after which a subscription starts at $7.99 per month. New Zealanders traveling in the U.S. could look into using a VPN to stream for free, just as they would back home. In Canada, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 airs on CTV Sci-Fi at 9 p.m. ET/PT every Thursday. The series premiered with a double-header on July 17. New episodes will also be available to stream for FREE on the CTV streaming service and the CTV app for a limited time, a day after transmission. Not in Canada at the moment? Signing up to NordVPN will help you access your preferred streaming service and watch "Strange New Worlds" online when you're overseas. You can also watch "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" on Paramount Plus. Plans start at CA$6.99 per month after a 7-day FREE trial. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 premiered in the U.K. on Paramount Plus on Thursday, July 17, with episodes dropping on a weekly basis. Plans start at £4.99 per month after a 7-day FREE trial. If you're traveling abroad, use a VPN service such as NordVPN to access your Paramount Plus subscription from anywhere. As elsewhere, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3 premiered in Australia on Paramount Plus on Thursday, July 17. Episodes are now dropping on a weekly basis. Subscriptions start at AU$6.99 per month after a 7-day FREE trial. New Zealander abroad in Australia? Signing up to NordVPN (save 70%) will help you access your preferred streaming service when you're overseas. We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds mixes up its ensemble in a strong season 3 premiere
Things have changed a lot since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds aired its cliffhanger season-two finale back in August 2023. Discovery and Lower Decks both wrapped up with their fifth and final seasons, and Strange New Worlds now has an end date in sight too. Paramount+ announced that the series would also be ending with its fifth season—news that understandably sent some fans into a spiral. But things aren't quite as bleak as they seem. For one thing, before we get to that shortened six-episode final season, we've got two full 10-episode ones to get through. Seasons three and four were basically shot back-to-back, with production on the final batch of episodes set to begin later this year. That means we're in for a nice steady run of 26 episodes to send out this sunny series on a high note. For another, more so than any other Trek show, Strange New Worlds has always been building toward a set endpoint. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has known his fiery future since he set foot on the Enterprise for his final five-year mission. And ever since the show introduced Paul Wesley's James T. Kirk in its first-season finale, Strange New Worlds has embraced an Avengers-style subplot about seeing the crew of the 1960s original series come together too. Martin Quinn's Montgomery Scott joined at the end of last season, and I wouldn't be surprised if we get a Sulu or even a (slightly timeline bending) Chekov before this one is over. (It feels like Bones has to be last, right?) Where a lot of Trek shows are about limitless potential, Strange New Worlds has always been a true prequel running on limited time. And, in a way, I think knowing things are ending is only going to make the final run of episodes that much stronger. True, I suspect that if the show knew it would be taking a two-year strike-induced delay between its second and third seasons, it probably wouldn't have ended on a cliffhanger. (It's crazy to think there were only three months between the Locutus of Borg twist and its resolution in Next Gen's 'The Best Of Both Worlds.') But I suspect that's part of the reason we're getting a two-episode premiere this week. Strange New Worlds has a Gorn invasion storyline to wrap up, but it also wants to remind us how much episodic fun it can have too (especially when paying homage to Trek history.) To that end, 'Hegemony, Part II' opens with the sort of big impressive space battle that has become a hallmark of Alex Kurtzman-era Trek. There's nothing like playing chicken with a Gorn ship to kick off a season. Immediate crisis averted, there are three dangling problems for the intrepid Enterprise crew to work through after their terrifying experience on the mid-century-inspired human colony Parnassus Beta. And each allows the show to embrace a slightly different tone for a different set of Strange New World characters. On the medical-drama side, Pike's girlfriend Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) has been infected with Gorn eggs that will hatch in less than a day. On the action-movie front, security chief La'An Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), helmsman Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and xenoanthropologist Samuel Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) have been taken aboard a Gorn ship to be harvested. And in the political-thriller arena, the Gorn have drawn a line of demarcation that could be the start of an all-out war if the Federation doesn't handle the situation correctly—something Pike, first officer Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), and communications officer Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) tackle while leading the Enterprise on an 'off-the-record' rescue mission into Gorn space. It's a setup that feels like a statement of purpose about how the show wants to tackle its storytelling moving forward. While Strange New Worlds' second season was filled with high points (I'm still smiling thinking about the Lower Decks crossover episode), it also sometimes felt like a selection of special, high-concept character episodes strung together rather than a true ensemble show. 'Hegemony, Part II,' however, gives everyone a chance to shine by pairing them up in clever ways—from Scotty's funny but also quietly heartbreaking dynamic with his ageless former engineering professor Pelia (Carol Kane) to Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) going full Grey's Anatomy melodrama in the sick bay. My favorite is actually the La'An/M'Benga/Ortegas/Sam quartet just because it's so unexpected. I feel like there are characters in that group we've barely seen interact before, but thrusting them together into a high-stakes escape mission highlights both what they bring to the table as individuals and how Starfleet's collaborative nature allows any set of the Enterprise crew to work in harmony. La'An and M'Benga provide the badass quotient, while Ortegas and Sam bring the comedic relief. And their dedication to saving the rest of the trapped colonists gives appropriately Star Trek-y stakes to their fight against the first true adult Gorn we've seen in the series. (No rubber masks in sight!) Even in their greatest moments of trauma, the Enterprise crew are still thinking about others—like Ortegas fighting through her life-threatening injuries to fly her friends to safety. Indeed, part of the joy of any Star Trek show is watching how a crew of people with very different skillsets and expertise come together to handle a crisis. That's what happens when Pike realizes that Una and Uhura's research into Gorn hibernation/hunting patterns could be the key to stopping a full-on armada invasion of Federation space. His plan involves Scotty and Pelia turning the ship into an artificial star that will trigger the Gorn to, well, go to sleep instead of going to war (thus leaving the Gorn as a future problem for Kirk to tackle in 'Arena'). It's a perfect example of science, strategy, engineering, and a little hope—plus some modifying of the deflector shields, of course—solving the problem the Starfleet way. More than anything, 'Hegemony, Part II' is an episode about relying on faith to get you through seemingly impossible odds. ('We'll just turn it off before we blow up,' Pike only half-jokes.) And while you could imagine a different version of this episode that lets at least one thing go wrong (particularly Spock and Chapel's improvisational surgery on Batel), it feels right that a big splashy premiere lets our heroes win on every front. There will presumably be days when the Enterprise can't do it all. But that's not this day. And though the resolution to the Gorn invasion is perhaps a little anticlimactic, especially given how they've been built up over the show's run, the balance of character storylines is really impressive—and I'd argue that matters even more. It helps that 'Wedding Bell Blues' lightens things up without totally forgetting about the fallout of the Gorn defeat. The episode jumps three months into the future, which gives the Enterprise and its crew a chance to heal up (and get some new hairdos). The time jump also gives Nurse Chapel the chance to return from her archeological medicine fellowship with her new boyfriend Dr. Roger Korby (Cillian O'Sullivan) in tow. And thus begins this season's signature Spock comedy episode—a grand tradition that has so far given us the fiancé body swap in season one and the Spock-becomes-human twist in season two. As with the premiere, however, there is a real ensemble focus here. It's not just Spock who gets in on the hijinks this week. The crew is abuzz ahead of the Federation Day Centennial and the gala Pike is throwing to celebrate it. La'An ballroom dances! Uhura flirts with Ortegas' filmmaker little brother Beto (Mynor Luken)! The sick bay adds an adorable new nurse (Chris Myers)! Everybody wears fashion-forward civilian clothes! The Enterprise gets a three-armed bartender! Compared to all that, Spock's arc is downright dramatic at first, as he basically lives through the Joseph Gordon-Levitt plot of (500) Days Of Summer—watching the non-committal woman he thought he could win over instead get serious with someone else. But that all changes when an impish bartender (Rhys Darby styled like Trelane, the all-powerful 19th century fanboy from the original series episode 'The Squire Of Gothos') pours him a drink that seems to port him over to an alternate universe where Spock and Chapel are getting married. I'll get to the Trek canon of it all in a minute, but the most interesting choice 'Wedding Bell Blues' makes is to turn this into a two-hander for the men in Chapel's life. Though I was expecting Spock to be shocked waking up next to Chapel, at first it's only Korby who realizes this isn't an alternate timeline but a mass delusion cast over all the guests at the gala. Once he's able to snap Spock out of the spell ('Oh no,' Peck deadpans), they're forced to team up—and match raised eyebrows—to get things back to normal. It's not totally dissimilar from when M'Benga and Hemmer were the only two people who realized something was amiss when the Enterprise turned into a children's fairy tale back in season one. Only here there's a much more compelling reason for Spock and Korby to be paired together. This isn't an episode about Chapel choosing between the two men—she's already made that choice. But it is an episode about Spock coming to understand what Chapel sees in Korby, who's devoted, pragmatic, funny, and relatably exacerbated throughout the whole madcap experience. (As in his brief role on Daredevil: Born Again, O'Sullivan has an insane amount of onscreen charisma.) With its focus on canapés and bachelor parties, 'Wedding Bell Blues' mostly keeps things in goofy Father Of The Bride comedy mode rather than delving too deep into its character work. But it makes Korby seem like a likable, worthy partner for Chapel—even for the Spock/Chapel 'shippers out there. And it's genuinely heartbreaking to watch Spock break the spell by repeating the Pablo Neruda poetry he knows will remind Chapel of her love for Korby. There's always been a slight note of self-sacrifice to Spock (even before we get his literal self-sacrifice in Wrath Of Khan). And 'Wedding Bell Blues' emphasizes that understated character trait within an over-the-top comedic setting. He comes to understand that Korby has an inner confidence and calmness that lets him serve as a safe harbor for Chapel in a way that Spock just can't be right now. It's also a really nice touch to bring everything back to Spock and La'An—both because it returns to their newfound ballroom dancing partnership and because we know she experienced a similar kind of heartbreak in the musical episode, when Kirk revealed he's dating a pregnant Carol Marcus. Spock and La'An know what it's like to feel a connection that doesn't work out because of bad timing. ('It's no one's fault,' as Chapel puts it.) And their burgeoning friendship is another lovely example of Strange New Worlds mixing up its ensemble in unexpected new ways this season. As for the cause of all that wedding chaos? It seems like Strange New Worlds might be tying two of its iconic all-powerful imps together. Like 'The Squire Of Gothos,' this episode ends with a glowing parental orb showing up to chastise a peevish child. Only this one is voiced by John de Lancie, who's always said his performance as the all-powerful Next Gen antagonist Q was inspired by William Campbell's work as the similarly puckish Trelane. Q actually also had a son on Voyager, who popped up in petulant-teen form in the episode 'Q2.' So this episode could be saying that Darby is literally Trelane who's also literally Q Junior. (He does get to deliver Trelane's iconic catchphrases 'Tallyho!' and 'Greetings and felicitations.') Or maybe it's just operating as a fun homage. Nobody gets named, and Darby disguises himself to the crew so there's plausible deniability on all fronts. But, honestly, with all the Godlike Beings who popped up in the original series, why couldn't one of them have been a Q? Regardless, Darby has an absolute blast chewing the scenery, and the de Lancie voice cameo is a lovely celebration of the franchise's long, winding history. In their own ways, 'Hegemony, Part II' and 'Wedding Bell Blues' are both optimistic episodes that serve as a welcome reminder of what Strange New Worlds does best. (And by that I mean having the whole cast dance to 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,' of course.) The final shot emphasizing Ortegas' Gorn-related PTSD suggests this season won't just be warm and fuzzy. In fact, anybody who remembers Roger Korby's role in the original-series episode 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' already knows that. But, for now, Strange New Worlds is here to remind us just how much fun it is to spend time with this crew. That's a great way to kick off this second half of the show's run. As Pike might say—hit it. Stray observations • Welcome to weekly coverage of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! I couldn't be more thrilled to be here. I'm a lifelong Star Trek fan who was raised on TNG, Voyager, DS9, and TOS and once even made myself watch Enterprise all the way through too. But this is my first time actually covering a Trek show weekly, and I apologize in advance for any references I miss. I've been revisiting a bunch of Trek ahead of this premiere, but, as you all know, there's a lot of it out there! • Keeping Pike in his militarized space suit for 'Hegemony, Part II' is a nice way to differentiate between the harrowing wrap-up to season two and the true fresh start to season three. • I know Kirk says as much in 'Arena,' but it feels crazy that the Gorn invented warp drives, right? They're literally lizards! Do they have schools? Captain training programs? Pilot licenses? • The second season of Discovery introduced the idea that Pike's dad was a science teacher who also taught comparative religion, which is why he delivers the little 'okay dad, you win' before starting to pray for Batel. • The final shot of Pike and Batel's heads transitioning into the binary stars was a lovely way to end the premiere. • Spock gets a swanky new science lab! Personally, I would've put a couple chairs in there, but I guess that's not the Vulcan way. • One day Scotty will be able to drink aliens under a table, but, for now, he's not much of a drinker. • In case there aren't enough in-jokes here: Korby quips that the wedding planner might wish them into a cornfield, which is a reference to the classic Twilight Zone episode 'It's A Good Life.' (Spock must have missed that one.) • I thought Pike was going to turn Spock/Chapel's abandoned wedding into an impromptu ceremony for him and Batel. Instead, he just gives a speech about how first contact can sometimes be a little awkward. Hilarious. More from A.V. Club In Godzilla Destroys The Marvel Universe, the King Of The Monsters returns to stomp us, again Whisper Of The Heart left a lo-fi legacy unique to Studio Ghibli Billie Eilish says she's working with James Cameron on some sort of 3D concert thing Solve the daily Crossword
