Latest news with #Starfleet
Gizmodo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Welcome to the Year of Hell With Nacelle's New ‘Star Trek' Action Figures
Nacelle's new Star Trek line of figures may only just be getting ready to beam in, but we're already chomping at the bit to see more of what the company has in store beyond a first wave of some truly delightful deep cuts. While we already know the lineup for wave two of the new line—revealed by none other than io9 ourselves back in March—now we can reveal two of our most anticipated figures in the plastic flesh. To celebrate San Diego Comic-Con (and Nacelle's panel at the convention, happening right now!), io9 can exclusively reveal two figure renders from the upcoming wave 2 line, due to start shipping next year: Captain Janeway, as she appears in the legendary Voyager two-parter 'Year of Hell', and Nog, in his Starfleet ensign uniform circa season 6's 'Favor the Bold'. As you can see above, Janeway comes not in her typical captain's uniform, but looking rough-and-ready from months of being hunted by the time-manipulating Krenim Imperium, dressed down to her tactical under vest and carrying a sentimental accessory: a pocket watch replicated for her birthday by Chakotay. Nog, meanwhile, is fully kitted out in the latter-DS9 era Starfleet uniform, complete with his rank pips indicating his ensign status. While we don't see any accessories for the young Ferengi officer just yet, the figure is inspired by the iconic Dominion War arc that sees Nog and the crew of the Defiant lead the charge to successfully retake Deep Space Nine from Dominion and Cardassian forces in Season 6's epic opening storyline. Captain Janeway and Nog are joined by a veritable who's who of Trek characters in wave 2, including Captain Kirk from Star Trek: Generations (complete with horse!) as well as Worf and Geordi wearing their sailor uniforms from the movie's opening, Enterprise's T'Pol, Valeris from The Undiscovered Country, Bem from The Animated Series, Carol Marcus from Wrath of Khan, and the Romulan commander from one of the greatest Star Trek episodes of all time, 'Balance of Terror'. But that's not all the news for today! io9 can also exclusively reveal Nacelle's plans for two more waves of action figures in the line. Wave 3 will be perfectly timed to celebrate 60 years of the franchise in 2026 with the main stars of the original Enterprise crew coming out as a single wave–and even a secret two-pack to mark the anniversary. Meanwhile, things will be back to Nacelle's 'normal' mix up of familiar faces and deep cuts for wave 4, with highlights including Captain Sisko from Deep Space 9, and yes, the action figure you've all been waiting for: Doctor Beverly Crusher. From 'Sub Rosa'. Candle enthusiasts rejoice! Check out the full breakdown of wave 3 and 4's lineups below. Wave 3 – James T. Kirk – Spock – Leonard McCoy – Nyota Uhura – Hikaru Sulu – Pavel Chekov – Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott – Christine Chapel – Janice Rand – A surprise 2-pack Wave 4 – Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Saavik from Star Trek III & Star Trek IV – Beverly Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation ('Sub Rosa' Edition) – Data from Star Trek Generations (Generations Sailor Edition) – David Marcus from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan – Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: First Contact (Little Ships Edition) – John Harriman from Star Trek Generations – Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager (Captain Proton Edition) – Pavel Chekov from Star Trek: IV: The Voyage Home (Nuclear Wessels Edition) – Hoshi Sato from Star Trek: Enterprise ('In A Mirror, Darkly' Edition) 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.
Gizmodo
a day 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
3 days ago
- 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
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
News.com.au
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Unapologetically heartful': Actors praise Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as it returns to resolve massive cliffhanger
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. 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.' 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.' 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.
