Why Gathering The Classic Starship ‘Enterprise’ Crew Is Really A Bad Idea
Why all these origin stories should bug us all as fans
The creative team behind Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seems bound and determined to introduce us to as many characters from the original series as possible.
And, to be sure, some of that makes perfect sense.
After all, the original series episodes “The Cage,” and “The Menagerie” firmly establishes that Spock (Leonard Nimoy) served with Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter and Sean Kenney) aboard the Enterprise years before Jim Kirk takes command.
Same goes for the enigmatic Number One (Majel Barrett).
Adding a few other familiar faces in Strange New Worlds surely helped us more-readily connect with the new series.
So seeing such stalwart characters as Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) recast and reimagined has been a delight and has actually really deepened a love and appreciation for these crew members we've known for so long.
But now the series has been going way too overboard with the original series origin stories.
And an idea which was supposed to please us as fans threatens to not only diminish appreciation for Strange New Worlds — but the entire franchise as a whole.
These meetings with younger versions of the Classic Trek crew is meant to be ultimate fan-service that's supposed to warm our hearts.
But I would argue that the exact opposite is going on.
These encounters only feel like the creatives on Strange New Worlds are rushing the story and not giving us time to savor these introductions organically.
Further, they're shrinking the Star Trek universe and making it seem extraordinarily small.
The series started this trend by presenting us with Jim Kirk, as played by Paul Wesley.
We met this Kirk towards the end of Season 1, and his presence only expanded significantly during the recent second season, appearing in “Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow,” “Lost In Translation,” and the musical “Subspace Rhapsody.”
And those three stories represent a full third of the entire 10-episode in which Kirk's already just kind of loitering and interloping on what is still Captain Pike's (Anson Mount) ship.
Maybe the Strange New Worlds production team knows something that we don't. Maybe they're rushing these stories because they have to. Perhaps they know that the series won't go beyond three seasons, and they're trying to squeeze all these original series introductions in before the finale.
If so, that's disappointing that Strange New Worlds wouldn't get at least the same five years as Star Trek: Discovery — and perhaps more given the strong fan embrace Strange New Worlds has received.
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And, now, with the Season 2 cliffhanger introduction of a young Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn), things are really seeming like producers are just kind of rushing along and ticking boxes in a sense.
Things are also beginning to feel increasingly cramped, as well.
The series — and by extension, the whole Star Trek mythos — really has begun to suffer from “Small Universe Syndrome.”
Star Trek and sci-fi YouTuber Tyler Pilkinton of OrangeRiver, described Small Universe Syndrome in one of his recent videos as an “effort to connect … disparate events,” but one in which “the element of mystique vanishes which can be less narratively satisfying.”
And, throwing together the original series crew already as Strange New Worlds has been doing, just invites an increasing sense of Small Universe Syndrome — nevermind that it makes Starfleet itself appear only as large as some extended friend group.
Series producers need to rethink this entire story arc before it's too late.
This Year, A Different Kind of Celebration for Star Trek Day
In recent years, Paramount’s really gone all-out to celebrate Star Trek Day, September 8, the day on which original Star Trek was first broadcast on NBC.
The studio really seemed to treat the occasion as something akin to a “national holiday” for us fans.
They would rent out the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, Calif., and really make a day of it, complete with such highlights as a symphony orchestra performing each Star Trek theme in turn, stirring speeches from stars from each series and even a red carpet for all of the franchise celebrities and notables in attendance.
All of this Paramount would stream out to the world, in real-time.
If these Star Trek Day events didn't fill you with pride and emotion, I dare question if you are a fan at all.
This year will be different.
The commemoration will be entirely online and on-air, with a special broadcast of the first two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ first season.
As startrek.com describes:
On September 8, fans worldwide can watch the “Star Trek Day” special program, hosted by Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Commander Jack Ransom, himself, Jerry O’Connell. A salute to the franchise, the special program will include segments that look back at memorable moments over the past 57 years; commemorate 50 years of Star Trek animation; pay tribute to Star Trek: Discovery, ahead of its final season; provide an exclusive sneak-peek clip from the upcoming fourth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks; and commemorate many other moments that highlight Star Trek’s legacy.
Additional information on “Star Trek Day” programming and activities can be found at StarTrek.com/Day.
Hailing Frequencies Open…
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Resistance is futile: 5 reasons you should be watching Star Trek: Lower Decks
MOMENT FOR TREK
Christina Chong And Paul Wesley Behind The Scenes on Strange New Worlds
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