Anyone who thinks that there might be too many Star Trek shows out there these days would have a point. Between Star Trek: Picard as well as Star Trek: Discovery and the animated comedy programs that are all getting new episodes these days, it could be an awful lot of Star Trek to absorb. On the other hand, that just means that these days, there is a different kind of Star Trek for everyone. For those who are liking the more modern take, where violence is just around the corner all the time, there's Picard. For those who miss the good old days when science and exploration are the name of the game, it appears there's Strange New Worlds.
Right off the bat, one of the things the show uses to set itself apart is how absolutely anti-violence the Enterprise's captain is in this show. At least in the premiere episode. Of course, this particular captain of the famous starship isn't the one that fans of the original series are going to recognize unless they've also watched the more recent series that have starred Christopher Pike as the main man. Anson Mount brings the television version of the character that was pushed back front and center in the newer Star Trek movies to Strange New Worlds and while his presence is definitely a bit different, he already seems to have captured the vibe of the new show quite well.
Strange New Worlds does start off with an interesting twist that can be seen as a bit annoying by people who are new to Paramount Plus or are just getting back into the Star Trek franchise. Captain Pike seems to be taking a bit of a sabbatical as he's hanging out in a wood cabin that will certainly look familiar to those who are fans of the original series and Captain Kirk's favorite place to hang out. This time around, it's Pike who is apparently sort of hiding out, having grown out his hair and his beard and making it quite clear that he's not all that interested in captaining any more starships.
It turns out that there was some missions that apparently took place in Star Trek: Discovery that left him quite scarred. It's certainly dangerous to tie a show so completely into another one the way that Strange New Worlds does and while that can certainly engender an interest in watching the show that contains the tie-in, there really shouldn't ever be a situation where those who are just tuning in have missed a big detail. That "you need to watch Discovery" vibe comes back at other times in the show as well, including a conversation between Pike and Spock where they talk about missing the Vulcan's sister. There isn't any sort of detail beyond that and people who haven't watched any Discovery are likely to wonder what in the world that reference meant and why it was included in the very first episode of the series.
The good news is that for the most part, Strange New Worlds stands on its own. At least when not counting all the many, many callbacks and winks to the original Star Trek. Of course, those work a bit better because it's unlikely that anyone is going to be watching this Paramount show unless they are indeed a Star Trek fan. There's quite a bit of fan service at the beginning of the episode, as the rest of the crew is introduced. Some of those introductions are to Pike. Others are just meant to make it very clear that there is indeed going to be bits of fan service. That includes Lieutenant Nyota Uhura. Yes, that Noytoa Uhura.
There's also Christine Chapel and La'an Noonien-Singh. That last name is definitely going to ring bells with people who know their Star Trek history. The show makes it very clear that it's not some distant relative who is running away from her past. La'an is one generation removed from the biggest villain Star Trek has ever seen. While that's going to be exciting in the future, the present makes this cast and crew pretty fun to watch as well.
Maybe best of all is that while the crew of the USS Enterprise is supposed to be still feeling each other out, there's already some camaraderie among the gang that is already quite fun. While some dialog can come off as forced and just a bit trite, it's hard to tell that Pike and Spock and the rest haven't been working together for years and in fact are all pretty new together. Of course, Anson Mount and Ethan Peck (Spock) have worked together on Discovery, but that was still mostly one season. The two actors have managed to make it look as if they are old friends, even if the characters are not even really friends at this point.
What really makes the first episode so good is that when the Enterprise runs across an alien race that is on the brink of wiping itself out, Pike does make it clear that he's got the biggest gun of anyone, but he really doesn't want to use it. The script encourages soaring language and soaring music and it really does elicit some emotional reactions, perhaps because it feels so much like the old series. Strange New Worlds really does feel like it's trying quite hard to remind people what the franchise used to be.
The big question, as the show continues on, is whether or not the writers can continue to walk a tight rope between annoying and fun. The idea that Pike is going to go out of his way every single time they run into trouble to not use violence could become quite wearing. There's going to need to be a way to avoid phase fire that will be a bit different each week. The story this week really did fit that he didn't want to use violence. If the show can keep that up and not become annoying, it could be among the best of the year.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds airs every Thursday on Paramount Plus