Star Trek: Strange New Worlds [SPOILERS]

So... In Balance of Terror the outpost Commander is named Hansen. And the dialogue is almost the same, but the dialogue is switched around a bit. In the trailer and Balance of Terror both asteroids are described as being almost solid iron and a mile deep. The mile is interesting because almost every Trek since TOS has used the meric system, yet this clip has Hansen use a mile a the unit of measure.

I'm guessing with the previous announcement that a future Pike visits, that this is the same outpost and the same Commander. But somehow the incident takes place ten years later due to the travel or something. And that Pike trying to change his future, since Hansen's is one of the cadets that doesn't make it when Pike ends up as Mister Beepy.

Line for line it's the same.

is it Hansen?
Seemed to me, given the ethnicity, to be Hassan

The problem with

He said Hansen Al-Salah and Pike called him Hansen; closed captioning confirms it.

Mmmmbop!

Well, that was an interesting episode. Good to see the Monster Maroons again, though the uniform was a little too over-designed like the SNW uniforms. This version of Kirk is Kirk in demeanor, but looks like James Cawley's version of Kirk. Looks nothing like Shatner, but acted well enough. I'm pretty sure that was James Doohan's voice they used for Scotty and not another actor. I'm glad they didn't undermine Kirk's importance and still respected his legacy. Overall, pretty good episode, it should be interesting to see what season two brings.

This season knocked it right out the park.

When I saw that James T. Kirk and the Romulans were going to appear in this episode, I was really really really worried they were going to screw everything up. I even mentioned earlier in this thread that it was a very bad idea to bring Kirk into this show.

I was wrong.

So much to unpack in this episode.

Strange New Worlds is easily the best Trek series currently on air. And, based on this season, I think so far it ranks in the top three (or even two!) Trek series of all time.

Wow. Just fucking wow.

just about a quarter in and I'm wondering about the implication that Pike remains in command in that he avoided the accident but in The Menagerie I'm pretty sure that it was said he had been promoted to Fleet Captain BEFORE the accident and was no longer on the Enterprise and would have already handed off to Kirk. Not that I'm going to be anal about continuity quibbles but this doesn't track neatly with what was established.

Also, this set-up for the appearance of the guest star resolves mostly, my previous quibble about the age difference, and rank.

One bit of HIGH praise - the use of the classic music in the soundtrack is enough to make you giddy, on a par with the Amok Time fight scene music used a few eps back

We got hints of the classic Trek music in the 09 movie when Nero's ship enters the wormhole, but it was done superbly in this episode. I hope we get to hear it more in season two, it truly made me jump up for joy hearing it again.

Watch the whole episode before jumping to conclusions. You might be surprised.

There's a very touching moment between Pike and another important character that certainly sheds light on the events of "The Menagerie".

I kinda like Wesley's take on Kirk but... the difference in appearance is damned distracting, more so than any other legacy character I've seen on this show

Finished. A damned clever story and a very compelling layer on the "you can't avoid your fate" thread.

Notes:

also got the strong impression that this was probably the first story written of the ten, then they backfilled some story points to lay down threads they picked up here - in other words they KNEW they had to address the Pike's fate ting so they did that first, even if they showed it last

Ready Room: stream this side by side with Bot

Now I must!

Also, I withdraw my previous observation about what Spock knew - my memory was wrong

Yeah, that was excellent. Kirk wasn't quite right as many noted, he looked to frail next to Pike.

But loved that episode, right back on track and a thrilling end, especially with the twist. Pike has seemed the nicest of the Captains, perhaps at times to his detriment, but that ending and his encounter with Kirk may very well change that. And the fate of No 1 in the alternate future leading directly into that scene was a wonderful choice.

And OMG the music! This show has great music on its own, far better than most, and the opening credits are by far the best ever. But when they revert to TOS, the chills.

Personally I'm kind of hoping they find a way to alter the timeline.

Oh, and SOOOO have to see the Klingon Temporal Police. The Monks of Boreth are a great addition to Klingon lore. 'You have contaminated the timeline with your lack of honor. Prepare yourself for Stovokor.'

This was a hell of a good season finale, and the cliffhanger! As far as I'm concerned, SNW has had the best and consistently positive first season since TOS.

I want a Short Trek that involves the Monks Crossing path with the time cops from DS9 (or someone from the same agency at least - hell, let Jeff Combs and Bruce Horak play them)

So now we have the travelers, the temperal agents from Voyager and DS9 and now Klingon monks protecting the timeline. I wonder what the Vulcans think about the possibility of time travel?

That was excellent! As an old school Trekkie, I loved it! I wonder what a casual fan might think of it… or SNW overall?

So it seems to me that Captain Pike made a decision that if anything happened to him, he wants Jim Kirk to succeed him as Captain of the Enterprise. That’s just fucking amazing. I can’t wait for season 2!

Excellent episode.

Scotty was apparently voiced by British actor Matt Wolf.

As many of you have said, Kirk's appearance didn't seem quite right. No matter what you might think of AbramsTrek, Chris Pine at least bears a passing resemblance to 1960s William Shatner.

I really liked how they changed the bridge lighting for the alternate timeline Enterprise, especially for Anson Mount. Very reminiscent of the "Kirk lighting" from TOS.

As far as first seasons go, yes, I agree it's the best first season since TOS. I've also noticed that this show is generating a lot of buzz that I don't think Discovery was doing, except for hard core fans. SNW is generating buzz for general audiences that I'm not even sure Star Trek 09 did. Now I can give an honest answer to someone who's just starting out with Star Trek. I would definitely tell them to start with this and then go forward where as before I was kind of wishy washy as to where to start.

With streaming dominating the way it is now and binging dying off, people are looking for something to watch week to week again. We no longer have to sit through commercials so for me, the week to week anticipation is exciting, it gives me not only something to look forward to, but something to talk about. If I binge a whole season in a day or two then I'm looking for something else to binge and it's kind of hard to settle on something. I loved Stranger Things season 4, but man, imagine if we would have had to wait each week for the next episode to arrive. I think it would have been more satisfactory. It's been a good summer for science fiction.

I was looking at the lighting too, it also looked liked they altered the set as well. I could have sworn they repurposed James Doohan's voice ala James Earl Jones in the Obiwan series, wow, that guy did an awesome job.

I could tell it wasn't Doohan from the tone. Sounded a little higher than his was even back in the 60s.

Called it about Hansen, same character. And I wasn't that far off about when it took place, Pike made different choices and it had different consequences. Overall nicely done episode, great callbacks. And it also brings back the Short Trek episode where Spock first comes aboard the Enterprise and asks Una about Pike's three most salient points, and them being, resorting to force as an admission of failure. Pike has a capacity to listen to another point of view is exceeded only by his willingness to change his own, and being unsentimental. All three which were proven wrong in this episode.

Same. I loved that classic TOS lighting in the episode, especially highlighting the eyes, like good old stage lighting does.
As for the rest, I agree, SNW is now a great place to start for new Trek fans. It's light and fun when it warrants it, and dramatic when it needs it. This is what I wanted in my Star Trek.

Even some of the episodes that were kind of okay, there’s still something to like.

I still say - although dude is three years older than Wesley (albeit Wesley doesn't really look 39) - that if I were casting Kirk in a new TOS series (which I also think should be set between TMP and WOK - which also neatly clears up the age thing) I'd be casting this guy as Jim Kirk.
Can't think of an alternative that's particularly close

Looks more like a replacement for John Barrowman if Doctor Who won't have him back as Jack Harkness due to his tendency to get his salami out.