Honestly I’m a little surprised how I (almost) loved Strange New World. I mean one thing held me back at the end. One thing! But that’s pretty good for a show I wasn’t interested in and decided to watch on a whim.
But I think I figured out why I like it so much it has one big thing that can make or break any show like this for me.
I actually want to spend time with this crew.
Yes I actually loved the whole crew. I even cried in one of the later episodes over said crew. They nail the banter and the friendship and the slice of life so much that the stories, while good, can kind of take a back seat for me.
I just want to spend time on the Enterprise.
I think Pike is a great Captain and Anson Mount plays him in such a way that he’s highly likable even when he starts to speechify. Plus the huge hammer hanging over his characters head gives him a lot of weight. You can see Pike struggling with it even as he tries to forget it or at least put it out of his mind.
I must admit the stories themselves are pretty good. Even episode 8 which gets kind of silly. Though I would have paid to see La’an’s reaction to her costume!
Still some favorites include; Una, La’an, Christine and M’Benga.
I think Ethan Peck is a good Spock but I really like what they are doing with him and T’Pring. It adds an interesting element to the who/what am I that Spock always seems to be dealing with and I’m not familiar with the T’Pring character so it’s a nice bonus for me.
Unfortunately the one thing that made me go hm was when a certain someone shows up in the finale. The introduction of that character felt almost like, too much. Like I legit rolled my eyes and went, “Of course.”
So far it’s the first actor on the show I’m not big on.
The other thing to keep in mind is not knowing any Star Trek history I don’t know how much of this stuff is repeating. I know some of these characters are from the pilot in the 60’s. I know some of the stories are apparently familiar but if you are deep into the lore of Star Trek it might not be as fun for you.
Recommend: Yes.