FOXSYLVANIA

Like Discovery, Star Trek’s Strange New Worlds is set slightly prior to the time of The Original Series, but for my money is a more emotionally cogent and relatable series than Discovery. Money is what I’m paying to see it, too, since it airs only on Paramount+.

Now Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is helming the Enterprise in this series, and we do get to know Captain Pike quiet well, and he’s partway between Kirk and Picard, an older captain with his own charms. Number One (Rebecca Romijn) is also there as Pike’s first officer, and a younger Spock (Ethan Peck) is engaging and well-played as a science officer still learning the ropes of Starfleet.

Despair not…you’ll get to meet a younger James T. Kirk, also working his way up the ranks, quite engaging with an edge of being brash and cocky. You can believe this guy evolving to be William Shatner’s Kirk, so adept is Paul Wesley at conveying Kirk’s mannerisms and style…

Strange New Worlds also gives some previously minor characters an upgrade, and a chance to shine. Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) is young, blonde, and hot, a versatile and dynamic character who would like to do more than just mind meld with Spock…

Uhura too (Celia Rose Gooding) is finally given given the more major role that her earlier character begged for but never fully achieved in the original series and films…

So catch Strange New Worlds if you possibly can. It has all of the right stuff to be a worthy addition to the Star Trek franchise, with better linkage to the characters, spirit, and content of the original series…

S Worlds if you can, a promising and solid-looking show with a better linkage to the characters and spirit of the original series than we’ve seen before..