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Weekend STAR TREK News Roundup: The Gorn and STRANGE NEW WORLDS, and LeVar Burton Talks Geordi’s PICARD Return

TrekCore Staff
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Weekend STAR TREK News Roundup: The Gorn and STRANGE NEW WORLDS, and LeVar Burton Talks Geordi’s PICARD Return

As we head into the new week and the back half of Strange New Worlds‘ first season, it’s time to round up some bits of franchise news that have beamed down in recent days — all are minor spoilers, so steer clear if you’re trying to stay completely safe!

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Starting with the current series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman responded to a fan comment about the future of Nurse Christine Chapel’s love live this week, telling readers to ‘stand by’ for the arrival of her future fiancé, Dr. Roger Korby.

Korby appeared in the Original Series episode “What Are Little Girls Made Of?,” where the scientist discovered an android production facility on planet Exo III, and was eventually replaced by an android himself after he was critically injured.

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Strange New Worlds brought the ‘boogeymen’ Gorn into the series in last month’s “Memento Mori,” and franchise boss Alex Kurtzman strongly hinted this week that viewers will get a close encounter with an updated take on the reptilian race at some point in the show’s future.

Speaking on The Ready Room with Wil Wheaton this week, Kurtzman described the challenges of bringing the 1960’s rubber-suited creature design into the modern era as a combination of practical builds and digital enhancement.

“The game you play with the Gorn is: okay, we can’t actually afford to do full CG characters, because that’s a wildly expensive proposition on a television budget. So how do you you merge the two? Ho do you use puppetry and how do you use CG — and in what way — how do you light it?

And all of those things play into hopefully creating an experience where you can’t tell the difference between them, and it feels vivid and real and scary.”

(Also? Without providing any details, Kurtzman confirmed that a future Star Trek Universe crossover event is in the works — so start your speculation engines running!)

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Star Trek: The Next Generation actor LeVar Burton spoke to Yahoo! Entertainment about his return to the franchise in Star Trek: Picard’s third and final season, sharing a few bits of character detail about Geordi La Forge’s life in the early 25th century.

“[Our ‘Next Gen’ crew got] to put on our space suits and play these characters again! We all thought the ship had sailed on a conscious goodbye. When me made our last movie, ‘Nemesis’ in 2002, we expected there to be another one, and then things changed. So this was a great gift to us. This season of ‘Picard’ is a love poem to ‘Next Generation’ and we get to see these people that we grew to know and even love at this new point in their lives.

It was a lot of fun on so many levels. I also get to work with my kid: my daughter, Mica, plays one of Geordi’s two daughters. So the whole storyline really is about the next generation of ‘The Next Generation’ in many respects.”

It’s nice to see that the infamously-single La Forge found the family life in the decades since we last saw him aboard the Enterprise-E, and having Mica Burton portraying his in-universe daughter — seen here together at Star Trek Day 2021 — is a perfect choice.

The other bit of info of note in Burton’s comments is his mention of putting on “space suits,” a term the Next Gen cast has often used to refer to their Starfleet uniforms — meaning La Forge may still be in active Starfleet service, as he was seen in the alternate “Timeless” future.

Keep coming back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek franchise news!

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Review — “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach”

John Concagh
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246
STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Review — “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach”

“Lift Us Up Where Suffering Cannot Reach” is probably going to upset a lot of people, as it’s about uncomfortable truths — and the sacrifices that societies are happy to make to continue. It is also exactly the kind of story that Gene Roddenberry, Gene Coon, and D.C. Fontana would have written for the Original Series.

Enterprise is on a star-mapping survey in the Majalan system, just beyond the edge of Federation space. While Captain Pike (Anson Mount) reflects on his previous visit to the region a decade ago, Cadet Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) is in the middle of her rotation under Lieutenant Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) in security, who is being a rather predictable hardass – though it’s mainly played for laughs more than anything else.

Even Pike’s imitation of La’an seems to reflect a general good humour about the security chief, rather than any real concern for Uhura. It’s nice — what is less nice, however, is the fact that an alien shuttle is under attack within the system. Enterprise comes their rescue, shrugging off several attacks from the cruiser, which does virtually no damage to the Starfleet vessel before a glancing phaser hit knocks it down.

The shuttle’s three passengers soon escape to the Enterprise: a child, an older man and a young woman, who recognizes the captain as the man she met when he was still a lieutenant.

Minister Alora (Lindy Booth) was rescued by Pike from a shuttle accident a decade earlier, where it appears they had some… chemistry. Compared with Kirk’s constant smooth-talking, Pike’s awkwardness is a little stilted – even forced – but it makes a nice alternative to the stereotypical man of action.

It turns out the kid is the First Servant of Majalus (Ian Ho), the soon-to-be leader of the planet. Alora and the other caretaker — his father, Gamal (Huse Madhavji) — had been caring for him on the moon, where he studied and prepared for ‘ascension.’ (We’ll get to that later.) Alora is evasive about the origin of their attacker, pointing to a nearby alien colony as potential kidnappers, and opposing any investigation. Starfleet regulations overrule her, however, and Pike orders the cruiser searched for clues.

Meanwhile, Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) is spending some more alone time with his daughter Rukiya (Sage Arrindell), only to be interrupted by the need to check up on the First Servant. I didn’t expect them to come back to Kiya so quickly, or to have so much focus on her this episode. Good stuff, really.

It was also nice (and a little cliché) to see elder Gamal scorn the sickbay as an “abattoir,” refusing to let M’Benga or Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) heal the First Servant’s wounds. Instead, he heals the child at a quantum level, a procedure that fascinates the CMO greatly — and sets M’Benga’s sights on a possible path to cure his daughter’s sickness.

Planetside, Uhura and La’an clear the crash site ahead of Spock (Ethan Peck) and Alora’s arrival, who quickly discover two strange things: a strange medical device, and an oath coin, which the Majalun recognises as belonging to one of the First Servant’s guards. While the child remains on the Enterprise, Pike joins Alora on Majalus itself, a fantastical floating world reminiscent of TOS’s Stratos, complete with flying shuttles and holographic diaries.

Upon checking all the guards, however, Alora finds the traitor, who attempts an escape through the palace gardens — before they are stopped by Pike and minister, who kills the rebellious guard by accident. Alora is a little distraught afterwards, but not enough that she needs to be alone that night, as Captain Pike joins the Captain Kirk Alien Sex Club.

Even Pike is unable to enjoy an evening without dark reflection, however, as he tells Alora about his own destiny and the future accident, which is being treated less as death here (like it was in the first two episodes) and more as a severe injury. The minister suggests that Pike come and join them on Majalus, where he could be healed by their medicine.

It would mean accepting their way of life, which, at this point at least, he seems open to considering.

Shipside, Uhura’s lunch is interrupted by La’an, who requests that she translate a collection of data slates that the security chief ‘liberated’ from the crash site. La’an being a rulebreaker of sorts is another security chief cliché, but it does give her a little more depth – she understands that the rules aren’t everything, even if that understanding is making Uhura’s life a little harder.

M’Benga’s own life is a little more complicated too, especially when he returns from the mess hall to find his daughter and the First Servant playing hopscotch. It’s a bittersweet scene, and the child actors do their best to sell the innocence of it all. I even got the sense that the First Servant did understand the reasoning for keeping Kiya in the transporter.

But Uhura has managed to decipher the alien data tapes, learning that they’re encoded in a sister language of the Majaluns, meaning that the attacking ship who took down the First Servant’s shuttle isn’t from an alien world at all: Prospect VII is a Majalun colony.

Before Pike can deal with this revelation, however, Gamal and the First Servant decide to leave of their own accord. Before they can be stopped, however, an alien cruiser kidnaps the First Servant, destroying itself in an attempt to escape the Enterprise’s tractor beam at warp. This is a somewhat-obvious fake-out, but it does give us a great inkling of the deeper meanings behind the First Servant’s sacrifice, as Alora begins to panic about how the death of the child will mean the floating city will fall to the planets’ surface.

Pike seems confused, but it’s brushed over quickly when Uhura presents evidence that Gamal of helping the colonists kidnap his own son. Before Gamal can explain himself, Spock whisks Pike down to the lower decks, where they find the First Servant hiding in a cargo crate.

At the child’s urging, they whisk him down to the surface for his jubilant coronation. Pike and Una (Rebecca Romijn) still have suspicions, questioning Alora and Gamal respectively about their motives. Alora remains evasive, however, while whatever Gamal told Una cannot be relayed to the captain due to planetary shielding.

Pike finds out soon enough, however, when he is invited underneath the city to the planet’s ascension chamber, where the First Servant undergoes the ritual to perform his duty – forming the neural network at the core of the computer that maintains Majalus’ paradise. It’s a gruesome twist, especially as we’re shown the remains of the previous First Servant.

Strange New Worlds doesn’t pull its punches in this scene, and frankly it shouldn’t. This is a brutal recognition of how certain societies are willing to sacrifice their youth to maintain their principles. I think it’s probably a good thing this episode didn’t come out last week, considering the tragic events in Texas — but it’s topical, whether the writers meant it to be or not.

Watching a child willing go to his brain death, with no reservations right up until the very last moment is horrifying. There is nothing Pike can do about it, and he has no choice by the watch with us as the First Servant is bonded forever to the machine. The captain, knocked out by the guards, wakes up in Alora’s bedroom, but there’s no affection between them now. Pike – who knows that in a decade, he will put his life on the line for children – is horrified by someone who openly sacrifices a child for their society.

Alora tries to explain that they have no choice, that their founders – for whatever reason – designed the system as such, which is about as heavy handed an allegory for the 2nd Amendment debate as is possible, I think. Even Alora isn’t a fan of it but sees it as the only way to keep their society alive. Pike is still horrified but has no reply to the minister’s counterpoint about suffering in the Federation.

Unlike the Next Generation era, where the Federation is expressly considered a utopian paradise, Pike can’t quite say that about life in the 23rd century — it doesn’t make it okay, though. Majalus will, at the very least, be a state that Starfleet will avoid for now.

CAMP NONSENSE OF THE WEEK

This weeks’ honoree has to be Captain Pike’s terrible impression of La’an. Who doesn’t love a dodgy British accent?

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

  • The Enterprise transporter room is located on Deck 6.
     
  • Similar to the tricombadges seen in Star Trek: Discovery’s new era, Alora’s secretary has a holographic planner.
     
  • The cruisers from Prospect VII appear to be fitted with weapons turrets and long-barreled lasers, a first for a franchise which has generally avoided ‘space battleship’ turrets for most of its history.
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ actor Avaah Blackwell pulls double duty. (Paramount+)
  • One of the Majalun guards is played by Star Trek: Discovery’s Avaah Blackwell, a stunt actor who has who has appeared as multiple alien roles and occasionally as Lieutenant Ina on that series.
     
  • The framework for the story may be inspired by Urula K. Le Guin’s tale The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.
     
  • Pike’s first visit to Majalus was in the late 2240s, as a lieutenant; this was presumably before his assignment as Robert April’s first officer aboard the Enterprise.

“Lift Us Up Where Suffering Cannot Reach” leaves me feeling deeply uncomfortable. That’s excellent! It should! I think no-win ending is perfect. It’s going make a fair few people unhappy — perhaps seeing it as “too dark” or something — but this is what Star Trek is meant to do.

This week’s episode is a proper and extremely relevant morality tale in Trek tradition, and even if it is clunky at times, it’s no more clunky than, say, “The Cloud Minders” or “A Taste of Armageddon.” A lot of the plot is squeezed into the last act, which could have been rectified, but doing so might have meant losing out on the development we got for M’Benga and Uhura, who both got some great time in the limelight this week.

This episode of Strange New Worlds will probably be talked about for a while, as it should.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns with “The Serene Squall” on Thursday, June 16 on Paramount+ in the United States, Australia, Latin America, and the Nordics, as well as on CTV Sci Fi Channel in Canada.

The first three episodes of the series will arrive to the UK and Ireland on Paramount+ on June 22 (with weekly releases following); additional international distribution has not yet been announced.

Tuesday STAR TREK News Roundup — Khan Funko POP! Figure, STRANGE NEW WORLDS Casting, and a 20-Pound USS Enterprise!

TrekCore Staff
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10
Tuesday STAR TREK News Roundup — Khan Funko POP! Figure, STRANGE NEW WORLDS Casting, and a 20-Pound USS Enterprise!

We’re just a few days from the next new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode, so now seemed like a good time to catch up on some of the bits of Trek news that have beamed down over the last few days!

Saturday, June 4 marked the 40th anniversary of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and to mark the occasion the official Star Trek website debuted an exclusive Khan Noonien Singh Funko POP! figure. This is available for preorder now at the StarTrek.com store if you’re a Funko fan, with anticipated delivery in early 2023.

The franchise has also partnered with Los Angeles-based ice cream company Cool Haus to produce a limited “Wrath of P’Khan” ice cream — made with candied pralines and caramel — set to be available through a special food truck wrapped for the anniversary, headed to California after a brief stop in New York City this past weekend.

From StarTrek.com:

Ringing in National Ice Cream Day on July 17th, the Coolhaus vehicle will make its way to Los Angeles’ busiest spot, Santa Monica at 2nd Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, in the peak of summer to bring the celebration and custom ice cream to Star Trek lovers in the city of Angels.

The ice cream truck will also be heading to San Diego Comic-Con this year with streaming service Paramount+. They will be handing out Wrath of P’Khan ice cream sandwiches and celebrating the anniversary with fans of the franchise at the largest convention of its kind in the world.

Announced today via the official Star Trek Universe twitter account, actor Jesse James Keitel will be beaming aboard the Enterprise in the upcoming seventh episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (set to air June 16).

She will be guest starring as “Dr. Aspen” who — per Variety — will be a non-binary character who “will develop a surprising connection with Spock.” Keitel, a trans woman, was the first openly transgender actor to hold a series regular role on network television (in ABC’s “Big Sky”); she currently stars in the new take on “Queer as Folk” on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.

Hero Collector is running a “humble bundle” charity drive allowing fans to nab a collection of more than twenty digital editions of their Star Trek hardcovers — for a heck of a discount.

Available for purchase through June 25, the Hero Collector sale includes 22 Star Trek books, from the Star Trek Shipyards titles to the Star Trek Celebration series retrospectives and more. Any donation for $25 USD or greater will get you all 22 books, with proceeds going to benefit the non-profit environmental organization One Tree Planted.

Finally tonight, toy manufacturer TOMY International has launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring a 34-inch, 20+ pound die-cast replica of the classic USS Enterprise to fans — banking on preorder demand to move forward with the project.

Aiming to raise $3 Million for the ambitious endeavor — that’s 3,000 orders at a $599 USD price point each — TOMY plans for the 1:350-scale Enterprise model to include a number of features, like the mentioned-but-never-seen ability to separate its saucer section.

Gary Kerr, expert who consulted on the Smithsonian Enterprise conservation project, worked with the TOMY design team in development of this product.

Features include:

· Authentic die-cast reproduction of the original 11 foot Enterprise NCC-1701 prop used when filming the series

· Exquisitely crafted with over 250 meticulous details that will bring the Enterprise to life

· Revolving nacelles with lights, articulated and lit hangar deck, illuminated bridge, glowing impulse drive, and more

· Primary hull separates from secondary hull and can be displayed as such with included display stand(s)

The crowdfunding window is only open through July 11, 2022, so if you want to get an order in — and you’ve got the space (and sturdy shelving!) for this heavy-duty Enterprise model, head over to the TOMY site to place your buy now.

Keep checking back to TrekCore for more Star Trek news as it breaks!

REVIEW — Factory Entertainment’s STAR TREK: TNG Medical Kit Prop Replica Set

Ken Reilly
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REVIEW — Factory Entertainment’s STAR TREK: TNG Medical Kit Prop Replica Set

First announced last summer, Factory Entertainment’s second Star Trek: The Next Generation prop replica — a hypospray medical set from Dr. Crusher’s sickbay — began arriving to collectors this spring, and after a short delay (there is a lot of Star Trek happening lately if you haven’t noticed!) it’s time for us to check out this replica for ourselves.
 
Factory Entertainment’s take on the Next Generation hypospray is the first licensed version of the 90’s Trek medical device, and the hand-held injector is accompanied by three vials of colored “medicine,” a hand scanner typically seen paired with a medical tricorder, and a small metal plaque.
 

The hypo itself is quite hefty for its size thanks to the die-cast metal form, weighing it at nearly 6 ounces with a 5-inch length — but the solid feel in the hand really adds to the illusion that it’s a “real” Star Trek device. The head of the hypospray unscrews to access the battery compartment, because the replica has integrated electronics for sound playback.

Opposite the polished injection nozzle are a pair of buttons which play a long and a short “hiss” to mimic the sound effect heard when a Next Gen doctor treats a patient. Each require the button be held down for the duration of the sound effect’s length to hear the entire thing.

The three vials of colored liquid (pink, indigo, and green) pop right into the hypo’s handle thanks to built-in magnets which hold them in place; while there’s no sound effect to go with them, the magnets are quite strong and there doesn’t seem to be any risk of them falling out of place unexpectedly.

While “copied directly from surviving resources in the CBS archives,” the hypo replica design has been based upon an amalgamation of multiple props created for The Next Generation. As Factory Entertainment’s included product documentation describes:

As normal for productions, a number of modifications and changes were made to the different original props over the course of time. These replicas have been designed to capture the best elements of all the variants in a single blended execution.

As for the hand scanner, it’s a bit of an odd inclusion given that it was only seen in use without a paired tricorder once in all of Next Generation history (by Dr. Pulaski in “Up the Long Ladder”) — but for what it is, it’s a fairly nice version of the TNG Season 1 and 2 scanner (with only a single red light to indicate function).

The hand scanner also plays a scanning sound effect which approximates the sound of a medical tricorder; this device also unscrews to access an internal battery compartment. The flashing red light is brightly lit and nicely colored, however, the plastic casting around the LED bulb is relatively thin — in dark environments the red light bleeds through the plastic itself. (Some internal paint or something could have resolved this issue.)

The entire set is housed in a wood and glass display case which holds everything quite snugly — though perhaps a bit too snugly, as it was quite a challenge to extract the hand scanner and vials from the interior compartments.

Early deliveries to buyers did result in a small number of damaged cases due to a packaging issue — however the company did quickly initiate a replacement program within days of the first reported problem to take care of any fans who received damaged deliveries. (Factory Entertainment told us their shipping processes have already been modified to avoid a repeat of the unintended situation.)

Overall, while the $399 price tag is far from inexpensive, it’s a very solid recreation of one of the hallmark props of Berman-era Star Trek production — and one we’re glad to see a licensee take a chance on after so many years.

For those of you still interested, the Factory Entertainment Next Generation Medical Set is still available until their produced inventory runs out.

While the hypospray set is finally in the hands of collectors, the next Factory Entertainment Star Trek replica is due for arrival this summer — some preorder customers have already gotten word the Next Gen cricket phaser replica may be headed for delivery soon — the company is only just getting started on their line of Star Trek products.

Along with the scaled replicas we showcased last month, Factory Entertainment has shared with us that their upcoming plans include a TNG Season 1 hero “dustbuster” phaser replica, a full-size replica of Geordi La Forge’s VISOR device (with display case), and a full-fledged Next Gen Season 5 hero medical tricorder replica with planned LCD display screen and hero hand scanner (with green and red lights).

In addition to all that, they’re also working on a replica of Dr. McCoy’s Original Series hypospray as well, along with their own version of the Terran Empire dagger seen in “Mirror, Mirror” — and a one more fun item from Star Trek: The Motion Picture… an Illia Probe sensor unit (and accompanying Admiral Kirk insignia), coming later this year.

Keep checking back to TrekCore for all the latest news on Factory Entertainment’s plans, and more from the world of Star Trek merchandise and collectables!

WeeklyTrek Podcast #182 — UK Fans Lose the ‘Destination London’ Convention, and Gain Local STAR TREK Paramount+ Debut Details

Alex Perry
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WeeklyTrek Podcast #182 — UK Fans Lose the ‘Destination London’ Convention, and Gain Local STAR TREK Paramount+ Debut Details

On this week’s episode of WeeklyTrek, brought to you in partnership between The Tricorder Transmissions Podcast Network and TrekCore, host Alex Perry is joined by Snap Trek podcast cohost Ross Webster to discuss all the latest Star Trek news.

This week, Alex and his guest discuss the following stories from TrekCore and around the web:

In addition, stick around to listen to Ross’s wish to actually see an updated Gorn in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Alex’s hopes that Paramount Global continues to expand their exclusive merchandising as a way of getting cooler and more interesting items into the hands of fans.

WeeklyTrek is available to subscribe and download each week on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify — and we’ll be sharing the details of each new episode right here on TrekCore each week if you’re simply just looking to listen in from the web.

Do you have a wish or theory you’d like to share on the show? Tweet to Alex at @WeeklyTrek, or email us with your thoughts about wishes, theories, or anything else about the latest in Star Trek news!

New STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Photos — “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach”

TrekCore Staff
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New STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Photos — “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ first season continues this week, and we’ve got a new collection of photos from “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” to share with you today!

After the Enterprise answers a distress call from a ship under attack, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) finds that the vessel carries Alora (Lindy Booth), a woman he met and fell in love with many years earlier — and that the attackers may have been after a young child on board, who is destined to rule her planet.

Here are nineteen new photos from this week’s episode:

And in case you haven’t seen it, here’s a preview clip from “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” which debuted in last week’s episode of The Ready Room, along with the official Paramount+ trailer for the upcoming episode.

LIFT US WHERE SUFFERING CANNOT REACH — A threat to an idyllic planet reunites Captain Pike with the lost love of his life. To protect her and a scientific holy child from a conspiracy, Pike offers his help and is forced to face unresolved feelings of his past.

Written by Robin Wasserman & Bill Wolkoff. Directed by Andi Armaganian.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns with “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” on Thursday, June 9 on Paramount+ in the United States, Australia, Latin America, and the Nordics, as well as on CTV Sci Fi Channel in Canada.

The series will arrive to the UK and Ireland on Paramount+ on June 22; additional international distribution has not yet been announced.

Mirror Sulu and VOYAGER’s Lt. Commander Tuvok Expand EXO-6’s 1:6-Scale STAR TREK Character Collection

Ken Reilly
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Mirror Sulu and VOYAGER’s Lt. Commander Tuvok Expand EXO-6’s 1:6-Scale STAR TREK Character Collection

Our friends over at EXO-6 are continuing their expansion into the final frontier, and this month the company has unveiled two more 1:6-scale Star Trek character figures for collectors to bring home in 2022.

In their second Mirror Universe release (following Mirror Spock), the next crewman from the ISS Enterprise is Security Chief Sulu, clad in his red Terran Empire uniform and sporting that nasty scar that made the alternate version of George Takei’s character so menacing in “Mirror, Mirror.”

Included with the Mirror Sulu figure is a number of typical accessories, including four sets of alternate hands, a separating phaser, classic communicator, and deadly Terran Empire dagger — along with an autograph card in case you have a chance to meet Takei at an upcoming Star Trek convention.

Mirror Sulu is up for preorder now, at a cost of $198 (plus shipping) for delivery later in 2022.

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Unveiled this past week is EXO-6’s take on the wayward USS Voyager’s security chief, as Lt. Commander Tuvok becomes the third entry in the company’s Star Trek: Voyager series following Captain Janeway and the ship’s Emergency Medical Hologram.

First showcased in prototype form at April’s Mission Chicago convention, the humorless Vulcan officer comes clad in his gold-shouldered Starfleet uniform and includes both the usual assortment of hand options — along with a Starfleet padd, phaser, phaser rifle, and tricorder — plus his own autograph card to pair the actor’s signature with the figure.

(The company also showed off their Seven of Nine prototype figure in the gallery above!)

If you’re looking to add Mr. Vulcan to your own Star Trek collection, EXO-6’s Lt. Commander Tuvok figure is up for preorder now, at a cost of $198 (plus shipping) for delivery later this year.

Keep checking back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek collectable news!

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Review — “Spock Amok”

John Concagh
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114
STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Review — “Spock Amok”

Strange New Worlds hits the season halfway point with “Spock Amok,” an episode that at least I can say I enjoyed. Who doesn’t love character development, hijinks, and a healthy dose of galactic diplomacy?

It’s a great outing for Spock and T’Pring, but also delivers excellent growth for Chapel, Una and La’an in healthy doses. Then again, I am a little apprehensive about a body swap episode; the concept to me always feels like something that should stay in the fan-fiction arena. Did the writers stick the landing? I’m not sure, but they didn’t make a mess of it.

“Spock Amok” opens with what can best be described as three minutes of glorious, absurdist fan service. There’s no other way to really describe watching Spock (Ethan Peck) return to the ritual site from “Amok Time,” complete with weird bell racks, gongs and lirpas — and that iconic fight music.

The difference is that this time, instead of having to fight his best friend and captain, he must fight his Vulcan half. It’s camp — extremely camp, almost to the point of ridiculousness — but they just about get away with it, if just through how Ethan Peck sells both different halves of himself.

I’m glad this was just a dream sequence though; Star Trek’s history with understanding mixed identities is incredibly subpar. “Spock Amok” leans onto the acceptable side of it, but even this scene, as camp and fun as it is, makes a me little concerned. At the very least, placing the split identities as part of Spock’s own internal conflict (as opposed to a fundamental reality, as we saw in episodes like Voyager’s “Faces”) is better.

Back in the real world, the Enterprise has returned to Starbase 1 for repairs and shore leave following last week’s Gorn encounter. Spock is looking forward to spending some time with T’Pring (Gia Sandhu), in between aiding in a diplomatic negotiation. T’Pring, when she arrives, is as delicate as always, criticising Spock’s decorating choices before questioning his commitment to their relationship.

It’s okay though, as T’Pring has her own work to do: trying to rehabilitate a logic-rejecting Vulcan fugitive. It’s nice that they finally gave T’Pring a job!

Meanwhile, Admiral Robert April (Adrian Holmes) briefs Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), and Spock about ongoing diplomatic negotiations with the R’ongovian Protectorate, a nation that holds the space between the Klingon and Romulan Empires.

While early talks with the Tellarites didn’t go well, it seems that the Federation’s stripe-faced new friends are big fans of Captain Pike, so much so that they want to negotiate immediately… interrupting Spock’s dinner plans. T’Pring isn’t very happy about, perhaps unfairly so — even here, where they’re trying to get along, it’s entirely unclear whether she actually likes him that much. Maybe they need some time apart.

On that note, we catch up some of the other crew as they depart the Enterprise for their own shore leave plans — Ortegas (Melissa Navia) heads to beam off the ship with M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and his hat in tow, while Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) leaves to spend some fun time with her no-strings-attached boyfriend at a swanky bar aboard the base.

It’s fun, and great for character development to see them all talking about their lives off ship… and how different Una (Rebecca Romijn) and La’an (Christina Chong) are, as their reputation for “shore staying” has earned them the nickname “Where fun goes to die.” They’re not very happy about how the rest of the crew views them (despite La’an saying she doesn’t care), and even less so when they find two ensigns preparing to make an unauthorized spacewalk.

Spock’s relationship troubles weigh heavy on him, as he heads over to the starbase lounge after disappointing T’Pring — so heavy, in fact, that Chapel uses his arrival as excellent opportunity to escape her deeply forgettable, commitment-heavy hook-up to check in on him.

It’s nice to see Chapel and Spock’s friendship grow, especially because of how well Ethan Peck and Jess Bush gel with each other. Chapel offers some sage advice: try and connect to T’Pring at Spock’s level. It’s sensible, I guess?  Less sensible when the Vulcan soul-sharing ceremony goes wrong, and they end up in each other’s bodies.

It’s… camp. There is no other word for it. Absolute, absurd, beautiful insane Star Trek camp nonsense. Spock and his fiancé swapping bodies? Absolutely insane! Peck and Sandhu absolutely sell it though, taking on each other’s postures, tone of voice, intonation and use of words. It’s great! Ridiculous, but great!

It gets better when Pike pops to tell them that the R’ongovians will only keep talking to the Federation if Spock takes over negotiations — and after a moment of trying to hide behind their “sacred things,” the pair subvert expectations by just telling the captain about what’s happened. Despite the crazy situation, Spock is still needed — so T’Pring (in Spock’s body) is conscripted to Starfleet service, leaving Spock (in T’Pring’s body) to figure out a solution.

That’s when T’Pring’s assistant calls, informing Spock that her fugitive has agreed to meet on the Starbase, and in a reversal of Captain Pike’s need, he’ll only meet with T’Pring. It’s nice to see that her role is a vital one for Vulcan society, even if Spock is now put in his own awkward situation. Tracking down Chapel for advice, the incredulous nurse gives him guidance that Spock never expected: go do T’Pring’s job.

While Spock considers Chapel’s advise, T’Pring is holding her own against the R’ongovians, who have suddenly become very… logical. She falters, however, when they ask her what Spock and the Vulcan people gain from Federation membership. T’Pring speaks from her own perspective, providing a very insular, Vulcan answer based on her own distaste for Starfleet and Spock’s long absences from home.

Pike intervenes at this point, stepping into to defend Spock against “his” own explanation, and points out the sacrifices that he’s made for Starfleet and his duty. It’s more classic Pike — in little doses this week, as it really should be — and it appears to impress both the R’ongovians and T’Pring.

Spock is having just as much difficulty with his task, even with Chapel taken along as backup. Barjan T’Or (Alden Adair),is horribly unpleasant to talk to, in a deeply unlikable, extremely Vulcan manner. Even as a logic rejectionist, his hatred of humanity is even stronger — enough so that even the sight of Chapel next to T’Pring is enough for him to reconsider handing himself in to custody.

Spock does his best to hold his cool as T’Pring, but when Barjan starts insulting Spock, he loses his cool, knocking the bigoted Vulcan criminal out cold. It’s ridiculous, but I’ll take it.

Eventually, M’Benga and Chapel manage to swap the couple back by zapping their brains through a bit of sea urchin paste, shocking their systems into kicking their stuck katras back to where they belong. Spock thanks Chapel — both for fixing him, and for offering him sage advice — and it’s clear here that she’s seeing something in him that she hadn’t seen before. It’s nice to see the start of the *ahem* poorly handled infatuation we know from the Original Series starting to appear in a much more subtle and nuanced manner.

The final meeting with the R’ongovians goes rather differently than expected, as Captain Pike explaining why they should join the UFP… by giving them every reason why they shouldn’t. He highlights the dangers of Federation membership — the loss of individualized power, the risk of invasion or worse — and his emphasis of the risks involved horrifies Admiral April and Cadet Uhura, each watching from the sidelines.

However, Pike has a hunch — a good one — that the R’ongovian’s different attitudes to different negotiators is about radical empathy; a diplomatic play designed to make you see everything from the other side’s point of view. It’s a clever plot idea and ploy, and it pays off; the R’ongovians decide to join the Federation.

While all of these challenges have been happening to Spock and Pike, Una and La’an have uncovered a somewhat secret tradition among the Enterprise lower decks crew: those two airlock-bound ensigns were trying for a spacewalk to complete “Enterprise Bingo,” a break-the-rules game neither oh-so-serious officer knew existed.

The duo isn’t initially impressed with the concept, but soon decide to try it in order to see for themselves “how the other half lives,” and in story that feels delightfully inspired by Star Trek: Lower Decks, the pair start to have more and more fun as they make their way down the game’s checklist. (Watching Romijn and Chong mess around with turbolifts controls, transporters and phasers is incredibly silly and fun — and I think I even prefer it over Spock’s body-swap story.)

After Una gets a low-power phaser bolt to the shoulder, the duo realize that the point of Enterprise Bingo isn’t about silly hijinks, it’s about rule breaking, and as the rule-makers, they need to elevate “Enterprise Bingo” and break the rules in a new way. So  they decide to “Sign the Scorch” in style — by projecting an force field-contained atmosphere over the saucer itself. It’s a very good use of the AR wall, especially when we see the R’ongovian solar sail vessel leave, giving the pair a moment of shared wonderment.

It’s very nice to see Una and La’ans joint development move beyond trauma to joy and laughter. That’s sort of the overall feeling in this episode: that the R’ongovian’s principle of radical empathy is an important part of how we live, whether in relationships, diplomacy or friendships — and to have that message told in such a light-hearted way is brilliant after the last few weeks of heavy storylines.

CAMP NONSENSE OF THE WEEK

The whole episode. The whole thing. Everything about it! Hijinks are the campest thing imaginable!

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

  • This episode takes place on Stardate 2341.4.
     
  • As the Enterprise arrives at Starbase 1, a second Constitution-class starship can be seen pulling in to dock at another of its berths.
     
  • Spock alludes to Starbase 1’s post-Klingon War repairs; we saw the station heavily damaged all the way back in Star Trek: Discovery’s first season (“The War Without, The War Within”).
     
  • Captain Pike debuts the Strange New Worlds take on the iconic green wraparound uniform which originated with Captain Kirk in “The Enemy Within,” including its waist-level belt.

  • M’Benga’s fishing hat is ridiculous, but seems like an allusion to another TV doctor: Lt. Colonel Henry Blake from M*A*S*H.
     
  • Admiral April’s map of R’ongovian territory is yet another modification of the Alpha Quadrant map graphic introduced in Discovery’s first season. (I am not a fan of that map, for the record.)
     
  • The discussions of Klingon and Romulan negotiations with the R’ongovians implies that even if Starfleet doesn’t know what a Romulan ship — or a Romulan — look like, they’ve got some idea about the Romulan Star Empire’s political motives.
     
  • The visiting R’ongovian delegation fly a solar sail ship; the first ship of this type seen in Star Trek is the Bajoran lightship from “Explorers.”

  • Spock’s dream about battling his human half in ritual Kal-if-fee combat features musical score which includes excerpts from Gerald Fried’s original “Amok Time” fight theme.
     
  • T’Pring and Spock greet each with dialogue first heard in “Amok Time,” as the couple each say “Parted from me, and never parted. Never and always touching and touched. We meet at the appointed place.”
     
  • T’Pring works for Vulcan’s El-Keshtanktil service, an equivalent of the US Marshals Service, tasked with tracking down and capturing “dangerous criminals” and “showing them the true path of Vulcan logic.”
     
  • Barjan T’Or, T’Pring’s fugitive, is V’tosh ka’tur (or a “Vulcan without logic”), a group which made its first appearance in the 2001 Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Fusion.”
     
  • Spock mentions his pet sehlat, I-Chaya, seen in the Animated Series episode “Yesteryear.”
     
  • The “soul sharing” katra transfer ritual is not without precedent; Spock temporarily transferred his consciousness to the mind of Nurse Chapel to avoid being destroyed by Sargon in “Return to Tomorrow.” (He clearly took this incident with T’Pring as a learning experience!)

To score a full “Enterprise Bingo,” all ten of these items must be completed:

* Use Transporter to Reflavor Gum
* Phaser Stun Duel
* Turbolift Two-Floor Shout Challenge
* Set the Universal Translator to Andorian
* Gravity Boot Hang Challenge
* Medical Tricorder Challenge: Vulcan Marsupial
* Food Replicator Challenge: Durian Fruit
* Sneak a Tribble into the Transporter Buffer
* Sit in the Captain’s Chair
* EV Suit Challenge: Unsanctioned Space Walk
* Sign the Scorch

  • The crewmates trying to open the Enterprise airlock include Ensign Christina (Jennifer Hui) — a communications bridge officer introduced in “Children of the Comet” — and Ensign Zier (Torri Webster), the first live-action Bolian seen since the Star Trek: Voyager series finale.

  • Mild-mannered Chief Kyle (Andre Dae Kim) is apparently “so mean!”
     
  • “Enterprise Bingo” was first mentioned by Ortegas in “Children of the Comet.”
     
  • “The Scorch” is the oldest unreplaced piece of the Enterprise hull, located on the dorsal side of the saucer section.
     
  • The “Vulcan Marsupial” tricorder challenge is a deep cut reference to a similar trick Lewis Zimmerman played on the EMH in “Life Line.”
     
  • Every time Una checks off an “Enterprise Bingo” achievement, her padd plays a brief 8-bit rendition of the Star Trek theme.

“Spock Amok” is fun! Its stakes are low, it’s reasonably funny, and it’s got some rather thought-provoking ideas about diplomacy, empathy and relationships. There’s some great worldbuilding elements as well, from the R’ongovians, to logic criminals, to “Enterprise Bingo.”

This is certainly an episode that excellent in making the universe feel more ‘lived-in,’ something that Discovery and Picard hasn’t always been good at during the last 5 years. I still feel a little off about the concept of the body-swap plot device, and about the emphasis on Spock’s internal conflicts. Splitting a mixed character in two — either in their mind, or in reality – is never a good move in my view, and requires a certain level of delicate handling.

I’m still undecided as to whether “Spock Amok” had that under control.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns with “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” on Thursday, June 9 on Paramount+ in the United States, Australia, Latin America, and the Nordics, as well as on CTV Sci Fi Channel in Canada.

The series will arrive to the UK and Ireland on Paramount+ on June 22; additional international distribution has not yet been announced.

Paramount+ UK Launch to Include DISCOVERY, PRODIGY, and First Three Episodes of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS

TrekCore Staff
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Paramount+ UK Launch to Include DISCOVERY, PRODIGY, and First Three Episodes of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS

Like many fans around the world, Trekkies in the UK and Ireland have been waiting for their chance to catch up on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as Paramount+ slowly makes its way out to international territories this year — and while the streaming service is set to debut June 22 in the United Kingdom, the wait on that Strange New Worlds catch-up will take just a bit longer.

Announced officially by the UK arm of Paramount+ today, only the first three episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be available on the streamer on that region’s June 22 launch date, as the show will continue on a weekly Wednesday release schedule through the conclusion of SNW’s ten-episode Season 1 run.

June 22 will bring “Strange New Worlds,” “Children of the Comet,” and “Ghosts of Illyria” to UK viewers, with future episodes following five weeks after their US, Canada, and Australian release dates — the Strange New Worlds Season 1 finale will debut July 7 in the United States; the staggered schedule looks to bring that finale episode to the UK on Wednesday, August 10.

We have confirmed directly with Paramount+ UK that all four seasons of Star Trek: Discovery and the first ten episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy will all be available in the UK at launch on June 22. TrekCore is currently working to find out if the recently-remastered Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Director’s Edition will be part of the service’s initial UK offerings.

(Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks are currently available as Prime Video exclusives in the UK and Ireland.)

Paramount+ UK’s release announcement for ‘Strange New Worlds’ availability. (Paramount+)

Paramount+ will be available in the UK via the Paramount+ on June 22; users will be able to sign up for the service for £6.99/month (or £69.90/year) following a free seven-day trial. Pricing for Ireland has not yet been announced. In addition to the app, Paramount+ will launch on Sky platforms in the UK, with Sky Cinema subscribers getting access to the streaming service at no additional cost.

Strange New Worlds is not the only Paramount+ original series to be impacted by this type of delayed release in the UK; the recently-concluded season of HALO will also debut with three episodes at launch (and a weekly rollout following), as will the Paramount+ adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth — likely to keep viewers from using the 7-day trial period offered to watch all that new content in the first free week.

Hopefully this is just part of the initial launch strategy for Paramount+ in the UK; it seems likely that future seasons of Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Prodigy will be released simultaneously with the US release schedules once the regional debut is behind… but only time will tell.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns with “Spock Amok” on Thursday, June 2 on Paramount+ in the United States, Australia, Latin America, and the Nordics, as well as on CTV Sci Fi Channel in Canada.

The series will arrive to the UK and Ireland on Paramount+ on June 22; additional international distribution has not yet been announced.

WeeklyTrek Podcast #181 — The Gorn Return, the Long Wait for STAR TREK 4, and More!

Alex Perry
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WeeklyTrek Podcast #181 — The Gorn Return, the Long Wait for STAR TREK 4, and More!

On this week’s episode of WeeklyTrek, brought to you in partnership between The Tricorder Transmissions Podcast Network and TrekCore, host Alex Perry is joined by Brooke Horton to discuss all the latest Star Trek news.

This week, Alex and his guest discuss the following stories from TrekCore and around the web:

In addition, stick around to hear Brooke’s theory about balancing character dynamics across the remainder of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ first season, and Alex’s theory about when we’ll learn more about when Star Trek: Lower Decks will return!

WeeklyTrek is available to subscribe and download each week on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify — and we’ll be sharing the details of each new episode right here on TrekCore each week if you’re simply just looking to listen in from the web.

Do you have a wish or theory you’d like to share on the show? Tweet to Alex at @WeeklyTrek, or email us with your thoughts about wishes, theories, or anything else about the latest in Star Trek news!

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