Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
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In 1966 Captain Kirk would say "Execute" to have the Enterprise move out to wherever it would go. Then there was Captain Janeway in Voyager with "Do it". Captain Jean=Luc Picard with, "Make it so". And now, in the newest installment, we have the prequel to the original Star Trek, with Captain Pike (Anson Mount), who utters the words, "Hit it" (hit it?).
It opens with Pike retired but called back into service, of which Pike is plagued by visions of what prompted his retirement. He takes on an assignment that will leave you in awe of the outcome.
Of all the characters we remember, only three names ring a bell from TV's Star Trek. That being Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding, and Nurse Chappel (Jess Bush), who does some amazing things. The "Bones" is called "Doc" (Babs Olusanmokun) And don't look for anything remotely close to Scotty, the Chief Engineer Hammer (Bruce Horak and legally blind), portrays an Aenar, a subspecies of Andorrans that are blind, telepathic, and pacifistic whose skin color is sea green blue. Now, the first officer is different from the norm as well. Enter Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn). Don’t expect to see Chekov or Sulu either.
The Enterprise in this version looks to be faster, more powerful than all the other Enterprises to date, which shouldn't be but is, nonetheless. The Transporter looks cool though. Special effects get a nine out of ten.
And right from jump street, Pike breaks the Prime Directive by getting involved with two other factions on another world. I won't reveal all the details, but Pike does get out of a bad jam.
Finally, is the entrance of an on the Star Trek other character. A young Lieutenant Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), brother of James Tiberius Kirk who captained the TV Enterprise. Anyone know he had a brother who served with Star Fleet??
Overall, I give this an 8.5 only because it will take time to get used to all the new characters and their development. Future episodes will have a new Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley). But they must have done something right as they have already been picked for a second season. And if you don’t have Paramount Plus, if you have Pluto TV, they have been airing it, to my knowledge, all day on the Star Trek channel.
Meantime … live long and proser (not said in this initial episode).