Year: 2023

Stardate 2393.8: Venturing into Illyrian space on his own time, Captain Pike demands to see civil rights attorney Neera Ketoul, an Illyrian herself and a childhood friend of Number One. He pushes for her to take his first officer’s case, not just for her, but for all Illyrians trying to overcome Federation prejudice. Neera’s defense begins somewhat inauspiciously by grilling Admiral April on the witness stand, but over time she reminds the judges that at one point, many prejudices now thought of as archaic were, in fact, enshrined in the law. But one troubling question weighs on both Neera and on La’an, who can’t seem to find the answer: who turned Number One in to Starfleet, revealing that she was an Illyrian and not human?

written by Dana Horgan
directed by Valerie Weiss
music by Nami Melumad
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds main theme by Jeff Russo

Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (Lt. La’an Noonien Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Uhura), Melissa Navia (Lt. Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), Rebecca Romijn (Commander Una Chin-Riley), Yetide Badaki (Neera Ketoul), Adrian Holmes (Admiral Robert April), Melanie Scrofano (Captain Batel), Jim Annan (Una’s Father), Anna Claire Beitel (young Una), Catherine Black (Una’s Mother), Eugene Clark (Vulcan Judge), Nicky Guadagni (Admiral Javas), Beth Hornby (Guard), Alex Kapp (U.S.S. Enterprise Computer), Graeme Somerville (Vice Admiral Pasalk), Iain Stewart (JAG Defender), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Tellarite Judge), Kimberly-Ann Truong (Illyrian Assistant)

Notes: Many visual conventions of classic Star Trek courtroom episodes (The Menagerie Part I and II, Court-Martial) are maintained here, from Starfleet dress uniforms to the hand sensor (presumably some means of detecting truthful or non-truthful answers). Una’s fondness for Gilbert & Sullivan – and Spock’s discovery of this – was revealed in the Short Treks episode Q&A (2019). Pike’s visit to the Vaultera Nebula is concurrent with the events of the previous episode, The Broken Circle.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 1630.1: A joint mission involving the Enterprise and the Cayuga gives Captains Pike and Batel fleeting opportunities for alone time, but the fallout from the recent trial of Pike’s first officer may have permanently damaged their relationship. The Enterprise is called away to Rigel VII, a planet visited by Pike and a landing party five years ago, resulting the deaths of three members of his crew. Recent imagery from an uncrewed probe’s flyby indicates that there may have been some cultural contamination of the warlike local culture, and to put it succinctly, Pike is ordered to clean up his own mess. He hand-picks a small team – La’an and M’Benga – for their ability to handle themselves in close combat without energy weapons, which seems like a good way to blend in until they’re accosted by locals with energy weapons. Pike, La’an and M’Benga are taken to the warriors’ palace, where they find that Pike’s former yeoman – presumed killed in action during that fateful previous mission – is not only alive, but has turned himself into the local warlord. He orders the landing party to be held captive while the planet’s radiation takes effect, robbing them of their inhibitions and eventually their memory.

The same effect is gradually being felt aboard the Enterprise as well, and before long a third of the crew is out of commission, including Uhura and Number One. Spock directs Ortegas to raise the Enterprise‘s orbit to avoid the radiation causing the rampant neurological degradation, unaware that this will only put the ship and crew further into harm’s way. On Rigel VII, a jailbreak leaves La’an critically injured, and while M’Benga can perform basic first aid without thinking, his memory of how to stabilize La’an has left him. With help from one of the locals, Pike sets out to retrieve everyone’s memories at any cost.

written by Kirsten Beyer & Davy Perez
directed by Eduardo Sanchez
music by Nami Melumad
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds main theme by Jeff Russo

Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (Lt. La’an Noonien Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Uhura), Melissa Navia (Lt. Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), Rebecca Romijn (Commander Una Chin-Riley), Reed Birney (Luq), David Huynk (Zac Nguyen), Melanie Scrofano (Captain Batel), Trevor Coll (Afraid Crewmember), Tarek Gader (Shirtless Crewmember), Alex Kapp (USS Enterprise Computer), Noah Lamanna (Chief Jay), Emeka Menakaya (Tiko), Simon Northwood (Rak)

Notes: The events on Rigel VII took place shortly before The Cage (1964), and were the cause of a crisis of self-confidence on Captain Pike’s part in that story, leading him to have thoughts of resigning from Starfleet; previously unrevealed until this episode was that Spock was also critically wounded during that mission. The bronze-age outfits and weaponry (other than the phaser rifles accidentally left behind by the previous Enterprise landing party) all tally with the warrior Pike faced during a Talosian-incuded illusion in The Cage.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 58460.1: The Cerritos visits the planet Krulmuth-B, site of an ancient portal of unknown function. Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford are elated to be assigned to scan the ancient technology; Mariner is less than thrilled with the assignment. After he and Tendi spar over whether the portal was discovered by Captain Pike’s Enterprise crew or an Orion science vessel whose crew included an ancestor of Tendi’s, Boimler poses for a picture in the portal. But Rutherford’s camera seems to activate the device, and Boimler is sucked in.

Stardate 2291.6: The Enterprise visits the planet Krulmuth-B, finding an ancient portal of unknown function. As Number One, Spock, and La’An do routine scans, someone emerges from the portal – one Ensign Brad Boimler, a junior Starfleet officer from 120 years in their future. After Boimler seems to be reflexively startled by Number One, Pike leaves the ensign in the care of La’An, who reviews standard Starfleet time travel protocols, and adds advice of her own from recent experience. An attempt to return Boimler through the portal is thwarted by the appearance of an Orion vessel. Pike and his crew assume they are pirates, but Boimler realizes this could be the ship on which Tendi’s ancestor is serving and speaks up, annoying Pike by potentially altering history. After parlaying with the Orions for access to the portal, Pike and his crew are alarmed when, just as Boimler is about to walk through the portal, one of his crewmates from the future, Ensign Beckett Mariner, jumps through, thinking she’s rescuing her friend. The portal’s energy exhausted, Boimler and Mariner are both stranded in the 23rd century, unless they can find a solution that somehow doesn’t alter history.

written by Kathryn Lyn & Bill Wolkoff
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Nami Melumad
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds main theme by Jeff Russo

Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (Lt. La’an Noonien Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Uhura), Melissa Navia (Lt. Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), Rebecca Romijn (Commander Una Chin-Riley), Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler), Noel Wells (Ensign Tendi), Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford), Jerry O’Connell (Commander Jack Ransom), Greg Bryk (Captain Caras), Carol Kane (Commander Pelia)

Notes: A full-blown crossover with the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, Those Old Scientists emerged from discussions between the showrunners of both shows and featured roles for many of Lower Decks’ regulars, though only Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid got to play their characters in live action. The episode was released almost a full week early, as it was also being shown at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con. The main titles are animated in a style that splits the difference between Lower Decks’ animation style and the usual Strange New Worlds opening titles, and includes such Lower Decks staples as the unidentified creature feeding on one of the Enterprise’s warp engines and a cosmic koala sighting. There are also many references to characters and the ship from Star Trek: Enterprise. Lt. Ortegas has visited Starbase Earhart (and run into dom-jot-obsessed Nausicaans there), the same place where one Ensign Jean-Luc Picard will have a life-altering experience decades from now (TNG: Tapestry, 1993).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 2398.3: Investigating a subspace fold with unusual properties, the Enterprise is once again visited by Lt. Commander James Kirk of the Farragut, whose presence has La’An noticeably on edge. Hypothesizing that the subspace fold could be used to speed up long-range communications, Spock and Uhura have been trying to send signals through it to no avail. Commander Pelia suggests transmitting music into the fold, and the effect is immediate and unpredictable, causing members of the crew to burst into song in moments of extreme emotion. Even Spock is not immune, particularly after learning that Nurse Chapel has successfully applied for a three-month fellowship to study under Dr. Roger Korby. Worse still, the effect is spreading throughout existing subspace communications networks, affecting others across the galaxy in the same way. The Klingons, despite being accustomed to singing songs of their deeds in battle, are less than amused, and a major diplomatic breakdown looms unless Captain Pike and his crew come up with a show-stopping grand finale.

written by Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff
directed by Dermott Downs / choreography by Roberto Campanella
original songs by Tom Polce and Kay Hanley / additional lyrics by Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff
music by Nami Melumad
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds main theme by Jeff Russo

Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (Lt. La’An Noonien Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Uhura), Melissa Navia (Lt. Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), Rebecca Romijn (Commander Una Chin-Riley), Paul Wesley (Kirk), Melanie Scrofano (Captain Batel), Dan Jeannotte (Lt. Sam Kirk), Bruce Horak (General Garkog), Carol Kane (Commander Pelia), Rong Fu (Jenna Mitchell)

Notes: With a history that stretches from dancing, singing Murf, to Kira singing “Fever” while Odo plays piano, to musically inclined space hippies, to Uhura serenading Charlie Evans in one of the original series’ earliest episodes, there’s never been a shortage of musical moments in Star Trek, but Subspace Rhapsody marks the first attempt to elevate that concept to a full-fledged stage-style musical sustaining across a full episode. It helps that almost the entire cast is musically inclined as well, and a soundtrack release followed almost immediately. Kirk’s mention to La’An that he has a steady – and pregnant – girlfriend is almost certainly a reference to Carol Marcus (Star Trek II, 1982). Bruce Horak – who starred in season one as Hemmer – makes his second comeback of the season, this time in Klingon guise.

LogBook entry by Earl Green