Star Trek SNW: Season 1, Episode One “Strange New Worlds”

Stardate: 1738.12
Original Air Date: May 5, 2022
Writers: Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, & Jenny Lumet
Director: Akiva Goldsman      

“First contact is just a dream… until one day it isn’t.”

We first meet Captain Christopher Pike of the Starship Enterprise (Anson Mount), residing at a snowy ranch in a remote part of Bear Creek, Montana. Pike is the pre-Kirk captain of the Enterprise as featured in the original un-aired pilot of Star Trek (“The Cage“). Apparently, something mysterious has happened to him on a previous adventure (“it’s classified”), and he is now reluctant to return to the helm of his ship. We later learn that Pike has recently visited the Klingon moon of Boreth and returned a changed man. Boreth is notable for two things –it is the home of a unique monastery, and it contains a rare ore which can cause temporal consciousness displacement. As such, Pike is currently haunted by visions of his horrid future demise –a radiation accident which will occur in approximately ten years—an incident which was previously described in the classic TOS two-parter “The Menagerie.”

“Most humans, we like to think that, right until the very last instant, we’ll cheat death.”

Pike’s girlfriend, Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano), ships out the next day while Pike plans to remain grounded on earth as the Enterprise undergoes scheduled maintenance for another month or so. He ignores his phone as it rings incessantly, until finally Admiral Robert “Bob” April (Adrian Holmes) manages to track down Pike on horseback in the middle of the snow. Admiral April informs him that his first officer Una Chin-Riley (referred to as “Number One”) has gone missing during a first contact mission. Starfleet typically sends out a fist contact team whenever a deep space probe identifies signs of a working warp engine. Six days ago, the signature of a functioning warp drive appeared on Kiley 279, and the USS Archer was dispatched but Starfleet has since lost contact with the ship. Thus, the Enterprise is being urgently dispatched to hopefully find and retrieve the crew of the Archer.

Meanwhile on the planet Vulcan (in the city of Raal), Spock (Ethan Peck, grandson of Gregory Peck) and T’Pring (Gia Sandhu) are out to dinner when she proposes marriage to him (even though in the TOS episode “Amok Time,” it was previously established that Spock and T’Pring were arranged for marriage when they were young). They leave the restaurant and are about to consummate their nuptials, but Spock is interrupted and summoned by Captain Pike for the Enterprise’s new mission. Knowing T’Pring will be disappointed, Spock remarks: “matrimony and duty –the two will complement each other,” but T’Pring remains “skeptical” of Spock’s employment. She later says, “Don’t make a habit of it. I won’t chase you across the galaxy just to get married.”

With that, Spock and Pike are reunited aboard the Enterprise –Spock references the loss of his adoptive sister, Michael Burnham from Star Trek: Discovery. We also meet the rest of the Enterprise crew which includes acting first officer Lt. La’an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong), Cadet Nyoto Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) the “prodigy” of communications, and Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia), as well as Dr. Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush).  

Longtime Trekkies will enjoy seeing familiar fan favorites –Uhura, Dr. M’Benga, and Nurse Chapel– however one of the more mysterious and intriguing characters is La’an Noonien Singh, who shares a name with none other than Khan Noonien Singh, the infamous genetically-engineered superhuman from an essential TOS episode “Space Seed” as well as the classic film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. While much of La’an’s story is left ambiguous, at one point she mentions that her father once said “Not believing you’re going to die is what gets you killed” before her family’s whole colony ship was tragically captured by the Gorn –the famously campy creature who appears in the iconic TOS episode “Arena.” After being captured, La’an and others were then deposited on a Gorn planet filled with nurseries where they were to be fed alive or kept for breeding. La’an, however, was apparently cast adrift in space by the Gorn and rescued by none other than Una Chin-Riley aboard the USS Martin Luther King, Jr. From there, La’an decided to join Starfleet. Much of her background seems to be shadowy and alluring.

At any rate, the Enterprise sets course and arrives at “Kiley 279,” an M-Class planet. There, they find the USS Archer empty, suspended in orbit. Una Chin-Riley and her two compatriots, Lt. Key and Ensign Hadad are missing. The Enterprise crew discusses an appropriate response to this mystery. At first officer La’an’s request, they raise the ship’s shields just in the nick of time as several plasma torpedo blasts hit the ship from the planet surface (apparently, this plasma represents outdated 21^st century technology). How did a relatively primitive people develop such advanced technology? On Kiley 279, we learn there are two warring factions and civil strife has now exploded to a crisis point. Somehow, they have managed to develop a warp bomb, a weapon which could destroy their world. To complicate matters, Starfleet “General Order 1” applies in this situation (it is later known as the Prime Directive), an injunction not to interfere with the natural development of planetary cultures.

Dr. M’Benga and Nurse Chapel note that the natives are humanoid. Using minor alterations to each crew member’s genetic code, they create a temporary concoction which allows for a landing party to appear to be similar to the species on Kiley 279 (it is similar to the polyjuice potion in Harry Potter). Local clothing patterns, universal translators, and tricorders have been uploaded into the transporter buffer. Unsurprisingly, Spock has a unique genetic code which means his serum may wear off sooner. At any rate, Pike, Spock, and La’an beam down to Kiley 279 (with no weapons) where they find a war-torn world filled with riots and political unrest, not unlike the United States in the 21st century. They knock out two natives in order to steal their clothes and security badges, and then they temporarily beam the natives aboard the Enterprise where they will remain incapacitated so as to not cause a disturbance on the planet (a questionably ethical move). However, once aboard the Enterprise, one of the captives escapes from sickbay and tries to flee throughout the ship in a “Delta Scorpii Seven” situation, until he is eventually caught by Nurse Chapel with a little help from Uhura.

Meanwhile, the landing party is narrowly able to enter a secret facility (with help from Lt. Kyle who beams a DNA sample onto Spock’s eyeball for a retinal scan) which allows them to head deep underground just as their disguises wear off. There, they rescue the missing Starfleet crew. Apparently, Kiley 279 has acquired warp capabilities during an event which took place in Star Trek: Discovery, when the crew was one lightyear out from zero-point and opened a wormhole to the future, with many Kelpian and Klingon ships lighting up the sky. Observing the chaos in the heavens, the people on Kiley 279 were somehow able to emulate the technology (simply by observing starships through a telescope they were able to develop a warp bomb somehow?).

The crescendo of this episode comes when the rebel faction and the government on Kiley 279 meet for the first time in a whole century and the Enterprise reveals itself. Captain Pike delivers a rousing speech to the people of Kiley 279, warning them of the dangers that lie ahead if they continue down the path of violent division. “Negotiation, debate… these are the tools to secure a lasting peace.” He presents to them a history of earth in the 21^st century which includes World War III and the Eugenics Wars (placed on a later timeline in TOS). He inspires Kiley 279 to join the Federation instead of annihilating themselves. This whole speech strikes precisely the kind aspirational tone that Star Trek has so desperately needed in recent years, and it offers a timely political message to a beleaguered audience of viewers.   

At any rate, the episode ends as Pike decides to remain in his post as captain despite knowing of a tragedy that lies ahead for him. A moustache-donning Lt. Samuel Kirk then appears on the bridge of the Enterprise (he is James T. Kirk’s brother as briefly portrayed in the TOS episode “Operation – Annihilate!”). And in spite of regaining his first officer, Pike invites La’an to remain aboard the Enterprise as head of security. The Enterprise then speeds away, onto its next adventure.

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My Thoughts on “Strange New Worlds”

Fans were enamored with Anson Mount’s portrayal of Captain Pike when he initially appeared in Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery. A fan petition sparked a new Star Trek spin-off show focused on Pike and the pre-Kirk era of the Enterprise. This terrific new show Strange New Worlds offers a wonderful return to form as the classic self-contained “planet of the week” episodic format is once again revived. I could have done without a few things, such as the brief scene of Vulcan eroticism between Spock and T’Pring, but after the drab, dark aesthetic of both Discovery and early Picard, the clean, sharp, and bright design of Strange New Worlds is a welcome change of pace.   

The special effects team also did a wonderful job recreating Pike’s future physical deformity which appears variously in ongoing visions he faces from time to time. The fact that Pike knows about his accident is new. It forces us to ask: what good is there in knowing your future? How shall we live our lives if we are aware of our own fate? Pike is cursed with foreknowledge of his own death. In a way, there is a gripping parallel between Pike’s future and the future of the planet Kiley 279 in this episode –in some ways Pike is convincing himself, as well as the people of Kiley 279, that “until our last moment, the future is what we make it.” It is a message of hope to both a divided nation and a conflicted man.

Despite this showing all the promise of a wonderful ensemble show, there are still a few lingering questions for me in this episode –such as the identity of La’an Noonien-Singh. Is she related to Khan? Can she be trusted? I’m sure all of this will be addressed in future episodes but with Strange New Worlds I have to say I am cautiously optimistic. Star Trek feels like a fun and inspiring sci-fi show again!

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Star Trek Trivia:

• The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) plays on a television while Captain Pike makes breakfast at his Montana ranch house. This classic science fiction film was originally directed by Robert Wise, who also directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).
• Pike’s ranch house shown in this episode is reminiscent of the cabin featured in Star Trek Generations (1994).
• Number One’s name from “The Cage” is revealed in this episode to be Una Chin-Riley. She was leading The USS Archer, which is apparently a Saladin class ship.
• The Klingon moon of Boreth makes appearances in Discovery, TNG, and DS9.
• The shuttle Pike travels to the Enterprise in is called “Stamets” –perhaps a nod to the character Paul Stamets in Discovery.
• André Dae Kim appears as transporter chief Lt. Kyle –another terrific callback to the original series!
• Both the first episode of SNW as well as an episode of Discovery were dedicated to April Nocifora, a producer who tragically died of cancer in December 2021.
• Additionally, actress Melissa Navia’s husband tragically died of leukemia while making this show (he was diagnosed and then passed away three days later).
• Saurian brandy makes another appearance in this episode. As does 3-D chess, the universal translator, and the original series tricorder.
• A map of the Alpha Quadrant briefly appears in this episode which lists numerous planets referencing past episodes of Trek.
• Spock reminds us that Vulcans invented first contact.
• Spock tells T’Pring that during the “Salon” (a Vulcan gathering) the seas consist of liquid mercury, unlike on earth’s water-filled oceans.
• Pike offhandedly mentions that he and Dr. M’Benga once toured the Mohave and then Kenya together.
• When asked if Spock is familiar with the United States of America, he replies “yes” and that he is also familiar with both American civil wars and their “devastating” results.
• Nurse Chapel is currently on civilian exchange from the Stanford Morehouse Epigenetic Program. She is part of Starfleet’s initiative to better observe alien cultures without contamination.
• An old Kikuyu proverb is mentioned in this episode: “Remember when elephants fight it’s the grass that suffers.”
• General Order 1 is renamed the “Prime Directive” by Starfleet at the end of this episode –Pike amusingly remarks, “That’ll never stick.”
• Pike draws La’an’s attentions to large bio-domes that were constructed in space during WWIII. They apparently feature lush organic gardens.
• “Tagball” is a popular game played on Kiley 279.
• Admiral April was voiced by James Doohan in TAS, he is played by Adrian Holmes in SNW.
• Spock alludes to mourning the loss of his adoptive sister, Michael Burnham, in this episode while in a private turbolift with Pike.
• Samuel Kirk, James Kirk’s brother, makes his first appearance in this episode since the TOS episode “Operation: Annihilate!” (in which he was played by William Shatner).
• La’an shares that Una Chin-Riley/Number One rescued her from the Gorn when she was cast out on a ritual raft and then rescued by the USS Martin Luther King Jr. (where Una served as an Ensign).
• Pike is shown on horseback near the beginning of this episode, a nod to the events of “The Cage.”

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