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‘Star Trek’ made its first ever musical episode, but was it any good? Our writers discuss

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This article contains spoilers for “Subspace Rhapsody,” the ninth episode of Season 2 of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .”

On Thursday, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Paramount+) debuted “Subspace Rhapsody,” which has been announced as the first musical episode in the franchise . (Some will, of course, remember Spock strumming on a Vulcan lute and Uhura singing in the original series or Data’s rendition of “Blue Skies” at Will and Deanna’s wedding in “Star Trek: Nemesis.”)

Whether or not one views this as an insult to or a delightful expansion of the series, it has become, if not quite de rigueur, not unusual for a comedy or drama or even a soap opera to get its inner “Rent” on. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was perhaps the most ballyhooed show to take this step toward Broadway, but all sorts of series have danced into the footlights: “Fringe,” “Psych,” “Xena: Warrior Princess,” “Futurama,” “One Life to Live,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Community,” “Transparent” and more.

Entertainment and arts reporter Ashley Lee, who knows a lot about musicals but little about “Star Trek,” and television critic Robert Lloyd, who knows quite a bit about “Star Trek” and less about musicals (at least any written after 1970), got together to discuss the episode.

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Ashley Lee: Because I love musical theater, I’m always intrigued when TV shows take the risk to make a musical episode. The task of creating original songs for the screen is already tricky enough, especially in a way that invites along the show’s weekly audience and still moves its stories forward. And then there’s the task of asking the actors to perform them, whether or not they’ve ever sung or danced onscreen before. It’s an episodic experiment that, over the years, only some shows have gotten right.

I admittedly put on the musical episode of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” with low expectations because, outside of “Little Shop of Horrors,” putting sci-fi to song hasn’t historically been so harmonious (R.I.P., “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”). Even though I had no prior connection to any of these characters, I found “Subspace Rhapsody” to be a pleasant surprise.

I loved how the songs, written by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce of the ’90s alt-rock band Letters to Cleo, poked enough fun at the oddity of suddenly breaking out into song without insulting the TV tradition. And I found it hilarious that the episode, directed by Dermott Downs and written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, deemed “confessing highly personal, emotional information” a legitimate security threat. (When you think about it, such can definitely be true in the real world!)

I’m surprised that, after all these years, this is the first ever “Star Trek” musical episode. Robert, as a longtime fan of the franchise, were you open to the idea?

Robert Lloyd: In sci-fi fandom, any unusual step is bound to raise some hackles. But as a TV critic since before flat screens, I have seen at least a few of these “special musical episodes” mounted in otherwise nonmusical series. I suspect the impetus came not from viewer demand but from the producers or the writers, who are always looking for something new to entertain the audience and, not incidentally, themselves and was seized upon happily by cast members, many of whom will have had backgrounds in or at least a love of musical theater, even if only from their high school production of “Guys and Dolls” (which I mention because it was produced at my high school — not with me).

History shows there’s no sort of show more likely than another to take on this challenge, but of all the “Star Trek” series, “Strange New Worlds” is perhaps the one most amenable to it. It’s got a strong vein of humor, and, as a highly episodic show, it’s subject to — in fact, embraces — tonal shifts from week to week. This season has been particularly … goofy? Two weeks prior to “Subspace Rhapsody,” they aired a crossover with the animated spinoff “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” in which cartoon characters became flesh and fleshly characters cartoons.

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I thought it was smart to give the musical element of the show a “scientific” rationale — if the usual “Trek” technobabble — with the Enterprise overwhelmed by feedback from a substance fault into which, on the inspiration of Carol Kane’s Pelia, they sent a playlist in an attempt to communicate musically.

And it’s quite appropriate for a season full of romantic subplots, including Ethan Peck’s Spock — who, you must know, is more about logic than feeling — having a thing with Jess Bush’s Nurse Chapel, and security chief Noonien-Singh’s (Christina Chong) awkward reunion with a young James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley), who doesn’t recall their relationship from an alternative timeline. (That bit may have made no sense to you, Ash.) Appropriately, the story makes it clear that heightened emotion is what causes the characters to sing — which is, of course, the underlying rationale of music theater.

All else aside, how did the music strike you? It was odd that although the music they fed into the fault was the “Great American Songbook” — the standards of early to mid-20th century popular song, often written for musicals — none of the songs in the episode were actually modeled on that tradition. Not much in the way of Jerome Kern or Rodgers and Hart there. It all sounded post-Andrew Lloyd Webber to me.

Lee: Haha, you’re right! While I did appreciate the use of Cole Porter’s show tune “Anything Goes” as a very literal cue to the audience of the storytelling “rules” ahead, many of the tunes were more contemporary than Golden Age. The one that’s most “vintage” in style was the sweet duet “Connect to Your Truth,” when Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) shared key leadership advice with Lt. Kirk.

Regarding the romances, I admittedly became deeply invested in these will-they-won’t-theys by the end of their musical numbers. I particularly loved La’an Noonien-Singh‘s song “How Would That Feel,” about contemplating vulnerability; it was like an introspective, angsty version of “Company’s” “Being Alive” in the musical style of “Wicked” (and is a promising preview of her music — Chong just released a debut EP). And the stark differences in genre between Spock’s brooding electropop ballad “I’m the X” and Nurse Chapel’s Amy Winehouse-esque fellowship celebration “I’m Ready” definitely maximized the tension amid their miscommunication.

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Beyond those, the opening number titled “Status Report” was so strong — a perfect example of musicalizing a familiar routine of the world (think “Opening Up” from “Waitress” or “Good Morning Baltimore” from “Hairspray”) — and the choral, orchestral rendition of the show’s main title was a delight. Also, the double meaning of communications officer Nyota Uhura’s anthem “Keep Us Connected” was very satisfying and, in my opinion, only scratched the surface of Celia Rose Gooding’s vocal abilities (she earned a Tony nomination for her performance in “Jagged Little Pill”).

If “Star Trek” ever officially makes the leap to the stage, I imagine these three songs in particular would transfer well. (Though if so, I’m gonna need a full expansion of that brief interlude of autotuned, rapping Klingons.) Bravo to Hanley and Polce for writing all the music and lyrics of this episode; while many have attempted it over the years, only a few pop stars and rockers have successfully walked the tightrope of writing effective and entertaining stage musicals (e.g., Cyndi Lauper, David Byrne and Elton John).

Overall, did you enjoy “Subspace Rhapsody”? Was the first musical episode of the franchise worth the wait?

Lloyd: I can’t say I was waiting for it, but I certainly enjoyed it. I’m all about nutty “Star Trek,” going back to “The Trouble With Tribbles,” and also found it a really effective way to embody the emotional crises being faced by “Strange New Worlds’” eminently likable characters. Certainly, the cast bursting into song (and the occasional dance), with music dropping in from … somewhere, is no more nonsensical than about, oh, a hundred things that have happened to the various starship crews over nearly six decades.

But let me ask you, did it make you liable to keep watching the series? (No judgment.)

Lee: Robert, these subplots were so genuinely compelling, even when concisely moved forward in song, that I’ll likely start this series from the beginning and continue on past this episode. Plus, I’m so intrigued by Lt. Kirk and Noonien-Singh’s romance in that alternate timeline!

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Ashley Lee is a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where she writes about theater, movies, television and the bustling intersection of the stage and the screen. An alum of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Critics Institute and Poynter’s Power of Diverse Voices, she leads workshops on arts journalism at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. She was previously a New York-based editor at the Hollywood Reporter and has written for the Washington Post, Backstage and American Theatre, among others. She is currently working remotely alongside her dog, Oliver.

Robert Lloyd has been a Los Angeles Times television critic since 2003.

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How Strange New Worlds pulled off the first-ever Star Trek musical episode

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Throwing an hour of light comedy into the middle of a 10-episode arc with galactic-level stakes could derail an entire season, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds dances gracefully from week to week between courtroom drama, time-travel romance, and its latest wild swing: a musical episode.

In “Subspace Rhapsody,” the crew of the USS Enterprise encounters a strange cosmic phenomenon that induces them to break into song and reveal their innermost feelings. The episode features 10 original songs by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce (of Letters to Cleo fame) and highlights the vocal talents of the cast, including Tony nominee and Grammy winner Celia Rose Gooding and singer-songwriter Christina Chong.

Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman, who heads up the franchise at Paramount, has been teasing the possibility of a Star Trek musical since 2020. But at the time, his only venue for bizarre genre experiments was Star Trek: Short Treks , a short subject anthology series that filled the gaps between Discovery and Picard . Short Treks eventually became the launchpad for Strange New Worlds , whose tone has proven equally elastic. After the warm reception to its first season, which contained everything from a screwball body-swap comedy to a grim political drama involving child sacrifice, it was time to set phasers to “sing.”

According to the episode’s director, Dermott Downs, Chong was the cast member who pushed the hardest for a musical episode. Chong, whose debut EP Twin Flames is also out this week, confesses in her Spotify bio that her screen acting career began as a way to raise her profile as a singer and stage actor. “Subspace Rhapsody” would seem to be an important landmark in her career, as she features heavily on the soundtrack, including the solo ballad “How Would That Feel?”

(Chong is unavailable for comment due to the conditions of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, as is the rest of the cast and the episode’s writers, Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff. Songwriters Kay Hanley and Tom Polce also could not be reached via Paramount publicity.)

Indeed, one of the interesting challenges of producing a musical episode of an established television show is tailoring the music to suit the talents of the existing cast. Who’s a belter? Who’s a crooner? Who’s funny? Who might not be comfortable singing at all? The tools at hand impact not only the distribution of the songs, but the shape of the story. The narrative and emotional weight of a musical has to fall on the shoulders of the cast members most prepared to carry it.

So, it’s no surprise that, while “Subspace Rhapsody” gives nearly every regular cast member an opportunity to show off, the heart of the story is Ensign Nyota Uhura, portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding. Gooding’s performance as Frankie in Jagged Little Pill , a Broadway jukebox musical featuring the songs of Alanis Morissette, garnered them a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album (shared with the rest of the cast). Gooding sings the episode’s 11 o’clock number, “Keep Us Connected,” an undeniable earworm that showcases their impressive vocal range and power. Gooding’s Broadway bona fides bring a level of legitimacy to “Subspace Rhapsody” that’s lacking even in top-tier TV musical episodes like Buffy ’s “Once More, With Feeling” and Community ’s “Regional Holiday Music.”

This also isn’t Downs’ first crack at a musical episode, as he also helmed “Duet,” a crossover between The Flash and Supergirl that reunited former Glee castmates Grant Gustin, Melissa Benoist, and Darren Criss. Downs used this experience, as well as his long resume as a music video cinematographer, to secure the “Subspace Rhapsody” gig from the list of episodes in development for Strange New Worlds ’ second season. Combined with his fondness for the original Star Trek , the possibility of working on Trek’s first musical episode was too exciting to pass up, despite the obvious risks.

“There was a great potential to jump the shark,” says Downs, “because if you’re this grounded show, how are you going to do a musical in outer space? And to their credit, they crafted a great story. Once you understand the anomaly and how music pushes forward all of these interior feelings through song, then you have the potential for so many different kinds of songs.”

However, the prospect of singing for the viewing audience was not immediately appealing to every cast member, a fact that is lampshaded within the framework of the episode. Much of the Enterprise crew fears the subspace anomaly’s ability to make them spill their guts through song. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is afraid of getting into an argument with his girlfriend, Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), and the pair ends up airing out their relationship issues on the bridge. (This song is, appropriately, entitled “A Private Conversation.”) Mount’s singing role is simpler than his castmates’ on a technical level, but leverages his comedic talents and awkward, boy-next-door charm.

“He crushed it,” says Downs. “It was like a country ballad gone wrong.”

Babs Olusanmokun, who portrays the multifaceted Dr. Joseph M’Benga, sings the bare minimum in the episode, and his character makes a point to tell his shipmates (and the viewer) that he does not sing . For his part, Downs cannot comment on any studio magic that may or may not have been employed to make the less seasoned vocalists in the cast more tuneful, but a listener with an ear for autotune will definitely detect some pitch correction.

Downs says that Ethan Peck, who portrays the young Lieutenant Spock , was among the more apprehensive cast members, but if anything, this becomes an asset to his performance in the episode. Spock has spent this season actively exploring his human feelings, even entering into a romantic relationship with Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). Spock’s solo “I’m the X” sees Spock retreating into his shell, and the actor’s shyness feeds into the character’s conflict. Peck’s performance of the song, which was written for his smooth baritone, was the production’s most pleasant surprise. The temp track of the song that the crew worked with (until Peck recorded his version over a weekend, like the rest of the cast) featured a bigger, more conventionally Broadway vocal, but Peck performs it in character — superficially steady, but with strong emotional undercurrents just below the surface.

On a character level, however, the musical format might be most revelatory for Rebecca Romijn’s Commander Una Chin-Riley, aka Number One. Una began the series as a very guarded person harboring a secret that could end her career. Even as far back as her appearance in the 2019 Short Treks episode “Q&A,” her advice to new arrival Spock was to “keep your ‘freaky’ to yourself,” in this case referring to her love for Gilbert and Sullivan ( inherited from Romijn herself ). Since then, her much more consequential secrets have been revealed, and she finds herself unburdened, and uses the opportunity presented by the musical anomaly to encourage her mentees to do the same. Una’s songs, “Connect to Your Truth”’ and “Keeping Secrets,” see her offering advice to rising first officer James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and her protege La’an (Chong), respectively, about the futility of withholding your full self from others.

“Subspace Rhapsody” concludes with an ensemble number about the crew’s common purpose and fellowship — an appropriate sentiment not only for a musical episode but for Strange New Worlds . Star Trek has always been about friendship and cooperation, but no previous incarnation (save, perhaps, for Deep Space Nine ) has granted each member of the cast such even amounts of attention and importance, from Captain Pike to Ensign Uhura. Previous Trek series could perhaps have sustained a musical episode (Ronald D. Moore even pitched one for DS9 back in the ’90s). For a series sold to fans as a return to “old-school Star Trek,” Strange New Worlds has taken some wild creative risks. While the show has resumed its time-tested episodic “problem of the week” format, its writers and producers have used this structure to experiment in ways that its sister shows, Discovery and Picard , could never have gotten away with. As corny as it might be, on Strange New Worlds it feels particularly appropriate to close a story with the entire crew singing about their trust in each other, in perfect harmony.

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Inside the ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Musical Episode — ‘Picard’ Almost Got There First

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There have certainly been musical moments in “Star Trek” before: Uhura sang while Spock played his lyre in “The Original Series”; Data and Picard duet to Gilbert and Sullivan in “Insurrection”; James Darren played a holographic nightclub singer on “Deep Space Nine.” But it took “Strange New Worlds,” the critically revered Paramount+ series nearing the end of its second season, to stage an entire musical episode.

The emotional clarity that drives suddenly “breaking into song” was actually an ideal fit for wrapping up most of the characters’ recent storylines, showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers said to IndieWire in a new interview. “The thing that made it a comfortable fit is that it’s still essentially a ‘Star Trek’ episode, and not just a ‘Star Trek’ episode but the ‘Star Trek’ episode that needed to be the ‘episode nine’ of our [10 episode] season. We need resolution in order to get us into episode 10, which in this case, Henry was going to write part one of a two-parter.”

The episode, directed by Dermott Downs, also has a very clear in-universe reason for existing: a subspace rift has altered reality so that people can only communicate through singing when they’re feeling intense emotion — the kind of climactic emotions involved in season-long storylines being resolved. “Fundamentally, I’d be game to make every episode nine a musical,” Goldsman said, “because it’s a great way of getting right to the heart of the issues the characters are bringing into the show and to resolve it in a really emotional way.”

The cast encompasses a wide range of singing skill levels from the professional vocalist polish of Chong, Gooding, and Rebecca Romijn (who plays First Officer Una Chin-Riley) to Mount, whose most notable on-screen singing was in a car with Britney Spears in 2002’s “Crossroads” (but who brings an admirable rocker-y growl to some of his musical moments in “Subspace Rhapsody”). Vocal lessons were provided over one to two months to anybody who wanted them, as was the option to re-record once the final mix was in place. Most of the actors had spent so much time in prep, including putting in extra hours on the weekends, that many stayed with their on-set recordings. “The surprising thing was that everyone had worked so hard, they were pretty happy with what they came up with at that point,” Myers said.

Staging a musical episode requires a greatly expanded pre-production timeline and Myers started making calls to prospective songwriters six months in advance of the shoot, landing quickly on Tom Polce and Kay Hanley. The process from there had to be profoundly iterative, with Polce and Hanley sending multiple versions of each song to the episode’s writers, Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, to make sure that they fit with what they wanted for the characters.

The thing that’s especially remarkable about “Subspace Rhapsody” is that it’s the immediate follow-up to the darkest episode in the series to date, “Under the Cloak of War,” in which Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) seeks a fight with a Klingon defector, kills him, then covers it up (with Nurse Chapel helping the cover-up). “There’s a moment in ‘Subspace Rhapsody’ [during the song about people dealing with the things they’re holding onto] where you pass his face and you really see him, he looks at Chapel and they share this look that feels like it comes from that episode,” said Myers. “But we also wanted it to feel like its own thing because this is its own episode with its own tone.”

“We spent a lot of time talking about trying to bring back all the feelings of ‘Star Trek,'” Myers said. “A lot of those [like ‘Take Me Out to the Holosuite’] were ones that really spoke to me. I know that they spoke to Akiva as well, which was just that ‘Star Trek’ changes every week and tries different things. The baseball episode is one of my favorites. It’s shockingly good. It’s like shocking how good it is today. We really wanted to come at it like that. ‘Star Trek’ can be different every week. It’s something that we both missed is what I can say because we’re really delighted to be able to bring that kind of idea back.”

“Subspace Rhapsody” is definitely the culmination of that idea. And though the “Star Trek” of old had 26 episodes to take a chance on a big swing like a musical episode, Goldsman notes that the 10-episode format allows for greater resources to be applied as well as time for production that would never be possible with 26 episodes: “There would certainly not have been time to do it anywhere near as thoroughly.”

The funny thing is that there was one other possible opportunity for a musical episode in the streaming era of “Star Trek.”

“We were like, ‘Yes, call him!'”

“Then two days later we were like, ‘What happened?'”

“Michael went, ‘He didn’t call me back.'”

“Subspace Rhapsody,” the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” musical episode is now streaming on Paramount+. The Season 2 finale will stream August 10.

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“In a weird way, that made it better.”

Behind-The-Scenes On The Star Trek Musical

From the director to the choreographer, to showrunners, writers, and actors — it was all hands on deck for “Subspace Rhapsody.”

Strange New Worlds’ showrunners always knew Season 2 Episode 9 was going to be big. They just didn’t know it was going to be this big.

“It was planned that all the arcs would come to a head in Episode 9,” co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman tells Inverse . “Then we decided it would also be a musical and, in a weird way, that made it better. We had obligations to these character stories. And they were gonna sing it!”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of “Subspace Rhapsody,” is just how crucial the episode is not just for the overall story of Strange New Worlds Season 2, but for Trek canon more broadly. This fun episode full of singing and dancing isn’t just a one-off, it’s an essential piece in the Strange New Worlds journey. This is still a prequel series, technically, but, when it comes to addressing the rest of Trek canon, co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers tells Inverse the show is never “trying to jump into the thing that’s it’s gonna be,” which was especially true of the musical.

“We try to imagine the person who is still living through the moment,” Myers adds.

But how did Strange New Worlds pull that off? Inverse spoke to both showrunners, director Dermott Downs, and choreographer Roberto Campanella to find out. Spoilers ahead.

Choreographer Roberto Campanella with the cast of Strange New Worlds .

Defying Anti-Gravity

“For me, I wanted to know what Episode 8 was,” Roberto Campanella says. “I wanted to know the cast more than anything. I wanted to know their characters.”

Campanella is an Oscar-winning choreographer perhaps best known for his work on What We Do In The Shadows and The Shape of Water . But despite his deep knowledge of dance, he maintains that everything about “Subspace Rhapsody” was designed to make sense within the Trek world and not to be constantly winking to other musicals.

“I guess there’s one moment, a tribute to West Side Story when the dancers run toward the camera in the finale,” Campanella admits. “But other than that, I wasn’t trying to reference anything. I let my experience dictate where we were going, physically.”

Campanella also largely credits the cast of Strange New Worlds with making sure the story was told through the music. “They know who they are better than anybody else. They were always open to collaborate. Always. I love this cast.”

Don’t jump the space shark

“They’re running a great ship over there.”

The director of the episode, Dermott Downs — who previously directed The Flash musical episode “Duet” in 2017 — points out the SNW cast kept the episode “grounded,” and although it was the next-to-last episode filmed in Season 2, that the cast “worked weekends,” and put in extra rehearsals to get everything just right. Downs credits some of this energy boost to timing.

“You would think they'd be pretty exhausted,” Downs says, “but Season 1 just started airing when I was at the end of my prep [in 2022]. So they were very fueled by the positive response of Season 1 when we started filming.” Downs makes it clear that everybody sang their hearts out, both on set and in laying down the tracks. “Yes, they all sang,” Downs confirms. “When I came on, there were pre-recorded temp tracks, but I was excited to hear their versions because I knew the cast was gonna bring their own nuance and emotions to the songs.”

Downs also stresses he didn’t want the episode to “jump the shark,” and that keeping everything grounded in the reality and canon of Star Trek itself was very important. “The anomaly hits the ship and the music becomes a kind of virus. It’s a great plot device. They express what they can’t normally say.”

Although The Original Series never did a musical episode, the idea of a weird space virus causing people to express their innermost feelings is very reminiscent of the 1966 episode “The Naked Time,” perhaps better known as “The One Where Sulu Is Shirtless With a Sword and Spock Cries A Lot.” Star Trek canon clearly allows for this kind of thing. But, we now know that a “musical reality” is a part of the Star Trek multiverse.

George Takei as Sulu, swinging a sword in “The Naked Time.”

Downs also points out that almost nothing was cut from the final version of the episode, which runs at 62 minutes. If you count the brief Klingon dance number — featuring the promised return of Bruce Horak as the Klingon captain — there are technically 10 unique songs in “Subspace Rhapsody.” In other words, it’s a supersized episode for good reason. (Note: speaking to Variety , the showrunners mentioned another version of the Klingon song that was “operatic.” It’s unclear if that alternate version was ever filmed or recorded.)

“I’ve done so much episodic TV and that hour becomes really like 42 minutes,” Downs says. “This wasn’t like that. There’s very little that changed. And that starts with the writers’ room. They’re running a great ship over there.”

Star Trek canon shockwaves

Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Kirk (Paul Wesley) in "Subspace Rhapsody."

While “Subspace Rhapsody,” brought Season 2 SNW plot arcs to a crossroads — most notably Spock and Chapel’s relationship, Uhura’s emerging independence, and Pike and Batel’s feelings for each other — it also dove deep into some Captain Kirk canon . While La’an had a relationship with a Kirk from an alternate dimension in Episode 3, she learns she can’t have a relationship with Prime Kirk, because he’s currently in a relationship with someone named “Carol,” and this person is pregnant!

Longtime fans know this is Carol Marcus, Kirk’s ex from The Wrath of Khan and mother of David Marcus, their son. The Wrath of Khan takes place in 2285, and Strange New Worlds is happening in 2260 at this point. So, if David is born in 2260 or 2261, that makes him either 24 or 25 in The Wrath , which is just about right. Chronologically, this all matches up with the existing canon, but it probably does change our perception of canon a bit, at least in terms of our feelings about present-tense Kirk.

“Everyone knows this happened,” Myers says. “The opportunity that we thought we had was, this is a part of Kirk that you've never seen and it happened, and we have a chance to explore it.”

Neither Goldsman nor Myers can reveal if we’ll actually see Carol Marcus or baby David in Season 3, but they do stress that Strange New Worlds is always trying to make characters like Kirk seem real to today’s audience.

“This is how people live,” Myers says.

That said, both showrunners are always open to fan theories, specifically the canon-changing implications of the way the episode ends...

Does the ending of “Subspace Rhapsody” create the TOS theme music?

Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel in "Subspace Rhapsody."

In the end, the Enterprise crew has to break the “improbability field” of the musical reality, by putting on a show-stopping number, encouraged by the one and only Uhura. But, after this song concludes, the outro music we hear is very clearly the 1960s Alexander Courage theme song of the classic show. All the other songs in “Subspace Rhapsody” were written by Tom Polce and Kay Hanley, but that outro music is 100 percent retro. So if the Polce-Hanley songs clearly exist in-universe, does that mean the theme to Star Trek: The Orignal Series just became in-universe canon because of this episode?

“That hurts my brain too much!” Akiva Goldsman says, laughing. “Pain precludes me from answering that. Maybe?”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 9, “Subspace Rhapsody” streams on Paramount+. The album itself is now on Apple and Spotify.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Musical Episode Director On Staging Songs In The Key Of Enterprise [Exclusive Interview]

The funny thing about "Subspace Rhapsody," the musical episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," is that it's still ... well, it's still a "Star Trek" episode. Yes, everyone is bursting into song and dancing through the corridors of the starship Enterprise, but it's because the crew accidentally triggers a subspace anomaly that causes a dimensional rift with unexpected consequences. In this case, it causes everyone to express themselves through song. Whoops. And naturally, it's up to Captain Pike and his crew to fix the space problem they caused before it can transform their entire universe. 

Director Dermott Downs proves himself to be the perfect fit for the material. With credits that include "Arrow," "Supergirl," "Doom Patrol," and "Chucky," Downs is no stranger to geek-flavored television. But it's his work on the acclaimed "The Flash" episode "Duet," in which the title character finds himself trapped in a musical dimension, that surely landed him the "Strange New Worlds" gig. The episode walks a fine line (it's ridiculous, but it's still checking every box you'd want from a "Star Trek" adventure), and it's one that Downs manages to pull off. 

I recently spoke with Downs over Zoom about his work on the episode, the actor who seemed the most nervous to sing, directing Spock in a musical number, and staging that big final number. 

Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

'What's amazing with Strange New Worlds is how grounded ... that show is'

Let's start with the basics. Why you? Why were you picked for the "Star Trek" musical episode?

I had a meeting with [Alex Kurtzman's production company] Secret Hideout, and first of all, the first season of "Strange New Worlds" hadn't even aired yet, and I was like, "Look, I mean, ["Star Trek" shows are] all good, but why another one?" I said, "What was so fascinating about the original was every week you'd just sort of be something completely different. You could be the tribble comedy, you could be in an interracial romance, you could be a courtroom drama." And they were like, "That's exactly what we're doing with this." They said, "And we have two episodes open. We have a sitcom and we have a musical." They don't hire directors to do blocks because every episode is so uniquely different. They really want to find the right person. And I had done a musical "Flash" and "Supergirl" episode called "Duets," in which the alternate Earth was kind of a weird Bugsy Malone '50s gangster world.

Not to blow my own horn, but Vanity Fair did a really flattering review and called it quite possibly the best hour of musical television ever produced. I had done some other music-influenced episodes of "Prodigal Son" and I had come of age as a cinematographer when MTV was really making music videos. So I was making three to four minute movies set to music almost once a week for quite a few years. We met, we talked about it. Obviously Bill [Wolkoff] and Dana [Horgan] wrote a great script and they took a swing with me and I'm so happy. It's a career highlight.

What was the big thing you learned from your "Flash" episode? The thing that made you say, "Yeah, we've got to make sure we do this in 'Star Trek,'" or "We've got to make sure we don't do this"?

"Flash" wasn't ... I mean, it was grounded and they were trying to get out of this world they're stuck in, but everything's sort of a little heightened in the DC world. What's amazing with "Strange New Worlds" is how grounded — even though you're in outer space and going to strange new worlds every week — is how grounded that show is. I think it's paramount to what Akiva [Goldsman] and Henry [Alonso Myers] were setting out to do. I guess the biggest takeaway I had learned was just how prepared you need to be. I mean, ["Flash"] was an eight-day episode with probably half the money, so every minute counts — not that it didn't on twice the budget and almost twice the days, but really getting the actors familiar with their songs. Because when I came on board, music was temp recorded with the other singers.

As I was imagining choreography for the two weeks I was on before my regular prep started, I was with the choreographer walking the stages, just trying to get a ... really wanting to differentiate each song from the next in how the characters moved and how we were going to have the camera visualize it differently. I had certainly learned the stakes in one hour TV with "Flash," but this was its own animal and I was looking to sort of make it its own, so I wasn't looking to really repeat "Flash." But coming from music videos, I had worked with actors that were appearing in music videos. We were working with non-actors because the singers wanted to play the parts in their videos and go in and out of narrative to song, so I had quite a bit of experience doing that, good or bad. I hope good, in everybody's eyes that sees it.

'The music was exposition, but it wasn't just sort of blatant exposition, it was kind of character exposition'

This episode reminded me a lot of the rightfully famous musical episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," because what the episode did right was that it didn't just lean on the music as a gimmick. It uses music as a way to propel every storyline, to let the characters say things that could not be said previously.

In a way, the music was exposition, but it wasn't just sort of blatant exposition, it was kind of character exposition. Because as you noted, yes, music becomes a way of saying things that they can't say. And in exposing your deeper vulnerabilities through song that you're compelled to, that you have no choice but to embrace because it's an infection that's taken over the ship, once you go with that conceit, everybody, I believe, was just game to embrace it. Because none of it was like, yeah, jazz hands, and I mean, it climaxes is in a big chorus line, but we're coming together as one because this is the only way we're going to beat this.

But there's private moments where La'an, in her quarters, it's a solo to herself, and the heartbreak of not being able to express love. Captain Pike, [Anson Mount's] kind of country duet gone off the wires. It's humiliating to be saying these things in front of everybody, but yet he's forced to, and he even gets down on his knees to profess his love. The whimsy of Rebecca [Romijn] and Paul [Wesley] in the hallway first kind of feeling, "Oh, wow, what is this? We're not fighting it." It was so nuanced in the way it begins and how it builds through the ship to the finale where you've got them and the Klingons in a battle of the bands, which was, yeah, a pinnacle.

I'm kind of obsessed with how Ethan Peck performs Spock singing, because clearly he's not Ethan Peck singing. It is Spock singing. It's a very specific choice. Can you talk about directing how Spock would sing?

I think the whole show has done an amazing job in seeing these familiar characters, but in a modern template, and he's just great. But he had been playing with that in the show because of his affection for Nurse Chapel, even though as a Vulcan, that's kind of taboo or it's just not what happens. So we wanted that to resonate on a level that — and because he's really alone, but yet he's very controlled, too. But I felt, in the midst of trying to be controlled and talk about these things he really shouldn't in any other world, he infused it with emotion. I mean, there's so many favorites in that. But that probably from reading the script was one I was going, "Oh, this is going to be ... I'm going to love this one, right from the beginning."

'We had so many different songs going on, but that was the power ballad, man.'

Was there an actor who was especially nervous about singing, and you had to coax it out of them?

Well, I mean, I think Anson was like, "Yeah, look, I'm not a singer. Maybe I did a musical once in college or something." But I was like, "Yeah, but the great thing about you is Pike is, one, the expression of the song. This is more spoken word to music." So you think of, I mean, crazy comparison, but when [William Shatner] does "Rocket Man," it's like he's not really singing it. He's compelled to have this conversation. So I said, "Just don't let the music get in the way of that." And even when we recorded his version that he would sing the playback, I just was like, "Just focus on performance." He's such a great actor that unless the performance was coming out as the primary intent, then we were not going to honor the sort of grounded template of what the show is, so that was always foremost.

I wanted to talk about the final song and Celia Rose Gooding's performance, because clearly she's the showstopper. You bring her in to blow the roof off the Enterprise. Can you talk about directing that final scene and her final song?

We had so many different songs going on, but that was the power ballad, man. She comes with a great musical background. As I was prepping with her, she's talking about her experience on Broadway at the same time her mom was doing "The Color Purple." "Oh yeah, we're doing two Broadway musicals at the same time and meeting for a coffee or dinner after." She came in with certainly the confidence of being a singer, but there was a whole space to fill, and there was no doubt that she was going to fill the void with all these feelings about her past and about the tragedies in her life. It was very easy once the song was clear in her head. I had some grounded places I wanted to bring her, as she is sorting all this out in her head. That was huge and it kind of came together the simplest, even though it's super, super visual, but they were all challenges. [Jess Bush's] was a blast. That was like out of "Grease," too, Nurse Chapel.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is now streaming on Paramount+.

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‘star trek: strange new worlds’ musical episode announced, trailer revealed.

Paramount+ revealed a surprise first look at a 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode and announced the 'Strange New Worlds' and 'Lower Decks' season four live-action crossover is getting released today.

By James Hibberd

James Hibberd

Writer-at-Large

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Are you ready for singing and dancing Captain Christopher Pike?

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Simon kinberg in talks to produce 'star trek' movie franchise for paramount, william shatner willing to return to 'star trek' as de-aged captain kirk.

The announcement was made at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, where Paramount+ had a Star Trek franchise session in Hall H.

Based on what’s shown in the trailer, the U.S.S. Enterprise gets zapped by a space anomaly, which makes the crew break into song.

In addition, Paramount+ is releasing the Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks live-action vs. animation crossover episode early. The episode will be available on the streaming service starting at 4 p.m. today. The rest of the season will premiere Sept. 7.

The company also released some first-look art of the episode and the trailer for Lower Decks season four.

Here is a look at the crossover episode, which brings Lower Decks voice actors Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid into live action:

The panel showed the first five minutes of episode one of season five of Star Trek Discovery , which featured Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham on top of a ship in the middle of a warp jump while two Federation starships are in pursuit. The scene can be seen here . The fifth and final season will premiere in early 2024.

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An alternate Klingon opera and other 'Subspace' secrets from the Star Trek musical

Kay Hanley and Tom Polce, former members of rock band Letters to Cleo, discuss their work composing the music for the franchise's first full-on musical.

It may take a moment to wrap your head around the idea of rockers from the band Letters to Cleo now forever linked to the legacy of Star Trek , but perhaps it was already engrained in the DNA of its stars.

Lead singer Kay Hanley has been linked to major pop culture moments, like when she performed on the soundtrack for 2001's Josie and the Pussycats as the voice of Josie, or when she appeared as a musician on screen in 1999's 10 Things I Hate About You , as well as a 2014 episode of Parks and Recreation . Polce, now a staff producer and composer at Paramount, separately worked on music for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend . This past year, they both found themselves involved in another significant zeitgeist development: writing the music for "Subspace Rhapsody," the first-ever full-on musical in the history Star Trek for season 2 of Strange New Worlds .

"The idea that we were writing for these canon figures in pop culture history and sci-fi lore, we couldn't f--- it up," Hanley tells EW in an interview with Polce over Zoom in September. "We took it very seriously, as we do as people from New England. We are rule followers and we do things. We do our research, we do our homework."

Hanley previously composed music for animated shows like Disney's Doc McStuffins and Cartoon Network's DC Super Hero Girls . She also won an Emmy for her work on Netflix's We the People . Though, the singer-songwriter's knowledge of Star Trek comes in part from the Trekkies in her own life, including her nephew Brendan, who's "a Trekkie of the highest order," she says. Having watched the original show with her dad on WSBK-TV, which is Channel 38 in Boston, ("Shout out to '70s Boston!"), Hanley adds, "I had some knowledge of how seriously people take this s---."

"It's a Star Trek musical, so my head exploded when it came up. Kay's head exploded," Polce adds. "Can you imagine somebody who's a completist for Star Trek hearing that there is a musical? I mean, their heads went fully nuclear. And in some cases, no matter how well we did it, it's reasonable to think that some people aren't going to even be open to it. So, we needed to make extra certain that we did an honorable and forthright and virtuous swing."

Hanley and Polce break down some of the big musical moments from "Subspace Rhapsody."

A Klingon opera moment exists somewhere

Actor Bruce Horak, who previously appeared on Strange New Worlds as Hemmer, has a featured cameo in "Subspace Rhapsody" as a Klingon general named Garkog, who breaks out into a frenetic K-pop-inspired dance break within the finale ensemble number. Two versions of this moment were filmed: the one that made it to the screen and a more operatic take.

Hanley's first instinct was to make the Klingon bit in the vein of K-pop. She showed Polce her favorite K-pop music video, which she won't disclose. "It'll just lead to a bunch of, 'Well, did you copy that?'" she remarks. "What we wrote doesn't sound anything like this particular K-pop band."

"But it got us in that world," Polce notes. "She pitched it to me and my head exploded. Then she pitched it to the showrunners and the writers, which we were both a little apprehensive about. They were immediately like, 'Oh hell yes, we're going to do that.'"

As they were working on the piece, some of the higher-ups caught wind of it and wanted to put the kibosh on that plan. "To be fair, I don't believe it was the network," Polce clarifies. "I think it was some of the folks on the core Gene Roddenberry side. It wasn't so much like, 'No, no, no.' It was like, 'Maybe you do that and you have something in your back pocket and we can discuss later.' It's like when your parents tell you to get a degree in business while you also get your degree in music."

The alternate plan was an operatic song for the Klingons. "We shot both," Polce confirms. "The opera is shot, and that'll hopefully come out someday. Congrats to everybody for having the chutzpah and the audacity to make that. I mean, the whole thing is audacious. Why not just continue hedging bets on a Star Trek musical once you've already begun? You've got Spock singing for crying out loud! Just keep going."

Giving Spock his voice

The first thing the pair had to figure out was, who in the cast could actually sing? Polce found the answer when he went up to Toronto, the production's regular stomping grounds, to record the actors' vocal ranges.

There were clear standouts. Uhura actress Celia Rose Gooding, for example, could obviously handle more advanced material. Others were less confident in their abilities, like Ethan Peck, the actor behind the typically deadpan, no-nonsense Spock. "Peck came in when I met him and was like, 'Yeah, I don't sing,'" Polce recalls. "It turns out he could sing, and he sings beautifully. So, Spock ended up getting this beautiful song."

"I'm the X," sung by Peck in the episode, delves into Spock's emotional state as he grapples with his relationship with Chapel (Jess Bush) — who was another surprisingly capable singer among the bunch. "It's a Spock lament over getting broken up with," Polce explains. "As you know, Spock is half human and half Vulcan. The Spock we knew from the original Star Trek was very stoic. There was no laughter, there was no joking. What was clocking to a lot of people was, maybe that song and him getting broken up with was the moment that solidified the Spock that they all came to know and love."

"And we did in that song address the struggle between being human and [Vulcan]," Hanley says. "Searching for Y is human, I'm the X. It's a human variable that he should not have ever f---ed with and he's not going to do it again. We thought people were going to be like, 'Oh my God! It's so clever!' But they didn't. They were like, 'This is the moment Spock rejects his humanity and becomes fully Vulcan!'"

Despite whether the actors had musical skill or not, all of them were gonna go for it. "There wasn't a single moment of, 'I don't want to do this,' which can happen," Polce says.

The power ballad

Gooding made her musical talents known much earlier on in Strange New Worlds . In season 1, Uhura activates a piece of alien technology by singing specific notes. After testing the cast's vocal ranges, it became clear to even Hanley and Polce that Gooding would be a major part of "Subspace Rhapsody," ending in a magnificent power ballad, "Keep Us Connected," in which the actress showcases the true extent of her vocal prowess. "Having her vocal ability and range in our back pocket was incredibly empowering as songwriters," Hanley acknowledges.

The piece sees Uhura at first lamenting over what she perceives to be her weaknesses and succumbs to loneliness. Through song, she comes to learn all these ideas that have plagued her throughout her life are actually her strengths. "We knew that it was going to be kind of the emotional core of this musical and that it had to accomplish a lot of things emotionally," Hanley says.

Typically when writing the music for the show, Hanley or Polce would come up with a brief sample — a short riff on a guitar or a quick vocal run — as the first kernel of a melodic idea. For "Keep Us Connected," Polce remembers Hanley wanting to start with a Gregorian chant. "Then she just starts going numb, and she just starts going and I'm like, 'What's that? I don't even know what's happening.' I'm not boxing her in. Let's go."

"The finale was... Man, it was really tough"

Hanley and Polce consider the Trek musical to be one of the more difficult endeavors of their careers. "In terms of the lyrics, I've never had a harder assignment," Hanley says. "It was so challenging. It was consuming for the five weeks that we wrote the basis for all the songs and then doing revisions and stuff like that." Adds Polce, "We were actually doing gigs amidst it and still having to think about them in between the shows. It was glorious work and fulfilling work, but it was a lot."

The songs only became more challenging as they got deeper into the process, making the finale ensemble piece, "We Are One," the most difficult. "Last one was absolutely the hardest because you and I were really struggling with the melody and we were disagreeing on the lyrics," Hanley tells Polce. "We had some lovely brother-sister texts going back and forth about the lyrics."

"There's so much happening and it's, who's going to sing what?" Hanley recalls. "We had to really figure out why each of them is singing. The chorus was probably the hardest one that we had to do. We just did not agree for a really long time on that chorus. A lot of times I think of songs as a jigsaw puzzle. We knew we had enough of the pieces in place that were really great anchors, but it was just how to tie them together in a narrative way that was still interesting, melodically, that was still going someplace that felt like a finale."

"There has to be a saccharin element to the finale. It needs to be very catchy, and there is this sort of sugary, super poppy element that just needs to be there. If ever there were a time for jazz hands and hat-tipping and kicks, that's the finale."

Both credit teleplay writers Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff for assisting in the creation of this number. "[The characters are] essentially all talking about what they're thankful for in their jobs," Polce recalls. "I think we would just ask [the writers], can you just give me some ammo? It doesn't work without the whole sandbox. Everybody was important at every moment of this thing."

"Subspace Rhapsody" is now streaming on Paramount+.

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Exclusive: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Wild Musical Episode Unpacked By Director Dermott Downs

Dermott Downs says he wanted the first ever Star Trek musical episode to be more than just an hour of jazz hands and singing.

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for episode nine of season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Cue the music and pick up your dropped jaw. The highly anticipated first ever musical episode in Star Trek history arrives on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Aug. 3 on Paramount+. Dubbed Subspace Rhapsody , the episode features 10 original songs, production numbers, and — what’s this? — even singing Klingons?

Oh, how this could have gone so badly. But hats off to Strange New Worlds showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, and director Dermott Downs for taking this remarkably daring leap. Let’s face it: A musical episode on Star Trek ? The very idea had “jump the shark” written all over it. But in episode nine of Strange New Worlds, which was made available to press to screen, we have a remarkably creative offering that stays in sync with what’s possible in Star Trek. Best of all, the episode is believable. Subspace Rhapsody isn’t just good. It evokes a giddy joi de vivre that ultimately finds you caring more about individual crew members of the USS Enterprise.

In this exclusive MovieWeb interview, director Dermott Downs shares more about Subspace Rhapsody, the risk involved in creating the episode, and how he wanted it to land with viewers.

Finding the Right Notes Early On

Subspace Rhapsody begins with a voiceover from Communications Officer Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding ). The USS Enterprise is traveling in the far edge of the Alpha Quadrant when it comes across an unusual phenomenon, a naturally occurring subspace fold. Spock (Ethan Peck) believes it can triple the speed of subspace communication in the sector, but the experiment requires a rerouting of ship’s power and Uhura must maneuver coms the old-fashioned way—think 1940s switchboard operator. More on that anomaly in a bit because…

This episode also nicely sets up a series of conflicts. Captain Pike (Anson Mount) is reluctant to take a trip with his girlfriend Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano). Lieutenant Kirk (Paul Wesley ) beams aboard as he’s about to begin a new commission and must be “shown the ropes” of the starship by La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong). That irks La’an, of course, because of the alternate timeline connection she and Kirk shared that nobody — not even Kirk — knows about. Meanwhile, Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) is awaiting word on a fellowship at the Vulcan Science Academy, which could put yet another dent in her already shaky relationship with Spock.

Back to the subspace fold. Pelia (Carol Kane), the new chief engineer of the Enterprise, suggests to Spock and Uhura that they have been attempting to communicate through a medium with a different law of physics, so why not communicate through song. “Perhaps fundamental harmonics are the answer,” she muses. Cut to Uhura, who wonders if subspace is a fan of the Great American Songbook. It is. But the ramifications are wild.

Almost immediately after sending off the music catalogue — starting with Anything Goes no less, which hints at where the rest of the episode will take us — the shockwave that follows permeates throughout the Enterprise and every crew member. When Pike asks Uhuru for an explanation, Spock breaks out into song. And so, begins Subspace Rhapsody.

Tell it to Me in Song, Please

As episode nine rolls along, eventually we learn that the anomaly is somehow linked to an individual’s emotional weather, and that’s why the crew sporadically breaks out into song. Some songs move certain story arcs — Spock/Chapel, La'an/Kirk, for instance. Others are big, bold and immersive ensemble numbers. At each and every turn, director Dermott Downs creates one of the most inventive Star Trek episodes we’ve seen. But even he had his doubts about it.

“I had never done anything this ambitious and certainly in the canon of Star Trek lore, there had never been a musical,” Downs said. “So, yes, there was a lot of weight on this. Before I read the script, I was just like, okay, the show is grounded, but it’s in outer space. And with this special episode, you have your 10 songs and musical numbers, and it was like, ‘How are we not jumping the shark?’

“To everyone's credit, I think this episode is grounded in emotion as any of the episodes,” he added. “I think it stills moves characters forward, because song then becomes a tool for exposition in a way that is actually much cooler than just people sitting around talking. Because once the virus is in the ship, and the more the crew sings, the more they're expressing their biggest vulnerabilities. So, it was a cool approach.”

Related: Star Trek Exclusive: Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth Talk Roddenberry Entertainment

Moving Along Story Arcs

Dermott Downs is no stranger to storytelling. His life in the arts began at the age of 7 when he delved in theater. Much later, his work on music videos captured attention before he transitioned into directing, working for Jerry Bruckheimer Television, and teaming with director Danny Cannon ( CSI: Vegas, Miami & NY; Gotham ). Eventually, he’d go on to work with Greg Berlanti on a reboot of the British sci-fi series The Tomorrow People before heading into the Arrowverse, overseeing episodes of Flash, Arrow and Supergirl.

He considers directing Subspace Rhapsody a career highlight because it illuminates everything he loves and is challenged by in his craft. One of the main thing Downs had to pay close attention to in episode nine were two tricky relationships. The first was Spock/Chapel or Spapel as some have referred to them. Several episodes prior, the two admitted their true feelings for one other. But love in space is precarious.

Watching Spock and Chapel realize where they truly are in their “relationship” plays out in fine form here when Chapel receives news that she was in fact accepted for the Vulcan fellowship. This intrigues Spock, who wonders why Chapel hadn’t brought up her desire to leave the ship with him sooner. As emotions rise on both fronts — by the way, Ethan Peck nails it as a crooning Vulcan — Chapel eventually headlines a commanding ensemble number in the ship’s Port Galley that smacks of any big screen musical.

The other relationship that is addressed is between La’an and Kirk. Technically, these two are not in a relationship, however early in the season, La’an slipped into an alternate timeline and she and Kirk fell for each other. Upon returning to her own timeline, she couldn’t reveal a thing about what happened. But there’s more than a hint of interest on Kirk’s part in real time. Like Chapel, La’an’s musical number shines. It’s a solo piece, and boy, does it pack an emotional punch.

Related: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Review: Star Trek Boldly Goes to Great New Heights

An Episode Unlike Any Other

The great thing about Subspace Rhapsody is that it wonderfully balances drama and humor with song and dance. Good news: The singing is exceptional and with Grammy winner Celia Rose Gooding ( Jagged Little Pill ) here, this episode truly feels elevated. The choreography is above par, thanks to choreographer Roberto Campanella. Take note of the incredible musical number on the bridge, which is one of the show's standout numbers. Downs said he was fortunate to have ample prep time with a finished script and with temp tracks of all the songs and daily meetings with Campanella, whose artistry could be seen in movies like Shape of Water and Pinocchio.

“I had Roberto for two weeks and listened to the songs to understand what was going to be stripped down what felt like it should be big and celebratory,” Downs explained. “My biggest hope and fear was to honor the music, but in a way that still felt organic to this anomaly that’s taken over the ship.

“I didn’t want this to be just an hour of jazz hands and singing,” he added. “Fortunately, the blueprint for the songs dictated that and obviously, these actors are all very grounded and have great chops, so they kept it really rooted in reality. And though we approached each song differently, it still felt like it was all part of the same story and in the same universe. I was super happy with how that all turned out.”

Singing Klingons with a K-Pop Twist?

As the crew of the USS Enterprise race to undo the anomaly affecting the ship and, it appears, the potentiality of other ships within Starfleet and other alien vessels, an approaching Klingon vessel poses another challenge. How can Captain Pike communicate on screen with the Klingons if he and the crew are busting out into song? The height of these challenges arrives near the end of the episode when ultimately Pike must communicate with the Klingons on screen. Why he must do that should be experienced in its entirely, but the result is bound to create a gaggle of singing and dancing techno Klingon memes.

“All that comes at height of the complete craziness,” Downs said. “There was a very big concern going in if we were going too far with this. Like, you know, Klingons singing and dancing. That’s never happened in the lore. And even here, Spock has even sung, but it's still grounded as he's understanding his human side. But then we thought if we don't really go for it… I mean, this is the zenith of this crazy battle of bands. We had to.”

Downs added that a version of that Klingon scene, which features several Klingons — tres 1990s hip hop group in fact — was shot in a kind of spoken word song. But once the crew began shooting it that way, they realized that, “there was no way we weren’t just going to go ahead and go full K-pop because then they're [the Klingons] are mortified by what’s happening to them. By that point, everyone on the Enterprise has been expressing themselves through music . So, I'm super happy that that's the version we stuck with. My only regret is that we didn't get to go on the Klingon ship with them and really go full blown K-pop because we're just seeing them on the screen. But it was a great little moment. And the Klingons were horrified to be expressing themselves in that way.”

Curiously, Bruce Horak, who played Chief Engineer Hemmer in season one before his character tragically died in one of the later episodes, is featured in that very Klingon segment. In tons of make-up, of course.

As for the overall episode, it’s yet another great achievement for Strange New Worlds, which continues to be one of the best Star Trek series to experience. But wait — there’s more. There is an actual album, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 — Subspace Rhapsody (Original Series Soundtrack) , and it holds 11 tracks from various artists, with music and lyrics from the likes of Kay Hanley of Letters To Cleo and composer Tom Polce. The track list includes: Star Trek Strange New Worlds Main Title (Subspace Rhapsody Version) , Status Report, Connect To Your Truth, How Would That Feel, Private Conversation, Keeping Secrets, I'm Ready, I'm the X, Keep Us Connected, We Are One , and Subspace Rhapsody End Credit Medley. The album is available on Apple Music.

Episode nine of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Subspace Rhapsody ) streams Aug. 3 on Paramount+.

This Is Why 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Musical Episode Works

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There's a Reason We Hate ‘Grimm’s Juliette, and It Isn't Her Fault

Before 'bridgerton' & 'house of the dragon,' olivia cooke and claudia jessie led this period drama, 'trying' season 4's biggest twist is the best thing for the show.

Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds debuted the franchise’s first-ever musical-themed episode with "Subspace Rhapsody," and for those of us filled with trepidation over how the creators would pull it off... well, they did. The episode beats the odds with a rip-roaring, emotional musical journey that will have you tapping your feet in rapturous joy one moment, and bawling your eyes out the next.

Star Trek hasn’t shied away from musical moments in the past—the latter seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine featured frequent appearances and a few duets with holographic Las Vegas crooner Vic Fontaine ( James Darren ), and on Star Trek: Voyager , the Emergency Medical Hologram ( Robert Picardo ) was wont to break into opera and bonded with Seven of Nine ( Jeri Ryan ) over song. An entire hour-long musical episode where the cast is singing about subspace folds and personal tragedies could have gone sideways, and fast — but it didn't.

RELATED: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2: Cast and Character Guide

The Musical Episode Isn’t Just a Gimmick on 'Strange New Worlds' Season 2

When the crew of the Enterprise comes across a subspace fold that has the potential to speed up communications in the Alpha Quadrant, they are unaware that their own attempts at communicating through it will lead them—and the whole of Starfleet—to being trapped in an improbability field where they’re living out a musical. They realize, much to their horror, that they now have a propensity to unveil their deepest emotions through song.

“Subspace Rhapsody” writers Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff and director Dermott Downs introduce the musical as a plot device, but they do not treat it like a gimmick. As Nyota Uhura ( Celia Rose Gooding ) explains, the ship is stuck in a musical reality, so they’re playing by those rules. This informs the structure of the episode, which includes songs, dance, and spoken dialogue to develop the characters and tell the story, as well as the ebbs and flows of comedy and tragedy during the three acts. But composers Tom Polce , Kay Hanley , and team also keep things interesting by employing a variety of music genres for the different songs, so there’s something for every musical palate .

What starts off as a light-hearted quirk turns into a security risk, especially once Captain Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ) , and his partner, USS Cayuga captain Marie Batel ( Melanie Scrofano ), break into a fight in verse on the bridge — and this is what sets “Subspace Rhapsody” up for success. It’s obvious that we can’t have Starfleet officers spilling their guts out in front of their crew. When the Klingons become affected, they pose an additional threat as they want to destroy the fold, which the Enterprise discovers will make matters worse. But the diegetic impact of the musical goes beyond the usual Star Trek threats. Musicals are all about the characters and their connections with one another, and “Subspace Rhapsody” excels at that.

Emotions Are Running High at This Point on 'Strange New Worlds' Season 2

The main reason the musical episode works seamlessly in this science-fiction show is because it’s the penultimate episode of the season. The story builds on almost two whole seasons of plot and character development. This season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been an emotional one for several characters. Unfortunately, Star Trek isn’t known for its broad emotions; the franchise has its moments, but to wrap one’s head around the strength of the feelings the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crew are feeling, this season can only be conveyed through song.

What the creators of “Subspace Rhapsody” do is take the central conceit of musicals—amusing melodic interludes and sentimental storytelling—to thread the needle of the season’s characterizations. The reason a musical is needed to conclude this particular arc is because, as Number One ( Rebecca Romijn ) says, “When their emotions are so heightened, words won’t suffice.” Speaking of Number One, she’s had quite the journey this season; she almost lost her career after coming clean about her Illyrian origins . But the experience has opened her up to new experiences, as she reveals to James T. Kirk ( Paul Wesley ) in "Connect To Your Truth." Number One wants to connect with her crew and, now that her love for Gilbert and Sullivan musicals is out, she readily embraces this side of herself to advise Kirk on his captaincy journey and support her close friend La'an Noonien-Singh ( Christina Chong ) during a heartbreak.

Uhura has also been staving off connections, but mostly because her work has kept her so busy. It’s meant she’s been on her own on a ship full of people who are, or at least want to be, her friends. Uhura finally acknowledges how isolated she’s been since the death of her entire family, and then her mentor Lt. Hemmer ( Bruce Horak ), in the heart-rending “Keep Us Connected” — and through the song, Uhura discovers a foundational truth about Star Trek: the best way to save the day is by doing it together.

The Musical Format Helps Remove Character Inhibitions on 'Strange New Worlds'

Several characters on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds struggle with sharing their emotions, which is why a musical reality that lifts those inhibitions helps them share their feelings. For a long while, the romantic tension between Spock ( Ethan Peck ) and Nurse Christine Chapel ( Jess Bush ) was building, and then they finally got together . But their romance has already hit a rocky road, with Christine ready to progress in her career while Spock is still getting a handle on his emotions . This plays a huge part in "Subspace Rhapsody." We feel Christine’s absolute delight at winning a fellowship, even at the risk of leaving Spock behind in "I’m Ready," while we couldn’t be more gutted for Spock when he’s plaintively singing about his newly lost love in "I’m the X."

La’an, meanwhile, prides herself on her stoicism, but she’s been secretly dealing with the loss of an alternate version of Kirk which she hasn’t been able to share with anyone since the third episode of the season. La’an’s emotional despair at not being with that Kirk has been devastating to watch, and her coming to terms with the fact that keeping it all to herself just isn’t sustainable in “How Would That Feel” is cathartic at best. She watches Number One embrace her new effervescent self, and takes Number One’s advice in “Keeping Secrets” to share her feelings with the prime version of Kirk. Unfortunately, Kirk is unavailable, but La’an is on a journey to take chances that she didn’t feel she could before.

There are also the quieter moments that develop the characters like the way Erica Ortegas ( Melissa Navia ) and Sam Kirk ( Dan Jeannotte ) sing their support for their crewmates. On a darker note, there’s the knowing look that passes between Dr. Joseph M’Benga ( Babs Olusanmokun ) and Chapel in the sickbay during “Keeping Secrets”—alluding to the toll of the Klingon War they’ve suffered together, as well as the secret they’ve kept about M’Benga being the real Butcher of J'Gal, as revealed in "Under the Cloak of War."

All these musical sequences hit harder because “Subspace Rhapsody” is the penultimate episode of the second season, and we’re witnessing the culmination of these plotlines. We’ve had all these episodes to watch these characters’ stories unfold, and we’ve become invested in what happens to them. Their emotions are heightened, as is our desire to see these characters through these transcendent, and sometimes difficult, moments. The only way to let all those feelings out could only be through song.

The Big Picture

• "Subspace Rhapsody," the musical-themed episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, delivers a rip-roaring, emotional journey.
• The episode successfully integrates music as a plot device, developing characters and telling the story through songs, dance, and spoken dialogue.
• The musical format allows characters to express their deepest emotions, strengthening their connections and resolving plotlines in the penultimate episode of the season.

New episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premiere every Thursday on Paramount+.

• TV Features
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)

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• May 29, 2024 | ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 4 Filming Set For 2025; Anson Mount Thanks Fans For Patience
• May 29, 2024 | Watch: Saru Has A Daring Plan To Save The Federation In Clip From ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 Finale

Recap/Review: Anything Goes In ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Musical “Subspace Rhapsody”

| August 3, 2023 | By: Anthony Pascale 325 comments so far

“Subspace Rhapsody”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9 – Debuted Thursday, August 3, 2023 Written by Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff; with original songs by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce Directed by Dermott Downs

Strange New Worlds makes Star Trek history with an engaging episode that turns out to be more than just a musical.

I may be an ensign, but none of this works without me.

WARNING: Spoilers below!

 “We appear to be singing.”

The Enterprise is at the edge of the Alpha Quadrant studying a subspace fold Spock thinks can triple communication speed. His experiment is tying up the computer, so Uhura has to go old school, channeling her inner Ernestine to keep the ship connected. Elsewhere, we see Pike and Captain Batel arguing over their upcoming vacation and La’an struggling to keep her cool as she welcomes James T. Kirk, who’s beaming on board for some first officer training with Una. In sickbay, Chapel finally gets some good news with an acceptance letter to a prestigious fellowship with Dr. Roger Korby that is going to take her off the ship for a while… and away from Spock. Oblivious to this impending separation, the Vulcan is having trouble figuring out how to tap into the hypothesized super-communication capability of this subspace fold. He sees merit in a suggestion from Pelia to try using music, since the fundamental harmonics might work within the fold’s different laws of physics. Uhura is inspired by the idea and chooses a classic Cole Porter song for the experiment. The musical signal sent into the fold results in a pulse of energy that ripples through the ship, so Pike demands a status report. Spock complies, reporting that all systems are stable… except he is singing, and soon enough, others across the ship are doing the same: Pike gets updates from everyone on how “all is okay” – but in song, along with some nice harmonies. Even the captain joins in asking the question on all of our minds… “But why are we singing?” Cue the new choral opening credits, we are in for a musical journey.

So that happened, and Captain Pike wants answers about why there are musical outbreaks across his ship. Spock explains that sending the song into the fold has created a “quantum improbability field” and they are now tethered to the fold and a new “musical reality.” Got that? The analogy of the week is this reality has torn open like a zipper and the plan is to zip it back up by teching a lot of tech. While Spock and Uhura are tasked for finding the right frequency, Una and Kirk start connecting the shields and Heisenberg compensators to the deflector dish, as if this was just another Star Trek episode. But soon enough they start talking about command styles, and here comes the music again as Una has some advice for young Kirk in a jaunty tune about connecting to his truth and to his crew, as she has decided to move away from her more distant style. Others watch bemused as Kirk and Una ballroom dance down a corridor, but La’an is concerned and goes off to her quarters to launch into her own little torch song over her James T. Kirk, dead in another timeline, and how maybe it’s time (or is it?) for her to let go of her strict control and find some of her own happiness and freedom. Once her impressive solo is done, the security officer makes a beeline to the captain to reveal that the songs people sing are disclosing highly personal emotional information. This isn’t just an amusing musical interlude, it’s a security threat.

When I’m captain, I’m going to have the chief engineer do this dirty work.

 “This musical reality wants us to sing.”

Worried by La’an’s information, Pike is happy to find the various teams are ready to unzip this reality, and Una fires the rejiggered deflector beam at the fold to “collapse the musical reality back into our quantum state.” Sounds good, but the fold has other ideas, responding with a new, bigger energy surge. Things get even worse when the USS Cayuga hails and Captain Batel wants to “have a private conversation in a more discreet location about our canceled vacation.” Uh oh, now she’s singing too, and Pike joins her in a very awkward viewscreen duet that thankfully gets shut down when La’an closes the link. Now the improbability field has spread throughout Federation space; singing has infected 12 ships so far and Admiral April (a beautiful baritone, BTW) is pissed. Uhura posits that things are actually following the rules of musicals, so songs are being triggered by emotion and what’s most pressing on people’s minds. An exasperated Pike has a simple solution, which he can’t believe Spock agrees is worth considering: Shoot photon torpedoes at the fold. Just to be sure, La’an and Kirk are tasked to capture some particles to test. The security officer confides in Una that it isn’t a good idea for her to be around Kirk inside this musical reality… for “temporal” reasons. Number One gets the hint, but the first officer has some advice for her old friend… and here we go again. Una goes downtempo to sing-share how she spent her life keeping secrets, imploring her friend to not do the same. She also turns off the gravity for some inexplicable musical reason.

La’an and Kirk get to work transporting particles and she tries to open up to this Jim, but they are interrupted by an explosion. Spock’s experiment revealed the photon torpedo plan would only make things worse—a lot worse. Speaking of bad news, an incoming message from Klingon General Garkog makes it clear they have been hit by the improbability field too and it has caused “dishonor,” so stay out of their way. They are coming to blow up the fold, which will end up destroying the Federation and half the Empire, but just trying telling that to the Klingons. Pike needs a Plan C fast. Uhura wants to capture data from the moment a song begins so she takes Spock to the port galley, where he sees Christine celebrating landing that fellowship. So yeah, this should do it. He awkwardly asks why she didn’t tell him the good news and Nyota is ready with the tricorder as it’s time for Nurse Chapel’s big number. Christine joyously sings how she is “ready” to see her dreams come true, the whole bar lifts her up (literally) as she shares how for her the sky is the limit and if that means she has to leave a certain Vulcan behind, so be it. Ouch, dumped by dance number.

My girlfriend finally has a first name!

“We’re connected as a crew…”

Back to La’an: As she and Kirk analyze K’Tinga battle tactics, she gets the jump on the musical reality, spilling the time travel beans about falling in love with a Jim from another reality. That Kirk could see the version of her she wishes she could be, but he’s gone. Lt. Kirk isn’t the same, but she kind of likes the way he looks at her too—but before things progress, he drops the bomb that canon dictates for him to have a pregnant girlfriend around this time. So much for this pair, but she did avoid breaking into song. In engineering, Spock is analyzing musical data and scrutinizing Christine’s in particular, triggering his own sad song. The Vulcan has done the calculus and sees he is the variable, deciding he will no longer be solving for human emotions. Singing ceased, a disheartened Spock exits engineering and leaves Uhura alone to find the pattern that will get them out of this mess. This is the musical number we have been waiting for as she goes full Grammy-winning Broadway star, belting out her journey from the pain of loss to her loneliness to working her way through to her new path. She may have started alone but now she is the communications officer, she keeps everyone connected… and on the Enterprise, she is never alone. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Uhura has figured it out and briefs the captain on how each musical moment caused spikes in the field, with a boost for moments with multiple singers. To shatter the field, it’s going to take a lot more singers. Pike tells her she is the one who can motivate everyone to share an emotion together. No pressure! The coms officer opens hailing frequencies to talk to the crew, breaking through the chaos and refocusing them to come together to fight for their lives. Soon enough, one by one, others begin to sing and dance their way through the ship… yes, it’s the big finale number. Together this crew sees their purpose as they function better all together, and it’s working. Uhura’s field boosting meter climbs, but it’s still not enough voices so Pike opens a channel to General Garkog as his bridge boy band to drop some K-Pop beats (that’s K for Klingon, get it?). The Klingons plus one last push on the Enterprise bridge does it; the fold bursts and the musical reality returns to the songbooks. La’an and Una take a moment over drinks to think about what they just learned. Pike and Batel come to a romantic dinner accord, but their vacation will have to wait as she has a new priority one assignment. Uhura takes us out with a final log, reporting things are back to normal across all affected ships, Klingons included. But she leaves us humming an earworm, and a nice end credits medley as this one-of-a-kind musical journey comes to a close.

Young man there’s a place you can go…

More than an anomaly

Well this is it, the swingiest of the “big swings” of season 2. Singing is nothing new in Star Trek, starting with Uhura’s song and DS9 even had a resident crooner , but a full-on musical episode with 10 original songs is on a whole new level. “Subspace Rhapsody” will surely be a matter of taste, with fans of musicals mostly likely to relish it. But even those (like this reviewer) who are not necessarily fans of the genre can be impressed by the enormous effort that went into this episode with superb levels of coordination between script and songs, choreography, and performance, especially from the professional singers in the cast like Celia Rose Gooding and Christina Chong. Analyzing “Subpace Rhapsody” as a musical will be left to TrekMovie’s musical-loving Laurie Ulster below, but behind the music, this was still a strong Star Trek episode that brought fascinating twists to familiar beats but also tied into the emotional throughlines of the second season.

Creating a musical episode has been a stated goal of executive producer Alex Kurtzman for years, yet there was still a welcome level of logic to keep the story within the rules of the Star Trek universe. From eddies to tears to ruptures, subspace anomalies have been the gift that keeps on giving to the franchise, so it makes sense to build this episode around a “subspace fold” which created the “musical reality.” And for a show that usually likes to avoid engineering solutions, Uhura’s Giga Electronvolt scale and “We need melodies and harmonies with tone ratios that achieve both algorithmic and logarithmic balance on a mass scale” fits right in with some of the franchise’s best technobabble, however, the logic only holds together at a surface level. While the explanation of the musical reality was better than a handwave, the logic falls apart upon scrutiny, but this isn’t the kind of episode where that really matters.

When I meet Khan, he isn’t going to believe this.

Even with the unique musical execution, this episode still had a nice affinity with the broader sub-genre of episodes featuring crews acting out of character, like TNG’s “The Naked Now” to DS9’s “Fascination.” The internal logic of where the music, lyrics, harmonies, and choreography were coming from might have worked better if there was some identified entity manipulating things, like the way the Hirogen transformed the Voyager crew into characters from a World War II movie in “The Killing Game.” However, that would actually give up the key that makes this episode hold together. Each of these songs was deeply rooted in long-developed character arcs, and even acted as a bit of a season resolution with some emotional breakthroughs, from Una and La’an learning to let go of their secrets and control to Christine embracing her ambition and agency, and especially Uhura finding her true calling on the Enterprise. That being said the impact of the various songs was still mixed and perhaps the most emotional scene of the episode (with La’an opening up to Kirk) had no singing at all.

The singing and the dancing certainly kept this bottle episode on the lighter side, and this was buoyed by some welcome humor, with Anson Mount’s Pike again delivering the best subtle comic beats. But there were still some clear stakes set up with a ticking clock and the threat posed by the Klingons. It was a delight to see Hemmer actor Bruce Horak return again in season 2, this time as Klingon General Garkog where he and his boy band bridge crew resolved their arc with humor as they danced their way into the finale number, outrageous gold uniforms and all. Looking closely at what actually happened during some of these songs shows how this episode was a big pivot point for many of the characters, like putting Spock back on a path to logic. Pike and Batel’s romance resolution coming right before her priority one assignment almost certainly sets up the stakes for the finale, possibly even setting up something tragic. The episode even found time to tie into some key bits of canon for some characters, including Kirk mentioning Carol Marcus and her pregnancy (with his son David) and Christine’s coming fellowship with (future fiancé) Roger Korby. Musicals may not be my cup of tea, but there was still enough humor, plot, and character going on to maintain interest. And even someone who has never seen an episode of Glee can be moved by some of the performances here, especially Uhura’s “Keep Us Connected” and the grand “We Are One” finale, both of which beautifully embody the themes of Star Trek.

Remember when you thought forced roleplaying Lord of the Rings was weird?

A most confounding thing, I appear to be singing…

Analysis by Laurie Ulster

I’m not an expert on musicals, but I am definitely a fan of good ones and this fits the bill. The songs come in a variety of styles and tempos, evoking memories of big moments in familiar musicals but with their own unique twists, and the theme of the episode—difficulty communicating—is echoed for La’an, Una, Spock, Uhura, Pike, and Chapel as they reveal their innermost thoughts in song.

Things start off with humor and confusion when Spock starts singing his status report and when the rest of the crew joins in with musical updates on phaser banks and inertial dampers, it’s fun to imagine the Strange New Worlds fan who doesn’t keep up on industry news and had no idea what was coming. But as we move forward into the episode, the humor remains but songs get personal and revealing, taking each character on a journey they may not have been aware of until the tunes came pouring out. Every song moves each character forward in ways spoken dialogue never could, making this work as a perfect penultimate episode as the season: They will take their revelations forward into whatever comes next.

Being red shirts, none of these officers will be seen again

Whether you want to sing along about deflector shields or deepest emotional truths, you’ll find yourself hearing these tunes in your head and wanting to snap up the soundtrack. The songs are beautifully written, with engaging, clever, lyrics woven into musical highs and lows that feel both familiar unpredictable at the same time—no easy task. When Celia Rose Gooding belts out the solo we’ve been waiting for, one can’t help but think about how Nichelle Nichols would’ve felt had she been able to see it. I believe she would have wept for joy seeing how her legacy as both a talented singer and an expert communications officer has come to take its place in the much-deserved spotlight; I teared up thinking about it on my first viewing and felt the exultation in my soul as the song reached its height.

As a musical, it succeeds on every level. The “science” of the story never quite makes sense, but the consequences of each character’s journey are as real as it gets. With its clever and often ebullient choreography (both in dance numbers and camera moves) and catchy tunes, this episode has quickly become one of my most rewatchable favorites.

Will you do the Enterprise Fandango!

Final thoughts

“Subspace Rhapsody” will surely go down as one of the most talked about episodes in the franchise. Musical lovers will rejoice while others will file it away as silly or even corny. Yet the sheer artistry and audaciousness make it worth watching, at least once. While it is a jarring tonal shift from last week’s dark episode, it still fits well within the season, providing a key pivot point heading into next week’s season finale. And maybe this is one of those episodes that benefits from avoiding overthinking analysis, so this time, just sit back and enjoy the show… and sing along if you are so inclined.

Gold is the new black

• Begins with communications officers log, Stardate 2398.3.
• This is director Dermott Downs’ first time with Star Trek, bringing his experience of directing a musical crossover of The Flash and Supergirl, “ Duet .”
• The comment about people becoming bunnies is a reference to one of the songs in the   Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode.
• With a runtime of 62:34, this is the second-longest episode of the series, just 12 seconds shorter than the season 1 finale
• After appearing multiple times through both seasons, Captain Batel finally gets a first name: Marie.
• Number One’s love of Gilbert and Sullivan was first revealed in the Short Treks episode “Q&A.”
• Starfleet ships affected by the musical reality include Lexington, Republic, Potemkin, Cayuga, Hood, and Kongo. Klingon ships include Forcas and Harlak.
• Spock was dispatched to handle bloodwine diplomacy with the Klingons, something he learned in the season premiere.
• The soundtrack for this episode is already available online .

I’m never going to tell Bones this happened.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek podcast covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Pocket Casts ,  Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

Season 2 episodes drop weekly on Thursdays on  Paramount+ in the U.S, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Season 2 is also available on SkyShowtime elsewhere in Europe. The second season will also be available to stream on Paramount+ in South Korea, with premiere dates to be announced.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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I think this episode is SNW’s “Naked Time”…. a sci-fi plot to reveal who these people are to us and to each other.

I’m not a musical fan, but I think they did it in a Star Trek-y way. Bravo!

Great observation re: The Naked Time. I think that aspect worked as well.

I didn’t get to see this episode until today, because of being out of town visiting an ill parent.

I mostly adored the episode, but I hated, hated, HATED the idea that TOS Spock restrains his emotions because Chapel broke his heart. I really, REALLY want Spock to follow Vulcan custom in restraining his emotions because he believes in the philosophy or because he believes that those ultra-strong Vulcan emotions can be dangerous to others. Having him be Chapel’s bitter and self-protective ex is just such a terrible thing to do to a character who’s always been a huge role model for ethical behavior.

I also thought that the finale should have been inspired by the CAPTAIN of the ship and not by the communications officer. It’s true that Gooding is a much better singer than Mount, but they could have had Mount give an inspiring speech — we know Mount excels at that — and have the crew break into song in response.

Aside from those two things — one major and one minor — I was hugely impressed by how much creativity, talent, and work went into this episode. Aside from the Spock problem, I was delighted during the whole thing.

Am I the only one picking up a vibe that Captain Batel may not survive the season finale?

That’s definitely the vibe I get, as well. I think, as with Spock/Chapel/T’Pring, this show is rearranging the deck chairs to get Pike to fall back in love with Vina as the love of his life.

I’m getting a vibe that many of the characters are in for a tragic end:

– Pike, for obvious reasons – Batel, as stated above – Chapel; it may not be tragic, but she’s going to leave the ship for Korby, and her relationship with Spock lasted all of three weeks – M’Benga, for reasons set out last week – La’an, whose romance with Kirk is clearly doomed to fail – Una, who never appeared elsewhere in the franchise

M’Benga served under Kirk in TOS didn’t he? When Bones was CMO.

Well, perhaps I was speaking too metaphorically. In M’Benga’s case I meant that he gets demoted, if not temporarily drummed out of Starfleet.

Aaaaah ok, I see what you mean!

But there still is Dr. Piper before McCoy.

Doesn’t mean Number one wasn’t around…. She just wanted mention in the TOS: the fact she was famous in the 24th Century, gives facts to reason she went on after the Enterprise

If there’s one criticism I think we should collectively drop, it’s “this person or that situation” wasn’t mentioned. It’s just the way these things go.

Una not appearing anywhere else doesn’t necessarily mean that she is in for a tragic end. She might go on to have a distinguished career we just haven’t heard of. She’s clearly notable since Boimler idolises her!

I picked that up in the trailers when they showed the shot of her on the planet with the huge Gorn ship in the sky.

Ok.. this worked and worked well. It is a lot of fun. I’m a little shocked at that. Kudos to whoever they brought in to write and compose the music, they did a great job, as did the cast. I thought they were trying to hard to bring in the scientific explanation part to all this. In my opinion, they should’ve dialed that back and just gone with it. The Klingon performance was easily my favorite part.

I particularly agree to the Klingon performance part. It would have been better (and perhaps even more funnier) to break some more of their stoic interior to show more of the K(lingon)-fun side.

The music and songs were 👌👌

So, my approach to this episode was to view it as a stand-alone, out-of-canon, alternative take on Star Trek — not unlike the BACK TO THE FUTURE musical on Broadway and the West End. In-universe, the premise is patently absurd, up there with transforming people into salamanders (“Threshold”) or amphibians (“Genesis”); I tend to excise those gems from the Trek historical record, too, and that’s what I’m doing here.

I admit I’m getting tired of having to do this twice in one season, and the prevalence of lighthearted comedy more broadly is absolutely souring me on the whole series, which is becoming Roger Moore’s Trek.

But within that context, “Subspace Rhapsody” was mostly enjoyable fun, if not a runaway hit. None of the numbers struck me as the next “Memory” from CATS or “Last Night of the World” from MISS SAIGON. But they were more earwormy than the aforementioned BACK TO THE FUTURE, which — with the exception of “This One’s for the Dreamers” was starkly devoid of earworms. I need to listen to the soundtrack to firm up my opinion, but the numbers with La’an and Kirk, Uhura’s solo, and Chapel in the bar were memorable. Celia Rose-Gooding and Jess Bush were the best singers; Ethan Peck was far and away the worst. (Listening to him was grating.)

One disappointment was that all the numbers were too peppy, the lyrics somewhat banal. The writers lately seem intent on lecturing us about how noble Starfleet is; they need to be *showing* us, not telling us. None of the musical numbers were in a minor key.

In particular, I was hoping they would adapt La’an’s theme, which we heard in “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” and again in “Lost in Translation” into a one of the musical numbers; they kept tantalizing us with the prospect, but never followed through. The theme is beautiful, right up there with Ilia’s theme from TMP, and putting lyrics to it might have had “Frozen” written all over it. That was a real missed opportunity.

I was also hoping we might finally hear the TOS theme put to Rodddenberry’s infamous lyrics, or even “A Star Beyond Time” (the lyrical version of Ilia’s theme) in the opening credits. No such luck. Similarly, the teaser gave me some hope we might get a creative new rendition of “Anything Goes”; as things stood, Spielberg has nothing to worry about.

Part of the problem is that — at the risk of channeling Tom Cruise’s exhortations to lure us back to cinemas — musicals are best enjoyed onstage, in a theater, with an audience. The communal experience is part of the attraction. I tried unsuccessfully to score tickets to HAMILTON in New York in 2019, and I ended up watching it on Disney+ during the pandemic. It’s just not the same watching a musical on television, or for that matter on celluloid. I think this is part of the reason CATS (the movie) was so widely reviled; you just don’t capture the same magic that you do seeing it in the West End, with all the posters advertising it on the Tube on the way to the theater (and I’ll freely admit this is why I like the West End more than Broadway!).

I’ll see how it fares on a rewatch — the plot itself was dull — but the real legacy will be whether the soundtrack is worth adding to one’s iTunes playlist.

Contrary to what some are saying, Ethan Peck’s singing voice is more than acceptable. In fact, he carries a tune rather well. I was especially touched by his voice and the lyrics on the song he sang about losing Christine (“… the Ex”). He sang the song with just the right amount of disappointment and pathos.

Just listened to Ethan Peck singing: I totally understand that someone can personally find a voice grating (don’t play me a Phil Collins ballad…), but I liked it and objectively he had great vocal control jumping between higher and lower registers and knowing where to employ vibrato or not. I would just kinda hope that Spock choses to abandon exploring emotions after an intense and nuanced exploration of the topic in-series, not just because he got dumped :D. I’d just think Spock being the thinker he is might not reduce such a decision to only one factor. Feels a bit simplistic. But well, maybe sometimes things are simple like that.

Klingon boy band for the win.

Perhaps VOY (or was it ENT?) had it right all along: all Star Trek needs was more boy bands. :)

Yes! I was not denied Bruce Horak after all! I love this.

Where was he? A Klingon perhaps?

Yes he was a Klingon

I like Horak and did NOT recognize him as the Klingon captain. I like how they’re using him as their version of Vaughn Armstrong or Jeffrey Combs or Kenneth Mitchell, casting him over and over in new and various roles.

I hope they keep using him over and over like those three. I’d really like that.

100% want Horak to be the new Combs

I do too for gay reasons

those are perfectly good reasons

Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

Yes! If I can’t have him as my favourite Aenar engineer, I will absolutely take him as an R&B singing Klingon

Right. We couldn’t have him as engineer. Elderly actresses need work, too!

Easily the best episode of the season.

In pure of raw entertainment? I think you’re right. If I’m honest, as much as I despise the canonical problems of Season 2 Episode 3, I think it’s my favorite episode of this entire series, let alone this season.

I thought Subspace Rhapsody was great, but Ad Astra Per Aspera was pure Trek and the best of the season, perhaps best SNW episode to date. I loved Those Old Scientists , too.

No, M’Benga ep and lower desk crossover were the best this season

This was such a beautiful episode!

“Ok, now that Pike is gone, who should we make captain of the Enterprise?” “How about James Kirk? He practically lives there already.”

When Kirk was saying to La’an about how he never stays in one place, I couldn’t help but think that.

Yeah. He’s showing up WAY too much. And it’s really feeling forced.

I just wish they would make Sam Kirk a main character so that is the Kirk connection.

Prime Kirk has shown up twice. That’s not that much.

I haven’t seen Prime Kirk once. But three Kirk appearances is too much. It still feels forced.

Don’t poke the ML31 Prime Universe bear!

He’s shown up twice in this reality. Lost In Translation and Subspace Rhapsody.

Both times it was this SNW timeline Kirk. Not prime Kirk.

Remember… Episode 2.3 said this is all an alternate timeline.

I don’t remember. Certainly that episode occurred in a different timeline with Kirk from yet a third timeline. Could you please indicate who said what as I’d like to go back and see it. Thanks.

Thorny is correct. ML31 is trolling you. He insists that everyone follow his head canon about SNW’s timeline.

If you are going to speak on my behalf I would appreciate it if you would be accurate.

This is not “head canon”. I never was one of those who considered the show an alternate time line from the start. Many here did as it was the only way they could reconcile the obvious inconsistencies. I only started going along with the alternate thing once the show itself admitted it was.

Please cease misrepresenting me.

That episode was in a different timeline because it was a part of this show and the entire show is occurring in a different timeline. The episode confirmed it in very rock solid fashion. Not only were there so very many inconsistencies already but the episode showed more. No Eugenics wars? Khan a child in the 2020’s? And for those who still didn’t believe their eyes they had the Romulan character actually spell everything out of those who still weren’t picking up on it. She said the Eugenics wars were supposed to happen in 1992. But in that timeline they didn’t. It’s towards the end. Very hard to miss.

All that was confirmed is that the Eugenics War is supposed to have happened later now. It also isn’t clear “when” this change took place. Enterprise discussed the Eugenics War being in the 1990s a few episodes after the temporal war ended, but Voyager showed a war-free 90s before we even heard of the temporal war.

It doesn’t matter “when” a change took place. The fact is it did. Which places SNW squarely in an alternative timeline at the very least. An outright reboot at most. It’s confirmed to be an alternate.

The Voyager episode was in LA. How many bombings of LA took place in WWI or II? It’s very likely, like the other WW’s, there were no battles in N America. Life went on there very likely as usual.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too. We’ve seen multiple time travel episodes that have changed things in the past, perhaps subtly, but changes nonetheless. If every change results in an alternate timeline, we haven’t been in the “prime timeline” for decades.

I know I brought up Sisko becoming Gabrielle Bell, and you dismissed at such a minor change that the timeline “fixed” itself… how could the timeline, a nebulous construct that has no agency, somehow fix itself That wasn’t even the biggest change DS9 made. Trials and Tribbleations straight up changes events that we saw in TOS – with DS9 characters taking the place of random extras seen in the Trouble with Tribbles.

VOY is probably the biggest culprit when it comes to time travel shenanigans. Voyager went back to 1996, and there was very much not a Eugenics war going on. In Timeless, Chakotay and Kim drastically change the timeline by saving Voyager from crashing on a planet and killing everyone. Using your logic, the prime timeline is actually the timeline in which Voyager was destroyed. Then you can move on to End Game, in which the timeline is again drastically changed, this time by Janeway going back in time and not only getting Voyager home decades earlier, but being instrumental in the near destruction of the Borg. The crazy thing, the previous timeline where Voyager eventually makes it home decades later isn’t even apart of the prime timeline, as it’s a part of the timeline created by the events from Timeless.

Alternatively, you could look at it as such: as long as certain events happen, the timeline will stay intact. And, in the case of SNW, it may not necessarily matter when the Eugenics war took place, as long as it takes place prior to (or even concurrently with) WWIII, and before first contact with the Vulcans, the Trek timeline will stay intact. Basically, WWIII was the catalyst for humanity to change and reach out to the stars. The rough dates for the war are from 2026 to 2053, first contact with Vulcans occurred in 2063. So there’s a massive period of time for events to happen in such a way to lead up Zephram Cochrane’s warp test happening on April 5, 2063.

Tine changes that do not radically affect things, like Christopher knowing his kid would go to Saturn, don’t make major changes as far as Trek lore is concerned. But if you want to get technical then yes, all those tiny changes that affect next to nothing can indeed be considered alternate timelines. However Trek has never considered them as such. They have been “fixed”. The Voyager example is poor. There is nothing to suggest there were no Eugenics Wars going on in some far off place on the other side of the planet.

And yes, one can argue that Endgame was indeed an alternate as well. That one does have merit. The difference is nearly nothing about what happened in that original timeline was shown on any Trek show anywhere. As far as Trek is concerned the one we followed is the Prime. But I give you that situation is not as straight forward so good call on that one.

The difference here is that Kahn & the Eugenics Wars have been firmly established in Trek lore. In both a show and a feature film. That date is prime. Moving something so established only to cover mistakes made in your own show I just can’t count as “preserving the time line”. Something that huge in history just can’t be blown off and still think everything works out with minimal changes.

I don’t know where you got the idea that WWIII was the catalyst that changed humanity. Honestly everything regarding that is a bit murky and not all that clear as it was never really addressed in any show or movie. In fact, while not outright said it was implied on TOS that the Eugenics Wars & WWIII were possibly one in the same. Until TNG’s pilot episode.

Let me ask you this… Since the First Contact date seems so important to you suppose the Romulan went back to 2063 to screw with that and there was no First Contact until say 2083. Would you still think everything on SNW was prime?

“The difference is nearly nothing about what happened in that original timeline was shown on any Trek show anywhere.”

This is a great point actually and again a big problem with prequels versus sequels. It’s true Voyager altered the timeline multiple times and you can very much argue they are living in an altered timeline. The big difference is though Voyager was changing events we haven’t seen yet . We have no idea what the future was suppose to look like until they showed us in an episode. But it didn’t matter regardless because we knew it was there to be changed. That was the story, ie, how will they change it to keep the timeline we care about in tact. Those events had no bearing on the overall story because it’s stuff we didn’t know about until literally when it was presented in the episode. That’s not the same thing.

In his case, A. the Eugenics war happened well in the past and B. It’s an event that has been pounded into us for over 50 years now. It’s the core of both canon history but the show’s history as well. So when you alter that, it’s a big deal . And then when you alter it literally centuries in the past as well, of course it’s going to create other issues because it’s altering a story line that takes place before the other shows even existed. In Voyager’s case, being a sequel show and the last sequel show for nearly 2 decades it didn’t cause any issues to other shows because there was nothing else ahead of it at the time. They could’ve kept all that alternate history if they wanted and no one would’ve blinked because from our POV the future is still being written just the same.

But this also shows why there were so many reset buttons in Star Trek. I know people got sick of them, me included but it was done so people wouldn’t look at every time travel story as being part of an alternate timeline. It would’ve been confusing. And back then Star Trek was more episodic so they wanted people to feel whatever was changed it didn’t effect anything you saw last week or will in the next season.

But when you change something soooo far in the past and you make it clear time DIDN’T reset itself in this case, then you are creating bigger problems down the line. People can certainly argue SNW isn’t in a altered timeline, but guys it’s very simple, is Space Seed and TWOK still considered canon or not? Because if it is and Kirk and Spock still encountered Khan and thinks he still came from Earth in 1996 when just a few years prior we were told he came much later, then one of these is obviously not the case anymore. So either ONE of them is now operating in an altered tilmeline, but they both can’t be true.

And I’m going to assume for most fans it would be considered blasphemy to consider SS and TWOK as the ‘alternate’ history now.

That was pretty much what I was getting at with the ENDGAME scenario. At least one person got it. :)

I know this is why you don’t want prequels. But I still say while more difficult to navigate prequels can still be done and done well. You just need people who not only can write compelling stories but also are familiar with the source material to keep things in line.

That’s certainly part of it, but the main issue is I just generally prefer to go forward in a story, not backwards, especially in something like Star Trek. But of course I agree when they are done right, then I can easily be persuaded to like them. I loved Better Call Saul for example and love it as much as Breaking Bad.

As for Star Trek we have three prequels leading into TOS and I don’t think any of them did a great job leading into it although ironically Enterprise seem to been the best, but it was a century away from that show and not a few years like DIS and SNW was so it had more leeway.

I mean, ML31, I get what you’re saying. Khan in Space Seed citing 1992 seems incompatible with Khan child in 2022. But come on… this is shadowy temporal war time travel voodoo. What did that very same Romulan say? Time is like a “black box”? “So many people have tried to influence these events, you know, to delay them or stop them… And it’s almost as if time itself is pushing back, and events reinsert themselves…”?

But a more basic issue is La’an herself (when does she think her ancestor Khan lived?), or even Starfleet and Federation, if you prefer. If Khan/Eugenics Wars are a part of history, how is it that Prime and SNW-alternate timelines align at all? Why are we checking on exact dates for Pike’s command, and Enterprise voyages, and Talosians… ? Pike is going to have a similar career on a similar starship in a similar political setting and then die in an identical way at the same time in Prime and SNW-alternate, even though World War-level history was irrevocably changed 250 years prior?!

All I am saying is that while on the surface it seems like history changed, there can be many explanations. Time travel is … well… fiction. For example, consider this: the events of Tom/Tom/Tom episode THEMSELVES occur in an alternate timeline. La’an from Prime and Kirk from Alternate together jump to Another Alternate past. Events there are not Prime, once La’an’s mission succeeds, she is returned to Prime. Or of course, consider the agent at the end of the episode, who’s entire job is to repair the timeline–like Terminator 2 or that cool Seven of Nine chronoton frequency time travel episode, the nature of (fictional) time travel is such that they can keep going back in time until they get it right. (And the agent even says “Those events were never supposed to happen”!).

Your interpretation is valid. But, it’s not “Spock is Vulcan” level of establishment. We can quite easily still be in Prime. That’s a very valid view also.

Stop gatekeeping.

So to you “gatekeeping” is accepting what is actually being shown in the episodes?

Sorry. it’s not.

Gatekeeping is when you insist everyone must believe what you believe. What happened on screen DOES NOT indicate an alternative timeline. That is something you have chosen to take from it, and that’s fine, but stop pushing that belief on everyone else.

So if I believe that Spock is a Vulcan but someone else says he’s Andorian it is out of line to say he is actually Vulcan?

🙄. That’s really they only response I can give you inane comparison/question.

So with that response I can only take that to mean that it is NOT gatekeeping to say to someone who believes that Spock is an Andorian that he is really a Vulcan. Therefore, no. I am not gatekeeping at all and you just opted to not admit it.

*sigh* I’ve learned at my age that certain arguments are simply not worth my time and energy, and this is one of them.

I was fully expecting to really dislike this episode and it completely proved me wrong. It was a great character exploration and really revealed a lot about the motivation of the crew. I loved the end hearing the classis TOS ending theme.

Well done to the cast and crew! LLAP🖖👏👏👍

In my humble opinion, Ethan Peck’s singing was just as good as several of the others; his song of rejection by Christine was most touching, and worth repeat listening several times over!

Peck was decent, but I do think there was a little more Autotune applied for him than for, say Bush or Romijn.

Agreed! A smart, touching, enjoyable romp on the ol’ gal, Enterprise.

Loving this season and the series, *thank you* cast & crew 👍

This episode was one of the most silliest/corniest/bizarre episodes of Trek i have ever watched.

To me it’s right up there with DS9’s Move Along Home in terms of corny lol and viewing this episode as a full on comedy makes it much better imo.

Personally i was laughing through the episode with just how silly i thought it was.

I’m fine with musical episodes (A TV show called Sanctuary had a musical episode named Fugue that was good and Buffy’s Once More With Feeling was great) and if it was just the characters singing it would’ve been better.

But with all the dancing i felt like i was watching a dancing competition show like Strictly Come Dancing but more corny lol.

Criticisms aside it was way better then i thought going in and it was clear the actors enjoyed themselves.

Don’t get me wrong i appreciate SNW doing something new in Live Action Trek but sadly this episode just isn’t for me. I’m sure others will enjoy it and more power to them.

Strange that you liked BtVS’s Once More With Feeling but not this, since they are very similar. And that had quite a bit of dancing, too, including the Xander and Anya number.

Big “Once More With Feeling” fan here. My perspective on why I felt this was well done but, for me, isn’t on the same level: each song in OMWF was a stand-alone hit. And they all had different vibes and styles, yet held an interconnected theme between them — even literally, towards the end, as the elements from the different songs blended together towards the climax with Sweet. (I love that Buffy and friends actually lost against him. Their unearthed misery his reward.)

I felt none of that depth and weight with this episode.

Yes, each SNW cast member belted their numbers out well, and they worked in the current story themes well enough, but it all just felt fairly… generic? Chapel’s brutal, throaty kick to Spock’s naive heart and the angry Klingon crew’s brief, but hilarious number being the only real stand-outs for me.

The rest just felt kind of by-the-numbers. Competent, well performed, but generally uninspiring.

Of course, I may discover a fondness for it on rewatches. I’m open to that. And, of course, the impact of this on each viewer will vary, and that’s absolutely fair.

OMWF is an extremely high bar. That this even approaches that bar is something I’ll happily give it credit for.

I’m chasing ST:SNW, eager to hold it in a warm embrace and let it’s science fiction narrative wash over me, to add subsidy to my intellect and embellishment to my sense of wonder. But SNW runs from me, always remaining just out of reach. Just when I feel I am catching up, getting close, then……it surges away from me again, darting to the left and to the right and to this way and to that. Like an over-possessive spurned lover I cry out “come back to me, be what I want you to be, love me like I have loved you….”, and in response it titters flippantly, mockingly, and then performs an impossible loop, now behind me to kick my posterior and to send me sprawling face-first into the indignity of the parched and dusty earth. And there, lying in a pool of sticky mud formed by my own tears, weeping, mewling, I understand finally, that when you truly have loved something, you need to let it go……..

Yep. To me, this was the nail in the coffin to all Trek pre-Secret Hideout. It’s over. This is “Star Trek” now, even if it’s nothing close to what I think should be allowed to use that name. I really had high hopes with SNW season 1. I was willing to maintain some level of hope with season 2, but now that’s gone. Picard season 3 will probably be the last thing that ever feels like the Trek I knew and loved. I’m willing to accep that SNW, Discovery, and whatever comes next is for a new generation. But I honestly just don’t think the jump between TOS and TNG was anywhere close to as jarring as this.

For all those who gave up after TNG premiered, who were dyed-in-the-wool TOS fans who just couldn’t accept the change, I think I finally understand their pain.

The difference is when TNG came along it wasn’t a change. It was further down the line. It didn’t undo anything TOS did. Some may not have liked the time shift… I was one of them. I wanted to go forward from the feature film time. But this feels like they are just making their own version of Trek. I give them credit… I thought they wanted to “overwrite” older Trek but they have since made it clear it isn’t. That it’s a brand new KU like timeline. So at least there’s that.

TNG season 1 is a huge tonal change from TOS, with unlikable characters and Roddenberry’s absurd rules like “no conflicted characters” that didn’t exist in the 60s. This was gradually corrected in seasons 2 and 3.

If you mean different in that the characters are acting different with a slightly different set of behavioral rules, then sure. But I would argue that while this was Roddenberry throwing more of his personal view into the show it was still reasonable in that humanity would have certainly had some perspectives change over 80 years. But it still didn’t undo anything established from TOS. It really built on that.

I’m just curious, but have you liked any episodes in season 1 or 2?

Yes, I actually liked most of season 1. Season 2 had a few that I’ve enjoyed, but have to take them as not part of canon (and even on some levels just plain not “Star Trek”) to enjoy them. Ad Astra per Aspera, Lost in Translation, and Under the Cloak of War had some good elements. I even liked Charades, but I had to suspend my disbelief when it came to how I really believe Spock would handle being fully human. But I can’t say I really just loved any of these in season 2, and there’s certainly more I don’t have to watch ever again. It just doesn’t feel like Star Trek to me anymore. I’ll watch the final episode and see where that leaves things. But if this season is any indication as to the approach to the potential season 3, I know I won’t be looking forward to it.

Ok fair enough! And I actually don’t disagree much with your assessment. Yeah I too thought season 1 was a lot stronger overall. For me that was the strongest first season of any Trek show since Voyager’s first season. I loved 8 out of the 10 episodes and that’s even including the canon issues I had with them. But I don’t include canon when I rate the episodes, just the quality of the stories themselves.

With season 2, I think I like it more than you do, but even for me, I really only loved 3 of the episodes so far. I don’t hate the others, just not as impressed with them (but episode 4 is my lowest rated easily). I still think season 2 is good overall but a big step down from season 1.

I guess the honeymoon is over. ;)

There are about 6 good episodes in each season. there are some episodes, like this one, that are clearly filler episodes in a 20-episode season arc, but not in 10. This was as disappointing as the episode in season 1 with the sets decorated as a castle…I can’t remember the name. No, strike that, this was annoying.

Yes, I like Season 1 just fine. The writing was perhaps a little blasé, but the sets are gorgeous and I really do like every one of the actors and the parts they play. Season two though, not so flash for me, the only two episodes I thought were fairly good were the one’s where Spock was humanised and the one about Uhura communicating with the Nebula lifeforms. Also kind of liked the planet episode where everyone forgets. The rest of the episodes though have disappointed me somewhat, I think it is because the writing has in my opinion been too simplistic, all gravy but little meat. I see a lot of people gushing over every episode of SNW though, so I can be thankful that SNG is mainly hitting it’s target audience. Unfortunately the idiosyncrasies of my receptiveness now lay on the periphery of the target rather than in the centre.

“ all gravy but little meat” yes, from the little I’ve seen, like broad strokes of drama, maybe a bit generic (unrequited love, superfighter during war background etc.), not too complicated or nuanced. That what you mean?

Yes, I think that is it, the actors in the show are all fantastic, but it is like they are being served comic book dialog by the writers. Or like a stone that spends all the time skipping over the water while suffering none of the drama of being submerged for a time. Or like cotton candy, put it in your mouth and marvel at the taste, but it melts away before reaching the stomach and leaves you still hungry. This show has a great cast, the background musical arrangements are quite good, the design of the ship is simply stunning in my opinion, and the show is bright and colourful. I just don’t think some of the writers are up to task, it’s like they are naive and barely know the bare basics of the human condition, and little about continuity and science fiction in general, and so write accordingly. I do think a part of the problem is the short yearly episode run – it may encourage “hit and run” types of writing, whereas a 26 episode season like in days of old would perhaps force the showrunner to implement a deeper narrative for each of the characters.

There are a lot of interesting comments there and I can concur with much of that assessment. Thumbs up.

Wow interesting points. For the record, I like the show more than you but I do 100% agree about the dialogue writing though. They do come off as a lot less professional and too contemporary at times. I have made the same complaints about LDS as well which is way way way worse, but I guess others excuse it more for being a comedy.

And yes having just 10 episodes the bad or ‘filler’ episodes stands out way more. But that said I still think SNW has much less of a problem with this than shows like DIS and PIC does IMO. And I think the episodic nature of the show really helps that too and probably a big reason why the classic shows have aged so well because you have so many episodes and can just easily skip the bad ones.

Funnily enough, I don’t agree about LDS :-) The dialogue may be informal, but behind the outwardly loud and colourful surface, in my opinion the writing on LDS is often more subtle or interesting than on SNW (though I recommend watching at 90% speed ;). I think Lower Decks had some quite intelligent stuff, some of it in the interpersonal field: Like when Mariner learned that sometimes true freedom is to do a thing you realise is right for yourself IN SPITE of your adversaries telling you to do exactly this, when your instinct would be to act contrary to them (in the episode where she fights herself on the holodeck). Sometimes there’s also a joke behind a joke to discover in LDS. And to this day, I think that LDS transports the vibe of the fantasy trek space-ship my cousins and I had as kids, bigheaded captain included :-). I still have my cousin’s drawing of a fantasy space ship labeled “Edge Of The Known Space Map”. Guess what the new LDS trailer started with: “At The Edge Of The Universe…” Hehe.

Not only the dialogue, but the plotting: Maybe SNW is the popcorn/blockbuster version of a Trek series, with some daily soap (love triangles etc.) and a healthy dose of teenage romantic fanfiction thrown in? Well I don’t mind so much that SNW does not succeed in catching my interest, because I enjoy Lower Decks a lot, so maybe to each their own in the new Trek universe.

Ok, thanks for the response! :)

We don’t really disagree that much. As I said in the other post, I agree season one was much stronger overall but still like season two. But I only love three episodes at this point which was the trial episode, Charades and TOS. The others were mostly fine, including this episode but not amazing either. And I agree the writing is definitely the culprit per usual.

But it does seem like the majority of fans like season 2 as much as season 1 or at least close to it. Looking at the IMDB ratings at least, the episodes in season 1 is a little stronger than season 2 but not much. And every episode in season 2 averages over 7 at least minus this episode so far. In other words there is no big gap in the ratings between both seasons even if season one is rated a little higher.

But that has zero to do with personal taste of course and this board seems to have bigger problems with season two when you look at the nearly high praise most of season one got here.

Make personal note — mushrooms combined with Vodka not a great mix.

Someone should set your deeply poetic comment to music. Kunstlied or opera perhaps.

Ha, and the music video could be of someone caught within a fever-dream inside of a coma!

I did not mind the singing as much as I minded the mention of K’tinga class battlecruiser which is WAY too early for cannon. 2270 or 2265 at earliest. Not 2257!

Yes nitpick but at this time the K’tinga was still the D7.

It’s the same design, but with more details added anyway.

Maybe “K’Tinga” is the Klingon name, and “D7” was just Starfleet’s designation for it. The Enterprise and her sister ships were still called Constitution-class even after the TMP refit. The K’Tinga is basically just the TMP-refit version of the D7 from the Original Series. Maybe it was called “K’Tinga” all along.

K’tingas were brand new in TMP according to the GR novel.

Given the novels aren’t canon though, they have some latitude. I mean it’s pretty obvious that TMP Klingon ship was the same one from TOS, but done with the level of detail they could now afford for the model.

These writers don’t care. They just do what they want. Their knowledge of Star Trek is what they look up on memory alpha or Google search.

I noticed the name thing but since this is an alternate reality/reboot none of that matters. They can, and have, change anything they wish to.

Agreed! I also view this show in an alternate timeline.

It’s not just a personal view. I’d prefer it to be Prime and to obey all the rules. But they themselves showed us it absolutely isn’t in Ep 2.3.

That’s nuts criticizing Memory Alpha like this? Dude, that site, which I have written with many other Trek volunteer fans over the years, is the best single resource for this type of information.

You are way off base and you are throwing hundreds of volunteer fans over years who created this outstanding encyclopedia under the bus. In fact, the collaborators of that site intend that current and future creators of Star Trek will use the database actually like your are criticizing them for?

WTF? This is just way out of line! Of course we would hope the current producers and writers, who are very busy, would take the time to use this outstanding online resource Your comment is just freaking nuts to make fun of Memory Alpha — insulting many who have worked on that for decades.

Ah, internet. What would we do without you?

According to Memory Alpha website the K’tinga entered service in 2259.

And where did THEY get that info from?

They removed this episode, which is obviously canon.

I would love to know what William Shatner, Nick Meyer and Rick Berman think of this episode.

Nicholas Meyer loves it, William Shatner doesn’t give a damn, and Rick Berman thinks it’s gay.

I’ll add I thought it was great :)

Doubt any of them are watching….

Hopefully they all enjoyed it if they watch it.

A reference to turning into bunnies and uhura saying ”I’ve got a theory” have to be Buffy homages, right? 😁

Absolutely :)

I was skeptical but cautiously optimistic. Didn’t expect to like a a musical episode, but assumed I’d end up at least think it was cute or something by the end. But . . . I really just cringed my way through this.

It wasn’t particularly funny, I thought. Except maybe the Klingon bit. The songs weren’t especially good or even catchy . . . Watching La’an just more it less stand in her quarters and sing on repeat felt like an eternity.

I’m glad there seems to be a good number of people who enjoyed this. I want the show to succeed and do well . . . But . . . It’s just not one that’s going to have the rewatch value I’ve come to expect from other Treks.

This season has tried way too hard to be cute and not hard enough to seek out strange new worlds. Loved the Lower Decks episode, but . . . Yeah.

And not to beat the canon dead-horse, but k’t’inga class cruisers pre-TOS??

Yes to all of what you said and then some. I was not engaged at all for yet another hour of Trek. And that makes me sad because I LOVED this show in its first season.I’m all for Trek taking chances and doing lighter episodes, but with few exceptions (making M’benga a murderer, for instance), this has been a rather comedic season.

But that just one grump’s opinion. This episode is clearly some folks’ cup of Earl Grey and I’m glad for that. I’m one of the rare souls who LIKED “Spock’s Brain”, after all.

And not to beat the canon dead-horse, but k’t’inga class cruisers pre-TOS??

Remember the events in Episode 2.3. Falling in line with the prime TOS universe is no longer a thing. In fact it turns out it never has been.

Yep, just another confirmation – if having a musical episode wasn’t enough of a confirmation in the first place.

Why did you expect it to be funny? Most musicals aren’t. Sure, sometimes they have an amusing number like How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria but usually, no.

I didn’t expect it to per se, but I hope for it to be. For me, *my* tastes, comedy has been the saving grace of a number of musicals.

I actually come at this from the opposite standpoint: a lot of musicals have a number that’s morose, or at least a kind of soulful ballad — think “Tonight” in WEST SIDE STORY, or THE NIGHT OF THE DRAGON in “Miss Saigon” (literally about a Viet Cong commissar forcing Jonathan Price to pick rice in the fields), or “Memory” or “Old Deuteronomy” from CATS, or the main number from FROZEN.

That’s what “Subspace Rhapsody” was missing, I think, and La’an’s orchestral theme was the obvious place to put it.

I come at this from the perspective of liking musicals, but by that I mostly mean on-stage, in-person musicals, where you’re part of a communal, almost transcendent experience. CHICAGO and most Bollywood productions do nothing for me; I’ve only seen Hamilton on screen, and I failed to see what the hype was about. I bet I would have a different reaction in a theater. PHANTOM on the West End was a magical experience; on Disney+ during the pandemic, it was kind of “meh,” although anything during the pandemic kind of fits that bill. (To contradict myself a bit, I’ve enjoyed the two screen adaptations of WEST SIDE STORY.

I don’t know how well science fiction and musicals mash up together. I’m going to re-watch this and decide; my first impression was “good, but not great” — it was just a bit too peppy. I had a similar reaction to the Back to the Future musical adaptation. I never saw the Spider-Man musical.

The song that Uhura first played into the subspace fold seemed to be Nichelle Nichols singing if I am not mistaken

Awful. Just awful.

Nichelle Nichols is awful?

If it was Nichelle, at least that’s one better way to look at the choice of song. But to me, the way I look at the use of “Anything Goes” is that, why on earth would someone that far in the future even KNOW that song? That would be like someone today pulling out a Bach concerto and jamming out to it and expecting everyone else to hum along. Sure, there are still plenty of people who appreciate classical, but I highly doubt “The Great American Songbook” would be the first thing thought about on a starship in the 23rd century…. In fact, the first question might be, “What do you mean by American?”

Well, Anything Goes is 89 years old and is still well-known, so there’s that. Plus, there was a revival of the musical (from which the song originates) last year on the London stage.

And why wouldn’t the Great American Songbook still be known to music lovers? Art lovers are still well acquainted with the Dutch Masters who painted their works in the 1500s and 1600s.

I don’t think works of art (such as paintings) equates with music – even though it is an art. There are plenty of art lovers in the world, but the average person doesn’t grab their phone and start browsing through paintings everyday. But popular music is everywhere, and I would say 1 out of every 4 people in most public places have on headphones or are somehow enjoying music. The vast majority of music listeners don’t spend their time listening to creations more than 50 or 60 years old. And even if people do listen to classical on occasion, other than classical musical lovers, I don’t think most people could identify much more than Beethoven’s 5th Symphony or maybe Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.

Simply put, the average person is going to identify with music from their generation. They may enjoy some “oldies” but, from my interactions with people of many ages, I think “oldies” fall within the last 30 to 50 years for most people. I work with college students everyday, and I can guarantee you that they aren’t very familiar with songs recorded in the 1950’s, much less the 1750’s!

So to assume that a person on a starship in the 23rd century is very familiar with 20th century music, so much so that it’s the first thing that pops in their head when told to come up with a tune, seems absurd. This problem isn’t limited to SNW. Most Star Trek’s have this problem.

As for knowing the “Great American Songbook”, I would ask a different question – what would you pick from the “Great Native American Songbook”? Native American’s were the dominant population throughout most of North America less than 300 years ago. Can you sing one of their songs? You probably live in an area close to where a tribe called home in the 1700’s. Shouldn’t you be able to recite a song from that time if Uhura was aware of “Anything Goes” being part of the “Great American Songbook”?

what would you pick from the “Great Native American Songbook”?

False equivalency. Native American music has only rarely been recorded for widespread distribution. Sure, you can find some modern day performances, but the vast majority of Native American culture (including music) has been lost to time since the arrival of Europeans and therefore was never widely known. That isn’t the case with Anything Goes and others of the Great American Songbook, which have been recorded too many times to count in dozens of languages and is very easily available. At least two versions of the Broadway score (1987 and 2011) are readily available on iTunes. Not bad for an almost 90 year old musical.

summt augenblicklich “ein feste burg ist unser gott, ein gute wehr und waffen….”

That would be pretty cool. I can’t be entirely sure, but I don’t think it’s Nichols: https://music.apple.com/mu/album/anything-goes-broadway-version-single/438424778

I think it was Patty Lupone from the 1987 revival of Anything Goes.

Loved it. Can’t wait to watch again.

It was a harmless episode that I didn’t personally love. I don’t mind the concept at all, I just wanted more out of the story, beyond the character stuff coming to a head. Or maybe the personal stuff should have been framed in a more urgent way, I don’t know.

That said, I hope Spock’s eventual path towards logic isn’t based on his brief romance with Chapel ending. Spock believes in logic, he doesn’t just use it as a shield against feelings.

That was something that was cringe too. I find it a bad creative thing to do even with alternative timeline Spock. But whatever.

Honestly this episode wasn’t nearly as bad as most episodes but still… This show doesn’t seem know what it wants to do. It’s not going with different genres. Trek always did some of that. It’s not knowing how it even wants to treat itself.

At this point it’s pretty obvious any episode that ends up being decent is likely a mistake by the producers.

Yep on Spock’s turn toward logic. I had hoped he would have been inspired by a mentorship. Instead they went for heartbreak and that’s also a poor decision for Chapel too. Here’s hoping with her going away for the internship the characters get a chance to grow in better ways. I did at least appreciate the closure of some storylines like La’An and Kirk’s. Number One also got the opportunity to show not just tell what kind of leader and support system she could be to the crew. Like how all the characters got some scenes once again. This is something new in the back half of season 2 and I am liking it. I would also like to see some background characters, like Mitchell and Sam Kirk, get some more screen time. Admiral April would also be deserving of a bigger role. Special mention to Bruce Horak he does a great Klingon.

As for the delivery through songs….they did the best they could with it. It will never be a favorite and that’s ok. I hope they continue to take risks going forward into season 3. By focusing on strange new worlds and including more legacy characters or even original characters to enhance the show. Oh and an Ortegas episode. She deserves more serious content.

I absolutely loved this episode. I can’t belive there is only one episode left of the season.

Yes and probably no more after that for at LEAST 18 months!

Easily that where SNW is concerned. And generally in terms of live action, after episode 10, that will be it until Disco S5 starts.

I don’t actually mind the concept of a musical Trek episode. I can easily imagine DS9 doing one. And they did find a technobabble explanation that works for what it needs to do.

But why were the songs so boooooring? It’s all generic pop stuff that an AI could have written. And the music sounds like those loops that come free with a keyboard. It’s so aggressively mediocre.

I still have the music from the Buffy episode in my head. Or the songs from Todd and the Book of pure evil. Or Picard and Worf singing Gilbert and Sullivan for a Trek example. I can’t remember any of the songs from this episode and I JUST finished watching it.

With the album being released on digital platforms today, I was hoping to add at least a few of the songs to a playlist, but nothing really grabbed me enough to go seeking any of them.

I wasn’t wowed by the music itself, but was surprised they took the time to write stuff that integrated into the story of the episode and the overall arcs. I think for me, it was just easy to not take this episode very seriously, so I could just sit back and take it in for what it is. And I thought it was fun. Applying my general criteria as it relates to canonical Star Trek, and it’s an unmitigated disaster. As funny as the Klingon stuff is, why would they act like just because they were singing? Would they not sing in their native tongue? Why would they immediately know to sing in another culture’s musical genre? Where did the music come from and why do they know how to sing original songs in unison? Again… think too much, and your brain will boil.

That was another complaint. I enjoyed that opening number. But then the rest of the songs were all so similar! After the opening I was hopeful. I shouldn’t have been. This is still Secret hideout after all.

Really? I thought La’an’s number was musically very different from Chapel’s.

They changed tempo but that doesn’t really differentiate them that much. It’s almost like rearranging a cue for a different feel.

No, they are completely different, stylistically. Now, I do think Chapel’s song “ I’m Ready ” and Spock’s song “ I’m The X ” have some elements in common, but I’m fairly sure that was deliberate, servings as two sides of the Chapel/Spock relationship coin.

This is a spot on review of the music. I won’t touch the episode as a whole or the fact that it happened as “Star Trek”, but as a musical, there wasn’t anything interesting or really any of the songs that will last in my memory past a few weeks.

I have kids, I’m exposed to a lot of kids music and movies, but some of them aren’t that bad. When Encanto came out, I didn’t really think it would be as big as it was, but I had to admit that several of the songs were catchy, and a few even stuck in my head beyond the first viewing. Since then, most of them have been nailed into memory, but there’s a couple I still like.

If you’re going to do this sort of thing, DO IT RIGHT! I felt like this was a mediocre attempt at music composition. And several of the performances were just static and empty. La’an’s solo soliloquy just about put me to sleep, as an example.

When I initially heard about the episode, the first thing that popped into my memory was “Star Trekkin across the universe…”. If you know what I’m talking about, then you know that a comedic parody song was more catchy than what was done here.

Crap! I haven’t had that in my head for a very very long time. Now you mentioned it and there it is again and I have no idea how long it will live there!!

Did Kirk know in TWOK that he was a father? I thought it was a surprise to him. I’ll have to watch that again, I just find it interesting that Kirk would have gone though all of TOS without mentioning David then

My thoughts exactly! Perhaps someone who has seen TWOK recently can confirm?

From: Trek BBS

TWOK is the first time that viewers became aware that James T. Kirk had a son, David Marcus, with his old flame Carol Marcus. But it’s a little unclear exactly  when  Kirk found out about David. He knows that Carol has a son by that name, but Kirk obviously doesn’t know David well enough to recognize him in the Genesis Cave ( “Is that David?” ). Kirk and Carol’s private conversation afterwards (added during reshoots to clarify things) is still ambiguous at best:

KIRK: I did what you wanted. …I stayed away. …Why didn’t you tell me? CAROL: How can you ask me that? Were we together? Were we going to be? You had your world and I had mine. And I wanted him in mine, not chasing through the universe with his father. … Actually, he’s a lot like you. In many ways. Please tell me what you’re feeling. KIRK: There’s a man out there I haven’t seen in fifteen years who’s trying to kill me. You show me a son that’d be happy to help him. My son. …My life that could have been, …and wasn’t. And what am I feeling? …Old. …Worn out.

No, he knew. In the film he said to Carol, “I did what you wanted… I stayed away”

Okay, I remember that now, so all of TOS he never once mentioned David and Carol Marcus, but he blurts this out to La’an now. Hmm.

I do think Paul Wesley is starting to grow on me as Kirk but best to leave him alone for a few seasons I think. He’s already overshadowing Pike.

Well, not mentioning it in TOS is what it is. Has been ever since TWOK came out.

Was he ever in a situation in TOS where someone was suggesting a serious relationship like La’an was though?

And we should have a pool for what Trek elements they are going to stick to and which they are going to completely obliterate in this new rebooted version of Trek. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for any of it.

Writer’s room: “Hey, wasn’t there some guy named Korby who Christine hooked up with? Let’s throw his name in there this episode. Oh, and what was the type of the Klingon cruiser in TOS? K’Tinga class, right?? And I think Kirk needs another pointless reason to return. It makes sense that he wouldn’t spend any time at his post with a family member on another ship. He’s just learning to be a first officer from someone he met ONE TIME…”

They mentioned Korby in Charades (and at the time, someone said he’d been mentioned before, but I don’t recall which episode.) so this seems to have been their end-game to get Spock and Chapel back to their TOS status quo.

But they didn’t need to. They set up a situation where they could have played with the relationship a lot more than they did. They aren’t beholden to what happens on TOS.

On TOS, where Chapel asks Spock, ‘have you ever been engaged?’ Clearly not beholden. More like, making it up as we go, but then when somebody says ‘tribble,’ instead of drinking, they put in a worthless nod to continuity, as if that offsets all the damage.

Exactly. It’s such a weird way how they are handling canon. One hand they acknowledge Korby, but they literally changed the entire back story o of how they originally got together.

I guess I just don’t really understand it? It’s not acting like a ‘true’ prequel but more like the Kelvin movies did and just added whatever canon they wanted but changed a lot of it around, but unlike SNW the Kelvin movies made clear it wasn’t trying to fit TOS canon and do its own thing.

But then they went and made an episode that says “Yes, this is why everything is so very different. This is a different timeline/reality.” Just like the KU movies did.

Yeah I agree with you, I just mean the way the producers discuss the show. They still talk about it as if they are trying to line it up with TOS and anyone with eyes clearly see that’s not the case.

But as you said they gave themselves an out where they can change whatever they want in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow but then in the OTHER time travel episode, TOS, they still treat it like the show MUST line up with every event in TOS (the show) and how strict Boimler and the crew treated his and Mariner’s presence. Now of course Boimler and Mariner don’t know about the changes in the timeline or obviously they are affected by the changes as well but I’m going on the notion in LDS everything from their POV is exactly what leads up to TOS and the canon we know.

So it’s a bit confusing but welcome to temporal mechanics lol.

The producers don’t really have a clue what the prime timeline really is. The difference between the Kelvinverse and this, is that the writers for the Bad Robot movies decided to create a new timeline / canon.. which is the smartest thing they did. This braintrust has decided that this is an altered prime universe, so basically TOS as we knew it is wiped out. That’s a problem for a lot of fans.

I’ve heard it said that they actually WANT to wipe out TOS and do what they think is the superior version of it. I still have a tough time with that as that sounds too conspiratorial for me. But there are times when I cave and think that theory might have merit.

But yes. Say what you will about the KU features they had the balls to tell us all it was an alternate/reboot.

This very well could be an example of having their cake and eating it too.

Honestly I just don’t know what the producers are thinking. They said it was in prime but then they just blow apart some rather huge parts of the lore. Then they make an episode that clearly says, “this is an alternate reality” yet haven’t publicly confirmed that is what they did. Did they intend for some fans to follow what they said last year and other to follow what they showed in the episode? What’s the point of THAT? This is why I say this show is very schizophrenic. I don’t think they really know what they want to be. Or they know they want to be everything. They want to be both prime and be free to do what they want. Those two things would seem to be at odds with each other.

True that. If the show really was prime then using a version of the little rectangle things or throwing in Dr Korby call outs doesn’t make up for the HUGE mistakes already made. It’s like smashing out a car windshield and replacing the radiator with one for a different make and model but saying “Look! We added a USB port! It’s fine!”

K’Tinga actually only appeared starting with TMP, so this K’Tinga is over a decade early.

He also asked Carol “Is that David?” when he first saw him. So he already knew about David.

I think heyberto is correct. I think Kirk’s surprise in TWOK was based on David being fully grown/a man and not recognizing his own son…that many years had passed since he stayed away and he obviously didn’t get birthday pictures along the way, so he had no idea what his son looked like after a couple of decades.

Nice tie-out to canon.

He was surprised to run into David, and I think it was a little ambiguous whether or not David knew that Kirk was his dad, but Kirk definitely knew that David was his son.

I’m calling it now, Kirk and La’an hook up before she leaves the enterprise. We find out she is pregnant with a child Kirk will never be aware of. The great revelation that Kirk’s greatest nemesis is actually an ancestor of his own child.

It had a few good moments but ultimately the A plot was not strong and the dual B-plots were stretched to carry the rest of the episode through all the singing and dancing. Those songs were not particularly inspired or catchy.

“Creating a musical episode has been a stated goal of executive producer Alex Kurtzman”. I think this is biggest the problem I have with this episode. It felt like it was really stretching hard — an undeniable trait of Kurtzman to shoehorn personal goals into trek. In fact, it might be my least favorite episode.

I was curious what other people thought of it and I guess they liked it, so whatever — to each their own.

See, I was hoping they’d just leave plot out of it completely, and just make this a crazy, non-canonical romp. So making the plot elements weak is a feature, not a bug, IMO. And I agree wholeheartedly that the idea of a musical episode is not something that makes any sense, conceptually. Perfect for Lower Decks. However.. I do think the creatives have conditioned us for something so ridiculous with their low bar for storytelling in this series so far.

Yeah, actually. If they had a Trek comedy series a musical episode with no explanations would slip into that genre more easily. There is a reason comedy/musical are often mixed together.

Lower Decks was best left out of this, and outside of canon. It’s the perfect place to do ridiculous things. This series, is not.

See, I was hoping they’d just leave plot out of it completely, and just make this a crazy, non-canonical romp. So making the plot elements weak is a feature, not a bug, IMO.

It seems like Spock and Chapel had this crazy relationship for all of one week before it began falling apart.

Yeah. They are free to do what they want. So if they are going for a Spock-Chapel thing then they should really go for it. Just like Spock-Uhura in the KU. To be as brief as they were doesn’t feel fair to anyone.

I’m ok with it. The break up was the best part of the episode.

A more serious episode where the characters lose the ability to mask their feelings but this just comes out in normal verbal interaction might have been better.

The songs were kinda meh, but t It was a fun episode. But when the original Star Trek theme played after the rift blew up and the bridge crew cheered, i got choked up. They got me with that one.

I really thought they should have been singing the actual GR lyrics to the TOS theme at some point, maybe the climax. Instead of singing about the ‘mission.’

I thought about that, too. But I thought it might have cost them too much money to do it. Funny when one considers why GR wrote the lyrics to begin with.

Well I got it COMPLETELY wrong! Thought this was going to be a horror show but my god this was good.

Some of the singing was excellent, especially from Celia Rose Gooding but also great stuff from Christina Chong, Jess Bush and even Ethan Peck!

Choreography was excellent, especially with Jess Bush in the bar and that finale….WOW!

I gotta say hats off to the actors, composers and arrangers for this episode. I expected this episode to be over the top and at times corny, which it was, but hey, this is fiction and fantasy, so I was ready for the “take me there” moment. I have been a Treker since the 60s, and have seen every second of Trek that has been released, but by profession, I am a recording engineer, producer, arranger and composer, working on projects that range from contemporary, to classical, to world, to traditional musics for commercial, theatrical and large scale event releases, so, with professional curiosity, I was looking forward to hear what musical adventures Toronto/Hollywood had come up with for this episode.

I have always admired Treks high production values, not only visually, but also audio wise. When these episodes drop, I usually watch them in my studio, through my studio monitors, to get the full, juicy sonic experience. When our characters are speaking to each other in engineering for example, you will hear the “ambience” of the large space they are working in (engineering), but when they kick into song, the voices all of a sudden become very dry and up close, very processed, with varying degrees of pitch correction software (from 3 to 11:). That alone took me out of the fantasy. I suppose the solo actors were recorded in a proper isolation booth in a studio. which sound very, very dry, with no acoustics at all. Again, high praise to the creative staff and the actors who sang, BUT there are people on the production staff responsible for continuity, both visual and auditory, and the differences in the way the voices sound in and out of song is very noticable, more so to professional ears, but also to your average Joe (or Josephine). There are ways to minimize these sonic differences, but it looks like nobody paid attention to this or they just did not care (maybe short on time?). Heck, even the musical movies of the 60s did a better job of this.

The song styles were also all over the place, but that may have kept the episode more dynamic. One thing tho, had it not been a musical, these character confessions would have been much shorter.

I know a lot of my production colleagues are also Trekers, and we do look up to the show for its production values, and sorry to say, this one lowered the bar. The episode sort of looked like a lip synced karaoke show.

Well, I hope SNW returns to the science part of science fiction soon. Pike, Spock and Una were much more focused on Discovery than they are on their own ship. Even Prodigy is more of a science fiction than SNW.

The lip syncing took me out of it early on. I realize they have to do that, but it was pretty blatant.

I appreciate your analysis as an expert. I helps me know that i’m not crazy. I do video production but not full on audio engineering. But even to me, I felt there was a lot lacking on the production side – both visually and in terms of audio.

Actually watched it again, this time knowing about those audio bumps on the road, I had an even greater appreciation for the work that the actors put into their performances. My faves, “I’m ready” and “I’m the Ex”.

It was… terrible. Far too indulgent of the cast and producers. I wish somebody had just said No.

That assessment is harsh. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it showed the real range and talent of so many of these writers and actors. I found it to be silly, as most musicals are, but I also am impressed with the quality of the original songs and was pleasantly surprised at how good a singer Ethan Peck actually is.

Well, as I’ve said above, I was able to enjoy the episode, but it isn’t very good Star Trek, and I do wish they’d quit trying to make Trek into something it’s not. I don’t need to see the cast sing and dance to know they’re talented. If this had been a singular one-off, and they quit trying to tie everything in to a larger storyline, I think it would have been better. Combine this with the Lower Decks crossover and get the ridiculousness of both out of the way in one shot.

This is not a harsh assessment by any stretch – if you remember that this is STAR TREK. It should have been a hard “no”, and this isn’t even the only instance this season.

I’ve said it multiple times before, but I feel like the inmates are running the asylum – as in the actors have more say than they should. I read and listened to comments talking about SNW the production of season 2 last year where they were talking about how the direction was going to take more “big swings” similar to The Elysian Kingdom (one of my least favorite episodes of season 1), and I knew things were getting out of control. The cast talked about how much “fun” it was to do that episode. Yes, work should not be painful, but there’s a fine line between having fun and remembering the source material.

Despite the fact that I found this fun (unlike the Spock Comedy episode), I agree with everything you said. I would say it’s not terrible at what it’s trying to be, but it certainly is terrible Star Trek.

Indulgent is definitely the right word for it lol. I was certainly prepared to hate it like you, but actually liked it in the end. But no, I don’t see myself rewatching it a lot either. But it seems to be a hit overall with people based on reading the other boards, especially on Reddit. I can’t wait to see what the IMDB score will look like for this.

It was a very entertaining episode. Christina Chong is a wonderful singer.

I also liked the nod to canon with the mention of a pregnant Carol Marcus. Poor La’an.

The Spock and Chapel relationship seems to be ending now since she will be away falling in love with Roger Korby. That was a very brief off-screen romance. Poor Spock. I guess now we know why he threw the Plomeek soup at her in Amok Time. LOL

Not the best episode out of the season in my opinion, but entertaining.

Cringy Girl glee trek…..

Just skip and delete episode for me. Not that the songs were bad, mind you, but I still hate musical, especially when they are 2 and more singing. This didn’t do anything for me, other then being a cringe illogical episode. The cross over with Lowers decks was much more logical and done with care then this. If they would have done the Klingon’s opera or side of things, it might have been fun.

I’m actually surprised people like this episode. Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess I’m in the minority here. I was expecting silly great songs like in the classic Buffy episode ‘Once more with feeling’ but got a bunch of lame, boring songs that all sound the same. Horrible episode. The only reason I’d rate it 2/10 instead of 1/10 is that absolutely hilarious Klingon scene. With a better songwriter this could have been a legendary episode. Too bad.

I think that some people jumped on early today to make sure and skew it more positively. I’m sure some other social mediums are full of positive publicity. But taking this as JUST a musical and discounting that it’s Star Trek, I thought it was mediocre at best.

Peck could have sung a cover version of Nimoys “Bitter dregs” after Chapel dumped him.

I won’t be surprised if Christine Chapel leaves after this season. I also don’t see Kirk being used again until a series finale when he takes over the Enterprise.

If canon still mattered, then one could only hope that Kirk doesn’t show up. Since canon is out the window, Kirk will be back in season 3 – if and when that ever happens.

I have to say this episode was fantastic. I wasn’t expecting to to be…The writing, the songs that were actually good songs and the lyrics that fitted so well into the story and plot. The production, the choreography… “those negative Nancy self proclaimed did hard fans” will state… Star Trek doesn’t do musicals… yet song played a big part of the last season of DS9 with Vic. And yes Star Trek does to silly comedy… little green men and trials and tribulations!!

When it started I was thinking, “Holy crap! This looks to be very enjoyable and fun for a change!” And it was. Unfortunately the songs ended up all being too similar. Since the new characters are being overshadowed by the classic ones I still don’t really care much about them so the emotional side of the episode ended up falling flat. And that finale was super uninspiring. Once again, the writers need to learn nuance. Subtlety.

All that being said it’s still the 2nd best episode of the series. After 1.10.

I can’t agree with you today. We’re often on the same page, but this one ranks near the bottom for me. Star Trek has done fun before without throwing the baby out with the bath water. The premise alone was enough for me to even think of skipping it. I’m not that kind of person, but I kinda wish I had. But it’s also par for the course for an underwhelming season. 10 episodes, and I think maybe 2 are worth ever going back and watching.

Fair enough. And I can certainly understand where you are coming from. This figured to be an extremely divisive episode to begin with. Even still I expected the people who have been liking the season overall would still like the episode and those who have not been liking it would not find this one any different. I was obviously OK with it. I wish the numbers were better and it didn’t try to get all emotional. The only thing I really enjoyed was the opening number. Beyond that it was repetitive and tiresome. But I do want to give them credit for trying something different. But again, if they did more episodes in a season I think doing something like this would be a safer bet. But with only 10 and they have started so very many storylines already… This didn’t seem like the best choice. Maybe if the show was better….

I expected to hate it.. and I really didn’t. It’s not a great musical or anything, but it is a fun romp. Like I said above, break the 4th wall, Take it out of canon, and this would work a LOT better.

I would probably say there has only been one great episode and one pretty good and the rest of the season has been so average. I actually really enjoyed last season’s final episode and was really looking forward to season 2. Spock has gone from one of my favourite characters to in this series the most annoying characters. Not really the actor himself who is pretty good but the writing for the character is very poor. I bought the first season on UHD blu ray, think I’ll be giving this one a miss.

This definitely deserves some kind of award

LOL, nope! Perhaps I watch too much TV and movies, but this doesn’t rank that high on the level of quality that you get from SO MANY OTHER productions that have either included musical numbers or even done a full on musical. Maybe it had potential, but I don’t think the final product is anything more than a ratings stunt.

Okay, cards on the table: I’m a theatre person, and I have sympathy with the “theatrical” elements of it

That was the most fun I’ve had with an episode of Star Trek in a long time. The songs weren’t all to my taste, though the opener was technically really solid. It has some really nice rhythmic and melodic subtleties.

I appreciated that it gave (almost) everyone something to do, and we got to see them working. Sad that we didn’t get enough Ortegas, but I’m glad they actually did something with Number One.

At first I hated the Klingons. I wanted a blast of Opera in the middle of the finale. But the flip into hip-hop with the backup dancers was so over the top that it came back around. Brilliant.

On a technical side, one thing I think they missed the mark on a little was the lip syncing. I know they’re working on a time crunch, and tastes vary, but, to me it seemed that a lot of the folks were very obviously lip syncing. The more seasoned singers sold it (Celia Rose Gooding continues to crush it), but others, not so much (looking at Anson Mount).

Still, I’m really happy this exists. It was fun. If someone doesn’t like Star Trek but has a soft spot for campy musicals, this is a good gateway episode.

I think it was a fail not having the Klingons sing in Klingon. If not an opera then perhaps something for contemporary Klingon. But yeah… These writers just don’t have it in them for something as detailed as that.

I wouldn’t call it a fail myself, but perhaps a missed opportunity. It’s tough enough to learn music as is, and then add in a fictional language and its own musical foibles it might not be worth it. They’d have to really knock that portion out of the park, and I just don’t see any Trek writer pulling that off

Star Trek is usually pretty Shakesperian. Traditionally the actors have had some of that background. Wrapping their mouths around a made up language shouldn’t be too hard for people who can perform that olde English stuff. They had to have hired songwriters for the numbers, right? Put the effort in. Make it work. What we ended up seeing just came across as lazy.

I’m gonna strong disagree on the comparison between Shakespearean English and Klingonese.

Background: I have two linguistics degrees. I specialized in the history and development of English before doing ma MA in Norse. I’m a theatre practitioner, and studied music for 10 years.

Shakespearean English is basically identical to modern English. Words have come and gone from usage, and we’ve changed the value of some vowels, but the gist of it is identical. The phonetic inventory has been stable for a few hundred years.

Klingon was *specifically* designed around being as utterly alien as possible. Weirdest syntax you can imagine. Consonant clusters that just don’t happen normally.

Add in the harmonies and rhythms that don’t follow regular conventions. It’s gonna be damn near impossible to get that into a 20 second bit.

Like, listen to ‘u’ — it’s something else. If it’s not that, it ain’t Klingon opera.

They could make some knockoff Bizet, but that would be so boring. That’d be the lazy way out, imo.

OK. You seem to have the credentials and far be it from me to question your experience.

That said uttering Shakespearian lines, while still english words, is weird and unnatural for today’s language. In that respect memorizing random sounds ought not be that difficult for competent actors. Perhaps making up an authentically alien sounding Klingon song is a tall task. And perhaps would turn a lot of viewers off. But it sure would have helped with creating depth in their universe. And it wasn’t like it had to be 4 minutes long. Just 10-20 seconds of it would have done the job.

I went into this episode with a lot of trepidation but the episode actually was excellent. They embraced the campiness of it all. It had all the vibes of Buffy the Vampire Slayers musical episode.

This is the most original, creative and beautifully realized episode of any Star Trek iteration, ever. Period. They keep hitting it out of the park on SNW!

Settle down.

It’s interesting that when someone responds to overly harsh negativity (which seems to permeate here) they are clapped back with “I’m allowed to have an opinion too!”

But when someone is overly positive your response is “settle down.”

Very very interesting.

I’d much rather celebrate people’s love and positivity than encourage hate and negativity and force everyone to be as miserable as ML31.

Overall I liked it, but far from love it!

I think like many, I wasn’t sure what to even think of the idea when most assumed it would be a musical. On one hand, yeah, interesting and unique for Star Trek that’s for sure lol. On another level, this could be a total disaster that’s just beyond cringe and an embarrassment for Trek as a whole that would sit in its rightful place with other noteworthy disasters from Spock’s Brain to These Are The Voyages. But this one done in spectacular fashion. It was a gamble for sure, but thankfully I think it was mostly successful and will be considered one of the whackier but memorable episodes that many will truly love and embrace. Others…not so much.

For me, not being a musical person at all, but certainly liked many growing up, this was definitely a fun episode. I thought the songs were very fun and enjoyable, more than I thought they would be, but it was still a bit too many for me. But the story itself and how it supposedly happened was confusing. I gave up trying to understand Spock’s very deep technobabble of the event and its ‘musical reality’. I actually just wish they went super silly with it and met a large pink alien unicorn in space who sprouted out some bizarre space glitter from its horns onto the Enterprise that made the crew sing and dance in order to save the multiverse or help conceive a unicorn baby or something.

But I did like it, especially the Klingon boy band lol. Easily the best part for me. I laughed so hard. But everyone put a lot of effort into their roles and were mostly good, but La’An and Uhura were definitely the stand outs IMO. I did like how we got some actual story in there with Kirk and Carol Marcus or Chapel breaking up with Spock (thanks Boimler ;)).

Overall, I thought it was good, but still not amazing. I’m always happy to see Trek try to shake it up a bit, especially with 800+ stories and counting, but I highly doubt this will be much of a rewatch for me in the future. But I’m happy for the people who truly loved it.

Yeah, definitely Celia Rose Gooding and Christina Chong were the stellar voices, but I was also impressed with Rebecca Romijn’s vocal stylings. The guys, not so much haha but they did not embarrass themselves. Also liked how they progressed the stories of Kirk and La’an as well as Chapel and Spock. Yeah Boimler did play a big role in making sure Spock stayed on course haha.

Absolutely loved it.

I’m pretty sure Nichelle Nichols would have broken down and wept over Celia Rose Gooding’s performance. Fantastic.

She’s the vocal standout of the whole thing, and it’s not close.

I thought it was fantastic! Really enjoyed this musical episode 😃

It’s over.

I’ve already felt this multiple times this season, but this one took the cake. Star Trek as I knew it and loved it pre-Secret Hideout is officially gone. Picard season 3 was the last thing even closely resembling Star Trek, and even it had its issues. But what SNW has proven is that what I call Star Trek and what the powers-that-be in the Kurtzman world call “Star Trek” are not the same thing.

The worst part is, this isn’t even the best version of a terrible concept. They could have at least made something that would be memorable enough to sing the songs over and over (whether you want to or not), but that’s not even the case. Looking at it as solely a musical, it’s still mediocre at best .

SNW season 2 was already ranking a lot lower than season 1 to me, but now I don’t think I can even compare them anymore. And once again, the premise of the episode excluded a “Strange New World”. I mean there was a spacial anomaly, and for past Trek’s, that would have sufficed because there may have been more to discover about the anomaly and that could have worked as a “new world”. Instead, we once again explore the feelings, relationships, and dynamics of the crew – just this time in song. The universe be damned! At least we had a chance to see them dance!

Someone in an early post on this article compared this to TOS’s The Naked Time, but I don’t think that’s fair to TOS. The Naked Time was FAR SUPERIOR to this episode in that it gave a plausible reason for the crew to lose their inhibitions, and the interactions were MUCH MORE interesting. The fact that Subspace Rhapsody decided to use the “multiple universes” excuse to somehow explain the idea that a “musical universe” exists and there’s even rules that it follows that were apparently created by Broadway just sits poorly with me. Maybe this can somehow be put into a “out of universe” category and ignored, but SNW season 2 has already had enough other fails that it’s just par for the course.

Star Trek as I knew it and loved it pre-Secret Hideout is officially gone.

Oh, I’ve given up on Secret Hideout Trek over a year ago. For reasons that have been stated here ad nauseum. My only hope is after a lengthy writers & actors strike the Secret Hideout deal is somehow ended. Trek goes away for a bit but resurfaces later with better people involved. Maybe we don’t need self proclaimed Trek fans running things. Just new people who will respect the source material.

This site needs a block button ASAP

I’ve been a proponent of that for quite some time. Doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. My personal block “button” has been to see a name of someone I no longer wish to engage and just move past the post without reading a word. It does work pretty good.

…. because people having a different opinion should be blocked?…..I’m assuming IDIC is not your thing.

To be fair, for me it’s not about different opinions/takes. I’ve only done that to people who were insulting, stalkers or troublemakers. And of the few I’ve done it to all but one has been banned. And the last one I just don’t see around all that much anymore.

Dude… we know. We ALL know. I’m all for everyone sharing their perspectives but you just spam the same ones over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. We know what you think. We get it.

Who’s “we”? You don’t get to speak every everyone. You don’t like what I say then either ignore it or engage me and talk about it. No need to react in such a way. It’s not a good look.

Cut the music from it and it is watchable. I hate musicals and this did not sway me!

In space, everyone can hear you sing!

Well I just checked IMDB and yeah this is not going to be the runaway hit I thought it might be just reading some of the first reactions. At the moment, the episode sits at 6.6. Thats very low for this show. Not Discovery ratings low, but low for SNW. It’s the second lowest ranked episode of the show overall with Elysian Kingdom being the lowest with 6.1. And it’s the only other episode that has fallen in the 6 category out of 19 episodes.

Of course it’s early it can still move up (or move down) but starting that low from the start tells me this episode is a divisive one and probably will stay between 6.5-7. It’s not going to be a fan favorite, put it that way.

Now compare that to Those Old Scientists that started with a 9.4 rating immediately after it aired and currently sits at 9.2. And that is still the top rated rated episode of the show overall.

“Elysian Kingdom” has a 6.1…? That’s preposterous.

LOL, sad but true!

But I will admit, on a rewatch of it, it’s not as strong as I originally felt and it’s the second worst episode of season 1 for me. The pacing felt super slow as well. I wouldn’t rate it that low personally but probably in the low 7’s.

As far as Subspace Rhapsody, yeah a 6.5 is about where I would rate that one so it’s right on target for me.

I’d be interested in seeing the distribution of when the scores were submitted. If there were a slew of low scores within moments of it being possible to watch the episode, that would maybe be indicative of some reactionary brigading.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that’s happened here – people are 100% allowed to like/dislike what they want – but it is curious.

Reading more of the reviews, it reflects the score because it doesn’t seem to be a lot of people in the middle. The people who like it seems to REALLY like it and the people who hate it REALLY hates it. But sure I would be curious too.

But no one should be surprised lol. Most people thought it was a weird idea from the start and many were apprehensive about it. Very few people thought this was an amazing idea. But I think a lot more people liked it than they thought they would and that includes myself.

But making a Star Trek ‘musical’ a home run for a lot of hardcore sci fi geeks was always going to be an uphill battle.

lol, yeah, I’m not surprised in the least bit surprised at the reviews given the what these pages have been like over the last few weeks. I don’t have any problem with people disliking the episode, but I know some folks heralded the mere concept as the Death of Star Trek, which just seemed silly to me.

Definitely an uphill battle. It was successful for me, and that’s the vote I care most about. :)

That’s not a horrible rating either. The reality is MOST Trek episodes there usually fall between 6 and 7 which is about average. Anything 5 and below is considered bad. So people definitely didn’t like it, but it’s not a trash rating or anything.

And I liked the episode as well, but that’s about the rating I would give it personally as well.

yeah, I think I’d likely give it ~7/10

I tend to rate things on a 1-5 scale, without decimal options, with 3 being the typical about which I have no disqualifying complaints. I’d probably put this at 4 overall on that rubric

Btw Tiger2, I think you said this a few weeks ago, that a musical episode would draw attention from the mainstream entertainment media and not just the science fiction pundits. Well after looking at this morning’s coverage, it looks like you were right. From the LA Times to the EW, Variety (which has picked up many SNW stories), Vuture and The Guardian just to name a few. No, not as much as the Picard finale, but no bad. We shall see if it translates to the Nielson ratings.

Wow that is great to hear! :)

Not surprising this episode would bring some non-Trek media buzz for a change. It’s a big first for what they did and its great people are paying attention.

I’m pretty sure the ratings will be huge. I don’t know as big as TOS because people genuinely seem very excited about the crossover. This is more out of curiosity but I think every Trek fan who has P+ probably watched it, at least a little.

Haha TOS now has a new meaning!! Very appropriate!

No it doesn’t.

Well it has another meaning now which I think DeanH means.

Every time I see it I think one thing.

Sorry. It’s engrained.

I think pretty much everyone here does as well.

As you have said, the posts for E9 really seem to demonstate people either really liked it or hated it. As a kid, I grew up loving Star Trek and science fiction, but my parents also loved musicals, music and singing (along with sports and good food) so I really liked last night’s episode. That said, I totally understand why some are appalled of the thought of a musical episode and why the concept was polarizing. An “uphill battle” indeed, but one I personally am happy they took on.

Yeah it’s actually funny reading the reviews here. One post says ‘this was absolutely fantastic and a stunning achievement that is now the best episode to date’ but then the next one after that is ‘I am appalled this thing even exists and someone should be fired for making this embarrassment’. Yeah VERY divided man. ;)

But I actually went back to see what the review rating is on IMDB now and it actually went up . It’s currently at 6.9 now which is pretty impressive that it jumped this high in a day. It will fluctuate for weeks obviously but I might have to take back my original assessment and this ends up being a bit more popular than what I thought. The episode may ultimately land in the 7s somewhere. Still not amazing, but certainly an improvement if it happens.

I don’t follow into either of those. I didn’t hate it, like usual. Nor was it great. It started out promising but ended up, meh. Which is pretty good for SNW.

Same, I’m mostly in the middle like you are. I didn’t cry with joy watching it but I didn’t feel like I was being tortured by watching it either. ;)

IMDb users have some biases. Rom-coms and pure romances don’t tend to do all that well. Musicals are a little hit or miss there but they usually have a rabid fan base to combat the naysayers (I can’t really explain The Greatest Showman outranking Chicago otherwise).

I’m guessing a lot Trek fans in general are not big musical fans either. Again you can’t be surprised because for two months now on this board people were complaining about it being a musical. It was always going to be a hard sell. But I did think maybe after it ran and seeing how much others loved it, it would be a bigger hit kind of the Lower Decks crossover turned out. But as this board is proving, it’s a pretty divided view.

You remember how divisive Vic Fontaine was at the time. Still is, probably.

LOL oh yeah! ;)

horrible turned it off

What the f was that

I’m not a fan of musicals, but had to sit through the whole thing anyway in case there was some plot progression elsewhere. It was torture. Thankfully I don’t ever have to watch it again if I ever return to rewatch SNW.

I’m happy to see the mostly positive reaction to this episode. It works because the writers have taken the time to give over two seasons and just 19 episodes (more for Pike thanks to Discovery) to let us get to know these characters. I have a better understanding of this crew than I ever did for VOY, ENT and especially Discovery. SNW, like TOS, TNG and DS9 is a true ensemble cast. Will this be an episode I rewatch often? Probably not. It was a heck of a showcase though for the talent of the writers, crew and especially the cast. Hate that the season is almost over and season 3 feels a long, long way away thanks to the current strikes.

Finale looks like a doozy with Pike likely to encounter more heartache and misery.

Shout out to Wil Wheaton on The Ready Room too. He does a nice job hosting and I enjoyed his interview with the very lovely and talented Christina Chong.

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An all-musical episode of Star Trek? Something that’s never before been done in almost 60 years of television and cinematic history? Folks might say the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds may have jumped the shark. I would say they have, at worst, tossed a tribble. Let’s do a quick dive into last week’s highly anticipated (and romance-heavy) episode, “Subspace Rhapsody”.

Please note: spoilers ahead for the episode .

We open on the Enterprise’s latest discovery: a naturally occurring subspace fold that could be used to triple the speed of communications. Spock absolutely must dive head-first into its analysis. (Could he possibly be overworking to avoid those pesky emotions around Nurse Chapel? Eyebrows point to yes.) Which naturally takes up so much juice, Uhura has to do communications “the old-fashioned way” and has become the ship’s de facto switchboard operator. As we watch, she routes calls to the crew with a degree of romantic foreboding. 

Just like any other musical worth its salt, the bulk of this episode was all about the romance, focusing on the current big three couples: Captain Pike & Captain Batel, La’an & James Kirk, and Nurse Chapel & Spock. One of these three escapes this episode unscathed, and spoiler alert, it’s not the one you’re rooting for.

(Chris and Marie’s relationship has gotten a fair amount of mileage this season and while I could watch Melanie Scrofano in anything forever and always, it mostly feels like a series of contrived issues to give something for Pike to do outside of the business of Captaining. This episode is no exception, with them quibbling over taking a vacation on a planet called Crivo, something she loves but Pike feels is too touristy.)

In the process of trying to see if this subspace fold will actually accelerate the communications, they make a last-ditch effort to subvert the physics of the fold (just hang with the space talk, we will get there) by sending the “Great American Songbook” as a message, hoping it will reach someone. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. As a mysterious wave hits the ship, everyone’s eyebrows (and Pike’s hair) raise a little higher. 

And then, Spock starts singing.

Listen, I’m going to level with you here on two things. First, as Beckett Mariner pointed out a few episodes back, “I’m going to keep this like 100% profesh but I was thoroughly unprepared for how hot young Spock was going to be.” We, as an audience, didn’t need another reminder of how wonderfully talented Ethan Peck is, it’s just overkill at this point. But secondly and more importantly, it sort of works? They sing about how terribly strange this phenomenon is and well, it is. But the entire cast jumps in head first with the camp and the cheese and we just believe it. We’re along for this absurd ride.

So, why are they singing? By sending the songbook into the fold, they’ve created a quantum uncertainty field which creates a musical reality. Does that make total sense? Not really. But it’s said with a lot of Trek language, so we (and the crew) go along with it.

Television is no stranger to mid-season musical episodes, and while Star Trek hasn’t gone there in its nearly 60 years, they hit many of the same beats which is to say, accelerated character growth. It’s as if someone hit warp speed on some of the character beats we’d been expecting for a while now. La’an has a lovely Fantine-style song where she decides to finally confess to Kirk the whole business of sort of being in love with another time version of him. (Breaking a rather serious time law, which will absolutely come back to haunt her, and yet, we love a reckless romantic moment.) And we learn that while Kirk felt something akin to a connection to her, he’s sort of in a relationship with this woman named Carol who may or may not be pregnant. Whoopsy-daisy.

(Oh, that’s right, we suddenly remember Kirk is a player.)

Our other heartbreaking romance is that of Nurse Chapel and Spock. At the top of the episode we see Christine get accepted to a fellowship, (she’s been trying for several over the last few episodes, ending one a few weeks ago with a rejection from the Vulcans) and she’s over the moon about it, but cold as ice to Spock. They’d been on the outs since the crossover episode where Boimler disclosed to her that Spock will go on to do many incredible, important things; but none of them where he’s happily in love. Depressingly, she continues to push him away, and Spock, with all his big Vulcan feelings, sings a very sad love song about math.

(I didn’t say this episode was completely void of cringe moments, mind you. Just that it was worth the ride.)

There were two great standouts I have to mention. The first being Rebecca Romijn, who spends most of the episode expressing Commander Una’s joy in finally getting to live her truth and singing to La’an and Kirk to inspire them. Romijn commits to the bit, and I love to watch her get a little goofy in this role, dancing through the halls of the Enterprise. She’s a delight to watch.

But the gold star goes to Celia Rose Gooding, who has been absolutely killing it this season with Uhura’s story arc and this episode is no exception. And boy, does she have some pipes! Ultimately it is she, as the ship’s Communication Officer, that bands the 200+ crew together (plus a ship of rapping Klingons, I swear to Q) for one show-stopper finale that hits the right frequency to zip the fold right back up. 

I love camp in Star Trek , and this episode rode the line pretty hard between that and cringe. Was it the single best musical episode of television I’ve ever seen? No. For all my marbles, that award likely goes to Buffy the Vampire Slayer ’s “Once More With Feeling” and let me tell you, the way my spouse and I flew off the couch hearing someone mention “bunnies” during this episode, I think that one was on the writer’s minds as well. 

I’m not sure that we’ll see another musical in Star Trek ever again, but we appreciate this cast for boldly going where no Trek cast has gone before. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds airs Thursdays on Paramount+

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'Khan!!! The Musical!' is a wacky 'Star Trek' adaptation best served live Off-Broadway

"Star Trek: TNG's" Data delivers a Trek-tacular musical parody of "The Wrath of Khan"

Director Nicholas Meyer's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is widely considered to be the best of the "Star Trek" movies and consistently takes the top spot in any respectable ranking. Now, the beloved Hollywood sci-fi film from 1982 will serve as loose inspiration for a wild new live theater production in New York City this spring.

Peekskill Productions just announced their official run dates for " Khan!!! The Musical!: A Parody Trek-tacular, " co-written, composed, and lyrics by Brent Black, co-conceived and additional materials by Alina Morgan, and directed by John Lampe. 

This irresistible interpretation plays a limited five-week engagement inside Off-Broadway's Players Theatre in New York City. Performances begin May 4 and continue through June 4. 

Opening Night is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25-$65 and are available at www.khaniscoming.com or by calling the theater at 212-475-1449. In addition to the nightly performances, Saturdays and Sundays offer a 2 p.m. matinee.

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Here’s the official description:

"It is 2366, and Data the Android presents his campy musical adaptation of "'The Wrath of Khan.' In this sci-fi send-up, an older Captain Kirk is experiencing a 'coming of middle age' story when his nemesis Khan escapes exile and vows revenge. The ensuing cat-and-mouse game sparks an adventure that includes Vulcan tap dancing, Kirk’s long-lost son (a William Shatner impersonator), and of course ... mutant space chickens!"

Creator and composer Brent Black is likely one of the few hardcore Trekkies in the universe whose fandom arose specifically out of the "Star Trek" movies themselves. 

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"I watched a little bit of " The Next Generation " as a kid, but around 2009, I watched the first seven "Star Trek" movies in pretty close succession and loved them," Black tells Space.com. "Around that time I also started exploring various "Star Trek" TV shows , but my gateway really was the series of movies including "The Wrath of Khan.

"In 2015, I went to a weird dance show in Brooklyn that had a pair of dancing astronauts; and I suddenly thought "These two kind of look like Chekov and Terrell in "The Wrath of Khan." And I started thinking about what it would be like to write a musical based on the movie. Pretty soon I had an outline, but I couldn't quite figure out a framing device that would explain why it was a musical. I thought the character of "Q" might be a narrator retelling the story in a way he found more interesting. But my friend Alina Morgan suggested that it should be Data presenting his musical version of the Khan story on the Holodeck. From there, I was off and running.

"One thing I learned in developing this show is that if you say "I'm writing a "Star Trek" parody musical," a lot of people are immediately skeptical. But a lot of time and craftsmanship has gone into making a show that's a loving roast of the "Trek" universe while simultaneously being a toe-tapping musical with heart and depth. One of the coolest surprises throughout the show's 7-year development has been how the folks who have never watched "Star Trek" have a really great time.”

For director John Lampe, this project was a nostalgic return to the colorful sci-fi realm that Gene Roddenberry conjured up and was later expanded into "Trek" films, TV shows, books, and comics.

"There were infinite worlds and even better; infinite adventures," Lampe explains to Space.com. "And we only saw the voyages of one starship! I loved imagining how many different stories could be told with the crew of the Enterprise , not to mention all of the other ships in Starfleet!

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"One of the things that I've always loved about TOS in particular was just how much had to be done on a limited budget and with a limited amount of time. That's certainly something that we can relate to in the theatre world. It also lends itself to some pretty exciting creative opportunities. When you can't throw $5 million at a problem, you've got to think of some unorthodox ways to address it, whether that's a pithy new line, a wholly rewritten scene or sometimes, a slightly visible zipper on the back on an alien costume. 

"One thing that Brent and I are both passionate about is making this show appealing not only to long term fans but to casual theatre goers alike. Whether you've seen every episode of every series, wore out your paperback copy of " The Eugenics Wars ," or you've never watched a single frame of a "Star Trek" film or show, "Khan!!!" has something for you." 

" Khan!!! The Musical!: A Parody Trek-tacular " warps onto its New York stage from May 4 to June 4.

Follow us @Spacedotcom on Facebook and Instagram .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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Why Detmer & Owosekun Were Missing From Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Explained By Showrunner

Warning: This Article Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery's Series Finale - "Life, Itself"

• The actors playing Lt. Commanders Detmer and Owosekun had scheduling conflicts, explaining their absence in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.
• Showrunner Michelle Paradise clarified that the beloved characters were not benched, but Emily Coutts and Oyin Oladejo had other projects.
• Detmer and Owo return in Star Trek: Discovery's series finale.

Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Michelle Paradise reveals why Lt. Commanders Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) missed most of season 5. Detmer and Owo were USS Discovery bridge crew members and familar faces since Star Trek: Discovery season 1. However, audiences couldn't help but notice that Detmer and Owosekun were absent for much of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 and replaced by Lt. Commander Asha (Christina Dixon) and Commander Lorna Jemison (Zahra Bentham).

Michelle Paradise responded to @RommelVFX on X and set the record straight that scheduling conflicts is the reason why Detmer and Owosekun didn't appear throughout most of Star Trek: Discovery season 5. Read Paradise's post below:

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Why Detmer & Owosekun's Absence Mattered In Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Discovery's final season wasn't the same without detmer and owo..

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 introduced a mostly new bridge crew, with Lt. Commander Asha taking over for Keyla Detmer at the helm of the USS Discovery and Commander Jemison subbing for Joann Owosekun at operations. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors" , Detmer and Owosekun were assigned to pilot the Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise to Federation HQ by Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). This explained Detmer and Owo's absence for the rest of Discovery season 5.

Detmer and Owo do appear in Star Trek: Discovery's epilogue scene.

Detmer and Owosekun's absence was felt by longtime Star Trek: Discovery fans who wanted their characters' backstories and personalities fleshed out, especially since season 5 was Disco 's final season. However, scheduling conflicts prevented Emily Coutts and Oyin Oladejo from being in every episode of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, and the fact that there won't be a Star Trek: Discovery season 6 means it's now a lost opportunity. However, Detmer and Owo do appear in Star Trek: Discovery 's epilogue scene, and they were a sight for sore eyes.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is streaming on Paramount+

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Alex Kurtzman

Directors Jonathan Frakes, Olatunde Osunsanmi

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+

Screen Rant

Strange new worlds actors reveal cut star trek musical finale moment & why spock dances.

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Star Trek Strange New Worlds Musical Episode Ending Explained

Star trek: strange new worlds’ musical started as a "joke" that created an "unbreakable" bond within the cast, what happened to kelly ellard in real life after under the bridge.

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode concludes with a grand finale showcasing the power of unity and camaraderie among the crew.
• Lt. Spock's logical decision to dance in the musical finale helps boost subspace rift's 'improbability levels,' aiding the crew in saving the galaxy.
• A bonding moment between Uhura and La'an highlights the ensemble's support for each other, showcasing a sense of solidarity and friendship, but it was cut from the episode.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' Celia Rose Gooding and Christina Chong reveal a cut moment from the finale of the first-ever Star Trek musical, and Ethan Peck explains why Lt. Spock decided to dance in the closing musical number, "We Are One." Strange New Worlds season 2's acclaimed musical episode, "Subspace Rhapsody," was written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff and directed by Dermot Downs. All of the songs were composed by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce from Letters to Cleo. The musical required the entire cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to sing and dance, and everyone embraced the musical with gusto.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode, a subspace rift created a reality defined by the rules of musicals that threatened to engulf the entire galaxy. Meanwhile, aboard the USS Enterprise, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew unwittingly express their deepest feelings and emotions through songs. Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) deduced that to close the subspace rift, the crew of the Enterprise needed to perform a grand finale, and every single person aboard the starship joined in for the big finish musical number, "We Are One."

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode ended with a rousing grand finale where song was both the problem and the solution to save the galaxy.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Musical Cut A Moment From The Grand Finale

Celia rose gooding explains a missing moment from the musical episode..

In an interview with TV Insider, Celia Rose Gooding and Christina Chong reveal that there was a bonding moment between Ensign Nyota Uhura and Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh that was cut from the final version of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' musical episode 's finale number, "We Are One." Read their quotes below:

Celia Rose Gooding: La’an and Uhura had a little handshake moment that we made up on the spot. Christina Chong: We did! Celia Rose Gooding: We did, but that didn’t make it. But in my mind, there was something so beautiful about that after we finished the song. Our instinct was first to just celebrate one another, and then get back to work. I think that is such a nod to our routine as an ensemble to just check on each other and really boost each other up because we’re doing something that some characters are not super comfortable with and that isn’t their instinct to burst out into song. And so that final moment of camaraderie - of course, it had to be shrunk down for the nature of TV - but in my perfect world, there’s an edit of five minutes of everyone just giving each other compliments.

"We Are One" was a catharsis for the crew of the Starship Enterprise. For La'an, the Strange New Worlds musical's finale reaffirmed her decision to be more open with her feelings, even after her confession that she is attracted to Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) didn't go as she had hoped. Meanwhile, Uhura realized that her role in keeping the crew of the Enterprise connected was a gift, and it empowered her to save the ship. Both La'an and Uhura shed their old inhibitions and took steps forward to becoming happier people .

Watch the full TV Insider interview with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' cast below:

Why Spock Dances In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Musical Finale

Ethan peck knew spock would only dance when it was logical to dance..

Ethan Peck also explained Lt. Spock's decision to dance in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' grand finale, "We Are One." Peck, who understands Spock like Leonard Nimoy did , needed a logical justification for Spock to dance , and he found out. Read Peck's quote below:

Ethan Peck: There was a moment there in that finale where life really imitated art. I mean, that happens so frequently, but never so closely together as in that moment. Spock doesn’t get to participate because, obviously, he doesn’t want to be dancing. I spoke with Dermot, the director, about it. How would Spock dance? Well, I guess he has to to get that meter maxed out so we can break out of the musical reality. And he would do it for that, and so he joins in for the very end of it. So I felt like kind of an outsider. I join in at the very end of that whole sequence. And then Chapel and Spock are sort of on rough terms, and I remember its ending. We had this joyous moment, and then we have kind of a broody look to each other. So my experience was a little bit different from some of the other cast members.

Lt. Spock dancing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical finale did boost the subspace rift's 'improbability levels ', and helped put the Starship Enterprise crew over the top. Unlike Uhura and La'an's moment, the final cut of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' musical included the awkward moment between Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) after the couple ended their relationship through song. What happens next between Spock, Chapel, and the crew of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 remains to be seen, although it won't include another musical episode. (At least not in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3.)

Source: TV Insider

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is available to stream on Paramount+

Inside the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Series Finale: The Last-Minute Coda, the Surprise Easter Eggs, and What Season 6 Would Have Been About (EXCLUSIVE)

SPOILER WARNING: This story includes descriptions of major plot developments on the series finale of “ Star Trek : Discovery,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

Watching the fifth and final season of “ Star Trek: Discovery ” has been an exercise in the uncanny. Paramount+ didn’t announce that the show was ending until after the Season 5 finale had wrapped filming — no one involved with the show knew it would be its concluding voyage when they were making it. And yet, the season has unfolded with a pervasive feeling of culmination. 

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“I think there’s more to it than just, ‘Oh, it was a coinkydink!’” the actor says with a laugh, before explaining that she’s thinking more about subtext than direct intent. “I’ve gotta give Michelle her flowers. She has always asked the deeper questions of this story and these characters. Those questions of meaning and purpose led to questions of origin and legacy, and, yes, that is quite culminating.”

Martin-Green and Paradise spoke exclusively with Variety about filming the finale and the coda, including the surprising revelation about the origins of one of “Discovery’s” most memorable characters and what Paradise’s plans for Season 6 would have been.

“It’s the Most Complicated Thing I’ve Ever Seen”

Once the “Discovery” writers’ room decided the season would be organized around a search for the Progenitor’s technology, they also knew that, eventually, Burnham would find it. So then they had to figure out what it would be.

“That was a discussion that evolved over the course of weeks and months,” Paradise says. Rather than focus on communicating the intricate details of how the technology works, they turned their attention to delivering a visual experience commensurate with the enormity and complexity of something that could seed life across the entire galaxy.

“We wanted a sense of a smaller exterior and an infinite interior to help with that sense of power greater than us,” Paradise says. Inspired in part by a drawing by MC Escher, the production created an environment surrounded by towering windows into a seemingly endless procession of alien planets, in which it’s just as easy to walk on the walls as on the floor. That made for a daunting challenge for the show’s producing director, Olatunde “Tunde” Osunsanmi: As Burnham battles with the season’s main antagonist, Mol (Eve Harlow), inside this volume, they fall through different windows into another world, and the laws of gravity keep shifting between their feet.

“It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever seen, directorially,” Paradise says. “Tunde had a map, in terms of: What did the background look like? And when the cameras this way, what’s over there? It was it was incredibly complex to design and shoot.”

Two of those planets — one in perpetual darkness and rainstorms, another consumed by constant fire — were shot on different parking areas on the Pinewood Toronto studio lot.

“The fire planet was so bright that the fire department got called from someone who had seen the fire,” Paradise says. “It should not be possible to pull those kinds of things off in a television show, even on a bigger budget show, with the time limitations that you have. And yet, every episode of every season, we’re still coming in on time and on budget. The rain planet and the fire planet we shot, I believe, one day after the other.”

Martin-Green jumps in: “Michelle, I think that was actually the same day!”

“It Felt Lifted”

The last time a “Star Trek” captain talked to a being that could be (erroneously) considered God, it was William Shatner’s James T. Kirk in 1989’s “Star Trek: The Final Frontier.” The encounter did not go well.

“I had my own journey with the central storyline of Season 5, just as a believer,” Martin-Green says. “I felt a similar way that Burnham did. They’re in this sort of liminal mind space, and it almost felt that way to me. It felt lifted. It really did feel like she and I were the only two people in this moment.”

It’s in this conversation that Burnham learns that while the Progenitors did create all “humanoid” alien species in the galaxy in their image, they did not create the technology that allowed them to do so. They found it, fully formed, created by beings utterly unknown to them. The revelation was something that Martin-Green discussed with Paradise early on in the planning of Season 5, allowing “Discovery” to leave perhaps the most profound question one could ask — what, or who, came first in the cosmos? — unanswered.

“The progenitor is not be the be all end all of it,” Paradise says. “We’re not saying this is God with a capital ‘G.’”

“There’s Just This Air of Mystery About Him”

Starting on Season 3 of “Discovery,” renowned filmmaker David Cronenberg began moonlighting in a recurring role as Dr. Kovich, a shadowy Federation operative whose backstory has been heretofore undisclosed on the show.

“I love the way he plays Kovich,” Paradise says of Cronenberg. “There’s just this air of mystery about him. We’ve always wanted to know more.” When planning Season 5, one of the writers pitched revealing Kovich’s true identity in the (then-season) finale by harkening back to the “Star Trek” show that preceded “Discovery”: “Enterprise,” which ran on UPN from 2001 to 2005.

In the final episode, when Burnham debriefs her experiences with Kovich, she presses him to tell her who he really is. He reintroduces himself as Agent Daniels, a character first introduced on “Enterprise” as a young man (played by Matt Winston) and a Federation operative in the temporal cold war. 

This is, to be sure, a deep cut even for “Star Trek” fans. (Neither Cronenberg nor Martin-Green, for example, understood the reference.) But Paradise says they were laying the groundwork for the reveal from the beginning of the season. “If you watch Season 5 with that in mind, you can see the a little things that we’ve played with along the way,” she says, including Kovich/Daniels’ penchant for anachonistic throwbacks like real paper and neckties.

“I didn’t know that that was going be there,” Martin-Green says. “My whole childhood came back to me.”

“We Always Knew That We Wanted to Somehow Tie That Back Up”

Originally, Season 5 of “Discovery” ends with Burnham and Book talking on the beach outside the wedding of Saru (Doug Jones) and T’Rina (Tara Rosling) before transporting away to their next adventure. But Paradise understood that the episode needed something more conclusive once it became the series finale. The question was what.

There were some significant guardrails around what they could accomplish. The production team had only eight weeks from when Paramout+ and CBS Studios signed off on the epilogue to when they had to shoot it. Fortunately, the bridge set hadn’t been struck yet (though several standing sets already had been). And the budget allowed only for three days of production.

Then there was “Calypso.” 

To fill up the long stretches between the first three seasons of “Discovery,” CBS Studios and Paramount+ greenlit a series of 10 stand-alone episodes, dubbed “Short Treks,” that covered a wide variety of storylines and topics. The second “Short Trek” — titled “Calypso” and co-written by novelist Michael Chabon — first streamed between Season 1 and 2 in November 2018. It focuses on a single character named Craft (Aldis Hodge), who is rescued by the USS Discovery after the starship — and its now-sentient computer system, Zora (Annabelle Wallis) — has sat totally vacant for 1,000 years in the same fixed point in space. How the Discovery got there, and why it was empty for so long, were left to the viewer’s imagination. 

Still, for a show that had only just started its run, “Calypso” had already made a bold promise for “Discovery’s” endgame — one the producers had every intention of keeping.

“We always knew that we wanted to somehow tie that back up,” says Paradise, who joined the writers’ room in Season 2, and became showrunner starting with Season 3. “We never wanted ‘Calypso’ to be the dangling Chad.”

So much so, in fact, that, as the show began winding down production on Season 5, Paradise had started planning to make “Calypso” the central narrative engine for Season 6. 

“The story, nascent as it was, was eventually going to be tying that thread up and connecting ‘Discovery’ back with ‘Calypso,’” she says.

Once having a sixth season was no longer an option, Paradise knew that resolving the “Calypso” question was non-negotiable. “OK, well, we’re not going to have a season to do that,” she says. “So how do we do that elegantly in this very short period of time?”

“I Feel Like It Ends the Way It Needed to End”

Resolving “Calypso” provided the storytelling foundation for the epilogue, but everything else was about giving its characters one final goodbye.

“We want to know what’s happening to Burnham, first and foremost,” Paradise says. “And we knew we wanted to see the cast again.”

For the latter, Paradise and Jarrow devised a conceit that an older Burnham, seated in the captain’s chair on Discovery, imagines herself surrounded by her crew 30 years prior, so she (and the audience) could connect with them one final time. For the former, the makeup team designed prosthetics to age up Martin-Green and Ajala by 30 years — “I think they were tested as they were running on to the set,” Paradise says with a laugh — to illustrate Burnham and Book’s long and happy marriage together.

Most crucially, Paradise cut a few lines of Burnham’s dialogue with Book from the original Season 5 finale and moved it to a conversation she has with her son in the coda. The scene — which evokes the episode’s title, “Life Itself” — serves as both a culminating statement of purpose for “Discovery” and the overarching compassion and humanity of “Star Trek” as a whole.

To reassure her son about his first command of a starship, Burnham recalls when the ancient Progenitor asked what was most meaningful to her. “Do you know how you would answer that question now?” he asks.

“Yeah, just being here,” Burnham replies. “You know, sometimes life itself is meaning enough, how we choose to spend the time that we have, who we spend it with: You, Book, and the family I found in Starfleet, on Discovery.”

Martin-Green relished the opportunity to revisit the character she’s played for seven years when she’s reached the pinnacle of her life and career. “You just get to see this manifestation of legacy in this beautiful way,” she says. “I will also say that I look a lot like my mom, and that was that was also a gift, to be able to see her.”

Shooting the goodbye with the rest of her cast was emotional, unsurprisingly, but it led Martin-Green to an unexpected understanding. “It actually was so charged that it was probably easier that it was only those three days that we knew it was the end, and not the entirety of season,” she says.

Similarly, Paradise says she’s “not sure” what more she would’ve done had there been more time to shoot the coda. “I truly don’t feel like we missed out on something by not having one more day,” she says. “I feel like it ends the way it needed to end.”

Still, getting everything done in just three days was no small feat, either. “I mean, we worked ’round the clock,” Martin-Green says with a deep laugh. “We were delirious by the end — but man, what a way to end it.”

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