2.01 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - The Broken Circle

[ctg]

A distress call from Lt. Noonien-Singh compels Spock to disobey orders and take the Enterprise and its crew into disputed space on a rescue mission.

IMDB score: 8.0 Runtime: 52 minutes

 

[ctg]

When the first season aired, I really didn't felt compelled to watch it. There was nothing that draw me in, even though the series is brilliantly done, and it's more compelling than Picard. Maybe the reason was that at around the same time I dropped Discovery. I just couldn't stomach another genre twisting series.

However, watching the first season has made me to realize that Anson Mount wouldn't do that to the IP. He is as good captain as any of the others, even with his foreknowledge of the future. Are all the ST captains carved from the same wood?

I really, really bothers me that the Starbase One isn't mentioned or shown in the other ST series. In the last season, it was told that humanity constructed it first to save Earth's ecospheres. Then you look at its size, and it's bigger than the classical space yard over Earth. In fact, it is so humongous that it can serve ten times the number of ships than Earth's Space Doc. And it has fliers. Almost as if it was meant to act as guardian for the Inner Solar System.

The season stars with Cpt Pike telling us that USS Enterprise is getting fixed, while the Number One rots in the Federation prison cell, waiting for the brass to drop a hammer on her being a genetically modified human specimen. Una didn't want Pike to intervene, to fight on her behalf. But being a stubborn bull, that was the only thing the captain was focused, since he couldn't take the Enterprise out from the docking bay.

I guess Spock really let out his anger and human side in the last episode, as not only he's harbouring a mutiny with the bridge crew, he's doing it outside sight of any yellow shirts. I don't think this was in Pike's mind, when he ordered Spock to finish the inspections.

The whole thing of Spock claiming, "I have to save her," is speaking strongly about his emotions. The admiral is right, because he could just sit on his arse for 30 days and wait for the mining planet to rotate back to the human crew, instead of doing a Grand Theft Auto on Enterprise. It would be an easy solution and there was no point, where the admiral was saying that they were going to abandon Noonian-Singh to the mercy of Klingon's (and their ninja masters).

Why is it that the sec officers always gets in trouble? In the ST settings, it is almost like a classical trope. Something that they have to use at some point.

I loved that in order to get the wagon on route, the biggest obstacle turned out to be an Academy Professor Commander Pelia heading the Inspection Team not giving rats ars* on the evacuation order. Personally, I've been in the same shoes with my engineering projects, because once you build it, you'll know what's generally wrong.

I laughed out loud when she spilled the GTA reason on Spock face. I laughed even harder when she patronized Spock's inability to lie, and took command of the whole nicking process. The old lady obviously wanted to take the flagship for a spin and there was nothing stopping her from doing that, even if she wasn't included in the theft from the beginning. One just has to do it right,

She fits right in as a proud Enterprise Chief Engineer. But Spock has a lot of work ahead if he wants to be a real captain at some point. "I want ship to go. Now!" is no real order to press the pedal on the floor and light up the warp engines. Mister Spock, you can do better than that. Your engaging order needs more flair.

Now, those are proper ridges! I'm really glad that Strange New Worlds decided to abandon Discovery style, and embrace classical Klingon features. But it pissed me off that the only real trouble Lt Noonian-Singh were in was a drinking game. Even she was surprised that her "urgent" line worked so well.

The real problem turned out to be the old quick profits scheme for reigniting the Klingon War and continuing to strip mine the Lithium planet from all of its resources. In the grand scheme of things that is laughable, because what is it that you can spend money on in the Federation Space? A sport-car collection?

Well, the current planetary warlord had decided to use monthly profits to build a federation vessel to reignite that war. And then stupidly, he had no medical personnel on board the vessel. So he kidnapped Nurse Chapel and the doc, who turned out to be a war veteran and willing to inject himself with combat chemicals in order to gain an edge over the engineering crew and 30 soldiers.

Man, ST chemicals are something else or then the doc is secretly a superman.

Red Ring Particles! Mind blown! I recently read that Saturn is going to lose its rings in around 150 000 years, or around in 3 galactic revolutions. But I never would have imagined red ring particles because Saturn rings are made of ice. Red Ice would suggest some massive chemical mix.

While the Enterprise was receiving fire from the faux fed vessel, I thought what James T Kirk do and that's exactly what Spock were doing while withholding fire. Except he was also waiting for doc's signal. Then it was the moment he could not let pass, and there was no signal when he ordered to fire torpedoes.

Spock was willing to sacrifice a few soul to prevent countless millions from dying. Even the Klingon captain he saved did see that Spock were no typical Vulcan. Cheers for "the Vulcan that acts like non Vulcan!"

Admiral were righteously pissed, but he didn't take Spock's commission. Next week, we'll see Pike saving First in similarish circumstances, yes?

 

[REBerg]

A great start to the second season -- too long in arriving.
I continue to be impressed with the writers' skill in capturing the aura of the original series without slipping into blatant fan service.
The addition of Carol Kane to the crew is a casting coup. She's a treasure. I hope she has a long stay aboard the Enterprise.

 

[Dave]

Now, those are proper ridges!

But should they have ridges at all? Hasn't the Klingon Augment Virus not begun to make them all look like swarthy humans by now. If not then it does within the next 10 years.

Man, ST chemicals are something else or then the doc is secretly a superman.

I suddenly though that I was in a D+D game - unmapped corridors full of low level monsters and a magic potion of strength!

The addition of Carol Kane to the crew is a casting coup. She's a treasure. I hope she has a long stay aboard the Enterprise.

I thought I hadn't heard of her, but of course I have:

‘Strange New Worlds’ Star Carol Kane Discusses Her Character’s ‘Unique’ Accent and Why She’s Never Seen ‘Star Trek’

It seems that the Lanthanites are some kind of immortals. Spock expresses how he is impressed by the Lanthanite's ability to live among Humans undiscovered until the 22nd Century. Just wait until he finds out about what the El Aurians have been doing!

The Gorn are the obvious baddy to introduce. We need some enemy threat. We can't use Klingons or Romulans and nothing else has been discovered yet. My problem with the Gorn is that I always think about the man in the rubber suit throwing polystyrene rocks at Kirk. I just can't see past that!

 

[ctg]

suddenly though that I was in a D+D game - unmapped corridors full of low level monsters and a magic potion of strength!

Well, I guess you could see it that way.

But should they have ridges at all?

Proper Klingon, male or female, has ridges and odd fetish toward leather and corsets. And them funny looking steel capped boots.

 

[REBerg]

Screen at the end of the episode

​