Reading Time: 13 minutes This week’s main episode of Strange New Worlds, which was moved up to accommodate the surprise early launch of a crossover episode on July 22, enters difficult territory. On the surface, “Under the Cloak of War” bears some resemblance to facets of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which grappled with Klingon-Federation peace and what […]
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How do we manage our myths around ‘Those Old Scientists’?
Reading Time: 10 minutes I’ll be blunt: I do not like Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated series set in the timeline for The Next Generation, and a crossover element in the first of this past week’s episodes of Strange New Worlds. When it comes to Trek comedy, the non-canon homage series The Orville is more my cup of […]
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Memory, forgetting, and choosing our better selves ‘Among the Lotus Eaters’
Reading Time: 12 minutes Ask and ye shall receive! Last week, when noting the structural approach taken in the first three episodes of Strange New Worlds Season 2, I expressed a hope for one focused on Erica Ortegas, while also noting that, as a foil character, she might best serve in an episode where she supports others. Lo and […]
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‘Ad Astra per Aspera’: How we escape from hardship into wonder
Reading Time: 11 minutes Last week, I gave the opening episode of Strange New Worlds (SNW) Season Two a bit of a pass: I called it a “mission statement” more than a typical outing from this version of the Enterprise. The plot and script seemed intent on solidifying character gains from the first season, and there were whole sections […]
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How do we heal ‘The Broken Circle’ in ourselves, our worlds?
Reading Time: 10 minutes Last year, Strange New Worlds offered a breath of fresh air in a sea of Star Trek-themed shows that demonstrated little patience with the original groundwork of the franchise. From Discovery‘s relentless reinvention of its world to serve the lead character’s journey, to Lower Decks‘ erasure of a post-scarcity economy to give us a crew […]
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The five shows your parents watch
Reading Time: 7 minutes As of this writing, season 4 of Manifest is the top-rated English language TV show in the world. At the bottom of the list is season 1 of Manifest. Combined, the two seasons have been watched for nearly 80,000,000 hours on Netflix alone. I was first introduced to this show at my parents’ house while they binged it. […]