(inspirational music)
- Alien frequencies opens.
(atmospheric music)
- Hit it.
(gentle music)
(spaceship whirring)
- [Narrator] With Star Trek Strange New Worlds
set to begin in May, we are getting very close
to the launch of the fifth Star Trek series
since the franchise was reignited in 2017
with Star Trek Discovery.
Fans have been lukewarm at best
with most of what new Star Trek
has had to offer.
Discovery's Rotten Tomato score is a paltry 37%,
and Picard's first season only comes
in slightly better at 54%.
Strange New Worlds is the next
live-action series to be released,
and everyone is hoping
the third time is the charm,
and there are a lot of good reasons to hope.
The series is led by Anson Mount,
who plays Captain Christopher Pike,
the character responsible
for getting Star Trek's original series
pilot green-lit almost 58 years ago.
In fact, it was primarily Pike
and Mount's portrayal of the Star Trek trailblazer
that breathed life into Star Trek Discovery,
which was coming off a disastrous opening season.
With Discovery safely off into the future,
fans clamored for more Pike.
- Good to be back.
- [Narrator] And after not listening to fans
for two seasons of Discovery
and one season of Picard,
Star Trek universe overlord, Alex Kurtzman,
decided it time to listen.
And while some fans are still skeptical,
there is hope that Strange New Worlds
can rise to the expectations
of longtime Star Trek fans.
And this isn't wild speculation.
Strange New World's co-creator,
Akiva Goldsman and Anson Mount,
have made sure to continuously let fans know
that longtime fans will love the show,
and that while it will have a story arc,
it will be episodic
and closer in style to the original series.
And with the addition of Uhura, Nurse Chapel,
a connection Khan, and young Spock in the mix,
the production team has done everything they can
to create more connections
to the original Star Trek series
to get fans excited.
So what exciting new things is Strange New Worlds
planning to hit us with?
A lot, and some revealing new information
was just uncovered.
So you don't wanna miss this episode.
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- This isn't reality.
- [Narrator] The good news about Strange New Worlds
began before the show even launched.
Just last month,
the show was green-lit for a second season.
While we'd like to say
this lends confidence that Paramount+
thinks the show will be successful,
the truth is that nearly every series
in the Star Trek universe
was given an additional season.
The reality is that Paramount
is all in on the Star Trek universe
they are building.
And while you used to have to show advertisers
that people are watching,
now the streaming service
only needs to add new subscribers
and keep current subscribers from leaving.
And if you are a fan of new Star Trek,
then hearing you are about to get
a whole lot more of it
will keep you around
and perhaps get the attention
of the people who may be on the fence.
But that also doesn't mean
Strange New Worlds will be bad.
Mount has already proven
that he can steal the show,
and we only got a small sample of Number One,
who was being played by Rebecca Romjin.
Her character is interesting
and fans are eager to see her synergy
with Pike and young Spock,
but those aren't the only names
that got everyone's attention.
The addition of Nyota Uhura
to the show came as a surprise.
We knew Spock would be on the show,
but to add a second marquee
original character to the series
was totally unexpected.
Uhura be played by Celia Rose Gooding.
Gooding is a new actress,
coming off a role
in Alanis Morissette's rock musical,
Jagged Little Pill,
where she won the 2020 Tony Award
for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical.
Little was previous known about
how Strange New Worlds would portray Uhura.
However, a clip from Strange New Worlds
was recently made available to the media,
and we can finally share
some exciting news for fans of her.
While we can't show you the clip,
we can describe what we've seen,
and it gives a good idea
of what to expect going forward.
But before we break it all down,
let me quickly tell you why
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- Oh.
Yeah, thank you for fixing it.
It was, it was broken.
- [Narrator] The clip that we are about to break down
apparently comes from the show's first episode.
The sneak peek does feature
most of the series's main characters,
including Captain Pike,
Number One, Spock, Nurse Chapel,
Erica Ortegas, and Hemmer,
but it's cadet Nyota Uhura who took the spotlight
and gave us new insight
into the original series's character.
The clip begins with Uhura
putting on her dress uniform,
exiting the turbolift to meet
with a more casually-dressed Lieutenant Ortegas.
Apparently Ortegas thought it would be funny
to tell Uhura that she should wear
her dress uniform to the dinner gathering
Captain Pike is hosting.
This is apparently hazing
on the Starship Enterprise,
and it is delivered and accepted
good-naturedly and with kindness.
Once Uhura and Ortegas arrive at Pike's party,
we see that Uhura is the guest of honor.
We learn she is new to the ship
and has been selected
from thousands of applicants.
Pike and the others gathered
are curious to learn more about her.
She speaks 37 languages and is still not sure
if she wants to be in Starfleet.
Pike asks her how someone so unsure
could put in so much work
to get where she is today,
and Uhura gives us her backstory,
which was thin and almost nonexistent
in the original series.
Uhura tells them she's always planned
to study alien languages
at the University of Nairobi,
where her parents were both professors.
An accident that claimed the lives
of a her parents and her older brother
changed everything for her.
She couldn't be on campus without them,
so she moved in with her grandmother
who was a former Starfleet officer
and spoke highly of her time in the service.
One thing led to another
and now Uhura is a cadet
on the coolest ship in the fleet.
"So you ran away to Starfleet," Pike tells her.
Uhura doesn't seem offend.
Pike continues,
"I sincerely hope you find a place
where you feel you do fit,
wherever that may be."
Uhura then speaks about
not being sure where she belongs
and the camera lingers on Spock,
who we know should connect with her sentiment.
This is only a clip, but it gives us a great idea
of how we can expect Strange New Worlds to begin.
Gooding has said she wants to pay homage
to the level of brilliance and grace
Michelle Nichols brought to the role,
but also to explore a side of uncertainty
in this younger version of the character,
so that she is more multi-faceted.
But a deeper look at Uhura
wasn't the only thing we learned.
When it was announced that Christina Chong
from Star Wars Episode VII
would be playing a series regular
named La'an Noonien-Singh,
speculation on her connection
to Captain Kirk's legendary foe Khan
quickly became a hot topic in the fandem.
- Oh, sir, it was Khan.
- Khan!
- [Narrator] The confirmation came
during the Strange New World's
Television Critics Association
panel on February 1st.
Alex Kurtzman confirmed that La'an
was for sure related to Khan.
He said the deal will unfold.
"We don't want to bring folks
into the show to be splashy.
We want to dig deeper into characters
that are a part of our ensemble."
Kurtzman's desire to be forthcoming
about the connection
between La'an and Khan is good,
Considering his involvement in the debacle
that had him and JJ Abrams
denying Benedict Cumberbatch was playing Khan,
and instead, he was a character
named John Harrison.
Even though we are aware
that there is a connection,
we aren't aware of what that connection is.
Taking a good look at
Strange New World's IMDB page reveals
that Cameron Roberts will be playing
Manu Noonien-Singh for two episodes of the show.
Perhaps he is a brother?
The plot thickens.
Also released at this year's TCA panel
was the official key art for Strange New Worlds.
The poster features a character on horseback
as the Enterprise hovers overhead
with the tagline, "The frontier is Waiting."
Could that be Pike?
We'll have to wait and see.
Strange New Worlds will air
on the same day as Picard's final
season two episode on May 5th.
So what do you think?
Are you excited to learn more about Uhura?
What do you think of having
a Khan connection on this Enterprise?
Do you think Strange New Worlds
can raise the bar for good new Star Trek shows?
Will Nurse Chapel fall in love with Spock again?
Let's talk about it in the comments below.
Also, check out this awesome Star Trek
Captain Pike-inspired graphic design
from the amazing artists at MixedTees.com.
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- Scotty, beam me up.
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(atmospheric music)