The final frontier is an endless expanse. And there are seemingly an infinite number of “Star Trek” TV series and films ready to explore it.
The past few years have been a very good time to be a “Trek” fan, as the debut of Paramount+ has led to a boom in the “Trek” universe. There’s wartime “Discovery,” nostalgic “Picard,” the animated “Lower Decks” and even a kids series, “Prodigy.”
But the “Trek” series that might be under your radar (or starship sensors) is also the one that best embraces the tone, values and spirit of the original series, as an invigorating, exhilarating and most of all fun take on a voyage among the stars. That series is “Strange New Worlds,” which returned for its second season on Paramount+ Wednesday (★★★½ out of four).
Ostensibly a spinoff of the twisty “Discovery,” “Worlds” abandons the grim tone and convoluted alternate universes of that series. Instead, it opts for a simple story of exploration back on the good old U.S.S. Enterprise, this time captained by Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). It’s set just a few years before the original 1960s “Trek” series, and features a few familiar faces, including a young Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush). The Season 1 finale also introduced a square-jawed, swashbuckling take on a Lieutenant James T. Kirk, played by “Vampire Diaries” star Paul Wesley.
Season 1 introduced its Enterprise crew, a brave and endearing team that’s easy to root for, and established the rhythm of the series. They visit new planets, find adventures, help people, face conundrums and defy Starfleet when it suits them. Sounds easy enough to pull off, but many “Trek” series have failed at this adventure-of-the-week storytelling, especially when trying to mix it with bigger-picture storylines. “Worlds” feels effortless.
The series also has an excellent knack for recalling great episodes from “Trek” series past without remaking or rehashing them. A remarkable early Season 2 episode shares a lot of emotional and plot DNA with original series episode “The City on the Edge of Forever,” which many fans consider to be one of the best “Trek” stories of all time. “Worlds” doesn’t tread on that sacred ground, but simply finds another way to put one of its characters in the terrible position of losing someone they love to save the future of the human race.
Familiar yet unique, “Worlds” is the “Star Trek” series that all others should strive to be. It certainly captures the spirit of “Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry far better than “Discovery” has, even though “Discovery” was the tentpole “Trek” that helped launch Paramount+ when it was still called CBS All Access. Where “Discovery” is dour, “Worlds” is exuberant. Where “Discovery” is often a slog, “Worlds” races by, leaving you hungry for more.
The universe Roddenberry created has been on our screens for almost 60 years, and while plenty of innovation and experimentation remains, the best “Trek” is the “Trek” that never, even for a second, feels like it could be anything else.
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