This evaluation comprises spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 episode 7, “Those Old Scientists,” in addition to spoilers for Star Trek: Picard season 3, each at present accessible for streaming on Paramount+.
“Those Old Scientists,” the crossover between SNW and Star Trek: Lower Decks, isn’t simply an opportunity to see half of Beta Shift in reside-motion. It’s additionally an insightful meta-examination of the state of the Franchise, and a key entry in probably the greatest storylines of the present Trek renaissance. Written by Kathryn Lyn and Bill Wolkoff and directed by Jonathan Frakes, this episode is an instant Starfleet classic. Yee-haw!
“Those Old Scientists”
In “Those Old Scientists,” Ensigns Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) journey again in time over a century to go to the USS Enterprise below the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). As viewers of Lower Decks may think, this causes each of the Starfleet-obsessed Ensigns the prospect to gush over the private heroes they’ve lengthy idolized like by no means earlier than.
The episode faucets into this ingredient of the crossover by offering a number of pictures from the POV of Boimler, collapsing the gap between the viewer and the Beta Shifter to offer a singular glimpse of what visiting the Enterprise may actually be like. This ensures the vitality of the characters is handed alongside to the viewer all through the episode, and offers us the prospect to geek out proper alongside the Cali Class characters.
This contagious enthusiasm got here immediately from the passion the actors have for the fabric themselves. In the “Those Old Scientists” episode of The Ready Room, hosted by Wil Wheaton (and in addition at present accessible for streaming), it was revealed that Newsome was awed by the set throughout her time there.
“My favorite thing to watch on that set was [Newsome] touching things,” stated Quaid. “Just [her] being in awe of actually being on the Enterprise. And [she] was Mariner, in that moment. But the amount of things [she] broke on that set…”
“Yeah, it was a lot,” conceded Newsome.
The episode used a wide range of instruments to convey the animated characters to reside-motion, together with animated segments, spectacularly correct costumes, incredible element (just like the poster within the chilly open) and a rating by Nami Melumad that paid homage to the work Chris Westlake has carried out on Lower Decks. Combined with the distinctive versatility of Strange New Worlds as a sequence, a seamless amalgamation of the 2 reveals was achieved the place there may have been the equal of a soda-machine “suicide.”
Orions Revisited
The Orion have been first launched within the unique Star Trek pilot, “The Cage.” While Orion went on to look in a number of extra reveals, together with Star Trek: Enterprise, the primary totally realized Orion character didn’t seem till Lower Decks. Historically, the Orion are notorious for being pirates who have interaction within the trafficking of sentient beings.
However, Ensign D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) continues to subvert these expectations by proving to be a sort, selfless, enthusiastic scientist who is steadily coming into her personal, virtually actually to change into Starfleet’s first Orion captain. This storyline was emphasised in Lower Decks season 2’s “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris” and season 3’s “Hear All, Trust Nothing” and “Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus.”
But one of many distinctive sides of Trek’s various roster of ongoing reveals is the power to concurrently unfold tales like this throughout time, and at numerous scales. At the time interval throughout which Lower Decks is set, Tendi is one among just a few Orion who’re a part of Starfleet. But by the 25th Century of Picard season 3, lots of the crewmembers aboard the USS Titan-A, which is finally renamed to be the USS Enterprise-G, are Orion. Much later, within the 32nd Century of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, the presence of an Orion cadet confirms that the affiliation between at the least some Orion and Starfleet will final far into the long run.
For this cause, the Orion scientists who’re contemporaries of Pike and his crew play an particularly fascinating function in “Those Old Scientists.” Perhaps the title of the episode refers to those characters in addition to the Enterprise crew.
A quote from one other crossover, the 1998 Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men novel Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman, speaks to the themes of the unfolding Orion meta-narrative. In a line directed at Jean-Luc Picard, Ororo Munroe addresses Jean-Luc Picard: “Being accepted for what we are… it has always been a dream to us, a goal we could hold up but never realistically hope to attain,” she says. “I hope you understand the wonder of a society that judges each being on [their] merits … This is the true miracle of your Federation, Captain. This is your greatest achievement.”
Hopefully, a sequel to “Those Old Scientists” will likely be doable, as it will be particularly fascinating to see Tendi get the prospect to journey again in time and go to her nice-grandmother, maybe shedding extra like on the title “Mistress of the Autumnal Constellations” within the course of.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds x Lower Decks
With the emphasis on fandom within the episode, shock-releasing “Those Old Scientists” early at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 (and streaming on Paramount+ shortly thereafter) was a pleasant cherry on prime of this scrumptious sundae. Hopefully, this episode will convey followers of Lower Decks to Strange New Worlds, and vice-versa.
Is this what Star Trek has change into? I actually hope so, as a result of I may watch an entire lot extra of it.
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