If you’re not watching “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” then you’re missing out. Sometimes when I watch this show, it feels like the writers are Talosians. They have reached inside my brain, pulled out my innermost desires, and then wrote a story to express that. Except, I often don’t know what my desires for this show are until I’m in the midst of watching it. 

Now for those unaware, I will give you a little TV history lesson. 

In 2017, the show “Star Trek: Discovery” premiered. It took place about ten years before the start of “Star Trek: The Original Series,” in the year 2256. “Star Trek: Discovery,” in my humble opinion, was alright. I loved that Michelle Yeoh played a prominent role in the series, and I appreciated that TV make-up and special effects had advanced enough so that character actors like Doug Jones could play realistic-looking alien characters like Saru. The show was fine, but it wasn’t my favorite. I think the main reason I wasn’t a fan was because the series could occasionally be a downer. It also had way too many Klingons in it.

Here’s my hot take for those not in the know: Klingons are boring.

The second season of “Star Trek: Discovery” made a few casting calls to which fans responded extremely positively. After the events of season one, Discovery needed a new captain, so the person to assume that mantle was Captain Christopher Pike. 

Most Star Trek fans are familiar with the sad story of Christopher Pike from the original series episode “The Menagerie.” In that episode, we meet Christopher Pike in the year 2267. He has suffered a horrible, debilitating injury (while rescuing children, obviously) that has left him permanently disabled and in a brain-wave-operated wheelchair. In my opinion, “The Menagerie,” cleverly re-uses footage shot from the unaired pilot to create a new story that fits in well with the Original Series. This episode also establishes a few things: Captain Pike was the captain of the Enterprise before Kirk, he had a woman as his second-in-command, and Spock was on his team as well, although he didn’t quite resemble the coldly-logical man we knew from “The Original Series.” In “The Menagerie,” Spock risks a court-martial to bring Captain Pike back to Talos IV, where he can be “unfettered by his physical body,” and reunited with Vina, the beautiful human woman who loves him.

“The Menagerie” is easily my favorite episode of the Original Series for the emotional impact alone. Although it left a big question for a lot of fans: what kind of captain was Christopher Pike? Even more specifically, what kind of relationship did Christopher Pike have with Spock so that Spock would one day be willing to risk everything for him?

And “Discovery,” to its credit, answered those questions. 

In the first few moments of his time on Discovery, Pike jokes around with the crew, humbles himself, and acknowledges the pain inflicted on the crew by their previous captain. He’s kind, considerate, believes strongly in the mission of Star Fleet, but doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s like the coach of a little league baseball team who expects all the players to try their best, but doesn’t get upset if someone makes a mistake. Anson Mount‘s portrayal of the character quickly earned him the nickname of the “Best Space Dad Ever.”

The writers for “Star Trek: Discovery” made an important creative decision for Pike’s character. In the episode “Through the Valley of Shadows,” Pike is made aware of his future. In a harrowing scene, Pike sees the accident that will one day disable him, leading to the death of what he considers his personhood. Think a very twisted version of “The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come” showing him his future. And yet, despite his terror, Pike presses forward with the mission, and is even more determined to exemplify all that Starfleet stands for. However, he remains haunted by his eventual future, and the possibility that he could avert it.

The second season of Discovery also introduced Spock, played by Ethan Peck. Honestly, I felt bad for the guy. Spock is the most well-known characters from the franchise, and fans can be ruthless if they don’t like how something is depicted in their beloved show. He had big shoes to fill, especially given that Leonard Nimoy (the man who originally played Spock) had passed away just a few years prior, so fans were protective of the character. 

The version of Spock we meet in “Star Trek: Discovery” is going through it. This poor guy was dealing with resentful feelings for his family, experiencing time as a fluid rather than linear concept, and was wanted for several murders. Blah blah blah he was having a hard time, and a lot of the show revolved around that. If you want to know the story, then I recommend watching the second season of “Discovery.” 

After the conclusion of the second season of “Discovery,” there was no place in the story for Captain Pike, Spock, and Number One (played by Rebecca Romjin). But fans loved their portrayals so much that they created an online petition to give Captain Pike his own series. The creators working on the franchise luckily agreed that this was a good idea, and the show went into production in March 2020. 

Tonally, “Strange New Worlds” and “Discovery” feel very different. “Discovery” is a good show but it’s also pretty dark. In the first season, the main character commits mutiny against her beloved captain in an attempt to bring down some Klingons, but all that does is lead to a hideous Klingon-Federation war and her own prison sentence. The rest of the season deals with her atoning for what she did. And, as I stated earlier, there were too many damn Klingons in the show, and Klingons are boring. All they do is shout about war and honor. Every other alien species in this franchise is so much more interesting, yet they barely play a role in the first season. 

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” feels so much like a return to the spirit of the original series. It’s not just that this show also takes place during that golden age of exploration, but also that this series is imbued with so much hope and nobility. 

One of the things I’ve loved most about the Star Trek franchise is that Gene Roddenberry had a vision for the future in which people put aside their petty differences and learned to collaborate and live peacefully for the good of humanity. It’s a deeply humanist story. The Original Series had this idea that if we work hard enough and are good to each other, one day we’ll get to explore the cosmos and create meaningful relationships with other similarly advanced civilizations. It’s the embodiment of the “How Society Would Look” meme, only if the rest of that sentence were “People Treated Each Other With Kindness and Respect.” 

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is a series that captures the excitement of exploration. In many ways, it is also the series first envisioned by Gene Roddenberry when he created “Star Trek.” You know, that series he wanted to make before television executives thought it was too crazy to have both an alien and a woman serving in prominent positions on a spaceship. 

As I previously stated, make-up and special effects have advanced tremendously since 1966. Fans of the series now get to experience the obvious benefits of this, as not only do the aliens on the show look much more credible, but everything on this show is just so pretty. 

The costumes, set designs, and computer-generated images are all incredibly beautiful and speak to the level of effort and creativity that goes on behind the scenes. If anyone is a fan of costume design, then I highly recommend following Bernadette Croft on Instagram. She puts a lot of careful thought and detail into the costumes she creates for the series and it’s really interesting to watch her process.

I remember hanging out with some friends before “Star Trek Discovery” aired, and we googled “Star Trek Weddings.” The results were disappointing, if not outright heinous. I’ve most likely alienated a lot of fans already with my controversial “Klingons suck” take, so I’ll probably upset the remaining fans with this next opinion: the wedding outfits in “Star Trek” are so insanely fugly I feel bad for the actors wearing them. A wedding dress is supposed to be one of the most beautiful, elaborate dresses a person wears in their entire life. The fact that Jadzia Dax’s dress from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” looks like someone robbed a Renaissance fair and then cut a hole in the chest to make the dress sexier is so upsetting.

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If I ever meet space aliens, then you best believe I want to see outfits that make me feel like I’m walking through Queen Amidala’s Palace. Say what you want about the Star Wars prequels, but at least those designers knew how to dress their characters. 

One of my favorite games to play when I’m watching any episode of Star Trek produced before 2010 is “Do I Like this Outfit?” It’s a very fun game, because most of the time, the side characters in this series dress like a Pediatric Dentist Office threw up on them. I don’t have to play this game while watching “Strange New Worlds” because everyone already looks like they stepped out of a future issue of Vogue. 

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In addition to the general prettiness of the cast, are the relationships that we get to see form throughout the crew. In “Star Trek: The Original Series,” most of the interactions were between Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy. While it was fun to watch these three verbally duke it out, I really enjoyed how “Star Trek: The Next Generation” made more of a point of expanding on all of the important bridge crew characters. There were episodes with storylines dedicated to almost all the characters on the bridge, and I think that was one of the greatest strengths of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Fans really like getting to know these characters who are smart and cool enough to land jobs on a spaceship. “Star Trek: Discovery” didn’t do a very good job of this in its first season, which hurt the show. “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” immediately introduces us to an impressive cast of characters, all of whom we’re excited to get to know and some with whom we already have a passing familiarity.

For example, two main characters on the show are Doctor Joseph M’Benga and Nurse Christine Chapel. Dr. M’Benga was a character who appeared in two episodes of “The Original Series,” who has now been brought back as a major character who we get to learn about. Christine Chapel was a significant recurring character on “The Original Series,” although her role was pretty typical for a woman in the 60’s: she was in love with Mr. Spock, and he did not reciprocate.

Actually, let me expand on that for a moment. In the original series, Christine Chapel’s entire character revolves around her love for Mr. Spock. And as I feel compelled to be honest here, I’ll tell you yet another truth: I could not give a shit about their fictional relationship.

One of the joys of “Strange New Worlds” is spending time with Nurse Chapel and learning more about who she is. She’s smart, opinionated, and finds endless joy in her work. She’s a great nurse who loves her job, and her flirty interactions with Spock are only one part of her character. And if she and Spock don’t eventually end up together by the conclusion of the series then I will be livid, because they belong together. 

“Strange New Worlds” has made me a massive fan of Spock and Nurse Chapel, something I thought would never happen. It has also, somewhat unfortunately, made me a fan of Spock’s Vulcan fiance, T’Pring. Fans of the original series will know from the episode “Amok Time” that T’Pring is going to betray Spock and force him into a battle royale with Captain James Kirk, all so that she can protect her side piece, Stonn. 

In other words, Spock and T’Pring are doomed as hell. 

And yet, here’s the thing: I like T’Pring. She seems like a patient, open-minded person willing to make repeated concessions for her relationship. I won’t spoil the series, but believe me when I say this show makes me feel sorry for her. Not enough that I want her to marry Spock and live with him happily on the Enterprise, but enough that I think I’ll understand why she chooses “Kal-if-fee.“

This show has me invested in characters I never thought I’d care about. I am deriving personal joy and fulfillment through watching these characters interact. And last week, I experienced something that helped contextualize my love for this show. 

I was watching “Subspace Rhapsody,” the 9th episode of the second season. Famously known as “the musical episode,” the characters find themselves in a musical reality, where whenever their emotions are too hightened, they burst out in song. It’s the dumbest premise I ever heard and I adored every second of it. During this episode, Spock confronts Christine Chapel about a possible job opportunity that might impact their “situationship.” 

And then it happened. It was something I felt more than heard.

I grunted out a giggle of excitement like Linda Blair waiting to spring a trap on the catholic priests in “The Exorcism.”

You know when you’re so excited it feels like you have something caught in the back of your throat and then the noise that comes out of you feels so alien it would be better suited to a bridge troll? Cool, yeah, that was me during this scene. I had a visceral reaction to watching two fictional characters have a relationship-defining moment. 

At this point, I’m officially obsessed. “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is one of my favorite shows. Even more than “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (which I still love dearly, despite the ugly clothes) and “The Orville” and “Futurama” and a bunch of other space-themed shows. I still love those other shows, but “Strange New Worlds” has earned a special place in my heart.

I am beyond thrilled that the show has been greenlit for a third season, and I hope that anyone who’s read this far is convinced to give it a chance. There are so many directions it can take. I want to learn more about Erica Ortegas, the ship’s pilot. I want to know if La’an, the Chief of Security, ever finds someone who can break past her defenses (and isn’t already in a relationship with a pregnant scientist). I want to know more about Vina, the woman Pike left behind on Talos IV. Will Scotty ever make an appearance on the show, and if possible, could he and Uhura continue that romance that was briefly hinted at in “Star Trek: The Final Frontier“? And will Pike try to find another way to escape his fate?

Even though it’s a prequel series, and some events may seem set in stone, I am ready to see what directions the writers take for these characters. I’m curious if they’ll feel compelled to retcon some of the events from the original series and the movies. This show contains many love letters to Gene Roddenberry’s work and original vision for Star Trek, so I’m here for the ride.