star trek subspace rhapsody

‘Star Trek’ made its first ever musical episode, but was it any good? Our writers discuss

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This article contains spoilers for “Subspace Rhapsody,” the ninth episode of Season 2 of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .”

On Thursday, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Paramount+) debuted “Subspace Rhapsody,” which has been announced as the first musical episode in the franchise . (Some will, of course, remember Spock strumming on a Vulcan lute and Uhura singing in the original series or Data’s rendition of “Blue Skies” at Will and Deanna’s wedding in “Star Trek: Nemesis.”)

Whether or not one views this as an insult to or a delightful expansion of the series, it has become, if not quite de rigueur, not unusual for a comedy or drama or even a soap opera to get its inner “Rent” on. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was perhaps the most ballyhooed show to take this step toward Broadway, but all sorts of series have danced into the footlights: “Fringe,” “Psych,” “Xena: Warrior Princess,” “Futurama,” “One Life to Live,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Community,” “Transparent” and more.

Entertainment and arts reporter Ashley Lee, who knows a lot about musicals but little about “Star Trek,” and television critic Robert Lloyd, who knows quite a bit about “Star Trek” and less about musicals (at least any written after 1970), got together to discuss the episode.

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Ashley Lee: Because I love musical theater, I’m always intrigued when TV shows take the risk to make a musical episode. The task of creating original songs for the screen is already tricky enough, especially in a way that invites along the show’s weekly audience and still moves its stories forward. And then there’s the task of asking the actors to perform them, whether or not they’ve ever sung or danced onscreen before. It’s an episodic experiment that, over the years, only some shows have gotten right.

I admittedly put on the musical episode of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” with low expectations because, outside of “Little Shop of Horrors,” putting sci-fi to song hasn’t historically been so harmonious (R.I.P., “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”). Even though I had no prior connection to any of these characters, I found “Subspace Rhapsody” to be a pleasant surprise.

I loved how the songs, written by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce of the ’90s alt-rock band Letters to Cleo, poked enough fun at the oddity of suddenly breaking out into song without insulting the TV tradition. And I found it hilarious that the episode, directed by Dermott Downs and written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, deemed “confessing highly personal, emotional information” a legitimate security threat. (When you think about it, such can definitely be true in the real world!)

I’m surprised that, after all these years, this is the first ever “Star Trek” musical episode. Robert, as a longtime fan of the franchise, were you open to the idea?

Robert Lloyd: In sci-fi fandom, any unusual step is bound to raise some hackles. But as a TV critic since before flat screens, I have seen at least a few of these “special musical episodes” mounted in otherwise nonmusical series. I suspect the impetus came not from viewer demand but from the producers or the writers, who are always looking for something new to entertain the audience and, not incidentally, themselves and was seized upon happily by cast members, many of whom will have had backgrounds in or at least a love of musical theater, even if only from their high school production of “Guys and Dolls” (which I mention because it was produced at my high school — not with me).

History shows there’s no sort of show more likely than another to take on this challenge, but of all the “Star Trek” series, “Strange New Worlds” is perhaps the one most amenable to it. It’s got a strong vein of humor, and, as a highly episodic show, it’s subject to — in fact, embraces — tonal shifts from week to week. This season has been particularly … goofy? Two weeks prior to “Subspace Rhapsody,” they aired a crossover with the animated spinoff “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” in which cartoon characters became flesh and fleshly characters cartoons.

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I thought it was smart to give the musical element of the show a “scientific” rationale — if the usual “Trek” technobabble — with the Enterprise overwhelmed by feedback from a substance fault into which, on the inspiration of Carol Kane’s Pelia, they sent a playlist in an attempt to communicate musically.

And it’s quite appropriate for a season full of romantic subplots, including Ethan Peck’s Spock — who, you must know, is more about logic than feeling — having a thing with Jess Bush’s Nurse Chapel, and security chief Noonien-Singh’s (Christina Chong) awkward reunion with a young James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley), who doesn’t recall their relationship from an alternative timeline. (That bit may have made no sense to you, Ash.) Appropriately, the story makes it clear that heightened emotion is what causes the characters to sing — which is, of course, the underlying rationale of music theater.

All else aside, how did the music strike you? It was odd that although the music they fed into the fault was the “Great American Songbook” — the standards of early to mid-20th century popular song, often written for musicals — none of the songs in the episode were actually modeled on that tradition. Not much in the way of Jerome Kern or Rodgers and Hart there. It all sounded post-Andrew Lloyd Webber to me.

Lee: Haha, you’re right! While I did appreciate the use of Cole Porter’s show tune “Anything Goes” as a very literal cue to the audience of the storytelling “rules” ahead, many of the tunes were more contemporary than Golden Age. The one that’s most “vintage” in style was the sweet duet “Connect to Your Truth,” when Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) shared key leadership advice with Lt. Kirk.

Regarding the romances, I admittedly became deeply invested in these will-they-won’t-theys by the end of their musical numbers. I particularly loved La’an Noonien-Singh‘s song “How Would That Feel,” about contemplating vulnerability; it was like an introspective, angsty version of “Company’s” “Being Alive” in the musical style of “Wicked” (and is a promising preview of her music — Chong just released a debut EP). And the stark differences in genre between Spock’s brooding electropop ballad “I’m the X” and Nurse Chapel’s Amy Winehouse-esque fellowship celebration “I’m Ready” definitely maximized the tension amid their miscommunication.

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Beyond those, the opening number titled “Status Report” was so strong — a perfect example of musicalizing a familiar routine of the world (think “Opening Up” from “Waitress” or “Good Morning Baltimore” from “Hairspray”) — and the choral, orchestral rendition of the show’s main title was a delight. Also, the double meaning of communications officer Nyota Uhura’s anthem “Keep Us Connected” was very satisfying and, in my opinion, only scratched the surface of Celia Rose Gooding’s vocal abilities (she earned a Tony nomination for her performance in “Jagged Little Pill”).

If “Star Trek” ever officially makes the leap to the stage, I imagine these three songs in particular would transfer well. (Though if so, I’m gonna need a full expansion of that brief interlude of autotuned, rapping Klingons.) Bravo to Hanley and Polce for writing all the music and lyrics of this episode; while many have attempted it over the years, only a few pop stars and rockers have successfully walked the tightrope of writing effective and entertaining stage musicals (e.g., Cyndi Lauper, David Byrne and Elton John).

Overall, did you enjoy “Subspace Rhapsody”? Was the first musical episode of the franchise worth the wait?

Lloyd: I can’t say I was waiting for it, but I certainly enjoyed it. I’m all about nutty “Star Trek,” going back to “The Trouble With Tribbles,” and also found it a really effective way to embody the emotional crises being faced by “Strange New Worlds’” eminently likable characters. Certainly, the cast bursting into song (and the occasional dance), with music dropping in from … somewhere, is no more nonsensical than about, oh, a hundred things that have happened to the various starship crews over nearly six decades.

But let me ask you, did it make you liable to keep watching the series? (No judgment.)

Lee: Robert, these subplots were so genuinely compelling, even when concisely moved forward in song, that I’ll likely start this series from the beginning and continue on past this episode. Plus, I’m so intrigued by Lt. Kirk and Noonien-Singh’s romance in that alternate timeline!

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’

Where: Paramount + When: Anytime, starting Thursday

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Ashley Lee is a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where she writes about theater, movies, television and the bustling intersection of the stage and the screen. An alum of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Critics Institute and Poynter’s Power of Diverse Voices, she leads workshops on arts journalism at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. She was previously a New York-based editor at the Hollywood Reporter and has written for the Washington Post, Backstage and American Theatre, among others. She is currently working remotely alongside her dog, Oliver.

Robert Lloyd has been a Los Angeles Times television critic since 2003.

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Subspace Rhapsody (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Soundtrack
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4 Log entries
• 5.2 Production
• 5.4 Continuity
• 6.1 Starring
• 6.2 Special guest star
• 6.3 Guest starring
• 6.4 Co-starring
• 6.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 6.6.1 S/COMS references
• 6.6.2 Soundtrack references
• 6.6.3 Star chart references
• 6.7 External link

Summary [ ]

The USS Enterprise is on the site of an unusual phenomenon – a naturally-occurring subspace fold , which Spock has theorized could triple the speed of subspace communication . Unfortunately for Uhura , the amount of computer power required for his experiment has resulted in her having to essentially become a switchboard operator: a call from Captain Batel to Captain Pike , another from Dr. Roger Korby for Nurse Chapel , Una checking on Lieutenant James Kirk 's imminent arrival from the USS Farragut , and Spock in engineering asking if she was ready to continue their experiment. Once these were all sorted, Uhura takes a deep breath to recenter herself, before going right back to work.

Batel is planning her and Pike's first vacation to Crivo , a planet Pike considers "touristy". Batel is enthusiastic, wanting to see the Planetary Museum , and take day trips to the Glass Islands and Smoke Lakes . She sees the look on Pike's face and stops short, wondering if something was wrong. Pike muses that perhaps the timing was bad, and he was uncertain he could get away. Batel wonders if there was something he wasn't telling her, and he assures her there wasn't, but suggests delaying for a few days. Batel curtly agrees, before closing the channel.

In the transporter room, Una is joined by La'an , explaining that the Farragut is sending Kirk to the Enterprise so that the crew can "show him the ropes"; the captain's note adds that Kirk is "full of talent" but still has "one or two issues" to work out before beginning his commission as the ship's first officer . La'an thinks punctuality is one of those "issues". Una notes that La'an is unusually energetic, to which La'an simply replies she is waiting for their guest to run a security clearance. Una, however, thinks La'an came in "hot", but La'an again assures her she was fine, and it was standard procedure. Una activates the transporter, and welcomes Kirk back to the Enterprise . He notices his brother Sam is absent this time; Una explains Sam was busy, and they'd find him later. Kirk thanks Una for agreeing to do this, even if he felt it was not fully necessary. Una recalls that when she took her commission, she spent a week shadowing Pike, which made all the difference for her, and she hopes it will do the same for him on the Farragut . Kirk then notices La'an, and reminds her she owes him a drink . La'an is flustered somewhat as she leads him to undergo his security clearance.

In sickbay , Chapel paces nervously, wondering if the message from Dr. Korby would be another rejection notice . Ortegas tells her to forget the Vulcans and their Science Academy , and Chapel seems to go along with this… but this fellowship she had applied for was different, knowing of Korby's reputation. So does Dr. M'Benga , who calls him the " Louis Pasteur of archaeological medicine ". Thousands of people apply for his fellowship every year, and only five are accepted. Mustering her nerve, Chapel reads the message… and her expression tells both Ortegas and M'Benga that her application was accepted. M'Benga jokingly wonders what she would do without her for three months, and Ortegas points out he wouldn't be the only one who would miss her. Chapel's joy is dampened somewhat as she realizes she had to tell Spock.

In engineering, Spock is engrossed in the experiment, having failed twelve times in sending a message through the subspace fold. Pelia corrects that to thirteen, and asks why he thinks this particular fold would lead to faster communications. Spock explains that frequencies propagate through it three times faster than normal. With their current subspace relay network , Uhura adds, it takes weeks to get a message across; if their experiments work out, they could have real-time communications across thousands of light years … only so far, no one has heard them. As she returns to work, Uhura begins humming a tune, which gives Pelia an idea: sending music through the fold. They were attempting to communicate through a medium with different laws of physics, so perhaps fundamental harmonics were the answer. Pelia off-handedly says it was "just a thought"... but Spock thinks it may be an excellent one, and leaves Uhura to pick the song. Uhura hopes subspace was a "fan" of the Great American Songbook , and selects the song " Anything Goes ".

The music does indeed cause a reaction, but not what they had been hoping for. A wave of energy projects from the fold and goes through the entire ship, momentarily disorienting everyone on the crew as it passed through them – including Pike, in the turbolift on his way to the bridge . As he exits, he asks Mitchell what hit them. She reports that there were no other ships in the sector, and that whatever it was had come from the fold. Pike calls to Uhura in engineering, asking for a full report. When Uhura checks in with Spock, he surprises her by singing his response, that the intermix chamber and containment field generator were stable ("Status Report"). Pike wonders where the music is coming from, and Ortegas knows it was not anywhere on the ship. Spock apologizes for the most "confounding" thing, that he appeared to be singing his answers. Sickbay seems to catch onto it as well, as M'Benga and Chapel musically report no injuries, "just the mundane".

The musical "infection" spreads to the bridge, as Ortegas, then Una, then La'an and Kirk sing their status reports from their stations. The entire crew is caught up in the music, which ends at that moment with Pike's question: " But why are we singing? "

Act One [ ]

" So… that happened, " Pike comments, meeting with the crew in the ready room. La'an reports "musical outbreaks" all over the ship. Kirk had assumed it was something the crew had rehearsed, but he had sang too – as did M'Benga, who emphatically says he does not sing. Pike knows the surge came from the subspace fold, and asks Spock to help him "connect the dots". Spock explains how they had sent a series of transmissions, the last being a song. When asked why that would make them sing, Spock theorizes the frequency of the transmission dislodged a quantum uncertainty field , asking them to imagine an area of space where multiple quantum uncertainties collapse so rapidly and randomly that new realities were created; in one of which, the inhabitants sang uncontrollably. La'an sarcastically wonders if that meant more uncertainty or if the crew would just "poof into bunnies ", to which M'Benga makes clear he'd prefer not to be a bunny, either. Spock assures them that was unlikely, but they may not be done with the music: the Enterprise has become tethered to that particular improbability field , and attempting to fly out would widen it. Pelia notices it looks similar to a zipper , and asks if it could work like a zipper. Pike, seeing where she's going, points out that zippers work both ways, and asks if they could somehow "zip" the improbability field back into the fold. Spock thinks it possible, if they combined shield harmonics with the Heisenberg compensator and connected it to the navigational deflector to generate a beam. Una knows this would have to be done manually. Pike tells them to go ahead with it, not knowing how the singing would affect them and wanting to "nip it at the bud". Kirk jokingly adds that Spock explained that very well, and that he almost understood it.

The "zipper beam" had to exactly match the resonance of the fold, and Spock asks Uhura about the frequency of the song she sent through. As he observes, he sees the message from Dr. Korby to Chapel, asking if it was about her recent fellowship application and if the news was "favorable". Uhura reminds him that she didn't look at personal correspondence, and Spock agrees it would be unethical. Uhura realizes that Spock and Chapel have become close, and Spock confirms that it would be accurate to say they had become "more than colleagues". Uhura jokes about that "classic Vulcan romance" she had heard about, then more seriously asks why he doesn't ask Chapel about it. Spock admits that their communications have run into challenges. Una calls to report that she and Kirk were in place, and asks Uhura for the harmonics data.

Down below, Kirk is working inside a Jefferies tube connecting the relays. " One down, only four to go, " he says. Una wonders if he was running out of steam already. Kirk recalls what his brother told him about her, calling Una the first officer that he should be – keeping distance from the crew because of the hard decisions a first officer had to make. Una is aware of her reputation, and has elected to take a more "hands-on" approach. Kirk recalls the last first officer on the Farragut definitely kept his distance. Una calls that style of command a "first mistake" – and the music starts again as she advises Kirk to "connect to [his] truth" and interact more with his crew than other first officers would ("Connect to Your Truth"), admitting (as she normally wouldn't) that she would enjoy taking to the stage regaling others with her renditions of her favorite composers, Gilbert and Sullivan . They actually begin to dance their way to the next access tunnel , while La'an watches from around the corner.

La'an, caught in the music herself, questions how Una was able to express herself ("How Would That Feel"), and wonders if she can do so herself, wondering how it would feel to be "flying blind", but has "never met that part" of her. Her words harken back to the time she first met Kirk – in an alternate reality, then shifted back in time to the 21st century – and fantasizes about having a future with him, taking out the wristwatch she had used during that incident. As the song ends, she comes to a realization, one she shares with Pike in the turbolift to the bridge: the singing was causing them to express highly personal emotional information about themselves. Pike is somewhat dumbfounded at the idea that their emotions could constitute a security threat, but La'an is sure that they do. Seeing how uncomfortable she is, Pike hopes that whatever she's holding back doesn't turn out that way, and assures her Spock and Uhura have a plan.

As they arrive on the bridge, Spock reports that the Heisenberg compensator is adjusted with the shield harmonics to collapse the musical reality. Uhura calls to "Lieutenant Kirk", saying she wasn't rushing him, but then says she was. It turns out both Lieutenant Kirks are down in the transporter room making the final adjustments, and both acknowledge. Jim thinks she was talking to him, but Sam points out that he worked there. Jim reminds him that it wasn't his department, that he was in xenoanthropology ; Sam counters that he had been assigned at Jim's request, because Jim "missed" him. Jim activates the deflector, and Una gives the order to fire the "zipper beam".

At first, it appears to be working, but the fold releases another surge of energy, and Ortegas sees it was not "zipping". Pike asks Spock what happened, but Spock is unable to determine. Just then, a message comes in from the USS Cayuga . " When it rains, " Pike says, given who the captain is. He tells Spock to determine what happened, before he has Uhura put Batel through. Batel seems to be caught up in the same trouble as the Enterprise , as her message is a rhyming request to have a private conversation, in a more discreet location, about their cancelled vacation… and then sings her apologies for the rhyming. Pike tells her he will have to call her back, but Batel musically cuts him off, accusing him of always running away ("Private Conversation"/"Status Report (reprise)"). Pike is now caught up in the song as well, questioning why all the blame was on him, and about to make a comment about her choice of vacation destination… before he catches himself, not willing to speak so in front of his crew.

As their musical duel goes on, trying to have a "private" conversation about their frustration, La'an springs into action and cuts the communication. Pike is confused as to why he was admitting all of what he had just sang, and La'an again emphasizes it was a security threat. He then asks why the Cayuga was also affected, and Spock reports that the improbability field was expanding across the entire subspace communications network… affecting all of Starfleet .

Act Two [ ]

Una has been in contact with Admiral April , who informed her that the improbability field has spread to twelve starships, and let her know (in a "surprisingly beautiful baritone", she adds) that he would like it stopped. Pike asks if they had any idea why the reality was compelling them to confess their deepest emotions; at that, La'an glances slightly behind her at Kirk. Uhura has a theory: because it was a musical reality, they were following the rules of musicals – and Una, a fan of musicals, knew that characters in musicals began to sing in them when their emotions were so heightened that words would not suffice. Pike suggests firing a spread of photon torpedoes to "bring the curtain down" on it, and Spock thinks it possible; a sufficient explosion of matter and antimatter could untether them from the improbability field and release the affected ships from the musical reality. However, he wants to test it in a controlled environment first, in case the results are more explosive. La'an has the thought (and Kirk completes it) of beaming subatomic particles from the fold itself. Una points out it requires cross-targeting, which makes it a two-person job. Kirk replies that they had "two persons" right there.

To Una's surprise, La'an refuses the assignment, and Una knows that was not like her. La'an confesses that she wasn't feeling like herself; indeed, none of them were. Una realizes that she is uncomfortable of the idea of singing to Kirk, seeing how she was acting around him. La'an, struggling to admit it without actually admitting it, says that "hypothetically", she might have feelings for him, and those feelings pose a potential space-time security risk. La'an finally gets fed up enough to say she should just tell him and "stop being a child" about it, before it got out of her control. The music starts again, Una telling her about the people who would complicate her life ("Keeping Secrets"), and urging her to tell as much of the truth as she felt, "no drama". She deactivates the artificial gravity in the ready room, dancing in the air with La'an as the song continues. Throughout the ship, others in similar situations are contemplating their own futures with someone else: Chapel in sickbay, Spock in engineering, and Pike in his quarters. Una also points out her own skill with keeping secrets, and how that skill didn't serve her anymore .

La'an joins Kirk in the transporter room, trying to beam the particles aboard; he apologizes for sounding as if he was giving orders, as he was on her ship. The molecular imaging scanner was unable to focus the signal, but La'an adds power, and they successfully bring the particles aboard. Kirk then transports them to engineering, then sarcastically notes it was "exciting", though not as exciting as Spock and Uhura getting to blow them up. Nonetheless, he thinks he and La'an make a good team, and should work together more often. La'an, struggling to put her feelings into words, is unable to go much further before the ship violently rocks.

The test explosion nearly destroyed engineering, leading Pike to wonder what would happen if they applied it to the fold itself. Spock's analysis shows that the effect would spread through the entire subspace network, destroying everything; he compares it to soaking the improbability field in kerosene and holding a match to it. Uhura then picks up an incoming transmission, and Pike warns her not to answer for fear of spreading the musical "infection" further. Spock triangulates the source, detecting a signature coming in at high warp speed, with Klingon encryption. Una thinks the last thing anyone would want is singing Klingons. Pike orders Uhura to send a proxy message through Starfleet Command , telling them to turn back immediately. The ship has stopped hailing, but Uhura gets a message... the improbability field has already hit them.

Uhura plays back the message. The sender identifies himself as General Garkog of the Imperial Klingon Defense Force , who tells them that their "evasion" has raised suspicions, and that the Klingons have identified the source of their "dishonor". He intends to destroy it, and warns the Enterprise not to try to stop him. Pike realizes they were going to fire on the subspace fold.

Act Three [ ]

In the ready room, Pike informs the crew that Garkog's ship will arrive in two hours. Spock warns that if the Klingons completed their mission, everyone affected by the improbability field would be destroyed. " So, just the entire Federation and half the Klingon Empire , " Kirk sums up. Pike knows they had to be stopped at all costs, and asks for options. Una points out that firing first constituted an act of war, but Pike sees little option, asking if they could just disable the Klingons' disruptor cannons ; La'an adds the torpedo launchers. Una asks La'an for a tactical strategy, and La'an gets on it… then asks Kirk to join her. Pike then turns to Spock and Uhura, asking what the odds were of disabling the improbability field before the Klingons arrived. Spock concedes they were not good with the data they had. Pike suggests he find new data, urging them both to fix the problem; they were applying old rules to a new reality, and suggests finding a different tempo – and fast.

Spock proposes using the songs themselves, and the frequency they generate, as their means. He wonders how to generate a song, and Uhura reminds him that per the musical rules, songs began during moments of intense emotion… and she looks into the open door of the crew lounge, where Chapel is sharing a drink with Ortegas and Sam Kirk, celebrating Chapel's fellowship. Chapel thinks it strange to celebrate in a time like this, but Sam is adamant that their lives shouldn't end every time the ship got into trouble, and Ortegas agrees, saying they were there to celebrate her win. Spock approaches then, believing the toasting indicated good news about her fellowship. He then asks why she didn't tell him, and whether it was intentional or merely an oversight. Chapel wants to discuss it later, but Spock insists that he was "merely curious". On cue, the music starts, and Uhura begins her scans. Chapel thinks that it was a "distant dream", and that she confesses she didn't think she deserved it, but now the fellowship saw her as "one of their own" (""I'm Ready"). The entire crew in the lounge get in on the spontaneous singing and dancing that breaks out, celebrating Chapel's accomplishment, and Chapel admitting that she was ready for it, and "won't fight it" if she had to leave Spock behind. Spock stares for a moment, then quietly leaves.

La'an and Kirk are going over the specifications of the K't'inga -class they will be facing; Una had suggested the disruptor cannons and fore torpedoes, but La'an knows the aft launchers were the ones to worry about. Kirk elects to trust her aim, then asks about that "thing" she was going to tell him before in the transporter room. La'an finally admits, choosing to do so before she broke out into a 17th century sea shanty , that she had met an alternate version of Kirk. Kirk, though admittedly not one for rules, can see that La'an is about to break a big one. La'an tells him that the other Kirk had met her "real" self, because he had never heard her name or all it stood for , and admits she had liked it, liked the way he had looked at her. In his eyes, she could see who she wanted to be, someone who could feel, take chances… and make connections. Kirk asks if he was anything like that other self, and La'an at first says no… but then adds that yes, because she likes the way he looks at her, too. Kirk confesses that he had felt a similar connection when she first called him, but reminds him he was not that other Kirk. His life was complicated, perhaps not by time travel, but he admits he was in a "sometimes" relationship with Carol Marcus , a scientist on Starbase 1 . He thinks La'an would like her, and that they were both very similar in that they were dedicated to their work. He admits he didn't tend to stay in one place for very long, which was a growing problem… because Carol was pregnant . " Wow, " is all La'an can say to that.

Uhura finds Spock in engineering, clearly looking unhappy; he has been analyzing the data they gathered. He is looking for a pattern, and finding none. He adds that he was not expecting Chapel to be definitive about ending their arrangement. Uhura knows relationships are difficult. For Spock, who is half- Human , he feels things differently compared to most Vulcans. He knows Chapel's decision was logical, but nonetheless he is hurt. Taken by the music, Spock admits he had "betrayed" his core philosophies for the relationship with Chapel, and did not intend to make the same mistake again, accepting that he was "the ex" ("I'm the X"/"I'm Ready (reprise)"). The song done, he apologizes and leaves Uhura alone – to also be taken by her own song (""Keep Us Connected"), searching for the pattern, and knowing she would have to do the work alone. She also thinks on her memories of her parents and elder brother, and the shuttle crash that killed them, as well as her meeting with Hemmer when she was a cadet . She wonders if her life is meant to be lived "solo", and engrossed in her work in keeping people connected. She then has a realization, seeing the patterns repeating, and soon accepts that she was "good with solo".

Act Four [ ]

Uhura reports to Pike that the singing causes spikes in the quantum probabilities in the field. She believes if they can get the spikes to 344 giga electron volts, it would shatter the field. Spock enters then, seeing she has found the improbability-breaking event they need to escape. Pike asks how they can do it, because two more K't'inga s have been detected en route. Uhura reminds him that song could be communal – used in worship and celebration. With just a solo with some backup vocals – Chapel and Uhura earlier – they generated a spike of 40 electron volts. Uhura thinks they require a "grand finale", needing melodies and harmonies with tone ratios with both algorithmic and logarithmic balance on a mass scale. To do that, the entire crew had to sing together. Spock sees the challenge of inspiring all two hundred members of the crew to spontaneously break into song, and Pike thinks this a job for a communications officer . Uhura protests that she couldn't get the entire ship to sing, but Pike is confident that she can, as she sees the connections between them, while all the others can see was empty space.

Pike addresses the entire ship, remarking on the challenging situation, and how they may not have all been acting like a crew, but he believes they would get through together by following one voice: the voice of the Enterprise . He then turns it over to Uhura, who introduces herself, saying that while they may not all know her, she knows them. She used to think of herself as always alone, but not on this ship; each of them were connected as a crew. As she brings up the improbability field levels, Pike silently encourages her to keep going. Uhura asks what the odds were of all of them being there, together, on that ship and at that moment. The music begins, and Uhura guides them all in singing of their purpose – "to protect the mission" – and the others in the crew join in ("We Are One"), some praising Uhura for saving them, and Kirk believing it will be thanks to them that he makes captain. Little by little, the crew gets in on the music, singing and dancing through the corridors, as the electron volt levels rise. But even with the entire crew, it was not enough, and Pike has Uhura hail the Klingons. Garkog resists at first, then he and his crew break into a pop number threatening vengeance "at the ends of [their] mek'leths ". The Enterprise and the three Klingon ships spin in a musical pattern as the song reaches its climax, hitting the required levels, causing the subspace fold to explode in a shower of light. The Enterprise crew celebrates the success, though some tensions remain. For a start, Pike has Uhura hail the Klingons, thinking they had to "mend some fences".

In the crew lounge afterward, La'an is alone with her thoughts when she is joined by Una. La'an admits she told Kirk the truth, and it didn't go well; while it hurt, she is still glad she took the chance. She thinks that maybe she could be someone who took chances more often. Una toasts to that.

In his quarters, Pike is preparing dinner for himself and Batel, who is still incensed about the fact that Pike had lied to her about not wanting to go to Crivo, asking why he didn't just say he hated it. Pike tries to deflect at first, before he confesses that it sounded like his nightmare; he preferred something simple and quieter, like camping. Batel reminds him that they wouldn't work out if he couldn't be honest about something as small as a vacation, and he is apologetic. However, she has "good news and bad news" – they had more time to plan their "compromised vacation", as she had been called on a priority one mission. Pike jokingly asks how he could be sure she wasn't the one making excuses now, and Batel answers that when she comes back, they can go somewhere they both want to go, adding that she wouldn't do any camping unless it had room service. Pike calls it a deal.

All Federation ships return to normal, and Spock was able to again engage in diplomacy over bloodwine , entering the bridge feeling the effects of another hangover . As Pike enters, he thinks it might be an idea to share their findings with non-Federation ships as well, and suggests opening a channel to anyone who's nearby. As she gets to work, she begins humming the song she had sung to herself in engineering, causing the bridge crew to all look over at her. " Sorry, earworm, " she says apologetically, before returning to work.

Soundtrack [ ]

As a musical, the episode features the following songs:

• " Status Report "
• " Star Trek Strange New Worlds Main Title" ( Subspace Rhapsody Version)
• " Connect to Your Truth "
• " How Would That Feel "
• " Private Conversation "
• " Keeping Secrets "
• " I'm Ready "
• " I'm the X "
• " Keep Us Connected "
• " We Are One "
• " Subspace Rhapsody End Credit Medley"

Though not included in the official soundtrack, Uhura plays a clip of " Anything Goes ", specifically the 1962 off- Broadway cast recording by Eileen Rodgers . "We Are One" concludes with a rendition of the Star Trek: The Original Series theme by Alexander Courage .

Memorable quotes [ ]

" So... that happened. "

" So, what's next? More improbability? Or will we just suddenly poof into bunnies? " " I would prefer not be a bunny, either. " " I doubt we will be bunnies. "

" Mr. Spock, you explained that very well. I almost understood it. "

" When people sing, they are confessing highly personal… emotional information. " " Lieutenant, are you telling me our emotions constitute a security threat? " " I am. " " Well, whatever you're not saying, hope it doesn't come to that. "

" Wow. That was exciting. I mean, Spock and Uhura get to blow it up which is the real fun part but, uh… we make a good pair. "

" I tend not to stay in the same place for very long, which is… a growing problem because Carol is… pregnant. " " Oh, um… wow. "

Log entries [ ]

Background information [ ].

• The title was revealed on StarTrek.com on 22 July 2023 . [1]

Production [ ]

• This is the first licensed Star Trek production to be a musical.
• The closing credits feature an instrumental medley of three of the songs previously sung during the episode proper: "I'm Ready", "Private Conversation", and "Connect to Your Truth".
• As the episode establishes that the characters hear the music diegetically, the fact the Alexander Courage TOS theme is heard at the conclusion of the grand finale means this melody is heard in-universe for the first time.

Continuity [ ]

• The opening credits feature an a cappella choral version of the usual main title theme. This is the second Strange New Worlds episode in which the opening credits sequence has been significantly altered, following the Star Trek: Lower Decks -style credits in " Those Old Scientists ".
• First introduced in the series premiere " Strange New Worlds ", this is the first episode in which Captain Marie Batel's first name is spoken onscreen. It was previously introduced as text on a PADD in " Ad Astra per Aspera ". [2]
• This episode marks the earliest chronological appearance of the K't'inga -class , and the first time the name of the class is spoken aloud.
• In TOS : " What Are Little Girls Made Of? ", set in 2266 , it is revealed that Nurse Chapel and Dr. Roger Korby had become engaged at some point prior to his 2261 disappearance. As this episode is set in 2259 , their relationship progressed to that point within a span of two years.
• James T. Kirk mentions his relationship with Carol Marcus and her pregnancy. Dr. Carol Marcus (as well as her and Kirk's son, David Marcus ,) were originally introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
• Subspace Rhapsody (soundtrack)

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Anson Mount as Christopher Pike
• Ethan Peck as Spock
• Jess Bush as Christine Chapel
• Christina Chong as La'an Noonien-Singh
• Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura
• Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas
• Babs Olusanmokun as Joseph M'Benga
• Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley

Special guest star [ ]

• James T. Kirk
• Alternate Kirk (fantasy; no lines)

Guest starring [ ]

• Melanie Scrofano as Marie Batel
• Dan Jeannotte as George Samuel Kirk
• Bruce Horak as Garkog
• Carol Kane as Pelia

Co-starring [ ]

• Rong Fu as Jenna Mitchell

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Daniel Ryan-Astley as Enterprise crewmember
• Garkog's bridge crew
• Tellarite command officer

References [ ]

17th century ; admiral ; Alpha Quadrant ; Andorian ; " Anything Goes "; April, Robert ; archaeological medicine ; authors ; baritone ; bloodwine ; boatswain's whistle ; captain ; Cayuga , USS ; commander ; communications officer's log ; computer ; Constitution -class ; crew ; Crivian Planetary Museum ; Crivo ; D'Chok's Great House ; data ; deflector ; divers' watch ; doctor ; earworm ; ensign ; Enterprise , USS ; experiment ; eyepatch ; Farragut , USS ; Garkog's battle cruiser ; general ; Gilbert and Sullivan ; Glass Islands ; Great American Songbook ; Heisenberg compensator ; Human ; hybrid ; Illyrian ; Jefferies tube ; K't'inga -class ( unnamed (x2) ); Klingon ; Klingon Defense Force ; Klingon Defense Force uniform ; Korby, Roger ; Lanthanite ; laughter ; lieutenant ; lieutenant commander ; lying ; Marcus, Carol ; Marcus, David ; mek'leth ; mister ; month ; musical ; musical reality ; name ; Nimerfro , USS ; number ; nurse ; partner ; Pasteur, Louis ; pattern ; power ; pregnant ; priority one ; prose ; quarters ; Republic , USS ; rehearsed ; S/COMS ; ship ; singing ; Smoke Lakes ; song ( sea chantey ); speed ; star chart ; stardate ; Starfleet uniform ; stocking ; subspace communications ; subspace fold ; Tellarite ; transporter room ; turbolift ; voice ; Vulcan (species); Vulcan Science Academy ; warp core ; words (" four-letter words "); xenoanthropology ; zipper

S/COMS references [ ]

aperture ; artificial gravity ; buffer capacity ; communications log ; compensation factor ; coordinates ; crew quarters ; deflector array ; electromagnetic emission ; electronvolt ; engineering ; Farragut -type ; gravitational radiation ; improbability level ; perimeter alert ; power system ; rate of dematerialization ; rate of refraction ; ready room ; receiver ; spacetime distortion ; subspace fissure ; system operations ; transmission band limit ; transmitter ; transporter ; transporter chief ; wavelength

Soundtrack references [ ]

alone (aka solo ); blood ; brother ; cadet ; containment field ; conversation ; dad ; dramas ; " draw your last breath "; ex ; Hemmer ; intermix chamber ; mom ; " pick up the pieces "; screaming ; torture ; Uhura's brother ; Uhura's father ; Uhura's mother ; X ; Y

Star chart references [ ]

'etnap Nebula ; 81 Cancri ; Acamar ; Aldebaran ; Adelphous ; Ajilon ; Akaali ; Algol ; Alpha Centauri ; Alpha Majoris ; Andoria ; Aneto ; Archanis ; Archanis sector ; Ardana ; Argelius ; Argus Array ; Azati Prime ; B'Moth ; Babel ; Balduk ; Barolia ; Barradas ; Benecia ; Beta Lankal ; Beta Leonis Minoris ; Beta Niobe ; Beta Tauri ; Beta Thoridar ; Beta Zeta ; Betazed ; blue ; Boreth ; Brestant ; Cait ; Cajitar ; Capella ; Cardassia Prime ; Carraya ; Celes ; Cestus ; Chantico Nebula ; Chin'toka ; Cor Caroli ; Coridan ; Corvan ; Cygnet ; D'Ryb J ; Davlos ; Dayos ; Deep Space 2 ; Deep Space Station K-7 ; Delphi Ardu ; Delta Outpost ; Delta Outpost 10 ; Delta Outpost 11 ; Delta Outpost 3 ; Delta Outpost 4 ; Delta Outpost 5 ; Delta Outpost 6 ; Delta Outpost 7 ; Delta Outpost 8 ; Delta Outpost 9 ; Demilitarized Zone ; Deneb (aka Kaitos ); Deneva ; Denobula ; Doctari Alpha ; Donatu ; Dorala ; Dreon ; Earth ; Elas ; Eminiar ; Epsilon Ceti B ; Epsilon Hydrae ; Epsilon IV ; Epsilon Outpost ; Epsilon Outpost 1 ; Epsilon Outpost 2 ; Epsilon Outpost 3 ; Epsilon Outpost 4 ; Epsilon Outpost 5 ; Epsilon Outpost 6 ; Epsilon Outpost 7 ; Epsilon Outpost 8 ; Epsilon Outpost 9 ; Eridani ; Evora ; FGC-321 ; Forcas ; Free Haven ; Galdonterre ; Galen ; Galorndon Core ; Gamma Eridon ; Gamma Hromi ; Gamma Tauri ; Ganalda ; Gariman sector ; Gorath ; Gorn Hegemony ; Grazer ; green ; H'atoria ; Halee ; Halka ; Harlak ; Hetemit ; Hood , USS ; Hromi Cluster ; Iridin ; J'Gal ; Janus ; Japori ; Jouret ; Kaferia ; Kantare ; Kazar ; Kelfour ; Khitomer ; Kiley ; Klaestron ; Klingon Empire ; Kobliad ; Kongo , USS ; Korinar ; Korvat ; Kressari ; Lexington , USS ; Lya Station Alpha ; Mab-Bu ; Majalis ; Maluria ; Manzar ; Megara ; Mempa ; Mempa sector ; Merak ; Minos Korva ; Miridian ; Mizar ; Morska ; Narendra ; Nequencia ; Nivalla ; No'Mat ; O'Ryan's Planet ; Ogat ; Omega ; Omega Leonis ; Organia ; Orion ; Outpost MZ-5 ; Pahvo ; Peliar Zel ; Persephone ; Pheben ; Pi³ Orionis ; Planet Q ; Platonius ; Porathia ; Potemkin , USS ; Preenos ; Priors World ; Prospero ; Qo'noS ; Qo'noS sector ; Quam ; R'ongovia ; Ramatis ; red ; Regulus ; Renavi ; Risa ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; Romulan Star Empire ; Rura Penthe ; Sarpedion ; Scalos ; Septimus ; Setlik ; Sherman's Planet ; Sigma Draconis ; Sol ; Sorna Prime ; Starbase 11 ; Starbase 18 ; Starbase 2 ; Starbase 21 ; Starbase 211 ; Starbase 234 ; Starbase 24 ; Starbase 4 ; Starbase 46 ; Starbase 88 ; Starbase 9 ; Starbase G-6 ; Suliban ; Talar ; Talarian Republic ; Talos ; Tagra ; Tau Ceti ; Thasus ; Tellun ; Thalos ; Tholia ; Tholian Assembly ; Tiburon ; Tika ; Tonnata ; Toroth ; Tribble Prime ; Trill ; Troyius ; Turkana ; Unefra ; Valiant , USS ; Ventax ; Vulcan (system); Wolf 359 ; Wurna Minor ; Xahea ; Xarantine ; Xepolite ; Y'tem ; Ya'Vang ; yellow ; Yridia ; Zibal

External link [ ]

• " Subspace Rhapsody " at the Internet Movie Database
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Subspace Rhapsody

• Episode aired Aug 3, 2023

An accident with an experimental quantum probability field causes everyone on the Enterprise to break uncontrollably into song, but the real danger is that the field is expanding & beginning... Read all An accident with an experimental quantum probability field causes everyone on the Enterprise to break uncontrollably into song, but the real danger is that the field is expanding & beginning to impact other ships - allies & enemies alike. An accident with an experimental quantum probability field causes everyone on the Enterprise to break uncontrollably into song, but the real danger is that the field is expanding & beginning to impact other ships - allies & enemies alike.

• Dermott Downs
• Gene Roddenberry
• Akiva Goldsman
• Alex Kurtzman
• Anson Mount
• 606 User reviews
• 15 Critic reviews

• Captain Christopher Pike

• Nurse Christine Chapel

• La'an Noonien Singh

• Nyota Uhura

• Lt. Erica Ortegas

• Dr. M'Benga

• Una Chin-Riley

• Lieutenant James T. Kirk

• Captain Marie Batel

• Lieutenant George Samuel 'Sam' Kirk

• General Garkog

• Jenna Mitchell

• (uncredited)

• Starfleet Member
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia After the first song, while the leadership are discussing the situation, there is an exchange about bunnies. This is a reference to the Buffy musical Once More With Feeling which has been named by showrunners as inspiration for Subspace Rhapsody.
• Goofs During La'an's solo song "How Would That Feel", the number and layout of the exterior windows in her quarters changes between shots.

Una Chin-Riley : The last thing anyone wants is singing Klingons.

• Connections Featured in Cecil Says: Tuesdays With Cecil. Episode 18. (2023)
• Soundtracks Status Report

User reviews 606

• Aug 3, 2023
• August 3, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Official Site
• CBS Stages Canada, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Studio)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 2 minutes

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The Best Singers In Star Trek's Subspace Rhapsody, Ranked From Uhura To Worst

Season 2 of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is almost over and it didn't miss a chance to leave its mark on "Star Trek" history. The ninth and penultimate episode, "Subspace Rhapsody," is the first "Star Trek" musical episode. Like any good musical, it opens with a group number, branches off into solos, and then reunites the cast for a grand finale.

But wait, you might ask, how does the show justify such an odd premise? "Strange New Worlds" is the show that, back in season 1's "The Elysian Kingdom," turned the Enterprise crew into characters out of a child's fairy tale. A musical episode is well within the show's tonal range and ability to excuse.

At the start of the episode, the Enterprise is investigating a "naturally-occurring subspace fold" — Starfleet hopes the fold can be harnessed to enable faster communication. When Uhura and Spock send a song into it hoping for a response, it responds by altering probability to turn the Enterprise into a reflection of a musical universe. Long story short? The cosmic phenomenon of the week is making the Enterprise act like they're in a musical, so just go with it.

Every cast member, main and recurring, gets at least one moment singing. Musical episodes on TV will always put a cast out of their elements; they signed up to act, not sing and dance. How do the respective musical talents of the cast of "Strange New Worlds" compare?

1. Ensign Nyota Uhura

Taking the crown as best singer on the Enterprise is Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding). As the ship's communications officer and polyglot, it's only natural that's she also skilled in song. The final solo of the episode, "Keep Us Connected," is hers. It's basically a musical recap of her character arc; she sings about how she's been alone since her family's death. That is, until she came to the Enterprise and found friends who had faith in her.

Even before "Subspace Rhapsody," Uhura was canonically a good singer. In "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "Charlie X," she sings for the rest of the crew. Nichelle Nichols' singing was high energy but her voice was soft and melodic like a lullaby. Gooding, on the other hand, goes loud. Once Uhura has the engine room to herself, she belts her heart out, singing at the top of her lungs, yet stays perfectly in tune with the strumming instrumentals. 

Gooding is not just an actor, they're a Broadway star too; they first broke out from the 2018-2020 runs of the rock musical "Jagged Little Pill." That theatrical spirit hasn't left Gooding; while singing as Uhura, they animate their body and project their voice like a stage performer. The results are enrapturing.

2. Lieutenant La'an Noonien Singh

La'an Noonien Singh, the Enterprise's uptight security chief, is played by Christina Chong. On top of her acting, Chong is a singer with the solos "Twin Flames," "No Blame," and "Can't Show Love" to her name. Surprise, surprise — the other trained musician among the cast gets second place as the show's best singer.

After spotting Una (Rebecca Romijn) and Jim Kirk (Paul Wesley) hitting it off, La'an retreats to her quarters and breaks out into a solo ballad, scored to a sad piano melody. La'an is usually rather stoic and closed off from others. Her song, "How Would That Feel," from the isolated setting to the lyrics, is all about that. She asks herself if she should "change her paradigm" and open herself up to others — but in turn, if she could manage to "fly blind" in her life.

The blocking reflects the song's theme of self-reflection — there's a shot of La'an standing in front of a mirror and then out a window. Most of the shots, though, are still close-ups of her as she sings. Rather than a theater star, Chong feels like someone most used to singing in place before a fixed microphone. It works, though, thanks to her expressive face (that she finally gets to put to full use) and how she keeps hitting higher and higher notes as the song goes on.

3. Lieutenant Commander Spock

Spock (Ethan Peck) has always shown some musical inclinations, even back during "The Original Series." He plays a Vulcan lute in his spare time; this season revealed that it was prescribed to him as a coping method for his emotions. We've never seen Spock singing along as he plucks the lute's strings, but "Subspace Rhapsody" reveals that isn't due to lack of talent.

Spock is the first crew member to break out into song during the first group number, "Status Report." Seeing an emotionally-restrained Vulcan singing underlines the surreality of the musical; normally, Spock would be the least likely to express himself so overtly.

He gets a solo later in the episode, right before Uhura's: "I'm The X." The title's meaning is twofold. For one, Spock is the ship's science officer, so he's always trying to solve the unknown like an equation. It's also a pun on how Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) has chosen her career over continuing their relationship. Spock's feelings of betrayal tie the meanings together; he's decided that giving over to his emotions yielded disastrous consequences so he will return to cold analysis.

"I'm The X" is one of the calmest heartbreak songs I've ever heard. Underscored by a dour electronic tune, Peck maintains a strong and even timbre while moving his face as little as possible; Spock's shields haven't dropped even under these circumstances. Yet somehow, you can still feel the rawness in his voice.

4. Captain Christopher Pike

A plot point in "Subspace Rhapsody" is that the musical behavior is causing the Enterprise crew to reveal information they'd rather keep secret. Captain Pike (Anson Mount) gets the worst of it. His partner Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) calls after the music plague spreads to her own ship. She and Pike get caught in a duet where they have "A Private Conversation" about the relationship, their frustrations with one another laid bare for the Enterprise bridge crew to see. 

The one thing that isn't embarrassing? Pike's singing ability. Scrofano is a capable scene partner, but Mount steals the scene for himself with a smooth, mellifluous baritone — exactly the kind of voice you'd picture coming out of his handsome face.  

Since "A Private Conversation" is the most comedic of the setlist, it has a playful orchestral tune, like something out of "Peter and the Wolf." Tragically, it's cut short when La'an disconnects the transmission. We do get to hear a bit more of Pike singing in supporting parts during "Status Report" and "We Are One." Pike might've been uncomfortable singing, but I was eating it up.

5. Commander Una Chin-Riley and 6. Lieutenant James T. Kirk

Back in episode 6, "Lost In Translation," it was revealed that Kirk (Paul Wesley) has been promoted to First Officer of his current ship, The USS Farragut. So, he spends some time on the Enterprise shadowing Una (Rebecca Romijn), an experienced First Officer. Their duet, "Connect To Your Truth," is about this new mentor-student relationship; Una explains how to best be a starship second-in-command.

Naturally, Commander Chin-Riley takes the lead in the duet. "Connect To Your Truth" boasts some of the most complex lyrics and creative rhyming schemes in the song's tracklist; from the wordplay to the flighty mood it often feels like a "Star Trek" themed "Mary Poppins" song. The nature of the song also evokes "My Fair Lady" (or rather, "My Fair First Officer"). Romijn understands how to handle this, drawing out some of her line deliveries even if her singing voice doesn't quite escape the confines of her normal one. Wesley handles himself just fine but definitely cedes the spotlight to his costar.

Romijn must have been eager to sing; she  was  a Music major before becoming an actress and model. Thus, Una also gets a solo — "Keeping Secrets" — a follow-up to La'an's "How Would That Feel" as the Commander advises her younger friend. Una confesses that "in another life, [she] could see herself on a stage." By enthusiasm alone, I could see her getting there.

7. Nurse Christine Chapel

Back in "Charades," Nurse Christine Chapel had been rejected from a scientific fellowship. In "Subspace Rhapsody," she's applied to another one and gets it — but that means she'll have to leave the Enterprise. Spock confronts her about it while she's toasting to her success and the number makes it clear where her priorities are. "I'm Ready" is all about how Christine's been working so hard to get to the top of the scientific field; she can't even bother paying attention to Spock, so focused on her own dreams and ambitions.

The music is a poppy dance song, with everyone in the bar joining in and swaying back and forth; only Christine's voice is clearly audible but there's some background vocal harmonizing too. "I'm Ready" has the most extras and complex choreography of any "Subspace Rhapsody" sequence. Some of those extras take turns carrying Christine around as she dances around the room, climbing onto the bar and some tables along the way.

Sadly, the most underwhelming part of the scene is Jess Bush's own singing. From my own ear, it sounded like her voice had been auto-filtered. It might have been a creative choice, whether to have her voice match the upbeat mood of the song or to show that Christine's not her usual, more reserved self. I'm not convinced it was the right one, though.

8. Lieutenant Erica Ortegas and 9. Dr. Joseph M'Benga

Musical TV episodes always reveal which cast members are comfortable/capable with singing and which aren't. Those in the latter category for "Strange New Worlds" appear to have been Melissa Navia (Erica Ortegas) and Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M'Benga). Neither one gets a solo song, whether due to runtime constraints, the actors' disinterest, or something else altogether. As a result, it's hard to judge these two against their castmates.

Both Ortegas and M'Benga do sing during the group numbers. M'Benga's parts in both songs feature him harmonizing with Chapel (they both work in Sick Bay, after all), so it's especially hard to get a read on his own voice.

Ortegas, though, does get a brief solo as part of "Status Report." The song features a bridge of the Enterprise Bridge crew describing their stations on ready; Ortegas does so for the ship's helm. Navia's voice sounded good, to the point where I'm puzzled why they didn't give Ortegas more material . She's generally a comic relief character, so a funny song would fit her like a glove. Maybe "Strange New Worlds" season 3 will have to feature "Subspace Rhapsody II" to give Ortegas a moment at the mic.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is streaming on Paramount+.

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Of course Star Trek looked to Buffy for its big musical: 'That was our bar'

Co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers tell EW how they pulled off "Subspace Rhapsody" on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Warning: This article contains spoilers from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody."

When it comes to musical episodes of television, few have done it better than Buffy the Vampire Slayer . The producers behind Star Trek had that pop culture event on the brain when they set out to make the sci-fi franchise's first-ever music-fueled extravaganza on Strange New Worlds season 2.

"That's one of the best made ones," series co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers tells EW of 2001's "Once More, With Feeling," in which Sarah Michelle Gellar 's supernatural warrior faces a demon of song and dance. "It was done very well. It's really smart and thoughtful. It has big heart. The only thing I will say that I distinctly thought differently was that they wrote their own music, and I knew that that was a little more than we could handle. But that was kind of like, let's challenge ourselves to be as good as the best of this [genre]. That was our bar."

As time went on, Myers realized they actually could write their own music, with help from Letters to Cleo rockers Kay Hanley and Tom Polce, who crafted the songs. "Subspace Rhapsody," the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 (now streaming on Paramount+), sees the likes of Captain Pike ( Anson Mount ), Number One ( Rebecca Romijn ), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Spock (Ethan Peck), and the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise breaking out into musical numbers after an encounter with a quantum probability field. They all find themselves operating by the rules of a parallel reality in which everyone sings all the time, which causes problems for anyone trying to hide their emotions, including La'an (Christina Chong) and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush). The problem gets bigger when it starts spreading to other spaceships.

"I'm a huge fan of musicals, but had no idea what it took to actually make one," says Akiva Goldsman, the other co-showrunner on Strange New Worlds . Myers had worked on musical episodes of Ugly Betty and The Magicians , but Goldsman was coming in fresh. "When we started on season 2, a small voice, like a gremlin kept going, 'Music. Musical. Musical.' And Henry kept going, 'Not yet. Not yet. Not yet,'" he continues. "We were going back and forth on the story, and we sort of knew where the character arcs were. Then, to our delight and terror, the idea of what we needed to do emotionally in episode 9 and the idea of a musical went hand in hand."

With a script written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, the producers got to work on "Subspace Rhapsody" about six months ahead of filming, Myers estimates. Goldsman likes to say, "This episode happened in large part before it happened," meaning most of the execution went into prep, including dance rehearsals and singing lessons. Director Dermott Downs also wanted to shoot the episode like a musical, which means the shots are "a little more wide and you really see people doing things, you're not in their faces all the time," Myers explains. "It was a lot of work from a lot of people, but the one thing I remember waking up and thinking was that everyone will expect this to be silly. We should surprise them and have it be gut-wrenching and emotional."

Some of that can be credited to Gooding. It was clear to everyone from the start of the show that their Uhura actress had some pipes. An early episode of Strange New Worlds season 1 saw her singing out tones to activate a piece of alien tech. So, it's no surprise that the actress is the one to get the musical's big power ballad, "Keep Us Connected." "What we do like to do is write to our cast," Goldsman remarks. "It suddenly became clear that a lot of the folks who we work with had musical theater in their backgrounds or real musical training. The universe was conspiring to get us to throw down in that way."

Peck was less confident about pulling this off, Myers notes: "I don't think Ethan thought that he could do it, and he surprised everyone by having this crazy deep voice, the baritone, that was kind of beautiful."

Now that it's all come together, it almost feels like a miracle that it even happened. Goldsman looks back to when the news of what would become "Subspace Rhapsody" came up during the closed-door meetings with the other showrunners from across the active Star Trek series. "All I remember was people being like, 'Okay, sure,'" he recalls. "This is basically the tenor of all the [meetings], which is somebody will say a bunch of stuff and then somebody else will go, 'Wow, that sounds cool.' Subtext: 'Please don't f--- it up.'"

Goldman adds, "We were like, 'If we're gonna do this, we gotta do this.'" And so they did.

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Related content:

• Star Trek is getting its first-ever musical episode
• How Star Trek brought the 'chaos bomb' of Lower Decks to Strange New Worlds
• Star Trek: Lower Decks stars enter the world of live action in first look at Strange New Worlds crossover

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“In a weird way, that made it better.”

Behind-The-Scenes On The Star Trek Musical

From the director to the choreographer, to showrunners, writers, and actors — it was all hands on deck for “Subspace Rhapsody.”

Strange New Worlds’ showrunners always knew Season 2 Episode 9 was going to be big. They just didn’t know it was going to be this big.

“It was planned that all the arcs would come to a head in Episode 9,” co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman tells Inverse . “Then we decided it would also be a musical and, in a weird way, that made it better. We had obligations to these character stories. And they were gonna sing it!”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of “Subspace Rhapsody,” is just how crucial the episode is not just for the overall story of Strange New Worlds Season 2, but for Trek canon more broadly. This fun episode full of singing and dancing isn’t just a one-off, it’s an essential piece in the Strange New Worlds journey. This is still a prequel series, technically, but, when it comes to addressing the rest of Trek canon, co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers tells Inverse the show is never “trying to jump into the thing that’s it’s gonna be,” which was especially true of the musical.

“We try to imagine the person who is still living through the moment,” Myers adds.

But how did Strange New Worlds pull that off? Inverse spoke to both showrunners, director Dermott Downs, and choreographer Roberto Campanella to find out. Spoilers ahead.

Choreographer Roberto Campanella with the cast of Strange New Worlds .

Defying Anti-Gravity

“For me, I wanted to know what Episode 8 was,” Roberto Campanella says. “I wanted to know the cast more than anything. I wanted to know their characters.”

Campanella is an Oscar-winning choreographer perhaps best known for his work on What We Do In The Shadows and The Shape of Water . But despite his deep knowledge of dance, he maintains that everything about “Subspace Rhapsody” was designed to make sense within the Trek world and not to be constantly winking to other musicals.

“I guess there’s one moment, a tribute to West Side Story when the dancers run toward the camera in the finale,” Campanella admits. “But other than that, I wasn’t trying to reference anything. I let my experience dictate where we were going, physically.”

Campanella also largely credits the cast of Strange New Worlds with making sure the story was told through the music. “They know who they are better than anybody else. They were always open to collaborate. Always. I love this cast.”

Don’t jump the space shark

“They’re running a great ship over there.”

The director of the episode, Dermott Downs — who previously directed The Flash musical episode “Duet” in 2017 — points out the SNW cast kept the episode “grounded,” and although it was the next-to-last episode filmed in Season 2, that the cast “worked weekends,” and put in extra rehearsals to get everything just right. Downs credits some of this energy boost to timing.

“You would think they'd be pretty exhausted,” Downs says, “but Season 1 just started airing when I was at the end of my prep [in 2022]. So they were very fueled by the positive response of Season 1 when we started filming.” Downs makes it clear that everybody sang their hearts out, both on set and in laying down the tracks. “Yes, they all sang,” Downs confirms. “When I came on, there were pre-recorded temp tracks, but I was excited to hear their versions because I knew the cast was gonna bring their own nuance and emotions to the songs.”

Downs also stresses he didn’t want the episode to “jump the shark,” and that keeping everything grounded in the reality and canon of Star Trek itself was very important. “The anomaly hits the ship and the music becomes a kind of virus. It’s a great plot device. They express what they can’t normally say.”

Although The Original Series never did a musical episode, the idea of a weird space virus causing people to express their innermost feelings is very reminiscent of the 1966 episode “The Naked Time,” perhaps better known as “The One Where Sulu Is Shirtless With a Sword and Spock Cries A Lot.” Star Trek canon clearly allows for this kind of thing. But, we now know that a “musical reality” is a part of the Star Trek multiverse.

George Takei as Sulu, swinging a sword in “The Naked Time.”

Downs also points out that almost nothing was cut from the final version of the episode, which runs at 62 minutes. If you count the brief Klingon dance number — featuring the promised return of Bruce Horak as the Klingon captain — there are technically 10 unique songs in “Subspace Rhapsody.” In other words, it’s a supersized episode for good reason. (Note: speaking to Variety , the showrunners mentioned another version of the Klingon song that was “operatic.” It’s unclear if that alternate version was ever filmed or recorded.)

“I’ve done so much episodic TV and that hour becomes really like 42 minutes,” Downs says. “This wasn’t like that. There’s very little that changed. And that starts with the writers’ room. They’re running a great ship over there.”

Star Trek canon shockwaves

Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Kirk (Paul Wesley) in "Subspace Rhapsody."

While “Subspace Rhapsody,” brought Season 2 SNW plot arcs to a crossroads — most notably Spock and Chapel’s relationship, Uhura’s emerging independence, and Pike and Batel’s feelings for each other — it also dove deep into some Captain Kirk canon . While La’an had a relationship with a Kirk from an alternate dimension in Episode 3, she learns she can’t have a relationship with Prime Kirk, because he’s currently in a relationship with someone named “Carol,” and this person is pregnant!

Longtime fans know this is Carol Marcus, Kirk’s ex from The Wrath of Khan and mother of David Marcus, their son. The Wrath of Khan takes place in 2285, and Strange New Worlds is happening in 2260 at this point. So, if David is born in 2260 or 2261, that makes him either 24 or 25 in The Wrath , which is just about right. Chronologically, this all matches up with the existing canon, but it probably does change our perception of canon a bit, at least in terms of our feelings about present-tense Kirk.

“Everyone knows this happened,” Myers says. “The opportunity that we thought we had was, this is a part of Kirk that you've never seen and it happened, and we have a chance to explore it.”

Neither Goldsman nor Myers can reveal if we’ll actually see Carol Marcus or baby David in Season 3, but they do stress that Strange New Worlds is always trying to make characters like Kirk seem real to today’s audience.

“This is how people live,” Myers says.

That said, both showrunners are always open to fan theories, specifically the canon-changing implications of the way the episode ends...

Does the ending of “Subspace Rhapsody” create the TOS theme music?

Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel in "Subspace Rhapsody."

In the end, the Enterprise crew has to break the “improbability field” of the musical reality, by putting on a show-stopping number, encouraged by the one and only Uhura. But, after this song concludes, the outro music we hear is very clearly the 1960s Alexander Courage theme song of the classic show. All the other songs in “Subspace Rhapsody” were written by Tom Polce and Kay Hanley, but that outro music is 100 percent retro. So if the Polce-Hanley songs clearly exist in-universe, does that mean the theme to Star Trek: The Orignal Series just became in-universe canon because of this episode?

“That hurts my brain too much!” Akiva Goldsman says, laughing. “Pain precludes me from answering that. Maybe?”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Episode 9, “Subspace Rhapsody” streams on Paramount+. The album itself is now on Apple and Spotify.

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'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' showrunners reveal origins of that historic (and epic) musical episode

Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers discuss the making of Episode 9, 'Subspace Rhapsody.'

Most "Trek" fans went into Thursday night's musical episode of " Star Trek: Strange New Worlds " with a bit of trepidation, half-expecting some cringe moments to unfold as the director, cinematographer, writers, composers and actors tried to pull off something that had never been attempted in the noble franchise's 57-year history.

But cosmic tumblers aligned amid the improbable song-and-dance reality of a rare subspace fold and season 2's penultimate episode "Subspace Rhapsody" nailed it on every level. The U.S.S. Enterprise crew (and any starship in the vicinity) were stricken with sudden impulses to belt out their inner-most emotions and, due to the show's palpable cast chemistry , it worked brilliantly!

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This infectious musical episode, written by Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff and directed by Dermott Downs, with original songs composed by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce, was injected with many memorable tunes, incredible vocal performances, and a stylish charm that requires repeat viewing just to soak up all the Broadway-like emotion. 

Executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers spoke to Variety in an interview that gives viewers a behind-the-scenes peek at what went into making "Subspace Rhapsody," and how the idea for a full-on musical episode first emerged.

 "The truth is it goes all the way back to Season 1 of 'Star Trek: Picard.'" Goldsman told Variety. "We were sitting on set and [co-showrunner Michael] Chabon and I were talking about a musical [episode], and Chabon goes, 'I know Lin-Manuel Miranda.' [Actor] Michelle Hurd was there and she was like, 'Oh my God, call him!' And so then, like, three days later, Michael came in. And we said, 'Did you call him?' And he goes, 'Yeah, he didn’t call me back.' And so died the musical idea for that series. 

"I love musicals, but know nothing about them. And then it turns out my partner Henry has done this before, and well. And so what a f***ing delight! I mean, I had no idea what we were biting off. Henry clearly did."

Myers added his recollections on the genesis of the moving "Subspace Rhapsody.” 

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"The idea for it came when were pitching what Season 2 should be," he noted. "I remember, Bill [Wolkoff], one of our writers had a crazy idea, and we were like, 'Well, that's interesting, let's try that!' I did a bunch of musicals on 'The Magicians,' and I did one on 'Ugly Betty.' And so I just knew what a giant pain it would be — I mean, how difficult it was. I started making calls probably about six months before production."

Goldsman recalls how fortunate the production was to have a professional cohort who had the experience to transform a standard episode into a joyous chapter of sci-fi television overflowing with compelling songs.

"It was built around story and theme, and it was tailored to the vocal ranges of the particular actors," he added. "We ended up with an absurdly good cast on "Strange New Worlds." Like, it makes no sense whatsoever. Usually, there's a dud in the bunch. It was as if they all secretly had been coveting the idea of a musical their entire lives. So it was really good fortune how much everybody liked doing it."

Making sure that the tone of the episode was more melancholy than humorous was something that kept Myers awake in the wee hours of the morning.

"The only middle of the night thing I remember having about this was waking up and thinking, 'This shouldn't be a funny episode. This should be an episode that breaks your heart and makes you want to cry.' That's what people won’t expect from this. They'll come in thinking it's going to be funny. And I was like, 'No, no, no. These have to have moments, they have to be about real character things.'

"We had someone to teach the people to sing. We had someone to teach them how to dance. The actual shooting of it, weirdly, was not as hard as you'd think, but only because it has months and months of work to lead up to it."

The executive producers were well aware of the proficient pipes of Celia Rose Gooding, Rebecca Romijn and Christina Chong, but nobody expected Ethan Peck to deliver the goods in such a striking fashion.

"Our composer played with all of them to see what their range was, and we wrote for them," said Goldsman. "I mean, I didn't know Ethan could sing until I went, 'Holy f***, Ethan can sing!' Which is, by the way, kind of what happens when you watch the episode. You're like, 'Wait, Spock is singing now?'"

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’" season 2 finale airs Aug. 10 on Paramount Plus .

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Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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• kev72 I don't know anyone who liked this episode. I was ultra cringe. Yes some of them are very talented but really it felt like an audition for Bollywood. Reply
• Classical Motion We all love it here at our place. Reply
• Classical Motion Especially the Klingons. Reply

Classical Motion said: We all love it here at our place.

• Classical Motion Does a poll change your opinion? Never has mine. Have you ever made a decision using a pole? That's like picking a choice of stupids. A pole is a direct assault on critical thinking. What are they teaching these days? Reply

Classical Motion said: Does a poll change your opinion? Never has mine. Have you ever made a decision using a pole? That's like picking a choice of stupids. A pole is a direct assault on critical thinking. What are they teaching these days?

• View All 7 Comments

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You likely have to be a fan of the musical theater genre in order to connect with “Subspace Rhapsody” — but while this episode is not going to be for everyone, I strongly believe that all fans should applaud Strange New Worlds for undertaking this venture.

When Star Trek takes risks, it creates opportunities for unique experiences and episodes that allow the franchise to try new things and connect with its audience in different ways. A musical might not work for you, but the courage it takes for the franchise to decide to create a musical episode may then make possible another experiment that does. And if this experiment does not work for you? Well, you still have nearly 900 other episodes of Star Trek to enjoy.

“Subspace Rhapsody” works for me. In addition to being a full-on musical complete with big songs, dance numbers, and grand finales, this episode is also a deep character episode that continues, and in some cases concludes, character arcs from season two to this point. It is not a throwaway triviality of a Strange New Worlds episode, but one that is integral to the threads and relationships that have been cultivated across the first two seasons. And it’s fun that so much of that comes to a head through song.

While investigating a naturally-occurring subspace fold — in the hopes that it will unlock the secrets to real-time subspace communication across the Federation — the Enterprise accidentally dislodges a “quantum uncertainty field” that creates a new reality in which people sing uncontrollably.

Obviously, there is going to be some element of contrivance in order to maneuver a Star Trek episode into a musical, but you know what? This one works for me. It’s technobabbly, it’s connected to the era of Strange New Worlds and the canon of Star Trek — why yes, real time subspace communications would be great! — and it opens the door to a lot of fun.

The ten original songs of “Subspace Rhapsody” — written by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce — range from solos (“Keeping Secrets”) to ensemble numbers which feature the whole crew (“We Are One”). Each has something to like about them, though a few are more forgettable than others. My personal favorite of the whole episode is the opener (“Status Report”), primarily because it blends the unique language of Star Trek with actual music in a way that I personally enjoyed a lot, but Uhura’s big number (“Keep Us Connected”) and Chapel’s song (“I’m Ready”) are also real standouts.

And while the episode potentially feels a little smaller than many fans would have expected from a Star Trek musical as there are not a lot of big choreographed set pieces, that actually feels appropriate for me for this big character episode that focuses more on individual relationships rather than the ship as a whole.

“Subspace Rhapsody” is, at its heart, a character episode. It brings the Spock/Chapel relationship to its apparent conclusion, and provides some exceptional material for La’an and the emotional fallout from her relationship with the alternate James T. Kirk.

When Chapel gets accepted into a fellowship for archeological medicine run by Doctor Roger Korby — who TOS fans knows has some importance in Chapel’s life — this seems like it is the end of the road for her dalliance with Spock.

It is rewarding to see her make decisions that are for herself and not related to Spock, and after what we learned about the character’s experiences during the Klingon War in last week’s episode, it’s tough not to feel like Chapel deserves the happiness (and the career potential for her future career) that she is currently feeling. Chapel’s song is also one of the standouts of the episode, with the most advanced chorography of any of the songs and a really great musical performance from Bush.

And for Spock, it appears we have reached the end of his short-lived experiment with indulging his emotions. Chapel’s decision to leave the Enterprise for three months, which probably means bringing her relationship with Spock to a halt, drives the Vulcan science officer back to pure logic (“I’m the X”) in an effort to cure a broken heart.

Strange New Worlds has added a rich layer of complexity to the Spock/Chapel relationship from the Original Series that I have enjoyed, but everything about it has felt a tad rushed — a consequence of having only ten episodes to tell their (and all of the characters’) story.

One of the advantages of a longer season is that shows had more breathing room to allow things to develop, rather than barreling through the story before time ran out for the year. Despite that, I still think the Spock/Chapel relationship has been a rewarding arc — and I’m thinking there will be more story to tell whenever Season 3 rolls around.

But while the Spock/Chapel breakup is probably some viewers’ biggest character moment in the episode, for me La’an has the most fulfilling emotional arc of this episode. She begins the episode wanting to shut down any singing because of her fear about the emotional release it creates — but by the end of the episode, the security officer has opened herself up fully to her emotions for the first time, and reached out for connection to those around her.

“Subspace Rhapsody” also lobs a bit of an unexpected curveball which dovetails really nicely with Star Trek canon — because while Kirk feels the same connection that La’an does, his current relationship with Carol Marcus, and her pregnancy with his son, make any exploration of that connection impossible.

Ultimately, falling into bed with Kirk is not the obvious route the episode chooses to take, and consummating the romantic connection between the characters is not where the emotional benefits of this experience lie for La’an. This version of Jim Kirk is not her Kirk, but this experience has allowed her to understand that it is possible for someone to see La’an as herself — and not just part of Khan’s legacy.

We already know from the Original Series that La’an was never going to end up in a forever romantic relationship with Kirk, but the events of this episode might make such a thing possible for her with someone else. That’s very smart writing, because it creates a greater depth for the character and thinks beyond the cheap thrill of giving Kirk a romantic liaison on the Enterprise crew — and it is backed by a terrific, emotional performance from Christina Chong, an accomplished singer who threads the musical and dramatic moments of this episode together wonderfully (“How Would That Feel”).

Jim Kirk’s role this week was a wonderful one — both with La’an, and his first-officer bonding time with Una (“Connect to Your Truth”) — but it feels like the show is running out of plausible reasons to get him aboard the Enterprise . I like how Paul Wesley is portraying the future starship captain, but after four appearances in the the last two seasons, it’s time to let Kirk have his time on the Farragut.

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

• The soundtrack for this episode is available through many streaming services.
• The reference to the crew poofing into bunnies appears to be a wink to perhaps the most well-known musical television episode, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “One More With Feeling.”
• Captain Batel finally gets her first name, Marie, spoken aloud this week; it previously appeared on a screen graphic back in “Ad Astra per Aspera.”
• Kirk mentions his sometimes-relationship status with “Carol,” who of course is Carol Marcus, the Project Genesis scientist seen in  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — and her yet-to-be-born child is Kirk’s son, David.
• The Klingon ships seen this episode were called “ K’t’inga -class battlecruisers” — introduced in  Star Trek: The Motion Picture — instead of the more period-appropriate D-7 designation.
• Spock’s diplomacy with the Klingons, which began in “The Broken Circle” and is picked up on here — and it nicely foreshadows the critical role he will play in the two civilizations’ peace process in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .
• It’s nice to get another look up the Jeffries Tube shaft, using current-day visual effects to let us see the rest of the tube in the way that The Original Series could only hint at.
• The Klingon general aboard the boy-band warship was played by Bruce Horak, who portrayed Hemmer last season (and again in this year’s “Lost in Translation”)

“Subspace Rhapsody” is Star Trek at its most experimental, and it is to be applauded and enjoyed and supported for that. The cast and crew clearly had a blast making this episode, and their infectious joy seeps through the whole episode to make it a rewarding affair.

Coupled with some compelling character work, a few very catchy songs, and boy band Klingons, this musical outing is a triumph. I don’t think a reprise of this format would work as well as the first, but I hope Strange New Worlds never stops taking risks.

900 episodes of Star Trek later, the franchise continues to find new ways to tell stories.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 concludes with “Hegemony” next Thursday, August 10 on Paramount+.

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How Strange New Worlds pulled off the first-ever Star Trek musical episode

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Throwing an hour of light comedy into the middle of a 10-episode arc with galactic-level stakes could derail an entire season, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds dances gracefully from week to week between courtroom drama, time-travel romance, and its latest wild swing: a musical episode.

In “Subspace Rhapsody,” the crew of the USS Enterprise encounters a strange cosmic phenomenon that induces them to break into song and reveal their innermost feelings. The episode features 10 original songs by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce (of Letters to Cleo fame) and highlights the vocal talents of the cast, including Tony nominee and Grammy winner Celia Rose Gooding and singer-songwriter Christina Chong.

Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman, who heads up the franchise at Paramount, has been teasing the possibility of a Star Trek musical since 2020. But at the time, his only venue for bizarre genre experiments was Star Trek: Short Treks , a short subject anthology series that filled the gaps between Discovery and Picard . Short Treks eventually became the launchpad for Strange New Worlds , whose tone has proven equally elastic. After the warm reception to its first season, which contained everything from a screwball body-swap comedy to a grim political drama involving child sacrifice, it was time to set phasers to “sing.”

According to the episode’s director, Dermott Downs, Chong was the cast member who pushed the hardest for a musical episode. Chong, whose debut EP Twin Flames is also out this week, confesses in her Spotify bio that her screen acting career began as a way to raise her profile as a singer and stage actor. “Subspace Rhapsody” would seem to be an important landmark in her career, as she features heavily on the soundtrack, including the solo ballad “How Would That Feel?”

(Chong is unavailable for comment due to the conditions of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, as is the rest of the cast and the episode’s writers, Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff. Songwriters Kay Hanley and Tom Polce also could not be reached via Paramount publicity.)

Indeed, one of the interesting challenges of producing a musical episode of an established television show is tailoring the music to suit the talents of the existing cast. Who’s a belter? Who’s a crooner? Who’s funny? Who might not be comfortable singing at all? The tools at hand impact not only the distribution of the songs, but the shape of the story. The narrative and emotional weight of a musical has to fall on the shoulders of the cast members most prepared to carry it.

So, it’s no surprise that, while “Subspace Rhapsody” gives nearly every regular cast member an opportunity to show off, the heart of the story is Ensign Nyota Uhura, portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding. Gooding’s performance as Frankie in Jagged Little Pill , a Broadway jukebox musical featuring the songs of Alanis Morissette, garnered them a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album (shared with the rest of the cast). Gooding sings the episode’s 11 o’clock number, “Keep Us Connected,” an undeniable earworm that showcases their impressive vocal range and power. Gooding’s Broadway bona fides bring a level of legitimacy to “Subspace Rhapsody” that’s lacking even in top-tier TV musical episodes like Buffy ’s “Once More, With Feeling” and Community ’s “Regional Holiday Music.”

This also isn’t Downs’ first crack at a musical episode, as he also helmed “Duet,” a crossover between The Flash and Supergirl that reunited former Glee castmates Grant Gustin, Melissa Benoist, and Darren Criss. Downs used this experience, as well as his long resume as a music video cinematographer, to secure the “Subspace Rhapsody” gig from the list of episodes in development for Strange New Worlds ’ second season. Combined with his fondness for the original Star Trek , the possibility of working on Trek’s first musical episode was too exciting to pass up, despite the obvious risks.

“There was a great potential to jump the shark,” says Downs, “because if you’re this grounded show, how are you going to do a musical in outer space? And to their credit, they crafted a great story. Once you understand the anomaly and how music pushes forward all of these interior feelings through song, then you have the potential for so many different kinds of songs.”

However, the prospect of singing for the viewing audience was not immediately appealing to every cast member, a fact that is lampshaded within the framework of the episode. Much of the Enterprise crew fears the subspace anomaly’s ability to make them spill their guts through song. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is afraid of getting into an argument with his girlfriend, Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), and the pair ends up airing out their relationship issues on the bridge. (This song is, appropriately, entitled “A Private Conversation.”) Mount’s singing role is simpler than his castmates’ on a technical level, but leverages his comedic talents and awkward, boy-next-door charm.

“He crushed it,” says Downs. “It was like a country ballad gone wrong.”

Babs Olusanmokun, who portrays the multifaceted Dr. Joseph M’Benga, sings the bare minimum in the episode, and his character makes a point to tell his shipmates (and the viewer) that he does not sing . For his part, Downs cannot comment on any studio magic that may or may not have been employed to make the less seasoned vocalists in the cast more tuneful, but a listener with an ear for autotune will definitely detect some pitch correction.

Downs says that Ethan Peck, who portrays the young Lieutenant Spock , was among the more apprehensive cast members, but if anything, this becomes an asset to his performance in the episode. Spock has spent this season actively exploring his human feelings, even entering into a romantic relationship with Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). Spock’s solo “I’m the X” sees Spock retreating into his shell, and the actor’s shyness feeds into the character’s conflict. Peck’s performance of the song, which was written for his smooth baritone, was the production’s most pleasant surprise. The temp track of the song that the crew worked with (until Peck recorded his version over a weekend, like the rest of the cast) featured a bigger, more conventionally Broadway vocal, but Peck performs it in character — superficially steady, but with strong emotional undercurrents just below the surface.

On a character level, however, the musical format might be most revelatory for Rebecca Romijn’s Commander Una Chin-Riley, aka Number One. Una began the series as a very guarded person harboring a secret that could end her career. Even as far back as her appearance in the 2019 Short Treks episode “Q&A,” her advice to new arrival Spock was to “keep your ‘freaky’ to yourself,” in this case referring to her love for Gilbert and Sullivan ( inherited from Romijn herself ). Since then, her much more consequential secrets have been revealed, and she finds herself unburdened, and uses the opportunity presented by the musical anomaly to encourage her mentees to do the same. Una’s songs, “Connect to Your Truth”’ and “Keeping Secrets,” see her offering advice to rising first officer James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and her protege La’an (Chong), respectively, about the futility of withholding your full self from others.

“Subspace Rhapsody” concludes with an ensemble number about the crew’s common purpose and fellowship — an appropriate sentiment not only for a musical episode but for Strange New Worlds . Star Trek has always been about friendship and cooperation, but no previous incarnation (save, perhaps, for Deep Space Nine ) has granted each member of the cast such even amounts of attention and importance, from Captain Pike to Ensign Uhura. Previous Trek series could perhaps have sustained a musical episode (Ronald D. Moore even pitched one for DS9 back in the ’90s). For a series sold to fans as a return to “old-school Star Trek,” Strange New Worlds has taken some wild creative risks. While the show has resumed its time-tested episodic “problem of the week” format, its writers and producers have used this structure to experiment in ways that its sister shows, Discovery and Picard , could never have gotten away with. As corny as it might be, on Strange New Worlds it feels particularly appropriate to close a story with the entire crew singing about their trust in each other, in perfect harmony.

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REVIEW – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody”

Star Trek has officially done a musical episode! It’s very exciting and was the episode I was most excited about this season. The latest edition to Season 2 is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” . Before we get into the quality of the job that director Dermott Downs and writers Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff did, we need to acknowledge what a gambit this was. There have been many experimental episodes and out-there concepts, with something like “Spock’s Brain” being the worst example.

Even as far as crossovers like the one earlier this season go, a musical episode is still very, very risky. In a season full of crazy ideas, this stands out a lot, and that says something. So how much did this risk pay off? Is “Subspace Rhapsody” an instant classic or an episode that’s best left ignored? All of this and more in this review for the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

WARNING: This review contains full spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 – “Subspace Rhapsody” . If you’ve not seen the episode, please turn away now!

NOTE: This is being written amidst the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes . Without the work of those on strike, this episode could not exist. Any praise for this episode should be considered praise for the writers, actors, and other artists involved. As far as I can tell, independent reviews like this (made without the use of studio-provided screeners) are not against strike rules. I fully support both unions’ fight for fair working conditions and adequate compensation. Do not support studios during a strike.

I’m not much of a musician, but know enough to know that the music here was amazing. The soundtrack isn’t due for release until tomorrow, but I’ll definitely be streaming it for a while. It’s full of a really good mix of songs, from show-stopping ballads to hilarious smaller numbers. I loved it, especially considering most of the cast aren’t known for their musical talents. The voice training they went for with the entire cast, even with the smaller characters paid off in droves. There’s scarcely a note off-key.

The biggest exception to the “not a musician” rule is La’an ( Christina Chong ). She has released some music recently that I find myself obsessed with. Her number in Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody”, entitled “How Would that Feel”, had my jaw on the floor. I knew she had an amazing voice, but wow. It managed to pack in so much emotional power into a few minutes. By far, it’s my favourite of the episode. It was equal parts exhilarating and emotionally devastating, with all the punch of one of the ballads from Falsettos. I loved it.

Songwriters Tom Polce and Kay Hanley really knocked it out of the park. I appreciated how distinct all the songs were, with none of them feeling the same. There’s flashes of all sorts of genres, but the Klingons stand out the most. I’m also fairly certain they managed to integrate Bruce Horak into that scene, which was amazing. The integration of science-fiction nomenclature was also fun, this being the only musical I know of to do that. There’s a variety here that, much like this season, is of very high quality.

Spock and Christine

I’ve made no secret of how I feel about the romance between Spock ( Ethan Peck ) and Chapel ( Jess Bush ) this season. That being said, this episode really put everything in perspective, carefully explaining why Spock is so hurt by Christine. We finally get word of the as-of-now unseen Dr Korby accepting Chapel into his fellowship program. We know from The Original Series episode “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” that she ends up engaged to him. I wait in anticipation for his appearance, and the actor they choose to portray him.

Their breakup here felt a little forced, but also understandable. I’m not a fan of their relationship at all, still, seeing the silence between them at the end was gutwrenching. As funny as all the maths jokes were in “I’m the X”, Peck did a great job, considering he got broken up with through song. Vulcans are said to only express strong emotions like this, which made it all the more devastating. Him getting broken up with through song was pretty sad, but also a little on the funny side.

I’m curious to see what Chapel joining Dr Korby does to Spock. Compared to my previous indifference, I’m now incredibly invested in their relationship. With how quickly they broke up, it’s as if every awkward moment between them in TOS is completely recontextualised. I’ll never be able to watch the older episodes the same way, and I love that. It really is astounding that all these characters are in the same place, years before the events of T OS. Seeing the change in relationship dynamics over that time is equally astounding.

Una ( Rebecca Romijn ), outside of a lovely musical number mostly plays second fiddle to the other characters in Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody”. She’s there to support Jim, who’s beamed over from the USS Farragut trying to move up the ranks. And then she’s there to support La’an through her breakup. Although I guess it plays into what she sings about, getting closer with her officers. Even though this was a thing that was shown gradually onscreen over the past two seasons, it’s nice to have it in the form of song as well.

The song also plays into her obsession with Gilbert and Sullivan, which gets namedropped here. The song, while less opera, it definitely has more in common with something like The Pirates of Penzance than Wicked . It’s probably the most distinct song in the musical in this way, and I think I mostly enjoyed it. Seeing Romijn, who can also actually sing, perform something like this is awesome.

While most of the cast aren’t experienced singers, having people like Romijn, Chong, and Gooding sing to their known strengths was a great choice. It’s a side of the actors’ skillset that most Star Trek fans may not be aware of, so it’s great outlet for them to show off that side of themselves. Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” also created a musical universe in this anomaly, something that they could easily revisit in another series years down the line for more fun. That being said, this should definitely remain a one-off for a while.

Kirk and La’an

After “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” put La’an in a relationship with an alternate Kirk ( Paul Wesley ), I’ve been intrigued to say the least. I wasn’t sure what to make of it initially, but I finally see what they were going for. A bit like the relationship between Spock and Chapel, it feels like a lot of the plot points this season has introduced are being closed off. The scene between them was sweet, and I’m glad it didn’t descend into song.

It’s pretty much the only scene of the episode that did this, to the point where the conversation they had stands out as one of the few traditional scenes of the episode. As much as it turns out Paul Wesley has a nice singing voice, I’m glad this scene remained pretty serious. I’m also glad that they chose not to add another romance into the fold, with the series feeling a little crowded in that department already. As nice as it is to have closure, it’s gutting for La’an, to the point where I’m wondering where she goes from here.

We know that she’s not in TOS , is it possible that she resigns after Kirk takes command?They also referenced Carol Marcus. We here at Trek Central thought this might happen before the season even came out. While she didn’t appear, I did appreciate the nod. There’s no big need for the character to appear, just knowing that Carol’s out there and pregnant (with David) is enough for me. It’s as far as they need to go, and for Kirk to keep the ‘deadbeat dad’ reputation for The Wrath of Khan , it’s probably as far as they can.

The journey of Uhura ( Celia Rose-Gooding ) this season has also been a lot of fun. The character finally feels like she’s coming into her own. I think the crossover episode, “Those Old Scientists” , in which she met both Boimler ( Jack Quaid ) and Mariner ( Tawny Newsome ) changed her for the better. The second she heard she was considered a legend, her confidence has increased tenfold. Watching her as more of a phone operator this week was the ultimate sign of this, working quickly, effectively, and well… confidently.

It ties in to how we see her in TOS , where she was played by the brilliant Nichelle Nichols . The series has built on a lot of her most iconic moments from the series. I guess that also includes the singing talent that she displayed during “Charlie X” . This was on such a bigger scale, turning every musical number the series had ever done up to 11. Honestly, my biggest complaint is the lack of references to songs and musical moments like that.

It’s safe to say Uhura was not as much of a character in TOS . She was there, but was never really the focus for more than the occasional scene. It’s great to have her more fleshed out. Seeing that she has the capability to inspire the whole of the crew to sing as one, in a moment that was absolutely awe-inspiring. It’s the song that’s going to get stuck in your head, probably more so than Uhura’s solo number. They’re able to cram so much into an hour of television, so many songs and yet still recognisable as an episode of Star Trek .

It didn’t surprise me to learn that the director this week, Dermott Downs, has prior experience with special musical episodes. He’s also had a lot of experience with the scale of science-fiction, directing a lot for the superhero genre. One of these episodes he previously directed was “ Duet ” for The Flash . Interestingly, it featured a similar premise – the series regulars being dragged into a musical before fighting their way out. However, I consider this to be the superior product of the two, by far.

While both episodes are enjoyable, this one’s less of a novelty and the songs actually drag the plot forward. As well as this, Downs has clearly become more experienced when it comes to spectacle. The way the Klingons were framed when singing was amazing, and the shots of the dancers moving around the hallway during the final number was nothing short of epic. It was all amazingly well choreographed, even the ships spinning in time with the music was such an inspired choice.

If the franchise were ever to do anything similarly theatrical, I’d expect him to at least be considered for the director’s chair. That being said, I hope this doesn’t happen again. I loved it, but we don’t want to risk Star Trek becoming too much of something its not. Variety is a great thing, especially with the shorter episode count that these newer series have. However, adding musical to the list of formats that the series uses regularly isn’t special.

This exceeded even my expectations. It was so much fun. I loved how, unlike musical episodes like The Flash ‘s “Duet” , and Buffy the Vampire Slayer ‘s “Once More with Feeling” , this was really special. “Subspace Rhapsody” in no uncertain terms propelled the plots forward, inching the characters closer to their TOS starting positions. It did this and also had a lot of fun singing, dancing, and prancing around the Enterprise. Lots to love here.

I mentioned a few times now, not just in this article but over the last few weeks, that Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” was the episode I was most excited for. What can I say? I’m a fan of musicals, of course I was going to love this. Whilst the format isn’t for everybody, and can even be a bit of a turn-off, I had a lot of fun here. It’s essential viewing, especially for the novelty component. That being said, I wouldn’t call this my favourite episode of this season. Although with how strong it’s been, that’s hardly a criticism.

I’m glad this came in the series when it did. If it were done at the other end of the season, it wouldn’t have succeeded as much as it did. It definitely worked better when we knew what to expect from the characters, and what sort of dramatic moments would happen. It managed to get a laugh and smile out of me more than your regular episode. This was well worth the hype and secrecy, it was so much fun and was just the lighter pick-up I needed after last week’s very dark episode.

Where to Watch

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  streams Thursdays via  Paramount+ in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea (via Tving), France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland & Austria. As well as CTV Scifi / Crave in Canada, & TVNZ in New Zealand. And on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Central and Eastern Europe.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode (and the real singers on the Enterprise crew)

After 'Subspace Rhapsody,' we dive into how musical each cast member of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is.

At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, the Star Trek Universe panel announced that Paramount+ 's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds would receive a musical episode. Luckily the wait was only a few weeks to watch 'Subspace Rhapsody.'

In season 2, episode 9, Uhura and Spock are experimenting on a quantum probability field. A freak accident causes the people onboard the U.S.S. Enterprise to reveal their innermost feelings in song. Though only the starship seems to be afflicted by the musical disorder, it has the potential to spread across the galaxy. So, they must work fast to contain it.

'Subspace Rhapsody' is a fun diversion from your conventional episode that still maintains the core of what Star Trek is. Each cast member does an admirable job, and you would think everyone has some musical talent. That made us curious about which actors had prior experience and which were out of their comfort zones. Here's a brief musical history of the actors of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike)

Anson Mount has spread his acting career throughout television, film, and theater. In theater, he always performed in plays and never had the chance to share his voice in a prior musical. In an interview with Collider promoting the series Hell on Wheels, the interviewer asked whether he sings. The actor responded, "A little bit. Mostly people pay me not to sing, but I could learn."

After becoming Captain Pike in Star Trek: Discovery, Mount shared during a panel at the Great Philadelphia Comic Con in 2019 that he had a singing part in the second episode of season two entitled 'New Eden.' When the crew meets with human inhabitants of a distant planet, his character sings an old church hymn, 'Let Us Break Bread Together.' The actor even asked for a voice teacher for the part. But for story reasons, the scene was eventually cut. He would have to wait until 'Subspace Rhapsody' for others to see him finally sing on Star Trek.

Celia Rose Gooding (Nyota Uhura)

Celia Rose Gooding is a big reason Uhura plays a significant role in 'Subspace Rhapsody.' They are a talented singer who broke out as Mary Frances 'Frankie' Healy in the rock and roll musical Jagged Little Pill. They earned a Grammy award and a Tony nomination for the performance. They studied dance at the Alvin Alley Institute in New York City and majored in musical theater at Pace University before dropping out due to Jagged Little Pill obligations.

Melissa Navia (Erica Ortegas)

Helmsman Erica Ortegas is one of the breakout characters of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds due to Melissa Navia. In addition to acting, she is a writer and stand-up comedian. No wonder she hits Ortegas's one-liners and zingers. She grew up as a musical theater kid. In an interview with IRK Magazine , she mentions one of her earliest leading roles was as Peter Pan when she was younger. Despite many adult projects not needing song and dance, Navia still looks right at home in the musical episode.

Ethan Peck (Lieutenant Spock)

Entertainment runs in Ethan Peck's family as his grandfather and father were both actors. It's no surprise that he began his career as a child actor with his early roles, including parts in the made-for-TV movie Marshal Law and Passport to Paris, which starred the Olsen twins. Though none of his prior projects required any musical talent, he did appear in the music video for 'I Want You to Want Me' by KSM. The video was for the television series 10 Things I Hate About You. Peck also studied classical cello for six years when he was younger.

Christina Chong (La'an Noonien-Singh)

Christina Chong started dancing at the age of four. She initially studied at the Sutcliffe School of Dance in Longridge, England, then attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theater Arts in London beginning at 14. After graduating from the academy, she received a role in the musical Aida, which featured songs from Elton John and Tim Rice. An injury shortened her musical theater career, so she turned to acting. Chong proves she still has it in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode.

Carol Kane (Pelia)

The newest main addition to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is Chief Engineer Pelia. Her actress, Carol Kane, has a long career in entertainment as an actor. She has also received an Academy Award nomination for best actress for the film Hester Street and earned two Oscar awards for her work on the sitcom Taxi. But did you know she has musical experience as well? She played Madame Morrible in Wicked during the first national tour and later on Broadway. For someone who is most known for her comedy, Kane is a sneaky musical ringer for "Subspace Rhapsody."

Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel)

Jess Bush's first television appearance was as a contestant on the seventh season of Australia's Next Top Model. She later pursued acting in the Australian soap opera Home and Away and having a recurring role in the drama series Playing for Keeps. Playing Nurse Chapel on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is her first international role. She might not be a singer, but she has other talents. She is a visual artist who has been selling her work since age 19, and she even designed some of the jewelry her character wears in the series.

Babs Olusanmokun (Doctor Joseph M'Benga)

The one crew member who isn't a slight bit amused with all the musical shenanigans is Doctor M'Benga. Compared to the other characters, he seems to sing the least. Looking through Babs Olusanmokun's filmography and history, there don't appear to be any roles that called for musical ability. That's okay because we saw one of his other talents front and center in the previous episode 'Under the Cloak of War." Olusanmokun utilized his championship Brazilian Jui-Jitsu skills in a sparring scene with Ambassador Dak'Rah.

Rebecca Romijn (Una Chin Riley/Number One)

Rebecca Romijn was first known as a supermodel before she transitioned into acting. She had geek cred even before Star Trek. Her first film role was as the mutant Mystique in the X-Men films of the '00s. Romijn has also dabbled in singing. She covered the Prince song 'Darling Nikki' for the 2005 album Electro Goth Tribute to Prince and featured on 'Color Me Love' on RuPaul's eighth studio album Realness. More recently, as cohost of The Real Love Boat, she sang the iconic theme song of the '80s show, which the reality romance television series is based on during the opening credits alongside her real-life husband, Jerry O'Connell.

Paul Wesley (Lieutenant James T. Kirk)

Before he was Lieutenant Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paul Wesley is probably best known for his role as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries. Due to the popularity of the series, he was a regular on the convention circuit featuring in many panels. You can search for videos of the various panels and find where the actor sings, including a viral video where he and The Vampire Diaries co-star Ian Somerhalder rap Vanila Ice's 'Ice Ice Baby.' However, these instances are all for fun to entertain the attendees in the audience. You'll have to dive deep into his filmography to find a role where he professionally sang. In the season 2, episode 11 of the legal drama Shark entitled 'Shaun of the Dead,' Wesley plays the lead singer of a rock band. There is a scene where the character performs onstage at a bar, and you can hear Wesley sing a few lines.

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Recap / Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S2E09 "Subspace Rhapsody"

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We're the unbreakable, unshakable Improbable, unstoppable Sensational, ovational We're boldly explorational Crew of the Enterprise ! — The unbreakable, unshakable, improbable, unstoppable, sensational, ovational, boldly explorational crew of the USS Enterprise

Strange New Worlds boldly goes where no Star Trek show has gone before: the Musical Episode .

The Enterprise is at the site of an unusual phenomenon: a naturally-occurring subspace fold. Spock believes harnessing it could triple subspace communication speeds, but the processing power needed for this means Uhura needs to play switchboard operator for the time being. She passes along messages — Pike and Batel try to plan for a vacation, but Pike's reluctance leads to more squabbling; Chapel learns she's been accepted into Dr. Korby's fellowship gathering, but she'll need to tell Spock about it; and Una learns of James T. Kirk's impending arrival and is joined by a still-crushing La'an as the former prepares to train Kirk on how being a First Officer works. In engineering, Spock and Uhura try to figure out how to make the experiment work as twelve messages failed to get through. Pelia steps in and suggests a song instead. Uhura chooses the title song from Anything Goes , Spock makes attempt thirteen... and it works!

A little too well, it seems, as a wave of energy strikes the Enterprise and everyone on board. Pike races to the bridge and demands a status report... and Spock begins singing the "Status Report", followed by Chapel and M'Benga, and then the bridge crew, ending with Pike asking "But, why are we singing?!" In the ready room, the senior staff (and Jim Kirk) figure out what happened: the song Spock sent out accidentally dislodged an alternate reality of sorts and attached it to the Enterprise . Don't worry, La'an and M'Benga, no turning into bunnies, just singing. Pelia notes the fold looks like a zipper and, using the analogy, Spock warns they can't leave lest they "unzip it" and he's going to get to work on a "zipper beam". As they work, Spock notices the correspondence to Chapel leading to Spock to wonder why he wasn't told. In a Jeffries Tube, Una and Kirk have made one of the modifications needed for the "zipper beam" before discussing how to be a First Officer. Una suggests that, instead of keeping his distance from his crew, he should embrace who he really is and "Connect To Your Truth", as expressed by a comedic-styled duet and waltz a la Gilbert and Sullivan .

The singing bug isn't done yet and it strikes La'an, as the ever-stoic Security Chief ponders how it could be if she could express herself and even imagines herself with Kirk while wondering "How Would That Feel". On the plus side, it leads to an "Eureka!" Moment and she rushes to tell Pike: the singing seems to hit whenever emotions run high. La'an believes these songs could be a security threat, but Pike isn't too sure about that. Soon, the "zipper beam" is ready and is fired... only for another wave to strike and the hole not being "zipped". Even worse, the Cayuga is calling. It's Batel, still upset over their wrecked vacation plans. Despite the need to discuss this "Private Conversation" in a more discreet location, it's being sung on the bridge. In front of the crew. Thankfully, La'an is able to cut the communications. Even worse, Spock lets them know that the effect is going through the subspace communications network, affecting all Starfleet.

Through confirmation with Admiral April, who (according to Una) has a surprisingly beautiful baritone singing voice, at least twelve ships have been affected and they kinda want this resolved now. Uhura and Una figure that, since they're in a musical reality, they're running on the rules of musicals, where they express their feelings via song when words won't suffice. Pike suggests just blowing it up and Spock agrees, but he needs to run some tests just in case. La'an and Jim Kirk suggest sending subatomic particles into the fold, which require a two-person team, but La'an refuses to work with Kirk as she's still all rattled with emotions. Una talks to La'an... or rather sings, that "Keeping Secrets" is not worth the trouble and even she knows how that is, convincing her to finally just tell Jim how she feels.

La'an rejoins Jim and the two proceed to gather up test samples of Spock and Uhura to use. During this, La'an struggles to tell Jim how she feels... before the ship is rocked with a massive explosion. Turns out blowing up the fold is going to be a bad idea . And things go From Bad to Worse — Klingon ships are on their way to the fold and, via General Garkog, the musical infection has now hit the Klingon Empire and it's caused them massive dishonor and they're going to blow it up. So, now the Enterprise has two hours to figure out how to save the entire Federation and half of the Klingon Empire from getting nuked out of existence. Spock suggests using song to get them out of this mess, but they have no idea how it could work. To that end, Uhura proposes seeing how the songs work and go from there. Unfortunately, this leads to Spock confronting Chapel, who asks about the fellowship. Spock pushes just a little too hard and Chapel begins to sing that she's ready to take what she has been dreaming of attending and that if she needs to dump Spock to do so? Fine ("I'm Ready"), leaving Spock to walk off, hurt.

While going over the schematics of the K't'inga -class Klingon cruiser, La'an finally tells Kirk about what happened in that adventure that got her all tongue-twisted around him and ultimately reveals her feelings. Jim sees the connection and feels the same... but he's already taken. He's seeing a Carol Marcus, who is working on Starbase 1, and she's pregnant with his kid. In Engineering, Uhura finds Spock alone and clearly upset. Not only can he not find any sort of connection with the data they have, he's clearly rattled by Chapel's casually dumping him despite him betraying his core beliefs ("I'm The X") before leaving Uhura alone. Uhura takes over the work, realizing she might have to do this alone and trying to find the connection while also lamenting the loss of her family and Hemmer ("Keep Us Connected"). However, she discovers the connection and realizes what needs to be done.

Uhura tells Pike that they need to generate enough electron volts to shatter the field, breaking everyone free, which Spock realizes is what is needed to escape. Pike needs them to hurry as more Klingon ships are on the way. Uhura explains they need to reach a show-stopping grand finale, but it would be difficult for them to convince the entire crew to go along with this plan. Pike believes that this is a job for Uhura. Via ship-wide hail, Pike declares Uhura the "voice of the Enterprise " and has her lead everyone on, inspiring the crew via their connections and how fate lead them all to be on this ship. As everyone gets in on it, it's just not enough and Pike orders even the Klingons to get in, who go into a K-pop routine about how much they want to kill Starfleet! Even the ships get in on the fun, spinning around and reaching the crescendo needed to shatter the field and save the day ("We Are One"). With things calmed down, Pike orders the Klingons hailed again so they can mend some fences.

As things calm down, La'an tells Una about what happened between her and Jim and while that stung, La'an's ready to try and take more chances. In his quarters, Pike and Batel apologize for their own spat, but vacation plans would need to wait - she's been given a priority one mission, so they got time to plan. Soon, Spock staggers onto the bridge folowing another round of bloodwine diplomacy and Pike suggests passing over what they learned to other non-Federation ships just in case they get caught up in something like this. As she sets off to do so, Uhura hums her little solo song, prompting glares from the bridge crew.

• A Cappella : subverted . The show's main theme is recorded with singers front and center doing various "bum ba bum" syllables, but there's still percussion, some vibraphone dings and a harp glissando. (The singers and/or group who performed this rendition have yet to be identified.)
• Anguished Declaration of Love : Defied by La'an. Due to the musical environment forced upon them she worried about being too close to Jim when a love song breaks out. So she avoids too much time with him before addressing him privately. She shares the relationship she developed with an Alternate Timeline version of him in a rational, blunt but still vulnerable way, and thankfully no song kicks in. Jim is empathetic to what that means to her, but he is also honest that he is in a complicated relationship with a scientist named Carol .
• Ascended Meme : The classic Uhura has sometimes been joked about being a glorified switch board operator, summed up as " Hailing Frequencies are Open ," while the modern version of Uhura is clearer that she is also a linguist and has to deal with both abstract comm frequencies (scientist) and the physical operation of the equipment (mechanic). At the start of this episode Spock is looking to dedicate computer power to punch a signal into the subspace fold, and temporarily took down the automated comm relay system. That meant for certain periods of time Uhura had to manage both external and internal comms manually... what a switch board operator would do.
• Background Magic Field : Subspace through the franchise has always been a Minovsky Particle that explains anything Faster-Than-Light, but here a natural subspace fold is treated as a direct conduit that could drastically improve communication lag time. Spock and Uhura's experiments with this causes the Musical Episode to happen, and because it is in subspace it can transfer to the rest of the fleet through their subspace communication.
• Break Up Song : Nurse Chapel's "I'm Ready", in which she publicly informs Spock that she's leaving for a medical fellowship, including the lines "It's freedom and I like it. My spark has been ignited. If I need to leave you, I won't fight it." This is followed by Spock's "I'm the X", where he laments setting aside his emotional stoicism to be with Chapel only for her to abruptly dump him for a career opportunity and declaring he'll never let himself be that emotionally vulnerable again.
• Breather Episode : After last week's PTSD and moral ambiguities, it's time for a musical!
• Brutal Honesty : Part of the problem with the musical reality, beyond it being rather distracting, is that it compels people to sing their hearts out and reveal secrets they otherwise might not. In particular, while Chapel no doubt would have broken the news of her fellowship to Spock with far more tact, she instead sings a painfully blunt song about her excitement for the assignment and her willingness to ditch Spock, which understandably crushes poor Spock's feelings and hardens his heart.
• The supposed Aborted Arc that was Chapel going on the fellowship is back on thanks to her future fiance Dr. Korby.
• Pike and Batel's shaky relationship, as seen in " Among the Lotus Eaters ", is still shaky and suffers another rattling.
• Once more, Spock deals in bloodwine diplomacy and walks (or, more accurately, wobbles ) away with another hangover .
• Kirk's reaction to Spock's technobabble foreshadows their eventual dynamic as Captain and Science Officer.
• When La'an is about to confess what happened in the alternate timeline to Kirk, he remarks that La'an might be breaking some big rule. Starfleet's Department of Temporal Investigations will be holding Kirk responsible as their most infamous rule-breaker, with seventeen violations on record.
• Kirk speaks high praise of the Enterprise crew during the final musical number, crediting them for helping make him the captain he hopes to become. He'll be their captain a few years from now.
• Kirk mentions his on-again-off-again relationship with Carol Marcus and that she's pregnant. Both she and her son David first appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , which makes his flirtation with La'an especially ironic.
• Chapel is accepted to a three-month Fellowship where she will study under Dr. Roger Korby .
• Chapel's very public, very painful breakup with Spock goes a long way to explaining why he rebuffs her advances in the future (except for when his judgement is impaired). Indeed, it makes the scene from "The Naked Time" when Chapel confesses her love to him come across very differently. Instead of Spock being "sorry" about his inability to return her affections, he's "sorry" about how they worked out, and it gives more meaning to his total breakdown once he's alone. He's grieving because he lost Chapel once, and now years later she's claiming to be in love with him when he has devoted himself to pure logic.
• Career Versus Man : Perhaps informed by what she learned from Boimler about Spock's future, Chapel sings a song about embracing her new career opportunity, and Spock realizes he's going to be left behind.
• Continuity Nod : Una's song alongside Kirk is in in the style of a Gilbert and Sullivan song, even calling them out by name; Una's affinity for the comic opera duo was well-established .
• Everyone automatically knows the words to the songs, and Kirk is weirded out by that because he was under the assumption the crew rehearsed the first song before he came aboard, until he found himself joining in.
• Invoked near the end when they realize that they need the entire crew to take part in a Big Finale Crowd Song so they can seal the subspace fold.
• Dark Reprise : Spock's solo, "I'm The X”, is a lyrically darker, slower, straight-time reprise of Chapel's solo, "I'm Ready", which is a faster, more upbeat, and swung piece with ensemble backing vocals and dancers.
• Inverted — Uhura hums the melody of her solo, "Keep Us Connected", before the beginning of the Negative Space Wedgie effect that will give rise to the song itself.
• Later played straight — Uhura hums the melody of "I'm Ready" after it takes place in-universe.
• Chapel breaks off her relationship with Spock, and he's pretty hurt about it, swearing not to let himself fall victim to emotion again. Given how rather cruel (in song form, no less) that breakup was, it explains why he wasn't so eager to have her back on TOS . That won't end so well for her either .
• James Kirk is in a relationship with Carol Marcus, who is currently expecting. It won't last. Neither will their son.
• Double-Meaning Title : The song "I'm the X" does this with the mathematical variable "X" and being the "Ex" in a relationship, who is searching for the "Y"/"why".
• Ear Worm : Uhura refers to "I'm Ready" as this (and we can hardly blame her).
• The Eleven O'Clock Number : "Keep Us Connected," performed by unquestionably the strongest singer on the cast: Broadway star, Tony nominee and Grammy winner Celia Rose Gooding .
• During "Status Report", multiple characters have "WTF?" expressions. (Pike in particular looks like he's about to freak out.)
• During several subsequent numbers, the characters look around knowingly when the music starts, as if to say "Here it goes again."
• When the Klingons go all-out K-pop, Pike looks like he's about to start laughing.
• Uhura warns that songs can tear people apart. Chapel's number about accepting the fellowship ends up breaking Spock's heart.
• Garkog and the Klingons being hellbent on destroying the quantum field. Their rationale is that experiencing its effects is a grave dishonor. But even if being caught in a musical is an embarrassing experience, it does seem a bit like an overreaction, as Klingons have operas and poetry. What Klingon warrior wouldn't want to star in their own personal Klingon opera? Then comes the climax and the reveal that the Klingons weren't experiencing a Klingon opera at all; instead, they were being turned into a Klingon K-pop boy band. Scant wonder they declared war on the musical genre.
• Friendship Song : The final number "We Are One" is all about how the crew's unity allows them to overcome any crisis. "'Cause we work better all together We overcome our obstacles as one"
• During Status Report , one of the bridge officers is really getting into it, waving her arms around like a conductor.
• During the Klingon K-pop number, Sam can be seen bopping his head to the Klingons' beats.
• Genre Savvy : Once the crew realize that they're in a musical, they start going over the rules of musicals, such as singing when emotionally stimulated to do so and ending in a grand finale.
• Given Name Reveal : Pike calls Captain Batel "Marie" during "Private Conversation," the first time her given name has been spoken onscreen by any character.
• Throughout the episode, the crew tries several different scientific methods of closing the fold, usually resulting in making it worse. It's only when they embrace the fact that they are in a musical and apply the laws of musical theatre that they are able to resolve the issue.
• Gone Horribly Right : Uhura transmits "Anything Goes" into the fold on Pelia's suggestion that music may trigger a reaction. It does, and musical shenanigans ensue.
• Got Me Doing It : When Pike sings "It's happening again" in response to Chapel and M'Benga singing, his eyes go wide as he realizes that the singing bug just bit him.
• Heroic Willpower : Parodied, if downplayed. When the Klingon K-pop number begins, Garkog valiantly tries to resist succumbing to the siren's song. He lasts about 3 seconds.
• "I Am" Song : Uhura's song "Keep Us Connected" describes her life with her family, and how losing them left her isolated until Hemmer encouraged her to form connections with other people.
• "I Want" Song : La'an's solo number "How Would That Feel" is about letting her guard down as she did with the alternate timeline Kirk.
• Imagine Spot : During her solo number, La'an imagines herself making love with Jim Kirk.
• Instantly Proven Wrong : Pike tangibly isn't taking La'an's concerns about the musical effect being a security threat all that seriously. Cue "Private Conversation".
• Internal Reveal : La'an tells Kirk about her time travel adventure with his alternate self, though she leaves out the specific details of their relationship.
• Left the Background Music On : The instant Spock begins the first vocal section of "Status Report", it becomes apparent that characters can hear and see each other vocalising in universe; a couple of lines later, it becomes apparent that they can also hear the background music, although it's never explained specifically where they perceive it as coming from other than "not from anywhere on the ship".
• Logical Weakness : Since the subspace field leaked out a " musical reality " Una and Uhura work out how the songs come about and then Uhura figures out a big number is needed to close the Negative Space Wedgie .
• The whole Bridge crew react in horror when Uhura starts humming one of the songs they had sung while under the influence of anomaly, only relaxing when she clarifies that it's just stuck in her head and she's humming it voluntarily.
• Moment Killer : In the transporter room, La'an is about to confess her feeling to Kirk when an explosion rocks the Enterprise .
• Mood Motif : In "Status Report", for La'an's security/tactical report, the orchestration acquires the obligatory snare drum of military significance.
• The Multiverse : Messing with the subspace fold creates the musical situation they find themselves in. Spock speculates that sending music into the fold touched upon a reality that is centered entirely around musical numbers. They eventually take to calling it an "Improbability Field," basically the manifestation of any event will happen in another universe.
• The Musical : Played straight, though with a side of Painting the Medium to explain things like The Eleven O'Clock Number .
• Musical Episode : Transmitting a song into a subspace rift makes the Enterprise , and anywhere connected to it via subspace, break out in song. The solution of the episode is to follow musical tropes to trigger a Big Finale Crowd Song , the energy of which destroys the effect.
• Musicalis Interruptus : Pike's brief number with Batel is cut off when La'an ends the transmission, which stops the music in its tracks.
• Musical World Hypothesis : Flavor 1 (Musical Alternate Universe), variant. The cast begin involuntarily singing.
• When Pike's song with Batel is interrupted, he looks devastated at realizing they had another argument, this one in front of his entire bridge crew.
• After Chapel sings about leaving Spock to accept a fellowship with Dr. Korby, she looks remorseful when she sees how upset Spock is.
• Negative Space Wedgie : A naturally-occurring subspace fold is the danger of the episode, creating the musical reality when Spock and Uhura send music into it.
• Never Be Hurt Again : "I'm The X” sees Spock singing about how badly he's taking his breakup with Chapel, promising he won't allow emotion to drive his actions any further and setting the stage for when he'll become everyone's favorite Vulcan in a few years.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero : Sending music into the subspace fold creates the musical reality everyone has to deal with, and attempting to zip it back up spreads the effect to the entire Federation and part of the Klingon Empire.
• No Reprise, Please : Uhura starts humming "I'm Ready" at the end of the episode, but gets a couple of hostile looks and quickly knocks it off.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome : According to Una, Bob April has a " surprisingly beautiful baritone ". Too bad he doesn't sing onscreen.
• Mitchell looks horrifed when Ortegas starts singing.
• Spock gives Uhura a moderately horrified look when they hear the music for "I'm the X" starting, which tells him that he's about to start singing his feelings in front of her.
• Oh, No... Not Again! : Pike realizes what's about to happen when Batel calls him and asks to have a private conversation, in a more discreet location, about their canceled vacation. (Especially since there's also music playing again.) Pike tries to cut it off right then, but Batel refuses and the song goes on. Batel: (singing) Apologies. I appear to be rhyming. And singing. Pike: (wide-eyed) Marie, I'm gonna call you back— Batel: (singing) Oh, no, no, you don't. I'm not done yet.
• Singing in an accent is hard and Jess Bush 's native Australian accent slips through at times.
• Carol Kane's artificial Lanthanite accent doesn't come through very well in song, either. Then again, given Pelia's relative lack of singing outside of ensemble numbers, it's not really an issue.
• Out-of-Genre Experience : The first ever Star Trek Musical Episode . It even counts In-Universe , as the crew realize that reality is being altered to fit the genre.
• Phlebotinum Overload : To break the quantum field and end its effect, Uhura has to get the entire ship to sing in unison, creating a frequency spike big enough to overload it. The Klingons help a little, much to their horror.
• Plot-Demanded Manual Mode : In the beginning of the episode, Uhura has to manually route communications like an old-timey switchboard because Spock's experiment is drawing so much processing power that the automatic systems are off-line. This allows Spock to find out about Chapel's fellowship based on the sender of the message.
• Quarreling Song : "Private Conversation", a semi-reprise of "Status Report", is a quarrel between Pike and Batel made extremely public by the nature of the anomaly. (It ends up coming across as more of an anti -quarreling song, with Pike singing that he doesn't want to argue with Batel, both because he's on the bridge and because he's inherently conflict-averse in their relationship.) La'an does him a favor by abruptly ending the transmission . Pike: (singing) I don't want to hurt you, Marie You mean more and more to me But when you and I don't see eye-to-eye A switch inside me flips and I'm compelled to hide— (song ends)
• Ridiculously Potent Explosive : A few subatomic particles from the fold detonated in controlled conditions rock the Enterprise , and the entire anomaly has enough potential energy to wipe out the entire Federation and half the Klingon Empire.
• Romantic False Lead : When La'an admits her experience with an Alternate Timeline version of Jim to the Prime Jim, he is gentle with her but admits to already being in a relationship in addition to a child on the way.
• Seduction-Proof Marriage : James Kirk seems to be invested in his relationship with Carol Marcus, turning down La'an when she confesses her feelings for him. Of course, that relationship with Carol eventually fails .
• Serious Business : The Klingons are not amused by the effects of the quantum field, finding the entire situation deeply dishonorable, and immediately send warships to destroy it at any cost (which would blow up the entire Federation and half their territory). Then we see why they are so horrified by the field: it turns them into a K-pop boy band . At least thirty years worth of dignity lost in thirty seconds.
• Ship Sinking : Any chance of La'an getting to be with Kirk is shot down when he reveals that he's dating a woman named Carol , and she's pregnant. As well, Chapel breaks it off with Spock, setting the stage for him to become the less openly emotional Vulcan we all know and love.
• The singing and dancing is caused by an Improbability Field being generated by the subspace fold. That was the name of the field generated by the protagonists' starship to travel in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , which also produced all sorts of random improbable phenomena at the moment of transit.
• In an early scene, the characters discuss the possibility of the improbability field turning them into bunnies; soon after that a scene begins with the line "I've got a theory." These are both shout-outs to the most famous Musical Episode , Buffy the Vampire Slayer 's "Once More, with Feeling" , which featured the song "I've Got a Theory" where the characters went through possible explanations for what was happening to them, including a digression where Anya sang about her long-established phobia of bunnies and how they must be the culprits.
• Singing Voice Dissonance : Garkog has a stereotypical gruff Klingon voice for normal conversation, but when the music hits and his crew goes full K-pop , his voice shoots up a few octaves.
• The opening credits music uses A Capella for most of the main theme, though accompanied by other instruments.
• The end credits use an instrumental medley of "I'm Ready", "Private Conversation", and "Connect to Your Truth".
• Spectacular Spinning : The Enterprise plus three K't'inga battlecruisers in the grand finale join the final number by flying in formation and spinning.
• Spontaneous Choreography : The subspace fold causes everyone to sing and dance with perfect choreography, especially for the grand finale. There's a moment in the first song where Ortegas and Mitchell exchange annoyed looks as the duo operate their consoles with identical movements, both seemingly trying not to copy the other and failing.
• Stealth Pun : The Klingon musical number is modeled on Korean popular music — i.e. a genre of music better known by its short name of K -pop.
• Even the music stops for a Beat after the K-Pop interlude during "We Are One."
• Spock explains how the subspace fold is making people sing. Spock: I believe the song created a resonant frequency and dislodged something from the fold, a quantum uncertainty field. Pike: Okay, why would that make us sing? Spock: Imagine an area of space where quantum uncertainties collapse so rapidly and randomly that new realities are created. In one such reality, people sing uncontrollably. Pelia: A musical reality. Spock: Indeed.
• Kirk comes in with the lampshade after they further technobabble up a solution. Kirk: Mr. Spock, you explained that very well. I almost understood it.
• Quoth Una: "The last thing anyone needs is singing Klingons." Guess what happens during the grand finale. Better than them shooting, at least.
• Batel and Pike don't have time to sort out their vacation plans because she's been called away on a priority one mission. They agree they'll make plans and go on the vacation afterward.
• Theme Tune Cameo : Straight after the last song ends and the anomaly is dealt with, a portion of the TOS theme is heard.
• This Is a Song : The first song, "Status Report", has the repeating refrain "Apologies / The most confounding thing / We appear to be singing / Most unusual / So peculiar".
• Time for Plan B : After Plan A (rezip the fold) makes everything worse and Plan B (blow it up) proves too dangerous to use, Pike wants a Plan C. Ultimately, the only solution is to play things out to their logical conclusion, which means invoking a grand finale.
• Time-Travel Tense Trouble : La'an has trouble trying to tell Kirk that she met another version of him. "I met you before. I mean, not you, but another you."
• Tragic Keepsake : La'an has the sports watch she and alternate Kirk used to foil the Romulans.
• Truck Driver's Gear Change : Twice in "Status Report".
• Unnecessarily Cruel Rejection : Spock unwittingly triggers this when he asks Nurse Chapel why she never told him about her being accepted by a fellowship of scientists lead by Dr. Korby. In response, she sings "I'm Ready", basically telling him that she's going and if they have to break up, cool. This really devastates Spock and solidifies his role as The Stoic .
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee : The well-discussed Techno Babble solution to closing the subspace fold completely backfires. Of course, it's a Foregone Conclusion that they won't end the Musical Episode before the halfway point.
• Wham Line : "Captain, can we have a private conversation, in a more discreet location, about our canceled vacation?" This reveals that the subspace fold's effects are spreading beyond the Enterprise .
• A Wild Rapper Appears! : Klingon K-pop rappers, no less, after the incoming ship is affected by the Negative Space Wedgie and breaks into the middle of the Crowd Song at the Grand Finale .
• World of Ham : The musical reality brings out the inner ham of pretty much everyone affected (except Spock, of course). Pike in particular drops to his knees and holds out a hand dramatically during his duet with Batel.
• You Didn't See That : The Klingons break into the Crowd Song at the climax for a random K-pop rap number, only to evidently realize what they're doing and get so embarrassed they just wordlessly end the hail.
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S2E08 "Under the Cloak of War"
• Recap/Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S2E10 "Hegemony"

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Lost Original USS Enterprise Model From ‘Star Trek’ Returned To Gene Roddenberry’s Son

| April 18, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 104 comments so far

We have a nice update on a story from late last year about what appeared to be the original model for the USS Enterprise showing up in an online auction after being lost for decades. That model has now been authenticated and returned to the Roddenberry family.

Star Trek mystery solved

In 1977, the first shooting model of the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series went missing. The 3-foot model used for the first Star Trek pilot (and for the credits used for the entire series) had been given to Roddenberry after it was replaced by an 11-foot model. That larger model is in the Smithsonian, but the 3-foot model sat on Roddenberry’s desk until it went missing after being loaned to an effects house during the making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

The model appeared to have gone up for auction on eBay late last year, but was quickly taken down. At that time Eugene Roddenberry Jr. was working to get the model authenticated and returned to the family. And that has now happened.

The model sat on Gene Roddenberry’s desk for years

The model’s return was facilitated by Heritage Auctions. Last fall, an individual discovered the long-lost model and brought it to Heritage for authentication. Heritage then reached out to Roddenberry Jr. to coordinate the return of the Enterprise. “Once our team of experts concluded it was the real thing, we contacted Rod because we wanted to get the model back to where it belonged,” Maddalena says in a statement. “We’re thrilled the Enterprise is finally in dry dock.”

Last Saturday, Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena returned the 3-foot-long model Gene Roddenberry’s son. The handoff occurred at Heritage Auctions’ Beverly Hills location, where the Enterprise was stored for safekeeping.

Joe Maddelana of Heritage Auctions with Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions)

“After five decades, I’m thrilled that someone happened upon this historic model of the USS Enterprise. I remember how it used to adorn my dad’s desk,” said Rod Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment. “I am tremendously grateful to Heritage Auctions for facilitating the return of this iconic piece of Star Trek history to my family. I can’t wait to figure out how we are going to share it with my extended family, Star Trek fans around the world. We look forward to making that announcement.”

The returned model of the USS Enterprise (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions)

Trek vets authenticated the model

Like the one housed at the Smithsonian, this is a key piece of Star Trek history. The authentication team included Star Trek design vets Doug Drexler, Denise Okuda, Mike Okuda, and Daren Dochterman. Drexler shared a photo of their work on Facebook (see below).

Mike Okuda also shared a pic of himself with Denise, Doug, and the model on Twitter/X…

Doug, Denise, and Mike checking out the very first Starship Enterprise. After having been lost for decades, it is wonderful that this treasure is finally voyaging home. pic.twitter.com/oBrM7nVGEF — Michael Okuda (@MikeOkuda) April 18, 2024

Heritage Auctions has shared more images of the returned model so you can get a closer look…

For more details on the model and its history, check out our original article .

Find more  Star Trek history at TrekMovie .

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Shouldn’t this have the taller bridge, bigger deflector dish, and spikes on the end of the nacelles?

Not if you look at the picture of the original model that sat on GR’s desk.

I wonder if it was modified after the pilot/intro were filmed.

From the book “The Enterprise NCC 1701 and The Model Maker” about the builder of the model Richard Dayton (written by his children), when discussing the condition of the model after it was completed in December of 1964: “I don’t believe it received any major damage nor do I recall repairing it except for the modifications made to resemble the same modifications made on the eleven-footer.”

So we’re looking at a new bridge dome, dish and nacelle domes but, as we know, the 11 footer was modified once the show was picked up so there are still going to be some subtle differences between the two.

Yes, some subtle differences, but generally changes to the 11 footer were repeated on the little brother. Here’s more from Datin: “It was updated along with the eleven-footer after the first pilot and again before the regular series episodes, and before the second season .” (BTW, its Datin, not Dayton, spelled it wrong earlier.)

All good, UFP!

ITS A FAKE!

Well played my friend… well played!

Darn Garak screwed up again.

Glad to hear it! That ship is firmly wedged into my heart, and the hearts of millions of fans.

not mine the 60’s designs are all trash un futuristic and dated

This is a lost artifact, now found. Is it possible to just enjoy the moment, even if it’s not your thing?

It’s not possible for trolls to enjoy aything.

i am not a troll i just don’t like tos or most of tng the new star trek series are my favorite trek shows dsc,snw,pic,lds,pro and enteprise was my first trek series but for me star trek is just another sci-fi franchise i enjoy along side b5,the 3 stargate series,andromeda ,warehouse 13,EUReKA,and star wars and doctor who

By itself, there’s nothing wrong with having a preference for Trek that origonated after TNG. Everything you enjoy for broadcast Sci-Fi (except Dr. Who, which started about the same time as TOS) wouldn’t be if it wern’t for that piece of ‘trash’ you’re so casually dismissive of. Roddenberry is right, this belongs in the Smithsonian along side the eleven foot model currently on display, your feelings aside. The word trash is inflammatory in this context. You may not have set out to troll, but that was the result.

is crap or garbage or cheep and cheesy unfuturistic looking low grade excuse for good sci-fi any better As for doctor who I only like modern doctor who I don’t like any 60’s and 70’s sci-fi and tng is boring as hell except for the borg and q episodes and a few other which are more normal sci-fi stuff happening cause it is all talk no do and the humans are all unrealistically perfect no conflicts between them at least the tng films and ds9 and voyager and ent somewhat fixed those isssues but the new trek shows fully fixed those issues also warehouse 13 and EUReKA and the 3 stargate series and Star Wars and b5 would have happened even without the original Star Trek as they have nothing to do or even simular to it and ds9 would not have happened with out b5 as the series bible was givin to berman to use to make ds9

also the only live action tv shows that started in the mid 60’s and early 70’s are non sci-fi shows like gilligan’s island and mchale’s navy and hogan’s heroes and Hawaii five-0 and m*a*s*h and the monkees

Oh classic Doctor Who is always fun to watch.

But to refer to it as trash is a bit over the top and rude.

You’re talking to a child, don’t waste your time.

Clearly the only taste you have is for the magic nose sculptures you eat off the bottom of your night table. I’m sure your only measure of scifi is for the sparkly effects and weak story lines that are easy to follow and predict just by the episode preview.

If you look at michelle’s other posts, that doesn’t seem even remotely possible.

I, on the other hand, share your excitement and enthusiasm.

Jeez, what a buzzkill.

no it is beaing realistic and not treating inatimate objects like they are to be worshiped and idolized i also don’t get nosolgic over anything unless it has a personal connection in my life not stuff outside my control and no connection to

Quick, find a Tribble and put it up to Michelle to see whether she is a klingon or just a human with execrable taste. Guessing you’re no fan of Saarinen or Eames or Frank Lloyd Wright either?

it is just a model when it breaks badly enough you can’t fix or it gets lost during a move you buy and build a new one i know cause i build models i got shelves full of Star Trek ship models i built and car models i built and alsorts of other types of models i have built

You have shelves full of everything except punctuation, apparently, you being able to construct anything save a proper sentence in English.

Sure, the original design is dated. But if that design didn’t exist then neither would the designs for the shows you obviously prefer. That designates the model as an object of some proper pop-historical significance, if not fan-worship.

Scotty says, “Lassie, don’t you think you ought to rephrase that?

Ok how about the 60’s design of the enterprise is dumb looking and does not fit visually between the nx-01 design and the tmp refit/constitution ll class design

…that’s not the fault of the original design. Rather…the crappy Enterprise TV show

The refit is different, but it was for a movie and it also looks awesome

Agreed, Corylea. Absolutely.

There’s just something so beautiful about that ship!

the visual retconed design from dsc and snw looks way better compared to the 60’s design which look looks horrible

I should have scrolled down first. Yeah, you’re trolling.

Right with you, I feel like I wasted time even responding.

No trolling this is just how I feel about the design of the every in tos

The carrot peeler nacelle struts, squished proportions, slag metal finish, and ridiculous bridge window?

The nx had a gun metal grey finish with aztecing and nacelle bussard clamps just like the dsc/snw enteprise has and the dsc/ snw enterprise has the same shape nacelle pylons and secondary hull shape and even neck hight and shape minus the torpedo launcher collar that the tmp refit does so it works better with the refit that took place unlike the 60’s design which does not fit visually between either and the bridge having a window with a heads up viewscreen display makes so much sense if the viewscreen sensors go out they can still see what is going on outside and do not have to rush to another bow facing window on another deck and relay what’s going on outside back to the bridge

Try punctuation, Michelle, it works a charm. Also try being less of a wet blanket.

no one asked you to repeat an already unpopular opinion. To quote the original Star Wars (which you probably ALSO find boring and dated)… “Move along. Move along.”

Not to agree with her but a lot of people cr@p on new Star Trek on here and no one gets all hot and bothered over that.

I’ve watched plenty of people getting plenty hot and plenty bothered by people crapping all over new Star Trek on here.

Taking a steaming dump on a steaming dump probably doesn’t really affect the smell.

You haven’t been reading the same comments as I have then.

I have only ever seen the final edited versions of the ot Lucas put out after prequels and prior to selling to Disney that had scenes replaced and edited and everything model and cheep spfx and vfx replaced with cgi and I love all 9 films of the skywalker saga equally as well as the two anthology films and the new live action series except for book of boba fett cause I never liked the character and think he was the most over rated character ever I only watched the episode with grogu and din djarin and Luke and Ahsoka in it as it connected to the mandalorian and now the Ahsoka series as well as the skywalker saga films and seasons 1-7 of the clone wars and Star Wars rebels I also love the bad batch and tales of the Jedi and can’t wait for the new Rey skywalker movie

Funny you should bring SW up … I was just on youtube to look at the end battle in the ‘despecialized’ version, which opens with two wonderful model shots of the rebel fleet instead of the horrible BABYLON-5 looking CG that replaced it, I guess so that the camera could do a sweeparound. Pretty sad looking ‘improvement.’

Your preference for the DSC Enterprise does not negate someone else’s preference for the TOS version.

To each their own. Love the 1701, no bloody A, B, C or D (or E, F, G for that matter).

Aye. A real beauty and a credit to her name.

Nice when something significant like that finds its way back to its ‘family.’ Good little story, heartwarming.

Due to its renewed fame, the model has reportedly decided to get a nacelle lift.

Ha, I never realized the nacelles weren’t quite parallel with the saucer!

Nice to see it found its way home. Kudos to all involved…

I was wondering about this- Thanks!

Nice to have some good news for a change.

I was thinking the same. There’s not enough of that out there these days.

Great this has been finally found and authenticated.

Don’t let Paramount+ use it at one of their pop-up promotional things; they don’t seem to care about Star Trek anymore.

This is wonderful news. Only a Vulcan or Android could fail to understand being sentimental about this.

I never knew the nacelles on the original were at that angle!

Hope Roddenberry gets this a top notch restoration and more people get to see it in person.

They weren’t at that angle (just look at the photos of Roddenberry examining the newly-completed model on the set of “The Cage” or the actors holding it for publicity stills). The nacelles have just sagged over the years — the bane of the design even for professional model makers, apparently.

I had to do some hefty triage to get them to stay upright when building those AMT models.

Gravity’s a b**ch, what can I say….

At 65, I can’t say much. And I’m just a guy. . .

I’m only a couple years behind you, but was horrified/amazed to find I’d shrunk nearly a 1/2 inch in the last year, so I’m under 6’2″ now. Gravity’s a bastard too.

I’m breaking my cardinal rule about offering up some unsolicited advice, it might not be a bad idea to get a checkup on dropping that half inch. Bone density issues can lead to a higher risk of fractures in the future.

That’s what my wife thought too, you’re right to put it out there. But it was my primary doctor’s nurse who took the measurement before an in-person visit, yet nobody in the office seemed concerned.

I just now got up and had my wife measure me against the apartment front door and she came away with 6′ 2-1/4″ — so no height loss after all. Guess they may not be making nurses like they used to.

Then again, the whole medical community seems to have fallen apart in the last few years. My wife had to wait more than 18 months just to get some special ‘important’ testing during the pandemic, not because Kaiser lacked doctors and lab techs, but because they lacked schedulers . If they’d just been able to put the request into the system in a different way, like most typical appointments, she could have scheduled an appointment herself online and gotten in within a couple months instead of nearly waiting 2 years. All because she had to wait for them to call her to schedule.

In the first year after the death of my wife of 30 years, I had become so exhausted from all the changes from bookkeeping and other paperwork (my wife had just retired from 40 years teaching higher math and being an administrator in high schools and community college, this she was the keeper of the books for our 30 years together) that I began having multiple balance issues and repeated falls. Apparently no bones were broken in those falls, but I did manage to maintain my 5’11.5″ height, and began to lose 100+ lbs. weight over the first year without trying (due to my cooking perhaps). I had been a type 2 diabetic, as well as other bad health signs, but am now (four years after my wife’s death) considered back to pre-diabetic, due to dropping weight, blood sugar, and a1c numbers. I feel as if my wife’s death, in a damnable twist of fate, took her from me, but gave me new life. Yet I would stay heavy and ill just to have her back for a year. Years before, she told me “If anything happens to me, I want you to be happy, to enjoy life, and find someone to love again.” Yet I just can’t. Not yet. Oh, I tried dating last year for a short time, and hated it and myself. My heart was not in it. She was the one love of my life, and likely shall be…

I feel ya, Kev. We got a piece of good news that Christina’s weird thyroid growth has only a 1% chance of being cancer, which is a real break given she isn’t fully over the surgery/chemo combo for the ovarian cancer last year. We know the ovarian type she has will absolutely return so it is a kind of death sentence, but there is a possibility of some years yet, even though the chemo pushed her a1c numbers up into diabetic zone, gave her extreme neuropathy and cost her most of her hearing.

On a decidedly lighter note, I was thinking ‘Count Plasma and the Platelets ‘ would be a good band name, if you ever decide to make another Count Plasma movie and wanted to include musical numbers.

I have made some headway on the formation of ILM script at last, and hope to actually finish it and get an agent again this year. Maybe then, with that monkey off my back and hopefully out to market in time for a 50th anniversary SW tie-in, I can start writing about stuff that is of more personal interest again, like spaceship-bound stuff where the characters say ‘shoot’ instead of ‘fire’ because the latter means ‘something is burning on the ship.’ Getting my a1c down to 6.5 and keeping it there seems to be doing sporadic wonders for my long-gunked-up creative juices.

I’m keeping good thoughts and positive vibes for Christina, and for you as well. My latest a1c was 5.9, but I blame that on my lust for a weekly pint or two of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I was down to 5.7 not long ago. Each time I get on the scale I’m down another 2 to 5 lbs. but it’ll be a while ’til I get under 175 again. I’m busting my you-know-what to shoot some digital video again on my film project, but I have a couple of interesting actors, and keep hoping for cool enough days to shoot desert exteriors. And I’m glad to learn that you are working on that script, as I vaguely recall some mention of it in a recent year or so. I’m making use of an AI assist on mine to help me fill in some blanks to get mine finished. Normally I’d wing it, but my friends are anxious to see a finished script. Though I’d be happy as a clam making the whole thing hand-held and improvised, ’70s-’80s style! ;) Certain lines come to mind: “Oh Jerry, come down off your ivory….tower?”

For me, the stuff I remember being most excited about is mostly the ones we didn’t get to do … I wrote an MTX: GOBI ZONE opener on spec for you, based on your admiration for the TMP transporter malfunction scene, and I had the voice of the soon-to-be-demised-transportee coming across on the radio after the initial successful teleport ,checking in with, ‘I claim this for all the queens in England.’ (years later, you were thinking of a different take on teleporation, something more like THE OUTER LIMITS’ ‘The Mice,’ and I remember messing with a story for that too, but I don’t know what happened with it.)

Plus there was that Arthur Pierce WORLD AND ANTI-WORLD project, which would have been the most epic super-8 project anybody ever tried (way beyond Lew Place!)

But for the most part, I really wish we’d gotten to do that whole contemporary MASTER OF THE WORLD film, instead of just the denouement where I washed ashore in Monterrey. Mainly just because I LOVED the idea of you shooting a oner for the ‘landing in helicopter and getting out wearing a business suit’ intro you had planned for the San Fran opening, which was wholly within my Bond-obsessed vibe. Y’know, I still haven’t seen the Vincent Price/Charles Bronson film after all these decades!

I’m sorry to read of your wife’s health issues, but glad that she is currently doing well, which is all any of us can count on. Just yesterday I was outside doing nothing more challenging or life-threatening than weeding my yard when a sudden, stupid mishap brought me within a quarter-inch of losing my right eye. We are all so, so fragile.

Yes, she is indeed due and well deserving of some TLC.

Funny, when I built the AMT model of the Enterprise back in the 70s, it too wound up having droopy nacelle issues. Now I can retcon my memories to say I was imitating the original model. :D

Seriously, I do hope that they do some restoration on the model. It’s dirty, the “Enterprise” on the top of the saucer is in bad shape, and while I can see them squeezing the aft ends of the nacelles closer together to facilitate forced perspective, I don’t thing they look as droopy on Gene’s desk. It’s in good hands now.

A couple of news stories reported that it will be restored and put on display. Details to follow.

Yes, it’s in good hands now.

And because Paramount can’t get their hands on it, they won’t be able to auction it off.

The droop is proof that the Enterprise was always meant to only operate in space, not in a gravitational field.

Perfect design. Love that ship

Nacelle droop and misalignment; a worry, to be sure….

Every lady has her own charm, despite “nacelle droop” and “misalignment”, even the Enterprise… :D

So long as it doesn’t get any hot flashes. It is made of wood, after all…

Too many innuendoes… not enough time… does not compute… does not… COMPUTE… ERROR! ERROR! Dooooooes noooooot…. [explodes like Landru, M-5, and countless other outsmarted AIs]

Reading that made me think of some arcane little tidbit from TAS, specifically THE TIME TRAP, where one of the other ships caught in that dimension/plane/nexus/whosiwhatsis is reported to be made of wood.

I don’t recall if it was in the aired episode or just the AD Foster novelization. I suppose I should pop the DVD set in — it came in a cute plastic container similar to the TOS tricorder-looking dvd clamshell sets that I keep my TOS blurays — to see.

That was my favorite TAS episode when I was a kid, back when it first aired. The thought of a hidden graveyard of spaceships was fascinating to me.

TIME TRAP and JIHAD were my faves as a kid, along with MAGICKS OF MEGUS TWO, which I’m pretty sure my catholic saturday school catechism teacher decried to be heretical. That was around the time my little league career ended and I started making up excuses to get out of all church activities for ever !

Pretty sure that was an ADF addition, but it’s been decades in both cases, so don’t hold me to it.

I love a happy ending.

You just know this long strange journey is going to make a fun documentary

I really hope it is a documentary! I would support that kickstarter!

Do we know what happened to the “owner”? Did they get any money?

I believe it was mentioned somewhere that the individual who purchased the storage locker was compensated. I doubt it was anything near the millions they would have gotten for it at auction, though.

Millions, I don’t know. The TMP and TNG Enterprises went for less than a million, and those were models with modern detailing, working lights, etc. Of course, this model was literally the first based upon Jeffries’ design ever built (aside from a four-inch balsa prototype forever lost to time), so it has considerably more historicity, but millions’ worth? I doubt it.

That said, it would’ve been a nice payday for someone.

‘treat her like a lady and she will always bring you home…’

I have friends who worked on TNG through Enterprise, and later PICS3. Another friend was involved with TMP 4K remaster. They were all brought it to authenticate it’s the actual model. It’s authentic. I hope it ends up at the Star Trek Set Tour in Ticonderoga NY.

I’d be up for it being displayed at the Smithsonian, personally….

Either way would be great! The Galileo is at The Set Tour. I think the owner of the tour has a relationship with Roddenberry. We’ll see…

It would be awesome if they put it up with the 11 footer in a huge shadowbox, so that if you looked at them from the right angle (and added some kind of fiberoptic pulse lighting between the two models), you could get a ‘Picard maneuver’ effect live right at the museum, like the little ship jumped to warp and came out right in your face.

That’s assuming they match the paint jobs up, of course.

I doubt that they will, though. When both models were updated for the regular series the three-footer didn’t get the “weathering” treatment of its larger sibling. My guess is that any restoration will be to get the ship back to its condition on Roddenberry’s desk, which in itself will be a reasonable curation and a lot of work.

…Was discovered amongst a stack of documents at Mar-a-Lago

They’re lucky to get it back – I’d have kept the thing

Really? What would you have done with it, hang it off the ceiling in your garage?

But seriously, I’ve seen this happen on Antiques Roadshow, where someone comes in with something they think is worth a couple hundred bucks, and it turns out to be worth hundreds of thousands, or even millions. They couldn’t afford to keep it because of the cost of insurance alone.

Simply the most beautiful starship design ever to grace the screens of any size. It’s perspective sculptural perfections allows it to be filmed from every angle makes it a powerful looking ship moving forward. Restorations to bring it back to what’s seen on Gene Roddenberry’s desk is a natural direction to go.

I’m glad it was returned…

but please fix those crooked nacelles before my head explodes!

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Published Aug 16, 2023

WARP FIVE: Dermott Downs on How Music in 'Subspace Rhapsody' Honors Each Character's Arc and Visual Style

The director gives us insight into Star Trek's first musical episode!

SPOILER WARNING: Discussion for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9 "Subspace Rhapsody" to follow!

StarTrek.com

Welcome to Warp Five, StarTrek.com's five question post-mortem with your favorite featured talent from the latest Star Trek episodes.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds takes a big swing for Season 2. In addition to crossing over with the animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks , the sophomore season makes franchise history with its very first musical-themed episode, “ Subspace Rhapsody .”

The U.S.S. Enterprise encounters a strange yet naturally-occurring phenomenon — a subspace fold. Spock wants to use it to increase the speed of subspace communications in the sector; with a suggestion from Pelia, Nyota Uhura plays a recording from the Great American Songbook. Unexpectedly, a pulse ripples throughout the Enterprise , causing the crew to break out into song when their emotions are heightened. Unfortunately, the field expands and begins to impact other ships — allies and enemies alike.

Written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, and directed by Dermott Downs, “Subspace Rhapsody” features 10 original songs, with music and lyrics by Kay Hanley (Letters to Cleo) and Tom Polce (Letters to Cleo, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ).

StarTrek.com had the opportunity to director Dermott Downs about his musical background, his history with Star Trek , what went into tackling a franchise first, and more!

Initiating Contact

“I'm of the age of the original, so I am grateful that Lucille Ball made sure that pilot happened ,” reveals Dermott Downs. “I really enjoyed the uniqueness of every episode in the original series, being just so standalone and different.”

Behind-the-Scenes of "Subspace Rhapsody"

It just so happens that after a meeting, Downs was presented two opportunities with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . “When I had met with Henry [Alonso Myers] and Secret Hideout in general, just about what they were doing, they were talking about Strange New Worlds , which hadn't aired yet. And I was like, ‘Well, why another one,’” questioned Downs. “The original was so great because it was an ethical, moral comedy every week where everything was a standalone. They were like, ‘That's what we're doing!’ [They were planning] basically a sitcom episode and a musical."

“I pitched myself really hard,” Downs continued. “I'm in this business because I had memorized the songbook at seven to Oliver Twist , became an actor, and then became a cinematographer in the golden age of MTV's music video heyday. I was probably doing four to five a month, everybody from the Beastie Boys to Foo Fighters and Puff Daddy and Taylor Swift. But then I made my way into narrative television. I had the good fortune of being part of the Arrowverse for five years and did The Flash - Supergirl musical episode called ‘Duets.’”

Approaching “Subspace Rhapsody”

Downs recalls the creative team’s clear vision. “In the canon of Star Trek , it had never been done before,” notes Downs. “When I first met them, it was all about, ‘The show is really grounded.’ Then I got off the phone and I’m like, ‘It’s really grounded, but we’re talking about a musical in outer space. Are we jumping the shark?’ To their credit, they did not.”

"Subspace Rhapsody"

“They found a way into a musical universe with that anomaly,” Downs adds. “Music is sort of a virus that pushes forward your biggest vulnerabilities through song. They did a great job at actually pushing character arcs further, in a way that music could really honor their arcs as individuals that just talking about it wouldn't.”

Embracing the Challenges

Despite the rigid set piece of a starship in space, Downs found opportunities to utilize the different sceneries because “they’re really designed in a way that gives you a lot of freedom.”

There was only one number that gave the director pause due to its tight set — the “How Would That Feel” scene. “I would say the one that worried me the most was La'An's,” states Downs. “After she witnesses James Kirk and Una singing, she's feeling all this emotion about her feelings for Kirk. She goes into her room for four minutes and sings a song. It's like, ‘oh my god, this just can't be a talking head going into the room and just singing.’”

Downs sat down with Christina Chong on how to approach the scene. “It was really working with her. She's such a great actress, finding these moments of introspection and moving to the window and looking at the galaxy out there, just thinking of her own life and all the possibilities, but also the limitations because she can't express her feelings. She goes to the bed and then begins the fantasy [timeline] in bed. That ended up being such a joyful collaboration. That's the smallest set we shot in, and yet it was a hugely emotional song. I just wanted to find a way to also just show her loneliness. I was really happy with that.”

“Obviously there were huge challenges,” recalls Downs, “the big finale that climaxes with the Klingons and K-pop. ‘Private Conversations’ was probably the one every day, I said, ‘I can't wait till we do that one because it's just such a mashup of humiliation and a love song.’ And Anson [Mount] was great. I never would've known he has such great comedic timing too.”

Connecting with the Cast and Creatives

Production for Season 2 was already underway when the first season began airing last summer. Downs remembers the energy being heightened, “Season 1 didn’t air until I was just about ready to go to picture, and I’m the penultimate episode of Season 2. Just as we started filming, everybody was riding the high of that, even though they were running on fumes from the season. They were also doing something they had never done before, and in Star Trek canon lore had never been done before by any of its shows. Everybody was just on their game and willing to go for it; coming in on the weekends and rehearsing.”

The episode proved to be a turning point for both Spock and Uhura. Commenting on it, Downs shares, “They’re both coming from very different places. Celia [Rose Gooding] has a musical theater background. She was on Broadway and checking in with her mom, who was finishing The Color Purple , when they would each end their play and hang out. She was coming into it with huge chops. Then someone like Ethan who has never sung before, yet that was as equally as powerful of a solo revelation. They know the arcs of those characters so well.”

It was important for Downs to be on the same page with the creative team as well as the talent. “I certainly discussed everything that I had talked with Henry [Alonso Myers] and writers Bill [Wolkoff] and Dana [Horgan], but it was also about trying to find ways to celebrate their stories in a way that cinematically didn't overwhelm them. And I had a great cinematographer who was on board and it was a pretty seamless production.”

Crafting a Cohesive Musical Episode

Despite the episode being the penultimate episode of the second season, Downs didn’t have the opportunity to see the final cuts of the first season nor see the audience’s reaction.

“It was interesting because like I said, Season 1 hadn't aired,” details Downs. “I had seen a handful of those episodes that weren't even finished with all their effects as I was prepping. I had two weeks of prep before my normal prep even started with the choreographer, Roberto Campanella, who's a super talented guy with his own company in Toronto. He's Guillermo del Toro's personal choreographer on his films, The Shape of Water and Nightmare Alley . And he's wonderful.”

“For two weeks, he and I had the temp tracks,” continues Downs. “We just walked the stages and we really leaned into trying to understand the tenor and the tone of each of those songs, because they were all very different. Anson's is a country western breakdown in front of his crew, and Jess's is a powerhouse like out of Grease . Celia's, that's a power ballad if there's ever been a power ballad. And we knew there that we were going to have her alone in that vast space and at times be overwhelmed in loneliness, but also let her push those notes out and let her push the camera back. It was trying to acknowledge each one of those stories and let that inform the visual style of it, because each one was shot very differently. It's all still within the show. So it's a little bit about a balancing act. Each story's different, each song is different, so we tried to tell it as uniquely as we could, still being in the universe of the world."

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Christine Dinh (she/her) is the managing editor for StarTrek.com. She’s traded the Multiverse for helming this Federation Starship.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

• Behind The Scenes

Screen Rant

7 biggest star trek secrets spock kept.

From Star Trek: The Original Series to Strange New Worlds, Mr. Spock has been able to keep some of Star Trek's most important secrets to himself.

• Spock kept many secrets to maintain continuity with Star Trek TOS, only revealing what was relevant or life-threatening.
• Lt. Spock's tight-lipped nature and trustworthiness were evident in keeping Number One's love for musicals a secret.
• Spock's knowledge of Pike's tragic future and encounters with Lower Decks ensigns were also secret-keeping priorities.

Star Trek 's Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) kept a surprising number of secrets over the course of his long life. In Star Trek: The Original Series , Spock volunteered very few details about his own life, and the crew of the Starship Enterprise rarely pried into the Vulcan's private affairs. Those who did ask generally received sideways answers or a raised eyebrow that said enough. Instead, Spock only disclosed personal information if it was relevant to the Enterprise's current missions , if people from Spock's past came back into his life as a plot point, if it was a matter of life and death -- or, in at least one case, all three.

The inclusion of Ethan Peck's younger Lieutenant Spock in the streaming era of Star Trek , starting in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, and continuing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , all but assured that more new stories featuring Spock would translate into more secrets for Spock to keep in order to maintain continuity with Star Trek: The Original Series. Obviously, the things that were invented for new shows couldn't be referenced in Star Trek: The Original Series, so there had to be reasons that Spock never spoke again about meetings with new characters, insights into the future, and even some of Spock's own relationships. Fortunately, Mr. Spock has always been relatively tight-lipped.

Star Trek’s Ethan Peck: Strange New Worlds’ Spock Actor Explained

7 commander una chin-riley is a fan of gilbert & sullivan, spock kept number one's love of old musicals a secret until her hearing..

Admittedly, it's not one of Star Trek 's biggest secrets, but by keeping Number One's secret love of theater to himself, Lt. Spock proves his trustworthiness to Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Spock keeps this tidbit of personal information about Number One locked tight until Una's hearing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 2, "Ad Astra Per Aspera" , when Spock is asked if he ever believed that Una was hiding something. Lieutenant Spock is beholden to the truth, so he must answer in the affirmative: Commander Chin-Riley is hiding the fact that she loves old musicals.

In Star Trek: Short Treks season 2, episode 1, "Q&A", Commander Una Chin-Riley encourages a fresh-faced young Ensign Spock to ask questions to the point of being obnoxious. Spock takes that advice to heart when he finds himself trapped in a turbolift with Number One shortly thereafter. While Spock's questions steer clear of digging for personal information about Una herself, the time in the turbolift drags on, and Number One willingly confesses her love for Gilbert & Sullivan musicals with a rendition of "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General", which Spock is ordered to forget.

Number One's penchant for Gilbert & Sullivan is referenced in Una's duet with Lieutenant James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody", in the style of the song itself and also a lyric.

6 Captain Pike Will Suffer A Tragic Accident

Spock kept his knowledge of pike’s future in a wheelchair a secret..

In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, episode 8, "If Memory Serves", Captain Christopher Pike encounters a Klingon time crystal in the temple on the planet Boreth, and learns of the horrifying future that awaits him after Pike saves Starfleet Cadets during a terrible accident. Pike's knowledge of his future becomes a major theme in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, as Chris ruminates on whether his fate is actually sealed or if it can be changed.

Captain Pike met his future self in Star Trek: Strange New World s season 1 finale and learned that if he tries to change his destiny, it will be Spock who would be horribly disfigured instead.

Rather than bear the burden of this knowledge alone, Captain Pike decides to tell Commander Una Chin-Riley and Lieutenant Spock about the vision of Pike's future in a wheelchair that the time crystal revealed in the Klingon Temple. It's a risk, but Pike trusts both Spock and Number One to keep the secret of Pike's future, so they can help Pike navigate the present.

5 Spock Met Star Trek: Lower Decks Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler

Spock kept meeting the 24th-century ensigns from star trek: lower decks a secret..

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's crossover episode, "Those Old Scientists", the USS Enterprise crew under Captain Pike come face to face with Star Trek: Lower Decks ' 24th-century Ensigns Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome). After Mariner and Boimler accidentally activate a time portal that takes them into the 23rd century, both Starfleet Officers end up on the 23rd-century Starship Enterprise. What could have been a temporal catastrophe is, thankfully, avoided.

Boimler telling Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) that none of the books he read about Spock in the future mention her leads to Chapel breaking off her romance with the Vulcan.

Of course, Boimler can't help being excited about working with Spock, one of his personal heroes, and Mariner says young Spock is hot with a certain amount of surprise, implying that Spock's legacy lasts well into the future. Although the Temporal Prime Directive hasn't been invented yet, Spock knows that he'll have to keep anything that Mariner and Boimler say about the future a secret, and won't even be able to speak of the meeting after they return to their own time.

Mariner and Boimler prove they can keep a secret too, when Mariner reminds Boimler about "the Pike thing we're not supposed to talk about" in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 1, "Twovix".

4 Spock Knows About Talos IV

Spock risks his career to give captain pike peace on talos iv..

In Star Trek: The Original Series , season 1, episodes 10 & 11, "The Menagerie", Spock comes under fire for violating Starfleet's General Order 7, which states, " No vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos IV. " Spock is one of the few officers to have actually been to Talos IV before its very existence was classified as Top Secret, and the ban on landing there was established, having previously visited Talos IV with Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and the USS Enterprise. In keeping with the spirit of General Order 7, and to disavow anyone but himself from coming under scrutiny for violating it, Spock remains tight-lipped about what is actually on Talos IV, and why Spock must take Captain Pike there after Pike's disfiguring accident.

Spock's motive for committing mutiny by taking Fleet Captain Pike (Sean Kenney) to Talos IV is sound, however. The Talosians' are powerful psychics who would allow Christopher Pike to live the rest of his days peacefully in an illusion instead of in agony after his accident. Because Spock also knew that Captain Pike's accident would happen, it's likely Spock had the return trip to Talos IV already planned well before the accident actually occurred.

Leonard Nimoy Always In Ethan Peck's Head Is Why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Spock Is So Good

3 star trek: discovery's michael burnham is spock's adopted sister, spock kept the uss discovery's fate a secret after star trek: discovery season 2..

Star Trek: Discovery reveals that Spock's adoptive sister, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) , comes to live with Spock's family on Vulcan after Michael's scientist parents were killed by Klingons. Although Spock is originally skeptical of Michael's presence in his family's home, Spock and Michael eventually come to regard each other as siblings, thanks in part to the intervention of Spock's human mother, Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner).

Spock's visions of a lifeless future play a crucial role in Star Trek: Discovery season 2's Red Angel mystery, which reunites Spock with Michael after years apart. In the final battle against Section 31's threat assessment AI, Control, the USS Discovery leaps forward in time, so Discovery's crew, including Michael Burnham, are officially declared dead. All information about Discovery is classified by Starfleet , ensuring that Spock would have to keep Michael Burnham a secret after Star Trek: Discovery season 2.

2 Spock Has A Vulcan Fiancée, T'Pring

Spock kept t’pring a secret from kirk’s enterprise until “amok time”..

One of Spock's closely-guarded secrets is revealed early in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 1, "Amok Time", when Spock's mysterious illness turns out to be pon farr , the onset of the 7-year Vulcan mating cycle. The existence of pon farr isn't widely known at this point, which is how Spock would prefer it, but Spock also knows that he must redirect the Enterprise to Vulcan in order to cure this ailment, so Spock has to come clean about another secret: Spock has a wife, T'Pring (Arlene Martel), who lives on Vulcan.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds explores Lieutenant Spock's doomed relationship with T'Pring (Gia Sandhu) before TOS. Thus far, Strange New Worlds takes care to preserve the fact that most of the officers serving on Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) USS Enterprise, including Kirk himself, don't know that T'Pring exists in Star Trek: The Original Series.

Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) serves with Lt. Spock on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' USS Enterprise but, conveniently, Uhura has not seen T'Pring, preserving Lt. Uhura's (Nichelle Nichols) surprise in Star Trek: The Original Series' "Amok Time."

1 Spock Has A Rogue Half-Brother, Sybok

Spock kept sybok a secret until star trek v: the final frontier..

In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the USS Enterprise is pulled out of drydock to pursue a renegade Vulcan who has kidnapped ambassadors on Nimbus III, and the target of the chase turns out to be Spock's half-brother, Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill). With Sybok's existence now relevant to the current mission, Spock is a little more forthcoming with information about his previously unmentioned sibling, who rejects the traditional, logical teachings of Surak in favor of unbridled emotion. Spock's half-brother Sybok was disowned by their father, Sarek, for his dangerous philosophy, and Spock was instructed to do the same. Because Sybok had no place in Spock's family due to his beliefs, it makes perfect sense for Spock to keep the secret that he even had a brother in the first place.

Sybok makes a brief cameo in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 7, "The Serene Squall", but doesn't appear in Strange New Worlds season 2.

As a private person by nature, Spock is predisposed towards keeping his personal life secret to focus on the matters at hand, from missions to cultivating more current friendships. Spock's exemplary record as a Starfleet officer also demonstrates that Spock will abide by orders from superior officers to keep their personal secrets, as well as secrets that are necessary to ensure the safety of the timeline. Between Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek: Discovery , and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Mr. Spock shows that he can be trusted with Star Trek 's important secrets, regardless of the reason for keeping them.

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is streaming on Max.

Strange New Worlds Actors Reveal Cut Star Trek Musical Finale Moment & Why Spock Dances

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode concludes with a grand finale showcasing the power of unity and camaraderie among the crew.
• Lt. Spock's logical decision to dance in the musical finale helps boost subspace rift's 'improbability levels,' aiding the crew in saving the galaxy.
• A bonding moment between Uhura and La'an highlights the ensemble's support for each other, showcasing a sense of solidarity and friendship, but it was cut from the episode.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' Celia Rose Gooding and Christina Chong reveal a cut moment from the finale of the first-ever Star Trek musical, and Ethan Peck explains why Lt. Spock decided to dance in the closing musical number, "We Are One." Strange New Worlds season 2's acclaimed musical episode, "Subspace Rhapsody," was written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff and directed by Dermot Downs. All of the songs were composed by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce from Letters to Cleo. The musical required the entire cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to sing and dance, and everyone embraced the musical with gusto.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical episode, a subspace rift created a reality defined by the rules of musicals that threatened to engulf the entire galaxy. Meanwhile, aboard the USS Enterprise, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew unwittingly express their deepest feelings and emotions through songs. Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) deduced that to close the subspace rift, the crew of the Enterprise needed to perform a grand finale, and every single person aboard the starship joined in for the big finish musical number, "We Are One."

Star Trek Strange New Worlds Musical Episode Ending Explained

Star trek: strange new worlds' musical cut a moment from the grand finale, celia rose gooding explains a missing moment from the musical episode..

In an interview with TV Insider, Celia Rose Gooding and Christina Chong reveal that there was a bonding moment between Ensign Nyota Uhura and Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh that was cut from the final version of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' musical episode 's finale number, "We Are One." Read their quotes below:

Celia Rose Gooding: La’an and Uhura had a little handshake moment that we made up on the spot. Christina Chong: We did! Celia Rose Gooding: We did, but that didn’t make it. But in my mind, there was something so beautiful about that after we finished the song. Our instinct was first to just celebrate one another, and then get back to work. I think that is such a nod to our routine as an ensemble to just check on each other and really boost each other up because we’re doing something that some characters are not super comfortable with and that isn’t their instinct to burst out into song. And so that final moment of camaraderie - of course, it had to be shrunk down for the nature of TV - but in my perfect world, there’s an edit of five minutes of everyone just giving each other compliments.

"We Are One" was a catharsis for the crew of the Starship Enterprise. For La'an, the Strange New Worlds musical's finale reaffirmed her decision to be more open with her feelings, even after her confession that she is attracted to Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) didn't go as she had hoped. Meanwhile, Uhura realized that her role in keeping the crew of the Enterprise connected was a gift, and it empowered her to save the ship. Both La'an and Uhura shed their old inhibitions and took steps forward to becoming happier people .

Watch the full TV Insider interview with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' cast below:

Why Spock Dances In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Musical Finale

Ethan peck knew spock would only dance when it was logical to dance..

Ethan Peck also explained Lt. Spock's decision to dance in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' grand finale, "We Are One." Peck, who understands Spock like Leonard Nimoy did , needed a logical justification for Spock to dance , and he found out. Read Peck's quote below:

Ethan Peck: There was a moment there in that finale where life really imitated art. I mean, that happens so frequently, but never so closely together as in that moment. Spock doesn’t get to participate because, obviously, he doesn’t want to be dancing. I spoke with Dermot, the director, about it. How would Spock dance? Well, I guess he has to to get that meter maxed out so we can break out of the musical reality. And he would do it for that, and so he joins in for the very end of it. So I felt like kind of an outsider. I join in at the very end of that whole sequence. And then Chapel and Spock are sort of on rough terms, and I remember its ending. We had this joyous moment, and then we have kind of a broody look to each other. So my experience was a little bit different from some of the other cast members.

Lt. Spock dancing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' musical finale did boost the subspace rift's 'improbability levels ', and helped put the Starship Enterprise crew over the top. Unlike Uhura and La'an's moment, the final cut of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' musical included the awkward moment between Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) after the couple ended their relationship through song. What happens next between Spock, Chapel, and the crew of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 remains to be seen, although it won't include another musical episode. (At least not in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3.)

Source: TV Insider

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is available to stream on Paramount+

Cast Bruce Horak, Celia Rose Gooding, Jess Bush, Melissa Navia, Ethan Peck, Babs Olusanmokun, Rebecca Romijn, Paul Wesley, Christina Chong, Anson Mount

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Bill Wolkoff, Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers

Directors Amanda Row, Valerie Weiss, Jonathan Frakes, Chris Fisher

Showrunner Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers

Where To Watch Paramount+

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TREKNEWS.NET | Your daily dose of Star Trek news and opinion

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Review: Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 “Mirrors”

Star Trek: Discovery picks up immediately where “ Face the Strange ” left off, as our protagonists track their quarry’s ship to a hidden, interdimensional pocket of space that holds a few surprises for them and the audience.

Thanks to some sciencing from Paul Stamets ( Anthony Rapp ) and Sylvia Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ), Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) has a way to find where Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L’ak ( Elias Toufexis ) are. Apparently, there’s a wormhole hiding in plain sight near where Discovery lost track of the criminals’ warp signature.

This wormhole is too small for a Crossfield- class ship to fit through, so Burnham and Cleveland Booker ( David Ajala ) – the latter of whom is on a mission to rehabilitate Moll, if possible – take a shuttle and see what’s on the other side of the wormhole’s aperture. Find a surprise, they do indeed, as the I.S.S. Enterprise , the evil version of the heroic Starfleet ship, is nestled in the wormhole – albeit without its crew, which apparently evacuated the vessel at some point. It’s beaten to hell and serves as a refuge for Moll and L’ak, whose own ship was destroyed by the interdimensional pocket of space’s destructive environment.

Discovery writers sure can be sneaky! They’ve been foreshadowing the appearance of a Constitution­ -class for the last two episodes; remember when Gen Rhys ( Patrick Kwok-Choon ) and Commander Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ) both remarked the Connie was their favorite ship? As we’ll see, this isn’t the last bit of foreshadowing that comes true in this episode.

“How did it end up in interdimensional space?” “I don’t know. Must be one hell of a story.” – Book and Burnham upon seeing the I.S.S. Enterprise

Astute viewers will recognize an often-used cost-saving measure in the annals of Star Trek history: the reuse of sets from another concurrent show. (Seriously, rewatch TNG , DS9 , and Voyager and you’ll be surprised how often props and sets are reused between those shows.) As Burnham and Book explore various halls and rooms, including the bridge and sickbay, the familiar surroundings seen in Strange New Worlds are subtly transformed by Mirror Universe iconography. While nods to the iconic starship Enterprise are always appreciated, our initial reaction to this surprise location—admittedly tinged with pessimism—is that it’s of course it’s the Enterprise . A practical move, perhaps, to keep expenses in check. By Grabthar’s hammer… what a savings.

Finding the ship deserted sure is strange, and Burnham and Book ascertain Moll and L’ak are in sickbay, presumably with the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle. But first, the pair check out the transporter room, which holds some strange items, such as blankets, children’s toys, and a locket that holds a picture of two people, which Burnham inexplicably decides to take with her. Moreover, the dedication plaque of the I.S.S Enterprise tells the story of the ship and its crew: the Terran Universe emperor seemingly tried to make changes to the way things were done in that evil universe, and the Enterprise escaped and picked up refugees who were trying to flee the Terran Universe and enter the Prime Universe.

One of the leaders among those on the Enterprise was a Kelpien, who Burnham deduces must have been the Mirror Universe version of Saru, and that the crew must have fled the Enterprise once it got stuck in the interdimensional pocket of space. Is it just us, or does this sound like a potential episode of Strange New Worlds ?

Burnham, Book, Moll, and L’ak face off in sickbay, where Burnham makes a startling connection between L’ak and a particular dilemma he is facing. The criminal pair hope to use the Progenitor treasure to clear L’ak’s Breen blood bounty. Yes, L’ak is Breen, that enigmatic and masked species from Deep Space Nine . Neato!

The rest of the episode bounces between what’s happening on the Enterprise , and flashing back to how Moll and L’ak first met and became romantically involved. Moll, the courier, would do business on the Breen space station on which L’ak, a member of a royal Breen family, was posted. The two connected over L’ak’s recent demotion and efforts to fight the embarrassment that came with it.

Over some time, the two became nearly inseparable, and L’ak even took the bold step with Moll by showing her his face – a big deal in Breen culture, as keeping their masks on allows them to retain their true, semi-transparent form, and not the solidified appearance we’ve seen on L’ak. Their relationship is tested when L’ak’s superior (and uncle), Primarch Ruhn ( Tony Nappo ) decides to interrupt their courtship. L’ak doesn’t take kindly to being asked to kill Moll, so the Breen turns on his own people, earns a Breen blood bounty, and flees with Moll. The pair now share a goal: earn enough latinum to retire on an (unnamed) fabled planet somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant, free from the trials and hardships of the courier life.

Suffice it to say, “Mirrors” is most memorable because it casts a welcome light on the shadowed backstory of this season’s main villains. Moll and L’ak are now a relatable pair, star-crossed lovers who are hell-bent on earning themselves a happy ending. As much as we don’t want to see the Progenitors’ tech get into the wrong hands, who now doesn’t want to see everything work out for Moll and L’ak?

Anyway, the quartet still need to get off the Enterprise , but the shuttle on which Burnham and Book arrived is destroyed by the turbulent pocket of space. With mere minutes to spare before the Enterprise is destroyed by the wormhole’s tiny aperture, Book and Moll share some last-minute words about their shared relationship with the late Cleveland Booker, and how Book hopes Moll makes the right choices regarding her quest for the Progenitor tech. Burnham, meanwhile, engages in a melee with L’ak, and the Breen ends up injured and inadvertently relinquishes control to Burnham of the next map piece in the Progenitor puzzle. The courier and disgraced Breen end up escaping the ship in a convenient Terran warp pod, leaving the chase between our heroes and enemies for another day.

“If we hit it precisely with a sequential hexagonal pattern, it should stay open for approximately sixty seconds. But once it collapses, it’s gone for good.” “Why hexagonal?” “Doesn’t matter… it’ll work.” – Adira ( Blu del Barrio ), Rayner, and Stamets as the crew finds a way to get the wormhole aperture bigger. We think this line from Stamets is reflective of the evolving working relationship between the results-orientated Rayner and the crew, and how this relationship is getting better the longer Rayner is first officer.

Burnham devises a novel way to signal her first officer for help in getting the Enterprise through the aperture: a pulsing tractor beam emitting from the Enterprise , shot through the wormhole’s opening, in a numerical sequence featured in a famous play from Kellerun culture. Rayner is then able to lead his crew to devise a way to pull the Enterprise into normal space.

The sequence where Rayner is faced with command of a ship tasked with the near-impossible rescue of his captain is the best of the episode. It’s no secret Rayner was knocked down a few pegs after his demotion and reassignment to Discovery , but that lack of confidence and inner angst is demolished thanks to Rayner listening and working with his bridge crew to save the Enterprise . Plenty of lesser-known bridge officers get a say in how Discovery could help the Mirror ship, and lightning-fast decision-making shows Rayner back on his game.

The last element to note about this episode is some emotional trouble Doctor Hugh Culber ( Wilson Cruz ) is having. Tilly provides an outlet for this angst. Culber explains the experiences he’s had in the last few years – namely dying, coming back to life, and being a Trill host – really put into perspective the intellectual journey he is on in the face of the Progenitor’s quest. Tilly helps him realize he isn’t only experiencing an intellectual quest, but a spiritual one. This conversation is just another instance of Discovery setting up some wild expectations for what the crew might ultimately discover at the end of the season – something beyond the bounds of science, perhaps?

Even though their prey gets away again, Burnham and her crew have the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle, and it is hiding in the I.S.S. Enterprise ’s sickbay. Hidden in the map piece Burnham grabbed from L’ak is a vial, which Stamets will analyze soon. Burnham learns the crew who escaped from the I.S.S. Enterprise ended up in the Prime Universe and were able to start new lives. A Terran scientist aboard the Enterprise , Dr. Cho, ended up being a branch admiral, and we’re meant to assume she was one of the scientists on Dr. Vellek’s team hundreds of years ago as they studied the Progenitor tech. Dr. Cho then hid her piece of the Progenitor puzzle aboard her old ship as a symbolic gesture of her ability to find freedom in a new universe.

Discovery continues its final season with another thumbs-up episode that serves an important lore-building role in the franchise. Seeing the Breen again is a joy, especially since we were staring at one the whole time and never knew it. And how striking was that Breen space station where L’ak was based? Another important note for Star Trek historians is that now the Mirror Universe Enterprise is in the 32 nd century, and stationed near Earth thanks to Joann Owosekun and Keyla Detmer piloting the ship back to Federation space. Will we see that ship again this season?

As the Progenitor puzzle deepens, so do the emotional stakes for our crew, exemplified by Culber’s introspective journey, the subtle reignition of Book and Burnham’s relationship, and Rayner’s triumphant return to leadership. We’re now at the halfway point in this season, so there’s still plenty of time for surprises, emotional consequences, and expectation-setting for this eagerly awaited treasure.  

Stray Thoughts:

• Hopefully, you’re watching this episode with subtitles on, because goodness is it hard to hear what masked Breen says.
• The Mirror Universe version of the U.S.S. Enterprise was last seen in the Original Series episode “Mirror, Mirror,” albeit this wasn’t the Strange New Worlds version of the ship. Likewise, the Terran version of Spock, whom Booker asks if Burnham ever met, was in that same episode.
• How did Adira conclude they were the one who brought the time bug aboard Discovery ?
• Why didn’t Burnham and Book try talking down Moll and L’ak before diving into the room with the holo-projected doubles?

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+ , this season stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Prodigy , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Lower Decks , and more.

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Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

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