r/startrek: The Next Generation
Star Trek news and discussion. No slash fic...
Maybe a little slash fic.
New to Star Trek and wondering where to start?
Rules
1 Be constructive
All posts/comments must be thoughtful and balanced.
2 Be welcoming
It is important that everyone from newbies to OG Trekkers feel welcome, no matter their gender, sexual orientation, religion or race.
3 Be truthful
All posts/comments must be factually accurate and verifiable. We are not a place for gossip, rumors, or manipulative or misleading content.
4 Be nice
If a polite way cannot be found to phrase what it is you want to say, don't say anything at all. Insulting or disparaging remarks about any human being are expressly not allowed.
5 Spoilers
Utilize the spoiler system for any and all spoilers relating to the most recently-aired episodes, as well as previews for upcoming episodes. There is no formal spoiler protection for episodes/films after they have been available for approximately one week.
6 Keep on-topic
All submissions must be directly about the Star Trek franchise (the shows, movies, books etc.). Off-topic discussions are welcome at c/quarks.
7 Meta
Questions and concerns about moderator actions should be brought forward via DM.
Upcoming Episodes
| Date | Episode | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 11-14 | LD 5x05 | "Starbase 80?!" |
| 11-21 | LD 5x06 | "Of Gods and Angles" |
| 11-28 | LD 5x07 | "Fully Dilated" |
| 12-05 | LD 5x08 | "Upper Decks" |
| 12-12 | LD 5x09 | "Fissue Quest" |
In Production
Strange New Worlds (2025)
Section 31 (2025-01-24)
Starfleet Academy (TBA)
In Development
Untitled comedy series
Wondering where to stream a series? Check here.
Some of the lyrics were really clever and fun:
Spock: "I solved for the Y in my computation ... but the variable so devastating: I'm the ex / X".
At the same time: "When we gain control again, I confess"
Spock: "I solved for the Y in my computation ... but the variable so devastating: I'm the ex / X".
Thanks. Now I get it. IIRC the subtitles had "solved for the why" and then the X didn't make any sense. That is indeed clever.
My favourite Spock bit came at the end during the grande finale. Everyone was singing "we know our purpose, to protect the mission – our prime directive", and Spock just goes "not exactly". 😄
Can we talk about how great it is that they keep tinkering with the opening credits for the special episodes? Because I love it every time they do. Fukkin acapella man.
I'm a huge sucker for altered opening credits. Enterprise still wins for the best one of these with its mirror universe episode.
Loved it. I was most surprised that the whole cast all had such beautiful singing voices.
La'an's song touched me the most because I'm someone who also doesn't really dare to do the things I'd like to do.
A bit sad that we didn't get a Klingon opera but the alternative was ... well, interesting too. 😄 Also, I kinda hope that Spock solving diplomatic crises with the Klingons by drinking excessive amounts of blood wine will become a running gag.
Addendum: after watching it again I realized that (for the first time?) several male background extras were wearing the dress-type uniform variant that only the women used to wear.
Are we getting the unisex skant back? Hell yeah! I love this show.
Boimler wears a skant a bunch of times in Lower Decks.
La'an's song was the most emotional and heartfelt, but it went on way too long.
Uhura had the best song and the best performance, I thought. Celia Rose Gooding is a goddamned treasure, and it's a treat to see them finally really putting that character to good use on a consistent basis.
SNW continues to break new ground really well. This was a really refreshing episode and very well done. I for one loooved this episode.
Alright, I get that musicals are not everyone's cup of tea, but as a person who watched multiple dozens of Broadway musicals, I must say that the songs were really on par with actual musicals. The cast can really sing well -- I expected many great things from Cecile Rose Gooding and wow she did not disappoint. I was very pleasantly impressed by Christina Chong, Rebecca Romijin, Ethan Peck's performances as well.
I think the director made sure to highlight those actors that can sing well and put those that can't sing into secondary positions. Clearly Grammy-Award winning/Tony Award-nominated Gooding was at the center of the story, and they cut off Anson Mount's song, because well, he isn't the greatest singer. They even fully acknowledged that Babs Olusanmokun can't sing in universe as well. :) The ensemble pieces in the teaser and the finale were superb though and was a lot more entertaining than the solo pieces (which I get is probably much easier to rehearse/record and produce).
I loved that the episode intertwined music as a piece of the story, pushed the character arc forward between Spock/Chapel and La'an/Kirk. I am not so much of a sucker for La'an/Kirk but the alternative universe scenes were really a nice touch. The only cringey part was the Klingon K-pop/rap, but I suppose it was intentionally cringey/funny.
Whether you like this musical episode or not, you gotta admit that SNW really boldly goes where no one has gone before.
The Klingon bit was the best part. Imagining them being forced to sing like that while having no context for that style of music is hilarious.
If someone would have asked me a year ago if I thought Spock/Chapel and La’an/Kirk were gonna be my favorite ships in the Star Trek universe I woulda laughed at them.
Yes, this a starship joke lol
Thoughts/Observation as I watch:
Where will this stand in the long history of Star Trek gimmick episodes? After all, this is the franchise that gave us "Trials and Tribble-ations", "Take Me Out To The Holosuite", "In a Mirror, Darkly", the OG "Lower Decks", and most recently... "Those Old Scientists". Holy shit, that was just two episodes ago and in between we got the darkest Star Trek thing in years!
Uhura having to be the operator sounds like the most stressful thing to do that doesn't involve imminent danger.
"Even if it's not fully necessary." That basically sums up every contrivance to get Kirk on board.
KORBY ALERT
Ah, spatial distortions, the cause and solution to everything.
The facial acting as they enter musical-land is priceless.
Acapella theme song!
"So... that happened."
"Quantum uncertainty field". That's some Hitchiker Guide type stuff.
Ah, they brought back the Gilbert and Sullivan stuff.
I like how they are hanging a lampshade on just how BIZARRE it is that people sing out their biggest secrets and deepest feelings in musicals.
Good save, La'An.
"Surprisingly beautiful baritone"
It could have been worse for the crew. Imagine if Uhura had broadcast opera into it, then they'd ALWAYS be singing.
Shaxs would suggest blowing it up by ejecting the warp core.
Gratuitous zero-gee is gratuitous.
Oh god, singing Klingons.
Yeah, the Klingons would also like the "let's just blow it up" plan.
Wait were those extras twins?
Apparently the improbability field also affects the lighting of the bar.
Isn't K'tinga the later type of Klingon ship? Ah, screw it, musical rules.
"I don't love rules but I think you're about to break a big one."
This totally is going into Temporal Investigations Kirk file.
CAROL MARCUS REFERENCE
Oh shit, David Marcus reference!
"I'm the Ex" standing as if X in a math question is a good bit of workplay.
Kind of surprised it took this long to give Celia Rose Gooding a full-on solo.
Grammy-Award winning singer!
A grand finale. How meta!
Boy Band Klingons was not on my bingo card.
Lol, playing the TOS theme as a curtain-closer
"You sang about lying to me."
"Sorry, Earworm."
All-and-all, it was a good enough gimmick episode. But it was no "Take Me Out To The Holosuite." ("DEATH TO THE OPPOSITION!")
I was wondering why the Klingons were all pissed off about singing. They love their opera.
....and then I saw the performance and was like ah yeah I bet that would be completely humiliating for them. 😂
I loved this episode!
I didn't think they'd skip the opportunity to give us singing Klingons but the end result was just...wow. chef's kiss
I absolutely love Pike's "exasperated" face. It's possibly a bit overused this season but it cracks me up every single time because it's how I'd probably react if I were in his shoes and it's so unlike how the previous Starfleet ship captains would react, even when the situation fully merited it.
It could be bunnies
Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes!
They've got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses!
And what's with all the carrots?
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?
Bunnies!
Bunnies!
It must be bunnies!
This episode will forever be the test of whether someone who likes Trek is a fun person.
10/10.
I've come to the conclusion that SNW is the entry point series.
Do you like legal dramas? Perfect, here's a great LGBTQ allegory episode!
Do you like goofy animation like Rick and Morty? Here's the crossover with Lower Decks!
Do you like gritty serious war stories? We're still dealing with the trauma of the Klingon War!
Do you like showtunes? Somehow we pulled that off too! (also Chapel's song is a straight banger)
SNW is the show I'd introduce my friends to in order to get them into Star Trek as a larger thing. I think it's an easier entry point than any other series.
Touching on the actual character moments for a bit here: the events of this episode do not reflect well on Chapel.
She'd been hitting on Spock literally since the beginning of the show, and openly pining after him for most of that time. Four episodes ago, she winds up breaking down in tears explaining to an alien telephone receptionist how much she cares about him. Two episodes ago she is extremely distraught when Boimler accidentally lets slip that Spock is famous in the future, and her relationship with him almost certainly will not last. And now, she gets into a three month fellowship that she didn't think she had much of a chance at, doesn't say a word to Spock until she has no other choice, and then busts out a (involuntary, but reflective of genuine emotion) musical number about how "free" she feels. What the hell.
We already know Chapel has some problems with commitment, but this is a whole 'nother level. Throwing away a relationship she spent most of this show obsessively wishing for, without any apparent consideration for Spock's feelings or non-breakup solutions to spending a couple months apart, is just wild. I'm sure the finale will touch on this with a little more nuance than a musical number was likely to give, but whatever else is said this is not a good look.
It doesn't reflect well on her, but it does feel sort of...real, in a way that people can sometimes be shitty in real life. She's tangled herself up emotionally for a long time with someone who for various reasons just isn't going to be a good romantic partner for her, and there's certainly a bit of catharsis in realizing "oh maybe I just can stop trying to make this work and stop feeling bad at how I can't ever seem to make it work". Because the whole Spock thing clearly has been making her miserable, because she loves him but somehow it seems impossible to turn that into a whole emotional relationship. Its just that immediately after that moment, if you really care, you still need to go check on the person you're hurting. I really do hope they get a moment in the next episode to get some actual closure with each other.
I interpreted that song very differently. When Boimler spoke with Chapel, she didn't just realize that her and Spock wouldn't be together long term but also realized that Boimler didn't really know her like he knew Spock.
Spock goes on to do amazing things and every detail of his life is recorded in books that people over a century later will read and, essentially, worship him. Chapel isn't even a cliff note. In her mind, she must feel like she makes no difference and gets down on herself. When she gets the fellowship, it renews her confidence and let's her know that there is a whole universe of possibilities in front of her.
That was my interpretation of her feelings in the song but I can see others as reading it differently.
Only a minor part of the episode but I enjoyed that the intro was done with mostly vocals instead of the usual. I was absolutely not expecting a different intro after we got one with the Lower Decks crossover.
If I had a nickel for every time Uhura solved a problem by singing at it, I'd have two nickels. That's not a lot, but it's the same number as how many times Chakotay's been lost in the Delta Quadrant.
This was a fun episode. Some bangers, though I agree with some of the people who think some songs could have been shortened. The unexpected Klingon boy band was an amazing gag that didn't overstay its welcome. Overall, I think it's great to have Trek embrace the old-school campiness from time to time.
Anyone else convinced Captain Batel is kinda doomed? Pike got off the relationship trauma fairly easily in this episode.
I found it peculiar how the Klingons were saying there was no honor in the singing—considering how into Opera the can be known to be—up until I heard how they got the most egregious of the autotune.
That definitely was a funny surprise. Up until that point I had assumed that the Klingons would be doing their own style of music, but evidently the reality field the whole subspace network was tethered to was a very specific kind of musical that excluded Klingon opera.
Dishonorable. Klingons may only sing the heaviest of metals or the most glorious of operas.
It was wacky and I loved It! I laughed my ass of with the Klingon part
Episode was good. Klingon part was funny. Liked how the played the TOS theme after the "grand finale" was finished.
Ok, a post from someone that really hate musicals and was worried about this episode. So sorry if I will over criticize the episode...
I admit the episode was so fun at the beginning and songs were nice, loved La'an and Una parts they were really good. I was thinking the episode was a banger. I loved so much the opera opening too.
Unlikely it started to lose my attention around on Chapel's song (also because the autotune was so evident in her and I found the Chapel Spock relationship the worst part of the series) and the second part was a little hard for me to follow, the music too was less interesting and even if Uhura has a great voice her solo song was too long and def not my cup of tea, I didn't even understand what was trying to say. It could have worked for me with less songs.
It was interesting I have fun for more than I thought and I laughed so much with Klingons, it was often close to clinginess but it was ok at the end.
Loved it.
Some amusing details:
Another amazing episode and a certainly fresh idea for the Klingons with their K-pop, or Kling-pop?
I think they towed a good line on whimsy, emotion and gimmicks and kept it well grounded as character exploration. Let's force everyone to process their season's emotional growth in song!
Also I have to say I love how much focus SNW gives to lower ranking officers. Classic trek always ended up focusing on a few senior officers but this is a proper ensemble number.
Only thing I want more now is this with Elle Cordova doing her Star Trek technoblabble songs in it.
What the heck, this episode must have taken so much effort like 20+ minutes of singing + music (and the writing of the songs as well), and in a good half of those requires choreographed dancing as well, the a capella version of the intro, and a few orchestra versions in the credits
I was grinning almost the entire time for this episode, it was just....fun! And it moved the plot along too! (Although you kinda need to with so few episodes in a season)
What a lovely episode.
I saw a fair amount of skepticism across the Fediverse about how musical episodes are always bad and annoying, to which someone would always respond "well, Buffy nailed it." Apparently the SNW writers feel the same way, because "Subspace Rhapsody" isn't just a homage to "Once More With Feeling," it's a love letter. They may have swapped the demon for a subspace wedgie, but they kept the idea of using music to force the characters to confront their feelings about each other, and they even threw in a bunny callback.
10/10. I hope SNW maintains the tradition of a theatrically silly episode near the end of each season as long as it runs!
That Klingon Boy Band was hilarious. The pause was just perfect.
Oh man, loved that episode. The grand finale was so good! I loved that part when
spoiler
___the Klingons sang. That was so unexpected and great. That's what they meant by "dishonor".
One thing I love about SNW is the variety of stuff they try.
Upfront: I love musicals. I have to say this episode is just so creative and original. I think it is one of my all time favorites across all the series. Strange New Worlds has done such a good job bringing back the light-heartedness in a franchise that had become so overly dark and serious - and this is the pinnacle of that effort. Season 2 has just been outstanding.
Kirk and Uhura are real ones for never telling McCoy that Spock had a phase of being proud to be human until he got dumped by Nurse Chapel. He never would have let him live it down.
I loved the episode overall, but that Klingon fleet should have been commanded by L'Rell herself (though that was an extremely fun way to bring back Bruce Horak without shoehorning the Ghost of Hemmer into it).
Fantastic episode! Loved it from cover to cover. I like how we have Spock reverting back to being classic Spock in a musical episode. Arguably it makes this episode one of the most important episodes to canon. Also did Kirk know about Marcus beforehand? I swear he learned about him in Wrath of Kahn but I haven't seen that film in forever.
Yes.
Kirk was aware of David’s existence prior, but David wasn’t aware that Kirk was his father. He is surprised when David identifies himself as Dr Marcus in ST II but asks Carol when she appears, “Is that David?”
Later, he says:
KIRK: I did what you wanted. I stayed away. Why didn't you tell him?
CAROL: How can you ask me that? Were we together? Were we going to be? You had your world, and I had mine. And I wanted him in mine, not chasing through the universe with his father.
We all must have done some pretty amazing stuff in our past lives, to deserve this season we are getting.
I love Star Trek, and I love musicals. These are two of my favorite things, and I never thought they should mix. When this was announced, I was very skeptical. I have to say, that they pulled it off, and it was AMAZING! The plot was a bit meh and definitely made to shoehorn in the musical, but the singing really did it for me. "How Would That Feel" (La'an's solo) and "Keep Us Connected" (Uhura's solo) were my favorite songs, and I have listened to them so much today. "How Would That Feel" definitely cemented La'an's place as my favorite character.
I hated it, because I hate musicals, but I love that it happened. I loved watching it and hated every godamn second.
Please... no more... but I'm glad this happened and I'm glad people that like musicals seemed to more or less have enjoyed it.
Just... I'm begging.. no more.
edit: it was incredibly charming. I still hate it. It's cannon and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I hate it. There is no way I am the only person like this.
Another great episode. The a capella theme song was great too.
