I made it 6 episodes into the first series of Strange New Worlds and I'm going to rate the show with one star, because fundamentally it fails as an authentic prequel to the 1960s TV series. You have to suspend a LOT of belief to buy into this Enterprise universe preceding the original.
The most immediately obvious problem is with the set. The design of the ship is stupendously advanced compared to Kirk's first Enterprise, as is the technology onboard the vessel. Thinking logically, the ship should have been a back-to-basics construction with rudimentary tech. And with a more basic ship, various technology-related struggles could have been added to the storyline, which in turn would have helped the story arc by giving the opportunity to show the crew developing into the more experienced team of the first Kirk era.
As for the crew....well. The Captain (Pike) exhibits all the gravitas, hard-earned knowledge and experience of a man who's bluffed his way into a job with faked qualifications. He's constantly having to ask the crew for advice, not to reinforce or offer an alternative to his own assumptions, but because he genuinely doesn't seem to know what to do.
And amongst the crew there's almost zero sense of command-structure or respect for rank. When orders are given by senior officers during imminent moments of danger, crew members have a tendency to respond casually with a sarcastic comment or wisecrack. It's more like watching Scooby Doo and his pals on a weekend jaunt in the Mystery Machine than a military crew dangerously navigating uncharted and potentially life-threating corners of the Universe. Even the Cadet (Uhura) addresses senior officers as if they're fellow members of a social club.
The storylines are nothing amazing, coming across as very diluted versions of the type found in the original series. Not only is the writing style quite one-dimensional and unoriginal, it completely lacks the evergreen social or political comment which was so cleverly layered into the 1960s Trek scripts keeping them relevant today. From a writing perspective it's just not a patch on the original.
Ultimately Strange New Worlds is more of a reboot than a prequel. And to be blunt, remove the Star Trek branding and you're left with a middle-of-the-road Sci-Fi show, one which otherwise probably wouldn't have made it past a second series. If it made it that far.
With the story being set in the Enterprise's early days the writers had the opportunity to create something truly original, and not just in the Trek world but within the genre. Instead they've made something which looks like a bit like Star Trek but plays out like a myriad of lesser Sci-Fi shows.
So, I'll give Strange New Worlds one star as a Star Trek prequel. But with the Star Trek branding removed and viewed as just another modern Sci-Fi show, two stars.
The most immediately obvious problem is with the set. The design of the ship is stupendously advanced compared to Kirk's first Enterprise, as is the technology onboard the vessel. Thinking logically, the ship should have been a back-to-basics construction with rudimentary tech. And with a more basic ship, various technology-related struggles could have been added to the storyline, which in turn would have helped the story arc by giving the opportunity to show the crew developing into the more experienced team of the first Kirk era.
As for the crew....well. The Captain (Pike) exhibits all the gravitas, hard-earned knowledge and experience of a man who's bluffed his way into a job with faked qualifications. He's constantly having to ask the crew for advice, not to reinforce or offer an alternative to his own assumptions, but because he genuinely doesn't seem to know what to do.
And amongst the crew there's almost zero sense of command-structure or respect for rank. When orders are given by senior officers during imminent moments of danger, crew members have a tendency to respond casually with a sarcastic comment or wisecrack. It's more like watching Scooby Doo and his pals on a weekend jaunt in the Mystery Machine than a military crew dangerously navigating uncharted and potentially life-threating corners of the Universe. Even the Cadet (Uhura) addresses senior officers as if they're fellow members of a social club.
The storylines are nothing amazing, coming across as very diluted versions of the type found in the original series. Not only is the writing style quite one-dimensional and unoriginal, it completely lacks the evergreen social or political comment which was so cleverly layered into the 1960s Trek scripts keeping them relevant today. From a writing perspective it's just not a patch on the original.
Ultimately Strange New Worlds is more of a reboot than a prequel. And to be blunt, remove the Star Trek branding and you're left with a middle-of-the-road Sci-Fi show, one which otherwise probably wouldn't have made it past a second series. If it made it that far.
With the story being set in the Enterprise's early days the writers had the opportunity to create something truly original, and not just in the Trek world but within the genre. Instead they've made something which looks like a bit like Star Trek but plays out like a myriad of lesser Sci-Fi shows.
So, I'll give Strange New Worlds one star as a Star Trek prequel. But with the Star Trek branding removed and viewed as just another modern Sci-Fi show, two stars.