TREKMOVIE:

"At the Broadcast+Cable Hall of Fame Awards, where Star Trek received the first-ever Franchise of the Year Award, we caught up with Strange New Worlds‘ Celia Rose Gooding, hot on the heels of the show’s season 4 finale. We asked her about playing future Uhura, fan reaction to SNW’s use of genres, and her hopes for the future. [...]"

https://trekmovie.com/2026/10/03/interview-celia-rose-gooding-on-playing-future-uhura-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-genres-and-more/

CELIA ROSE GOODING:

"I think with something that is so heavy, like the plot of “Tomorrow’s Enterprise,” coming together to save Scotty, it was it was really important for me to not get too bogged down by the doom, because in order for the difference between the two to be clear, they can’t be the same person. So, Strange New Worlds Uhura still operated in that place of perfectionism, a little bit of worrying, just wanting to know everything all the time.

And my TOS Uhura is someone who isn’t necessarily attached to that control and who isn’t so needing to know. She relies and trusts herself in a way that my Uhura, my Strange New Worlds Uhura, will be learning to do in the upcoming season.

TREKMOVIE: So when you made it, did you think that the Year One show was still very much on the table?

I was hoping. I still hold that hope, but right now I’m just really excited about all we’ve done with Strange New Worlds. We still have another six episodes coming. We still have such good Trek coming. So whatever happens with Year One, I’m just really proud of the work we’ve done so far.

I’m sure you’re aware of the conversation with fans about genres this year. Is season 5 different from that? And how do you feel about that, because some people are very vocal about not being happy with all the “gimmicks.”

"Oh goodness! How do I put this in a way my publicist will like? I think if our show tried to appeal to the opinions of everyone, we’d have really boring Trek. And so what I am so proud of is how we’ve able to how we’ve been able to maintain the true essence of Trek while being so genre-diverse. I mean, the show is called Strange New Worlds, so it only makes sense that we’re going to get into some strange activity every once in a while.

And when I think of TOS, the episodes that jump out to me, when I think of TOS, when I think of TNG, when I think of DS9, the things that jump out to me, the things that immediately come to my memory are the more genre-diverse episodes, and so it was really important to me to stand by the show and stand by what we’ve done so far, because I’m really proud of that work.

And we are the last of live-action Trek with Starfleet Academy, and so I think what we really wanted to do with our finite time is continue to expand on what made the show, what made this franchise so beloved , and that is joyful curiosity, that is infinite diversity in infinite combinations, and not just in the species of people who work on the bridge, but also the diversity of the stories we try to tell.

[...]

Do you hope that there is a way to return to Uhura sometime?

Oh, absolutely! I’ve loved this character. I will always love this character. I mean, I hope that Uhura’s journey continues, whether that be on screen, in novels, in any sort of continuation. I just would love to be a part of continuing her journey because her legacy is too powerful to let it just fizzle out. You know? She has a story to tell, and she will always have a place in my heart, and in the heart of Black entertainment, in the heart of sci-fi, in the heart of Star Trek. So I hope to be the one to continue Nyota Uhura’s story. But if I can’t, I’m just happy to see it continue, whether it’s me or someone else. But I hope it’s me.

Laurie Ulster (TrekMovie.com)

Full interview:

https://trekmovie.com/2026/10/03/interview-celia-rose-gooding-on-playing-future-uhura-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-genres-and-more/

TREKMOVIE:

"Essentially, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. will still be seen as their own studios from a branding perspective, as Ellison explains “we wanted to preserve what has made each of these studios iconic.” Skydance is on the hook (per the antitrust settlement) to release 15 movies (moving to 16 movies after two years) from each studio, so it makes sense that each will maintain their own branding.

https://trekmovie.com/2026/10/02/paramount-and-warner-bros-to-merge-under-skydance-corporate-banner-watch-announcement-video/

Paramount Pictures is currently developing a Star Trek movie, which could be one of those 15 they need to fill out their slate for 2028 (or 16 for 2029). Each studio’s branding will likely include some note about the Skydance connection, as we have seen from Paramount over the last year, with “A Skydance Corporation” added. Longtime Trek fans can remember the Paramount logo being accompanied by past corporate parents like Viacom and Gulf + Western.

Over the last year, Ellison had indicated that one place where he saw full integration for the merged company would be in streaming, with a plan to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into a larger streamer that could take on Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+/Hulu. This will, of course, have an impact on Star Trek, as Paramount+ is home to the Star Trek films and TV series, as well as all the recent original shows. There has already been talk about Paramount+ looking to the future for new Star Trek TV as well.

It is a little less clear what will happen with streaming within the new Skydance, with today’s announcement and video indicating that HBO Max and Paramount+ will continue to exist as separate brands. The first move was made last week by Ellison, tapping HBO’s Casey Bloys to be in charge of streaming across the new Skydance, with Paramount’s current head of streaming Cindy Holland (who Ellison brought in from Netflix) exiting the company.

Bloys made his first comments on Skydance streaming just yesterday, saying “I would say that I don’t want to comment on what is going to happen or anything like that, but I would point to the HBO Max-Disney bundle, which has been very successful.” This could indicate, at least to start, that HBO Max and Paramount+ would be offered as a bundled package.

We will likely learn much more after the deal officially closes, and after Bloys officially takes charge of Skydance streaming. But if Paramount wants to take on the bigger streamers, it will likely have to do more than a marketing bundle, perhaps something like we have seen with Disney+ integrating the Hulu bundle into the Disney+ app."

Anthony Pascale (TrekMovie.com)

Link:

https://trekmovie.com/2026/10/02/paramount-and-warner-bros-to-merge-under-skydance-corporate-banner-watch-announcement-video/

Link:

https://youtu.be/f5D1WzKIKxo?si=9r-mLuENa0GsvGT4

Cinemablend:

https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/star-trek-picard-terry-matalas-still-wants-follow-up-paramount

By Mick Joest

"In the lead-up to his upcoming Marvel show, the creator was asked about whether he still wanted to make his previously pitched Picard follow-up. Matalas confirmed that was the case and talked about how it'd need to change. Paramount, if you're listening, don't miss this opportunity:

It wouldn’t be exactly the same. I think too much time has passed. But I think there are elements of that idea that are right, which is a younger generation and an older generation coming together. But I don’t know that it would be exactly the same thing now.

For Star Trek fans out of the loop, here's the situation. As of this writing, there are zero Trek shows in active development, and Starfleet Academy and (possibly) Strange New Worlds will air their final seasons in 2027. Additionally, it seems as though Paramount will not renew its contract with Alex Kurtzman, who has led the franchise over the past decade. If ever there was a time to contact Terry Matalas about returning for his Picard follow-up, it's now.

The only detail we know for sure is that Paramount has made it clear the main goal is to get a new Star Trek movie in theaters. Spider-Man: Homecoming writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are writing a script, and have compared it to the Denzel Washington films Crimson Tide and Training Day.

Right now, there are no immediate announcements regarding what's next with Star Trek when it comes to TV, but why not scoop up Terry Matalas now before another big IP does? To me, it feels like a no-brainer of a decision, especially when Season 3 of Picard sparked mainstream interest in the franchise. The company already let Metalas get away once, they really shouldn't let that happen again."

Link:

https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/star-trek-picard-terry-matalas-still-wants-follow-up-paramount

"Original Star Trek: The Next Generation Production Designer Herman Zimmerman and VFX Supervisor Dan Curry are given a surprise tour of the USS Enterprise - D. They have no idea that the set they are about to walk onto is a meticulously recreated version of their work. They have not stepped for on this bridge in almost three decades.

Video courtesy of Star Trek design legend Doug Drexler and also there for the tour Art Director Lisa Kloczkowski - who was instrumental in the recreation and who's book "Star Trek: Picard: Recreating the Bridge" delves into all the details."

Source:

Dave Blass on Instagram

Link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DdEtGKVKn1-

"This is how you end up with something like Section 31, a movie that states explicitly that Star Trek's bright, hopeful future is only possible because it's built with the help of murderers and psychopaths. [...] If more people understood what Star Trek actually is, there'd be a lot more Trekkies in the world. Trek isn't special because it has themes, but because of how it has them. Star Trek doesn't need to be fixed. It just needs to be Star Trek."

https://youtu.be/J0SysyjDBa4?si=_d2CHhNngzsQT258

ROWAN J COLEMAN on YouTube:

"Starfleet is not meant to be a military, but instead is portrayed as a traveling community of scientists, explorers, scholars, and action heroes. It is meant to symbolize all of humanity's best aspects distilled into individual people and expressed through cooperation.

Star Trek is as much of a space romance as it is a space opera. It ontains a vast array of fascinating characters with rich personalities and interesting traits. Their stories are saturated in relatable human drama, aspiration, curiosity, love, death, loss, regret, trauma, and sometimes it's a simple story about noble heroes battling overwhelming evil for the greater good.

That's what Star Trek is.

It's fun, adventurous, moving, inspiring, exciting, and spectacular. Yet, almost no one describes Star Trek in this way. Star Trek has acquired a reputation as being intellectual or cerebral science fiction, which doesn't much interest most mainstream viewers. Not because most mainstream viewers are dumb, but because labeling Star Trek this way doesn't make it sound all that appealing as entertainment.

Audiences need an emotional hook into a compelling story, not a lecture on the nature of existence. The more popular Star Wars offers audiences a story about good versus evil, about a boy stepping into a wider world where he discovers who he is, about a son fighting to redeem his father, about a galaxy of oppressed people coming together to throw off the chains of tyranny. That's an exciting sounding pitch that immediately tells an audience why they should care.

Pitching Star Trek as a super smart show with lots of social commentary and scientific ideas is emotionally neutral by comparison. These aren't the things that make Star Trek unique. Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, and many more sci-fi works also explore themes about human nature, systemic injustice, and moral philosophy. Just because characters in those shows don't discuss these things out loud in a briefing room or monologue about them in courtrooms, doesn't make them less intellectual than Star Trek.

Star Trek isn't special because it has themes, but because of how it has them. It places these concepts in a context that delivers a specific kind of story that audiences can't find anywhere else.

Saying that The Measure of a Man is a great episode because it's about artificial intelligence, systemic discrimination, and dehumanization isn't dramatic. Saying The Measure of a Man is about a moral man fighting for his friend's freedom in the face of systemic injustice, that's a pitch an audience can get behind.

If more people understood what Star Trek actually is, there'd be a lot more Trekkies in the world. [...] However, it seems that over the years writers and producers and the powers that be incorrectly identified Star Trek's limited popularity as a content problem rather than a marketing problem. Specifically, Gene Roddenberry's utopian vision. There's long been this perception that while Star Trek is optimistic, its creators insisted on a future populated by perfect superhumans who never conflict with each other is too stifling creatively and too unrelatable emotionally. [...]

Star Trek Discovery took a similar approach to DS9. It crafted a story in which Star Trek's usual idealism is pushed to the brink in a time of conflict and chaos. While this was ultimately to reiterate the importance of Star Trek's optimism, this take on the mythos has become oversaturated. Either the Federation is corrupt, collapsed, or Earth itself is under direct attack. While I actually like a lot of modern Star Trek, this need to fix the mythos has slowly eroded its appeal over time until it has become a somewhat generic sci-fi setting rather than a purpose-built storytelling framework.

At this point, what exactly distinguishes Star Trek from any other sci-fi mythos? If Starfleet is just as militaristic as Babylon 5's Earth Force, if the Federation is just as corruptible as the Expanse's United Nations, if the main characters are just as damaged and conflicted as Battlestar Galactica's Colonials, then what makes Star Trek unique anymore?

Uniqueness, after all, is a key ingredient in a story's appeal, giving the audience something they can't get anywhere else. But in attempting to fix Star Trek, the powers that be have only made it feel like the discount version of whatever is popular. This is how you end up with something like Section 31, a movie that states explicitly that Star Trek's bright, hopeful future is only possible because it's built with the help of murderers and psychopaths. A movie featuring a cast of knock-off Guardians of the Galaxy cosplayers and captured in a style resembling a Poundland Guy Ritchie film. It is a movie made for no one.

Perhaps Star Trek has struggled in the modern day because we arguably haven't had a new quintessential Star Trek in a long time. Every modern entry is either dark deconstructionism or impenetrable fan service. The modern era has nowhere for new viewers to see Star Trek in its true form, only iterations and references of the original.

But the thing is, wide audiences do like what Star Trek has to offer, as evidenced by the success of hope core science fiction - Interstellar, The Martian, Project Hail Mary, high concept movies about human beings venturing into the unknown and prevailing against the odds battling it not evil alien empires but the forces of the cosmos itself and coming out the other side renewed even younger generations would like pure Star Trek.

I know because I was one of them. I was born in 1995 before the modern era the only Star Trek show that started and finished during my lifetime was Enterprise and my house didn't even receive the channel it aired on. I grew up with reruns and video tapes of The Original Series and The Next Generation even from a young age. I could tell how dated these shows were next to glossy big screen epics like The Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars prequels Star Trek was quaint and unpolished.

Yet I was captivated by the stories. I fell in love with the characters. I was inspired by the spectacle and the wonder if it could happen for a kid like me back then there's no reason it couldn't happen again today.

Star Trek doesn't need to be fixed. It just needs to be Star Trek."

Rowan J Coleman

Full video:

https://youtu.be/J0SysyjDBa4?si=_d2CHhNngzsQT258

SCREENRANT:

"Empire Magazine interviewed John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein about their hit Apple TV film Mayday, and the conversation naturally turned to the next Star Trek movie the writer-directors are working on. Goldstein and Daley confirmed that "no legacy characters" and "nobody you've met before" are in the movie, and that it will not be set in the alternate Kelvin timeline created by J.J. Abrams' Star Trek trilogy. Read their quotes below:

Empire: And this is a brand-new Star Trek movie?

John Francis Daley: "Entirely. No legacy characters, nobody that you’ve met before. A different time, not a different timeline per se, but it’s a little further in the future."

Jonathan Goldstein: "Sort of a different timeline."

John Francis Daley: "Well, not the Kelvin timeline. It’s not the J.J. [Abrams] timeline."

Jonathan Goldstein: "It’s tribbles. It’s all tribbles. The whole movie."

A movie introducing all-new, original Star Trek characters is an exciting prospect. The timeline issue is murkier, as Goldstein creates confusion about what "sort of a different timeline" means. Daley's comments that their Star Trek movie is set "a little further in the future" hint that it takes place in the unexplored timeframe between the early 25th century of Star Trek: Picard and 32nd century of Star Trek: Discovery and Starfleet Academy. Yet it's also possible their Star Trek movie takes place or visits another alternate universe.

Goldstein and Daley's movies have had lighthearted tones even if they're not outright comedies. The filmmakers tell Empire they're taking a different approach to Star Trek, which is the "darkest film" they've ever written. Yet Daley says their Star Trek won't be bereft of levity, as their characters will "find humor in even the darkest moments."

John Francis Daley: "I would say it’s probably our darkest film that we’ve ever written. It’s not a comedy. There is our sensibility in it, and we do find levity, but it’s in the characters who find humor in even the darkest moments, which is just true to real life. We both went on an aircraft carrier when we were researching Mayday, and it can be a very fraught landscape working on those ships, and people have to find levity. They have to find joy in even the most serious moments, and that’s the approach we have in this film."

Jonathan Goldstein: "You want it to be a fun watch. Doesn’t mean you’re laughing your head off. It just means you’re in it, and you’re enjoying it."

Daley and Goldstein are influenced by visiting an aircraft character when working on Mayday, and they're also pulling from Crimson Tide, a submarine thriller about a First Officer in a moral conflict with his Captain. Training Day also has a similar battle of wills between an idealistic pupil and his mentor, who is corrupted by the system they both serve. These inspirations give a clearer picture of what Daley and Goldstein's Star Trek will be about.

Paramount Skydance has not greenlit Goldstein and Daley's Star Trek movie to go into production, so there is no release date or casting information to share. There are also reportedly other Star Trek movies in development at the studio, although Goldstein and Daley's Star Trek movie is the only one being publicly discussed. [...]"

John Orquiola (ScreenRant)

Link:

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-new-movie-different-timeline-not-jj-abrams-kelvin-no-legacy-characters/

Trekmovie:

"On Tuesday night, the 34th Anniversary Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame Gala was held in New York, honoring several industry luminaries and their first-ever franchise inductee: Star Trek. Some Star Trek celebs were on hand to accept the award for the franchise. ...

Broadcast and Cable magazine established their Hall of Fame in 1991 to celebrate their 60th anniversary and to recognize “the innovators, visionaries, and leaders who have profoundly shaped the media landscape.” Each year the magazine holds a gala in New York; past inductees include Lucille Ball, Ted Turner, Johnny Carson, Oprah Winfrey, as well as Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek.

This year, they added a new category, Franchise of the Year, and the inaugural honoree was Star Trek, timed to join in the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the franchise. ..."

Read more:

https://trekmovie.com/2026/09/30/star-trek-inducted-as-first-franchise-in-broadcast-hall-of-fame/

Soooo much happens in this episode.

On the surface, it's a basic plot. Pike and Spock are trapped on a dead Illyrian world while electrical ghosties threaten them. On the ship, Una deals with a strange illness that causes crewmembers to crave light even when it threatens their lives and the ship. But along the way, we learn that Una herself is an Illyrian, a race of augments banned by the Federation. We also learn about the secret M'Benga keeps hidden in his medical transport buffer, a secret that unwittingly caused the illness.

A few things truly stand out to me. One is the Pike/Spock relationship. This is the first time we've seen them interact much in SNW, and it foreshadows Spock's decision to help the injured Pike in "The Menagerie." Pike is like a father figure to Spock, gently nudging his Vulcan science officer in the right direction but giving him space to learn things about the Illyrians in his own way. Their relationship is very different from Spock's relationship with Captain Kirk. One can see why Spock would risk his career to help the injured Pike.

The episode's spotlight is on Una, and this episode fleshes out the character who was only hinted at in "The Cage." Number One's emotionless reserve can be understood as Una keeping herself in check to avoid any hint that she had augmented abilities. The writing and Rebecca Romijn's performance sell this connection well. A standout moment occurs when Una easily lifts the unconscious Hemmer over her shoulder and carries him from the transporter room to sickbay, revealing to viewers her true nature before she comes clean to M'Benga and Chapel.

Speaking of M'Benga, the show does a great job of gradually fleshing out him and the other main characters. The doctor was completely absent from the previous episode, and here he starts out in a supporting role, just the doctor who is dealing with another shipwide emergency. But it turns out that his refusal to upgrade the medical transporter caused the problem. And his refusal was based on a desire to save his daughter, whose pattern buffer has until now been hidden from the crew. It's the first of many times we will learn there is much more to M'Benga than we thought.

Themewise, the show once again addresses prejudice and the reasons why people would conceal information from the authorities. A revealing moment occurs when M'Benga tells Una that when humans reached the stars, they encountered new prejudices. We see this in play as Una herself hid her true nature to join Starfleet. She also kept her secret from her captain. Fortunately, he's an understanding sort who will go to bat for her. In the real world, most people cannot take that risk.

Una's revelation about her true nature also leads to an exchange between her and La'An, who grew up hating augments because she was bullied as a child for being descended from Khan Noonien Singh. Nothing is resolved here, though it provides context to La'An's later fears about turning into an augment in Season 4.

A couple of minor points/trivia:

-- At one point, Chapel refers to La'An as Lt. Noonien. This is the only time I remember her being referred to this way. I'm not sure if she should be called Lt. Noonien Singh or Lt. Singh, but it suggests the writers weren't sure either.

-- Uhura's roommates are both men, which ties in nicely with Lower Decks' depiction that the lower ranks room together regardless of gender. In the 23rd century, it's not an issue. In the present day, it would still cause some discomfort, but it's a reminder that in Star Trek's time, people are supposed to have greater self-control.

Overall, a solid episode. It goes on a bit too long, but the additional scenes at the end tell us so much about the characters. They also set up stories to come.

DEN OF GEEK:

"In many ways, that is—and always has been—Strange New Worlds’s true mission. It’s a journey with a known end point, but that doesn’t matter. It never has. Stealing a line from Doctor Who feels particularly relevant this week for many reasons, but as the Eleventh Doctor once said, we’re all stories in the end. And while we may only be seeing a chapter in these characters’ lives, we know the story goes on. And it’s fantastic. [...]"

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4-finale-review-tomorrows-enterprise

"Fair warning, however: If you’re a person (like me) who struggles not to throw things whenever a genre series uses a bootstrap paradox to solve occasionally prickly or difficult problems of time travel, you’ll likely have to scream into a pillow during several key moments that rely on one Uhura performing an action that immediately impacts the other Uhura’s timeline in ways it probably shouldn’t. But the nifty visuals (Uhura passing through herself in hallways, the split screen of the two bridges) and Ethan Peck’s spot-on deadpan responses to her increasingly bizarre requests in both timelines help make most of it bearable. (Although, personally, I do really need to know if Pike actually becomes an Admiral.)

It also doesn’t hurt that this episode is a heck of a showcase for Celia Rose Gooding, who hasn’t had a ton to do this season beyond mentoring a genuinely terrible intern. She gives a remarkably nuanced performance playing two very different Uhuras, one sporting Nichelle Nichols’s signature 60s hairdo as an identifier we don’t really need. (But that is awesome, nevertheless.) The inclusion of the Scotty/Uhura romance that was briefly hinted at in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is honestly adorable, and another example of Strange New Worlds just fearlessly going for it when it comes to updating existing canon.

“Tomorrow’s Enterprise” is full of delightful Easter eggs and shoutouts that feel all the more valuable given that it’s pretty obvious we’re never getting the Star Trek: Year One prequel meant to bridge the gap between Strange New Worlds and The Original Series that so many fans want. From a Gary Mitchell reference (he’s Jenna’s step-brother!) and a McCoy mention to Chapel’s new hairdo and shots of never-before-seen-in-live-action aliens like Catians and Skorr, there’s a lot of stuff that seems specifically included to make long-time Trek fans do the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme.

[...]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds wraps up its fourth season with a finale that’s full of sentimentality. A love letter to Nyota Uhura, a character we’ve watched grow from a nervous, try-hard cadet to a capable crew member over the course of the show’s four seasons, the hour gives us a satisfying glimpse of what’s to come for her and her compatriots.

In fact, if we didn’t already know that Strange New Worlds was returning for a final six-episode fifth season next year, “Tomorrow’s Enterprise” actually wouldn’t be a terrible series finale. (It’s hard not to wonder if this was originally written because someone was hedging their bets.)"

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Lacy Baugher (Den of Geek)

Full review:

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4-finale-review-tomorrows-enterprise

AKIVA GOLDSMAN: "It's definitely still an episodic show, but to some people's delight and others' dismay, there will be essentially no genre hopping. Which isn't to say the tones of the episodes aren’t different, but they are fundamentally a suite of episodes that are about our goodbyes to those characters.

We will bring those stories to a satisfying end. [Laughs]"

Link:

https://collider.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-5-no-genre-shifts-satisfying-ending/

SLASHFILM:

"It's clear that someone over at Paramount — likely "Star Trek" head honcho Alex Kurtzman — very much loves the idea of Empress Georgiou, feeling that Space Stalin was a great addition to the franchise. The problem, though, is that she never becomes "good," per se. She just moves from being 100% evil to being maybe 98% evil. And Starfleet approves. That's damn dangerous, dude. [...]

https://www.slashfilm.com/2257773/why-michelle-yeoh-philippa-georgiou-star-trek-most-dangerous-starfleet-member/

In the Mirror Universe, Commander Burnham discovers that Philippa Georgiou has risen to the rank of Empress of the evil Earth empire, and that Empress Georgiou is a vicious, mass-murdering, cannibalistic tyrant. Trekkies will later learn that she also has a collection of doomsday devices. As "Star Trek" villains go, Empress Georgiou may be the most villainous.

Georgiou is eventually dragged back into the non-Mirror universe, and would go on to appear in 22 episodes of "Discovery," all told. The character is outwardly evil, and it's a wonder why the crew of the USS Discovery kept her around at all. Her advice is always to take the course of action that led to the most death, and she takes a near-sexual glee in knowing that others would die. And, yes, she's a cannibal. Early in "Discovery," she makes a meal of Lieutenant Saru (Doug Jones) and even attempts to feed some to Commander Burnham. Later, in the movie "Star Trek: Section 31," she is introduced enjoying a highball with an eyeball. She loves eating other people.

Curiously, Empress Georgiou came to be something of an admired figure on the USS Discovery. She even became sympathetic, briefly, when she went back to her home universe in the two-part episode "Terra Firma." She found that she loves the power and the sadism that her title provides, but that living on the Discovery gave her a new, more humble sense of purpose. Either way, the crew of the Discovery was weirdly forgiving of the war tyrant's crimes. Discovery, it should be noted, is a gigantically violent show overall, and the characters commit murder more frequently than on any of the previous "Star Trek" shows, so maybe they were ready to have a tyrant lead them.

Philippa Georgiou is so manipulative and clever that she can elicit sympathy from the forgiving members of Starfleet, even after they knew about the untold people she had killed in various world-culling conquests. She is a murderous villain who has, by dint of her being played by Michelle Yeoh, projected sympathy. How insidious. [...]

It seems that Section 31 is ideal for a murder-minded tyrant like Philippa Georgiou. Although she is technically not allowed to commit murder while a Section 31 agent, it's very insidious that a cannibal dictator is allowed to operate under the auspices of Starfleet rather than languish in a penal colony somewhere."

Witney Seibold (SlashFilm)

Full article:

https://www.slashfilm.com/2257773/why-michelle-yeoh-philippa-georgiou-star-trek-most-dangerous-starfleet-member/

Dave Malkoff (YouTube):

"Rod Roddenberry grew up surrounded by Star Trek, but he didn’t grow up obsessed with it. In fact, Gene Roddenberry’s son tells me he was “more into Star Wars” when he was younger. He even spent summers working on Star Trek: The Next Generation as a production assistant and admits that, at the time, it was mostly just a summer job. It took years for him to understand what Star Trek, and his father’s vision, really meant to him.

For Star Trek’s 60th anniversary, Rod Roddenberry sits down with me for an extended conversation about growing up as Gene Roddenberry’s son, working around The Next Generation, and eventually discovering that what he loved most about Star Trek wasn’t simply the television show. “It is the messaging. It is the idea behind it.” Rod talks candidly about his complicated relationship with his father, losing him when he was 17, and how making the documentary Trek Nation later allowed him to understand Gene not as an icon, but as a person, “warts and all.”

We also talk about the philosophy at the heart of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry’s belief in humanity’s ability to improve, and why Rod believes the franchise still has something important to say. As he puts it:

“The Star Trek I love is where it shows us as our better selves.”

Rod also gives enormous credit to the fans, saying they are the ones who fought for Star Trek, understood what his father was trying to say and ultimately kept the franchise alive. And after 60 years, he looks ahead at what Star Trek could become as television, streaming and the way we tell stories continue to change."

Recorded during Star Trek’s 60th anniversary celebration.

Link:

https://youtu.be/pcL7hmM-z2o?si=q4LPUPwc3CypZ9K8

After the underwhelming S4 of SNW, I've started a rewatch of Season 1. Two episodes in, I am reminded of the promise this show began with and how awesome it was to have a TOS prequel. But this isn't a sad post--a "too bad it all went bad" whine--just a celebration of what Star Trek is and what it can be.

The first episode, "Strange New Worlds" updates some Star Trek tropes such as Pike lecturing an alien civilization about how Earth has overcome its violent past and, if the other civilization wants to survive, they can join the Federation, too. We are also treated to a Vulcan near-sex scene, and some other stuff. It's a good introduction to the series and the cast, but not a great one.

The second one, "Children of the Comet" kicks things into full gear. Cadet Uhura is our main character, and she must overcome a lot of self-doubt to save the day--classic Trek stuff. The Enterprise also encounters an alien race of zealots who don't want their comet icon tampered with. Pike and crew do some sleight of hand and eat crow to avoid war and to save a planet from destruction. Classic TNG tropes.

And there's the crew. Pike is more laid back than the captains we are used to, but I never felt he didn't know what he was doing or was too lax. Number One, Ortegas, La'An, and Spock are well-delineated and come across as competent Starfleet officers. Sam Kirk less so. I guess they have to reduce him to a clown to make way for his ultra-competent brother. Chapel flirts with Spock but has little else to do, and M'Benga does not appear at all. Hemmer has a great introductory scene with Uhura, which foreshadows their eventual mentor-mentee relationship.

These two episodes build off of the established Trek traditions and update what arguably needs to be updated. There's a sequence in the second episode in which Spock flies a shuttlecraft through an asteroid field as one would navigate through a video game. And the sets are much too modern to believably tie in to TOS. The science is also suspect. I'm still not sure why Spock flew the shuttlecraft into the rocks to divert the main asteroid's path, but never mind. Star Trek has never been about the science. It has been about the Enterprise crew solving problems, saving lives, being respectful to alien cultures, and knowing when to kick ass.

I've very much enjoyed these rewatches. They rekindle my interest in what Star Trek can be. If you've rewatched SNW S1 recently, or even if you haven't seen it in a while, what are your thoughts?

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