Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Those Old Scientists
July 22, 2023 10:22 PM - Season 2, Episode 7 - Subscribe
"An accident while investigating a time portal sends Ensign Brad Boimler through time from the twenty-fourth century, and Captain Pike and his crew must get him back where he belongs before he can somehow alter the timeline."
Don't skip the special intro!
Don't skip the special intro!
Conversely I quite like Lower Decks, so this crossover left me with a big smile from minute one through to the end. Just sad that the animators can't do justice to Pike's hair.
posted by Marticus at 2:34 AM on July 23, 2023 [27 favorites]
posted by Marticus at 2:34 AM on July 23, 2023 [27 favorites]
God I love it when they do a special version of the intro sequence for an episode of a TV show
I really liked this, a lot! Lots of great little meta jokes like how everyone talks so slowly in the past
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:41 AM on July 23, 2023 [15 favorites]
I really liked this, a lot! Lots of great little meta jokes like how everyone talks so slowly in the past
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:41 AM on July 23, 2023 [15 favorites]
I liked this a lot. I thought that it struck a good balance between the over-the-top ridiculousness of Lower Decks and the more grounded Strange New Worlds. I am excited for the SPOILER episode, and happy that SNW is getting to be this varied and experimental.
posted by confluency at 3:41 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by confluency at 3:41 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
I loved this so much. I almost wish they would do a live action Lower Decks episode.
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:48 AM on July 23, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:48 AM on July 23, 2023 [10 favorites]
Sooooooo good.
Especially the end. More of that please.
My only note would be that ending Pike's Hair wasn't nearly high enough.
SOoooooooo Good!
posted by Faintdreams at 4:12 AM on July 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
Especially the end. More of that please.
My only note would be that ending Pike's Hair wasn't nearly high enough.
SOoooooooo Good!
posted by Faintdreams at 4:12 AM on July 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
Loved this one. It was hillarious seeing Boimler and Mariner in live action. It suits them!
posted by mrjohnmuller at 4:23 AM on July 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by mrjohnmuller at 4:23 AM on July 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
“Why do they all talk so slow?”
“And so quiet!”
Letting Boimler and Mariner mostly continue to over-emote in the style of the cartoon against the SNW actors was a bold choice that paid off, for me.
Most fan service is weak, lazy pandering. And then there’s this, which felt loving and celebratory and well-considered. I rarely love an episode of TV but I can say without reservation that I loved this. I might even watch it again, which I never, ever do.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:24 AM on July 23, 2023 [39 favorites]
“And so quiet!”
Letting Boimler and Mariner mostly continue to over-emote in the style of the cartoon against the SNW actors was a bold choice that paid off, for me.
Most fan service is weak, lazy pandering. And then there’s this, which felt loving and celebratory and well-considered. I rarely love an episode of TV but I can say without reservation that I loved this. I might even watch it again, which I never, ever do.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:24 AM on July 23, 2023 [39 favorites]
Yeah, that lived up to my pretty-damn-high expectations—right down to the very subtle Pike Chair reference. It was all the fun history-nerd ebullience of Berlinghoff Rasmussen, except legit. And, as I also expected, it remembered to have heart, to linger in serious moments.
From the Memory Alpha link:
• This is the second episode of Star Trek to feature both animation and live action together in the same episode, following the post-credits scene in ST: "The Trouble with Edward".
• The Stardate given by Boimler at the start of the episode would place this episode immediately after LD: "Hear All, Trust Nothing" [FF previously --ed.].
• Commander Ransom refers to Number One as the "hottest first officer in Starfleet history". This is likely a reference to the fact that Jerry O'Connell, who voices Ransom, and Rebecca Romijn, who portrays Number One, are married in real life.
MA also points out that this is the first time Trek *actors* who originated characters in animated form canonically *portrayed* those same characters in live-action. AFAICT, Robert April is the first *character* to make the leap from animated to live-action. (Now I wanna see an Edosian on SNW!)
Mariner's reference to "dystopian San Francisco" alludes to the Bell Riots of…wait for it…2024.
The imager Rutherford uses to take the picture appears to be the same design as the one used in at least one VOY episode by the EMH.
A bit of Googling seems to suggest that Cary Grant was who Pelia was quoting.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 5:27 AM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
From the Memory Alpha link:
• This is the second episode of Star Trek to feature both animation and live action together in the same episode, following the post-credits scene in ST: "The Trouble with Edward".
• The Stardate given by Boimler at the start of the episode would place this episode immediately after LD: "Hear All, Trust Nothing" [FF previously --ed.].
• Commander Ransom refers to Number One as the "hottest first officer in Starfleet history". This is likely a reference to the fact that Jerry O'Connell, who voices Ransom, and Rebecca Romijn, who portrays Number One, are married in real life.
MA also points out that this is the first time Trek *actors* who originated characters in animated form canonically *portrayed* those same characters in live-action. AFAICT, Robert April is the first *character* to make the leap from animated to live-action. (Now I wanna see an Edosian on SNW!)
Mariner's reference to "dystopian San Francisco" alludes to the Bell Riots of…wait for it…2024.
The imager Rutherford uses to take the picture appears to be the same design as the one used in at least one VOY episode by the EMH.
A bit of Googling seems to suggest that Cary Grant was who Pelia was quoting.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 5:27 AM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
That ... bonus payoff for S2E2 at the end got me. Practically instantly flashing back to how hard Uma fought by calling back to the "ad aspera" line and juxtaposing that with practically ultimate recognition for her... And comedic misdirection first so I didn't see it coming. Well played sneaky writers.
posted by yoHighness at 5:53 AM on July 23, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by yoHighness at 5:53 AM on July 23, 2023 [13 favorites]
This episode was 100% fun. Never watched Lower Decks (sorry, just can't do it), but loved this episode intensely.
A bit of Googling seems to suggest that Cary Grant was who Pelia was quoting.
That's what I thought too. In fact, in my head, the scene continued:
PELIA: And that man was…Cary Grant.
BOIMLER: (Suddenly looking confused) Should I know him?
One of Cary Grant's more famous quotes: "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."
posted by jabah at 6:51 AM on July 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
A bit of Googling seems to suggest that Cary Grant was who Pelia was quoting.
That's what I thought too. In fact, in my head, the scene continued:
PELIA: And that man was…Cary Grant.
BOIMLER: (Suddenly looking confused) Should I know him?
One of Cary Grant's more famous quotes: "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."
posted by jabah at 6:51 AM on July 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
There was so much hype for this episode, I was afraid there was no way it could live up to expectations, but it totally did. Jonathan Frakes captured the styles of both shows so well, no doubt thanks to Kathryn Lyn's script. Once again, you can see that Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, and Rebecca Romijn have some strong comedy chops. I thought Jack Quaid was a bit stronger in live action than Tawny Newsome, it was almost like she was afraid to go Full Mariner, but the scenes they had together riffing on the SNW crew were great.
I know they were going for comedic effect with Spock and his offputting human reactions, but I do hope that's not something they intend to keep up with. Peck was super funny in the "Charades" ep, but it was just too weird in this one.
The tag scene with the animated SNW crew was really cute, and I would absolutely watch the hell out of an animated version of SNW.
I smiled *SOHARD* through the opening credits, especially when the giant space bug was clamped onto the Big E. What a great surprise to get this early...AND a regular episode again on Thursday!
posted by briank at 7:09 AM on July 23, 2023 [10 favorites]
I know they were going for comedic effect with Spock and his offputting human reactions, but I do hope that's not something they intend to keep up with. Peck was super funny in the "Charades" ep, but it was just too weird in this one.
The tag scene with the animated SNW crew was really cute, and I would absolutely watch the hell out of an animated version of SNW.
I smiled *SOHARD* through the opening credits, especially when the giant space bug was clamped onto the Big E. What a great surprise to get this early...AND a regular episode again on Thursday!
posted by briank at 7:09 AM on July 23, 2023 [10 favorites]
That was honestly almost as good as “Trials and Tribble-ations”
I really have no coherent thoughts about this episode. Just pure Star Trek joy. 10/10.
posted by rhymedirective at 7:38 AM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
I really have no coherent thoughts about this episode. Just pure Star Trek joy. 10/10.
posted by rhymedirective at 7:38 AM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
I know they were going for comedic effect with Spock and his offputting human reactions, but I do hope that's not something they intend to keep up with.
Well…
posted by rhymedirective at 7:40 AM on July 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
Well…
posted by rhymedirective at 7:40 AM on July 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
Yeah, I’m not always a fan of Jonathan Frakes as a director, but with Lyn’s perfect script he knocked this one out of the park.
posted by sixswitch at 7:52 AM on July 23, 2023
posted by sixswitch at 7:52 AM on July 23, 2023
Even as someone who isn't a huge fan of LD (or anything in the adult animated comedy genre, really), this crossover was good fun! Definitely got a chuckle out of the "Why do they talk so slow and quiet" exchange noted above; part of my reaction to LD is the default shoutiness of the characters.
Seeing the SNW crew geeking out over the NX-01 era in the same way that the LD folks were geeking out over TOS was a lovely touch. Not only does it hit on the theme of how heroes are made through the lens of history, but it's also a warmer embrace of Enterprise than that series usually gets. The intro and the animated 1701 in orbit near the end were just beautiful.
P. S. I usually talk Trek in a little lockdown-era watch group instead of on Fanfare; if anything I said is too spoilerly for this venue, please let me know and I'll redact.
posted by Ann Telope at 8:07 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
Seeing the SNW crew geeking out over the NX-01 era in the same way that the LD folks were geeking out over TOS was a lovely touch. Not only does it hit on the theme of how heroes are made through the lens of history, but it's also a warmer embrace of Enterprise than that series usually gets. The intro and the animated 1701 in orbit near the end were just beautiful.
P. S. I usually talk Trek in a little lockdown-era watch group instead of on Fanfare; if anything I said is too spoilerly for this venue, please let me know and I'll redact.
posted by Ann Telope at 8:07 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
“Explode, you said?” — M'Benga asking after hearing Boimler say later tricorder models were arguably less likely to explode. We could be here all day with favorite lines, “Somebody had to make the starships!”
posted by channaher at 8:18 AM on July 23, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by channaher at 8:18 AM on July 23, 2023 [13 favorites]
I had no idea how they were going to pull this off, but they 💯 nailed it. I love Lower Decks and was prepared for cringe (Star Trek humor doesn't always land for me) but this was a delight. They managed to capture the tone of both series, and live action Boimler and Mariner were spot on. The SNW crew grounded them the right amount, and giving Una her hero moment was genuinely touching. This isn't the episode I expected to be raving about, but here we are. Keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the season keeps the momentum going!
posted by Space Kitty at 9:08 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by Space Kitty at 9:08 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
I was also convinced they couldn't make it work, but bah gawd, they killed it. Anson Mount couldn't contain his pure joy, and it infected everyone else.
posted by Etrigan at 9:26 AM on July 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 9:26 AM on July 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
This episode was a DELIGHT. I laughed and cried. I truly loved the live versions of both Mariner and Boimler. I thought Mariner brought just the right level of fun and was someone I'd totally love to hang out with.
CheesesOfBrazil: It was all the fun history-nerd ebullience of Berlinghoff Rasmussen, except legit.
Yes, so much! That hit me too and I came here to say this, but you beat me to it.
posted by Pryde at 10:16 AM on July 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
CheesesOfBrazil: It was all the fun history-nerd ebullience of Berlinghoff Rasmussen, except legit.
Yes, so much! That hit me too and I came here to say this, but you beat me to it.
posted by Pryde at 10:16 AM on July 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
I thought the structure of, at halfway, they made it seem like Boimler was going back but then brought Mariner there instead was an inspired choice. It was like, "Oh, you thought Boimler was a loose cannon?"
And of course it was Mariner who got Uhura to loosen up. I like that being canonical.
I did sort of expect that at La'an's revelation that she's also time-traveled, Boimler was going to say, "How often does this happen??"
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:11 AM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
And of course it was Mariner who got Uhura to loosen up. I like that being canonical.
I did sort of expect that at La'an's revelation that she's also time-traveled, Boimler was going to say, "How often does this happen??"
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:11 AM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
I loved hat live action Boimler's hair was actually blue.
posted by Faintdreams at 11:44 AM on July 23, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by Faintdreams at 11:44 AM on July 23, 2023 [16 favorites]
The opening credits!
Boimler’s screams during the element synthesis experiment exploding.
Mariner‘s double thumbs up after extracting the piece of the NX-01 from under the deck.
The way they tied it into the wider threads of SNW.
I had no idea how they were going to play this, but they played it beautifully. One of the best episodes of TV I’ve seen this year. Genuinely wonderful.
posted by garrett at 12:36 PM on July 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
Boimler’s screams during the element synthesis experiment exploding.
Mariner‘s double thumbs up after extracting the piece of the NX-01 from under the deck.
The way they tied it into the wider threads of SNW.
I had no idea how they were going to play this, but they played it beautifully. One of the best episodes of TV I’ve seen this year. Genuinely wonderful.
posted by garrett at 12:36 PM on July 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
Just what are those Orion scientists going to do with all that Triticale? Maybe modify it or genetically engineer it and turn it into something appetizing for little furballs?
In all seriousness, I wasn't expecting a lot from this episode. I don't watch LD, but this was a hoot. It looked like the Enterprise crew was having a lot of fun, and that translated through the screen.
posted by sardonyx at 3:12 PM on July 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
In all seriousness, I wasn't expecting a lot from this episode. I don't watch LD, but this was a hoot. It looked like the Enterprise crew was having a lot of fun, and that translated through the screen.
posted by sardonyx at 3:12 PM on July 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Ready Room episode has a great mini-documentary about the making of the episode.
posted by suelac at 4:03 PM on July 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by suelac at 4:03 PM on July 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
“It’s his birthday on Friday?”Noice.
“How do you know his birthday?”
“Well, I mean, in the future, his birthday’s a holiday. Crap! Crap, crap!”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:23 PM on July 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
That was really fun.
I totally got faked out half way though and thought Boimler was just going to walk back through the portal; I was assuming that this would be a 30 minute LD episode. So when Mariner popped out into the SNW timeline, I was like, "Oh no! Wait... actually, hell yeah."
posted by peeedro at 5:18 PM on July 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
I totally got faked out half way though and thought Boimler was just going to walk back through the portal; I was assuming that this would be a 30 minute LD episode. So when Mariner popped out into the SNW timeline, I was like, "Oh no! Wait... actually, hell yeah."
posted by peeedro at 5:18 PM on July 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
I'm still deeply enamored of Ethan Peck's deliberately offputting Agent Smith smile
god this was a fun episode though
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:43 PM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
god this was a fun episode though
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:43 PM on July 23, 2023 [11 favorites]
I was so sad that Prodigy’s “Kobayashi” was completely left out of the Ready Room crossover montage. :(
posted by thejoshu at 6:00 PM on July 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by thejoshu at 6:00 PM on July 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
I was, for the most part, only mildly amused. Until that bit at the end. That made me laugh out loud. "My arms don't normally do this," indeed.
posted by wierdo at 9:29 PM on July 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by wierdo at 9:29 PM on July 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
Being caught unawares by the surprise drop, and gleefully rewatching the animated opening credits three times before getting deeper into the episode, I was another one who got faked out by the "aw, that was over too quickly, I guess I didn't see the time go b.... MARINER?!"
Reader, I squealed like an ensign assisting Spock in a matter synthesis experiment.
posted by Molesome at 1:12 AM on July 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
Reader, I squealed like an ensign assisting Spock in a matter synthesis experiment.
posted by Molesome at 1:12 AM on July 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
There was so much hype for this episode, I was afraid there was no way it could live up to expectations, but it totally did. Jonathan Frakes captured the styles of both shows so well, no doubt thanks to Kathryn Lyn's script.
Indeed. Frakes, Lyn, and Wolkoff totally exceeded any expectations I had and this was a true joy to watch everyone acting the hell out of it. I got up early to get this out of my queue, and it was totally worth losing an hour's sleep over.
posted by mikelieman at 3:33 AM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Indeed. Frakes, Lyn, and Wolkoff totally exceeded any expectations I had and this was a true joy to watch everyone acting the hell out of it. I got up early to get this out of my queue, and it was totally worth losing an hour's sleep over.
posted by mikelieman at 3:33 AM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Once again Anson Mount is King of the Reaction Shot.
I laughed out loud at Jack Quaid’s Boimler duck walk away from Una.
posted by sixswitch at 4:28 AM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
I laughed out loud at Jack Quaid’s Boimler duck walk away from Una.
posted by sixswitch at 4:28 AM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Memory Alpha has all the regular details for the episode. Worf's honor. DANG IT!
posted by hanov3r at 8:09 AM on July 24, 2023
posted by hanov3r at 8:09 AM on July 24, 2023
Trials and Tribble-ations was also skipped over in the list of crossovers.
posted by Spike Glee at 8:55 AM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Spike Glee at 8:55 AM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have the pickiest of nits to pick...
How did Pike know Boimler was an Ensign? Name (and serial number) could/would have come from his combadge (by PIC S1, those were engraved on the badges), but Pike's era relied on wrist stripes to show rank, not collar pips.
posted by hanov3r at 9:07 AM on July 24, 2023
How did Pike know Boimler was an Ensign? Name (and serial number) could/would have come from his combadge (by PIC S1, those were engraved on the badges), but Pike's era relied on wrist stripes to show rank, not collar pips.
posted by hanov3r at 9:07 AM on July 24, 2023
Well, this was a nice surprise!
I enjoyed the reactions to "just don't look!" How seriously we were supposed to take all of this was already clear, but that was a very fun adoption of cartoon logic.
Are we tampering with the timeline? No, we are taking precautions!
posted by Acari at 9:10 AM on July 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
I enjoyed the reactions to "just don't look!" How seriously we were supposed to take all of this was already clear, but that was a very fun adoption of cartoon logic.
Are we tampering with the timeline? No, we are taking precautions!
posted by Acari at 9:10 AM on July 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Pike came on board Discovery with ‘the new uniforms’ though, hanov3r, previously the rank pips were on the badge delta itself. Pike might be hoping upon seeing the one disc on the collar that the rank structure of ensign-lieutenant-commander-captain was still valid in the traveler's home time.
posted by channaher at 10:38 AM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by channaher at 10:38 AM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Or: Boimler flat-out radiates ensign energy to those trained to notice it. Like, it should cause sensor interference, the energy is so intense.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 11:45 AM on July 24, 2023 [37 favorites]
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 11:45 AM on July 24, 2023 [37 favorites]
Considering the comment I made in the thread for the last episode about letting Spock and Uhura be characters outside who they eventually become, imagine my surprise when that became the actual text of this episode.
It's fun to see an episode in active conversation with the concept of these characters not being but ultimately becoming the characters that us an audience, and Boimler as our surrogate, love.
It's also a great melding of the reasons why SNW works so well while also bringing in the "Star Trek in conversation with itself through the medium of humour" of Lower Decks.
What an episode.
posted by slimepuppy at 12:06 PM on July 24, 2023 [14 favorites]
It's fun to see an episode in active conversation with the concept of these characters not being but ultimately becoming the characters that us an audience, and Boimler as our surrogate, love.
It's also a great melding of the reasons why SNW works so well while also bringing in the "Star Trek in conversation with itself through the medium of humour" of Lower Decks.
What an episode.
posted by slimepuppy at 12:06 PM on July 24, 2023 [14 favorites]
I would love to know the rank progression in Starfleet, though: shouldn't Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford all be LTJGs now? (I omit Mariner bcz her records must be a hot mess: she probably hold the Starfleet record for having been busted down a rank.)
posted by suelac at 12:09 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by suelac at 12:09 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I would love to know the rank progression in Starfleet, though: shouldn't Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford all be LTJGs now?
Going by the trailer, it looks like it could be a plot point in S4.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:20 PM on July 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Going by the trailer, it looks like it could be a plot point in S4.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:20 PM on July 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Starfleet ranks.
As for promotion based on time in grade, perhaps Harry Kim has a comment.
posted by channaher at 3:03 PM on July 24, 2023 [16 favorites]
As for promotion based on time in grade, perhaps Harry Kim has a comment.
posted by channaher at 3:03 PM on July 24, 2023 [16 favorites]
LORE: Will I soon have a uniform like that, brother?posted by audi alteram partem at 3:47 PM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
DATA: If you get one the way I did, Lore, it will mean four years at the Academy, another three as ensign, ten or twelve on varied space duty in the lieutenant grades.
How did Pike know Boimler was an Ensign? Name (and serial number) could/would have come from his combadge (by PIC S1, those were engraved on the badges), but Pike's era relied on wrist stripes to show rank, not collar pips.
My theory is that combadges might include some other sort of automatic identifier for name/serial number/rank, especially given the Enterprise crew also figured out it was a communicator.
posted by danhon at 4:01 PM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
My theory is that combadges might include some other sort of automatic identifier for name/serial number/rank, especially given the Enterprise crew also figured out it was a communicator.
posted by danhon at 4:01 PM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I can see combadges also being the equivalent of dog tags.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:23 PM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:23 PM on July 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Didn't Next Gen-era Star Trek use combadges to identify people when beaming them up? Or to find people for beam up?
posted by crossoverman at 11:42 PM on July 24, 2023
posted by crossoverman at 11:42 PM on July 24, 2023
This was a love letter to Star Trek, by Star Trek. And I was very much here for it. Quaid and Newsom were perfect. Though I do wish they'd used this take at the end. I have been giggling at that Tweet for months.
I did not expect the last conversation Boimler and Mariner had with Number One to hit me like it did, but as Spock would say, "I am emotionally compromised."
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:00 AM on July 25, 2023 [9 favorites]
I did not expect the last conversation Boimler and Mariner had with Number One to hit me like it did, but as Spock would say, "I am emotionally compromised."
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:00 AM on July 25, 2023 [9 favorites]
I had seen, like, a rumor of the crossover but not KNOWN it was coming. So I was just so over-the-top delighted. I said THEY'RE DOING THE THING THEY'RE DOING THE THING as a bouncing-on-the-couch chant as soon as I realized, and I laughed and I teared up, and by the end of the episode I was blissful at a level I can't recall a Trek episode causing in me in recent memory.
posted by brainwane at 3:02 AM on July 25, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by brainwane at 3:02 AM on July 25, 2023 [19 favorites]
Awww brainwane you described exactly my reaction 😂
posted by sixswitch at 5:59 AM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by sixswitch at 5:59 AM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
I never laughed this hard watching actual Lower Decks. I'd expected to be cringing through the entire episode and instead had fun with it.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:04 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Karmakaze at 6:04 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I did sort of expect that at La'an's revelation that she's also time-traveled, Boimler was going to say, "How often does this happen??"
I mean, they have established protocols for handling time-travel events even in La'an's era - folks are skipping around the timeline constantly in ST.
Like, it should cause sensor interference, the energy is so intense.
I've posited that ST sensors are like coal-mine canaries - their only function is to let people know that the sensors aren't functioning. I'm pretty sure SNW has sensors not work in something like 2/3 of the eps so far.
This was definitely an absolute delight of an episode - I had forgotten the chatter about the crossover ep last year or whenever, so when the ep opened with the log dictation I immediately said 'wait is that Boimler??' and got immediately extra excited.
posted by FatherDagon at 6:35 AM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I mean, they have established protocols for handling time-travel events even in La'an's era - folks are skipping around the timeline constantly in ST.
Like, it should cause sensor interference, the energy is so intense.
I've posited that ST sensors are like coal-mine canaries - their only function is to let people know that the sensors aren't functioning. I'm pretty sure SNW has sensors not work in something like 2/3 of the eps so far.
This was definitely an absolute delight of an episode - I had forgotten the chatter about the crossover ep last year or whenever, so when the ep opened with the log dictation I immediately said 'wait is that Boimler??' and got immediately extra excited.
posted by FatherDagon at 6:35 AM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Most fan service is weak, lazy pandering.
Picard Season 3.
My review of this is as follows:
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
This episode could have been super cringey, but they nailed it. It had humor, it had reference jokes, it had poignant moments. It's a home run. Loved it 100%.
My son's gateway into Trek has been Lower Decks. I cannot wait for him to watch this episode the next time he's over.
posted by Fleebnork at 9:02 AM on July 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
Picard Season 3.
My review of this is as follows:
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
This episode could have been super cringey, but they nailed it. It had humor, it had reference jokes, it had poignant moments. It's a home run. Loved it 100%.
My son's gateway into Trek has been Lower Decks. I cannot wait for him to watch this episode the next time he's over.
posted by Fleebnork at 9:02 AM on July 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
"Do you feel lucky?"
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:18 AM on July 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:18 AM on July 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
My partner watches Lower Decks but not SNW and I was so excited about this because I'm still hoping he will be converted. He is not and instead he made fun of me and Mariner for our horny reactions to Spock. Alas!! Dude is cute!! No fair.
Other than that, this was a delight. Two great flavors that taste great together. No notes other than tbh I'm worried this will go over so well with fans that they'll try and make it a thing they do more often and I don't think they should. It worked once but it shouldn't happen more than like, twice.
posted by potrzebie at 11:07 PM on July 26, 2023 [5 favorites]
Other than that, this was a delight. Two great flavors that taste great together. No notes other than tbh I'm worried this will go over so well with fans that they'll try and make it a thing they do more often and I don't think they should. It worked once but it shouldn't happen more than like, twice.
posted by potrzebie at 11:07 PM on July 26, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'm fascinated by the choice of Jonathan Frakes as director for this episode. He did great! But he's never done a Lower Decks episode, nor Strange New Worlds. He's a good director but I associate him with the serious and slightly smarmy Trek, all the moral lessons and the power of friendship of the crew and just so... earnest. The mood that Discovery more than any embodies, an extension of The Next Generation.
I've been enjoying Strange New Worlds because it's not that kind of overly sincere Star Trek. It's more adventure and fun and a silliness. So marrying it with Lower Decks, which is all about goofy humor... I'm just wondering how they decided Frakes, of all people, would be the ideal director for that. It worked great! I like to imagine the cast, crew, and writers all had a lot of fun doing this episode.
Jack Quaid is fantastic on screen. I'd missed somehow that he's the voice actor for Boimler in LD. He's terrific in The Boys, a live action role. And he stole every scene here. The writing helped with that.
posted by Nelson at 7:30 AM on July 27, 2023 [5 favorites]
I've been enjoying Strange New Worlds because it's not that kind of overly sincere Star Trek. It's more adventure and fun and a silliness. So marrying it with Lower Decks, which is all about goofy humor... I'm just wondering how they decided Frakes, of all people, would be the ideal director for that. It worked great! I like to imagine the cast, crew, and writers all had a lot of fun doing this episode.
Jack Quaid is fantastic on screen. I'd missed somehow that he's the voice actor for Boimler in LD. He's terrific in The Boys, a live action role. And he stole every scene here. The writing helped with that.
posted by Nelson at 7:30 AM on July 27, 2023 [5 favorites]
Nelson, perhaps they looked beyond his Star Trek directing work? Jonathan Frakes has also directed several episodes of the show Leverage, which has a similar mix of comedy/adventure to this episode of SNW.
posted by BlueJae at 8:00 AM on July 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by BlueJae at 8:00 AM on July 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Just after posting my comment about Frakes I read the article on the blue with a quote from Frakes about how he came to direct this episode.
posted by Nelson at 8:21 AM on July 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
“I didn’t campaign for it,” Frakes says of the gig. “But I’m told that the philosophy on ‘Strange New Worlds’ is that they try to assign a director to an episode that would be a good fit. And I think because of all the ‘Star Trek’ canon involved and because I knew the tone of ‘Lower Decks’ because I played Riker on that show, it made sense.” ...I'd forgotten he was a character on LD!
Frakes also had the advantage that he’d directed Mount, Peck and Romijn when they originated their roles on Season 2 of “Discovery.”
“I knew from having done ‘Discovery’ for a year with Anson that he is really sneaky funny, even though you don’t see much of that with Pike,” Frakes says. “Rebecca, she’s a singer as well as a comedian. And Ethan has a delightful sense of humor. So I secretly knew that this was going to be a playground.”
posted by Nelson at 8:21 AM on July 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
So, I was going to be gone (and away from streaming services) all this week, and my main regret was that I'd have to wait for this episode, only I came back early, but then I find out that this episode dropped... last Friday? Before I left? AAARGH Paramount+ what is your deal, man.
Anyway, yes, fantastic all around. Everyone reacting to this goofy guy running around being very Boimish and Boimler not quite being able to cope with Spock being all just wrong and the butterfly effect and all that. And Newsome was good as Mariner (I still wanted to see at least a few seconds of Cordero and Wells as their characters in live-action, but oh well, if they do a follow-up to this, maybe...?), but Quaid was perfect. I enjoy watching him on The Boys (and, incidentally, he's also in Oppenheimer as Richard Feynman), but here there's just something about his face that's sort of naturally cartoonish.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:18 AM on July 28, 2023
Anyway, yes, fantastic all around. Everyone reacting to this goofy guy running around being very Boimish and Boimler not quite being able to cope with Spock being all just wrong and the butterfly effect and all that. And Newsome was good as Mariner (I still wanted to see at least a few seconds of Cordero and Wells as their characters in live-action, but oh well, if they do a follow-up to this, maybe...?), but Quaid was perfect. I enjoy watching him on The Boys (and, incidentally, he's also in Oppenheimer as Richard Feynman), but here there's just something about his face that's sort of naturally cartoonish.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:18 AM on July 28, 2023
We finally got to watch this one here tonight after I'd been itching to see it for days (my wife was out of town.) LD and SNW are our favorite things Trek has going right now (though I lean more LD and my wife more SNW) andhot damn but this absolutely nailed it. Frakes deserves a lot of credit for recognizing how to direct towards both shows' existing comedic sensibilities, but it mostly works because of a perfect script from Kathryn Lyn, who writes for both shows and was the exact right choice to figure out how to do this (and I'd bet the concept originated with her to begin with.)
Hilarious throughout, but what really landed with me was how they managed to make it sweet, sincere, and touching as well. Both shows can play both of those notes, of course, and frequently do, but Frakes and Lyn (and the performers) knew how to shift to the right gears at the right moments. There was LD-style comedy, and SNW-style comedy, and when Boimler talks to Pike about the birthday party, things slowed down into pure SNW-style emotional language, which was the right choice (meanwhile Boimler and Mariner on the shuttle, deciding to be stuck in the 23rd century and do as much good as they can there, was LD-style emotional language, also the right choice.)
Other thoughts:
• We got a live-action Boimler scream!
• Sad that we didn't get live-action Tendi and Rutherford, but Noël Wells and particularly Eugene Cordero don't look like their animated counterparts nearly as much as Newsom and Quaid do, so I get that decision.
• I loved the underplayed parallel between Una's bit at the end and the Orions'. I teared up at Una's reaction to "Ad Astra per Aspera," and then again at the Orion captain getting to say that the portal was discovered by Orion scientists, and him understanding how that, too, would inspire future generations.
• The tag, too, was delightful.
• OMG I just wanted to hug Nurse Chapel. Jess Bush has been crushing it since the beginning but her reactions in the elevator were some of the most heartbreaking shit I've ever seen.
• This was structured so well, with well-intentioned Boimler haplessly stepping in it over and over again while trying not to wreck the timeline, then just as everything is about to resolve... Here's Mariner, Kool-Aid Manning through the temporal protocols without looking back. Just a great demonstration of the difference between their characters even as they're about equally destructive from the SNW crew's point of view.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:24 PM on July 29, 2023 [13 favorites]
Hilarious throughout, but what really landed with me was how they managed to make it sweet, sincere, and touching as well. Both shows can play both of those notes, of course, and frequently do, but Frakes and Lyn (and the performers) knew how to shift to the right gears at the right moments. There was LD-style comedy, and SNW-style comedy, and when Boimler talks to Pike about the birthday party, things slowed down into pure SNW-style emotional language, which was the right choice (meanwhile Boimler and Mariner on the shuttle, deciding to be stuck in the 23rd century and do as much good as they can there, was LD-style emotional language, also the right choice.)
Other thoughts:
• We got a live-action Boimler scream!
• Sad that we didn't get live-action Tendi and Rutherford, but Noël Wells and particularly Eugene Cordero don't look like their animated counterparts nearly as much as Newsom and Quaid do, so I get that decision.
• I loved the underplayed parallel between Una's bit at the end and the Orions'. I teared up at Una's reaction to "Ad Astra per Aspera," and then again at the Orion captain getting to say that the portal was discovered by Orion scientists, and him understanding how that, too, would inspire future generations.
• The tag, too, was delightful.
• OMG I just wanted to hug Nurse Chapel. Jess Bush has been crushing it since the beginning but her reactions in the elevator were some of the most heartbreaking shit I've ever seen.
• This was structured so well, with well-intentioned Boimler haplessly stepping in it over and over again while trying not to wreck the timeline, then just as everything is about to resolve... Here's Mariner, Kool-Aid Manning through the temporal protocols without looking back. Just a great demonstration of the difference between their characters even as they're about equally destructive from the SNW crew's point of view.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:24 PM on July 29, 2023 [13 favorites]
My only note would be that ending Pike's Hair wasn't nearly high enough.
Man, a Johnny Bravo cameo would have been icing.
posted by pipeski at 4:49 PM on July 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
Man, a Johnny Bravo cameo would have been icing.
posted by pipeski at 4:49 PM on July 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
I loved the quick ‘Riker’ that Boimper dropped as he hopped on the saddle from the rear.
And I also loved him crushing Chapel’s feelings into a teeny tiny dodecahedron in the turbolift.
posted by bq at 4:54 PM on September 16, 2023 [5 favorites]
And I also loved him crushing Chapel’s feelings into a teeny tiny dodecahedron in the turbolift.
posted by bq at 4:54 PM on September 16, 2023 [5 favorites]
Were Bussard collectors named after the legendary record collector Joe Bussard? Because that particular combination of words seems way too much of coincidence otherwise.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:32 PM on September 18, 2023
posted by Paul Slade at 11:32 PM on September 18, 2023
Might be a double meaning - the usual SF reference is to a Bussard ramjet
posted by Mogur at 3:17 AM on September 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Mogur at 3:17 AM on September 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've avoided Lower Decks - it just doesn't interest me.
I'll admit that when this show opened with animation, I almost skipped it., but I didn't and it was worth it. I'm still not going to watch LD, but this crossover was actually good.
The voice casting was good and the voice actors translated to live action quite nicely.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 8:54 AM on April 26
I'll admit that when this show opened with animation, I almost skipped it., but I didn't and it was worth it. I'm still not going to watch LD, but this crossover was actually good.
The voice casting was good and the voice actors translated to live action quite nicely.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 8:54 AM on April 26
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Thematically it was interesting, though. "Am I enough" and "what will the future think of me" and "will people want to have a drink with me when I'm gone" is all interesting in this prequel especially one that has played with Pike's visions of his future and La'an's trip to the past.
And SNW's sincerity made some moments surprisingly touching.
I feel like the joke hit rate on LD is very low - it's just not to my taste. But some of the jokes in this episode really landed for me - the TOS thing was great and the Jerry O'Connell joke about Number One was a nice bit of meta humour. But that's what LD trades in - meta humour. And there's only so much of that I can take.
Sad that there's only three episodes left but big news about Ep 9 was dropped at SDCC. But no spoilers for that here.
posted by crossoverman at 11:08 PM on July 22, 2023 [5 favorites]