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By Chris Snellgrove | Updated
For the most part, public reception Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been quite positive thanks to the talented cast, solid writing, and incredibly high production value. However, for many Star Trek fans, this show has had one misstep: the musical episode “Subspace Rhapsody.”
Admittedly, this episode pales in comparison to more successful musical episodes like Buffy the vampire slayer‘Once More With Feeling’ and the songs could be a bit (okay, a batch) catchier. Still, I think fans should respect this controversial episode because it shows that the writers of the greatest sci-fi franchise are still willing to take creative risks.
As long-time Star Trek fans know, the franchise hasn’t always exhibited the creativity that was on display in the musical episode of Strange new worlds. For example, the first episodes of The next generation recycled scripts written for a canceled Original Series sequel show that would have introduced new characters like Decker and Ilia. Those characters were later recycled to Star Trek: The Movie and later inspired the characters of Riker and Troi on TNG.
The franchise has had some derivative moments, of course. Deep space nine (a personal favorite) has long been accused of scamming Babylon 5, and Star Trek: Nemesis It’s a lame retread of The Wrath of Khan. talking about The Wrath of Khanits nebula battle sequence was taken and recycled for episodes of The next generation and even Picard.
Star Trek has a long history of being derivative. Strange new worlds‘The musical episode is a refreshing reminder that the franchise is still capable of surprising us.
That didn’t stop many fans from wringing their hands over everything from the plot to its lyrical execution. Like a true geek choir, most of these angry fans united their voices to make a singular pronouncement: “Star Trek should not have a musical episode.” These fans have a very fixed idea of what the franchise should and shouldn’t do, and like a poorly trained target, they are always waiting to attack any episode or movie that deviates from what they imagine Star Trek should be doing.
However, this is the kind of shortsighted view that does more than hold the franchise back. If those fans had their way, the franchise would have died decades ago.
The next generation is considered the best Star Trek show by many older fans, but it wasn’t just this series that was very different from The original seriesHe didn’t achieve true greatness until he was free from the influence of franchise creator Gene Roddenberry.
Successively, Deep space nine became the TRUE The best Trek show ever made by explicitly ignoring the narrative constraints of previous shows. These include Roddenberry’s prohibition on creating conflict between characters.
Although I can’t hum a single melody or remember a single lyric, I admire the first musical episode of Star Trek because it proudly ignores all the rules. Star Trek has historically been held back by fans who want nothing more than to dart around the sun and return the franchise to an imagined golden age (like the ’90s).
Star Trek would never have survived if the writers hadn’t been willing to take risks, and Strange new worlds‘The writers have realized a powerful truth: Star Trek can be anything. Never again should I let myself be held back by cranky fans unwilling to put down their TNG DVDs and admire a franchise that has finally remembered the wisdom of James T. Kirk: “Risk is our business.” Strange new worlds is ready to take us toward a better, brighter, bolder future, one episode (and, yes, one song) at a time.
