1.03: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Ghosts of Illyria

[Dave]

The U.S.S. Enterprise encounters a contagion that ravages the ship; one by one, the entire crew is incapacitated except for Number One, Una Chin-Riley, who must now confront a secret she's been hiding as she races to find a cure.

I liked this episode far better than the first two. I thought it was proper Star Trek. Back to the original series or TNG. A classic science fiction mystery story!

Like last week, this episode focussed the character building on just two crew. This week it was Doctor M'Benga and Number One. Doctor M'Benga secretly keeps his daughter in the Sickbay medical transporter pattern buffer. I had a problem with that transporter when it was first retconned because Scotty had to move mountains to site-to-site transport to Sickbay. Now that M'Benga holds someone in the pattern buffer, when only Scotty can do that, when he performs a miracle to save his own life (Relics, TNG). Sorry, I will never like this as it makes Scotty's miracles into everyday tasks. Otherwise it was a good story.

We find out that number One is an Augmented genetically altered human and that La'an Noonian Singh is an ancestor of Khan. This idea of Number one having something to hide makes sense on many different levels. It explains why "the best second officer in Starfleet" isn't promoted to Captain (rather than because she was a female in the 1960's).

However, it did run into some terrible technobabble and some real wackiness in the final third of the episode.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

I liked this episode far better than the first two. I thought it was proper Star Trek. Back to the original series or TNG. A classic science fiction mystery story!

Agreed. There very much was a sense of the show's DNA at work, here.

Trek is much better when it buries its social commentary under metaphor, something the writers of Picard need to learn, imho. I do feel that if you examine the messaging it doesn't quite match what I think they're trying to say. It makes me very uncomfortable. For example the storyline about

Spoiler: Spoiler

the doctor keeping his daughter in the buffer of the medical transporter seems to be motivated out of attention to his own emotions, rather than the well being of his daughter. If you think about it he's a bit of a monster, which is not a sympathetic place for a character - which is I think what they were going for. The idea is interesting, though, for sure.

I'm liking that the shows ARE episodic with complete beginning / middle / end.

Mount and Spock are still the only characters with much charisma, which is a shame as they don't have a great deal of screen time in this episode.

Not much of it in this ep, but I'm not interested in the Pike future storyline because of the way they handle his reaction to it. It's an interesting idea but I feel they handle it clumsily.

 

[Mr Cairo]

I had a problem with that transporter when it was first retconned because Scotty had to move mountains to site-to-site transport to Sickbay. Now that M'Benga holds someone in the pattern buffer, when only Scotty can do that, when he performs a miracle to save his own life (Relics, TNG). Sorry, I will never like this as it makes Scotty's miracles into everyday tasks. Otherwise it was a good story.

difference here was Scotty was held in the pattern buffer continuously for 70 +years but Dr M'Benga said he has to re-materialise his daughter every few weeks so that her pattern wont degrade ... it laid the groundwork for what Scotty does but isnt quite the same.

This epoisode was the bestso far theough had a very Nake Now feel to it ... so far this is a great series with areal return to TOS Trek, I really like it and I have to say No1 looks mightily impressive on the classic uniform

 

[REBerg]

Each episode, thus far, has been as good or better than the last.

We find out that number One is an Augmented genetically altered human

Isn't Una an Illyrian modified to appear human?

These standalone stories, with character development sandwiched between start and finish, really are the best Star Trek format. I hope it spreads, like a light-hungry virus, to Discovery and Picard.

 

[Dave]

Isn't Una an Illyrian modified to appear human?

Yes, I should have said "humanoid" but what I said wasn't correct. Anyway, it's an explanation for her lack of promotion that I never expected.

 

[Rodders]

Another great episode, but i do get quite tired at the number of contrived coincidences that occur on these shows.

She's the last Illyrian and Number One is related to Khan. Come on!! Still, i enjoyed the story and did feel a little sorry for the Illyrian race.

I'm left in a bit of a quandary as i really want to continue watching the show but refuse to pay another subscription.