Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - S2 E7 - "Those Old Scientists"
Paramount released this episode 5 days early!
Something to do with Comic-Con I think.
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July 22, 2023
'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: Meeting Your Heroes Rocks
In the highly anticipated 'Strange New Worlds' and 'Lower Decks' crossover episode, Mariner and Boimler get to meet their heroes on the Enterprise.
By Samantha Coley
They say never meet your heroes, but Lower Decks ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) might disagree! In the highly anticipated Strange New Worlds crossover episode with Star Trek's adult animated series, the two young ensigns of the USS Cerritos travel back in time for an unforgettable adventure aboard the USS Enterprise with Starfleet legends like Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Spock (Ethan Peck). While things appear to go a bit sideways for Boimler for a bit, and their heroes are not exactly how they imagined them, the episode brings everything full circle in an emotional, heartwarming hour of television that'll have audiences grinning from ear to ear.
The opening credits for this episode have also been reimagined in the animation style of Lower Decks, bringing the Enterprise to the second dimension for the first time in decades. “Those Old Scientists” is directed by Star Trek legend Jonathan Frakes and as always with his episodes there’s an extra layer of warmth in the performances delivered within. The episode is truly a joint effort from the SNW and Lower Decks teams written by Kathryn Lyn and Bill Wolkoff. While Strange New Worlds fans can enjoy this episode without having seen Lower Decks, the experience is certainly richer for those who follow both shows, and audiences who've only seen one or the other will certainly be tuning in to both afterward.
The episode opens with the crew of the USS Cerritos on a routine mission to scan a portal and take readings of the no-longer-functioning device discovered by Captain Pike and the original crew of the Enterprise. Mariner naturally makes fun of Boimler's geeked-out excitement for the device that reportedly hasn't functioned in over 120 years, but they're both pretty stoked about standing in the footsteps of legends like Uhura and "Numuro Una." Naturally, Rutherford and Tendi are along for the ride, and Boimler is slightly green with envy when he learns that Mariner is in charge of the mission given that she doesn't care nearly as much as he does.
When they arrive on the planet to run their scans, Tendi tells Boimler that the device was actually found by an Orion science vessel that her grandma was on board. Boimler is pretty sure it was the Enterprise, but Tendi insists that not all Orions were pirates, even back then. Rutherford and Tendi pick up traces of heronium which hasn't been around for about a century, and Boimler remarks that they used it in the original Enterprise — Archer's Enterprise. He hops up on the platform of the portal and is in the middle of doing his best Spock impression when suddenly it comes to life, sucking him through and into the past, dropping him off right in front of Una, Spock, and La'an. The portal shuts off before Mariner can follow him through.
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So much fun!!!
I don't know about anyone else, but I LOVED this one. To me it felt like one of those special, once-in-a-series kind of episodes, like DS9's "Trials and Tribble-ations."
I liked it so much I had to watch it twice, back to back, and then took some screen grabs.
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The opening scene with the USS Cerritos was animated.
The SNW title sequence was also animated, and they included the energy-sucking alien from the Lower Decks' title sequence. That cracked me up.
They snuck the space koala in at the end of the sequence. Sightings of it have become something of a running gag on Lower Decks.
Animated Mariner and Boimler.
Live action Mariner and Boimler. Mariner even has her sleeves rolled up, lol.
I can't remember if we've seen the bar/lounge on the Enterprise yet, but here it is.
Spock, freaking everyone out.
In the bar, Uhura was trying to identify the glyphs from the time portal, and they showed her cycling through Bajoran and Cardassian entries. But this was 10 years before Kirk's Enterprise. Was explored space big enough at this time to reach all the way out to Bajor and Cardassia? How could Starfleet have that data?
I can't remember if we've seen this before either, but what in the world is up with the ceiling on the bridge? That just looks wrong, and completely unnecessary. How strange.
And another strange thing... See those windows? They're the special ones on the outer rim of the saucer, an area that has so far been reserved for senior officer quarters and the mess hall. That's a primo location, and space is limited. Why would there be a lab there???
Here's the Una "pin-up" poster in Boimler's locker.
And finally, the SNW crew, animated for the final scene, tripping out on that Orion drink.
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A few other tidbits...
And last but not least – in Boimler's time, in-universe, TOS stands for " those old scientists ." LOL
What did you guys think?
Gotta agree that was a fun little romp, though I wish it had been advertised better so I didn't miss the first 10-15 minutes. Still thought it was fun, fave sceen was the final SNW animated sequence with the Orion drinks
M'Benga exclaiming, "What the hell is this stuff?!!" (or whatever he said) made me laugh out loud.
Lol for me it was Spock saying his arms didn't usually do this (as they floated and waved in the air)
"Why does everything feel so...2 dimensional?"
Lol
Check out how intensely Spock is examining his noodle arm when M'Benga says that. Lol
So I didn't even know this was a thing, but I'll have to give it a try. Not a fan of Lower Decks, but maybe an SNW crossover can reconcile me to it.
Tom Paris put together a movie night in the holodeck in Voyager.
I did some poking around, and according to Memory Alpha, movie night was a thing on ENT and DSC.
Now that you mention it, I remember a VOY episode in which Paris and B'Elanna are in a holodeck movie theater where a crewmember was found unconscious. Paris also had that old TV.
I always just assumed that holo-novels were supposed to have supplanted entertainment like movies and TV in the Star trek universe, but there are no holodecks in ENT, DSC, or SNW, so I guess movies should still be around.
Holodecks were not introduced until TAS. Although, TNG popularized the holodeck. So it's likely the SNW Enterprise does not have a holodeck yet.
And here I was thinking they started with TNG. I've only seen a handful of TAS episodes.
TAS was actually quite good for its time. There are Easter egg references to it on Lower Decks.
So, I watched it, and enjoyed it.
I'm glad you explained the space koala, because I apparently never got to that part in Lower Decks.
I feel ya, Boimler. Smiley Spock is actually weirding me out, too.
I hope they stop with that emotional Spock thing pretty soon. It's a little disturbing, lol.
To be fair, Spock was more emotive in his youth before he fully embraced his Vulcan heritage. Anyone who has seen the original pilot, The Cage will know what I mean. It also gives greater significance to Spock seeking Kolinahr in TMP.
It's still unnerving, lol. But maybe it's just the way they're doing it, with the unexpected outbursts of laughter and the creepy smiles.
The danger is they might overdo it. Spock can be occasionally emotive, given his youth at this point in Trek timeline. But he is still Vulcan and even more so by TOS time.
I think I prefer the animated opening to SNW over the normal one. It was brilliantly done. The nacelle "bug" attached to the Enterprise & the koala was a nice touch.
I agree about the opening, but when it went to the actual characters, it threw me off a bit. Didn't think it had the same quality as the opening.
I watched it too, and I thought it was a little bit silly, but I still enjoyed it. The animation was a bit cheesy (worse than Hanna-Barbera), but it was more about the story, which was fun.
I heard Paramount was making TNG shorts in the old Filmation animation style. One Trek fan actually did that with a scene from "Best of both Worlds" when the Borg kidnapped Picard. It's spot on with the Filmation quirks of the day.
I'm still on season one. My wife isn't the biggest fan, but I throw on an episode or two every few weeks.
This one doesn't require much setup from previous episodes. No need to watch it in order. You should jump ahead and check it out the next time you watch. It's light hearted and fun.
I'll try checking out tonight.
I did watch it last night. It was fun. The lower deck characters are too silly for me to take seriously which is why I don't watch that show.