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Occasionally, it is necessary toconvene a conversationbetween Vulture writers to discuss an important and timely issue in culture.
Angelica Jade Bastien: Im so excited to get into this.
I want to start with a simple question, Kathryn: Whats your relationship to theStar Trekfranchise?
(How did the holodeckbecome real,Angelica?!
AJB:Anyone who truly knows me knows my love ofStar Trekis lifelong.
ButStrange New Worldssurprised me.
I feel likeDiscoveryandPicardareStar Trekin name only.
Theyre baked into the concept as much as the series curiosity and utopian, communal beliefs.
Where is a postDominion War series, damn it?
We have to move forward and beyond Spock.
Which brings me to how the show is handling characterization.
How are you feeling about Spock?
Do you think the series is finding new dimensions in the character?
KVA:Ethan Pecks Spock, for me, succeeds because it does not feel like a Nimoy impression.
There are influences, certainly.
I know the answer is Spock, so now they have to solve for Spock.
AJB:I think all the performances of legacy characters weve seen onStrange New Worldsare pretty impressive overall.
Im more hesitant about Uhura, whose writing I find a little too neat.
How do you square Uhura today?
How do you nod to Blackness in a universe where racial division on Earth is no longer in effect?
I say this not out of any special love for Captain Pike!
But if theStar Trekcaptain sucks, then very little could ever save the rest of the series.
Anson Mount as Captain Pike, happily, is everything my swashbuckling pompadour space-daddyStar Trekdesires could have wanted.
AJB:Oh yeah, he is totally a fine-ass space daddy.
And I dont usually go up for white men like that!
So far, I am most enamored with Captain Pike and his No.
1, Una, played with steely force and precise care by Rebecca Romijn.
Their characterization alchemizes dynamics weve seen inStar Trekbefore but in a bold new way.
KVA:The episodic rhythm ofStrange New Worldsfeels like an immense relief in the current TV landscape.
Some would be fine!
A nice two-parter as a treat!
Not every hour of the show needs to feel the same.
Id argue that its not necessarily a problem forStar Trekto be grim.
The problem is when its grimall the time.
Your point about character-based emotional through-lines fits in here, too.
Limits are important to great storytelling.
