Nearly 56 years to the day, Strange New Worlds will continue Captain Pike’s story.
On July 28, 1965, the final scene was shot for the second pilot of Star Trek: The Original Series. These were the reshoots that ended up replacing Captain Christopher Pike with Captain James T. Kirk and changing the direction of Star Trek forever. The reshoots essentially ended the tail of Pike, only briefly stopping to revisit it in the two-parter the Menagerie. Now, nearly 56 years later, on July 24, 2021, the tales of Captain Pike are once again upon us, as the Anson Mount-led Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has finished filming its first season.
It’s rather impressive that the series that ended the Pike story came to a halt nearly 56 years to the day that the story of Pike finished filming. With Strange New Worlds wrapping up nearly 56 years after the pilot for the rebooted Star Trek finished, it seems almost serendipitous in a way. Almost as if the cosmic Sci-Fi gods are looking down at Strange New Worlds to say “you’ve got this”.
Strange New Worlds could be the beginning of a renaissance of Star Trek
Whether you liked it or not, the last few years of Nu-Trek have divided fans. None of them are right for their hatred or wrong for enjoying it, it’s a personal preference. It is, however, easy to say that the series that have been made have catered to specific fans. The idea behind Strange New Worlds is that it’s going back to the formula that worked, and one that all fans should end up enjoying.
It’s embracing the filming techniques and upgrades of the modern world while reinstalling the old Star Trek formula. An adventure of the week, with old Trek principals, have been promised to the fans, with a bombastic looking cast and of course the return to the good ol’ U.S. S. Enterprise.
It feels like a restart of sorts, which is fitting, as Strange New Worlds is essentially everything the original pilot of Star Trek was hoping to turn into.
It all comes back around in the end, apparently.