Fans are done with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds going off-script with specialty episodes

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is mostly, mostly, a great show. It has a strong cast, well-written characters, and the ability to watch an episode without worrying you're too far behind to just jump in. It's been an awesome ride to see the show grow and find new fans along the way. That said, it isn't perfect.

In fact, there's one element that is seemingly holding the show back; their seasonal "oddities" episodes. In season one, it was the eighth episode where the entire story was straight out of a fantasy book for kids, with everyone dressed like they were in a fantasy novel. The second time was season two's ninth episode, aka the musical one.

Both episodes, season one's "The Elysian Kingdom" and season two's "Subspace Rhapsody" found some fans online due to their quarky nature and utter defiance oveer what Star Trek was intended to be. So much so that you'd think the fandom as a whole loved these episodes. Except, they didn't. While many may have, most fans see these as stains on an otherwise perfect series.

Den of Geek has "Subspace Rhapsody" as the 15th worst episode in franchise history. Viewers on IMDB have "The Elysian Kingdom" and "Subspace Rhapsody" as the two lowest episodes in the series at 6.2 and 6.8 respectively. Fans have dismissed the gimmicky nature of both episodes and it appears as though the fandom has spoken.

They want less of these quirky episodes and more of what makes Star Trek great. While a story about a fantasy world being the backdrop of a Star Trek episode could've worked in the 1990s, that's because those shows had 20+ episodes a season. A little diversity in storytelling was welcomed, at times.

That's no longer the situation. Strange New Worlds has 10 episodes a season and many fans are unhappy with such a low count. They want more and feel, it seems, as though these types of episodes are unnecessary and take away from the compelling dramas the writer's room has constantly come up with.

As for musicals, they have no place in Star Trek. Everyone wants to do one until everyone realizes that musicals are best left for those who specialize in such things. It seems like every time a show goes that route, things often go badly. There's a time and a place for such ideas, but none of those are currently in the Star Trek franchise.