Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has delivered some very different episodes, going in directions no other Star Trek has gone before. But then, that's what Trek is all about. It's even in the opening dialogue "to boldly go where no one has gone before." Strange New Worlds took that as a challenge, and in season one, we had a fantasy episode, "The Elysian Kingdom," which wasn't a fan favorite, but the series hit back in season two with a musical episode, "Subspace Rhapsody."
That episode showcased the musical talents of the actors and, while series star Christina Chong pitched the episode, she admits she was disappointed when she got the script for it. Speaking on the D-Con Chamber with Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating [via CinemaBlend], Chong said she had something totally different in mind than what was presented in the script.
"When I pitched it, I started pitching this musical idea from Season 1– obviously, Henry [Alonso Myers] and Akiva [Goldsman] are big musical people too, so I think they already had it in their head–I was pushing it. Anyone who would listen, I was like, 'Gorn. Dancing Gorn. Tap shoes. Canes. Hats.' And I'm thinking, 'La'an and the Gorn in tap shoes," Chong said. Of course, none of that was in the script and neither was the rest of the "razzle-dazzle" she had in mind.
I cannot even imagine what the fan response would have been to see the scariest villains of Trek we've seen in a long time wearing tap shoes. That would have had to have been another fantasy episode where the crew is in an alternate reality. Fortunately, Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman had something else in mind that made the music make sense.
Chong said that she was "so disappointed" at first but, "Obviously I'm not now, but in that moment, in my head, it was something completely different." I think enough fans struggled with the idea of a musical episode as it was. Keeping it restrained, without any glitz and glamour, was the best move, in my opinion. Otherwise, the episode could have ended up looking farcical and as bad as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "Move Along Home."