“I’m not sure if I just gave away the goose on that one but…”
Star Trek fans who also love movies are likely acquainted with all the wonderful programming and content provided by Turner Classic Movies, and Strange New Worlds will soon stroll down one of TCM’s most famous alleys when the streaming series’ newly revealed film noir episode drops on Paramount+.
Strange New Worlds actor Anson Mount, who plays Captain Christopher Pike, made the revelation while abroad attending the Italian Global Series to celebrate Trek’s 60th anniversary. Mount said in an interview (per Mauxa): “So, everything was very much a dialogue [with the showrunners]."
Mount continued by saying:
"I mean, we were lobbying for a musical episode, and they gave us one. We lobbied for a puppet episode: they gave us one. We lobbied for a film noir: we got it, which you’re going to see. I’m not sure if I just gave away the goose on that one but… [laughs].”
Unfortunately, Mount didn’t specify if the film noir Trek would be part of season 4 or 5, but I’d guess the former. For those Star Trek fans who aren’t familiar with the beloved movie genre, the words film noir literally translate to “dark film” in English. These flicks are almost always femme fatale-filled features focusing on heavy, gritty themes, and they encompass plenty of despicable crimes.
I’d like to point out that technically this won’t be the first time Strange New Worlds has tackled a film noir episode. Season 3’s murder mystery, “A Space Adventure Hour,” was very much of the same ilk, but it turned out the noir's twist revolved around Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), rather than a femme fatale character.
I also alluded to Noir Alley earlier, which is TCM’s program dedicated to spotlighting the classic film noirs flooding movie history. Check out the video below, courtesy of TCM below, to learn more about the genre from the field's leading expert, Eddie Muller.
Hosted by the incomparable Mr. Muller, Noir Alley has featured some of the genre’s best and brightest entries, including Double Indemnity (1944), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), and, of course, The Maltese Falcon (1941), which is often cited as the definitive noir.
Personally — I know this is a long shot — I hope Strange New Worlds showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers got Muller to make a cameo or outright guest-star in the upcoming SNW film noir episode.
And, if I had a Targ (Klingon dog) in the fight, I’d love to see the Star Trek episode pay homage to one of my favorite film noirs: His Kind of Woman (1951), starring Robert Mitchum, Raymond Burr, and horror movie maestro Vincent Price.
Are you excited about the newly announced Strange New Worlds film noir episode, too? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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