“That criticism is very real for everybody.”
Four words: “A Space Adventure Hour.” Despite being directed by Star Trek icon Jonathan Frakes, the Strange New Worlds season 3 holodeck episode was heavily criticized — as were some of 2025’s other episodes. And SNW co-executive producer and writer Bill Wolkoff is well aware of the negative reactions some “filler” installments like “A Space Adventure Hour” receive. Wolkoff said in an interview (per TrekMovie.com):
“Does some of that come back into the writer’s room? Of course. We’re human beings, we aren’t sequestered from the internet. But we never want it to dictate what we’re doing. We’re artists, and we listen to what the audience is saying, and absorbing that. And sometimes you learn lessons from that. Sometimes you grow from that. There were some episodes that got criticized. And that criticism is very real for everybody.”
Wolkoff continued by saying:
“I can only speak for me when I say I do read the criticism, and I think about what that means for what my part telling that story was. And I stand behind all of it, because we [...] every episode that we did, we got there for a reason, and we operate as a team. It’s the beauty of the show is that we’re a crew, just like the bridge crew of the Enterprise. So, we have each other’s backs. But yeah, there were some criticisms in season 3 that I took to heart.”
Personally, I didn’t think “A Space Adventure Hour” was the worst hour of Star Trek every produced, but it paled in comparison to season 3’s heavy hitters like the Erica Ortegas-centric must-see and utterly heartbreaking “Terrarium.”
The bottom line is that Star Trek overall, not just Strange New Worlds, is famous for taking big, Galaxy-class-sized swings, especially where holodecks and The Next Generation are concerned.
Sure, some of the TNG holodeck stories featuring the Sherlock Holmes villain Moriarty, or even Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s Dixon Steele, didn’t land, but they were always entertaining to a degree. And I feel the same way about “A Space Adventure Hour,” especially after multiple viewings.
So, bring on the Captain Pike puppet in Strange New Worlds season 4, and look for the series to return Thursday, July 23, on Paramount+. And for more Star Trek content, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
Add us as a preferred source on Google