YES YES YES YES YES! Many who dislike this forget that music has always been part of Trek. This was fun, new, and the music was actually good! I'm all in for it.
What the actually f*ck was that.
This made me feel exactly the same way that Those Old Scientists did, absolute joy. Could not be happier with it.
Yeah, a lot of shows have done it. I know of three, scrubs, raising hope and 30 Rock, and I loved all of them. It’s always a joy (in my opinion), even though it is robbing us of story-content (which season two has little to offer anyway). But a musical is a different medium and it’s legit to focus on sound and show instead of deep, well written stories. That is no excuse for the rest of the snoozefest of episodes, but episode 9 is great fun and there are some real talents in the show with great voices.
So, even if this was no real Star Trek episode, only a big stage, this was one of the few episodes from season 2 that I actually enjoyed. It was a fun standalone episode, again contrasting hard with the previous one.
And since SNW feels more like Star Trek than anything that was done in the last couple years with the franchise, I trust that they will find the sweet spot in season 3.
I guess the „exploration of strange new worlds“ is taking place not in space, but in how far you can take a Star Trek episode, and how different each week can be. While season 2 mostly failed in telling good stories, they made each episode totally different, which is great. Now hire some good science fiction writers, maybe from the Orville team, a we’re golden.
I really enjoyed this episode
I absolutely despise musical episodes.
Oh no, Star Trek, why did you break such a great high concept!?!?!? Whoever was doing your orchestrations was great, excellent parody of a wide range of musical styles. But the lyrics are SO BAD, what were you thinking? No dancing or ensemble numbers until the final act? No reprises? None of the thing where you layer two songs on top of each other? Using Celia Rose fricking Gooding in just one number and pieces of a couple others? Seemingly paying very little attention to which of your cast members can sing and what their ranges are (La'an and Uhura are the correct choice for solo numbers, but Chapel, not in that register, no; poor M'Benga and Pelia should not have been singing at all - I think they wore out their pitch correction software by the end of the episode)?
How did this songwriting come from the brilliant Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo and the Crazy Ex Girlfriend composer? Did they have a half hour to do it? Were they woefully underpaid? Under dumb constraints?
The musical numbers here feel a lot like the action sequences have this season - it's as if the writers wrote "insert musical number here" rather than a bunch of creative people working as an interdisciplinary team to tell a story that works.
Musical numbers are supposed to DO all kinds of things - they are where the jokes are packed in, they advance the plot, they reveal new emotions. In this episode's songs, no new interpersonal information is revealed, no plot advancement happens during the musical numbers (even Chapel's departure, Spock learns of before the singing starts), and very few jokes are made (initially it's funny to hear folks singing about warp core diagnostics, but that tone mismatch only counts toward the joke quota once).
It maybe could be fine that the plot is super dumb, but the songs needed to be much smarter and story-driven to carry the day.
Una/Kirk's number is the most on-point parody, and the Gilbert & Sullivan-ness of it made me laugh out loud a couple times. But look at these lyrics next to actual G&S - such a wasted opportunity. Nothing here comes close to any of Data's musical moments.
You just can't lampshade that you're stealing a play from Buffy and deliver something with a tiny tiny fraction of the cleverness at 10x the budget. SNW would really benefit from putting some more juice into the writer's room to match the talent the rest of the cast & crew, or modifying the writing process. Probably both.
The sung intro was a great idea, but poorly arranged/mixed - as if someone had attempted an a cappella arrangement, discovered it didn't work, but didn't re-arrange it when chunks of the instrumental were re-added.
this was amazing !!!!! loved it
a curious musical episode that has turned out well
YES. Not afraid to go astray.
Awesome! The title is sooo on point. I felt the same way when Queen unexpectedly performed that song for the first time. The writers deserve a raise. The story line is progressed while diverging from standard sci-fi mode.
I truly enjoyed this episode. Totally unexpected from Star Trek, especially from Strange New Worlds. 10 from me. Go watch it!
Usually I don’t like musical episode and it got me sceptical on start. But it really hooked me up. Another good episode! <3
As I ranted to my eldest Son. You have to watch it! I usually hate cringey musical tv eps but this was tongue in cheek and most of em could actually sing and hold an uncracked note. The best by far was Uhura she blew everyone else away with her vocal range, clarity, and projective power. There is an hilarious interlude in the finale arrangement involving Klingons that gave me actual stitch from laughing. I swear this was so well done it could have been Lin-Manuel Miranda.
But I repeat do not do this to Mando!
Well, this was ... different.
Imagine having an entire cast that just happens to be able to sing. How ... fortunate.
I am sure a lot of effort was put into this episode, but sorry musicals are just not my thing.
musical episodes are the worst type of episode and you cannot change my mind
Time will remember this episode considerably more fondly than the people who are disappointed about it on the day it comes out. Admittedly not everyone likes musicals, and that's fine, but it's a joy to watch Star Trek take exciting chances in storytelling. The episode also includes some valuable callbacks (Callforwards?) to TOS
Wow. I might be the only one that liked this... From last week's awesome animated crossover to this week's the point when Spock started singing. I just love how they are trying new things in Trek. Doesn't hurt that I love a good musical.
What's wrong with all the haters here?
I usually dislike musical episodes, but the investment in this episode giving us a glimpse into the crew emotions. I mean, even the theme song was sung!
I still say, best star trek ever. Loving it!
This episode will divide the fans, I'm on the side that loved it, it was great! So well done. That theme song!
Ack! that was actually painful. An hour long episode that took only 10 mins to watch after skipping all the singing. Horrible episode.
It was great to see the Klingons moving in sync and in one direction.
I'm convinced people complaining about this seem to just hate fun. star trek has had some of the goofiest episodes ever to grace tv screens and I love that strange new worlds is keeping up with tradition. 12/10, would spontaneously burst into a sea shanty again
I simply cannot stand such singing stuff. Totally throws me out of the universe.
I pitty the fools that do not appreciate a good musical episode!
This was out of this world! ;)
The worst episode ever. Why does every good show always ruin it with a musical.
This was a really fun episode! I was surprised by how catchy some of the songs were, so kudos to the songwriting team.
It's definitely a really convenient way to significantly move multiple plotlines forward in a single episode when you're limited to a 10-ep season, specifically with Spock and Chapel, as well as La'an and Jim. Though I am starting to side-eye how these love lines are playing out.
All in all, I really enjoyed it. When else are you going to get a Spock that spontaneously breaks out into song? That alone is worth it.
OMG, why? Singing episodes are fillers, and vaste os time. This seson was almost pefect, but last 2 episodes ruin that score.
This episode single-handedly raises the value of the entire series as far as I'm concerned. If you're so basic you "just don't like musicals," you probably voted for Trump.
https://ew.com/tv/star-trek-musical-strange-new-worlds-subspace-rhapsody-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-inspiration/
Interview with several cast members -- Christina Chong is gorgeous in a red flowing gown, and she appeared to catch a brief chill (and I am a dirty pervy boy). [EDIT 9-30-23: Just saw Ms. Chong in Doctor Who, "A Good Man Goes to War," (S06-E07); it was a very special episode, and I loved her part in it.]
I am so tickled they all used their own voices, and, well -- you only get one shot at that, and they nailed it. I remember the Buffy episode the show runners were hoping to live up to: "Once More With Feeling." I loved that as well. A Senior Physicist where I used to work explained opera as, "what's too silly to say can be sung." And, I was able to feel different emotions more freely in this episode.
I understand the desire to have a lighter tone closer to the original but, seriously, Schmigadoon ?
I’m sorry but for me it’s: Beam me up, Scotty
This is just trash, They screwed the franchise on every aspect.
I liked that they do not take themselves serious. It was on purpose that it is a cringe musical episode. It was part of the concept.
I like that they experiment with episodes, but i would stick to one experiment per season.
But i must say that i did not really enjoyed it so much. A real musical has more themes to offer than just emotional songs. There are also songs that are fun, sad, progressive and so much more. But in this episode they only chose songs that are emotional.
Also i did not get why Chapel was written so hard and cold in this episode. I would have liked it more if there would have been some empathy from her for Spock.
Loved this show up to this episode, a step to far, however for me. No! Star Trek "The Musical" is beyond all logic!
Klingons singing and dancing make my day
I love the fact that the Klingons sang like a kpop band.
Best Star Trek episode ever
Star Trek: The Musical... I think I have died and am now in Sto'Vo'Kor!
I am definitely not fond of musical episodes in TV series (with very few exceptions, like that one in Buffy). They're often fillers that get people bored out of their skulls. But this one was totally "hot damn"! They're really experimenting and pushing the limits with this series, and it's been turning out quite well. "Strange New Worlds", indeed.
I loved the acappella intro! It's also on this kind of episodes that we find some genuine singing stars among the cast, and this episode was no exception. Too funny that it was Spock who actually kicked things off. I found myself bobbing my head and tapping my foot throughout the episode, some of the tunes were certified bangers!
And that luscious Klingon performance... Oh, my, the Klingons... I want a whole episode of THAT!
I'm so glad they brought Paul Wesley into this one. Given the episode's theme, I had high hopes for the lovely couple, but, alas... Since she deserved both but already lost one of them, I sure hope La'an at least gets her Grammy. That song truly hit teh feels.
About died when Klingons joined at the end with K(lingong)-pop. Their first line was so catchy!
Dear lord, Trek has hit absolute zero and surely cannot get any worse. FFS singing Klingons!? This is why none of the adult pretenders and writers on "strike" deserve anything. Long may they stay away.
I never knew I needed a Star Trek Musical as much as I did! This was awesome! To all the haters. Why do you hate fun? And music? If we set aside the amazing spontaneous singing this was likely one of the most personal episodes for so many characters. I'm really glad that La'an (Chong is an amazing vocalist, look her up on Spotify) got to ease her feelings about Kirk (even if it wasn't he result she hoped for) and it was also a special episode for Uhura.
The only thing I missed was a duet between Chapel and Spock.
The Klingon singing bit was to hilarious! :laughing:
Erm. No. From the cartoon nonsense a few weeks ago (albeit that had some comedy value), this musical interlude didn't do anything for me (and I don't mind musicals per se). Glad when it was over. I don't mind them trying new things to keep things fresh, some work, some don't. This week was a don't! Let's have some action and drama next week :P
Holy shit, this was bad. Please, never again.
I've got no words. Wait, let me sing them :rofl::joy:.
NOPE!
First time I have ever had to skip though parts of any Star Trek episode ever!
I don't do musicals and singing of any kind at all...
Especially on one of my favourite shows!
WTF? Jump the shark already Worst episode EVER!
OMG. What a nightmare. Who told the producers a musical Star Trek episode would work? No wonder the writers went on strike. Incredibly cringey.
So unnecessary and really stupid imo. I couldn't even watch more than a few minutes.
Musical episodes are a risk that sometimes pays off. A campy way to get people communicating their real feelings is decent too! I can't say it was one of the best musical tv episodes out there but it was decent enough. People are getting way too emotional about it in the comments though lol. Sensitive much?
Christina Chong massively outshone the rest of the cast but after googling it I can see why. She has a history in musical theatre (and it shows). Her solo song gave me goosebumps and I'll definitely be listening again.
As Once More With Feelings is one of my absolute favorite BTVS episodes there was little doubt I would be interested but finding out this was fueled by feelings was the icing on top.
Wow, sooooo many comments here.
I usually love musicals but I am very skeptical about musical episodes in TV shows. This one grew on me, especially since they made scientific "sense" why they are singing.
La'an's singing voice!! They used a bit less (or less obvious) autotune on her and she was great. Chapel and Uhura surprised me in a good way as well. Great job, girls!
I don't like the fact and the way how the Spock/Chapel and especially the La'an/Kirk relationship are heading towards their conclusion :( I am so rooting for La'an.
And that Klingon hip-hop kpop extravaganza was totally out of this world, loved it very much. The acapella theme song was something I was hoping for too. Overall, to my surprise, this was a great episode.
I was worried when I saw the announcement about a musical episode, so I postponed watching it to avoid disappointment. However, I must admit that I was wrong, and this episode ended up being very enjoyable and funny.
Not a good Star Trek, but a great musical! Loved it!
Are the writers out of ideas already? Why resort to the laziest technique in show business; musical.
When all else fails or out of ideas; throw in a musical to create an illusion of a great episodes. It’s hollow, fake, and pretentious to think this is what audience want.
Granted this was far better than most of the other shows that try this crap. Just wished they didn't.
I love musicals but admittedly have never been a fan of modern musicals unless they were written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
I love the concept of this episode but the implementation is rubbish. Though the Klingon song, was an unexpected reward.
What plagues modern musicals, with this being an extreme demonstration, is they take the idea of song as the defining feature and disregard any grounding within the scene and any other cinematic tools that help sell the style. Why can’t we hear the environment and feel like they’re actually singing in place, why does every characters voice sound like the same boring perfect tones? Where are the character’s vocal styles?
On top of that, why is the viewer asked to relate to a song emotionally if the show doesn’t do the work to get us there and thinks the song is enough?
And why is the cinematography exactly the same as any normal episode. In some of the numbers there was choreography that would have helped sell the style, but the cinematography ignored what that choreography needed.
Chapels song could have had inspired cinematography from Cabaret or even a Fiona Apple Music video.
I liken these kinds of cinematography treatments to modern action movies, where the cinematography is designed to hide lazy action rather than showcase it.
Whoops I ended up ranting.
Only good thing in this cringfest was opening credits. And... maybe Klingons if I had to really go with this mess.
I just don't like musicals.
I loved this episode. They put a lot of energy, creativity and effort into it. Thank you!
For the haters, I leave a quote by a great America philosopher ....
"And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. I shake it off, I shake it off" - Taylor Swift
:grin:
A lame as fuck musical filler episode, nothing missed here.
I really wanted to like this episode, particularly after how much I loved Buffy's "Once More, With Feeling", but there was no music in the episode... it was all "sound design" at best, with tons of sing-talking, just so that they could get in more words to express ideas in the form of what was mostly just prose using repetitive frequency patterns.
As someone who always has some song stuck in my head and even (technically incorrectly) calls most classical music pieces "songs" because I sing or hum along to them, I can't recall any melody of any of the "music" in this episode... Because there was none. Just repeating a sequence of notes over and over so that they could tell us their emotions instead of showing them.
Meh.
OMG they finally did it! Please don't do this to Mando!!! For pitys sake!
Astonishingly, Strange New Worlds' writers have taken a supremely difficult road yet produced a story that feels cheap and lazy. As if using a musical episode to get themselves out of the plot corners that they'd written themselves into wasn't bad enough, the songs were cringe-worthy and the premise was beyond absurd. Normally I give points for ambition when big swings are taken by TV shows, but from the first scene this episode felt like an escape hatch for storylines that we all knew were doomed when they started. It made the viewing experience feel hollow and performative. This episode was an abysmal mess.
This episode does not make any sense. I am sincerely afraid what comes next
A Star Trek Musical, what will they think of next. Good music and singing. But this is NOT STAR TREK.
Get some new writer's please :notes::rolling_eyes::confused:. :milky_way:
Seriously?? Debasing the previous excellently written episodes with something like THIS??!! They had no other ideas for a story?? I would have enjoyed the crew age regressing into childhood instead of whatever this was. Couldn't even make it through half of the episode.
Just awful... why oh why they have to put tasteless musicals on everything nowadays...
This was my least favorite episode. I don't mind musicals but every other sentence? No, thank you! I loved La La Land but this just didn't compare and just didn't have that umph.
I was very skeptical about a musical episode, but after the fantastic crossover I had my hopes up. And I wasn’t disappointed. It was not the best episode of this season but it was great. I don’t understand the bad ratings - maybe because they [spoiler]stayed in the musical and didn’t go space bunnies[/spolier]? I even started to feel like Jim(s actor) belongs. Unfortunately only one episode left :cry:.
I'm disappointed that all of Paul Wesley's singing moments weren't done as spoken word, as a tribute.
So, this was a mixed bag for me - It's very difficult to overcome my negative feelings towards musicals. I found parts of this quite entertaining, and there was also parts where I was cringing in embarrassment. I'm not sure it's going to have any rewatch value for me. I appreciated that they at least incorporated the songs into the storyline as a mystery that needed to be solved, but am never a fan of when they lean into the music as a way to dwell on a character's emotional state. Just move the damn story forward instead of sitting in a single moment for three minutes!
Some musical parts were definitely better than others, but this was always going to be a difficult one for me. There were just too many songs here, and they were too much in the musical theatre style. I didn't like the "finale" at all (the Klingon moment should have been hilarious but literally made me cry out "oh GOD NO").
At the same time, I really appreciate that Strange New Worlds is taking risks and experimenting. This is a thousand times more interesting than the super safe Berman-Trek, even when the results don't completely work for me. The problem is that we are only getting 10 episodes per season, so episodes like this can feel like a monumental waste of storytelling time.
The best stuff here was everything that dealt with character relationships - Chapel/Spock, Pike/Batel and La'an/Kirk.
I came in with zero expectations because I really disliked 1x08, but I was pleasantly surprised. I genuinely enjoyed the episode even though I am not a musical enthusiast. It was indeed delightful, and those original songs... I tip my hat in appreciation.
I blame Joss Whedon for this!
I’m barely through the intro and it’s already the best episode they ever made point blank. 10 with flying colors!
this episode is just plain stupid
Between the recent Lower Decks crossover debacle and this travesty, I fear for the future of this series. Either they've run out of ideas and this thing has jumped the shark or the ongoing strike is having effects I never imagined. Have they farmed script writing out to 4th graders??
Pike's singing quarrel with Batel in front of his crew was hilarious. And the Klingons as well, no wonder they wanted to destroy the source of their shame. :rofl:
This is the fully automated luxury gay space communism future that Star Trek wants and I'm here for it!
All the haters seriously missing the point of the show.
I generally dislike musicals and this one was no different, but at least it was entertaining here and there, especially seeing Pike showing his hand in front of the crew... And the Klingons in the end! :rofl:
Mostly cringe but it has its moments. Just not the singing scenes. The Klingon part is the best but it’s too brief.
Huh? 2 great episodes in a row? Lovin it
My god Roddenberry will be spinning in his capsule. They OBVIOUSLY don't want to do a 3rd season. Of ALL the franchise spin offs and episodes, this has to take the rotten tomatoe.
I really loved this - I adore how this series really captures the heart of the original series, which had weird stuff pretty regularly.
awesome episode, I love seeing a trek musical. Very catchy songs!
If this wasn’t one of the worst things I have ever watched. Glee in space, not what I signed up for.
I have only three words: WTF
I don't like musical episodes, but I have to confess, this one was actually done quite well.
Atrocious. I loved every second of it.
Both my wife and I hated this episode so much we didn't finish this.
Can’t remember when I’ve had such a good nap. I just know they sang a lot. Skipped :blush:
Too much drama, had to skip some parts, maybe it is time to abandon the show.
Klingons absolutely slayed. It wasn't a great episode but really wasn't bad either. The hate is unnecessary
This episode should have been a special completely external to the main plot of the series and optional viewing (like a "Christmas special"). I understand that people who might like musicals might appreciate this episode, but honestly it's awful. This is Star Trek not Cats or La La Land.
Anyway, if we look at it as just another episode (omitting the fact that it is a musical) the script is shoddy. The motivation for why it becomes a musical and how they solve the problem at the end is simply a joke.
Not everything goes, and this is a perfect example of that.
The episode was even worse than the cartoon episode
OMG what a complete f-up. This is the worst episode ever. In the entire Star Trek history.
What idiots think a musical episode is funny, or anything but horrible.
Had to skip all the disgusting parts, so this was a very quick episode. And still horrible.
Maybe a little unconventional but first with the Lower Decks crossover and now this, it's nice to see Trek trying different things like the older series did. A refreshing change after the always super seriousness that is Discovery.
We need new writers this was just unexpected
Shout by Morbo the AnnihilatorBlockedParent2023-08-04T23:18:05Z
omg queen homage and autotune klingons. wonderful!!!