the best kind of star trek

i love star trek episodes where the crew have to role-play some stupid, weird story in period costumes. but msg hates them. when we saw the "scenes from next week" for this week's strange new worlds episode, he got this weird expression on his face that was half grimace and half something else i couldn't quite figure out. so i poked him and asked what was up with that, and he said,

"that's the worst kind of star trek. it doesn't matter if it's a holodeck episode, or if some omnipotent space-entity like Q is behind it, episodes like that always make me think the show just needed to save some budget dollars and raided the studio warehouse for costumes and sets and threw it all together with the cheesiest story possible. i mean, in over 50 years of star trek, i don't think they've done more than a couple of those episodes that didn't make me squirm with discomfort."

there was obviously something else hanging at the end of that super-ungenerous explanation, though, so i said, "but ... ?"

"but ... i think it looks like this show might actually do something cool with it."

mm-hmm.

he was so cute while we were watching this morning! he kept wincing at things that seemed cheesy and then realized that there were story reasons why the cheesy thing made sense ... or, in some cases, that cheesy is perfectly okay sometimes if it's genuine and sincere.

and that's really what the episode was: genuine and sincere.

you know they didn't raid any warehouse closet for those costumes and set drapings. somebody went back and carefully and lovingly figured out how to create a bunch of new stuff that exactly conveyed the exact style those old-school trek episodes always just slapped together. and they did it to create the perfect atmosphere for a story that was truly meaningful -- right down to an ending that was childish and dumb ... and absolutely all heart.

star trek doesn't get any better than that, folks.

xoxo,

claire

(p.s., shh, don't let on that i told anybody, but he was even sniffling and crying a little by the last few scenes of the episode! 😂 i love my sappy boy.)