From Star Trek: Discovery to Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds, each new Star Trek collection on Paramount+ has delivered an episode that may be known as a masterpiece. Fashionable Star Trek compensates for its shorter seasons with spectacular manufacturing values and the highest-caliber casting.
Nevertheless, a cost usually levied by longtime Star Trek followers towards Star Trek on Paramount+’s series, notably the live-action reveals Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds, is that the emphasis is on visuals and propulsion versus the extra cerebral tales of basic Star Trek.
Remarkably, Star Trek‘s animated series, Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds and Star Trek: Prodigy, arguably present a extra constant steadiness between motion, humor, coronary heart, and highly effective, poignant writing that evokes Star Trek‘s custom of fixing ethical and moral dilemmas.
Each Star Trek on Paramount+ collection, nevertheless, has laudably met and even surpassed Star Trek‘s lofty expectations with an episode that followers can level to as genuinely nice Star Trek. Listed here are 5 modern-day masterpieces from Paramount+’s Star Trek reveals, two of that are directed by Jonathan Frakes.
Star Trek: Discovery – “Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad”
Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, Episode 7
The episode that may be known as Star Trek: Discovery‘s singular masterpiece occurs halfway in season 1. Directed by David M. Barrett and written by Aron Eli Coleite & Jesse Alexander, “Magic Makes the Sanest Man Go Mad” brings again Rainn Wilson as devious scoundrel Harcourt Fenton “Harry” Mudd.
Smuggling himself aboard the USS Discovery in a huge house whale, Harry Mudd traps everybody in a time loop that repeatedly destroys the ship. Mudd’s endgame is to take management of the Discovery, study the key of its spore displacement hub drive, and promote the starship to the Klingons.
Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Inexperienced), Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), and Lieutenant Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) crack Mudd’s scheme and discover a option to flip the tables, with Burnham uttering the immortal punchline, “Appears such as you can con a con man.”
“Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad’s” time loop story is ingenious, and the episode is a welcome, brain-teasing break from Star Trek: Discovery‘s relentless, serialized motion. Rainn Wilson nonetheless ranks as one in every of Star Trek: Discovery’s biggest visitor villains as Harry Mudd.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5 would implement one other time loop episode that can also be a winner, however “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” stays the primary Star Trek on Paramount+ collection’ gold commonplace.
Star Trek: Picard – “No Win State of affairs”
Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 4
Star Trek: Picard season 3 is definitely the best of Patrick Stewart’s comeback collection as Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. Directed by Jonathan Frakes and written by Terry Matalas and Sean Tretta, “No Win State of affairs” is Star Trek: Picard season 3’s best hour.
“No Win State of affairs” wraps up the primary mini arc of Star Trek: Picard season 3, and it is an hour wealthy intimately and characterization. Within the holodeck’s Ten Ahead, Jean-Luc connects along with his son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), in a manner they have been unable to within the episode’s flashbacks.
Commander Seven of 9 (Jeri Ryan) hunts for and exposes a Changeling saboteur, whereas Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) solves the thriller of the Ryton Nebula, permitting the USS Titan-A to flee its pursuer, the Shrike, led by the diabolical Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer).
Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) leads the Titan out of the nebula and disables the Shrike with one in every of his biggest hero moments: throwing an asteroid on the enemy ship. In the meantime, Beverly was proper that the nebula was a residing organism that offers beginning to luminescent house jellyfish.
Maybe the defining scene of “No Win State of affairs,” nevertheless, is Todd Stashwick’s emotional monologue, which reveals that Captain Liam Shaw is a survivor of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Battle of Wolf 359. Shaw’s tragic life story is his unforgettable, searing indictment of Picard, who was Locutus of Borg.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 ended with a rousing conclusion that honored Star Trek: The Subsequent Era‘s legends and set the stage for the way forward for the USS Enterprise-G, however “No Win State of affairs” has all the pieces a fan might need in an episode of Star Trek.
Star Trek: Decrease Decks – “Fissure Quest”
Star Trek: Decrease Decks Season 5, Episode 9
Star Trek: Decrease Decks‘ penultimate episode cracked open the multiverse in shocking and endlessly pleasant methods. Directed by Brandon Williams and written by Lauren McGuire, “Fissure Quest” introduces the reality-traversing USS Anaximander led by Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid).
Captain Boimler’s multiverse-spanning crew is a who’s who of Star Trek legends, beginning with the return of Jolene Blalock as an alternate reality Subcommander T’Pol. Alexander Siddig and Andrew Robinson voice alt-universe variations of Dr. Julian Bashir and his husband, Dr. Garak. Fred Tatasciore rounds out the crew as an alt-Curzon Dax.
Encountering one other universe’s Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), the Anaximander’s pursuit of a starship known as the USS Beagle reveals its Captain, an alternate actuality Lily Sloane, bringing again Alfre Woodard from Star Trek: First Contact.
In the end, the multiverse is threatened by Lieutenant Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), the one Harry Kim promoted above Ensign in any actuality. Whereas the episode’s cliffhanger is concluded in Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ series finale, “Fissure Quest” is a mind-bending, deliriously enjoyable trip from begin to end.
One of many greatest Star Trek crossover episodes of all time, “Fissure Quest” is a high-water mark for Star Trek: Decrease Decks and one of the crucial unforgettable and fan-pleasing episodes of Star Trek produced within the Paramount+ period.
Star Trek: Prodigy – “All The World’s A Stage”
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 13
Star Trek: Prodigy is among the most outstanding Star Trek collection ever produced, with quite a few standouts within the Nickelodeon, Paramount+, and Netflix animated collection’ 2-season, 40-episode run. “All of the World’s a Stage,” nevertheless, rises above the remainder.
Directed by Andrew L. Schmidt and written by Aaron J. Waltke, Star Trek: Prodigy season 1, episode 13 brings the USS Protostar to a planet whose natives styled themselves after the Twenty third-century USS Enterprise commanded by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).
Dal R’El (Brett Grey), Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), and their younger pals meet the Enderprizians, who altered their society as a tribute to Starfleet after assembly Ensign David Garrovick (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), straight connecting Prodigy to Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 18, “Obsession.”
The Protostar youngsters’ discovery that the Starship Enterprise’s shuttlecraft Galileo is inadvertently poisoning the Enderprizians’ homeworld is a intelligent spin on the hazards of breaking Star Trek‘s Prime Directive.
Bursting with attraction, humor, and reverence for Star Trek: The Unique Collection, “All of the World’s a Stage” is a loving ode to Nineteen Sixties Star Trek, fusing the hokey attraction of Captain Kirk’s period with poignancy as a supply of inspiration that bettered an uncommon alien society, and introduced the younger Protostar heroes nearer to their dream of becoming a member of Starfleet.
Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds – “These Outdated Scientists”
Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds Season 2, Episode 7
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 7 made historical past by crossing over with Star Trek: Decrease Decks, bringing Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome’s animated Ensigns, Bradward Boimler and Beckett Mariner, to live-action.
Directed by Jonathan Frakes and written by Kathryn Lyn and Invoice Wolkoff (with uncredited punch-ups by Star Trek: Decrease Decks‘ creator Mike McMahan), “These Outdated Scientists” is a loving and insightful tribute to Star Trek, Star Trek followers, and what it means to be a fan.
When the twenty fourth century’s Ensign Brad Boimler and Ensign Beckett Mariner cross time and mediums to return aboard Captain Christopher Pike’s (Anson Mount) Twenty third century USS Enterprise, all the pieces stops to determine the right way to ship the time vacationers again with out breaking actuality.
In the meantime, Mariner meets her hero, Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), whereas Boimler fawns over Captain Pike however inadvertently throws a wrench within the relationship between Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush).
“These Outdated Scientists'” essay on Star Trek reverence pleasingly circles again round, with Captain Pike’s and his crew’s fandom of Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and Star Trek: Enterprise changing into the important thing to sending Mariner and Boimler again the place they belong.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ musical episode was a revelation that garnered mainstream media consideration, however “These Outdated Scientists” will stand the take a look at of time and presumably emerge because the signature masterpiece of Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds, and even perhaps one of the best episode of Star Trek since Star Trek: Discovery started.
