Strange New Worlds Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - General Discussion Thread

[InCali]

Love the show, but think the last episode was the weakest so far. I still enjoyed it though.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Few thoughts on the last episode…

- After being inundated with Star Wars material these past few years and the obligatory shootouts and light saber battles that come with that stuff, it’s refreshing to see a sci-fi show that takes time to breathe and develop the character relationships. I also enjoy how this show embraces some of the goofier aspects of OG Trek with silly scenarios. The body swap thing was great.

- All hail Nurse Chapel. I love this character, even more that the OG version. Also, kudos to the show for making her bisexual/Pansexual. Now I’m just trying to figure out if her comment towards the end of the show about settling down with the right person was about Spock or Ortegas. She said “the right guy” so I’m assuming she was thinking about Spock (and that would make sense, given the history of these characters), but it also seemed like maybe her connection with Ortegas goes beyond friendship, given how she was looking at her in that moment. Eh, might be reading too much into it.

- Pike’s green uniform needs to be launched into the sun. That thing is hideous. I think they only did that as a subtle nod to the fact that Kirk’s uniform in the old show was actually green and was only depicted as yellow when the show was colorized. I hope to God that isn’t going to be Pike’s new usual look because it was awful.

- Loving the friendship between Una and La’an. They’re both kind of adorable in how their both by-the-book nerds lol. It was cool seeing them loosen up and have some fun.

- T’Ping is a great character and she and Spock make a hot Vulcan couple. Sadly, we know it won’t work out but I enjoy their scenes together. Also, Nimoy will always been the #1 Spock but Ethan Peck is a close second for me. I’m really loving what he’s doing with this character. Quinto was good but there was always something missing in his performance IMO. Peck nails it.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I wish Halo looked as good as this show.

I like Halo but I have to agree. But to be fair to Halo, Trek shows have been around for decades and Paramount has had a lot of time to figure out what works and what doesn’t with it. I feel like Halo can be a really great sci-fi show once they figure it out a little more. I know they have the games as a reference point but not everything translates from game to TV. I would still probably say Halo is the best video game adaptation we’ve gotten yet, other than Castlevania. It’s definitely the best live action adaptation though IMO.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Now this is how you take a uniform and update it

 

[TheVileOne]

Few thoughts on the last episode…

- After being inundated with Star Wars material these past few years and the obligatory shootouts and light sabre battles that come with that stuff, it’s refreshing to see a sci-fi show that takes time to breathe and develop the character relationships. I also enjoy how this show embraces some of the goofier aspects of OG Trek with silly scenarios. The body swap thing was great.

- All hail Nurse Chapel. I love this character, even more that the OG version. Also, kudos to the show for making her bisexual/Pansexual. Now I’m just trying to figure out if her comment towards the end of the show about settling down with the right person was about Spoke or Ortegas. She said “the right guy” so I’m assuming she was thinking about Spock (and that would make sense, given the history of these characters), but it also seemed like maybe her connection with Ortegas goes beyond friendship, given how she was looking at her in that moment. Eh, might be reading too much into it.

- Pike’s green uniform needs to be launched into the sun. That thing is hideous. I think they only did that as a subtle nod to the fact that Kirk’s uniform in the old show was actually like green and was only depicted as yellow when the show was colorized. I hope to God that isn’t going to be Pike’s new usual look because it was awful.

- Loving the friendship between Una and La’an. They’re both kind of adorable in how their both by-the-book nerds lol. It was cool seeing them loosen up and have some fun.

- T’Ping is a great character and she and Spock make a hot Vulcan couple. Sadly, we know it won’t work out but I enjoy their scenes together. Also, Nimoy will always been the #1 Spock but Ethan Peck is a close second for me. I’m really loving what he’s doing with this character. Quinto was good but there was always something missing in his performance IMO. Peck nails it.

I feel like they are going to continue having Chapel flirty around Spock, but she will likely have a relationship with Ortegas since they are both available for relationships. Plus, Spock is still technically engaged.

Love the show, but think the last episode was the weakest so far. I still enjoyed it though.

I enjoyed it because it gave the crew a nice break after that intense confrontation with the Gorn. It showed Pike's competence in terms of being a diplomatic leader. The last episode showed how he handles being a military leader, and this one proved he can be a mediator between multiple sides of a conflict.

Also, it was nice to see Una and Khan have a little fun and unwind a little bit. To me, stories like this are consistent with Trek going back to the 60s, where you can have episodes with breezier lighter fare and a more humorous underlying tone, also letting the characters interact with each other and deal with minor crises.

 

[misjuevos]

Now this is how you take a uniform and update it

I just noticed the update to the rank stripes on the sleeve. The uniform video paramount put out about the uniforms made no mention of the rank stripes. The new stripes are a little harder to read on the red and blue uniforms. They should have kept the gold stripes on the blue and red uniforms. Blue on blue is harder to read. I think they are reflective so the light has to hit them so they can pop. But sometimes you can't read the blue ones. It looks like they changed the diamond to a thin line. So now we have a thick and thin line to signify ranks.


Spock,La'an, and Ortegas stripes look to be Lt. Commanders.
M'binga and Una have Commander stripes.

 

[Dr.]

Star Trek has often been inconsistent about rank — especially with respect to the Lieutenant /Lieutenant Commander/Commander distinctions. Either the various writers forgot (or didn’t know) the difference or the wardrobe department forgot (or didn’t know) the difference.

 

[misjuevos]

Star Trek has often been inconsistent about rank — especially with respect to the Lieutenant /Lieutenant Commander/Commander distinctions. Either the various writers forgot (or didn’t know) the difference or the wardrobe department forgot (or didn’t know) the difference.

I wasn't saying they were wrong just that I didn't notice the change. I think they are correct. It is just that the diamond is now a thin line and harder to see when the light isn't hitting it.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Now this is how you take a uniform and update it

MY EYESSSS ARRGHH BURN IT WITH FIRE

 

[Dr.]

I wasn't saying they were wrong just that I didn't notice the change. I think they are correct. It is just that the diamond is now a thin line and harder to see when the light isn't hitting it.

According to Memory Alpha, the applicable rank (sleeve/cuff) insignia are as follows:

Ensign: none
Lieutenant: | (one thick)
Lieutenant Commander: | | (thick, thin)
(full) Commander : | | (two thick)
Captain: | | | (thick, thin, thick)

And this is consistent (more or less) with the TOS era. However, on SNW…

Number One has been referred to as a “Lt. Commander”; yet she has two thick stripes on her cuff. (So if two thick means Lt. Cmdr, what does a Cmdr insignia look like?) Also, M’Benga and Chapel appear to have the same stripes as Number One. So they’re either/also Lt. Cmdrs or full Cmdrs…? Meanwhile, all the Lieutenants (Spock, Noonien-Singh, Ortegas) have one thick, one thin stripe. One must conclude, therefore, that SNW has (re)invented its own rank insignia system (which doesn’t conform to prior canon) or... they screwed up.

 

[Mysteryman]

Few thoughts on the last episode…

- After being inundated with Star Wars material these past few years and the obligatory shootouts and light sabre battles that come with that stuff, it’s refreshing to see a sci-fi show that takes time to breathe and develop the character relationships. I also enjoy how this show embraces some of the goofier aspects of OG Trek with silly scenarios. The body swap thing was great.

- All hail Nurse Chapel. I love this character, even more that the OG version. Also, kudos to the show for making her bisexual/Pansexual. Now I’m just trying to figure out if her comment towards the end of the show about settling down with the right person was about Spock or Ortegas. She said “the right guy” so I’m assuming she was thinking about Spock (and that would make sense, given the history of these characters), but it also seemed like maybe her connection with Ortegas goes beyond friendship, given how she was looking at her in that moment. Eh, might be reading too much into it.

- Pike’s green uniform needs to be launched into the sun. That thing is hideous. I think they only did that as a subtle nod to the fact that Kirk’s uniform in the old show was actually green and was only depicted as yellow when the show was colorized. I hope to God that isn’t going to be Pike’s new usual look because it was awful.

- Loving the friendship between Una and La’an. They’re both kind of adorable in how their both by-the-book nerds lol. It was cool seeing them loosen up and have some fun.

- T’Ping is a great character and she and Spock make a hot Vulcan couple. Sadly, we know it won’t work out but I enjoy their scenes together. Also, Nimoy will always been the #1 Spock but Ethan Peck is a close second for me. I’m really loving what he’s doing with this character. Quinto was good but there was always something missing in his performance IMO. Peck nails it.

Really Enjoying The New Chapel.

 

[misjuevos]

According to Memory Alpha, the applicable rank (sleeve/cuff) insignia are as follows:

Ensign: none
Lieutenant: | (one thick)
Lieutenant Commander: | | (thick, thin)
(full) Commander : | | (two thick)
Captain: | | | (thick, thin, thick)

And this is consistent (more or less) with the TOS era. However, on SNW…

Number One has been referred to as a “Lt. Commander”; yet she has two thick stripes on her cuff. (So if two thick means Lt. Cmdr, what does a Cmdr insignia look like?) Also, M’Benga and Chapel appear to have the same stripes as Number One. So they’re either/also Lt. Cmdrs or full Cmdrs…? Meanwhile, all the Lieutenants (Spock, Noonien-Singh, Ortegas) have one thick, one thin stripe. One must conclude, therefore, that SNW has (re)invented its own rank insignia system (which doesn’t conform to prior canon) or... they screwed up.

What episode was it Number One was referred to as Lt. Commander? I have heard Una referred to as Commander by several crewman. Nurse Chapel was introduced as a nurse because she is on civilian exchange, so I don't know about her rank. But M'binga as head medical I can see as commander. This is similar to TNG head doctors rank. Bones though was only LT. Commander in TOS.

 

[Sithborg]

The answer is obvious.

Street Corn.

 

[flickchick85]

Regarding the the whole Commander or Lieutenant Commander thing, Idk how it works in the Navy (or ya know, Star Trek) but my dad was career Army, and there, Lieutenant Colonels and Lieutenant Generals are often addressed directly as "Colonel" or "General" when spoken to. The "Lieutenant" part was usually left off and only saved for when formally announcing or listing their rank, not when having conversations with them or what not. Not sure if that's what's causing the confusion or not, just thought it worth mentioning.

 

[Dr.]

Regarding the the whole Commander or Lieutenant Commander thing, Idk how it works in the Navy (or ya know, Star Trek) but my dad was career Army, and there, Lieutenant Colonels and Lieutenant Generals are often addressed directly as "Colonel" or "General" when spoken to. The "Lieutenant" part was usually left off and only saved for when formally announcing or listing their rank, not when having conversations with them or what not. Not sure if that's what's causing the confusion or not, just thought it worth mentioning.

My understanding as well. So, referring to Number One as “commander” is slightly ambiguous: it could mean Lt. Commander or full Commander. From Wikipedia: When introducing a lieutenant commander their full rank should always be used; however, in general conversation they are usually called "commander" even though they are not a "full" commander (which is one rank higher). So Trek is okay on this. However… they have messed up in the other direction; i.e., calling a Lt. Commander a “lieutenant” for abbreviation. That’s a no-no.

 

[Dr.]

What episode was it Number One was referred to as Lt. Commander? I have heard Una referred to as Commander by several crewman...

I thought there was a bit of dialogue that specifically referred to Number One as Lieutenant Commander — either on DISCO or SNW. In any case, someone did a screen grab from the pilot episode of SNW (when Number One was on temporary assignment to the USS Archer):

And this gets us back to the original question: are the two thick stripes on Number One's cuffs a wardrobe mistake...?

 

[misjuevos]

I thought there was a bit of dialogue that specifically referred to Number One as Lieutenant Commander — either on DISCO or SNW. In any case, someone did a screen grab from the pilot episode of SNW (when Number One was on temporary assignment to the USS Archer):

And this gets us back to the original question: are the two thick stripes on Number One's cuffs a wardrobe mistake...?

In the other episodes she is called Commander. So maybe she is LT. Commander, and the shorthand is to call her commander. Here is where it is strange. Ortegas and La'an are called LT, but have the LT stripe, so it might also be shorthand to call them LT. Sam Kirk is introduced as LT and has only 1 thick stripe, but it is harder to see blue on blue. Maybe as number one Una is bumped up to Commander. So she changed her stripes to show her rank as first officer, but is really a LT. Commander. Kind of like in TNG when LT Commander Shelby is made first officer she changed her pips.
here is the stripes from memory alpha, they are from DIS but seem to match SNW's.

 

[Dark Raven]

In the early TOS, Spock was a Lieutenant Commander even while first officer, but later on in the series he was Commander. So Number One can easily be Lt Commander while being first officer.

Also in TNG the likes of Data, Worf and Geordi were referred to as Commander even while still Lt Commander. It seems once they go from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander, it is the second "Commander" part that they are referred to by.

 

[DKDetective]

Regarding the the whole Commander or Lieutenant Commander thing, Idk how it works in the Navy (or ya know, Star Trek) but my dad was career Army, and there, Lieutenant Colonels and Lieutenant Generals are often addressed directly as "Colonel" or "General" when spoken to. The "Lieutenant" part was usually left off and only saved for when formally announcing or listing their rank, not when having conversations with them or what not. Not sure if that's what's causing the confusion or not, just thought it worth mentioning.

My understanding as well. So, referring to Number One as “commander” is slightly ambiguous: it could mean Lt. Commander or full Commander. From Wikipedia: When introducing a lieutenant commander their full rank should always be used; however, in general conversation they are usually called "commander" even though they are not a "full" commander (which is one rank higher). So Trek is okay on this. However… they have messed up in the other direction; i.e., calling a Lt. Commander a “lieutenant” for abbreviation. That’s a no-no.

Bingo. That is how it is the Navy. Lt. Commanders are often referred to as Commander.

In the other episodes she is called Commander. So maybe she is LT. Commander, and the shorthand is to call her commander. Here is where it is strange. Ortegas and La'an are called LT, but have the LT stripe, so it might also be shorthand to call them LT. Sam Kirk is introduced as LT and has only 1 thick stripe, but it is harder to see blue on blue. Maybe as number one Una is bumped up to Commander. So she changed her stripes to show her rank as first officer, but is really a LT. Commander. Kind of like in TNG when LT Commander Shelby is made first officer she changed her pips.
here is the stripes from memory alpha, they are from DIS but seem to match SNW's.
View attachment 56214

Lt. Commanders often serve as First Officers, so Spock and Una both doing so at the rank of Lt. Commander is perfectly normal and accurate. Actually, in real navies, commanders and lieutenant commanders often command smaller vessels of their own (like we saw Data do during the Klingon Civil War). Hence the rank "Commander".

Una and M'Benga's rank stripes are either a costuming error or a reflection of a revised rank insignia system. I suspect the latter as the show's full lieutenants seem to be wearing the Kelvin-verse lieutenant commander insignia and lieutenant Sam Kirk, who I assume is a lieutenant junior grade, is wearing the former full lieutenant insignia. There may a new full commander insignia that we have not yet seen.

 

[misjuevos]

Bingo. That is how it is the Navy. Lt. Commanders are often referred to as Commander.

Lt. Commanders often serve as First Officers, so Spock and Una both doing so at the rank of Lt. Commander is perfectly normal and accurate. Actually, in real navies, commanders and lieutenant commanders often command smaller vessels of their own (like we saw Data do during the Klingon Civil War). Hence the rank "Commander".

Una and M'Benga's rank stripes are either a costuming error or a reflection of a revised rank insignia system. I suspect the latter as the show's full lieutenants seem to be wearing the Kelvin-verse lieutenant commander insignia and lieutenant Sam Kirk, who I assume is a lieutenant junior grade, is wearing the former full lieutenant insignia. There may a new full commander insignia that we have not yet seen.

We got to hear Una called LT. Commander in the latest episode. So I think the 2 thick stripes are because she is the first officer.

 

[Dr.]

We got to hear Una called LT. Commander in the latest episode. So I think the 2 thick stripes are because she is the first officer.

Since we’ve been talking about ranks and uniform insignia, I paid extra attention to this latest episode. So, yeah, Number One is definitely a lieutenant commander; and she sports two thick stripes on her cuffs. M’Benga and Chapel must, likewise, be lieutenant commanders — as they have the same insignia. (Though… since they’re usually referred to as “doctor” and “nurse,” their ranks are less conspicuous/problematic. ) Also, I noticed that Lieutenant Kirk has only one (thick) cuff stripe. This (finally!) is consistent with prior Treks and the Memory Alpha articles. But it’s internally inconsistent with SNW. I.e., Spock, Noonien-Singh and Ortegas (also lieutenants) wear two (thick + thin) cuff stripes. Now, possibly, Kirk is a lieutenant junior grade. But it seems odd to have a rank/insignia for a lowly Lt. JG and yet no rank (that we’ve seen) for a full commander.

As previously mentioned, Trek has a long history of messing up character ranks. Indeed, it’s almost an endearing idiosyncrasy at this point. So, in a way, it’s good that SNW is keeping with tradition.

 

[DKDetective]

We got to hear Una called LT. Commander in the latest episode. So I think the 2 thick stripes are because she is the first officer.

No, it isn't. M'Benga has two thick stripes as well. The stripes have nothing to do with position. They are related to rank and always have been.

SNW is simply using a different stripe system from past Trek series. If Una was wearing the stripes of a full commander just because she is first officer as you are suggesting, that doesn't explain why everyone else's stripes are wrong based on the old system.

Spock, La'an, Hemmer, etc. all have the one thin, one thick stripe that used to denoted a lieutenant commander and they all have the rank of lieutenant.

 

[DKDetective]

Since we’ve been talking about ranks and uniform insignia, I paid extra attention to this latest episode. So, yeah, Number One is definitely a lieutenant commander; and she sports two thick stripes on her cuffs. M’Benga and Chapel must, likewise, be lieutenant commanders — as they have the same insignia. (Though… since they’re usually referred to as “doctor” and “nurse,” their ranks are less conspicuous/problematic. ) Also, I noticed that Lieutenant Kirk has only one (thick) cuff stripe. This (finally!) is consistent with prior Treks and the Memory Alpha articles. But it’s internally inconsistent with SNW. I.e., Spock, Noonien-Singh and Ortegas (also lieutenants) wear two (thick + thin) cuff stripes. Now, possibly, Kirk is a lieutenant junior grade. But it seems odd to have a rank/insignia for a lowly Lt. JG and yet no rank (that we’ve seen) for a full commander.

As previously mentioned, Trek has a long history of messing up character ranks. Indeed, it’s almost an endearing idiosyncrasy at this point. So, in a way, it’s good that SNW is keeping with tradition.

I wouldn't say it is internally inconsistent. Spock, La'an, Hemmer and the other senior lieutenants all wear the one thick, one thin. It's like they have just bumped everyone's stripes up a rank from the old system.
As a result, I think the more likely explanation is that Kirk is a lieutenant junior grade than any type of internal inconsistency. As you mention, we have likely just not yet seen the new full commander stripes.

Chapel's stripes are weird though. My recollection is that nurses are not normally commissioned officers in most militaries. Their duties being more consistent with a non-commissioned officer. So Chapel being a Lt. Commander is a very strange. That is more likely an error or oversight in my opinion.

 

[Dr.]

...Chapel's stripes are weird though. My recollection is that nurses are not normally commissioned officers in most militaries. Their duties being more consistent with a non-commissioned officer. So Chapel being a Lt. Commander is a very strange. That is more likely an error or oversight in my opinion.

Apparently, it’s common in the military for nurses to be commissioned officers (especially if they have a bachelor of nursing degree). And in Chapel’s case, she seems to (also) have an extensive science/science-medicine background. So it’s not so surprising that she holds a (lieutenant?) commander rank.

 

[DKDetective]

Apparently, it’s common in the military for nurses to be commissioned officers (especially if they have a bachelor of nursing degree). And in Chapel’s case, she seems to (also) have an extensive science/science-medicine background. So it’s not so surprising that she holds a (lieutenant?) commander rank.

Oh, interesting. It seems my information on that is out-of-date a bit. I think I was thinking of the WW2 practices before nursing involved a university degree. It seems to be tied to whether they have a university degree or not. RNs (who hold bachelors' degrees) are commissioned officers and it seems the old RPNs (who have/had associate degrees) are disqualified basically.