I’ll get back to my summary of the second half of the second season of Strange New Worlds in a bit. But for now, Subspace Rhapsody is now my favorite episode of Star Trek of all time and I need to get this out!
We knew there was a musical episode coming, and I wondered how well that would fare with Star Trek fans, who can be very unforgiving. But I found the episode to be completely chaming. The Enterprise encounters a naturally-occurring subspace fold, and Spock thinks that it can be used to increase the speed of their communications across the sector by a factor of three. Subspace radio is Star Trek’s magical way of allowing faster-than-light communication in a universe where they traverse dozens of light years in a matter of days. So, this would be a big deal. Unfortunately, the fold doesn’t appear to want to transmit their signals. When chief engineer Pelia suggests music to take advantage of the nature of harmonies, they give it a try. Uhura sends “the great American songbook” through the phenomenon, and the results are…spectacular.
Spock inexplicably bursts into song (Status Report) while offering a routine report on the effects of the phenomenon. Then music is heard throughout the ship, and each member of the crew gets a verse to sing, just like in a Broadway musical, touching upon each character. There is some real genius going on in this scene, as helm officer Ortegas and navigator Mitchell, even find their hand movements on their control panels to be synchronized. That clues us in that it’s not just singing we’re in for!
Then we are treated to an a capella arrangement of the Strange New Worlds theme. Some viewers may not even have noticed.
As the crew searches for answers, their fundamental truths are revealed and their individual storylines are wrapped up. And once more, James T. Kirk is inexplicably on the ship. The Farragut must follow the Enterprise like a lost puppy! Una notices that La’an “has an energy” about her as they prepare to beam him in. La’an dodges the remark, for the moment. As Kirk is receiving a seminar from Una on how to be an effective first officer, they have a slight disagreement on command style, which leads to a duet in Gilbert and Sullivan style, called Connect to Your Truth. We know that Una loves Gilbert & Sullivan from references in episode two, and the Short Treks episode, Q & A. The pair even dance, while La’an looks from around a corner, observing that they are revealing more about themselves than they perhaps intend to.
When La’an returns to her cabin to address her feelings, she belts out How Would That Feel, where she explores her feelings for Kirk, and how those feelings have changed how she sees herself. She’s even questioning her entire way of behaving and wants to experiment with sharing her feelings. This is a real moment of character growth for La’an, but it’s tempered when she realizes that she could inadvertently reveal things that she is not allowed to because of the events of episode three. She is not allowed to reveal what happened in the alternate timeline and understands that it could pose a security threat. So, the change in her paradigm is delayed.
The next number, a duet between Captain Pike and his sometime paramour Captain Batel (who finally gets a first name, Marie) is played for laughs as they try to have a Private Conversation, only to have their personal business and raw emotions laid out in front of their entire crews–until La’an cuts off communication to prevent any further emotional and professional damage. When Spock reveals that the damage is spreading through the entire subspace network, Pike is then convinced that they need to stop the phenomenon from doing more harm, even extending into the Klingon Empire. “No one wants to hear a singing Klingon,” Una says. I heartily disagreed!
When La’an doesn’t want her feelings toward Kirk revealed, Una sings to her about how keeping things secret really doesn’t work for her anymore, in Keeping Secrets. Things start to get a little more serious as a group of Klingon ships is about to arrive and destroy the subspace fold, which Spock has found to be a fatal mistake. It would destroy the Federation and half the Klingon Empire. To come up with a tactical plan, La’an recruits Kirk to help her, and somehow they have an emotional moment without a song. Kirk has sensed La’an’s attraction, but he’s in a relationship right now, and his partner Carol is pregnant. This relationship of course was revealed in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and the pregnancy will result in the birth of Kirk’s son, David. But knowing how that relationship will end does raise the question of whether Kirk will eventually come back to La’an. This episode has layers on top of layers, because in season one, episode 10, La’an is serving as Kirk’s first officer on the Farragut in the future timeline, and appears as happy and free as she wishes she could be.
As Spock and Uhura race to find a way to shut down the effects of the fold, they discover that the phenomenon is following the rules of the American musical, and that the music is occurring when strong emotions are too much to express simply in spoken words. As an example, Chapel is celebrating with friends in the Port Galley, because she has been accepted to the fellowship she applied for back in episode five’s Charades. As soon as they burst into song (I’m Ready), Uhura starts taking readings before chiming in, while Spock stands helplessly by and watches his relationship with Christine dissolve before his very ears. This one of the most ambitious numbers in the show, with a whole room of dancers, very much in the style of Chicago. But in the end, Chapel just cuts Spock’s heart out:
“It’s freedom and I like it My spark has been ignited If I need to leave you I won’t fight it
I’m ready.”
As Uhura and Spock struggle to find a pattern that will allow them to escape the phenomenon, Spock finds himself emotionally compromised, and his pain is released in a reprise of I’m Ready. This is my favorite song in the whole episode, so I’m going to quote the entire thing here:
This news really changes everything I can’t believe how wrong I’ve been Convinced myself we shared the same feelings I won’t make that mistake again
She’s happy and carefree The opposite of me I can do the calculus
For her I set aside My need to analyze Now I’m racked and Searching for why I’m the ex
I’ve got no one but myself to blame I’ve betrayed my core philosophy Unbending reason must be my true north Lеst I drown in this sea of pain
I’m so dysfunctional Weak and emotional Feelings I just can’t contain
Escaping this misery Or breaking free Not a possibility
I’ll solve for Y in my computation But miss vital information The variable so devastating
I’m the X I’m the X I’m the X
This is just so clever, the interchangeable use of ex and X, why and Y, I love the whole thing. This sets Spock down the path we know he’s destined to walk. “Unbending reason must be my true north” defines the Spock we know from the Original Series, and who we got to see in A Quality of Mercy‘s alternate timeline, again weaving the idea of fate in and out of this whole prequel series.
This breakup also adds a new dimension to the Spock/Chapel relationship in the Original Series. Instead of a simple unrequited love on Chapel’s part, this new dynamic provides a different take. Spock was in love with her and she broke his heart. He retreated into logic and she realizes that she made a mistake and is trying to get him back, and he rebuffs her, harshly for the most part, especially when he goes into Pon Farr in Amok Time. It’s just really well done.
Spock is overwhelmed and leaves Uhura to find a pattern on her own, as she often finds herself, and in the course of doing so, discovers her true purpose in Keep Us Connected. She finds that enough voices singing could produce a spike of 344 giga electron volts (bound to be a popular trivia answer) and destroy the fold. She persuades Pike that they need a “grand finale” to survive.
Uhura leads the entire ship into their final song, We Are One, which is great, but the true highlight is when Pike orders Uhura to hail the approaching Klingons, who then break out into a boy band song. I’m not kidding, I belly laughed. It was perfect. Even the starships were choreographed by the end of the number and the subspace fold was gone. The crew celebrates, all smiles, except for Spock, who gives Chapel a serious look as he turns away from her, and you can see on her face that she knows that she has hurt him badly. She tries to make the best of it with her other crewmates, though.
Spock makes amends for involving the Klingons, calling back to the first episode of the season, when he showed a willingness to drink blood wine, again weaving plotlines gracefully throughout the show.
Batel concludes that she and Pike will settle on their desired vacation spot after she comes back from a priority-one mission she just received from Starfleet, and you just have a feeling that that’s not going to go well. Still, such a good show. Such strong character development, and they even explored something brand-new!
“Welcome aboard the USS Challenger. I’m Captain Jeff Chamberlain. If you’ll step down off the transporter pads, we’ll begin our tour.
Captain Jeff Chamberlain, deck 3 corridor, USS Challenger
“Before we begin, I’d like to give you a little context about Challenger‘s mission. In just a short time, the USS Enterprise should conclude its five-year mission, the only Constitution-class starship out of the original 12 to do so. The other 11 starships succumbed to the dangers of space exploration. The USS Intrepid lost all hands to a giant space amoeba near Gamma 7A. The USS Constellation was destroyed while battling the so-called Doomsday Machine near L-374. The crew of the USS Exeter were killed while investigating Omega IV.
“The Hood, Potemkin, Excalibur, and Lexington were severely damaged due to the runaway M-5 computer. The Excalibur lost all hands and was set adrift, while the Lexington sustained severe damage to the engineering section but was able to continue in its mission. I served aboard the Lexington, and lost my best friend, Chief Engineer Harold Bichel. I continued serving under Commodore Wesley as the new chief engineer until the Lexington, too, met its demise to an aggressive D-7 Klingon cruiser near Beta-Delta XII. I was part of the surviving crew who had to stay alive on the class-L planet for 40 days until help arrived. My back was broken, and I can tell you that it was a long 40 days. That’s where Challenger comes in.”
“During my recovery at Starbase 1, I petitioned Starfleet to create a new kind of ship and mission. I had plenty of time flat on my back in the medical bay to work on my proposal. Using all the data from every ship in Starfleet to that point, I outlined and addressed the weaknesses that led to the destruction of the ships and the loss of their crews. At the same time, I examined the non-sentient parts of the Enterprise that have contributed to its singular survival. All of these traits have been incorporated by Admiral Krause at Tycho Starship Yards into one prototype: Challenger. Now, I understand that the Enterprise will be getting overhauled. I’ve seen some of the fancy new engine designs that they’re planning. I wanted none of that. I wanted the most reliable, dependable, tried and true technology that Starfleet had to offer. Challenger may be the first, last, and only ship of its kind. She’s a forward-looking throwback. She’s the size of a Constitution-class starship, but she only crews 204. I’m hoping you’ll be part of that crew. Each of you were recommended to me by your individual captains.
Comparison of Constitution-class and Challenger-class
Challenger‘s mission is not one of exploration. Challenger‘s mission is crisis and emergency response. You won’t find state-of-the-art astrophysics labs or stellar cartography decks onboard. You will find an entire deck of emergency crew quarters to house survivors and refugees. You will find large cargo holds to transport medicines and grains. And you will find an expansive shuttlecraft bay with no fewer than 16 N-type Javelin shuttlecraft for emergency evacuation and rescue.
“But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the top. If you’ll follow me…”
Turbolift, USS Challenger
Shhkkkt.
“Computer; bridge.”
Shhkkkt.
Vrrrrrrr
“Such a satisfying sound, isn’t it? I understand that newer ships will have silent doors. I think that’s a shame. As you can see on the deck plans here, there are two turbolifts that go to the bridge. We typically use the main turbolift on the port side of the communications station. We reserve the secondary turbolift for emergencies. During my convalescence, I read too many incident reports of crew being trapped on the bridge after an incident with the sole turbolift being taken out of commission.
Shhkkkt.
Bridge, USS Challenger
“Captain on the bridge!”
“Shin, you’re the only one here.”
“Yes, Captain, except for the recruits you’re bringing on.”
“You have me there. Everyone, this is Lieutenant Shin Ch’tolnan, one of our tactical officers. It’s something new we’re trying out, separating the weapons systems from the conn. It’s enough to have to fly the ship under duress. It is thought that a dedicated weapons alcove would be more efficient. It’s one of the changes I didn’t come up with, but seems like a good idea.
“As you can see, there are two security stations, one for internal security and one for weapons systems. If necessary, they can be manned by two crewpersons. Shin knew we were coming because of an alert from his station. So, the port side of the bridge is typically manned by engineering or security officers. Communications is right behind the captain’s chair.”
Bridge, port stations, USS ChallengerLt. (j.g) Shin Ch’tolnan, junior tactical officer, USS ChallengerBridge station layout, USS ChallengerBridge, starboard stations, USS Challenger
“Over on the starboard side, we have Landing Party Monitoring, the medical station, and your typical science station. The interesting one is Landing Party Monitoring. You’ve probably noticed the device on my uniform that looks like a belt buckle. It’s called a Perscan, and it automatically feeds biometric data back to the ship via subspace link. It also helps maintain a transporter lock without relying on a communicator, which can be lost or taken away.
Perscan deviceMain bridge seen from viewscreen, USS Challenger
“And obviously, we have navigation, the helm, and the captain’s chair. Nobody really ever gets this view, since you have to stand in front of the viewscreen to get it. All right, take a good last look around and head to the main turbolift. You remember which one is the main lift, right?
“It’s the one on the port side. If you ever forget, it’s the one with the dedication plaque next to it.
Dedication plaque, USS Challenger
“Get back on that simulator, Shin. You need to get up to speed.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Isometric view of bridge, USS Challenger
Shhkkkt.
“Computer, deck three, aft.”
Vrrrrrrrr
Shhkkkt.
“Here we are, back on deck three. Deck two is taken up by a docking port. I was against that idea, because it provides easy access to the bridge for intruders, but I was overruled. Once we get underway, I’ll probably have the chief engineer weld it shut. Once we have a chief engineer, anyway.
Conference room, deck three aft, USS Challenger
“This is the conference room. On Constitution-class ships, the conference room was too far away from the bridge to be of practical use most times. In situations where solutions are not obvious, I always invite suggestions from my staff, and even debate, right up until I make my final decision.
“I like this room because it provides a good view of the nacelles. I may be a captain, but I’m still an engineer at heart.
Isometric view of conference room, USS Challenger
Shhkkkt.
“Also on deck three, we have transporter room one, where you beamed in. The Constitution-class ships had four transporter rooms. We have eight, and each one has eight pads and a cargo pad instead of the previous six-pad platforms. When we dedicate enough power to it, we can transport 80 people at the same time. That means we can move our entire crew in about two minutes if they’re standing by.”
Lt. Hal Bichel, security/communications officer, USS Challenger
“Ah, and Hal got here while we were gone to stock the armory. Everyone, this is Lieutentant Hal Bichel. Hal is a rare breed. She is both a communications and security officer. She had a double focus at the Academy.”
“What’s that, Commander? She has the same last name as my best friend? That’s not a coincidence. He was her father. Hal was with us on the Lexington when she was just a cadet. She’s also my goddaughter. Let’s–go ahead and continue our tour. I’ll see you later, Hal.”
Isometric view of Transporter Room 1, USS Challenger
Shhkkkt.
“Computer, deck five aft.”
Vrrrrrrrr
Shhkkkt.
Isometric view of Sick Bay, USS Challenger
“Pretty impressive, right? Here we are in the aft section of the middle of deck five, in the most heavily protected part of the ship. This is unchanged from the Constitution-class. None of the Sick Bays ever took direct hits in combat. This, however, is one of the most advanced medical facilities in Starfleet, only second to Starbase 1, though capacity is smaller, for obvious reasons. Sick Bay even has its own dedicated transporter room.
“Oh, and look who’s lurking about. This is Dr. Jenn Carmichael, my personal pain in the–”
Dr. Jenn Carmichael, nerve specialist, USS Challenger
“Don’t you say it, Captain. And speaking of backsides, have you done your physical therapy yet?”
“I’m getting to it. I’m a little busy, as you can see.”
“Captain, if you want to keep your command, you will do your physical therapy twice a day. I may not be the Chief Medical Officer, but I’m responsible for YOU.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Hey, everybody, remember how I told you that I broke my back? Well, turns out there was a little permanent nerve damage that went with it, which also happens to be my nickname for Lieutenant Carmichael. My sciatic nerve acts up from time to time. Good thing Starfleet made a new rule about landing parties. Captains pretty much stay in their chairs unless it’s absolutely necessary. And I have a really good chair.”
Office of the Chief Medical Officer, USS ChallengerMain bio bed room, USS ChallengerPhysical examination room, USS ChallengerLt Commander Brag bav Blav, trauma counselor, USS Challenger
“Oh, and look who it is! Dr. Brag bav Blav, everyone. Our trauma specialist. How’s it going, Doc?”
“How do you think it’s going, Captain? I just restocked my Saurian brandy. Again. I’m having Bichel put up a security force field on my display. These the new recruits?”
“Hopefully.”
“Well, I can’t wait ta get inside yer heads, kids.”
“Uh, okay, then, let’s continue, everyone.”
Shhkkkt.
“Computer, deck 16. aft.”
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Shhkkkt.
“And here we are in my favorite place, Engineering. I saved the best for last.
“Over to the side is Auxiliary Control, where we can actually operate the ship if the bridge is compromised. And over here you see the warp core. What’s wrong, you’ve never seen anything like it? Well, my friend Woody, there, can tell you why. He’s the Assistant Chief Engineer. Lieutenant Wooderson?”
Lieutenant Chadwick “Woody” Wooderson, assistant chief engineer, USS Challenger
“All right, all right, all right! You must be the new recruits Cap’n has been trying to woo. This here is the fastest warp engine ever devised. Challenger has been rated for sustained speeds of warp factor eight, but we can push her up to warp nine if we have to. Of course, we can’t shoot when we go that fast, but you can’t have everything. She’s got some giddyup, and she purrs like a kitten at warp six. The only thing she don’t like is sittin’ still.”
Upper deck of engineering, USS ChallengerJeffries tube, USS Challenger
“Thanks, Woody. As you can see the warp core is installed vertically, requiring a second floor, which is new. And yes, we have a Jeffries tube for control access. No one likes to go in there, and hopefully no one will have to.
Isometric view of engineering, lower deck, USS ChallengerIsometric view of engineering, upper deck, USS Challenger
“Well, that pretty much concludes our little tour, unless you’re excited by cargo bays and crew quarters.
“If you’re still interested in serving aboard Challenger, I’m reviewing applications for the next several days. I look forward to reading yours.”
Credits:
Ship and shuttlecraft design by Bill Krause, @buckadmiral on Twitter, @admiralbuck on Instagram
Interiors by Craig Shoosmith, @tekknonerd on both Twitter and Tumblr
Learning to read in the 1960s with Batman comics and the Batman TV show, it’s small wonder that I identified with Robin, the Boy Wonder. Always at Batman’s side, Robin gave kids, boys especially, someone to project themselves onto. Wouldn’t it be cool to be Batman’s sidekick? To ride along in the Batmobile? Robin was portrayed as about 16 on the Batman TV show, but in the comics by 1969, he was going off to college, so mark him down as 18 years old. He got aged up just a bit so that Batman would have darker solo adventures. He was still around 18-19 years old in comics in 1980, when the New Teen Titans got started. Time passed oddly in the DC universe. Yet, still, he led a whole superhero team at a pretty young age and had a lot more responisbility than most kids his age. When Marv Wolfman and George Pérez matured him for their book, it was time for a new Robin to be at Batman’s side. Dick Grayson abandoned his Robin identity in New Teen Titans #39, which I bought on my very first visit to a comic book store, mentioned here.
This was an exciting time to be reading The New Teen Titans. Longtime readers had been introduced to their newest member, Terra, and many fans thought she was just great. But when it was revealed that she was actually a spy working for Deathstroke, the Terminator, well, the wheels were about to come off the wagon. Suddenly, Dick Grayson discovered that his entire team had been ambused and were missing, and he was fresh out of yellow capes. By summer, the conclusion of “The Judas Contract” storyline was about to conclude, and Dick Grayson needed a new costumed identity.
So, after 44 years of being Robin, Dick Grayson became Nightwing. Now, before we get too far, here, I just want to point out that many barbs have been thrown toward this costume as somehow being inspired by disco because it has a raised collar. Uh, no, you mooks out there. It was inspired by the circus. You know, like Deadman? The other superhero in a circus costume?
Dick Grayson, having been a circus performer, obviously went back to his history to pull out that costume design. It was 1984, for crying out loud. Disco was gone.
Anyway, the comic where this transformation took place, Tales of the Teen Titans #44, was published in July 1984. I had just finished my freshman year of college, the second semester of which being much more successful and enjoyable for me. I had a steady girlfriend whom I had started dating in February, and I was down in Kalamazoo visiting her, when this comic book came out. But I also had a rare opportunity. My brother and sister were also in southwestern Michigan, with my mother and stepfather. They were staying couple of towns over at my stepfather’s parents’ house. I volunteered to come over and get them, and take them to the movies. My mother agreed. So, my girlfriend and I drove over to pick them up. Let’s see, I was 19 at the time (the same age as Nightwing), so my brother would have been 13 and my sister, 12. I took them to see what every kid that age should have seen that weekend: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Despite the more, uh, terrifying aspects of the Raiders prequel, they had fun and I had the unique feeling of being a true older brother, taking my younger siblings to the movies in the summertime, something I hadn’t really gotten to do, living apart from them as I did.
I enjoyed the Nightwing character, especially the part where Grayson was honoring Superman’s Kryptonian heritage as well. For many, many years of World’s Finest, the Batman-Superman teamup comic, Robin worked closely with both men, and I thought it was a nice touch to make a callback to that time. Nightwing was originally a costumed identity that Superman took on in the bottled city of Kandor, naming himself after a Kryptonian bird. Jimmy Olsen, of course, was his Robin, taking on the name Flamebird.
From Superman #158
Unbelievably, Dick Grayson has been Nightwing now for 39 years, almost as long as he was Robin. There have been some, let’s say, unfortunate choices along the way. The mullet, the ponytail, both a few years after they had been in style, for example. Having him be shot in the head and becoming an amnesiac, leaving a scar that looks like his symbol? That was rough. But more recently, the character has been given a new life, using his inhertiance to make life in his city better than perhaps Batman ever could. It’s good stuff.
It’s easy to get jaded by adolescent behavior when the kids are growing up substantially differently than you did. “These kids spend all their time on their phones!” “They never go anywhere! They don’t even want to learn to drive!” I hear it all the time. But as I was scrolling through TikTok one night before I went to sleep, as I often do, I kept encountering a band called Burn the Jukebox. They were doing a cover of a Foo Fighters song. I thought, you know, they’re not bad. And I watched a couple more of their videos, and I have to tell you that I was impressed by their range. They covered bands like No Doubt, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine, and even A-Ha and Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Then I got hit with a brick. They’re 15 and 16 years old.
Luke, Virgina, Ethan, and Carter, of Burn the Jukebox
Once you reach a certain age, it’s honestly difficult to tell how old kids are, even if you’re a teacher. Some 16-year-olds look like they’re 22. Some look like they’re 12. So, when I saw one video celebrating Virginia’s sweet 16, I was taken aback. These kids have been playing together for three years! They post something new just about every day, and their skills are already impressive. They’ve done tours already, too.
The Internet, being what it is, provides the expected negative commentary: “They reek of privilege!” “That guitarist has a million dollars worth of pedals.” They answer with maturity and unexpected candor. Their parents were musicians, too, and are very supportive. And they’ve bought their equipment with gig money, you know, just like a “real” band would. And believe me, they are a real band. It’s great to hear them honoring the past with the songs they perform. But they also answer their critics who say they should make their own songs. They DO. They have their own original songs that they perform and release. It’s just that the cover songs they produce draw views to their various channels. It’s a successful tactic; it’s what got my attention.
This is the kind of story that makes me happy. It’s kids being kids, following their dreams, not allowing negative people to tear them down, and proving naysayers wrong. Good on these kids!
After high school graduation, I went to work in the same factory where my dad worked: Four Winns Boats. I started at $4.25 per hour, which was significantly better than the minimum wage at the time, $3.35. I was a vinyl puller, also known as an upholsterer. I was one of the people who took the wooden frames that made boat seats, stapled foam on the boards, and stretched the sewn vinyl seat covers over the frames, stapling them down with an air-powered staple gun. It was repetitive work, as there were only two kinds of seat frames I was responsible for, the ones that formed loungers. There was a seat and a back. Each set was two seats and two backs. Someone down the line would assemble them together so that the back-to-back boat seats would expand out so that you could lie down on them. In very short order, I was the fastest puller they had. It was virtually mindless work, and I enjoyed it after four years of high school.
The only problem with the job is that it came with a price. I had to quit my high school baseball team, while we were still playing in the state tournaments. My dad had arranged this job, and if I continued on in the tournament for two more weeks, the job wouldn’t be there anymore. Regrettably, I folded up my uniform and turned it in. I felt like I was letting my friends, teammates, and coach down, but on the other hand, I felt like it was time to grow up. I would need this money for college, especially because my dad lived by the philosophy that since I was 18, I had to pay my share of the rent, even though I didn’t even have my own room in his one-bedroom apartment. I slept on a futon in the living room. I also needed to buy a car, and soon.
Ironically, my high school graduation gift from my parents was a car, a 1974 Chevy Nova that my dad had bought for himself. He got my mother to donate $350, half its perceived value of $700, and he gave me the car; allegedly. My mother was furious. Basically, she paid him $350 for his car and he “gave” it to me. Until he didn’t. Right about that time, my aunt and uncle’s car broke down completely and they needed a replacement immediately. My dad gave them my car. How he gave them MY car, I’ll never know, but like Vin Diesel says in those stupid Fast & Furious movies, it’s about family. I guess. So, there I was, without the car that had been given to me as a gift. It took a few weeks, but along with the graduation gift money I had received from some of my more scrupulous relatives, I scraped up enough to buy myself another car, this time a 1974 Ford Pinto station wagon. Since I paid cash for it, this one had a title in my name and no one was giving it to anyone! I loved that car. It was orange and had mag wheels for some reason. I removed the AM radio it came with and installed an AM/FM/cassette boat stereo and speakers from Four Winns in it with my own hands. Electronics class at the Wexford-Missaukee Area Vocational School really paid off! I even bypassed the normal fuse box so that the stereo could play without the key in the ignition. Now I had freedom that no one would ever take away from me. Because my dad worked second shift and was a supervisor, I was not allowed to work on the same shift, so I worked days. That and having a car freed up my evenings to do whatever I wanted.
One of the first things I did was go to a movie by myself. Yes, I could have gotten a date, but this was special. Return of the Jedi was out in theaters, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by taking a girl to see it. I had already suffered enough jibes from my former classmates for liking this genre. It wasn’t like it is now. So, one evening, I plopped down in a seat by myself in the Cadillac theater with a big bucket of popcorn and a Coke, and settled in. Toward the end of the movie, an unfamilar emotion washed over me. You see, Star Wars had come out when I was 12 years old, the summer before I started junior high. Luke Skywalker was a simple farmboy. When its first sequel, The Empire Strikes Back was released, three years later, I was a high school sophomore. I literally drove my family to see the movie with my learner’s permit in hand. Luke was in his adolescence very much the same as I was at the time. And now, at the end, Luke’s hero’s journey came to fruition, as he proclaimed himself an adult. “I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” I didn’t need to be beaten over the head to recognize the parallels. I had come of age. Young, yes, but I was paying my own way. I had a job and a car that I had bought with my own money, and would soon be on my way to college and the rest of my life. The possibilities were endless.
June was filled with graduation parties, so there was always somewhere to go in the evenings. I loved grad parties. All the turkey, ham, and roast beef you could eat, always on the same rolls. I think everyone used the same service to get their food. There was almost invariably a keg, too, but I wanted nothing to do with beer. Pop was my drink of choice, and Mountain Dew was my favorite. Coke would do as well, though. Since I was now paying for my own food, I appreciated free dinners almost every night! Quite often, when I stayed until the end of a party, I would do my good deed and help clean up, and parents would often beg me to take home leftovers. I would, and those became my lunches at work, wrapped up and packed in my Igloo cooler that I had bought the previous summer for the Christmas tree trimming patch. I took that cooler everywhere, even to the drive-in for movies.
When my brother Jeff, who was 12 at the time, came for visitation that summer, I took him to the drive-in so that we could see some cinematic masterpiece like Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. We made a bag full of popcorn using the air popper my dad and I had gotten when I was in eighth grade, and put a six-pack of pop in the cooler with ice. I had a dub of Michael Jackson’s Thriller on cassette, and my brother thought it was the greatest album ever made. We played it again and again. It felt good to be a big brother, because I knew what he was going through at my mom’s house.
I took girls to the Cadillac drive-in, too. You might as well just queue up Bob Seger’s Night Moves, so I don’t have to go into detail. I know I remember going to see Flashdance at the theater with one of my high school crushes, but I didn’t see much of the movie.
Later on in June, I traveled down to Kalamazoo for Western Michigan University’s orientation. I had to take a couple of days off work to do it, and I didn’t appreciate losing the money, but it was highly recommended for incoming freshmen. I had never driven a long-distance trip like that before, so it was exciting. What was not exciting was driving the Pinto, which didn’t have air conditioning. When I got there, I saw parents dropping off their kids everywhere, and I was just all by myself. It felt strange but exhiliarating at the same time. We got marched all over campus, touring the facilities, taking placement tests, even applying for work-study for fall. We were also introduced to some of the slightly off-campus offerings, like Bilbo’s Pizza. Named, of course, for the main character in The Hobbit (which I had never heard of), it was a Middle-Earth-themed pizza place, complete with round oaken tables and dark lighting. The only pizza restaurants I had ever sat down in were Pizza Hut and Little Ceasar’s, which yes, had sit-down locations back then.
This was well before Hot ‘n Ready, and even before Pizza! Pizza! was a thing. It was still a cheap-looking place, nothing at all like Bilbo’s. So my small-town self was impressed by the ambience that a real pizza place provided. And the pan-style pizza was pretty good, too!
That visit made me excited. I could hardly wait to start a new life on campus. I had kind of walked away from several of my high school friends at the time. When my two best friends (I thought) planned their graduation parties together and left me out, I got the message that I was not wanted. So, I started making new friends. One of my newer friends was Brian Goodenow, a Pine River student I knew from my class at the Wexford-Missaukee Area Vocational Center. We had been in the same electronics class. Brian was a DJ at WATT, AM 1240, which was only a short drive from my apartment. I spent a lot of time hanging out with him while he was on the air. And I made another new friend at work, Ron Radawiec, who had also gone to Pine River. Ron’s dad had just opened up the very first video rental store in Northern Michigan, so Ron and I would often rent movies to watch at his house when we had nothing else to do. I found the video cassette recorder to be a magical tool, and I envied theirs. Of course, you couldn’t afford to own movies. No, the average cost of a VHS movie was $80-90 back then. That’s why you rented them! Three-dollar rentals were expensive, but nowhere near the cost of a newly released movie. And because of my Pine River connections (it was the high school where all of my Tustin Elementary friends went), I even got a visit one night from Janet Johnson and Robin Byers, my sixth grade crushes, with whom I had also reconnected at the vocational school. They were there for nursing. It seemed like my world was getting bigger than the isolated Mesick High School experience.
Moreover, it felt like my life had come full circle, going back to when I first went to live with my dad. Like Luke Skywalker, I had completed the first leg of my hero’s journey.
Spoilers for Season one of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follow. Go watch it!
I love this show. I really do. I have watched all 10 episodes of the first season six times each. I will likely do so again before the new season begins on June 15. Yet, according to the person I was for over 50 years, I should hate it with a fiery, red-hot passion.
Confused?
Strange New Worlds is a prequel series to TOS (The Original Series), also known as Star Trek. It takes place about six years before Captain Kirk takes command of the Enterprise. In the year 2259, the Enterprise is commanded by Captain Christopher Pike, whom, as TOS fans know, ends up paralyzed in an accident. He appears in the season one two-parter, “The Menagerie,” which utilizes the original pilot (entitled “The Cage”) for Star Trek, but with a new wrapper featuring the characters the series ended up with. Pike is so bad off, he can only answer questions with one beep or two, to indicate yes or no. In that episode, Spock commandeers the Enterprise to return Pike to Talos IV, where Pike can live a life free from his metaphorical prison with the help of the mental illusion powers of that planet’s inhabitants.
Captain Kirk with Captain Pike
In Strange New Worlds, Christopher Pike is in his prime, at the height of his powers, one of which has to be his remarkable hair.
Captain Christopher Pike, played by Anson Mount and his hair
This Pike is unlike most captains on Star Trek. He is charming and affable, yes, but he freely mixes and mingles with his crew, often inviting them to his incredibly spacious cabin for gourmet meals, which he prepares.
Pike, with his Number One, Commander Una Chin-Riley
But Pike also has a slightly dark side. When he appeared in Strange New Worlds‘ predecessor, Star Trek: Discovery, Pike experienced his grisly future through the magic of Klingon time stones. Pike knows what’s coming and deals with this knowledge in different ways throughout the series.
We are given a number of other characters familiar to us from TOS, including Number One, a younger and more emotional Lieutenant (not Commander) Spock, and communications officer Uhura, a fourth-year cadet from Starfleet Academy. We also get to know Dr. M’Benga better, as he is the Chief Medical Officer of this Enterprise, instead of a guest star who specializes in Vulcan physiology, assisting Dr, McCoy. Even Christine Chapel is on board, as a nurse, maybe, but not simply a subordinate to the CMO. Chapel is an expert on manipulating genomes and can even make genetic disguises for the crew to blend in with alien races. This is where the old version of me would have gone ballistic.
Let’s start with Chapel. I love Jess Bush in this role. She’s spunky, she’s smart, she’s charming, and she and Spock have become good friends over the course of the season. They have incredible chemistry together. Gone is the pining nurse who can never have or know the Vulcan science officer. On TOS, Chapel appeared as if she had no clue who Spock’s betrothed T’Pring was when she appeared on the Enterprise viewscreen. Uhura even asked who T’Pring was. On Strange New Worlds, Chapel and T’Pring know each other and even worked together to deceive an alien who had taken over the Enterprise. This is clearly not a strict prequel, paying attention to what has aired before.
There are a whole lot more of these instances in the 10 episodes. Everyone, for example, seems to know about Vulcan mating rituals, where on TOS, it was so secret, McCoy didn’t tell Kirk even after he learned of Spock’s condition due to Pon Farr. “It is not for outworlders; intensely private,” Spock says. Yet the human characters in Strange New Worlds joke about being hit with lirpas, the traditional Vulcan weapons used in Kal-If-Fee, the mating ritual by challenge. All that said, I don’t care. The Vulcan episodes with T’Pring are fun, bordering on shenanigans. They even use callback music during a dream sequence with Spock fighting himself in “Spock Amok,” just as he will eventually fight Kirk in the “Amok Time” episode of TOS.
The Gorn, seen in the TOS episode “Arena,” are super fast and extremely aggressive in this show, very much unlike the Gorn captain whom Kirk defeated. They are a combination of the Xenomorph from Alien and the Predator, from the movie of the same name. Despite this retroactive continuity, this actually provides some entertaining and deeply moving psychological storylines featuring Lt. La’an Noonian-Singh, played by Christina Chong. She’s one of my favorite characters on the show, as she’s dealing with a whole lot of trauma and doing the best she can to get by. The Gorn episodes are not only reminiscent of TOS, but of the science fiction/action movies of the 80s. It’s a great addition to have a formidable villain that’s not a Klingon or Romulan, despite its lack of attention to the continuity of the franchise.
One of the most striking differences in Strange New Worlds is the Enterprise herself. The ship has a luxuriously massive interior, in no way compatible with the original Enterprise that everyone knows. Just take a look at the difference in the bridge scenes, as they look out the viewscreen.
A tale of two viewscreens
Ridiculous? Maybe, but you know that if Gene Roddenberry had had this kind of money to spend and technology to utilize, he would have. This new bridge is glorious. And thanks to Episode 10, “A Quality of Mercy,” we know that this is the same as what the Enterprise would look like in their version of TOS. We are simply being asked to accept that this is what was intended, and I, for one, am willing to go along with it 100%. Honestly the art design of this show hits me in the sweet spot, combining mid-20th-century sensibilities with a view of the future that TOS Matt Jeffries gave us almost 60 years ago. It looks like the late 1950s exploded through futuristic technology. It’s like Disneyland’s Tomorrowland on steroids and I’m here for it.
One of the best ways that Strange New Worlds ties itself to the Star Trek franchise is through the music. There are callbacks and call-forwards to other great Star Trek themes. Nami Melumad grabs cues from everywhere and melds them flawlessly with her original pieces. It really works. I’ve been waiting for this score to drop forever, and today, it finally did. I look forward to writing to this music for a long time to come.
Strange New Worlds has a “truthiness” quality to it. It presents things as they might have been, could have been, or maybe even should again on Star Trek, and just tells good stories around them. I’m okay with that. I’m not just okay with that, I’m 100% onboard. With literally hundreds of Star Trek episodes and a dozen movies to limit story choices, at this point, are we really going to worry about the combination to the safe in the captain’s quarters? Ten years ago, I might have, but life is short, and the more I get to see of this show, the better.
