STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS S4 Review: Reinvigorated, And It Feels So Good

Say what you will, but it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S4
The first episode debuts Thursday, July 23, exclusively on Paramount Plus. Subsequent episodes debut every Thursday. I've seen the first six episodes of the 10-episode series.

Every Star Trek series (or movie) owes something to the original Star Trek series, which debuted 60 years ago (?!), in September 1966.

Sometimes it's subtext, sometimes it's sly, sometimes it's lightly mocking, sometimes it's far too reverential. As a spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery, the prequel series, taking place in the years before the original series, Strange New Worlds occupies a unique position in the Star Trek universe, in that wherever it starts, we know where it will end: with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhuru, Sulu, Chekhov, Chapel and Scott on-board the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Inspired by the original show, Strange New Worlds creators Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet decided to follow a primarily episodic nature for the series, so that each story is wrapped up by the conclusion of the episode, returning the show's primary objective to be developing the characters so that they, eventually, resemble the original series' ensemble.

Although the story threads are meant to conclude each episode, the narrative arcs for each character are left dangling to some extent. They are all adults, but, regardless of their physical age, they are still capable of changing and/or modifying their personalities.

Thus, it is possible to come to Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds without any knowledge of the previous 30 episodes in the first three seasons, and still very much enjoy the rich variety of scenarios and settings that the writers dream up. The recaps at the beginning of each episode are quite helpful to catch up with pertinent plot points from seasons past.

Admittedly, the character interplay may not be as richly rewarding if you haven't seen the show before, and it would be helpful to know that lead character Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is nursing a lost love, and that science officer Spock (Ethan Peck) and medical officer Chapel (Jess Bush) are also recovering from relationship woes.

I've seen the first six episodes, which were made available in advance for non-spoilery coverage. It's a very good collection of stories that are told in the style of strikingly different genres, which also serve to spur the characters along their individual paths. In comparison to Season 3, on which I ran hot and cold, the new season feels reinvigorated, perhaps because the show is heading to its conclusion with a six-episode final season 5, even as some events that occur feel like a schematic arranging of the narrative blocks, putting things in place for what will come next.

Whatever the reason, Season 4 revs up quite nicely, with episodes that will appeal to a wider range of viewers -- especially Episode 2, oh boy! -- and characters who are still wrestling with deeper emotional issues, as well as the usual blizzard of scientific mumbo jumbo that is recited with utter sincerity.

Good stuff, in words that mere humans in the 21st century may understand.

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