star trek season 2 episode 9

Den of Geek

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Review – Subspace Rhapsody

Star Trek's first musical installment is silly, heartfelt, and perhaps the most fun the show's ever been.

• Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
• Share on email (opens in a new tab)

This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to swing for the fences in its second season, repeatedly going where literally no one has gone before in this franchise. And if you thought that things couldn’t possibly get more delightfully chaotic than the episode that brought several Lower Decks animated characters into the world of live action, you definitely weren’t prepared for the series’ foray into musical storytelling, an installment that is potentially the most purely fun hour of Star Trek I’ve ever watched. Is it silly? Absolutely. Occasionally cringe-worthy? Kind of. But somehow still perfect in spite of it all? 100% yes.

Most viewers likely assumed that the much-ballyhooed Star Trek musical episode would basically be a marketing gimmick, a silly, largely disposable hour with little to offer besides the chance to see our faves sing and dance together. And I don’t know that any of us would have actually minded too much if that’s all it had turned out to be! But instead, “Subspace Rhapsody” is a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of community and connection, an hour that’s not only wildly fun to watch, but that wholeheartedly embraces the format it’s chosen, using the larger narrative framework of traditional musical theater to say something meaningful about its characters and their various journeys this season. 

Life in Starfleet doesn’t often lend itself to overt emotion, which is probably why so many of its members are closet alcoholics. I kid, I kid—mostly—but while Strange New Worlds is a show that literally runs on heart, a certain brand of stoicism does tend to rule the day on the Enterprise . Yes, there are certainly plenty of emotional moments , but getting people freely admitting and talking about their feelings isn’t something that happens particularly often. (I mean, Una basically reverse engineered her own arrest in order to come clean about her Illyrian heritage and her reasons for lying to Starfleet. We just found out about M’Benga’s dark past as a sort of Special Forces assassin last week .) And musicals are made for big, messy, emotions—we sing when we feel so much we can’t keep it inside anymore, when it’s the only way to possibly convey what’s in the depths of hearts. So this is an hour that’s over the top entertainment, yes, but one that’s also full of deep seated and necessary truths. 

Ad – content continues below

Smartly, Strange New Worlds fully leans into the ridiculousness of the situation the Enterprise crew finds itself in, a phenomenon brought about by a rare subspace fold and the unfortunate application of a classic Cole Porter track. The songs are hilariously peppered with references to deflector shields and phaser banks, simultaneously incredibly broad and hyper specific. And the episode repeatedly underlines how much no one actually wants to be singing their feelings out in front of their crewmates, gleefully giving various characters cringe-worthy and painfully self-aware public confessionals. Anson Mount, truly making a solid case that someone should just cast him in a romantic comedy already, continues to be the show’s MVP when it comes to subtle humor and deadpan reaction shots.

The overall quality of the episode’s musical numbers is…well, it’s a Star Trek musical, it’s about what you’d expect, with songs about connecting to your true self and the importance of trusting one another. The series’ cast is game for anything, and most of them are fairly decent singers, though Strange New Worlds is smart enough to understand that large ensemble numbers can cover a multitude of sins. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” Soundtrack and Musical Influences

Strange New Worlds Easter Eggs Call Back to a Major Star Trek: Wrath of Khan Character

Celia Rose Gooding gets the biggest and best solo number, a showstopper of a self-actualization anthem that’s a lovely celebration of how far Uhura’s come since the series began. Christina Chong, also a professional singer, gets a nice introspective piece about La’an’s internal struggle with control. And while Jess Bush doesn’t necessarily have the strongest voice among the crew, Chapel gets one of the episode’s best ensemble numbers as she rediscovers her free spirit while celebrating her acceptance into a three month fellowship with archeological medical expert Dr. Korby. (Who I assume she’s also going to get engaged to sometime in the not too distant future.)

Vocal performances aside, the high drama and heightened emotions of musical theater make for a perfect backdrop for a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of several of season 2’s key relationships, including La’an’s lingering feelings for James Kirk to Chapel and Spock’s nascent connection. Even Pike and Batel’s one step forward two steps back long distance courtship comes under the spotlight. Granted, I’m not sure how truly invested any of us are in that particular pairing no matter how fabulous Melanie Scrafano is, and this hour does nothing so much as indicate that Pike isn’t really willing to put in the work their relationship needs, whatever he says to the contrary. But, hey, at least we confirmed Batel’s first name is Marie.

Viewers knew that the Spock/Chapel relationship was doomed long before Boimler told the Enterprise’s chief nurse the truth about the Spock history will remember, but its doubtful that any of us expected a break-up between them to happen so soon. Happily, the end of their romantic relationship isn’t about Spock’s nebulous future but Chapel’s very real present, and it’s a relief not only to see her choose herself in the end, but to do so with such a total lack of guilt or uncertainty about it. We love a woman who knows her worth. Of course, it seems more than likely Strange New Worlds will revisit these two at some (multiple?) point(s) in the future, and her choice—as well as his response to it—will surely complicate things between them even further. 

Speaking of complicated, this is also the episode in which La’an comes clean about her alternate past history with a different version of James Kirk, fearing quite rightly that the odds of her blurting it out in song at some point are not zero. (Since she so clearly also has feelings for his prime timeline counterpart.) Kirk is surprisingly cool about both the revelation that La’an’s into him and that she watched a different version of him die in front of her , and, to his credit doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Instead, he confesses that while he’s drawn to her too for reasons he doesn’t entirely understand, he can’t act on any of those feelings because he has a girlfriend at the moment and said girlfriend is pregnant. Whether this is merely meant to serve as a fun Carol Marcus pseudo-cameo for fans, or if it’s a hint that we might actually get to see some version of this character (and her relationship with Kirk) fleshed out more thoroughly in future episodes, is a question for another day. But why not? I’m pretty sure Strange New Worlds has already proved there’s nothing it can’t do.

4.5 out of 5

Lacy Baugher

Lacy Baugher is a digital producer by day, but a television enthusiast pretty much all the time. Her writing has been featured in Paste Magazine, Collider,…

• Login / Sign Up

How Strange New Worlds pulled off the first-ever Star Trek musical episode

To boldly go...

by Dylan Roth

Throwing an hour of light comedy into the middle of a 10-episode arc with galactic-level stakes could derail an entire season, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds dances gracefully from week to week between courtroom drama, time-travel romance, and its latest wild swing: a musical episode.

In “Subspace Rhapsody,” the crew of the USS Enterprise encounters a strange cosmic phenomenon that induces them to break into song and reveal their innermost feelings. The episode features 10 original songs by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce (of Letters to Cleo fame) and highlights the vocal talents of the cast, including Tony nominee and Grammy winner Celia Rose Gooding and singer-songwriter Christina Chong.

Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman, who heads up the franchise at Paramount, has been teasing the possibility of a Star Trek musical since 2020. But at the time, his only venue for bizarre genre experiments was Star Trek: Short Treks , a short subject anthology series that filled the gaps between Discovery and Picard . Short Treks eventually became the launchpad for Strange New Worlds , whose tone has proven equally elastic. After the warm reception to its first season, which contained everything from a screwball body-swap comedy to a grim political drama involving child sacrifice, it was time to set phasers to “sing.”

• Star Trek has truly reinvented itself
• Star Trek needs less logic and more crying

According to the episode’s director, Dermott Downs, Chong was the cast member who pushed the hardest for a musical episode. Chong, whose debut EP Twin Flames is also out this week, confesses in her Spotify bio that her screen acting career began as a way to raise her profile as a singer and stage actor. “Subspace Rhapsody” would seem to be an important landmark in her career, as she features heavily on the soundtrack, including the solo ballad “How Would That Feel?”

(Chong is unavailable for comment due to the conditions of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, as is the rest of the cast and the episode’s writers, Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff. Songwriters Kay Hanley and Tom Polce also could not be reached via Paramount publicity.)

Indeed, one of the interesting challenges of producing a musical episode of an established television show is tailoring the music to suit the talents of the existing cast. Who’s a belter? Who’s a crooner? Who’s funny? Who might not be comfortable singing at all? The tools at hand impact not only the distribution of the songs, but the shape of the story. The narrative and emotional weight of a musical has to fall on the shoulders of the cast members most prepared to carry it.

So, it’s no surprise that, while “Subspace Rhapsody” gives nearly every regular cast member an opportunity to show off, the heart of the story is Ensign Nyota Uhura, portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding. Gooding’s performance as Frankie in Jagged Little Pill , a Broadway jukebox musical featuring the songs of Alanis Morissette, garnered them a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album (shared with the rest of the cast). Gooding sings the episode’s 11 o’clock number, “Keep Us Connected,” an undeniable earworm that showcases their impressive vocal range and power. Gooding’s Broadway bona fides bring a level of legitimacy to “Subspace Rhapsody” that’s lacking even in top-tier TV musical episodes like Buffy ’s “Once More, With Feeling” and Community ’s “Regional Holiday Music.”

This also isn’t Downs’ first crack at a musical episode, as he also helmed “Duet,” a crossover between The Flash and Supergirl that reunited former Glee castmates Grant Gustin, Melissa Benoist, and Darren Criss. Downs used this experience, as well as his long resume as a music video cinematographer, to secure the “Subspace Rhapsody” gig from the list of episodes in development for Strange New Worlds ’ second season. Combined with his fondness for the original Star Trek , the possibility of working on Trek’s first musical episode was too exciting to pass up, despite the obvious risks.

“There was a great potential to jump the shark,” says Downs, “because if you’re this grounded show, how are you going to do a musical in outer space? And to their credit, they crafted a great story. Once you understand the anomaly and how music pushes forward all of these interior feelings through song, then you have the potential for so many different kinds of songs.”

However, the prospect of singing for the viewing audience was not immediately appealing to every cast member, a fact that is lampshaded within the framework of the episode. Much of the Enterprise crew fears the subspace anomaly’s ability to make them spill their guts through song. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is afraid of getting into an argument with his girlfriend, Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), and the pair ends up airing out their relationship issues on the bridge. (This song is, appropriately, entitled “A Private Conversation.”) Mount’s singing role is simpler than his castmates’ on a technical level, but leverages his comedic talents and awkward, boy-next-door charm.

“He crushed it,” says Downs. “It was like a country ballad gone wrong.”

Babs Olusanmokun, who portrays the multifaceted Dr. Joseph M’Benga, sings the bare minimum in the episode, and his character makes a point to tell his shipmates (and the viewer) that he does not sing . For his part, Downs cannot comment on any studio magic that may or may not have been employed to make the less seasoned vocalists in the cast more tuneful, but a listener with an ear for autotune will definitely detect some pitch correction.

Downs says that Ethan Peck, who portrays the young Lieutenant Spock , was among the more apprehensive cast members, but if anything, this becomes an asset to his performance in the episode. Spock has spent this season actively exploring his human feelings, even entering into a romantic relationship with Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). Spock’s solo “I’m the X” sees Spock retreating into his shell, and the actor’s shyness feeds into the character’s conflict. Peck’s performance of the song, which was written for his smooth baritone, was the production’s most pleasant surprise. The temp track of the song that the crew worked with (until Peck recorded his version over a weekend, like the rest of the cast) featured a bigger, more conventionally Broadway vocal, but Peck performs it in character — superficially steady, but with strong emotional undercurrents just below the surface.

On a character level, however, the musical format might be most revelatory for Rebecca Romijn’s Commander Una Chin-Riley, aka Number One. Una began the series as a very guarded person harboring a secret that could end her career. Even as far back as her appearance in the 2019 Short Treks episode “Q&A,” her advice to new arrival Spock was to “keep your ‘freaky’ to yourself,” in this case referring to her love for Gilbert and Sullivan ( inherited from Romijn herself ). Since then, her much more consequential secrets have been revealed, and she finds herself unburdened, and uses the opportunity presented by the musical anomaly to encourage her mentees to do the same. Una’s songs, “Connect to Your Truth”’ and “Keeping Secrets,” see her offering advice to rising first officer James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) and her protege La’an (Chong), respectively, about the futility of withholding your full self from others.

“Subspace Rhapsody” concludes with an ensemble number about the crew’s common purpose and fellowship — an appropriate sentiment not only for a musical episode but for Strange New Worlds . Star Trek has always been about friendship and cooperation, but no previous incarnation (save, perhaps, for Deep Space Nine ) has granted each member of the cast such even amounts of attention and importance, from Captain Pike to Ensign Uhura. Previous Trek series could perhaps have sustained a musical episode (Ronald D. Moore even pitched one for DS9 back in the ’90s). For a series sold to fans as a return to “old-school Star Trek,” Strange New Worlds has taken some wild creative risks. While the show has resumed its time-tested episodic “problem of the week” format, its writers and producers have used this structure to experiment in ways that its sister shows, Discovery and Picard , could never have gotten away with. As corny as it might be, on Strange New Worlds it feels particularly appropriate to close a story with the entire crew singing about their trust in each other, in perfect harmony.

• Entertainment

Most Popular

• Grid's tastefully destroyed Game Boys make for great art, and they're 40% off now
• Poor Lydia Deetz gets the rawest deal in Beetlejuice 2
• Anker's two-headed USB-C cable is a $22 blessing
• The Baldur's Gate 3 team isn't finished with the game yet
• The Boy and the Heron, Twilight of the Warriors, Netflix’s Rebel Ridge, and every movie new to streaming this week

Patch Notes

The best of Polygon in your inbox, every Friday.

This is the title for the native ad

More in Star Trek

The Latest ⚡️

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Review – ‘Subspace Rhapsody’

August 3, 2023 by Chris Connor

Chris Connor reviews the ninth episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2…

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  has tinkered with the Star Trek formula across its two seasons, with an episode where a storybook comes to life, several alternate reality based storylines and a comedic crossover with Lower Decks . Perhaps the most radical departure yet is a full blown musical that oddly enough succeeds at exploring some of the core emotional beats from across the two seasons, developing a number of central relationships and driving the narrative forward, all while acting as a musical interlude that could quite easily be dismissed as a throwaway gimmick.

The scenario arises after Uhura and some of the crew listen to the old Jazz standard Anything Goes , creating an improbability field where the Enterprise crew spontaneously start singing about their emotions. This seems to mirror the events of a musical. Rather than make light of what is a seemingly preposterous plotline, all involved double down on the story-beats and how to integrate this into the overarching themes and narratives of the season.

Spock learning of Nurse Chapel’s research fellowship and La’an and Kirk’s relationship are addressed through the medium of song but handled in a way that feels natural and handles the difficult nature of both sets of relationships that have been lurking in the background across the season, in a sensitive and fun manner. It helps that the cast have clearly put their heart and soul into performing the songs and the associated choreography making them hugely entertaining and not awful musical numbers meaning their subtext for each of the crew doesn’t suffer.

It is another hugely inventive episode that is the latest in a long line for this particular stretch of the Trek universe and the most ensemble episode of the season to date. While this means we get closure or further developments for a number of sub plots, the only slight drawback is a more limited amount of screentime for Anson Mount and his compelling work as Christopher Pike, something that will hopefully be addressed in the in-development third season.

‘Subspace Rhapsody’ is a terrific musical episode of Star Trek and far from being a betrayal of Trek or a departure too far, feels wholly at home in the more expansive and experimental second season of the show.  What could quite easily have been a horrid misfire, excels due to its performances and the commitment of the crew to make this radical experiment, live up to its maximum potential. Fans will no doubt wait with anticipation for what the next genre episode might be and how this stellar series will wrap up with its finale.

Chris Connor

JOIN OUR FREE PATREON

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek at 15: An Action-Centric Reboot with Surprising Heart & Depth

Bad Video Game Movies You’ve Probably Forgotten

Ten Essential Films of the 1950s

Yellowstone: What Will Happen to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in Season 5 Part 2?

The Essential Exorcism Movies of the 21st Century

Speed: The Pulse-Pounding Action-Thriller at 30

The Kings of Cool

MTV Generation-Era Comedies That Need New Sequels

Is Remaking Sergio Leone Sacrilegious?

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom at 40: The Darkest Entry of the Franchise Revisited

• Comic Books
• Video Games
• Toys & Collectibles
• Articles and Opinions
• Flickering Myth Films
• About Flickering Myth
• Write for Flickering Myth
• Advertise on Flickering Myth
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

Home » Streaming Service

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Recap – what causes the crew to burst into song?

We recap the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9, “Subspace Rhapsody,” which contains spoilers.

No, I didn’t have a Star Trek: Strange New Worlds musical episode on my 2023 Bingo card either. But here we are, with episode nine of the second season, titled “Subspace Rhapsody,” the first-ever musical-themed installment from the Star Trek franchise.

In the penultimate episode, the Enterprise crew members are overcome by dance fever, breaking uncontrollably into song thanks to an accident with an experimental quantum probability field. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Recap

The musical episode begins with the discovery of a naturally occurring subspace fold. This unusual phenomenon could help the galaxy with record-breaking communication speeds.

During this discovery, Uhura is inundated with extra work. Pike organizes his first vacation with partner Batel . La’an finds herself working with James T. Kirk once again, and Christine celebrates her successful fellowship submission.

Early on, Spock struggles to communicate with the subspace fold. Pelia suggests using music to make a connection. Uhura fires a song directly into the subspace fold’s direction, which immediately results in a strange reaction.

A ripple effect causes everyone in the Enterprise to break out into song. The explanation may be complicated, but who cares? Let’s just enjoy the musical, shall we?

What causes the crew to burst into song?

The crew quickly checks that all of the systems are stable. They appear to be safe and largely unaffected by this strange phenomenon, except for the uncontrollable show tunes, of course. There are reports of musical outbreaks throughout the entire ship. Spock believes their song has unlocked an improbability field, linking the Enterprise with a musical realm.

Pike wants to close this improbability field immediately, although they are seemingly tethered to this field regardless. Spock investigates the data further. Uhura uses this as a chance to probe Spock about his love life; he is shocked that Christine hasn’t told him her good news.

More musical incidents follow. Una gives James advice on leading his crew via a musical number. And La’an sings a heartbreaking ballad, pondering her complex relationship with James.

La’an thinks that expressing one’s deepest emotions could actually be a security threat. They need to close the field right away.

What causes the improbability field to expand?

They fire a deflector into the field, but this causes an energy surge instead. The musical disease spreads, and the improbability field starts to expand, affecting other ships in the fleet, including Batel’s. Pike and Batel share an awkward musical sequence together, arguing about their vacation in front of an embarrassed Enterprise crew.

After this incident, the crew suggested blowing up the subspace field. Spock runs some simulations, discovering that this option could be catastrophic.

To make matters worse, the Klingons have been infected by the musical bug and plan to destroy the field anyway.

Uhura and Spock research the phenomenon, instigating further musical numbers so that they can analyze the data from them.

Meanwhile, La’an confesses to James about their time-travel romance. James has his own confession to make: he is in a relationship with another woman, and she is pregnant with his child. La’an is heartbroken by this news.

Spock is also struggling with his own messy romance, upset by Christine’s sudden change in behavior. His heartache clouds his judgment as he is unable to find any patterns in the data.

Uhura analyzes the data on her own, noticing that the data spikes during the musical numbers. She concludes that they’ll need a serious showstopper tune to shatter the field entirely.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Ending Explained

Pike puts his trust in Uhura to rally the troops and pull off the most powerful grand finale musical number ever to break the field completely. Uhura’s song manages to unite the entire ship, and even the Klingons join in, providing their own comical interlude.

The subspace field explodes as their musical number reaches its crescendo.

After the grand finale, Pike and Batel discuss their vacation again. They choose to trust in each other and be more open going forward. La’an tells Una about her conversation with James. She’s glad that she told him the truth and took a chance, even if it ended in heartache. The episode ends with the Enterprise going back to normal; all is well once again.

What did you think of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9? Comment below.

More Stories

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 8 Recap
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 10 Release Date
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 10 Recap and Ending Explained
• Will there be a Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3?

Article by Adam Lock

Adam Lock is a highly experienced Freelance Entertainment Writer who has written for Ready Steady Cut since January 2022. He is passionate about all things film and TV-related and has devoted his time to tracking streaming content on his social media.

Succession Season 4 Episode 4 Recap - Who is appointed head of Waystar?

The Morning Show Season 3 Episode 1 Recap - Who is Paul Marks?

This website cannot be displayed as your browser is extremely out of date.

Please update your browser to one of the following: Chrome , Firefox , Edge

How ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Brought Its Delightful Musical Episode to Life: ‘You’re Like, Wait, Spock Is Singing Now?!’

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

• Beau DeMayo Accuses Marvel and Disney of ‘Egregious Prejudicial Misconduct’ on ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘Blade’ 4 days ago
• ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ First Look: Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey Keep the Dinosaur Franchise Roaring 1 week ago
• ‘Rings of Power’ Bosses on New Parts of Middle-earth, Last-Minute Visual Effects and Why They Haven’t Changed Course From Season 1 2 weeks ago

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses plot — and musical! — developments in Season 2, Episode 9 of “ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

Since premiering in 2022, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” has already embraced body-swapping comedy, storybook fantasy and a crossover episode with the animated series “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” So perhaps it’s not surprising that for the penultimate episode for Season 2 of “Strange New Worlds,” executive producers Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman would mount the first-ever full-on musical episode in “Trek” history.

Related Stories

‘Star Wars Outlaws’: Disney Tests Gamers’ Appetite for Hollywood IP

Popular on variety.

As Myers and Goldsman explain to Variety , “Subspace Rhapsody” was the result of more than six months of intense work by the cast and crew, as the songs were built around the actors’ respective vocal abilities by composers Kay Hanley (Letters to Cleo) and Tom Polce (Letters to Cleo, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), in partnership with writers Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff. 

The showrunners also revealed which performance ultimately did not make the episode, and what to make of Kirk’s allusion to an it’s-complicated relationship with a woman named Carol.

How did the idea for this episode first arise?

Akiva Goldsman: The truth is it goes all the way back to Season 1 of “Star Trek: Picard.” We were sitting on set and [co-showrunner Michael] Chabon and I were talking about a musical [episode], and Chabon goes, “I know Lin-Manuel Miranda.” [Actor] Michelle Hurd was there and she was like, “Oh my God, call him!” And so then, like, three days later, Michael came in. And we said, “Did you call him?” And he goes, “Yeah, he didn’t call me back.” And so died the musical idea for that series. 

I love musicals, but know nothing about them. And then it turns out my partner Henry has done this before, and well. And so what a fucking delight! I mean, I had no idea what we were biting off. Henry clearly did.

So how did it finally happen for “Strange New Worlds”?

Myers: The idea for it came when were pitching what Season 2 should be. I remember, Bill [Wolkoff], one of our writers had a crazy idea, and we were like, ‘Well, that’s interesting, let’s try that!’ I did a bunch of musicals on “The Magicians,” and I did one on “Ugly Betty.” And so I just knew what a giant pain it would be — I mean, how difficult it was. I started making calls probably about six months before production.

Goldsman: We were lucky enough to suddenly have a cohort that knew how to do all these things, and they were collaborative. It was built around story and theme, and it was tailored to the vocal ranges of the particular actors. We ended up with an absurdly good cast on “Strange New Worlds.” Like, it makes no sense whatsoever. Usually, there’s a dud in the bunch. It was as if they all secretly had been coveting the idea of a musical their entire lives. So it was really good fortune how much everybody liked doing it.

There are so many threads in this episode that originated much earlier in the season: Spock and Chapel’s break-up, La’an’s feelings for Kirk, Uhura’s feelings of isolation. How did you build this episode’s the story around them?

Goldsman: We don’t break them episodically. We break the season first, so we know what our 10 episodes are — in terms of character development, really. We’re a hybridized object. We are episodic, fundamentally, in terms of plot, but serialized in terms of character arc. So we knew what the characters had to go through in the episode and that was connected to where they had come from and where they were going.

What was the most important thing for you to get right?

That was all that I came in pushing. And then everyone else jumped in and actually did it. We had someone to teach the people to sing. We had someone to teach them how to dance. The actual shooting of it, weirdly, was not as hard as you’d think, but only because it has months and months of work to lead up to it.

How much of that was happening in parallel with production and all the other episodes?

Myers: All of it! A lot of our cast were walking around set, shooting previous episodes, looking at what they were going to be singing, playing with each other. They would come in on the weekend and work on the dancing. 

How did you bridge the songs and the story?

Myers: We had broken an early concept of what the story would be, which we then shared with our composer and lyricist, and they would send it back to us and then we would give them thoughts. The two writers who wrote the episode were deeply involved in that. We were trying to make sure that all of the stuff that they were coming up with linked with what we were coming up with. They wanted the show to feel like the show, and we wanted the show to feel like a musical. So we kind of found this great place in the middle.

So, for example, who was the person who realized Spock could sing about being both Chapel’s ex and the x variable in an emotional equation?

Myers: I think that came from our composer and our lyricist. Usually, we’d say, “Here’s the emotional thing that’s supposed to happen. We know the beginning. And we know the end.” Because these are story scenes. It can’t be just a song that describes everything you know. This has to be a scene that reveals something. So we knew what was generally supposed to happen. And then we were like, “Now that you have that, go have fun. Come back to us when you have something.”

Celia Rose Gooding, Rebecca Romijn and Christina Chong are all singers, but did you know that the rest of the cast could sing as well?

Goldsman: No! Our composer played with all of them to see what their range was, and we wrote for them. I mean, I didn’t know Ethan could sing until I went, “Holy fuck, Ethan can sing!” Which is, by the way, kind of what happens when you watch the episode. You’re like, “Wait, Spock is singing now?”

Are there any musical areas that you explored that ultimately didn’t make it into the episode?

Goldsman: Well, we had one fantastic moment of contention, which we won. There’s two versions of the Klingons at the end.

Myers: And we did them both because we were like, we’ll try out everything. The other version is great, too. But this was the one that really kind of, you know, knocked us out. That’s why we wanted it.

What we see are the Klingons performing like they’re in a pop boy band, but you shot another genre with them as well?

Myers: We did an operatic one which was also great because the Klingons have a history with that. And it was also good. 

Myers: The boy band took you by surprise. It was not what you thought was going to happen. I’m delighted by it.

At one point, Kirk tells La’an that he’s in a complicated relationship with a woman named Carol, who is pregnant with his son — which “Trek” fans know is Dr. Carol Marcus, who first appears with Kirk’s grown son David in 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Would that suggest we’ll meet Carol in Season 3 of “Strange New Worlds”?

Goldsman: I think what we can say is the conversation about James T. Kirk’s love life is not over.

Myers: There’s a lot of known history about his love life, and this part had never really been explored. So we thought, what an opportunity. That’s really what we try to do on the show: None of these things that we know about happening later are known to the people in it.

I will ask the very nerdy question: Did you do the math as far as when Kirk’s son is supposed to have been born vis-a-vis the timeline of the show?

Goldsman: Oh, we always do the math. Anytime we can make canon work, we do. I mean, we’ll body English around it now and then for the sake of a story. But fundamentally, we really try to adhere.

So would you do another musical episode? 

Goldsman: In a heartbeat. 

Myers: Absolutely. But now that’s a high bar. It has to earn itself and be purposeful and feel like a great thing to do. But we loved it.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

More from Variety

Greek Oscar Chaos Deepens as Government, Industry Look for Way Forward After ‘Unacceptable and Distressing’ Selection Fiasco

4D Movie Tech Lacks Consumer Awareness: Survey

‘Flow,’ Animated Feature Oscar Contender and Annecy Winner, Lands Fall Release Date (EXCLUSIVE)

Jimmy Kimmel Turned Down Hosting 2025 Oscars Because ‘I’m Not Good at Balancing’ It and Late Night Show: ‘It Was Just Too Much Last Year’

‘Existential Threat’ of AI Central to Animation Guild Negotiations

International Oscar Race: Morocco Picks Nabil Ayouch’s ‘Everybody Loves Touda’

More from our brands, herbie flowers, bassist on lou reed’s ‘walk on the wild side,’ dead at 86.

An NFL Legend’s Custom Vacation Retreat in Montana Is Heading to Auction This Month

Cowboys’ Prescott Signs Record Contract Worth $60M Per Year

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

Kendrick Lamar to Headline Super Bowl 59 Halftime Show in February

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9, 'Subspace Rhapsody,' Recap & Spoilers

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

'When Marvel Calls, You Go': MCU Star Up for Return After Controversial Character Death

Star wars: darth maul's complete timeline, explained, 'i do not worship your business': gina carano on refusing disney's request to apologize for controversy.

The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody," now streaming on Paramount+.

The crew of the USS Enterprise indulges in a little song and dance on a mission that seems like a humorous and light-hearted musical at first, but quickly grows into a high-stakes mission over the fate of Starfleet. And the musical interlude comes at a personal crossroads for Spock and Christine Chapel, along with Christopher Pike and Batel. By the time the final song has been sung, several members of the crew walk away with a better understanding of themselves -- albeit not all in the happiest of ways.

While investigating an anomaly, Spock and Nyota Uhura try out a new communications system, routing messages through subspace to increase the speed of their transmission. This coincides with Jim Kirk visiting the Enterprise on a temporary assignment to build up his potential as an eventual command candidate. Frustrated by difficulties with the communications system, Pelia suggests transmitting music through the system because of the difference in its harmonics. This accidentally prompts the anomaly's probability field to overtake the Enterprise , causing its crew to spontaneously break out into musical numbers.

RELATED: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Jeff W. Byrd Brings Fiery Intensity to Season 2

Spock theorizes that the anomaly runs the risk of expanding the probability field if the Enterprise attempts to leave its immediate vicinity, effectively forcing them to stay until the problem is resolved. Kirk and Number One examine how the anomaly may have affected the ship's systems -- realizing that the singing causes them to vocalize their innermost inhibitions without any self-control. After her own self-reflective song about her crush on Kirk, La'an Noonien-Singh warns Pike about the confessional nature of the field's effects. He dismisses her warning until he has an emotional duet with his girlfriend Batel.

Puzzled as to why Batel would also sing, Spock quickly deduces that any Federation vessel connected to the Enterprise 's new communications system is affected by the anomaly -- which is confirmed by Admiral Robert April. Noonien-Singh admits her feelings for Kirk to Number One in a duet, then agrees to work with Kirk after venting her emotions. To make matters worse, the probability field expands into the Klingon Empire. A Klingon battle cruiser threatens to destroy the anomaly, which would inadvertently eliminate all the affected Federation and Klingon ships by an explosive chain reaction.

RELATED: Strange New Worlds' Dinner Party Echoes a Key Moment in the Star Trek Movies

Working together to find a way to stop the Klingons from attacking the anomaly without triggering another war, Noonien-Singh tells Kirk about her time-travel adventure with an alternate version of him, even though Kirk is in a relationship with Carol Marcus. Elsewhere, Spock learns Chapel has been accepted into a prestigious fellowship headed by her future husband Roger Korby that would take her away from the Enterprise , and is upset that she kept it a secret from him. As Spock and Uhura work out the harmonic pattern to reverse the field’s musical effects, Spock musically declares that he will never let the emotions of his human side leave him hurt again in the wake of Chapel's career decision.

Uhura calculates that the entire Enterprise crew needs to sing in thematic unison to shatter the probability field, with Pike trusting Uhura to lead the crew due to her connection with all of them. With added help from the uncontrollably singing Klingons, the Starfleet officers are successful in shattering the probability field and restoring all the ships to normal. But Spock and Chapel remain estranged and Noonien-Singh is left deeply disappointed her romance with Kirk never took off. She resolves to be more proactive with her personal life as the Enterprise continues toward the end of Strange New Worlds Season 2.

Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds releases new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)

• Anime & Manga
• Call of Duty
• Gameumentary
• Review in 3 Minutes
• Design Delve
• Extra Punctuation
• Zero Punctuation
• Area of Effect
• Escape the Law
• In the Frame
• New Narrative
• Out of Focus
• Slightly Something Else
• Escapist Staff
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Affiliate Policy

‘Subspace Rhapsody’ Is a Fascinating and Flawed Star Trek Musical

This discussion and review contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 9, “Subspace Rhapsody” (a musical), on Paramount+.

It is surprising that it took Star Trek so long to do a musical episode.

After all, John Ford wrote a musical Star Trek tie-in novel in October 1987. William Shatner reportedly considered staging a musical variety show to celebrate the franchise’s 50th anniversary. Fans performed a loving stage musical Boldly Go! , which is available in its entirety on YouTube. Pop songs like The Firm’s “ Star Trekkin’ ” translate the franchise’s iconography to music. The franchise has given musical set pieces to stars like Brent Spiner , Avery Brooks , and Robert Picardo .

More than that, the musical episode was a staple of turn-of-the-millennium television. The most famous example might be “Once More, with Feeling,” the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that aired in November 2001. However, this was the culmination of a larger trend that included episodes like “ The Musical, Almost ” on Ally McBeal , “ Brain Salad Surgery ” on Chicago Hope , “ Old Tree ” on Northern Exposure , “ The Bitter Suite ” on Xena: Warrior Princess , and many more.

As such, “Subspace Rhapsody,” the much anticipated Strange New Worlds musical episode, fits firmly within the show’s nostalgia for the 1990s. As with “ Ad Astra Per Aspera ” earlier in the season, there is a sense that the franchise is finally doing something that would have been cutting-edge 30 years ago. Of course, while “Ad Astra Per Aspera” was confronting one of the franchise’s long-standing blind spots on civil rights, “Subspace Rhapsody” is really just doing something cute and fun.

As with “ Those Old Scientists ” earlier in the season, it is easier to admire “Subspace Rhapsody” on a technical level than it is to enjoy it as a satisfying piece of television. “Subspace Rhapsody” is clearly a labor of love for the cast and crew. It features original songs by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce, members of the band Letters to Cleo . It showcases choreography from stage and screen veteran Robert Campanella , whose past credits include Oscar-winning The Shape of Water .

On a purely technical level, “Subspace Rhapsody” is a showcase for an incredibly talented ensemble cast. It’s obvious that a lot of the series regulars have some experience with the form. Christine Chong has talked about how it “ was always (her) dream to do musical theatre .” Rebecca Romijn starred in The Producers opposite Richard Kind at the Hollywood Bowl . Before joining Strange New Worlds , Celia Rose Gooding broke out performing the Alanis Morissette musical Jagged Little Pill .

More than that, Star Trek should be doing more stuff like this. It is a gigantic multimedia franchise with a built-in fan base and high production values, with Nicole Clemens, president of original scripted series at Paramount+, talking openly about wanting an “ always on slate .” With that level of creative freedom and that volume of content, there is absolutely no reason for Star Trek to be as aesthetically conservative as it has been over the past few years.

Fans and critics have been quick to praise Strange New Worlds as “ a return to an episodic vision ,” but the show has failed to take advantage of that. The beauty of the episodic television model was the freedom that it afforded for experimentation. To pick a random example, The X-Files could do a black-and-white creature feature in “ The Post-Modern Prometheus ,” a found-footage crossover with Cops in “ X-Cops ,” and a series of long-take sequences broken up by commercial breaks in “ Triangle .”

Star Trek should be willing to play with its form. Strange New Worlds should be willing to be both strange and new. With the move to digital cameras and with no commercial breaks on streaming, why not do an episode in a single extended take? What about an episode in the “ screenlife ” style? Strange New Worlds should be taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by the episodic model, where every installment is a chance to do something exciting and interesting.

In that sense, both “Those Old Scientists” and “Subspace Rhapsody” are welcome additions to the Star Trek canon, in that they push the limits of what is possible within the established Star Trek format. “Those Old Scientists” proves that it is possible to blend animation and live action in a single Star Trek episode. “Subspace Rhapsody” proves that the production team can stage what is effectively an hour-long musical. That is commendable.

At the same time, it is frustrating to watch “Subspace Rhapsody” and wish that it was… well, better. As with “Those Old Scientists,” the episode is so thrilled to be playing with a new set of toys that it fails to really build a compelling narrative around them. There is no sense of stakes. There is no sense of momentum. There are some vaguely interesting thematic dynamics at play, but even those end up muddled at the end.

“Subspace Rhapsody” is a relationship episode. The character arcs running through “Subspace Rhapsody” focus on three potential couples: Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano), Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), Lieutenant Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and Lieutenant Kirk (Paul Wesley). However, it’s frustrating that the episode ultimately shelves two of these three relationships.

To be fair, this is an issue with both the episodic format and the prequel nature of Strange New Worlds . Without long-form serialization, it’s not really possible to watch relationships grow and develop as they did with characters like Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald), Kira (Nana Visitor) and Odo (René Auberjonois), or Worf (Michael Dorn) and Dax (Terry Farrell) on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . If each story has to be self-contained, the characters cannot truly change between installments.

Similarly, most of the key characters in Strange New Worlds already have a predetermined path through the established canon. Based on their knowledge of existing Star Trek media, fans know that Spock and Chapel or Kirk and Noonien-Singh cannot end up together. This has the effect of undermining any attempt to wring drama from their interpersonal relationships. More than that, it makes the choice seem deeply cynical, an attempt to get the audience to invest in an impossibility. It feels like a waste of everybody’s time.

As such, “Subspace Rhapsody” literally makes a song and dance about two relationships that cannot go anywhere. The “will they / won’t they?” dynamic between Noonien-Singh and Kirk that was first teased only a few episodes ago in “ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ” ends in a simple “they won’t.” The Spock and Chapel romance that only began at the end of “ Charades ,” four episodes ago, is cut short as it would always have to be.

The only real character development that comes from “Subspace Rhapsody” is that Pike and Batel are pretty much in the exact same place that they were at the end of “ Among the Lotus Eaters .” They are in a relationship, but not so committed that it will meaningfully impact the show, as Batel is on another ship. There is nothing wrong with Star Trek asking its audience to embrace interpersonal dynamics, but those dynamics must actually have weight. Otherwise, it feels like watching pieces being shuffled aimlessly around a board.

This is where the themes of “Subspace Rhapsody” get a little muddled. One of the more interesting aspects of Strange New Worlds is its recurring fascination with the idea of gender and performance. This is most obvious with Spock, particularly in episodes like “ Spock Amok ” and “ The Serene Squall .” The show returns time and again to the idea of gendered archetypes and the idea of heterosexuality as a sort of performance. “Ad Astra Per Aspera” and “Charades” are both episodes about “ passing .”

Whether fairly or not, stage musicals and pop music are not seen as stereotypically or conventionally heteronormative masculine spaces. As Kelly Kessler argued , “The performance of song and dance – as well as musical theatre – culturally has been associated with non-hegemonic or queered masculinity.” It is such an accepted cliché that Neil Patrick Harris famously opened the 2011 Tony Awards by jokingly assuring straight audiences that Broadway is “ not just for gays anymore .”

“Subspace Rhapsody” is obviously playing with this. A subspace fold prompts big musical numbers, and those songs find characters expressing their emotional inner lives. The crew find that emotional openness to be an existential threat. “Lieutenant, are you telling us that our emotions constitute a security threat?” Pike asks Noonien-Singh incredulously early in the episode. However, after performing his own musical number to Batel, Pike seems to agree. “The subspace fold, I think we should blow it up,” he states bluntly.

Obviously, it is not only male characters affected – Noonien-Singh is among those most horrified at the thought of being rendered emotionally vulnerable. However, it does tie into longstanding tensions about how men are socialized to repress their emotions . After all, the episode’s stakes only really escalate when the stereotypically macho Klingons are affected. One of the episode’s best gags features a deeply humiliated Klingon boy band, with the Empire vowing to destroy “the abominable source of our dishonor.”

It’s clever and well intentioned, but it is also shallow. As with so much of the show’s interrogation and subversion of gender roles, there’s a lack of diversity of perspective. All three primary couples in the episode are heterosexual, with no queer perspectives represented in what has traditionally been seen — as James Lovelock points out — as “ a safe ‘queer space’. ” More than that, the episode ends with the rift closed. Spock goes back to being his stoic and repressed self, with no sense that he has grown or learned anything.

It’s easier to appreciate “Subspace Rhapsody” as pure spectacle. There is a lot of fun to be had in rhyming technobabble — “inertia dampeners” with “hampered,” “your last breath” with “mek’leth.” The choreography makes impressive use of the show’s sets, with Chapel getting a big crowd number in the crew lounge and Spock using the safety railing in engineering like a balcony. Indeed, there’s something charming in the Enterprise and Klingon ships literally dancing in space like they’re in a Busby Berkeley number.

“Subspace Rhapsody” is an episode that it’s easier to admire than to enjoy. It’s a pleasant enough tune, but it’s not a showstopping success.

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' season two's musical may be the best Trek episode ever made

Set phasers to MUSICAL!

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Strange New Worlds" Season 2, episode 9

We've talked before about refreshing it is when "Star Trek" doesn't take itself too seriously; the most obvious example of that was probably the epic "Deep Space Nine" (DS9) crossover with "The Original Series" (TOS) in the episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" (S05, E06) that aired in 1996 as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations.

You could also probably include quite a few episodes of TOS as examples of when the show didn't take itself too seriously, like "The Squire of Gothos" (S01, E17) and thankfully " Strange New Worlds " has continued this tradition. However, one might have thought that in a season that's only 10 episodes long — both "DS9" and "TOS" average 26 episodes per season — there might really only be enough room for one epically entertaining and irreverent episode. And in the past, it's typically been per show , not even per season . 

Let's face facts. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" popularized the musical episode with the phenomenal installment "Once More, With Feeling" (S06, E07) and this was way back in November 2001, nearly 22 years ago. If it wasn't the first time it had ever been done, it certainly became the most well known. And after the "Lower Decks" crossover just two weeks ago came a moderate case of whiplash as we were snapped back into the grim, gritty horrors of war. And now we're suddenly back at the London Palladium once again for a impromptu musical number. Being a fan of "Strange New Worlds" at the moment kind of feels a little like being at the end of long piece of emotional elastic.

Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus: Get a one month free trial  

Get all the Star Trek content you can possibly handle with this free trial of Paramount Plus. Watch new shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and all the classic Trek movies and TV shows too. Plans start from $4.99/month after the trial ends.

It needs to be stressed that none of this is a reflection of the quality of this installment, on the contrary, we're going to go out on a limb here and say that this might very well be the best episode of "Star Trek" that's ever been made. But, when the cherry is already on top of a generous helping of strawberry sauce, which itself adorns several scoops of whipped cream that sits in the middle of a lake of melted chocolate, dripping over a mountain of melt-in-your-mouth ice cream, all covered in a monsoon of hundreds and thousands , you might forget about the cherry. What's needed is a layer or two of sponge and maybe even a biscuit base. It's all about equal proportions and this second season is not of equal proportions. 

Consequently, the full impact of this has been less than it could have — and should have — been. "Strange New Worlds" is adapting and showing it has an impressive range, but it's potential is being squandered by rushing. So, what's the reason behind the rush? 

Well, last week we mentioned how unusual it was to a) have the character of Kirk popping up quite so much, b) how little focus there had been on Pike himself and finally c) we seem to discovering quite quickly all the reasons why the new characters weren't on the Enterprise in "TOS." You may recall that we speculated a clock with considerably less time on it than we would want, is already ticking down. And sadly, that theory was supported further by events in this episode. 

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Lieutenant James Kirk (Paul Wesley) references his request for a command commission — his first command will of course be the USS Enterprise. Kirk also makes a reference to Dr Carol Marcus, his love interest from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and played by Bibi Besch in the movie. And in doing so, he also makes reference to the fact that she's pregnant with his kid, who will of course turn out to be David Marcus, played by Merritt Butrick, before he's killed with a Klingon D'k tahg in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Oh, spoiler alert. 

The in-universe date for the events of "The Wrath of Khan" is 2285, the actor was aged 21 and the in-universe date for this episode is 2259. According to canon, that would make David 26 when we're introduced to him in "The Wrath of Khan." If she's just pregnant, then it's plausible, but it was always implied that Kirk never had time to spend with his son, choosing to chase through the universe instead and that was a result of being in command of a Federation starship. 

According to Memory Alpha , the events of "The Motion Picture" are assumed to be in the mid 2270s, approximately two and a half years after Kirk finished his five-year mission on the USS Enterprise. Memory Alpha also suggests that Kirk didn't take command of the NCC-1701 until 2265, "at the age of 32, Kirk assumed command of the Constitution-class USS Enterprise from Fleet Captain Pike." And that leaves a six-year gap, which makes it even harder to guess where this show is going. Plus Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) makes a reference to studying with Dr. Roger Korby and the forthcoming events of TOS episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of" (S01, E07).

 —  'Strange New Worlds' season 2 episode 7's wild crossover with 'Lower Decks'

 — The Chapel-Spock-T'Pring love triangle takes a turn in episode 5

 —  'Strange New Worlds is suffering from an episode order affliction

But enough of this second guessing shenanigans. 

The choice of tunes was great, with some lengthy vocal numbers, plus a more up-beat routine with Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel) all the way to the Klingon warrior boyband snippet, which was nothing short of inspired genius. Although a more varied mix of styles might have been fun. We already know Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Nyota Uhura) can sing like a heavenly angel, one can help but wonder who out of the cast is actually singing and who is lip·synching to a similar-sounding voice?!

When you think back to "TOS" episodes like "The Squire of Gothos" as we've mentioned above or even "The Way to Eden" (S03, E20), an episode like this is exactly in the vein of "Star Trek," it's just a damn shame that Joss Whedon got there first and forever put his stamp on the idea. Bravo sir, bravo. 

The next episode is the season finale, and given the back-and-forth and up-and-down and round-and-round nature of this second season, hold on to your potatoes, 'cause just about anything could happen. 

"Strange New Worlds" and every episode of nearly every "Star Trek" show currently airing streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the US. Internationally, the shows are available on Paramount Plus in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream exclusively on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.

Follow Scott Snowden on  Twitter . Follow us on Twitter  @Spacedotcom  and on  Facebook . 

 —  'Strange New Worlds' S02, E04 refers to an incident from the TOS pilot

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

The best 60s sci-fi movies

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 126 — Danger! Rogue Planets!

NASA delays ESCAPADE Mars launch on Blue Origin's giant New Glenn rocket to 2025 to avoid potential cost overruns

• JohnnyBoy230 STAR TREK IS NOT A MUSICAL! That episode was horrifically bad, barely made it through it. Also, please don’t encourage them to make another one and calling it the best episode ever is hyperbolic at the least and downright silly. Boo this man! Reply
• Bagofwisdom This isn't even close to the quality of DS9's "The visitor" or "In the Pale Moon Light." Nor is it close to TNG's "Inner Light" I don't hold it in as high regard as the Lower Decks crossover either. This episode wasn't TNG season 2 finale or Spock's brain bad, but it's not what I'd call good either. Reply
• Classical Motion That was the best star trek episode I've seen in a long long time. It was great. Reply
• COLGeek For those that take ST way too seriously... syV2LkGpQB0 View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syV2LkGpQB0 'Tis but a light moment, or two, before things will obviously go dark. Remember the Gorn? Reply
• Classical Motion Especially those high pitched Klingons. Knocked me over. Reply
• billslugg They lost me Dec 29, 1967. "Trouble With Tribbles". It was just not "Star Trek". It's like when Fonzie went water skiing with his leather jacket on and jumped over a shark. Reply
• Paranoimia I don't think so. I usually really enjoy the show, but I lasted 15 minutes before I had to switch this episode off. I just can't abide musicals. Reply
• Classical Motion Classic western, a young Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg. Paint Your Wagon. All real cowboys sing. Always have. Reply
• billslugg At an affair in Phila ca 1968. Clint Eastwood: "Hi, Clint Eastwood, good to meet you." My Dad: "Bill Smith, good to meet you. So, Mr. Eastman, what line of work are you in?" Clint Eastwood: Big Smile. Stayed right by Dad the whole evening. Reply
• Cgray77 "Strange New Worlds' season 2's musical episode may be the best 'Star Trek' show ever made" If you say so, friend. 😞 Reply
• View All 10 Comments

Most Popular

• 2 Boeing's Starliner ready to head home to Earth today
• 3 The best 60s sci-fi movies
• 4 'Slingshot' exclusive: Director Mikael Håfström discusses his haunting new sci-fi thriller
• 5 An annular solar eclipse will put a 'ring of fire' above one of the most isolated spots on Earth: Easter Island

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening This Week
• Top Box Office
• Coming Soon to Theaters
• Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 76% Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Link to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• 95% Rebel Ridge Link to Rebel Ridge
• 100% His Three Daughters Link to His Three Daughters

New TV Tonight

• 59% Emily in Paris: Season 4
• -- Three Women: Season 1
• -- Universal Basic Guys: Season 1
• -- My Brilliant Friend: Story of the Lost Child: Season 4
• -- The Old Man: Season 2
• -- How to Die Alone: Season 1
• -- Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Season 1
• -- The Circle: Season 7
• -- Jack Whitehall: Fatherhood with My Father: Season 1
• -- In Vogue: The 90s: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 54% The Perfect Couple: Season 1
• 76% Kaos: Season 1
• 83% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2
• 100% Slow Horses: Season 4
• 100% Dark Winds: Season 2
• 89% Terminator Zero: Season 1
• 97% English Teacher: Season 1
• 93% Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist: Season 1
• 93% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV

Certified fresh pick

• 100% Slow Horses: Season 4 Link to Slow Horses: Season 4
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Best TV Shows of 2024: Best New Series to Watch Now

All Tim Burton Movies Ranked

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Cast on Reuniting with Tim Burton

New Movies and TV Shows Streaming in September 2024: What to Watch on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max and more

• Trending on RT
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• Top 10 Box Office
• Toronto Film Festival
• Popular Shows on Amazon Prime

Star Trek – Season 2, Episode 9

Metamorphosis, where to watch, star trek — season 2, episode 9.

Watch Star Trek — Season 2, Episode 9 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

More Like This

Cast & crew.

William Shatner

Capt. James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy

DeForest Kelley

Dr. Leonard McCoy

James Doohan

Engineer Montgomery Scott

Nichelle Nichols

George Takei

Episode Info

It's the Pirate's Life for Tendi in New 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5 Sneak Peek

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Starfleet science officer turned pirate D'Vana Tendi is pillaging and plundering in her own unique way in the first sneak peek from the upcoming season of Star Trek: Lower Decks . The show's fifth and final season will premiere on Paramount+ on October 24. Released as part of today's Star Trek Day celebrations , the sneak peek picks up from last season's finale, which saw Tendi leave Starfleet to work with her family in exchange for their help against a spacefaring menace. In the sneak peek, we see a leering alien collector introduce his collection of alien antiquities to a naive young woman, only for his ship to be attacked by Orion pirates. Confident, the collector reveals he can control his ship from his museum — which is the woman's cue to reveal that she's actually a disguised Tendi ( Noël Wells ).

She incapacitates him and gives the Orions control of the ship — but, still maintaining her Starfleet values, insists that her crew only rob the collector and his men, rather than kill them. Some light maiming does occur, however. The collector, notably, appears to be the same species as Palor Toff, an alien collector seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Most Toys", complete with the same distinctive nose ornament; played by the late Nehemiah Persoff , he's a rival to follow antiquarian Kivas Fajo, who kidnapped Data to be the ultimate collectible. The collector in the sneak peek also shows off a Veltan sex idol, which was also mentioned in that episode.

What Do We Know About 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 5?

It's the end of the series' five-year mission, which will go out with a super-sized finale this December. But before that, the USS Cerritos has the decidedly unglamorous mission to fix a series of "space potholes", a series of subspace rifts causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. However, they will of course be waylaid by a bunch of misfortunes along the way, including a war between the Orions, a murder mystery, belligerent Klingons, and, of course, getting their friend Tendi back from her sister's pirate crew. Along the way, our intrepid Lower Deckers will have to come to terms with their new promotions, which threaten to separate them for good. And although the series may be ending, creator Mike McMahan would love to do more, and the final season may be seeded with potential spin-offs .

Star Trek: Lower Decks is produced by CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, CBS Studios’ animation arm; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment. It is executive produced by Alex Kurtzman , McMahan, Aaron Baiers , Rod Roddenberry , and Trevor Roth . Animation is provided by Titmouse.

Star Trek: Lower Decks ' fifth and final season will premiere on October 24, 2024, on Paramount+ . Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and watch the new clip from season five above.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Behind every great captain, is a crew keeping the ship from falling to pieces. These are the hilarious stories of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

Watch on Paramount+

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Who Mourns for Adonais?

• Episode aired Sep 22, 1967

A powerful being claiming to be the Greek god Apollo appears and demands that the crew of the Enterprise disembark onto his planet to worship him. A powerful being claiming to be the Greek god Apollo appears and demands that the crew of the Enterprise disembark onto his planet to worship him. A powerful being claiming to be the Greek god Apollo appears and demands that the crew of the Enterprise disembark onto his planet to worship him.

• Marc Daniels
• Gene Roddenberry
• Gilbert Ralston
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 37 User reviews
• 13 Critic reviews

Top cast 13

• Captain James T. Kirk

• Lieutenant Hadley
• (uncredited)

• Lieutenant Leslie
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia The title is taken from Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats by Percy Bysshe Shelley . Line 415 reads "Who mourns for Adonais?" Shelley's Adonais is derived from Adonis, a male figure of Greek mythology associated with fertility. Also, "Adonais" would be the English plural of the Hebrew Spoken Name of God (the Hebrew word 'adonai' simply means 'lord'), so it would mean "Who Mourns for the Gods?"
• Goofs At minute 22, Spock refers to Apollo by name. Apollo told his name only to the landing party, and not the people left on the ship.

[last lines]

Dr. McCoy : I wish we hadn't had to do this.

Capt. Kirk : So do I. They gave us so much - the Greek civilization, much of our culture and philosophy came from the worship of those beings. In a way, they began the Golden Age. Would it have hurt us, I wonder, just to have gathered a few laurel leaves?

• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Featured in William Shatner's Star Trek Memories (1995)
• Soundtracks Theme Music credited to Alexander Courage Sung by Loulie Jean Norman

User reviews 37

• wwcanoer-tech
• Mar 19, 2022
• September 22, 1967 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
• Desilu Productions
• Norway Corporation
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 50 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

Screen Rant

Remember captain sisko's sister because star trek: ds9 forgot.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Cast & Character Guide

Recasting star trek: ds9 for a movie reboot, 34 years later, star trek's most disappointing tng character exit still hurts.

Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) had a mysterious sister that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine mostly forgot about. Sisko commanded Deep Space Nine for seven seasons, rising from a Starfleet Commander of a space station on the edge of the United Federation of Planets' frontier to a decorated Captain and war hero. But Sisko was more than his dedication to his Starfleet duty and his destiny as the Emissary of the Prophets of Bajor. Benjamin Sisko was also a family man, although the Sisko clan was bigger than DS9 ever showed.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke the mold by introducing Benjamin Sisko as a widower and father to his young son, Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton). Ben tragically lost his wife, Jennifer (Felicia M. Bell), during Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Battle of Wolf 359 , and he raised Jake as a single parent on Deep Space Nine. But Ben and Jake had more family on Earth, and they occasionally visited their homeworld to see Joseph Sisko (Brock Peters), Ben's father and Jake's granddad. Still, more Siskos living on Earth were mentioned but never seen on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ; chief among them, Ben's half-sister Judith.

Star Trek: DS9 Forgot Captain Sisko’s Sister

Who was judith sisko.

Judith Sisko is the daughter of Joseph Sisko and the half-sister of Benjamin Sisko , which also makes her Jake's aunt. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4's episode, "Homefront," Ben chastises his dad for not letting Judith help him out at their family's New Orleans restaurant, Sisko's Creole Kitchen. Joseph retorted, " Your sister's got her own life to worry about. " Apparently, Judith inherited her lack of culinary skills from her unnamed mother, Joseph's second wife, since mother and daughter never put enough cayenne pepper in the jambalaya, a crime that proved to Joseph they "have no business being in a kitchen."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had the biggest cast of characters of any Trek show, meaning that Captain Sisko had numerous allies in the Dominion War.

Commander Ben Sisko planned to visit Judith at her home in Portland in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3's "Past Tense" before he time-traveled to 2024 San Francisco's Bell Riots . Judith also has at least two brothers from their mother, Joseph Sisko's second wife, which makes them Ben's half-brothers, who were also never seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Meanwhile, Benjamin is the only son of Sarah Sisko (Deborah Lacey), who was possessed by one of the Prophets of Bajor to give birth to Ben as their Emissary. Sarah was Joseph Sisko's first wife who vanished when Ben was a child, breaking Joseph's heart.

Why Star Trek: DS9 Never Showed Captain Sisko’s Whole Family

Ds9 was a long away from earth.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine never showed the entire Sisko family since Benjamin's siblings were irrelevant to his story as a Starfleet Captain fighting the Dominion or as the Emissary of the Prophets . Still, Ben Sisko's family, as seen on-screen, was more expansive than that of other Star Trek C aptains. Along with Jake and Joseph, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced Captain Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson), Ben Sisko's second wife. By the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Ben had a new baby with Kasidy.

"The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko" by Derek Tyler Attico filled in the blanks and told Captain Sisko's life story, but it's unfortunately not considered official Star Trek canon.

One of the most refreshing things about Captain Sisko was how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine eschewed the paradigm of the lonely Captain devoted to his starship. Captain Sisko was responsible for an entire space station and its population, plus a starship, and he was one of Bajor's religious icons. Yet Benjamin never failed to be an incredible father to Jake , a dutiful son to Joseph, or a devoted partner to Kasidy. Seeing Judith Sisko and the rest of Ben's siblings would have completed the Sisko clan on-screen, but Captain Sisko was already an exceptionally well-rounded family man on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Your rating.

Your comment has not been saved

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.