Nows and Forevers

One of the few constants in my life has been “Star Trek.” I was born during the original run of the series in the 1960s, was a member of the first generation to catch it in reruns in the early 1970s and I’ve been a fan ever since. With the exception of “Enterprise” (and “Prodigy” in the latest generation of series), I’ve been a huge fan.

I had been hooked by the idea of a series starring Captain Christopher Pike, the hero of the original 1964 pilot, after seeing Pike, a young Spock and Number One in the second season of “Star Trek Discovery.” One of the few positive news items of the pandemic was the fact that Paramount Pictures agreed, and a year ago, in May 2022, the first 10-run episodes of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” aired on Paramount Plus.

“Strange New Worlds” was pretty good, especially the first and last episode of the first season. Sure, it was a departure from the serialized “Discovery” and, to a lesser extent, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” which remains my favorite of all the series except for TOS. They were individualized, one-off episodes that introduced new characters along with old, and started to fill out the mythology of the Pike era of the USS Enterprise. Anson Mount, Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn, along with the other actors and actresses, bring a lot to the characters.

Now they’re back for a second season, and I’m looking forward to every minute.