deanfwilson

Just like when I heard about the Buffy musical episode back in the day, I had some doubts about this episode (especially with what I saw in the trailer for it, which was somewhat misleading as to how this concept would be approached).

This wasn't just a musical episode, but a classic Star Trek one, where an anomaly is detected, which alters the behaviour of the crew. This is nothing new, and it's not beyond the realms of possibility to think that there could be some timeline or universe where singing is the dominant mode of communication.

The episode is about 50/50 singing and talking, as the crew struggle between their pent-up emotions (built up over the previous episodes) and their attempts to undo the effects of the subspace fold.

While clearly not everyone has the best singing voice, and I expect this was a major challenge for the actors, there are some real standouts, including Le'Ann and Uhura (who is, of course, the perfect character to deal with this kind of phenomenon). The musical production was also excellent, and the lyrics and styles fit the characters they were linked to.

Like the old Buffy episode, this episode worked as a great way to bring emotions to a head and resolve some brewing conflicts between characters. While not quite as impactful as that episode (where bigger reveals were made), this was still a very entertaining episode, which I think only Strange New Worlds could pull off.

I'm disappointed to see it rated so poorly, and I can't help but wonder if some people rated it low "in protest" before even seeing the episode itself. Let's hope folks can be more open to new things in future. To me, that is part of what Star Trek is all about.

The setting is simple, and yet so bizarre, that it's a wonder that this got funding -- but thank God it did! A group of washed-up clowns find themselves embroiled in a plan to save the day (or ruin it) when the power goes out from a supposed solar flare and everything goes to chaos.

While at times silly (though intentionally so), this film is packed with humour, both in the setting, the writing, and the very physical performances given by several of the actors.

It is this latter that makes this film really shine, elevating it from a fun romp to something more impressive. Natalie Palamides as Funzo and Ivan Kaye as the Great Alphonso are particularly outstanding, and not only deserve strong praise for their portrayals here, but deserve more major roles elsewhere to showcase their talents.

There's plenty of very Irish humour and references here that others might not get, but that's part of its charm. It's good to see Ireland put out interesting and odd cinematic experiences.

This is an amazing opening episode, with action, character development, mystery, and enough hints at both what's to come and what came before.

This episode pays homage to the series that came before, for fans of these characters, but it also gives enough information (without overloading) for those who are completely new, walking a fine balance almost perfectly.

One thing I particularly liked was that the "puzzle-solving" wasn't done in seconds, but shown to be actual challenges that took time and effort to uncover.

One thing I didn't particularly like was the rock music in the speeder bike chase scene. It didn't really seem Star Wars to me, and that's perhaps the only moment that took me out of things.

The ending is a shock (and despite wanting to see more from a certain someone, I hope they don't try to undo this ending, as it would remove some of the impact).

This was an hour-long, and I was kept interested the entire way through. Let's hope the rest of the series holds up to this high standard.