With this week celebrating the 55th anniversary of the original broadcast of Star Trek, there’s been several major teaser announcements regarding what to expect in the forthcoming months.
Picard‘s Season 2 gets a full trailer giving a little more context to what we can expect. We already knew that John De Lancie was reprising the role of ‘Q’ and that there were elements of time-travel. We see more of the latter in this trailer and the claim that Q is behind a major shift in the timeline that leaves Picard’s era in the midst of a totalitarian regime (a little like the Mirror Universe but with less bling). Is it really all Q’s fault… either way Picard and his crew have to find a way to go back to 21st Century Los Angeles, possibly by using tech from the Borg Queen.
The teaser certainly plays to both familiar Trek and genre themes (time-travel – again, the Borg – again, ‘Let’s go to work!‘ etc etc) and the limitations placed by shooting in the age of COVID. After all, contemporary LA is also easier to create than glossy alien worlds. Given some of the ramshackle shelters seen in the background of some of the scenes, one wonders if it will acknowledge the ‘Bell Riots’ of 2024 and crippling social inequalities that were specifically referenced in Deep Space Nine’s two-parter Past Tense and arguably have some real relevance today.
Picard Season Two starts in February 2022. A third season has just been confirmed.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is one of the most anticipated series, drawing on both the original Trek pilot that featured Christopher Pike as the captain of the Enterprise and on the character’s return in the second season of Discovery (now played by Anson Mount). The performances by Mount, Ethan Peck (as Spock) and Rebecca Romijin as Luna/Number One were considered by many to be the best aspects of that Discovery season and led to Paramount giving the greenlight to see more of them in their own show.
The new teaser lets the main cast of Strange New Worlds introduce themselves and their characters. Beyond the actors/roles we already know we get the formal confirmation that Celia Rose Gooding will be playing a younger Uhura, Jess Bush will be Nurse Christine Chapel, Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga (all characters who appeared in that Trek pilot). New characters include Bruce Horak playing Hemmer, Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas and Christina Chong as La’an Noonein-Singh… and any self-respecting Trek fan should note that last surname with particular interest. Majel Barret Roddenberry, of course, played both Number One in the original pilot and then Nurse Chapel in the main series.
There’s no specific date for Strange New Worlds‘ debut, but it should be in 2022.
