Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV Series) Among the Lotus Eaters (2023) User Reviews

Tinnitus Sufferers Beware

[SouthernViews · 6/10 · 7 July 2023]

Although I enjoyed this episode, as someone who suffers from tinnitus, I found the show difficult to listen to. As the synopsis explains, some crew members suffer memory loss while exploring the planet. What you should be aware of, especially if watching in full surround sound, is the sound engineers chose to depict memory loss with a high-pitched tone resembling ringing in the ears. Personally, I found myself blocking my ears to get through these scenes. There are MANY of these scenes.

I just thought I should give that heads-up to fellow sufferers.

I enjoyed the story and liked that part of the episode revolved around Lt. Ortegas. From a storytelling perspective, the writers did a nice bookend with her character. Otherwise, the episode has nothing groundbreaking to add to the overall series, but it's decent filler.

Solid, classic Trek style episode

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 19 July 2023]

Enterprise is ordered to Rigel VII to investigate cultural contamination.

This has the feel of an original series story that explores a strange new world and its society in a way that reflects on humanity. I also like how it expands on a reference made by Pike in the original pilot episode 'The Cage'.

It has some pretty good themes. I particularly like how it questions the role that memories play in behaviour and personality. I have experienced immediate family members suffering effects of dementia and some of this hits home quite strongly with me.

Ortegas has a bit more to do than in previous episodes which is nice to see, however the focus is fairly evenly split between Enterprise and it's landing party. Melissa Navia gives a likeable performance, but the episode mostly belongs to Anson Mount, who has the best of the material with Pike's arc. Reed Birney also makes a good contribution as a guest character.

Visually it is quite striking in moments, particularly the colours used in various shots that reflect the sky on certain characters. As ever, the art design and effects are excellent.

For me it's a 7.5/10, but I round upwards.

Keep up the TNG-style

[Procyon_ · 8/10 · 26 July 2023]

I am really enjoying these self-contained episodes much like how TNG/DS9/Voy/ENT did it. I am also enjoying that there is no swearing or extreme violence/gore like Discovery/Picard had.

The writing and set design are also really good in SNW. The plot was concise and had good pacing. The visual effects in SNW are always striking and the ship while pristine looking feels inviting like Ent. D did.

Keep up the good work.

I do second others in saying that the audio could be better. Often the music/bass/effects are overpowering the dialog. Also the tinnutis ringing was painful coming out of speakers.

Good ep but the sound engineer should be fired

[tscruton1028 · 7/10 · 8 July 2023]

This was another solid episode from what is turning out to be a really good season of Trek. The plot is engaging and the characters are fun to watch.

The one thing that absolutely drove me insane was the high pitched whine that happened every time one of the crew experienced the effects of the planet. I understand the point was to show their disorientation but they could have found a far less annoying way to do it. I was watching on my tablet using head phones and I had to take them off every single time that noise started up. Am otherwise solid episode nearly ruined by a poor choice in sound editing.

Really stunned by the reception of this episode

[david-ddrew · 9/10 · 12 October 2023]

This episode was pitch-perfect TOS Trek. I honestly had to go back to make sure they didn't just recycle an old TOS episode. It hits all of the TOS tropes: the crew up against a seemingly impossible situation, the captain escapes through some brute force tactic, the episode's central problem resolves neatly and quickly. The captain is virtuous throughout despite all indications it might resolve otherwise.

This episode was a perfect chicken noodle soup for those of us who really loved TOS, which, I think, was the target for this series. To be a classic reimagining of the "problem of the week" series.

Good Trek, but wrapped it up way too fast.

[rrtiverton · 7/10 · 7 July 2023]

The episode fits nicely into the TOS canon of Pike losing crew on Rigel VII, but something is just... off about the plot devices.

The plot involves the Enterprise cleaning up a Prime Directive mess on the planet from that first visit. The problem with the planet is that radiation from a meteorite effects the areas of the brains memory functions. It is identified by Spock early on that the meteorite crashed into the planet 10,000 years ago. When Pike, La'an and M'Benga travel to the planet, they are almost immediately impact by the radiation. If this held true, would not his crew from the prior mission felt or recorded similar effects of the radiation? Tinnitus, brain fuzz, loss of time, etc. In the short visit? Anyhow. It turns out that one of the three crew members he thought he lost actually survived and was the cause of the Prime Directive issue.

The wrapped up the end of the episode WAY too fast. For some reason, they were able tractor-beam the meteorite off the planet and place it back into space AS A 10 SECOND ASIDE. No, "We found the culprit rock!", just Ortegas whipping it into space. Anyhow.

Good Trek - true to canon.

A better feature length Trek than Insurrection!

[bnevs18 · 9/10 · 2 November 2023]

I think I agree with most everyone on here...it could have been very very good with another half hour to age correctly. The premise was a great one, and most of the execution was great, but it did wrap up a little too easily.

A great look at memories and what remains when you lose them. It was about as good as NuTrek has gotten...but the downfall of the eventual "baddie" wasnt fleshed out enough.

It surprised me how low this episode got...but it more than lived up to the name Strange New Worlds.

Oh, and yes, the tinnitus sound was too on the nose. But it does give non-sufferers an idea what its like to have it. But they could have dialed it back a little.

Episode 205

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 23 July 2023]

Yes, you can definitely nitpick some things here and there about the whole memory issue, but for the most part this was yet another enjoyable episode of Star Trek. This felt very true to the original series and mirrored the kind of plot we might see on The Orville, both good things to do.

But it had the right kind of action and intrigue, and made us wonder how bad it would be if any of us ended up in this kind of situation. I like the show venturing more and more off the Enterprise and actually going into "Strange New Worlds" like the show's title suggests. That seems to be the winning formula.

This is how it's done

[fjmsoftware · 10/10 · 19 August 2023]

One of the best SNW episodes by far, this is what Star Trek should be, this is the kind of episode that always carried the show: sci-fi scenarios on other planets, with other races, holding up a mirror and having us ask the deepest questions about the human condition.

Sure, the tinnitus-like ringing was horrible for those of us who already have the real thing - we had to watch the whole episode with our finger stuck to the mute/unmute button, but that inconvenience was not enough for me to lower the score for what this type of episode represents: Star Trek with a Brain, the essence that always gave Star Trek shows their greatness.

There wants to be a story here

[codefool · 6/10 · 7 July 2023]

While the quality of SNW is generally above par for the rest of the Paramount/Kurtzman Trek offerings, the writing has generally been strong. This installment, however, needed to bake quite a bit longer.

The story has an interesting premise - no spoilers here - but it fails to develop to any degree of feasibility. But you can see that the writers are really trying to write something good, but they need a bit more practice to make it gel. Seriously - there's interpersonal relationships, regret, growth, change, and redemption, and some very very good acting going on.

But the logic of the situation is untenable - although they do try - it just couldn't unfold the way it's depicted.

At it's core this is an Ortegas story - as she is the one who introduces the main story through her personal log entry, and she's excited that she's getting to go on an away team mission - something she's never been able to do. But, there's a problem - the planet has a dense debris field that only she can navigate the Enterprise through and prevent disaster - so she must remain behind after all. The other story involves the Pike returning to Rigel VII to investigate and remove apparent Federation cultural contamination committed when Pike was first there five years earlier (and detailed somewhat in the TOS first pilot "The Cage.") When on Rigel VII the landing party undergoes some strife that is also afflicting the Enterprise crew. We see Ortegas suffer through personal trauma where she must overcome and rise to the occasion, and quite literally save the day. This does not rise to the level of a Mary Sue - but it is a local maximum.

So, all the elements of a good story are here, and the writers are trying hard but can't assemble the pieces together properly to make it great.

I'm continuing to find the Ortegas character grating if not outright annoying. I do not like her attitude, quips, or appearance - which in this episode is on full display. The writers either need to calm her down or give some explanation for why command tolerates her obvious and frequent insubordination. She lacks the restrained charm of a Chloe O'Brian - so some character development (as opposed to revelation) would help. If we understood why she acts the way she does, the we might build empathy for the character - but as it is she's just annoying.

It would also help greatly if the writer's took a science class (or two) to understand how space works, because right now it's apparent they have no clue. It spoils the buzz when the story is going well and then they fumble the science.

Why 'Star Trek' fans will never get good 'Star Trek'...

[RSO_Media · 9/10 · 14 July 2023]

This episode, 'Among the Lotus Eaters', is currently the lowest rated episode of season 2 of 'Strange New Worlds'. It's ranked lower than the first episode of this season, 'The Broken Circle', which is easily the worst episode of this season, and frankly, one of the worst episodes of all of 'Star Trek'.

In my review for 'The Broken Circle', I noted the conspicuous absence of 'strange new worlds' in a TV show that contains the phrase in the title, nor am I the only reviewer to point this out. Well, 'Among the Lotus Eaters' finally gives us a strange new world, and an interesting science-fiction story with our characters stuck on a planet which causes perpetual memory loss, and features good performances that stretch the range of our trio of main actors to top it all off and... it's the lowest rated episode of the season.

Some of you are your own worst enemies. Enjoy the next Star Trek reboot from Paramount with Khan and the Borg getting trotted back out for the millionth time, only now they'll be angsty teenagers challenging each other to starship Tokyo Drift races as they fly around shooting lasers at each other to 'Rage Against the Machine' songs, Fast & Furious-style... and that's if your LUCKY.

I'm not saying "love this show". SNW is not a great Star Trek show, overall. But this episode, specifically, is interesting science-fiction. I fell in love with 'Star Trek' because it had interesting, humanist science-fiction like 'Where No Man Has Gone Before', 'Return of the Archons', or 'The Motion Picture'. You should commend these rare wins. You can still criticize stuff like the lack of discipline/decorum of the bridge crew, the grating use of modern lingo and other stuff this series gets wrong, while at the same time acknowledging the positives. You're sending mixed signals to the writers by dumping on the most 'Star Trek'-like thing they've ever done in the entire run of this show.

Anyway, this is a good episode and it's the closest thing to actual 'Star Trek' this show has offered thus far. Rant over.

Best of S2 But Still Too Much

[captbgb · 6/10 · 8 July 2023]

This episode gets back to what Paramount/Disney promised us, a new world and a new adventure every week. It was interesting, it held my attention, and it had major characters performing and doing what we expect them to do, that is, all except Spock. He kinda punted here, when in fact he was left aboard as Captain. The show runners still have no regard for shipboard protocol or ST canon, and still want to let the graphic artists turn a pre-1701 Enterprise into a luxury condo, but I'm not going to nitpick too much on that score. Let me just say they played loosey goosey with logic and basically let the challenge at hand be solved on its own. Pike and his crew may have been pro-active, but it was ex-machina that saved the day.

Spock completely neutered

[pizzadudes · 3/10 · 8 July 2023]

At this point I'm wondering why he's even in it now. It's just unacceptable this. Spock is supposed to be one of the main characters of star trek yet this episode just further undermines him. He just sat in the bridge doing nothing like a dummy whilst the self proclaimed best pilot in the galaxy figures everything out and returns to the bridge to save the day. Wouldn't Spock figure out asking the computer who he was? Of course he would. Then there's the "doctor" remember the classic bones phrase of "I'm a doctor not a..." Well in this show he's a marine who has medical training. At least the captain was actually involved this episode. Was beginning to think he'd left!

The most annoying thing was the high pitched whine

[kaiganeru · 7/10 · 7 July 2023]

The story was good but the high pitched whining was awful. This wasn't one of the better episodes. There was a lot that wasn't consistent. They don't remember their names or how to practice medicine but Captain Pike knows how to use a gun? He remembers how to fight? If they aren't supposed to be able to remember processes and how to do things he shouldn't be able to fight effectively. Alternatively the doctor should be able to remember how to practice medicine but he cannot until he regains his memories.

All it took was for the voice of the computer (sounding like it's still Majel Barrett, a lovely homage) to sort out Lt Oretas. An affirmation that yes, she is the pilot shook her out of a terrified funk and sent her back to the bridge to save the day. There was too much foreshadowing, the start of the episode made clear that Ortegas was going to play a pivotal role in the resolution. I would preferred less overt foreshadowing.

Not a bad episode but not one of the better ones.

Good idea, weird execution

[FranTesla · 8/10 · 7 July 2023]

This season so far has been superb, the first episode was good enough, setting several things to follow, the second was excellent, in the vein of TNG classics, the 3rd one again, truly different and a great classic time travel adventure like ST IV or Voyager Future's End.

But this episode is somehow hard to watch. I saw other people say the same thing, maybe it's a pacing issue, especially in the first half. Despite that, it's a good idea and I like the characters. Compared to Conundrum (TNG S05E14), which was a lot more fun to watch, this episode is the weakest of the season so far. It's not bad, but it's hard to get into. Even so, I gave it a good rating, because overall, I like the idea, and how it goes at the end.

A bit of a mish mash

[ewaf58 · 6/10 · 6 July 2023]

Memory loss among the crew and main characters is nothing new, and this episode felt like a mixture of previous adventures across the franchise.

The Return of the Archons, The Paradise Syndrome and Clues.

It just felt far too routine and nothing really innovative or exciting happened.

The special effects were fine, but the direction was leisurely with somewhat uninteresting performances.

The series still needs more innovation and risk taking because, after all , the original series was highly innovative and had a huge amount of creativity.

So this is coming across as a fan pleaser, nothing wrong with this, but that's as far as it currently goes.

If it really wants to invoke the spirit of the original series then it must produce some better, more original, imaginative stories , with stronger music to boot.

I was bowled over when I watched the original series in the UK way back in 1969, but I just found this episode dreary.

If any of the production crew , or actors , are reading this then, come on guys, you can do a lot better.

This was a regular old style episode.

[marianciobanuz · 10/10 · 8 July 2023]

-What makes a trek episode or a tv series to be considered a true Star Trek by the older fans?.. episodes like this one, the talking badges with the arrow in the middle, the Tng era lcars, ships and the Tng style of aliens. This is an unspoken answer that any trekkie knows is true and if some of them are missing, don't expect to see higher ratings. Usually, in order for this kind of episode to work, the producers from the 90's used to bring us something imposing (remember, how great the borg cube, the tng warbirds, that Dyson sphere or the Saturn like planets were when they appeared for the first time) and i think they should use the same tactics even now and another thing, peopke are kind of tired to see sticks and archaic swords in a show about the future IMHO. I liked this one but i totaly understand why the other fans are not so pleased.

A classic Trek episode with some issues

[thesystem-38676 · 7/10 · 20 July 2023]

This episode is a prime example of what classic Trek was all about, exploring strange new worlds and Prime Directive shenanigans, with the added twist of this NOT being their first visit, but their second visit, which outside of a "Lower Decks" episode is practically unheard of in most Trek shows.

And this time around it's Rigel 7, which was a planet Pike & crew visited roughly 5 years ago, and featured in the original TOS pilot "The Cage". Things quickly went sideways and they lost three crewmen, and they had to evacuate in a hurry. But by doing so they inadvertently left behind some of their gear and now the locals of this primitive civilization are brandishing Phaser Rifles and carving the Starfleet delta symbol all over their architecture. So, Starfleet has tasked Pike & crew to go back to Rigel 7 and clean up their mess.

Fairly straightforward premise, it's classic Trek. Which as a whole is pretty good, but the reason I rated it the way I did is because of certain narrative elements that are I found lacking at best and contrived at worst.

The episode has 3 plot threads: the central mission on Rigel 7; Pike's long distance relationship with Captain Batel and his fear of commitment; and other is Lt. Ortegas wanting to experience a change of scenery, than just piloting the ship.

The central mission is mostly fine, it's one of the strongest aspects of the episode, it's basically what old Trekkies live for. However, it ignores some of the "special aspects" certain characters have. Fairly early in the episode, the crew and the landing party discover that the radiation surrounding the planet basically causes people to forget things; the longer they stay around it the more they forget.

The ONLY character that should be immune it's affects is Una. As the show has pointed out a few times, Una has a healing factor due to her being a genetically modified Illyrian. So, the radiation and its effects shouldn't bother her too much. But she's the second character to go down for whatever reason.

Pike's side story is mostly good, BUT they omit one key issue as to why he's not willing to commit, which would've made far more sense than Pike just wanting to self sabotage his relationships-"The Menagerie".

In about seven years time, Pike will be in an accident and stuck in a vegetative state. Pretty sure that's a far better reason to be apprehensive about having a relationship, than just a simple fear of commitment. But episode completely ignores it. It's almost like the showrunners forgot that it was a major story arc for Pike last season, and that Pike resigned to his fate-for highly contrived reasons, so that it adheres to canon.

Which I find laughable since this show and the first two seasons of Discovery practically threw canon out the window a long time ago and made plenty of sweeping plot changes despite the showrunners claiming that this is supposed to be the Prime Timeline, a timeline that is supposed to lineup with everything from TOS-ENT. But I digress.

Then there's Ortegas' part of the episode, which was probably the most disappointing. You'd figure that she would play a much more significant role in the episode since they're devoting the episode's C-plot to it.

It started out with her excited to be part of the Landing Party because she wanted a change of scenery. But why though? Is she bored of the day-to-day monotony? Did some crewmen make a comment about Piloting being her only role? Is she looking to move up in the ranks? Who knows?

Whatever it was, apparently it's not that important, it's just another day. By the end of the episode she seems perfectly content with just flying the ship.

When I saw a clip from this episode a few months back, I assumed it would be akin to "Thine Own Self" from TNG-the one where Counselor Troi took the Bridge Officer's Exam. At the very least I assumed we'd find out a bit more about her backstory, her motivations, or something.

Why dedicate a plot thread around Ortegas, if you're not going to do anything significant with her? The only thing we learned is that she's "Erica Ortegas and she flies the ship."

On the whole, it's an okay episode. But they need someone to keep better track of the show's continuity. The cast is still its strongest asset, and is basically what continuously saves this show from itself.

a great cast salvages iffy writing

[nerrdrage · 8/10 · 2 December 2023]

This episode involves a pretty Star Trekky problem: a planet that creates a difficulty for the characters (being vague here so as not to be spoilery) that robs them of their usual efficiency and resources, so you wonder how the heck they are going to get out of this mess?

The problem in question is odd and maybe doesn't make perfect sense if you want to pick it apart. But the characters have gelled by this point into a team or even a family, so the fun is in watching them work together to solve the problem. This could be the best cast since DS9.

This gives SNW an antidote against bad or silly writing. I particularly enjoyed Anson Mount's performance, again, as well as Melissa Navia (Erica Ortegas).

Lastly, is this the first mention of a "subdermal" universal translator? Because if Starfleet has been using that all along, it sure explains various mysteries of how they're communicating in person with aliens they just met.

Best Star Trek ever

[lprecure-82031 · 10/10 · 6 July 2023]

2:04 is the best Star Trek episode ever. At least from the ones I've watched. (I confess, I haven't seen all of the animated ones.)

I'm not going to include any spoilers at all. I'll just say that the episodes I've liked, have been the ones about character development. Prior to this, my favorite SNW episode was Spock Amok. Spock and T'Pring exploring the conflict between careers and romance. And spending time in the other's shoes. La'an and "where fun goes to die" exploring "Enterprise Bingo". 2:03 was close to that level as well, despite a really tired trope.

But this one was better. From the basic scenario, to all of the various character's threads. The acting and characters portrayed. Right down to the episodes principal guest stars, and their characters. Granted, I've only just watched it. But it just took the pedestal away from City On the Edge of Forever.

This show needs to continue. I want 200 more episodes. Even though they won't be as good as this one.

Lots of holes

[sondra-13 · 5/10 · 7 July 2023]

I'm trying to figure out the point of this episode. So disappointing. There is not enough backstory to support it, at least not clearly, and the quick, painless resolution made no sense. They spent almost the entire episode on the problem, and no time on how they get out of it. It was poorly written. This isn't Doctor Who, where you expect that things won't always make sense. Star Trek is supposed to have a point. This episode's only sense is its ties to the importance of emotion, but it's vague. The actors seem to just flail around with complete loss of control. Then, suddenly, they're all better. C'mon, they can do better. I've seen them do it. The previous episode was SO much better than this one.

Doing so many things right but tripping on fundamentals

[marklower-14973 · 8/10 · 21 August 2023]

Concept - interesting Acting - great from the main cast Make-up and costuming - fun Effects - pretty good, as always

BUT

Writing - shaky Editing - rough Guest acting - pretty bad

The concept here was interesting from the start and rarely done at full-scale in Star Trek. The actors were committed to it but were betrayed by the script that couldn't quite deliver on the "grand" story they were shooting for. The actor hired to be the primary antagonist almost seemed like the writers were originally looking for him to be comic relief?? Also, and I may get dragged for this, Christina Chong's La'an looks so significantly better without the black eye liner that I really hope the producers consider getting her out of it more often in Season 3. She doesn't have to always be "edgy", we get it by now.

What a contrast to last week's inferior episode

[terrylarosa · 8/10 · 7 July 2023]

After watching the travesty that was episode 3 ( the worst in the series ) with a puny cosplayer Kirk we have the best episode of the season or at least tied with the second. Great visuals, some good action ( finally ) and Pike in the whole episode. Some plot holes ( how was the ship still running without anyone manning stations ) but you can always expect a few in any ST show. Pike showed us what a Captain acts, looks and sounds like; unlike that aberration from last week's dreadful ep. Hopefully it's the last time we see the horribly casted Wesley laughingly play Kirk. Not one single word, act or look that any Kirk from any Universe; altered or not would ever perform. Also Peck was more like Spock than the overly emotional one from other eps. The visuals were as always better than most movies. Nice sets too. More eps like this and less like the last will hopefully fill out the rest of the season.

Princess bride Easter egg or bad hangover?

[nvquercus-30765 · 8/10 · 2 March 2024]

Good solid episode. Lots of Easter Eggs!

Decent story arc.

Dead red shirts, problem on planet with problem in space, all mighty captain, "I have had enough...", breaking the prime directive, and so much more!

A painful episode for the high pitched noises that aggrevated my tinnitus. I wonder if a bass sound would have been more pleasing. Ortega constantly restating her name harkoned back to Princess Bride.

But a Captian following orders is a little TNG not TOS!

Could have used a little more exploration of the story arc of those in the know vs those who are not.

But the ending is a natural phenomena not something violating the prime directive.

Go figure.

Among the Lotus Eaters

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 6 July 2023]

The story has callbacks to the original pilot The Cage.

Captain Pike has to go Rigel VII because of the Prime Directive. In a previous mission, they were there for a few hours and some officers were lost. They also left something behind. Now they are to retrieve it.

Ortega is meant to go with Dr M'Benga and La'an Noonien-Singh. The latter two have unarmed combat skills. At the last minute Pike replaces Ortega. She is needed to pilot the Enterprise.

As soon as they land La'an seems to be affected. Later so do the others, they are losing their memories. Pike also finds that his former Yeoman, Zac Nguyen survived and his memories are intact. Angry at Pike for not retrieving him.

Back at the Enterprise, the crew there are also losing their memories. It seemed to be caused by some kind of radiation.

It's a very old school episode and not a very interesting one as well. There are nods to the movie Memento, the locals at the planets have tattoos in order to help them remember.

Also there are no consistent rules as to what people forget and do not. Nurse Chapel explained that she could remember about treating wounds, but forget that treating wounds was her job. Only Dr M'Benga forgot about being able to treat wounds!