Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV Series) Lost in Translation (2023) User Reviews

A Six For The Cast Only

[captbgb · 6/10 · 21 July 2023]

SNWs follows an old theme with this episode. You will find the inspiration for it in TOS and TNG. In my opinion, the earlier franchise episodes did it better. For one thing, they kept the mystery a center piece, unlike here, where it's just a vehicle to explore more character backstories. I'm sorry, but these on the nose confessionals are tiresome. I don't want characters to tell their stories at inappropriate times. It's unnatural and it feels forced and contrived.

Everything about this episode seemed off. Nothing quite meshed. There were some huge logic holes, not the least of which was going into unknown life form territory and applying human traits to it. The sentimental ending was a cheap shot, and Pike's complete abdication of his duties as Captain is an insult to every real Trek fan.

Where are the Strange New Worlds?

[Joe_barr · 6/10 · 11 August 2023]

This episode exemplifies the complete mixed bag of season 2. Bottom line there's way too much exploration of feelings and character history versus...exploration of Strange New Worlds. I think we all want character development but the writers need to ease up! And no whispering of lines please. This season also suffers from tonal problems. The episodes were all over the map of light, serious, whimsical, musical etc Lighter episodes and whimsy are great, but they lose impact when there's too much. They have to be earned out of the serious stories. This is a fantastic, likable cast but the writers are beginning to undermine them. The reason this show exists is because fans responded to a fantastic, likable performance by Anson Mount as Captain Pike. The writers have lost sight of that too as his character has been sidelined much of the season and the writing for him one dimensional. Please return to exploration, dial back the emotion, all the back stories, and rapid character development, and remember this an adventure show with a great cast of characters that we want to get to know authentically, not through overwrought artificial writing.

Lost in Translation

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 20 July 2023]

An Uhura centered episode, it deals with communication. That chimes with other episodes of Star Trek.

A brand new lifeform is trying to communicate with the Enterprise and it is a cry for help.

It might be all to do with the deuterium refinery that the Starship Enterprise is setting up in a new Nebula.

Uhura is tired, she has been without sleep for 10 days. She hears strange noises and has visions of Hemmer, memories of losing her family. Maybe this is some delayed reaction with grief.

To help her cope. James T Kirk the newly promoted first officer of the Farragut drops in. He was there to meet his brother George but that communication was frosty.

George is not happy that his brother is the rising star that their father is proud of.

It is another one for old school Trekkies. Spock and James T Kirk meet for the first time. Uhura and Kirk have a good understanding. Even brother George finds that there is a place for him in the science lab where he can push frontiers.

Another strong, old-fashioned, classic Trek style episode

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 20 July 2023]

Uhura experiences a series of dangerous hallucinations.

I like very much how SNW focuses different characters and this one has more good material for Uhura, who gets some solid development alongside the opportunity to lead the story. Additionally, it has great positive messages about coping with bereavement, the value of communicating and a plot that is resolved with intelligence as opposed to violence. It also features the Kirk brothers. To be fair, all the ingredients are there for a Trek style nerdgasm.

Celia Rose Gooding gives a strong performance and is supported well by Paul Wesley and Dan Jeannotte.

Visually it is excellent, with a number of great creepy atmospheric sequences and sci-fi action moments.

Strange New Worlds Delivers

[bruce-spencer-ky · 9/10 · 20 July 2023]

'Lost in Translation' is classic Star Trek. The story frames what Star Trek has always been about, learning about things you didn't even know existed.

The episode also shines in character development:

La'an's part in the episode is short but poignant, filled with unsaid things that we understand all too well.

I'm beginning to like Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) more and more. His interaction with Jim near the end of the episode is perfect.

The episode makes me want Hemmer back, but Pelia (Carol Kane) is obstinately perfect at the Enterprise's chief engineer.

I think Nichelle Nichols would be proud of Celia Rose Gooding portrayal of Uhura.

This is Star Trek worth watching!

Season 2 continues to disappoint at times

[slovell1965 · 6/10 · 20 July 2023]

I don't get the obsession already with James Kirk. The reason this series got made was the groundswell of enthusiasm for the character of Captain Pike and the desire to see more of his time and that of the rest of the current crew on the Enterprise.

Why are the writers so desperate to give so much time to the young Kirk at this point.

I also agree that the Enterprise doesn't seem to be doing a lot of exploring of strange new worlds. They never seem to be out of reach of other federation ships!

I hope that this turns out to be symptomatic of that "difficult second season" affliction and that when the properly rewarded series writers return to work on season three they can get the series back to its best.

Xenobiology, Communication, and Fan Service all in one!

[NerdyRomulanCyberman · 10/10 · 21 July 2023]

In this week's episode, Uhura finds herself hearing disturbing noises and is seeing visions. With the help of Lt. James T. Kirk, they discover they are a form of communication for an alien species. They live near stellar nursery in a large area of deuterium. When the ship opens its Bussard collectors, these aliens experience tragedy, with many of their species in pain. These communications to Uhura are an act of desperation. They show her scenes that she soon associates with words. Once she connects these pieces, she discovers that the species is being killed. This resurfaces a lot of memories of her past, now released in the moment.

Una and Pelia resurface old memories and argue with each other over certain items. Eventually, Pelia discovers hints of sabotage on the station they are helping become operational. When they arrive at the area, they find Ramon, an officer experiencing the same discomfort as Uhura.

To save the species in the deuterium, Ramon blasts open the port nacelle to help them end their pain. Uhura, who tried to convince Ramon to stop, is nearly killed, being transported away by Kirk.

Calling back to the third episode, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", Kirk and La'an meet for the first time in this universe. This is also the first time Paul Wesley portrays Kirk in this timeline, with his appearances in the aforementioned episode and "A Quality of Mercy" being in other timelines.

To save the day, the Enterprise empties its deuterium stockpile and evacuates the station before destroying it. The haunting vision of Hemmer, being used to communicate the feelings of the species to Uhura, becomes the Hemmer she knew again. He vanished, going back to his life in peace.

The final scene in the bar of the Enterprise provides every Original Series Fan with joy. Kirk and Spock meet for the first time, and they shake hands! Uhura, Spock, and Kirk sit around a table together, not knowing that one day, on that very ship, in that very room, they would again sit as crew mates, as senior officers.

If you are an Original Series fan, this episode will warm your heart. If you love the idea of communicating with aliens, this episode will be one of your favorites of the season. If you love xenobiology, this episode is amazing at the pursuit of science and fact. Though they aren't charting unknown territories and battling aliens, this is one of the best episodes of this season. It opens our eyes to the possible and lets us dream of this future. It helps us see that trauma and pain are aspects of life. This is an episode that does explore the final frontier, not just in space, but in the heart.

Reminded of TNG

[marston34 · 6/10 · 20 July 2023]

My first thought while watching the episode, was being reminded of TNG episode "Phantasms". The premise was very similar. Data having nightmares about the workmen on the train, Uhura having visions. Data stabbing Troi, and Uhura punching Kirk. The people in the dreams/visions both representing something bad that the Enterprise is doing. I love Star Trek, and am enjoying Discovery, but this episode was disappointing in how alike it was to TNG. I know some have to have recurring characters we know, but... I was hoping for fresh new stories, kinda like Discovery. I will continue to watch, and now I'm on high alert for similar story lines.

TOS as TNG

[celakipp · 8/10 · 21 July 2023]

This is one of the best episodes of the series, second only to "A Quality of Mercy" from season one. It features the first meetings of Kirk and Uhura as well as Kirk and Spock. Uhura and another Starfleet officer are hearing strange noises and seeing strange things that may or may not be real. The Strange New Worlds characters are just supporting characters as this episode focuses mainly on our favorites from TOS. While the main characters are TOS, the story is very much straight out of TNG. In fact, this is a perfect example of a TNG-style story played out by TOS characters. I'm liking this Kirk more and more.

Good Trek, Good Uhura Episode

[peter-46978 · 10/10 · 20 July 2023]

Thank you for focusing on characters we'd like to know more about. That includes Uhura, Sam, Una, and now Pelia.

This episode did that, and it felt like a good TNG episode -- not *too much* of any one character, a little bit here and there through various scenes of multiple characters interacting with each other in different settings, all under the umbrella of a central focus on Uhura.

Spoiler-free thoughts:

Yes the alien plot has been done a million times before but we all like that idea, a similar idea to TNG: Home Soil. It's just the Trek version of being against deforestation or destroying the environment or whatever, so relax people.

The sibling rivalry/impress dad thing was a cliche but still good because we all like those two characters.

The Spock romance subplot (are we done with it yet?) didn't overwhelm this time around.

Big points for the James Kirk actor NOT doing a William Shatner impression and trying to sound or behave like Shatner. He has done a good job so far of making the character his own.

I like how much booze they all drink, the show is basically supposed to depict the wild times of the era (remember the Klingon barfight Scott got into on TOS?) So keep getting them liquored up on Saurian brandy.

Didn't anyone get bothered by the following issues like I did?

[murat-coskun · 3/10 · 20 July 2023]

Uhura is hallucinating and Ramon experiencing similar issues and sabotaging and causing severe damage but when Uhura tells Kirk she should go to sickbay he is ok for her keeping the laser pistol even though she had attacked and broken his nose before. (Quarantine? Compromised officer? Possibility of she is turning against the ship)

Uhura begs Ramon to stop while he has shown multiple times, he is dangerous to the ship and the crew and Ramon ends up blowing the nacelle of the ship then Captain Pike pats her in the back like nothing had happened (Court martial?)

After all this nonsense Uhura claims she had all figured it and Enterprise just needs to destroy the refinery?!? How do you trust someone who is so compromised? Cost of the refinery? How is it ok to do this for Star Fleet?

I guess the answer to all these questions, writers on strike ;) AI wrote this episode lol!

The Nucleus

[notanaxkiller-107-287911 · 9/10 · 20 July 2023]

I like the concept that there may be life forms that we cannot see, or communicate with. Not with our normal senses. They may be legion. They may outnumber us ten to one. Or a hundred to one. Or more. We can't see the wind, or gravity, but we feel their effects. Perhaps our thoughts and decisions are in part guided by things that we are only aware of subconsciously. Maybe that why we have the need to dream. The universal mind. Carl Jung's theory of a collective unconscious. I've noticed in my long life that Ideas seem to form all at once, at the same time, at different places all over the world. AS though they are grasped or understood simultaneously, by everyone. How many times were inventions created at virtually the same time by different people, thousands of miles apart, with no way of contact? Some people seem to be more intensely tapped into thoughts common to all of us that are being constantly upgraded as time goes by. Every death, every life or combinations of certain lives may add to the collective mind. I especially appreciated the final scene, where we see Uhuru, Spock, and Kirk meet for the first time, forming the nucleus that later became the family that was The Enterprise. A mingling of minds, that formed a new center of awareness. It seems as though it was inevitable.

I see what you're doing!

[Jeffsjarvis · 9/10 · 22 July 2023]

And I like it.

Sowing up the prequel.

How Kirk, Ohura and spock are beginning the collection of friends. I will assume Scott, Chekov and Sulu will show up soon? Have I left anyone out of the scheme of things? Yes, I did forget the center of them all, Bones. I look forward to the assembly of all the original characters from the original series.

I did catch Ohura stating her first name, which never popped up in the past interactions of the masters creation of this universe called "Star Trek"

Wow, 96 characters to go? I don't think I can come up with any more than this. I do feel Gene Roddenberry would be proud.

Best episode of the season so far

[thesystem-38676 · 9/10 · 22 July 2023]

This is probably the best episode I've seen this season, and the most well written. It genuinely has the feel of a late-TNG episode, which is the honey spot for most Trekkies. It had just about everything:

Spock & Chapel playing 3D-Chess while talking about their new relationship. More Sam Kirk, with probably the most screen time he's had on this show; and him actually interacting with his brother James. Which leads into La'an actually meeting this James Kirk and slightly acknowledging the Timetravel shenanigans from episode 3. We actually get to see Una being a field commander with the Away Team-which is rare for some reason.

I mean she's more or less the "Riker" of the show- the 1st Officer, and she barely goes on any Away Team/Landing Party missions. It's nice to see her actually doing more of her job, instead just being treated like a background character.

But first and foremost, this as a Uhura centric episode that has a bit of character development, but unlike M'Benga's "Elysium Kingdom" episode, it actually has a satisfying resolution to one of Uhura's backstory threads, while also incorporating all the times Hemmer spent with her in a way that was meaningful to the overall crisis of the episode.

The weak point in the episode was Una's and Pelia's beef with each other. Una never spent enough time with Hemmer for her to have that much resentment towards Pelia replacing him. The halfhearted excuse she came up with her being "mad her for giving her a 'C' in Engineering Class" actually made more sense, than piggybacking off Uhura's plot thread.

And Hemmer. I still miss Hemmer, he was a really good character that they unnecessarily killed off way too soon, and this episode further cements what a missed opportunity that character was, and "All Those Who Wander" will forever be on my blacklist. But I digress.

Overall, it gave most of the principal characters something to do in a way that makes sense to the central plot, and during it's quieter moments catches up on the characters' relationships thus far-which move their development further in a meaningful way, while taking away from the main focus of the episode.

Lost in Translation

[bobcobb301 · 27 July 2023]

I think the title of this episode is more than appropriate, not just storyline-wise, but from a fan perspective, as something definitely got lost in translation. This was not at all the show's best work and definitely haulted some of the momentum that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds had built up the last couple of weeks.

This was dull at times and relied too heavily on shock value by having "scary" pop-ups and alternate reality delusions.

The script was not there, but the actors did not really do anything to save the episode. I don't want to call it bad, because it wasn't, but it was not the quality this show is capable of.

GET RID OF NEW ENGINEER

[frass-3 · 8/10 · 14 August 2023]

Most of the episodes are wonderful, especially before the former engineer died. The new engineer does not belong on Enterprise. She is an affront to the show with her weird way of talking and her hateful manner. Get some one else. Please. She in no way embodies the character or demeanor of any former engineer before her. Look at the rest of the characters, except No. 1, and you will find they all fit together, like the original enterprise, and others after it. She has no compassion or feelings toward the crew or anyone else. She is only concerned with herself. If you can't get rid of her, please have her talk where she can be understood.

it's all about the characters

[nerrdrage · 8/10 · 3 December 2023]

At this point it's obvious SNW is more about the characters and relationships than the sci fi plots per se. This one has a perfunctory situation that serves only to provide an excuse for some really good character work.

So if you love these characters, this show is for you. But if you don't like them, then there's really nothing for you, which explains the dichotomy in the ratings with some people raving about each episode and others slamming them.

Uhura is the star here, but there's plenty of other characters getting a spotlight, including the Kirk brothers, who have some fun interaction, and at the end, we see the genesis of the TOS gang (minus Chapel, cmon she was on TOS too!) which makes me wish that this show would just forge forward to the early years of Kirk's Enterprise rather than ending as we assume it will, with Pike's dire accident. After all, we only got 3 years of the 5 year mission, maybe the first 2 years have yet to be depicted?

Stun. It's called a stun gun. I mean. It actually has a stun setting.

[Pimilli · 5/10 · 22 July 2023]

Uhura tells the crew person to back away from the console....like a trillion times. He does not. He's about to blow up the ship. But she doesn't stun him.

You see him about to damage the ship in a major way. SHOOT. It's just stun.

Instead she tells him this long story about she used to have a cat and that she remembers her father play the piano? Why? You do that if you want someone to know that it's really you if you know them.

BUT HE DOESN'T KNOW HER

If some random woman at your office building told you she once had a cat and that she remembered her father's hands, and that she was from Kenya....you would have no way whatsoever of verifying that and you would wonder why she was telling you this.

I didn't care for this episode. My LEAST favourite trope in any kind of show is people seeing and hearing things that aren't there. I. Just. Can't. Stand. That. And you have to prove it to people? How? How do you do that? No voices or ghosts or visions please.

Very very weak episode in an otherwise great series

[joshuavogel79 · 2/10 · 21 July 2023]

This episode was quite the disappointment. Nothing about it worked.

The central story was a rehashing of a plot we've seen before. Next Generation did it way more artfully when it was Troi who was having the alien contact with 2D-beings.

The friendship between Uhura and Kirk was completely overwhelming by the fact that the only thing the we want to see from Kirk right now is a follow-up to tension between him and La'an.

The conflict between Kirk and his brother just felt uncomfortable and sad.

And the thing that really lowers this episode into the unforgivable is the sheer number of really stupid plot points... Like leaving a violent, hallucinating crew member on her own for most of the episode, security being unable to stop one crazy guy, and of course blowing up a massive refinery because they were too stupid to find a way to shut it down? Give me a break. They couldn't find one sub system to knock out? We just saw how much work it took to get this thing running... And they couldn't find ANYTHING to stop it shy of total obliteration?

Anyway, whoever wrote this episode needs to be fired and banned from ever coming near this show again.

Yikes

[thales-63045 · 5/10 · 25 July 2023]

C'mon. Who writes this guff? Or did they just use a previous genre of Star Trek? The first 5 minutes gave the game away. There's life Jim but not as we know it!! Really? Who would have thunk it? This 53 minute episode had 15 minutes of action and 38 minutes of emotions and feelings. Sheesh!! There's only one captain and plenty security (or crew) but the captain leads the way looking for the saboteur who is leaving blood everywhere but none of the crew notice. Oh wait!! Where are the crew? I suspect there's no money left to pay for non-talking actors and actresses after paying for the main thespians and CGI. Then the captain of this mighty vessel asks an ensign for advice? Hahahahahahahaha. The writers weren't in the military where they ? Pure and utter writing rubbish. Please go on strike writers and let the fans write the episodes. Unfortunately it makes for a child's version of Sci-fi. It's insulting. Okay it's science fiction but can't they make it a bit more realistic instead of pushing the hero aspect of the main characters? The story was a good one. But could have done better if they'd added more players into the mix.

Let's blow up a space station based on a hunch

[tomsly-40015 · 5/10 · 22 March 2024]

SNW now seems to suffer the same fate as DIS:

There is no longer a command structure on the ship, ensigns decide whether a mining facility should be destroyed and feelings are the focus and not scientific facts.

Captain Pike seems like a nice uncle and not like the captain of a spaceship. The death of two crew members apparently leaves him completely cold. Instead of sending security to catch the saboteur, the captain goes on the hunt.

Uhura watches as the saboteur blows a hole in Enterprise instead of simply using the phaser to stun him.

As a science officer, Spock is not consulted to investigate whether aliens actually live in the nebula.

And based on a gut feeling, a station is casually destroyed, without perhaps discussing the matter with Starfleet Command first.

And no one, absolutely no one, has to fear any consequences and there are no investigations into these incidents.

And Pelia as chief engineer is a joke. And a bad one. Any episode where she has more than 10s of screentime is pure torture.

Lost exploration?

[vsek · 5/10 · 14 August 2023]

The concept of the episode was very Trek but the execution of it was lacking to say the least.

Chain of command or general respect is missing in this show. Everyone expresses their opinions about orders (like Pelia or Ortegas) and at the end nobody is asking for a scientific explanation of anything.

These people are not in the business of exploration - they only talk about it.

At the end, this Star Trek incarnation is only a relationship drama with heavy overtones of faith and emotions. It has more in common with the Fast & Furious franchise than Star Trek. Chain of command or regulations are sooo boring, am I right? But with this lack of structure they shoot themselves in the foot. This is not how a spaceship in the 23rd century would operate.

The ensign (Uhura) even gives the command to fire on the newly built refinery!

Pike is also a very weak captain this season. Sure, he can cook but he doesn't even ask Spock, you know the SCIENCE officer, about his assessment of the situation. He is absent, weak and a far cry from his introduction in Star Trek: Discovery. Last episode, a gang of his subordinates just stole a shuttlecraft but there weren't any repercussions or even discussion about it. In this episode, just moments after he learns about two deaths among his crew, he jokes around!

Sesaon 1 casulalty Hemmer is celebrated as someone who Uhura 'loved'? Didn't they have like three scenes together in season 1? I am confused.

When the supposed saboteur is loose on the ship, suddenly nobody is around anymore. The communications officer and patient has to run around with a phaser through empty corridors.

It's all very ham-fistedly done. Uhura suddenly talks about her nightmares and they share intimate (not romantic) moments. But it's not believable.

Why did Kirk beam over from the (not shown because of budget?) Farragut? Don't they have enough characters in the main cast? Maybe they should develop those and not like Hemmer whose death didn't really made an impact on me in season 1.

At the end, Sam Kirk wants to write a paper about the deuterium aliens.. i'd really like to see what's in there, as he didn't do any research or even investigation in the matter. Which is par for the course for SNW.

Afterwards there's a lovely low key party on the Enterprise I guess everyone deserved it - the useless security team, the lazy scientists and the medical staff who got owned by a communications officer. Kudos!

Irredeemably flawed writing

[digitalusmax · 1/10 · 26 July 2023]

This retelling of a story that could potentially have been played with a far darker, more thrilling, and ultimately more interesting horror angle is completely squandered, and marred by the continuing reinforcement of the fact that these writers know nothing about a how military ship is, or should be run.

Besides Uhura's insubordination by ignoring strict rest orders from a superior officer, she goes on to strike yet another superior officer, then seemingly continues on this track by showing up on the bridge and acting completely out of sorts. The first incident alone should signal a major red flag to any superior officer worth his salt, and yet she is allowed to continue on active duty without treatment or confinement. Then M'Benga allows her to leave sickbay, at Kirk's urging, to chase down an apparently dangerous madman despite the fact that the ship has security personnel dedicated to this very purpose. She is given a weapon, despite the fact that she continues to show symptoms, then left to her own devices to return to sickbay.

She then comes across Ramon, calls this in and again goes against protocol and strict orders from her superior officer and confronts him herself, leading to the complete destruction of the port nacelle and Ramon's death.

Pike continues to act like a friend, despite being the Captain of the entire ship, Kirk bears his soul to person he's spoken to only once before over a 30 second FaceTime call.

Uhura continues to act irrationally, admits to suffering from PTSD, and Kirk just comforts her instead of taking her back to sickbay for confinement and treatment, if not complete sedation, then is again allowed to continue active duty, again against all protocol and orders.

Pike, for some unknown reason-somehow forgetting his rank, title, position, training and authority as Captain-allows Uhura to dictate a course of action that could not only cost lives, but will ultimately destroy an entire Starfleet installation, costing valuable resources, and no doubt disrupting their plans for the entire sector! Then he offers to take the blame for entire incident and joke about it, then allows her to go back on active duty without any repercussion. Kirk even suggests she may get rewarded for entire fiasco.

It is incredible how, yet again, a protected class character is written to take no accountability, or responsibility for anything short of the perceived success of the entire mission, despite the fact that none of the mission goals were ever met. In fact this would be classed as a complete disaster worthy of court martial for the entire senior crew.

Let's recap: Two lives were lost, the ship was critically damaged, an installation with strategic importance was destroyed, and plans for the entire sector were no doubt ruined.

Star Trek writing is beyond redeemable at this point.

Perhaps the one good thing I can say about the entire production is that the design (set, costume, etc.) is at least decent.

The worst SNW episode so far

[zwjzyrr · 5/10 · 6 August 2023]

I love SNW but ugh this was a brutal episode. Not sure what was going on here.

Plays out like a bad 2000s horror movie. Bad audio effects, iffy acting by Uhura, terrible plot holes making the whole thing implausible and cringeworthy. Hard to watch after the rest of the stellar season's 5 previous episodes.

Reminds me way too much of Star Trek Discovery. It even brings Kirk into the fold in a very skeptical way, over emphasizing him while he shows not enough Shatner-ness.

The whole thing feels like some other much less talented team wrote this episode. Maybe they had to pull bad on expenses after the last few.

The series has been great up to this really stupid episode.

[georgesabin-92504 · 2/10 · 21 July 2023]

I mean it was really stupid; like a child put the ideas together without any clue as to how Star Trek command structure works. If I had watched this episode before others then I would have zero interest in the series. Fortunately the other episodes were very good. 8/10 ... this episode drops that down to 7/10 ... I have more characters that need be written for the stupid algorithm to be satisfied ... I am not sure what else to ad except did I say this was a stupid episode and really sucks the wind out of the series and it's potential to be a real winner. The character building has been decent until this episode.