Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Documentary Episode Falls Short Of Its Amazing Premise
By Dan Bibby
Red Alert: Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 7, "What Is Starfleet?"
From the very first episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I was a huge fan of the show, but "What Is Starfleet?" is the first installment that had me looking at my phone and checking how long was left. For a project that has dazzled me with its bold additions to canon and unapologetic use of some pretty divisive gimmicks, "What Is Starfleet?" is a reminder that no show is perfect.
I've been a Trekkie for as long as I can remember. After falling in love with Star Trek: Voyager due to its perfect slot after The Simpsons on BBC Two back in the day, I went on to explore every corner of the franchise I could. Some shows and movies are stronger than others, and it's not tough to admit that.
One of the shows I've yet to fully dig into is Star Trek: The Original Series, which I know could make me eligible for jail time in some countries. So, I guess it was always a risk that I wouldn't be all that into Strange New Worlds, due to being set pretty much immediately before the adventures of William Shatner's Captain Kirk.
Thankfully, it turns out you don't need to be an expert in The Original Series to love its direct prequel. Strange New Worlds is perfectly crafted as both a jumping-on point AND a project for established fans. It's been a hell of a ride so far, but "What Is Starfleet?" was, I think, the show's first flop.
I've been a Trekkie for as long as I can remember. After falling in love with Star Trek: Voyager due to its perfect slot after The Simpsons on BBC Two back in the day, I went on to explore every corner of the franchise I could. Some shows and movies are stronger than others, and it's not tough to admit that.
One of the shows I've yet to fully dig into is Star Trek: The Original Series, which I know could make me eligible for jail time in some countries. So, I guess it was always a risk that I wouldn't be all that into Strange New Worlds, due to being set pretty much immediately before the adventures of William Shatner's Captain Kirk.
Thankfully, it turns out you don't need to be an expert in The Original Series to love its direct prequel. Strange New Worlds is perfectly crafted as both a jumping-on point AND a project for established fans. It's been a hell of a ride so far, but "What Is Starfleet?" was, I think, the show's first flop.
"What Is Starfleet?" Is Largely A Snore Fest, Despite Having A Great Premise
To name just a couple of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' riskiest gimmicks so far, introducing a new type of zombie to the franchise canon, and making the crew of the USS Enterprise burst into song every few minutes, have led to some of the show's most entertaining episodes. It makes sure to only pepper these zany installments in relatively sparsely, with most other stories being pretty traditional Star Trek adventures.
So, I was fairly intrigued when I found out that "What Is Starfleet?" was going to take the form of an in-universe documentary. It sounded like just the thing that has allowed the show to soar to its highest heights. It turns out I was wrong.
While there's nothing specifically abhorrent about the episode, it just generally falls short of what it could have been. The performances are all great, the writing makes sense, and the visuals are just as great as ever. Still, it failed to get its hooks into me in the same way as each one of its predecessors.
"What Is Starfleet?" doesn't teach the audience anything new about the iconic sci-fi organization. While it tries to offer an alternative interpretation of Starfleet's structure being similar to that of an oppressive empire, I doubt anyone watching ever truly had their minds changed. It's a vaguely compelling angle, but not one that was likely to win anyone over. Instead, it just comes across as an attempt to be overly edgy.
So, I was fairly intrigued when I found out that "What Is Starfleet?" was going to take the form of an in-universe documentary. It sounded like just the thing that has allowed the show to soar to its highest heights. It turns out I was wrong.
While there's nothing specifically abhorrent about the episode, it just generally falls short of what it could have been. The performances are all great, the writing makes sense, and the visuals are just as great as ever. Still, it failed to get its hooks into me in the same way as each one of its predecessors.
"What Is Starfleet?" doesn't teach the audience anything new about the iconic sci-fi organization. While it tries to offer an alternative interpretation of Starfleet's structure being similar to that of an oppressive empire, I doubt anyone watching ever truly had their minds changed. It's a vaguely compelling angle, but not one that was likely to win anyone over. Instead, it just comes across as an attempt to be overly edgy.
Star Trek's Tribute To The Mockumentary Genre Isn't Completely Without Merit
Just as we're probably not getting another crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks, I highly doubt Strange New Worlds will revisit its brief foray into mockumentaries. The gimmick has been done, and the show will move on. Still, I can't help but feel that "What Is Starfleet?" wasted its shot with what could have been an awesome formula.
The concept of the episode being made up almost entirely of declassified Starfleet footage from the Enterprise's on-board security cameras is really cool, as are the additional "purpose-made" shots that are intended to look like they were shot in-universe. It's awesome to think that the episode you're watching is exactly what characters in the Star Trek universe would also see when watching the finished product.
The introduction of the Jikaru also held a lot of promise. It's an interesting alien race that could have been placed at the centre of a number of Star Trek episodes, but "What Is Starfleet?" just uses the lifeform as a vehicle for the episode's primary message of trying to call Starfleet's true motives into doubt. Still, there is a chance that other Jikaru could return, which I'd enjoy.
It's possible that I'll soften to "What Is Starfleet?" over time, but after one viewing, it sticks out for the unfortunate reason of being the show's worst installment so far. If anything, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds should be proud it's taken this long to fall short of the incredibly high standard it immediately set itself back in 2022.
The concept of the episode being made up almost entirely of declassified Starfleet footage from the Enterprise's on-board security cameras is really cool, as are the additional "purpose-made" shots that are intended to look like they were shot in-universe. It's awesome to think that the episode you're watching is exactly what characters in the Star Trek universe would also see when watching the finished product.
The introduction of the Jikaru also held a lot of promise. It's an interesting alien race that could have been placed at the centre of a number of Star Trek episodes, but "What Is Starfleet?" just uses the lifeform as a vehicle for the episode's primary message of trying to call Starfleet's true motives into doubt. Still, there is a chance that other Jikaru could return, which I'd enjoy.
It's possible that I'll soften to "What Is Starfleet?" over time, but after one viewing, it sticks out for the unfortunate reason of being the show's worst installment so far. If anything, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds should be proud it's taken this long to fall short of the incredibly high standard it immediately set itself back in 2022.