Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can never repeat a mistake made by Star Trek: The Original Series. Strange New Worlds is a prequel to TOS, with the voyages of Captain Christopher Pike's (Anson Mount) Starship Enterprise taking place about 5-6 years before Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) in Star Trek: The Original Series. Strange New Worlds honors Star Trek's classic format with episodic episodes involving a new planet and alien problem of the week. However, the Enterprise crew's character development is serialized as they grow, learn, and evolve.
Star Trek: The Original Series' classic season 1 episode, "The Devil in the Dark," has the unfortunate distinction of having no speaking parts for female characters. "The Devil in the Dark" involves the mystery of why a creature called a Horta was killing miners on the planet Janus VI. NBC even noticed the lack of female speaking roles, and reached out to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who agreed that more women should be incorporated into Star Trek's "planet stories.' Roddenberry reminded Star Trek's production that "We're in a century where women are granted equal status and responsibility with men."
Why Strange New Worlds Can Never Repeat Star Trek: TOS’ Mistake
Strange New Worlds is comprised of many great female characters
It would be impossible for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to repeat the mistake Star Trek: The Original Series made with "The Devil in the Dark." Not just because storytelling and equality standards have progressed in the almost 60 years since Star Trek was created, but also because Strange New Worlds is stacked with female characters.Strange New Worlds' main cast has three male leads: Anson Mount's Captain Pike, Ethan Peck's Lieutenant Spock, and Babs Olasanmokun's Dr. Joseph M'Benga. Strange New Worlds season 3 also adds Martin Quinn as Scotty in a series regular role, while Paul Wesley and Dan Jeanotte recur as Lt. James T. Kirk and Lt. Sam Kirk, respectively.
The rest of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' main cast are women: Rebecca Romijn as Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley AKA Number One, Christina Chong as Lt. La'an Noonien Singh, Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas, Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Celia Rose Gooding as Ensign Nyota Uhura, and Carol Kane as Commander Pelia. Melanie Scrofano also recurs as Captain Marie Batel. It's inconceivable that Strange New Worlds would have an episode sidelining these women where none of them have speaking roles.
How Strange New Worlds Is Fixing Star Trek: The Original Series
Many TOS characters are getting the character development they lacked
Even with only 10 episodes a season, the character-centric Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has already done an impressive job of addressing and fixing one of Star Trek: The Original Series' biggest flaws: the lack of character development given to its supporting cast. Most episodes of the original Star Trek focus on the triumvirate of Captain Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard "Bones' McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Mr. Sulu (George Takei), Scotty (James Doohan), and Chekov (Walter Koening) serve their functions and occasionally display their personalities, but classic Star Trek didn't delve into their backstories.
Strange New Worlds enhances Star Trek: The Original Series.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has revealed Uhura's tragic past and sparked her character's evolution, explored Nurse Chapel's romantic desire for Spock that conflicts with her career ambitions, and Strange New Worlds has answered questions about Number One that endured for almost six decades. Strange New Worlds enhances Star Trek: The Original Series by filling in blanks and adding context that was previously absent. And, of course, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds truly makes the women of the Starship Enterprise equal to their male crew mates.
