Steve complimented Voyager. What a time to be alive.

When Pike beamed down between two leaders in the conference hall I thought he would recite a line from "The Day when Earth stood still".... but he still did the same thing in different method which is awesome :D

When Pike, Spock, and Singh beamed down my immediate reaction was "They're sending the three highest ranking officers on the potentially dangerous away mis-oh right it's TOS era." I was hopeful before watching the premier. I am more hopeful after watching it.

After watching Anson's Pike in Disco2, I was already intrigued to see him in this. Here, he's playing the type of Captain I would love to serve under. He seems personable, seems excited for stuff, and wants to upheld the greater good of Starfleet. Anson just shows just how good of an actor he is. His depression about knowing his fate, and then coming to terms with it. His friendliness, yet professionalism with his crew shows just what kind of leader he can be. Past that, I thought it was one of the better opening episodes for the current generation of Star Trek shows. I feel it blends the aesthetics of the new era, but feels like its bringing back the old era's hopefulness. I want more, so can't wait for next week!

I think my favorite scene was the local running into the lift with Uhura and her getting him distracted by talking about sports. Just perfect.

In addition to all the other great stuff I liked, this episode also brought back an under-appreciated Star Trek staple that has been sorely lacking from modern Trek shows: the "warp chat". Y'know, a scene where, while they travel to [place], the characters make use of the necessary downtime to have a discussion that reveals something about a character, the plot, what have you. The scene usually ends with the arrival at [place] and being summoned to the next scene. When the "warp chat" is missing (most notably in Discovery thanks to the spore drive), what results is either a dearth of character development, or a sense of ill-timed character development. Don't get me wrong, much love to Discovery, but the number of times I've muttered to myself "is this _really_ the time for that??" is bordering on annoying

I like how they explained Chapel being on the Enterprise before she should be. She isn't actually crew or part of Starfleet, she is part of a Civilian Exchange program. And yeah, Chapel didn't really have a personality in TOS so I'm fine with them giving younger Chapel more to do.

I just finished rewatching ST: Enterprise, and Pike's speech to the warring factions is vividly evocative of Archer's final speech to the delegates negotiating the first Federation treaty.

"Encouraging" is exactly the word I used. I loved the Day the Earth Stood Still reference and that was the most encouraging thing I've seen from new Trek in oh so long. I still have some skepticism, but I'm hopeful.

Oh my days, I'm only 20 seconds in and this review is going in a very interesting direction... Oh, wait, he's only changing his t-shirt. Dang.

Beautiful first episode. I love how they embraced the discovery line, expanded it, and is growing. Feels like classic Star Trek. I'm curious as to how Sam will fit in, since he was just a corpse on TOS, we'll see. Cannot wait to see more!

It was neat how they built the pilot by referencing The Day the Earth Stood Still. It grounded the show in an optimistic future and set up Pike as a strong and moral captain. Mount has sorely needed charisma for this show. He could've been a good Geralt of Rivia too, looks like the Witcher. Wonder if Colm Meany recruited him to Trek from their time together on Hell on Wheels (jk).

I knew it was gonna be good when the USS archer appeared onscreen. Introducing the Saladin class into cannon is something quite a few fans have wanted for years, as we’ve always wanted more official TOS style ships. They know what the fans want and will provide, and will also write a good story to boot.

This intro was sexier than I expected. My innocent eyes weren’t ready for shirtless Steve.

Success! The first episode served up the spirit of TOS in full measure. I was gratefully surprised that they were able to bring the updated technical sets and CGI to the original Star Trek material without any jarring dissonance. I give it 9 out of 10 for achieving the mission of a season's first episode.

A friend of mine who doesn't watch Star Trek at all asked me why I was so happy about SNW and what the episode was about, and I was able to immediately recount all of the events in the episode, the themes it dealt with and the progression of the plot, even little details. I recalled everything so much more clearly than anything in 20 episodes of Picard. It feels like being taken out of a sewage duct and treated to the most lovely spa money could pay. I hope the show doesn't go off the rails, this is the most I have enjoyed anything from new Trek.

I liked it! I loved the pre-credit scene, I have always wanted to see a first contact episode from the perspective of the aliens being reached out to. But then the episode surprised with the warp-bomb plot and I thought that was a good twist. My tiny nitpick is we didn't get to see Una do much and it sure seems like her crew was really small. Also, while I agree "Emissary" and "Caretaker" are better pilots, they were also double-length episodes. This was quite a good pilot for introducing Pike, the Enterprise, some characterization on several crew members and all done in 45 minutes. I suspect the next episode will have a lot more moments for the characters we didn't get to know much. I bring this up because if the Voyager and DS9 pilots have any problems, it's primarily from trying to cram in every main cast character introduction; I noticed this pilot didn't do that, but then remembered it had half the time to work with.

Pike is going to be the answer from here on out when I’m asked which Captain I want to serve with. It was nice to see the rebellious for good streak and the return of “cowboy diplomacy”.

I am legitimately over the moon to see Steve enjoying an episode of Star Trek again! 🖖 I quite enjoyed the episode myself! If it carries on like this, I think I'll end up prefering it over the original series.

Characters being nice to each other, and mostly professional. How refreshing.

As much as I enjoyed everything else, the thing that hit me the hardest was the classic music and the "these are the voyages" speech at the beginning.

Things I liked, most of everything Things that were off or outright ridiculous, T'Pring gave off much more Romulan than Vulcan vibes, and you really expect us to buy that a single command officer and two scientists were the entire crew on that ship...seriously.

La’an seems like the writers wanted to a more polished Tasha Yar character (female security officer with brutal and traumatic backstory) and I can’t wait to see where the writers take her. I love how she advised raising shields when there was no communication being made from the planet, a sort of play on the surprise attack in wrath of khan when kirk hesitates to raise shields, and the Enterprise takes a beating for it. She seems like she’s already familiar with the Khan playbook.

I actually want to see the next episode. Not feel like it's some kind of obligation.

I really loved the promise of “strange new worlds!” It’s bright and hopeful even in the face of certain death. The characters are the real deal. Uhura is delightful. And the introduction of all the characters are three demential. And what the heck Sam Kirk! Jim’s brother! Watching it was like coming home! I’m very optimistic. 🖖🏻 PS It's so refreshing that Cpt. Pick is a genuinely good man.

This episode was amazing. I do think it’s the best Trek first episode. DS9 is still my favorite series, but I remember being really bored during the middle part of Emissary. Same with Caretaker (mostly the Neelix bits and also the fake hootenanny.). I was a little worried about some of the characters, especially the additional legacy characters added to the cast, most especially La’an. But she was fantastic. Note to Alex Kurtzman. When it comes time to do a flashback to La’an’s past, PLEASE for the love of Kahless cast Denise Crosby as her mother. For two main reasons 1) because at this time it looks like she’s being left out of Picard season 3 with the rest of the TNG cast. But more importantly B: La’an is how you do the Tasha Yar character correctly. If Tasha had been written like La’an maybe Denise would have stuck around. Making Denise La’an’s mother is a nice way to pay tribute to Yar and acknowledge that they learned from the past and did the character right this time. My only gripe is a silly Trekkie thing but what’s up with the rank stripes?!? everyone is called Lt. but are wearing Lt. Cmdr. stripes. Is it an Enterprise thing where Lt j.g. and Lt. Commander don’t exist as ranks. Or is it a Voyager season 1 thing where they just let 2 different characters (Chakotay and Tuvok) wear Lt. Commander rank insignia but call them other things?

This was SOOO good. I’m so excited to watch where this goes. But what a gorgeous show. Beautifully shot and designed, very well written, and just as well acted. Man. So good. I feel like I’ve been treading Trek water for years. The last two seasons of Discovery haven’t really blown my socks off. I didn’t despise Season 2 of Picard as much as you, Steve, but I sure didn’t like it. This??? This right here? This is some damn fine Trek, if I do say so my damn self. Hit it.

I think this is the best Star Trek pilot, period. Not the best episode, and that is a low bar, but it did do a first episode better than any other Star Trek series. I am with you of hoping they can keep that up going forward.

Watching this immediately after watching Picard was like having a tooth pulled. Instant relief. Also I really enjoyed the Kirk reveal.

I've been watching Star Trek since the '60s. I really enjoyed the first episode of Strange New Worlds. They're going to have to come up with some reason to discontinue use of genetic alteration of a landing party before handing the ship over to James T. Kirk. Let Spock get back to wearing tossel caps to hide his ears.

I really liked this one. My only complaint is that the edit could have more choosey about when to move a breezey and fast pace. I'd say that letting the episode run at closer to an hour and 10 or 20 minutes would have been better, especially since I think they ought not to have breezed past things like the prime directive violations. I mean, I'm glad they violated the hell out of the prime directive, but those moments needed their gravitas.

First of all, thanks for the thirst trap. Second of all, I can't wait to watch this tonight after work! I have such high hope for it!

Pike's speech could easily be directed to citizens of our planet right now.

Reminded me of " The Orville' I hope they continue on the same path.

I loved the episode so much I was tearing every 5 min. To me that was a masterpiece and as perfect as I ever expected out of Trek. Big surprise for me was how much I love La'An. I'm already a big fan of Pike, Spock, Una, Chapel, and Uhura. I didn't expect La'an to be one of my new favorites. With relatively few lines of dialogue, she conveys a lot of competence as security officer and a lot of character reveal.

First time in years I watched a star trek show!!

I don't know how I feel about this review to be honest. I got so accustomed to you eviscerating every episode of Picard, so accustomed that this week's meh came across as glowing by comparison. Good to have you back.

0:39 "You know what the best kind of fan service is? When they make a good episode." Got it one, brother. I watched the whole review of course, But damned if you hadn't nailed the important part in 2 phrases. Nice work.

@Steve Shives How great would it have been, even if in just a "tongue-in-cheek" kind of way, to either: (A) have Rebecca Romijn play BOTH Number One AND Nurse Chapel (no offense to Jess Bush)...OR...(B) have casted actual identical twin actresses to play Number One and Chapel (no offense to Romijn, of course)? The original "Number One" never had a name, so...why not Chapel? She could even be the older of the twins, adding additional meaning to the name "Number One." It would have added a whole extra layer to both characters, while also acknowledging Majel Barret's contributions, which the original studio had tried to eliminate but had been stopped by the stubborn refusal of Roddenberry, Barret, and others.

I give this a 6/10 just because its not dystopian trek anymore. But i am still worried because the kurtzman vibes are still there. Like the fact the transporter tech handled something it couldnt just because someone got orderd to do. And how they understood our tech just by using a telescope. But i am willing to ignore all for now. A solid trek episode. Something i never thought i would say about kurtzman trek.

As someone that has been flabbergasted by most of new Trek I was genuinely surprised to find a live action Trek show I unabashedly love again! It’s just one episode but I think this might be the best Star Trek pilot episode of all the shows because it understands what it is right out the gate! I normally don’t like prequels because they inevitably lead to a million retcons that a less capable writer would use to bypass plot inconveniences. SNW expertly weaves tech & lore of the era to craft story as opposed to lazily side step them with ridiculous more

I kept myself deliberately in the dark about SNW, avoiding all but the most unavoidable details, so that it would be as new and unexpected as it could be when I sat down to watch it. I've mostly enjoyed all of the new treks, but I think if SNW manages to at least remain as consistently good as the pilot, it's going to be my clear favourite out of all of them. It feels like it blends the best parts (for me) of classic Trek and new Trek. Making Star Trek history fit with modern events is something I've always enjoyed, from the (non-canon) Eugenics Wars books that reframed the wars as a secret war that caused most of the major events of the late 20th century, to this pilot which takes modern events and weaves them in to the "shit went bad" part of Trek's history. So that's something I particularly like, although I don't think the political Right are going to be too chuffed with it🤔

I loved how they set up Pike’s speech at the end by establishing him as a fan of The Day the Earth Stood Still at the beginning.

Yes, "promising" or "hopeful" fits my impression very well. It was a nice first episode that left me in a good, hopeful mood. Here's a few clever bits; - Paying homage to Kirk's Nexus-Dream in Pike's Montana home without drawing explicit attention to it - Sensible politics delivered in a short but logical way when April says that the Council cannot acknowledge anyone broke GO1 since they cannot acknowledge that the aliens didn't actually discover warp tech themselves - and how they know that And here a few nitpicks: - Why would Pike be hesitant or careful (about himself) when he knows he's gonna reach the radiation breach 10 years from now completely fine and alive? - Kirk. Okay, let's see where it goes, but in my opinion, between reusing the original Cage-characters and pre-inserting Uhura, Mbenga and Chapel, we've got enough fan service in that department. Oh; and Noonian-Soong. Please don't have Cadet Scott show up... or anything else that is just blatant "remember this?"-fanservice. - USS Archer crewed by 3 people? Come on. I know we've had some inconsistencies about how many people it takes to fly a starship - but it's gotta be more than three. Plus; great you've got a good diplomat and two social scientists on board, but... wouldn't you need more people for such a scenario? Like... a whole scientific team of anthropologists, linguists, historians..?

Fingers crossed on continuing to be good.

I would really say this is the most visually beautiful and epic Star Trek has ever looked. I was watching the opening credits just thinking how gleaming and cinematic everything is.

A small thing I really liked in this episode was how Dr. M'Benga and Chapel seem to have a kind of bantery, back-and-forth, double-act thing thing on. It's almost like the writers thought "hey, these characters are likely to appear together in scenes really often, we should give them some fun energy." It's emblematic of the kind of forethought and confidence that I think this show is bringing to the table.

I love the show already and u without a t-shirt 😁 I really love how the new Uhura mimics the old one gestures and movements ❤️

The problem I’m having right now is that the bar was set so low by the other shows that I’m not sure if I’m just excited that we finally got something that felt more like Star Trek, or that this is just great by comparison. Either way, I’m taking it! I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode and I cannot wait to see where we go from here!

Basically my feelings too! Have we seen this before? Yes. Was it a blast to watch? YES. Out of all Trek since 2017 I've only liked Lower Decks & Prodigy, but this was a joy to watch.

I really feel they need to lean on the existing sci-fi writers for solid stories as they did in TOS. People like Theodore Sturgeon, Cordwainer Bird 🤣, Jerome Bixby, Norman Spinrad, Richard Matheson and David Gerrold were what really put the stories in TOS. I know times are different but I hope they lean into non dedicated trek writers.

I watched "Strange New Worlds" right after the last episode of _ST: Picard,_ and the contrast couldn't be more striking. ST:P took 10 episodes to figure out what it was doing, and even then, overall, it felt disjointed and, as I said in the comments, "incoherent." "Strange New Worlds" felt very coherent, very together and of a piece, rather than a patchwork quilt of subplots and unnecessary distractions. I liked it a lot and am looking forward to the next installment.

I an over the moon to see Steve give us a little peep show.

Personally, I loved how Pike took inspiration from the movie he was watching earlier, "The Day The Earth Stood Still", to solve the problem of the episode. I also loved how it was a one-and-done episode, rather than the multi-episode story arcs that New Trek has become known for. And, of course, it's always good to hear the "Space, the final frontier...." speech during the opening credits. Gives it a real old-school Trek feel.

I saw this episode on my way home from work and I fell in love. I was so happy after watching this. I already knew in my heart that the show had the best potential of all the other shows. Hearing that they're going back to a more episodic form of Storytelling is what drew me in. Plus, Anson mount's performance as Captain Pike that is truly amazing. I'm also feeling the new crew. It's going to be fun getting to know them

This was such a great episode. It's been, I swear 20 years since I was this giddy over a new Star Trek series. When I saw the Archer, I immediately thought "Ooh! I hope that's a Saladin or Hermes class!" More Franz Joseph designs, please! Not the Dreadnought. Too early for that. But the rest are fine. It wasn't perfect, a few snags here and there. It felt just a little bit rushed in a couple places. But it just goes to show, I'm willing to let a lot of flaws slide if the show is good enough. Number One's name being Una is not new. She's been Una for a while. I think they canonized that from the novels. I think her surname Chin-Riley is new, though.

The quality of those sets... The quality of the writing... I'm amazed that I don't have to sit here ranting about all plot points that don't make sense. This pilot was as solid as it gets. I didn't feel like I was watching a fanfic, I felt like I was watching something great.

The fact that I watched this back to back with your Picard video makes the intro to this video brilliant

I'm trying to stay positive. But Akiva Goldman has always found a way to ruin anything.

They did a phenomenal job. I could hardly believe how they actually used the formula of the original series. Very well done!

“These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It’s five year mission…” That was the moment I allowed myself to think “Holy crap. Are they actually going to get this right??”

“Those homemade warp cores surelook good!” “Oh, these aren’t homemade. They were made in a factory… a bomb factory… they’re bombs.”

I hope there's a similar pace and positivity in future episodes. We could all do with a wee bit of utopia in our lives these days. Hint, hint other Star Trek enterprises...

I am so excited for this series loved this. The only thing I liked about discovery was pike and the actor who plays him. The actor does a great job playing. The main bridge looks awesome. Excited to see number one's character development and how rebecca Roman will do in the part. This has brought my hope back for the future of my favorite series.

All this discussion of an emotional Spock made me wonder whether Spock made the emotionless behavior in TOS just to annoy McCoy?

I just need to know this isn't more discovery, I don't think my heart could take that again.

Have been a Trekkie since the early 1970's and, I rated this first episode as a "B-". I am very much looking forward to its future episodes. Also, love seeing Pike as the real Captain of the Enterprise (just like the 1966 TV Star Trek pilot (smile...smile).

Thought for Pike - if he truly believes that’s his future 10 years from present, well, he’s invincible for the moment. He can take all sorts of personal risks, knowing with certainty that he won’t end up dead or disabled.

I really loved this episode. Not because it was overwhelming good, but it did everything right. The crew DISCUSS their plan first, also the crew seems to THINK about what they are doing. Also, they behaved like real Star Fleet Officers and the plot made sense. The inside of the Enterprise was not a darkroom as it was in Discovery or in Picard. Perhaps, Kurtzman was too busy with the other projects and had less time to interfere, but this really has the potential to be the Star Trek we used to love 🙂

Worked on the VFX for the show over the last 8 months or so, many Steve Shivers videos were watched over that time. I can finally tell people!

Maybe it’s just me. But I got chills during the voiceover in the opening scene when it became apparent that it’s not a Starfleet officer talking to you, but rather an inhabitant on one of these strange new worlds about to come face to face with Starfleet. The shift in POV took me by surprise because I’m so used to hearing “Captains log, Stardate yada yada yada…” Have they done this much in the past? That is, leading you into the story from the “alien’s” point of view?

Curse you Colonial Devils! I need to wait 'til next feckin' month to watch this.

Where was this production team when they were doing most of Discovery and all of Picard!? They got it right on the money. This is what we want! More! MORE!!

All Trek is good Trek and this is some very good Trek. The red alert lights on the bridge looked like a kick - ass disco!

I honestly enjoyed this episode! I've never been a TOS fan. Probably because it's been "too old" for my taste and I've just never been exposed to it as a child of the late 90s/early 2000s. BUT, I absolutely love Anson Mount as Pike. This episode was good fun, definitely had many of the Trek elements I like to see and most of the cast seems to be pretty likeable so far. I only have some issues with one or two characters but hey, it's been one episode so far. Let's see what's in store for all of them over the course of the series. Can't wait to see the rest. Which....is a similar reaction I had after watching the first episode of Picard season 2. But I'm not jinxinng it! ...

Skipping half the video because, as you said, it has spoilers. I just needed to know if this was a show I will enjoy watching - and I think you answered that. Been trying to not get my hopes up too high, but maybe, FINALLY, Star Trek is Star Trek again. Time to explore Strange New Worlds and find out.

No crying, no whispering, no head tilts while speaking. No Space Jesus. Best of all - no Tilly! Good review. I loved this episode and am practically giddy with excitement as Discovery is terrible and Picard, with just a few good things, has been disappointing.

"Life is to be worn gloriously" is now my favorite star trek quote.

Captain Kirk would have taken to himself to destroy the bomb.... Or just intimidate an ambasador into starting a peace negotiation with his neighboor. But don't worry cuz he's doing it PEACEFULLY! (I love TOS)

I'm not as eager to praise this episode. The acting was good, but the pacing was awkward and the plot felt half baked. Still as a standalone episode that's forgivable, and now that the legwork of putting all the pieces in place has been done, I'm tentatively optimistic to see what the rest of the season has to offer.

glad to see that you enjoyed this episode as much as i did. and i have to admit, they seriously had me for a bit with that lt. kirk scene

This premiere left me with some classic rap quotes coming to mind. In particular, "Like water in the desert for you thirsty people" (C.L. Smooth) and "This is how it should be done" (Rakim). This definitely shows great potential, 100% agree. Let's see how they handle character development and possible long-term story arcs (asked you about that a few months back in an AMA, thanks for the comprehensive answer btw).

The first TOS episode, The Corbomite Manuver, even though it wasn’t the first aired, was a very strong beginning.

I just watched the first 4 episodes back to back. I can't describe how elated I am, finally, finally, they have found the perfect spot. 1 episode stories, modernized with that classic feel, the intro, god the intro is amazing. The cast, the dealing with real world problems in its own way, it's progressive politics, away missions, away missions consisting of all the highest ranking officers 🤣. I want more.. so much much more. I just sat there, and enjoyed it fully and lost myself in the universe. TREK IS BACK

I enjoyed every part of the episode. Anson mount was made to play Cpt Pike. They are even going along with Picard's ret-Khan of when the eugenics war and ww3 will happen

Steve: I really agree with you on so many points here: this pilot isn't as good as "The Emissary" (a masterpiece, IMO), but it is, as you put it, confident. It establishes a context for the show going forward. The reference to the current real-world situation was actually kind of scary to me, but I think that's a good thing. It hit home and that's GOOD because that means that the alternative presented is all the more real. Anson Mount's portrayal of Christopher Pike was the best part of Discovery in any season, IMO. Pike IS a starfleet captain. He's the kind of person you WANT to sit in that chair. Ethan Peck portrays Spock, but he isn't trying to be Leonard Nimoy. Yes, it is Spock earlier in his life. For both Pike and Spock, the events of season 2 of Discovery are clearly impactful here, but they aren't overly belabored. OF COURSE Pike will be haunted by what he has seen of his future. Of course Spock will miss Michael, but by getting them out of a Prime Directive court martial for what they did in this episode, they make it clear that they won't be constantly hearkening back to Discovery season 2. This show takes place after those events, but it will not be wrapped up in them. It will be its own show. I think I like Picard more than you and Discovery, perhaps less over all. That's cool. Such differences are the kinds of things to enjoy discussing over a cuppa at Starbucks. But SNW… well, I agree, it's a promising start - the most solid foundation. Bravo!!!

speak softly and hover a big starship over a city.

I really liked the premiere for this new series. I didn't get to season 2 of ST:DSC to see the introduction of these characters & I didn't feel like I needed to in order to understand what was going on with Captain Pike ( it helped that I remember what happened to his character from TOS) My favorite scifi/fantasy shows were the series that managed to be both serialized & episodic at the same time. There would be an overall season storyline or theme--a big bad that needed defeating, a mystery that needed solving, some sort of goal set but not every episode would be devoted solely to that. And the characters wouldn't reset like they had their minds wiped at the start of each new episode either, there would a natural continuation & character arcs as the show progressed. That's the sweet spot that I always liked & I'm hoping Strange New Worlds will hit because I just haven't really loved any of the New Trek so far & I want this to be The One I actually enjoy watching.

I just finally watched the first episode. I rely on your opinion to give a perspective I don't usually have time for. I agree. Hands down the best Star Treck episode I've seen in a Very long time.

Promising. Best Episode of Trek since Enterprise ended. I don't personally like the colloquialisms and modern language used, this is the future. And personally atm, I don't like Ortegas. Fingers crossed it keeps getting better

I just finished Strange New Worlds episode 1! IT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED!!! Yay! I am so happy! It was absolutely amazing!

I am tempted to rank it above Voyager's pilot as a really solid start, but that might be coloured by my memories of the rest of that first season (and the subsequent seasons, too). I found it fun, enjoyed the brief character work they gave to nearly everybody (it might've been nice to know within the episode that Admiral "Bob" was Robert April, rather than knowing from interviews ahead of this premiere), and very much what I had been hoping to see. The tone felt lighter and a bit more upbeat that my memories of TOS, but only in a way that makes it fit with past Trek while carving out its own path (in the same way DS9 became a darker, more seriously morally grey show or Voyager became the oddly flip-flopping one). I look forward to your reviews this season, partly because it'll be nice to see you enjoy a series (and I hope you get to).

I just think that Pike's speech to the "locals" should have ended with these words: "Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but... your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you."

My only problem with the episode is the warp bomb, I know it’s not cannon, but the book Federation deals with the warp bomb, it postulates that the warp bomb is impossible. One character pursues Zephram Cochran from pre TOS - TNG

I could do without the constant flashbacks to melty-faced Pike, it gives the character the wrong kind of depth. It's a bit of a trope for characters who are haunted by their fate to (pointlessly) try to avoid it at all costs, and the show seems to imply he is one of those characters. I have to assume that's not the case, so why do it?

I've always wanted a Pike show, all my life; thank the gods that the wait was worth it...

The problem with the other shows was always the writing. Even here, I think the editing did a lot of saves. An example indication of bad writing includes the admiral saying, "I want you to get back on 'that' horse". Much better to say, "I want you to get back on 'this' horse", referring to the order he is issuing. Additionally, it would have been much better if it took a little more time for the deflector plating to energize so as to demonstrate the timeliness utility of the caution by Number One prior to the ground missile assault. As it was, energization seemed instantaneous. It's a little thing but would say a lot and lend to threat level. It would have also been better if her suggestion was a command and enacted prior to her explanation (she is second in command after all). Finally, what was cool about the original and Generation is that the ship was always on several missions with the team leads competing for people and time and such. This complexity could represent one way going forward to justify highly talented people seemingly sitting around as bridge crew. Imagine that Uru is participating in several other projects where being chief communications officer is merely one of her less interesting job on an exploration vessel. There are other issues but I like the episode. The ending was fantastic. :)

I have to agree, maybe even a great start considering the first episodes of TNG, DS9, Voy and Ent. For the first time in a while, I'm optimistic about Star Trek. Not saying they copied it, but it's very reminiscent to an original Battlestar Galactica Epi "Experiment in Terra" ironically enough one of the helmeted guards in that episode was Q, John D. You don't see his face but no mistaking that voice. A fine group of actors that seem capable of pulling off whatever the writers have in store for them. I'm particularly impressed with how the sets, props and CGI are looking familiar but updated.

Wow, mark this on the Calendar. Steve gave Voyager some props.

Nice an accurate review, thanks. I liked the Security Officer she reminds me of Camina Drummer from Expanse.... which is a wonderful thing.