4th August, 2023: The Intro.
Right: it’s Friday, again.
It’s amazing how it crops up, once a week.
At any rate … ?
That means two or three things.
First?
That I’ve finished an up coming Teaser: for International Left Handers Day.
Speaking as a left-hander that writes quizzes?
What were you expecting me to do for 13th August?
Apart from tell my fellow southpaws to do something on the day!
Next up?
Yes: I’m doing fish and chips, again.
And finally?
Yes: I’m going to be watching the next episode of Star Trek Strange New Worlds, tonight.
I’ll be posting my review, tomorrow.
I get the impression it’s going to be very silly … … …
5th August, 2023: “Subspace Rhapsody”.
Episode 9 — “Subspace Rhapsody” — opens with the usual summary of earlier episodes.
Then shifts …
To show us Ensign Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) recording a log entry for Stardate 2398.3: and telling it — and us — that the USS Enterprise has found a naturally occurring subspace fold.
And is investigating it, to see if it can help boost communications across the quadrant.
In the run up to her helping Lieutenant* Spock with the experiment?
Uhura needs to clear the communications board of all signals.
- Hailing Captain Batel for Captain Pike.
- Communicating with the USS Farragut: to arrange for Lieutenant Kirk’s transport to the Enterprise.
- And routing a very important message from Dr Korby to Nurse Christine Chapel.
It’s only when that’s done, that she can join Spock and Pelia (Ethan Peck, and Carol Kane) in the Engine Room: to do some serious — and enjoyable — research.
It’s only when there, and after explaining their communications issues to Pelia, that Uhura and Spock realise they have am interesting line of research.
Sending a song through the fold could be interesting.
Especially if you don’t know what could happen …
~≈🖖≈~
Now …
What did I think of “Subspace Rhapsody” … ?
What did I think? Notice? See?
More to the point … can I afford the soundtrack album?
Yes: that’s right.
“Subspace Rhapsody” comes with its own soundtrack album: on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Prine … and lord knows where else!
Which is what you’d possibly expect, from the only musical episode in the franchise!
Let’s deal with that, first, shall we?
Yes: “Subspace Rhapsody” is the much talked about musical episode of Star Trek Strange New Worlds.
And … ?
From the very little I’ve seen of musicals†?
“Subspace Rhapsody” is a competently done one.
The music’s good: very good, even if there’s a few too many power ballads for my taste!
The music fits both the storyline, and the characters that sing each song, very well.
La’an (Christina Chong) performance of “How Would that Feel”, was great: especially if you go for Celine Dion.
Captain’s Pile and Batel (Anson Mount and Melanie Scrofano) have a suitable jazzy duet.
The real stars of the show … ?
Are Jess Bush’s Nurse Chapel with the rock tinged “I’m Ready” and Celia Rose Gooding’s Uhura with the soulful “Keep us Connected”.
OK … I don’t think the song sheet’s going to chart.
But the songs are well done: and very well performed by a cast that’s a lot better, vocally, than I was expecting.
I should maybe not have been surprised.
Especially as most of the cast have some sort of musical training.
And Rebecca Romijn does a rousing bit of Gilbert and Sullivan, when needed.
Go look up a Short Trek episode called Q&A, if you’ve not seen it.
At any rate … ?
We have a bunch of show tunes you can hum, a cast that’s very capable of humming …
In a very well written episode.
Can I be honest?
The only other musical episode of a show that I’ve seen — Buffy: The Vampire Slayer’s “Once More with Feeling” — was very good.
But?
Was a sign the show was possibly — possibly — running out of ideas.
As I recall?
“Once More with Feeling” came quite late in the show’s run.
Which is possibly what left me thinking that.
That’s not something I can say about “Subspace Rhapsody”.
It’s been aired late in the season, I grant you: but in a show that’s only on its second season.
So a feeling that Strange New Worlds is running out of ideas?
Isn’t something that applies, here.
“Subspace Rhapsody” also has something of a lighter tone than “Once More with Feeling”.
The episode is also helped by the fact that it’s broadcast after the doomy “Under the Cloak of War”, and before a potentially gruesome final episode.
I think that placing works well for “Subspace Rhapsody”: it seems lighter by comparison with “Under the Cloak of War”, just as the tone of “Under the Cloak of War” is a good contrast to the funnier episodes bracketing it.
It’s well placed …
And well written.
And shows off the ensemble casts extra talents.
There’s more to the episode than that: of course there is.
The episode itself?
Is not one I’m going to tell you much about.
I honestly think you should see “Subspace Rhapsody”: rather than listen to me talk about it.
I will say a few more things, though.
I can still remember growing up doing the 1970s and 1980s.
And, for much of the 1970s?
The BBC had a habit of airing Star Trek — the original series — when Dr Who was off air.
Watching those classic episodes?
And later, the original series movies?
And the various bits of publicity we’d see, over the years?
I came away with the impression that Leonard Nimoy and Nichelle Nichols — the original Mr Spock and Lieutenant Uhura — were good friends: who happened to be workmates.
And that this was something that carried over into their roles.
Their versions of Spock and Uhura were work mates, who were good friends.
It’s something the Kelvin timeline films don’t do: they present the pair as lovers, rather than friends.
That’s not something that’s carried over into Star Trek Strange New Worlds: where Peck and Gooding present the pair — again — as co-workers and friends.
Slightly flirty — at least on Uhura’s part — but none-the-less friends, rather than lovers!
It’s an angle I, personally, prefer.
There’s one last thing.
The basic premise, the basic idea, of “Subspace Rhapsody”?
Or, at least, the cause of all the singing … ?
Is Spock and Uhura’s initial experiment.
Broadcasting music into the subspace fold causes what the crew of the Enterprise call an improbability field: one that causes spontaneous singing, and one that’s difficult to get unglued from.
At least, not without singing, dancing or combining the shield harmonics with the Heisenberg compensator!
The singing is possibly the irrelevant bit.
Because?
Well … I grew up on the TV version of Douglas Adams’ The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Complete with a space ship powered by an Infinite Improbability Drive, and infinite improbability fields.
Spock mentioning the phrase … ?
Had me thinking the writers of this episode — Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff — were fans of the late Adams.
Are they?
Have they been sneakily pinching an idea off the man?
Or — ahem! — homaging his best known work?
I don’t know.
All I can tell you for sure?
Is two things: that the use of the term is a VERY big co-incidence, if the two writers aren’t fans of a certain guide.
And no-one’s underwear jumped a foot to the left.
That’s possibly a good thing!
~≈🖖≈~
At any rate …
I’m left: having watched a very funny episode.
And?
As much as I’m not one for the Star Trek franchise’s lighter episodes … ?
“Subspace Rhapsody” is a very good episode: one that’s joyful, uplifting and shows off its casts performing talents.
And, as a minor thought … ?
Ties off relations between La’an and James Kirk, whilst leaving other relationships in a state of … let’s call it tension.
Have I seen a very good episode?
Yes I have.
Am I coming back for more, next week?
Yes, I am.
I’ll be watching the next episode of Star Trek Strange New Worlds — “Hegemony” — on Friday, 11th August: and posting my written and video reviews of it on Saturday, 12th August.
Frankly?
I’ll see you then!
“Subspace Rhapsody”.★★★★
* I don’t care how any of the cast pronounce it: it’s pronounced <i>LEF ten nant</i>!
† Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, both versions of West Side Story, The Sound of Music, and Cabaret, if you’re asking.
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