You will definitely need to wear your dress uniform to listen to Anika and Liz discuss the first two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds!
- We are not watching for the plots, which are decidedly familiar, but the characters
- Pike: dealing the burden of knowing he’s going to be the subject of an ableist plotline, and also his haircare routine
- We are once again asking the writers to hire a disability consultant
- This is a Pro-Spock/T’Pring podcast
- Did Uhura need a tragic backstory? No, but Starfleet is full of orphans, so what’s one more?
- It’s Christine Chapel’s universe, we’re just living in it
- It feels like Sam Kirk is here purely to alienate casual viewers
- La’an feels like a do-over of Tasha, and we approve
- Is Ortegas queer? The show has started out on a pretty heteronormative note
- Hair Trek
- You can rewrite “Amok Time” and erase “The Menagerie” (please! Please erase “The Menagerie!”) but you cannot tell us Spock doesn’t have chest hair. That is where we draw the canon line.
- Protect Celia R. Gooding at all costs
- Our new regular feature: Where Is Katrina Cornwell Right Now?
Transcript
(Please note this transcript was generated automatically by Apple Podcasts, and though it was edited by a human, some errors may remain.)
Liz: Welcome to Antimatter Pod, a Star Trek podcast where we discuss fashion, feminism, subtext and subspace, hosted by Anika and Liz. This week, we’re discussing the first two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “Strange New Worlds” and “Children of the Comet”.
So I think it’s pretty obvious to say that we were not excited by the premise of this series when it was announced. I believe that I may have posted a picture of a loaf of white bread and said this was the cast.
Anika: To be fair, at the time, that was the cast.
Liz: Yeah, look, I stand by that based on the information that we had at the time. I wound up… Okay, I love every single character on this show. They are all perfect. I adore them. I will die for them. I will kill for some of them.
I am not watching for the plot because the plots are annoying.
Anika: No, that’s fair.
Liz: I really enjoyed the first episode. I just have already seen it. And I quite enjoyed the second episode, but I remember when it was an episode of Enterprise.
Anika: It’s not that they’re recycling old episodes. It’s that they’re going back to basics and there’s only so many basics that exist.
Liz: Yeah. And I feel Prodigy is telling very basic Star Trek stories with a new audience in mind. And this is telling basic Star Trek stories with the old audience in mind. To the point where I saw someone who compared watching “Children of the Comet” to watching a rerun of The Next Generation. And I think that’s a really bad feeling for the second episode of a new series.
Anika: Like you, I don’t care about the plot at all. I very seldom care about the plot. I only care about the plot when it messes up the characters. So I loved “Children of the Comet” just so much.
The first episode was more… it was a pilot. There was a lot of pilot stuff in that episode. And it was very Star Trek, and that’s it, which is fine. It was good. I enjoyed it, but it was nothing new or interesting.
But the second episode, it wasn’t that it was new or interesting, but it was such a Valentine to Uhura, a character who has not gotten the spotlight in the way that she did in this episode. And it was a Valentine to all of us who have cared about her for all these 50 years.
Liz: Yes. Uhura had more characterization and backstory before the opening credits than she did in 50 odd years of television and movies. And that was extraordinary. I love that.
Anika: The plot of the episode was specifically honed to show off Uhura. And I just appreciated that. So I was like, I don’t actually care that any of this makes sense because I love the idea of communicating through music and Uhura being the one to figure it out and then needing Spock to back her up.
Liz: Yes.
Anika: In this very Spock way. I just really thought that there was a lot going on with specifically Uhura and with Uhura and the other characters that it just made me happy.
Liz: It’s so exciting to me that the point of view character for this series after the pilot is Uhura, who is both this iconic character and a blank slate. It’s fantastic to see her get her due.
I hated the music side of the plot just because I am not educated or knowledgeable about music, but one thing I do know is that the European musical tradition is not universal. Like what they were saying about chords and ratios, that is all specific to one Eurocentric understanding of music. I don’t even know if it applies to Kenyan music. So that was just a bit of a record scratch moment for me. But I don’t really expect anything better from a series run by Akiva Goldsman.
So by that low standard, and by my very simple standard of, do I care about these characters and want to hang out with them, it was a win.
Anika: So do you want to discuss the characters? Go down the list? There’s a lot of them.
Liz: Yes, Pike, we know Pike. He’s dealing with the trauma of knowing that there’s an incredibly ableist plot line coming up for him in 10 years time.
Anika: And that’s a great way of putting it, yes.
Liz: If they rewrote “The Menagerie”, I would not complain at all. And if they rewrote “The Menagerie” and said, “Oh, actually, this is the correct timeline, and the original series was wrong,” sorry, that would be great.
I think they’re not really drawing a distinction between Pike’s fear of injury and devastating pain and a traumatic and radical change to his life versus his fear of the chair. And I feel like the chair has always been a really ableist symbol going back to the 60s, even in the way it’s designed, which is vaguely reminiscent of a Dalek, which may or may not be intentional, looking at the timing, it’s possible. But Pike’s chair is always an object of horror and fear.
And I’m like, this thing is keeping him alive. It is the only means by which he has to communicate and prevents him from a life being stuck in a biobed. That chair is a miracle. He should be covering it with stickers and go faster stripes. So the fear around the chair is so misguided to me. And it feels like another case of able-bodied people writing about disability.
Anika: So I have been told that they can’t change it because it’s already been told. The story has already been told. We’ve already seen Pike’s end. Like you, I am very much Team Decanonize “The Menagerie”. We can’t decanonize “The Cage” anymore because that’s already happened in this particular show. But we can decanonize “The Menagerie”. Una is also Team Decanonize “The Menagerie”.
Liz: Una is correct.
Anika: Yeah, let’s go with her.
Liz: I just think that if we can open this series by saying, “Actually Spock lied in “Amok Time” when he said he had no prior relationship with T’Pring,” then Spock lied in “The Menagerie” and some medical ship is coming by after a week on Talos IV to rescue Vina and Pike and give them the medical treatment that the 23rd century should be able to provide.
Anika: But people tell me this, and they’re like, we can’t change it. And it’s, yeah, like you said, yes, they can. And also they don’t have to focus on it. They don’t have to make it the one recurring arc through the season Pike being upset that he’s going to be disabled. That’s not great. I think that it’s a very fine line. And they are so far from my perspective. And I think this is just what, just me. I’m not speaking for anyone else. They are not walking it. They are tripping over into ableism.
Liz: Yeah. I think I would feel better about this storyline if there was even one disabled person in the writer’s room. And the same goes for Hemmer and his scene with Uhura in this second episode. They need disabled writers. They need to hire a disability consultant. Yesterday, like last week, they need disabled people to be talking to them.
Anika: Because Uhura is our point of view character for that episode. She was the one who had to have that scene with Hemmer. But it was a little… I also didn’t love the optics of that. That they put Uhura in that role. And that they put Spock in the very, very Vulcan, “I’m gonna tell you how it is, human.” It was all of the things that I don’t like about what they do with Vulcans and cadets, young Black women, all of it is just no.
Liz: Basically, Uhura comes up to Hemmer like Harry Kim coming up to Quark, being like, oh, you’re blind. Basically, “I learned about blind people at the Academy.” That’s not remotely what she said, but that was the vibe. And it was just, the trope of the disabled person who pretends to be really prickly about offers of help is ableist when it comes from able-bodied writers. I just think you see a person with a disability who is carrying on, minding their own business, doing a thing without any assistance. You don’t drop everything to rush across the room and offer to help them with whatever they’re doing.
Anika: Right. And her line that she was taught to offer help to anyone with a disability, that was the line that I was like, why are you having Uhura say this? No, this is the wrong person for that line. Maybe they were trying to point out that is not a great way for the non-disabled person to talk.
Liz: Oh, I didn’t get that at all.
Anika: My theory was they were like, oh, okay. So they understand that you shouldn’t just pop up to people and be like, it’s polite to help you because that’s impolite turns out. But the fact that again, they gave it to the young Black woman with the least power in the room. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like it.
Liz: I just think the Federation in the 23rd century is an incredibly ableist society. And normally I’m all aboard with ‘the Federation is not a utopia’, but what if it was less ableist?
Anika: And I think you’re right that it comes down to the people who are writing it are the ableists.
Liz: Yeah.
Anika: And even when they try really hard to not be, they’re doing it wrong. And I’m not saying I would do it better. I’m just saying find some people, find some real people.
Liz: There is a whole internet out there of how to write about disability, how to talk about disability, and so many people who would be very happy to consult with Star Trek to say this is how you do it well and with nuance and dignity. And they just don’t seem to be aware that’s a possibility at all, to the point where TNG was doing better with Geordi in the 80s.
Anika: I don’t want to go backwards, but sometimes I feel like we’re fighting this sort of, again, there’s these good intentions versus actual good.
Liz: Yeah.
Anika: And I think that people think that their good intentions are enough. And if your good intentions are still harming people, then they’re not.
Liz: Yeah.
Anika: Does that make sense? There seems to be a disconnect where it’s like, we’re now in a place in society where making sure that everyone is represented and everyone is heard and validated is important, but we’re not at the point where we’re doing it.
Liz: Yes. And it’s frustrating because Discovery does this so well and so thoughtfully. And then Prodigy is a show where they make mistakes and they agree that they’ve made mistakes and actively work to do better. Did I say Prodigy? I meant Lower Decks.
Anika: You meant Lower Decks.
Liz: Yes. Yes. I got it.
Anika: I figured it out, though.
Liz: You speak fluent Liz. And Prodigy seems really thoughtful about its representation. And then you have Akiva Goldsman’s Star Trek going, “I’m a straight white man. I’m going to fix Discovery by bringing in the original series characters. I like stories about men like me.” That’s my Akiva Goldsman voice.
Anika: Very good. Is it going to be a recurring character?
Liz: This is going to be a recurring rant of mine for the next eight episodes.
Anika: So let’s talk about Spock and T’Pring since you mentioned them.
Liz: Okay, I ship it.
Anika: They’re very controversial in the fandom, mainly because they’re kissing in human ways. And my main response to that, I gotta say, is, who do you think is more likely to have taught Spock how to kiss someone? His father or his mother?
Liz: Sorry, I just pictured the most awkward sex ed scene.
Anika: Just saying. One of these would not have done it. And the other would have made sure. So I think that it is reasonable. I also, we don’t know. We’ve never actually seen, actually, we have seen sex scenes between a Vulcan and a human in Enterprise. And it was very human. There was a lot of touching going on. Kissing, touching, hands, bodies. Sorry. So all of those people are wrong. They’re wrong because Enterprise exists. And I know that’s, you know, not a hill to die on.
Liz: My thing is, we know that T’Pring is going to choose to marry someone else. And her beef is that she doesn’t want to compete with Starfleet in Spock’s affections. And she doesn’t want to, as she says, be the wife of a legend, because that’s what Spock is already becoming. These are totally legitimate reasons to not want to marry someone, but that doesn’t mean she has never cared about him and never been eager to pursue a relationship with him. And she has never suggested that she has any problem with his being half human. And so her being open to human expressions of sexuality kind of makes sense to me. Nothing we saw in 1967 contradicted that.
Anika: I like it. I loved T’Pring.
Liz: Yeah.
Anika: She was so on point. I was super into it. And Spock was so awkward, which was perfect.
Liz: Yes.
Anika: And the fact that T’Pring and Pike…
Liz: That they were on first name terms…
Anika: …were less awkward than T’Pring and Spock was great. It was great because it showed T’Pring as a real person. Yes. This idea that she was always an ice princess, I think that what they’re showing with this series so far is that she’s a real person who had her own plot line that we didn’t get to see, and we probably still won’t get to see it, but now it’s not just like shadows and figures and the ideas of men put on her.
Liz: In “Amok Time”, I think she’s almost a plot device. She’s the mean bitchy lady who won’t marry Spock and who contrives to have Spock and Kirk fight to the death because, I guess, Vulcan divorce law is very illogical. I’ve always been a bit puzzled by that.
But now she has so much more personality and she’s actually what I always wanted T’Pol to be. I remember, in 2000, seeing the first character descriptions when casting was going out and it was like aa sensuous yet ruthlessly logical Vulcan woman.’ That is T’pring! In just a couple of scenes, she is so lively. And I love that. I’m so eager to see more of her.
And yeah, I do kind of ship it in that way where it’s not going to work out, but she’s not a villain. She’s not a monster. She’s not preparing to launch a Vulcan land scam.
Anika: She’s just a person. My actual favorite type of relationship. That’s what I ship always. These people, for whatever reason, cannot be together, but they have that chemistry anyway.
Liz: I can see her in 20 years’ time helping Spock mentor Saavik, because Spock’s like, “This Vulcan girl has come into my life and I don’t know many Vulcan women anymore, but you were my T’Pring. Can you help me?” And then T’Pring and Stonn take her on field trips and stuff.
Anika: I can’t accept it. I love it. Way better than that real estate scam.
Liz: Oh, yeah. No offence, Diane Duane. I love your work, but what the hell?
Anika: So, Una, don’t have a full… Uhura and M’Benga, I can say, they didn’t do much yet. Una did more. M’Benga, I have no read on whatsoever. Was he in the second episode?
Liz: No, he wasn’t.
Anika: So, I really have nothing to say about him. He’s attractive.
Liz: He is. He’s very attractive.
Anika: But Una, also attractive.
Liz: Oh, my gosh. Yes.
Anika: Did get to do more and has the benefit of being someone that we’ve wanted to know more about for years and years and years.
Liz: And I think they’re sort of holding back on that a little because they know that there’s the anticipation of wanting to know who Una is and what is her deal. But in the small scenes that we’ve had, I really enjoyed her. I love that her idea of taking leave is to go out and run a first contact mission. Like, Una, you nerd.
And the scene in the second episode where she and Pike are doing the dishes after his dinner party. One of my favorite tropes in science fiction is the dinner party in space. Ideally an awkward one. Thank you, The Undiscovered Country. But people sitting around and sharing a meal. It’s a great shorthand for going, these guys are a family. And it’s surprising that it took Discovery three seasons to realize that. But here they’ve jumped right in and I love it so much.
I love that Pike cooks for his crew. I love that he is cooking white man cowboy food like ribs because he is a white man cowboy dude. And the domesticity of Uhura cleaning up with him afterwards and talking about their crew. It’s like, are they just colleagues? Are they people who are in love but keep it professional? Are they sometimes friends with benefits? Are they just friends who love each other platonically and deeply? I don’t know. It could be all of these things and that is so great.
Anika: It’s so great. I also love in the first episode when they go to rescue her and her two crewmen. And she’s out there on a first contact mission with two people.
Liz: Two people!
Anika: Amazing. I love it. I love it. And she’s injured and Pike is helping her walk. And then they go out and they get into a fistfight and she totally participates in the fistfight and then gets back on his shoulder and he helps her to the elevator. That was perfection. That was such amazing shorthand for how close their relationship is and who those two people are because he was fine with letting her go and taking care of things and then coming right back. It was just, he trusted her to be a part of the fight and be fine. He wasn’t trying to protect her over anybody else. It was just so good.
Liz: And because there’s no dialogue or anything, it didn’t come across as a hashtag strong female character sort of thing because she does let him help her and she’s reserving her strength to fight if she has to. That’s smart. That tells us about her. I love it. And I love that she is La’an’s mentor and rescuer.
Anika: I need to know everything about them. I love them. I love La’an. We’re not to her yet. We still have three more new old characters to discuss.
Liz: Yes. So I want to ask, do you think Uhura needed a tragic backstory?
Anika: No.
Liz: No.
Anika: No, she didn’t. But we’ve had this discussion before that being an orphan is the easiest way to get people to care about you.
Liz: Just like a space dinner party is the easiest way to make your crew a family.
Anika: So I get it. I get it. And everybody who’s saying that Nichelle Nichols is her grandma. Great. Yes. And so I’m okay with it. And it’s literally the best part is that I wrote that backstory, but I gave it to Katrina Cornwell. Like, no joke, shuttle accident, parents dead, raised by grandfather, was my backstory for Katrina Cornwell in multiple things. I mean, I’m into it. I’m not against it. Like you just said, did Uhura need a tragic backstory?
Liz: No.
Anika: Guess what? Katrina Cornwell also did not need a tragic backstory. However, I gave her one. So I cannot fault the writers for pulling an Anika.
Liz: Absolutely not. We already know that La’an has a tragic backstory. So I’m like, are they going to bond over being orphans? Is this how it’s going to go? I want to say how many orphans can you fit on one starship? But then I think about how many orphans there are on all the other starships.
Anika: It’s a thing. In Discovery, we were making fun of this last season where every single person came up and said, here’s my tragic backstory, it’s why I’m in Starfleet. So at this point, if you don’t have a traumatic backstory, you don’t get to be in Starfleet. Like they only take people who have a traumatic backstory. Everyone else fails out of those tests that they put Wesley through in the first season of TNG.
Liz: Also, it’s kind of a relief to have this come up at a social event and not in the middle of a crisis on the bridge. So well done Uhura.
Anika: So much better. It stopped all the plot, but it was stopped all the plot for a purpose. It was part of the plot for it to stop the party and everyone was like, ooh, this is rough. Now we know too much about our new character, our new person that we brought into this family, like you said. And that was another element. That was the only time that it was actually an awkward dinner party.
Liz: I know. And it could have been so much worse. I guess if someone ever asks Spock about his parents, that will make it awkward.
Anika: I think they know enough not to ask him about his parents. And also Spock is clearly the person they make fun of all the time anyway, since it could have been awkward for him to be like, I don’t understand humor. But it wasn’t because they were all like, oh, just Spock being Spock.
Liz: Yes.
Anika: That’s so Spock of you.
Liz: When Pike says, “Sometimes things are so terrible, you have to laugh,” my flatmate said in her Spock voice, “Yes, my relationship with my father.”
Let’s talk about Christine Chapel, because again, the wisdom of my flatmate. She said, Chapel seems like she’s in a completely different show, but in a good way.
Anika: Yes, I think that is accurate. And your flatmate isn’t even the only person I’ve seen say it. It’s what we’re getting from Chapel, which is great because I feel like I’m in her show. The Star Trek that I belong in is the Christine Chapel show. That’s the Starfleet where I fit in. I do not fit into any of these others. And I love her.
Liz: Yes, and we know that she’s a civilian on exchange. And you know, we hate the tragic backstory of the original series where she was a medical student and her fiance went missing and she joined Starfleet as a nurse to find him. I feel like this version is she was a nurse and her fiance went missing and she does this exchange because it’s better than sitting around waiting for news.
That doesn’t seem to be who Christine Chapel is. And that alone is a better story and a better explanation for her. And it’s great. And she really does come across as a civilian among pseudo-military types.
Anika: And she is not intimidated and also not assimilating. She’s not going to join them. She’s just going to be herself. And that’s great. It’s so great.
I feel badly about how negative I am towards Christine Chapel, but it’s entirely due to her backstory and every plot she gets that is related to a man not wanting her. I don’t want to watch that.
Liz: All of that plus the nepotism of Gene Roddenberry having to have his girlfriend in a role always put me off Chapel. And I know it’s probably not fair to blame Majel Barrett for Gene Roddenberry, but you know, they were a partnership by the end, so it’s hard to separate them.
But I really love Jess Bush’s Chapel. She is Australian. She has only got seven credits in her IMDb, including Strange New Worlds, and her Australian stuff is not the finest quality Australian media. But she has this sort of chaotic energy, like her American accent is not very good, and she keeps falling out of it. And I’m like, yes, that is perfect for Chapel.
Anika: And chaotic energy is exactly right. That’s why I’m in her show. That’s where I fit in. I refuse to be a part of your paramilitary, and I’m also not going to be like any of you. I’m just going to do my own thing. Even her hair is just… I just love it. I love it. I’m very happy with Chapel. I’m so excited.
Liz: And she’s flirting with both Spock and Uhura, so that’s like her two main ships from the 60s. And I am so here for the Spock/Uhura/Chapel, throuple.
Anika: Yes.
Anika: Speaking of chaotic energy, Sam Kirk.
Liz: Look, it was funny when he turned up at the end of the first episode, but kind of alienating to my flatmate as a casual viewer who doesn’t know who he is. And that’s a vibe I get for him in general. That he is here because this is not a show that wants to welcome new viewers. And he’s useless and stupid. And I guess I’m into that himbo energy, but why is he here?
Anika: I like the people who are comparing him to the security officer on Galaxy Quest.
Liz: Yes.
Anika: That seems accurate to me. I find the whole thing weird, I’ll be honest. The fact that both Pike and Spock have a relationship with Sam Kirk is strange to me. And he’s goofy. So that doesn’t line up with… There isn’t really canon Sam Kirk because he dies in his first appearance.
Liz: And he’s literally just William Shatner wearing a false mustache.
Anika: Yeah. So it’s not… We don’t actually know anything about him, but fanon Sam Kirk, not that guy. This is much more of a space cowboy like Pike and being part of the Kirk family. And then in the Kelvin Universe, there’s a lot of horror going on in the Kirk family. Kirk also gets a tragic backstory in the Kelvin Universe. So that’s a really dark version where there’s child abuse happening.
And so this Himbo energy Galaxy Quest version of Sam Kirk doesn’t fit in with any of the preconceived notions of him. And that’s interesting. And so I’m interested to see where it goes. But I also just feel like it’s… I really disliked knowing that Jim Kirk has been cast. I guess they weren’t going to announce that and they were forced to.
Liz: No, it was late.
Anika: I guess they feel bad. But I really hated the, we’re going to have Lieutenant Kirk, Lieutenant Kirk, and then it’s Sam Kirk. I hated that. I was not into it at all. It’s manipulative of the audience for no reason, just to pull a fast one. And that’s my least favorite modern television happenstance. So…
Liz: No, my feeling is that he’s there because someone went, “Oh, we don’t have enough white guys.” You know, in the first two seasons of Discovery, each first episode had a white guy who seems like a major character, and then he’s unexpectedly killed, because this is not that show. We know that Sam Kirk cannot be unexpectedly killed, but I keep waiting for it.
Anika: Decanonize whatever that episode was. Decanonize TOS. It’s my new platform. Sorry, that’s bad, okay?
Liz: Wait until you hear my opinion that the Enterprise is a stupid-looking ship, and we should see as little of its outside as possible.
Anika: Okay, we only have one more new old character, and we don’t need to say too much about him, but it’s Admiral April, who is Black, guys.
Liz: Fandom is very angry because fandom is very racist. The dude who appeared in the original series as basically Gene Roddenberry wearing a cardigan is actually a handsome Black man. And my only objection to this casting is that he is much, much too young to have the position that he does. However, I choose to believe that…
Anika: He’s graying. Maybe he’s older than he looks, or older than the actor. Because this is the future, people can be…
Liz: I have a whole fic worked out where, while he’s captaining the Enterprise, he is caught in a de-aging thing. And unlike Commodore April in the animated series or Picard in “Rascals”, he isn’t returned to his original self. He’s just like a 30-something looking captain, aging the normal way.
I also have this whole thing where he and Katrina Cornwell were kind of… He was much older than her and a captain, and she was a psychiatric resident, but they had this borderline inappropriate, serious relationship that didn’t work out. Because famously he has a wife, and I have mentioned in fic and stuff that his wife was Cornwell’s mentor, but I’m readjusting my fanon, shall we say, because he’s so handsome.
Anika: I really loved this casting. It reminded me of Commodore Paris.
Liz: Yes.
Anika: And my tag, my Tumblr tag that is Tom Paris is not white in the Kelvin verse, something like that, which is great. Very celebratory of the idea that Tom Paris isn’t white because he was the very white man of Voyager.
Liz: Speaking of loaves of white bread.
Anika: And taking that the next step and saying actually in the real universe also Robert April is a Black man. And it reminds me of, did you ever watch Timeless?
Liz: No, no.
Anika: The television series Timeless.
Liz: I know of it.
Anika: I loved that show. It was not good, but it was great. Anyway, they go through history, and one of the episodes, they meet up with the person who was the template for the Lone Ranger, who was Black, and everyone was like, what? It reminds me of that. It was like, just because your history book is wrong, doesn’t mean that this isn’t reality.
Liz: And I love that he straddles the generation between Jonathan Archer and Christopher Pike. I knew you would have a feeling about that too. For those who do not see Anika’s face over Zoom, she just put her hand over her heart.
Anika: Because Jonathan Archer, my trash captain, he’s the worst. But he’s another person who’s not good. But great. So, in our new characters, we have fewer new characters.
Liz: Which kind of annoys me, but okay. We have La’an Noonien-Singh, who I love and I will die for her and I will kill for her. She is tiny and angry and traumatized.
Anika: She’s getting the Tasha Yar backstory, which I don’t hate. Because I want justice for Tasha Yar. Because Tasha dies before the first season ends, her backstory seems very sensational and very…
Liz: Trashy.
Anika: Yeah, trashy. That’s a good word for it. It doesn’t work because we didn’t actually explore it any way. But a character who is not destined to die, who we do get to see why that backstory is a part of it, what is being used to say about the Federation and about space exploration in general, I think those are really interesting questions that I’m excited to learn.
Liz: And also she’s Tasha Yar but without rape in the backstory, which I think helps a lot. I don’t know if My Family Were Eaten by Gorn is better, but also it’s interesting that she is clearly connected with the Eugenics Wars in some way, but the tragedy of her past is something else. Her story is deeper than what her surname suggests. And I love that. And I look forward to her learning how to be part of a space family.
Anika: And I also, again, when they get into the prison and Una recognizes La’an and Pike is like, huh? But he also immediately adopts her. He’s like, oh, you’re Una’s fake daughter. That means you’re my fake daughter too. It was perfection.
Liz: That’s how it works on this ship, guys.
Anika: It was so good.
Liz: Also, Christina Chong doesn’t actually look like the actress who plays Drummer in The Expanse, but the heavy makeup and the dark hair pulled back in a tight braid gives me Drummer feelings. So I’m into that.
Anika: Another thing that you’re not alone in, it’s like going all over Twitter. They’re like, hey, people who are missing Drummer, guess what?
Liz: To the point where I think it’s almost a little reductive, but I’m also not going to pretend that wasn’t my reaction as well. I don’t know if we know enough about Ortegas to have a strong opinion about her, but I like her and I want to hang out with her to get to know her better.
Anika: She was very much a, “I’m going to introduce you to these other characters” character. The one thing we learned is that she is yet another best pilot ever. This is another thing. Whereas if you are a pilot in Starfleet, you’re the best pilot in Starfleet.
Liz: I don’t think that Starfleet puts out mediocre pilots.
Anika: That’s literally every single one of them. Every single one of them is like, turns out I’m the best.
Liz: So I love that this time the best pilot in Starfleet is a woman of color, who … I don’t want to assume from her haircut, but she’s probably queer.
Anika: Sadly, there was a lot of heterosexual things going on, both in text and subtext. Yeah. And the queer relationships were definitely subtext, and it was subtext that, like, we were reading into. It was not actual subtext.
Liz: So far, queerness in this show is Ortegas’ haircut, and two women make eye contact and say hello to each other. Again, about what I expect from Akiva Goldsman.
Anika: But they have time. If we don’t get a queer character by the end of the first season, I’m gonna have words.
Liz: Absolutely. Give Ortegas a girlfriend 2K22.
Anika: Hemmer, I also don’t feel like we really got a read on him. He mainly was in that scene that we didn’t necessarily like with Uhura.
Liz: I enjoyed his repartee with Spock and the fact that he’s the new chief engineer, but they are clearly already bros. And I enjoy Andorians and I’m not even up to the Aenar plot on Enterprise, but I look forward to getting there. And yeah, we’ll see how it goes. And for my complaints about ableism, I do love that we have a disabled character played by a disabled actor.
Anika: It’s not even the third episode. I give every show three episodes.
Liz: Right.
Anika: To win me over. So it’s fine. It’s the second episode. Like I said, they have the whole season to get a queer character. They have the whole season to prove me wrong about ableism. I am wanting that. Those are the things that I want. I want them to be better than I expect. So I’m definitely willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’m just saying so far hasn’t happened.
Liz: Yes. And maybe that’s the showrunners just trying to lure the fan bros in before it becomes as queer and woke, quote unquote, as Discovery. Which I’m okay with. People are already complaining. Our other new character is Captain Batel, Pike’s lover, girlfriend, friend, lady friend.
Anika: She’s played by Wynonna Earp.
Liz: I had no idea.
Anika: I need to love her.
Liz: Everyone was like, “Oh, she’s played by Melanie Scrofano.” And I was like, I have no idea who that is. But also my reaction was, Oh gosh, she’s very young to be a Starfleet captain. Like I want to like her, but I don’t know if I can like like her. And then I looked her up and she is literally six months older than me. So it is too young to be my character. This is going to become a problem as I age, but she is the perfect age to be a Starfleet captain. But yes, I hope we see more of her. She reminded me of Archer’s girlfriend in Enterprise.
Anika: Yes, she reminds me of Archer’s girlfriend as well. It’s another thing where I feel like if I was in charge of these shows, I would definitely want to redo things that didn’t work out in the first. If I’m doing this nostalgia driven show, I’m going to say, oh, we didn’t get to actually do Tasha. We didn’t get to actually do Captain Hernandez
Liz: She had a lovely little fringe.
Anika: I’m fine with that and I’m into it. I want now, I want, and this is going to be crazy, it being me, but I want there to be another Harry Mudd episode so that Stella Mudd can be in an episode with Captain Batel. That would make my little Wynonna Earp part very happy. So make it happen.
Liz: I’m very into casual relationships between Starfleet captains and I’m really into Captain Batel and I would love to see more of her and learn about her personality and all of that.
Anika: Right, because right now all she is is, hey, did you know that Pike is totally heterosexual?
Liz: Totally heterosexual.
Anika: And also sexy and a sexual creature. It’s very, hey guys, Pike and Spock are very sexy and very heterosexual.
Liz: Yeah, they might be bi, but they’re definitely not gay.
Anika: So is it time to talk about hair?
Liz: I was just looking at the timer and we only have four minutes left. So yeah, let’s skip to the really important stuff, Hair Trek.
Anika: I just want to say that everybody’s hair is amazing. Maybe not good again, not always good, but amazing. Pike’s hair is amazing.
Liz: Yeah, I will not hear a word against Pike’s hair.
Anika: Spock’s hair is ridiculous on every level, especially his sideburns.
Liz: I have decided that this is his way of annoying Sarek without having to actually interact with him. He knows that, as science officer on the flagship, he will appear in the media and so forth by Pike’s side and whatnot. And he knows that every single time Sarek sees his non-standard sideburns, Sarek will experience a mild emotional reaction.
Anika: I think that is correct, because his sideburns remind me of when my son does his eye makeup and it does like the cat eye wings, like that. That is definitely to make a point with his makeup. So I think that is an accurate headcanon. And I just feel badly for Ethan Peck. He looks ridiculous. And it’s not fair because he is a beautiful person.
Liz: Maybe they need those silly sideburns to undermine the shocking power of his face.
Anika: They also made Spock have no body hair.
Liz: Yeah, but like…
Anika: I’m not quite sure why.
Liz: Because Leonard Nimoy flat refused to shave his chest when he had to go shirtless as Spock. Because Spock has body hair, guys. Just saying.
Anika: It’s just, again, half human. So even if it’s like a Vulcan thing, allowed to have chest hair.
Liz: Maybe, maybe he had his body hair removed, because he thought T’Pring might be uncomfortable with that level of humanity. And had he asked her, “Query, how do you feel about body hair?” She would have been like, fact, I love it.
Anika: Right? She wanted to run her fingers through.
Liz: I don’t want to think about Spock’s chest hair anymore. Please make it stop.
Anika: We already discussed Ortegas’ gay hair.
Liz: Yes.
Anika: But also great. And also I love that actress. She is amazing on Twitter.
Liz: She is having so much fun.
Anika: She’s just so bright and cheerful. And she’s so excited. And it was great. It was great. And then Chapel’s hair is like, I want it. I want Chapel’s hair. I like that Pike’s facial hair is like, proof of his depression. It was the same as Spock’s in the second season of Discovery. It’s just so hilarious to me.
Liz: Do you remember, I think it’s season three of Alias, after the time jump and Sydney comes back to the CIA and her father is in prison and he has a depression beard, and it looks like there’s a wombat on Victor Garber’s face. Pike’s beard was much, much better than that, but that’s what it reminded me of.
Anika: Right. It’s just really funny to me. I get that he is a very active man, so he was out riding his horse all the time, and so he didn’t fall into any other kind of depression body. It was just his hair. But it’s just really funny to me that when they’re sad, they have wild facial hair, and then when they come back to the folds, it’s like, no, must be clean shaved.
Liz: Except for Will Riker, whose beard is like the opposite of a depression beard.
Anika: Right.
Liz: But also, Pike’s hair and his depression beard are still clean. His beard is unkempt, but not in an unhygienic way. I just… Pike’s idea of a depression beard is so wholesome to me.
Anika: He still brushes it. He still maintains the Pike.
Liz: If this is rock bottom for Christopher Pike, some of us would fall much further.
Anika: And then, M’Benga just has a beard and is not depressed, I assume.
Liz: It’s a very nice beard. And it’s a very 60s beard.
Anika: All I have to say about M’Benga is that he very attractive. I hope to have more to say about M’Benga soon.
Liz: Yes, I don’t want to spend this whole season objectifying the man for his looks. I want to also objectify him for his personality.
Anika: That’s right.
Liz: And then we have Sam’s regrettable hipster moustache.
Anika: Regrettable hipster moustache? Oh my goodness, that reminds me of Once Upon a Time. One of my favorite episodes with the hipsters.
Liz: Apparently, parties in fandom have been complaining about Uhura’s hair and saying that Celia Rose Gooding is bald. Don’t comment on a Black woman’s hair, except to say, that looks really nice. Second, she’s clearly not bald. She clearly has hair, a normal amount of hair. It’s like an Afro pixie cut.
Anika: People are just coming up with reasons to be angry at Uhura.
Liz: Yeah, and it makes me, yeah, kind of out of my lane, but I wonder if it’s because Celia Rose Gooding is bisexual and non-binary and darker skinned than Nichelle Nichols or Zoe Saldana. I think if they had cast someone lighter skinned and more feminine.
Anika: Yeah, I think misogynoir is definitely a part of it. She’s not the dainty Uhura that they want. Nichelle Nichols and Zoe Saldana were both ballerinas. I have no idea if Celia Gooding was.
Liz: I think they can dance because they’ve done musicals, but certainly they have a more muscular body type. They look stronger.
Anika: More of a tap dancer.
Liz: Yeah, yeah. And to me, like, they don’t look like Nichelle Nichols, but the way they carry themselves playing Uhura, they have a real sincere sweetness that I think is very much in the mould of Nichelle Nichols.
And whereas Zoe Saldana’s Uhura, whom I also love, but she was a bit more of a hashtag strong female character. And Goodings is more vulnerable and more open. And that’s great. I love that we have these different takes. And I love Goodings’ Uhura.
Anika: I love her. She’s great. And I can’t wait for her to just take over. So, like you said, I love all these characters. So far, there’s no one that I am angry at or don’t want to know more about.
Liz: Except Sam Kirk.
Anika: I don’t care about Sam Kirk. The only thing I have to say about Sam Kirk is that I want to know what his relationship with his brother is like, because those are the kinds of relationships that I really love. Oh, and also I love, and I will love forever whoever decided to make Sam Kirk a xenoanthropologist. Exactly like Michael is my hero. That is so adorable. I just love it.
Liz: I loved that so much, and that he does seem somewhat competent, I guess, maybe. I want to know about his relationship with his mother.
Anika: It’s just crazy talk. They would never do that for us. We’re going to find out. No, I’m not going to say it.
Liz: Let’s introduce our new regular feature for Antimatter Pod’s Strange New Worlds season, Where Is Katrina Cornwell Right Now? And reduced to atoms floating in space is not an acceptable answer.
Anika: Correct.
Liz: Anika, where is Katrina Cornwell right now?
Anika: So I think it’s around six months have gone by. That’s how long…
Liz: Yes.
Anika: So I think that Katrina Cornwell is still in L’Rell’s ship being worked on and put back together.
Liz: That was going to be my answer. God damn it. Being lovingly reassembled by House Mokai. To what purpose we don’t yet know.
Anika: Stay tuned next time for more on Where Is Katrina Cornwell Right Now.
Liz: Do we need to come up with other answers? Because that’s the only one I’ve got.
Anika: I mean, if you want to do your recurring thing, I have another one, but I don’t want to say it now because I want to hold it for next time.
Liz: Okay, I’m going to propose that her death was all a terrible misunderstanding that led to a lot of paperwork for Starfleet. And she is currently sipping maitais with Admiral April.
Anika: Nice. And his wife.
Liz: And his wife.
Anika: That’s fine too.
Thank you for listening to Antimatter Pod. You can find our show notes at antimatterpod.com including links to our social media, credits for our theme music, and transcripts of our episodes.
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and now Instagram, all at antimatterpod.
Anika: I propose that we will start posting our cat pictures to our Instagram. That will be our next thing. So everyone, when we talk about our cats, you will have a visual.
If you like us or our cats, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you can see in your podcasts. The more reviews, the easier it is for new listeners to find us. And join us in…
Liz: Two weeks.
Anika: Two weeks?
Liz: Yes.
Anika: I don’t know when anymore. And join us in two weeks when we will be discussing the next episode of Strange New Worlds.
Liz: We reserve the right to change our schedule, but it’s roughly bi-weekly from here.
Anika: Ish. Except when I’m on vacation. We’re at two cons simultaneously.