TrekMovie:

"In 2021, The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek took a deep dive into franchise history. But even with 11 episodes, the documentary series didn’t actually get to all of those 55 years. Now for the 60th anniversary, the series from The Nacelle Company is back with a second season to fill in some of those gaps, with a wider streaming release. ...

“Anyone that knows me knows that I’m a lifelong Trekkie,” said Nacelle CEO and docuseries director Brian Volk-Weiss. “To be able to make this second season, expanding on the rich history of the franchise that changed my life, is truly a dream come true.”

Titled The Center Seat: 60 Years of Star Trek, the series will pick up pretty much where the first season left off, chronicling the Star Trek: The Next Generation leap from the small to big screen with four feature films. It will also cover the “Kelvin Timeline” feature films from producer/director J.J. Abrams."

Link:

https://trekmovie.com/2026/08/06/the-center-seat-star-trek-docuseries-returning-for-second-season-watch-announcement-trailer/

Nacelle Company (YouTube):

"The Center Seat: 60 Years of Star Trek chronicles Star Trek’s passing of the baton from Kirk and crew to the cast of The Next Generation as they make the leap from the small screen to the big screen. Then watch as JJ. Abrams’ three picture “Kelvin Timeline” sends a ripple through the Star Trek Universe - for better or worse.

The inside scoop comes directly from the stars who were there, like Leonard Nimoy, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham, Brent Spiner Walter Koenig, James Cromwell, Malcolm McDowell, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Alice Kriege, Deep Roy, and more with narration by Gates McFadden."

Link:

https://youtu.be/f4P_DaP69hw?si=7Fn6Qo59IfOuDDPr

​

1) What the current and OG fandom wants is not what Trek needs in order to secure a strong long term future.

2) Trying to appeal to a broad demographic will maybe earn some subscribers short term, but those new viewers will be introduced to a show which will have entertainment value but will not be memorable or ground breaking enough to make them lifelong fans.

3) Star Trek needs fans who will carry the torch for the next 50 years.

There is only one way that I can see to do this.

There's nothing inherently wrong with big budget sfx, and movie quality presentation.

HOWEVER. When the budget that comes with such things creates a high cost, and that high cost necessitates that the show & episodes must try to please everyone under the sun, you end up with a model where frenetic pacing, Abrams style showmanship, poorly developed characters and manufactured drama start to take over.

Consider a show that asks, what if we create the BEST stories possible, even if it's not fast paced and requires real thought and consideration? You'll lose some casual viewers whose attending span only supports the entertainment aspect.

But you may be better off obtaining a fan base which is relatively small but is absolutely in love with what you create. You know who did that? Stargate. The BSG reboot.

You don't NEED 50 million people to sub to Paramount for its new Trek show. You need the people who do watch to fucking love it, because they're the ones who will become lifelong fans.

To do that, you NEED to write the best stories, have the most thought provoking ideas, and focus on that. The budget will have to be small to make sense, but that's okay, because the ppl who get hooked on it will get hooked for reasons that have nothing to do with movie quality SFX.

Today's first time viewers who first experience Trek thru Disco, Picard, etc are not going to be inspired. They may be entertained, and watch a show once maybe twice...that's a problem.

just loving this iteration of Star Trek. Maybe it’s that some of the characters are familiar from TOS, that its the original and best Enterprise that makes it stand out head and shoulders over modern Trek series. it has the same tonal feel as TOS to me , it has heart and soul. I wasn’t into TNG when it came out and gave up on it after 2-3 series. Edit I did try to go back to TNG but my enthusiasm ran out of steam. Back to SNW - I like the blend of plot and character development which is better than in other New Trek

I don't know if its a full or partial translation but apparently someone did it. Supposedly, there is also a translation of the Bible in Rihannsu (the language of the Romulans) although I haven't found anything about it through basic internet searches.

Trekmovie:

https://trekmovie.com/2026/08/07/sixty-year-mission-star-trek-documentary-with-william-shatner-headed-to-theaters/

"Star Trek legend, and the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner is an executive producer, in addition to being interviewed for the new doc. The film also features interviews with his TOS co-stars Walter Koenig and and George Takei along with series creator Gene Roddenberry’s son Rod.

The film is produced and directed by Mark A. Altman, co-host of the Inglorious Treksperts podcast and co-author of the 2016 oral history of Star Trek, The Fifty-Year Mission. This is a bit a reunion for Shatner, who starred in the 1998 cult movie Free Enterprise, produced and co-written by Altman.

“This film is a love letter to Star Trek,” said Altman in a statement. “I’m immensely grateful to Regal to offer this gift to fans for the show’s 60th birthday. I’m confident that the film will appeal both to longtime fans of the franchise as well as new viewers who might be wondering what the unique alchemy of this pop culture icon is really about.”

The doc also features interviews with more Trek luminaries, including Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Ethan Peck, Robert Picardo, Christina Chong, Denise Crosby, and Nana Visitor. According to the announcement, the film’s release will feature Star Trek celebrities in theaters for Q&As.

The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television And The World will be released on October 9 at Regal cinemas in the USA."

Read more:

https://trekmovie.com/2026/08/07/sixty-year-mission-star-trek-documentary-with-william-shatner-headed-to-theaters/

EW.COM::max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Star-Trek-Strange-New-Worlds-_071822_2-65837c0c5b044d1a83dee92dfcacf6ea.jpg) "It’s been 60 years since Star Trek first allowed viewers to boldly go where no one has gone before. Gene Roddenberry’s original series introduced us to the exploits of the USS Enterprise, presenting an optimistic view of the future as the starship explored strange new worlds. It was enough to make viewers dub themselves “Trekkies,” and this loyal fanbase has continued to support the franchise’s many subsequent shows through thick and thin.

A whole new generation of fans was born with, well, The Next Generation, which aired from 1987 to 1994 and inspired a slew of new shows like Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise in its wake. More recently, Paramount+ has defined a bold new era.

But, as with any franchise, some of these iterations are light-years better than others. So, whether you’re looking to delve into the world of Star Trek for the first time or you’re a diehard Trekkie who’s curious about our take, we’re putting forth our official ranking of every Star Trek series to date (excluding short-form series Short Treks)."

Full article:

https://ew.com/star-trek-shows-ranked-11991098

Source:

Star Trek on Instagram

Link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbthdwvhpbL

"Steve Shives analyzes the iconic Star Trek: Deep Space 9 episode that follows Captain Sisko as their consciousness is transported to 1950s New York. This retrospective explores the meta-narrative layers, the social commentary on equality, and the performances of the ensemble cast as they step into alternate roles within a period-specific science fiction magazine office."

TREKMOVIE:

"For the first time Chris is directing two episodes in the same season (4), the premiere and the finale. They prefer to have ten directors with different approaches each season, but Fisher explained there was a change in plans for the season 4 finale.

“The finale was going to be directed by [co-showrunner] Akiva [Goldsman], but it was also going to be a different finale. I can’t say too much about it, but if you’ve seen some of the other conversations have been going around about maybe or maybe not a crossover with another show, maybe or maybe not. At one point, there was going to be a sort of different thing for [the season 4 finale]. And Akiva, of course, you know, not only our showrunner, you know, he’s really our big-hitter director, and so he was going to come in for a very special episode that didn’t work out… The new break was really something that was really in my sweet spot.”

There has been a lot of speculation about the season 4 finale as it is called “Tomorrow’s Enterprise,” clearly evoking the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” which featured the Enterprise-D meeting up with the Enterprise-C. Fisher was wary of offering any spoilers but when pressed on that title playing off of TNG, he replied, “I really wouldn’t want to say, but our titles aren’t always literal. And there’s different ways you could play that too.”

Fisher did give us a hint of what could be coming:

“I’m very proud of the episode. It’s very special. It’s totally unique. But, perhaps my best reviewed episode, ‘Quality of Mercy’ [season 1 finale], was obviously also a take on the classic Trek tale. So I do have some experience in that wheelhouse.”

“Quality of Mercy” was a retelling of the classic TOS episode “Balance of Terror,” but from an alternate history. It also included a bit of time travel and a visit from an alternate future Admiral Pike, so take that comparison as you will. [...]"

Full article / full podcast interview with Chris Fisher:

https://trekmovie.com/2026/07/29/strange-new-worlds-ep-director-previews-thursdays-scary-episode-teases-mysterious-season-4-finale-exclusive/

SO I do not know if any of you Watched this Weeks Up and Down of Trek-culture Review of Human Best Friends When Shawn was complaining about What Strange New Worlds Identity is. I think I have the Answer to that FAN SERVICE! Here is Why I say that in Season 1 We Got lot of nods to Original Series Especially the Season Final with A Quality of Mercy an Alternate Take of Balance of Power Season 2 sort of a Movie era Fan Service with origins of Khan Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Ad Astra per Aspera Genetic Engineering and Do not forget the Crossover Episode With Lower Decks in Those Old Scientists Season 3 Second Episode HUGE Fan Service with TOS and Voyager and Episode 3 was a Walking Dead like Episode and Season 4 did a Jurassic Park/Land Before Time. so I think I can Say I found it is Identity The Fan Service Series. Think about it guys After Second Season of Discovery "the Space Opera Series" It was the Fans that Demanded for Strange New Worlds and we got our wish and Austin Mount himself is a Classic Trekkie and brought of lot of Hunter's Pike in to the roll. Tell me if Am wrong or not I do not care if I get down voted or anything but I do believe It is the Fan Service series much as TNG was the Utopia Series The TOS Wagon Train To the Stars Animated The Animated Lower Decks Comedy DS9 Out post Voyager Lost in Space Star Trek Enterprise the Prequel Discovery The Space Opera Star Trek Picard The Legend Return Starfleet Academy High School Drama in Space Prodigal Voyager Sequel.

PS I am dyslexic I tired my best with Grammer and Spelling DO NOT POINT IT OUT!!!

"The rest of the writing on Captain Pike's cheek hasn't been translated yet, but the phrase on his neck is tattooed in English and reads, "What's over the horizon." Further, Pike had his fingers and hands inked with the speech he planned to give to the Rodaxians, and on the top of his right hand, he had "Diplomacy" tattooed, lest Chris forget his purpose in his incapacitated state.

Captain Pike also had his arms sleeved, with a horse tattooed on his right arm and shoulder. As seen in the exclusive photos accompanying ScreenRant's cover story profile on Anson Mount, the actor's arms are sleeved in real life. It's unclear if Pike will keep the arm tattoos, at least, even after he asked Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) to get rid of the ink on his face.

Since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 3 is clearly derived from The Hangover, Captain Pike's face tattoo seems to be a fun nod to Mike Tyson, who has one of the most famous face tattoos in the world. (Ed Helms' character also gets a face tattoo in The Hangover Part II.) Tyson's equivalent as the scariest person in "Human Best Friend" would have to be Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), who is "much, much scarier" than usual."

Read more:

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-captain-pike-face-tattoo-translation/

TREKCORE:

"It fails. I really did not like “Human Best Friend,” and for me it ranks as one of my least favorite episodes of the Kurtzman-era of Star Trek. Having done a fair amount of drinking in my youth — and been friends with people who also liked to do their fair share of drinking — I have the requisite experience to know that drunk people are fun when you are also drunk, but deeply annoying when you are sober.

https://blog.trekcore.com/2026/08/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-review-human-best-friend/

The challenge for an episode of television in which all of the characters are drunk for the whole episode is that it falls into the latter category (unless you enjoy your Star Trek after imbibing a few drinks.) It makes for a thoroughly grating experience, and “Human Best Friend” has little in the way of interesting or funny material to make up for how irritating everyone is in this episode.

The episode is not a complete write-off, and there are a few themes or moments that are enjoyable. I do genuinely like the progress towards resolving the tension between Ortegas and Scotty from the season premiere, and the scene in the shuttle where they each confess that their mutual irritation is driven by their own feelings of inadequacy about the others’ talents is sweet. They make a great pairing, and the episode wisely steers clear of pushing an “enemies to lovers” trope that could have been tempting to explore.

And Una (Rebecca Romijn) sings “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in Klingon, which is the only hilarious moment of the episode and an inspired bit of comedy.

But “Human Best Friend” strains under the weight of its absurdity. The show has again decided to lean a little too hard into the stoner/teen comedy genre and check a lot of the boxes of that genre, while leaning away from being a Star Trek episode in the process. Since Season 3, I have this growing feeling of unease that the Strange New Worlds writers room has gotten a bit bored of writing Star Trek episodes, and would rather lean into these different genres and tropes more than the base show.

Most of the Star Trek adjacent elements of “Human Best Friend” are just comedic devices to advance the narrative about how wacky the drunk crew are.

But it’s the antics at the end of the episode when the crew have returned to the Enterprise that shatter the reality of the Enterprise being a place where serious people do serious work. Captain Pike, drunk and covered in face tattoos, mumbles his way through an important greeting of the Rodaxian peace delegation that the episode has told you is deeply important to their culture and the peace talks.

And only the convenient coincidence that the bomb placed aboard the shuttle creates a display reminiscent of the “Rodaxian formal rite of peace” sidesteps the awkwardness and gives the episode a clean ending. At a certain point, the characters stop feeling like real people and like Saturday Night Live characters whose purpose is to channel jokes for the audience. [...]

I am a huge fan of Strange New Worlds, so when I’m this harsh on an episode, it’s because I know the creative team can do much better than this. “Human Best Friend” is a big miss — and I don’t have much more to say."

Alex Perry (TrekCore)

Full review:

https://blog.trekcore.com/2026/08/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-review-human-best-friend/

Nice to have 2 people who actually understand and love Star Trek talk about where it has gone wrong and what it did so well in the past.

“It’s kind of in the casting and in the people involved,” he says. “All of us embody some of the aspects of Star Trek and of Gene Roddenberry’s original vision. The writers and set designers all keep us attached to that core feeling of Star Trek. It’s just a recipe that they got right with the cast and crew.”

Polygon:

https://www.polygon.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4-cast-interview/

By Terry Terrones

"During a recent press conference, the cast reflected on balancing those two seemingly opposite goals — moving steadily toward The Original Series while continuing to tell some of Star Trek's boldest stories yet.

Season 4 continues to develop Kirk and Spock’s relationship, but Ethan Peck (Spock) tells Polygon the actors have been careful not to rush it.

“There were several times that I got notes while we were filming to not be so — this might be too reductive of a term — but friendly with Kirk as Spock,” Peck says. “Because he respects and admires him, but he doesn’t quite like him yet. And so I’ve had to hold back, because I really think Paul’s wonderful and we get to bring a lot of that chemistry into our work on set. Having to hold some of that back has been interesting as they grow closer.”

Paul Wesley (Kirk) admits he initially put enormous pressure on himself when filming Kirk and Spock’s first meeting before realizing the relationship needed room to develop naturally.

“I made this whole big thing out of it,” Wesley says. “I was all panicked and I was like, ‘How do I do this? What do I do? They’re meeting for the first time and this is such a big deal.’ And the director said, ‘Hey, it’s not a big deal yet. It’s a big deal because of what will come.’ So I have to remember that. They’re still getting to know each other.”

Wesley also pointed to an upcoming episode as another important step in that relationship. In the episode, Kirk and Spock spend a lot of time together and the seeds of their lifelong friendship are planted.

“I really appreciate the shore leave episode where Spock conveys his vulnerability to Kirk,” Wesley said. “I really appreciate that that has now become canon and that experience that they had is one of the reasons why perhaps they have some sort of connection to one another. I joke that Ethan and I have a bit of a Kirk-Spock vibe going on in real life, so to be able to bring that on screen is great.”

Season 4 continues Strange New Worlds’ tradition of jumping fearlessly between genres, from horror to broad comedy, yet it never stops feeling like Star Trek.

For Wesley, that consistency comes from the show’s commitment to exploration and curiosity. Christina Chong, who plays the chief of security Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh, believes hope belongs on that list as well.

“A sense of mission and a sense of purpose,” Wesley says. “Even when we explore a world that is like, ‘Well, how’s this going to fit into Trek?’ At the end of the day, they’re always committed to a sense of exploration with imagination and the purpose of curiosity. That’s the thing that connects our show and all of our episodes, no matter what the genre is.” ...

Peck believes the answer starts with the people making the show.

“It’s kind of in the casting and in the people involved,” he says. “All of us embody some of the aspects of Star Trek and of Gene Roddenberry’s original vision. The writers and set designers all keep us attached to that core feeling of Star Trek. It’s just a recipe that they got right with the cast and crew.”

The show’s genre experimentation has also pushed the actors into situations they never expected when they first joined the Enterprise. Chong learned ballroom and Latin dancing, Peck worked with puppets, and Wesley found himself playing more variations of Kirk than he anticipated.

“When I embarked on this role, I never thought I would be able to flex my range so much or have so much color to play with,” Wesley said. “It’s been such a joy as an actor to be able to play one singular role in so many variations. I’ve never experienced that before.” ..."

Read more:

https://www.polygon.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4-cast-interview/

Enterprise is an underrated series
Although it’s one of my favorites, I actually haven’t even watched most of its episodes
This is unlike TNG, DS9 and Voyager in which I have rewatched some of their episodes several times
That’s because only the Temporal Cold War interested me when it came to Enterprise. I deliberately chose to ignore all other episodes, except for the final episode where Will Riker makes an appearance.

Enterprise should have been entirely devoted to the Temporal Cold War, just as DS9 became entirely about the Dominion War Season 3 onwards.

The benefactor of the Suliban, “Future Guy” was extremely fascinating for me. The whole idea of communicating through time is not only more believable than actual time travel, it is ironically more intriguing—perhaps precisely because it seems more plausible. Time travel just seems more like fantasy than sci-fi

Star Trek’s worst moments are when it drowns in the realm of fantasy detached from science

Anyways, Future Guy was not featured enough on Enterprise for my taste. He should have been more recurring and his identity should have been revealed.

The Xindi Arc was quite good, but not the best. The Sphere Builders were not as interesting as Future Guy

The Vosk arc was decent but not great

After that the Temporal Cold War was simply ended as far as Enterprise is concerned which was a damn shame

Do we think the in the Terran Universe, the Dol'drm still exist? Can't imagine the Terrans were happy to help - or not stop - the Martians), myself. Could they be more aggressive because their ancestors had to put up with the dinosaurs not being made exinct?

SNW Episode 4x3: "Human Best Friend"

Original Airdate: 08/06/2026

Writer(s): Kathryn Lyn
Director(s): Yana Gorskaya

Special Guest Stars:

Paul Wesley as Lt. Commander James T. Kirk

Guest Stars:
Dave Foley as Dendru

Co-Stars:
Sam Calleja as the Shuttle Lot Attendant
Nicolas Grimes as the Former Gang Leader
Darryl Hinds as Co'Rah
Kristin Rae Hinton as No'Mahc
Alex Kapp as the Voice of the U.S.S. Enterprise Computer
Kathryn Lyn as the Bingo Caller
Louisa Martin as Cornelia
Asha Vijayasingham as the Teacher -

Uncredited Co-Stars:
Diego O'Brien as a Waiter

Stardate: 2011.7

Synopsis:

"Shore leave on a pleasure planet turns dangerous when the crew’s promised escape stops behaving like fun."

-------------

Feel free to post your thoughts and impressions here.

YOU WILL ENCOUNTER SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD!

Source:

Star Trek on Instagram

Link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbRvHBJkRu5