After introducing all of the new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds characters, Paramount+ turns to the big three, starting with Spock.
Spock is back in Strange New Worlds
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds brings back three characters from the original Star Trek who became key characters during the second season of Discovery. Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) are now set for new adventures onboard the USS Enterprise. And this new social media character promo focuses on Lt. Spock.
Half human, half Vulcan, all Spock. #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds premieres May 5 on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/3UWiu7QDuv
— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) April 1, 2022
NOTE: this Instagram version should be viewable to all
More character promos
This Strange New Worlds promo follows Tuesday’s videos for Cadet Uhura and Security Chief La’an , Wednesday’s videos for Lt. Ortegas and Hemmer, and Thursday’s M’Benga and Chapel. We have done an analysis of the first two promos already, and we will be doing the same for the others soon.
Coming in May
The series debuts on May 5th. Paramount+ has provided the following synopsis:
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series will feature fan favorites from season two of Star Trek: Discovery, Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. The series will follow Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.
And in case you missed it, here is the teaser trailer…
Find more news and analysis for Strange New Worlds.
the visuals though, i’m diggin it!
THAT was awesome. Now watch it again as a perfume commercial! :) “I am, quite simply, Spock. “
Genius. :-)
My god, that’s brilliant
It’s scary how well that works…
I suspected it before, but now I am certain. They are embracing and incorporating the TOS style and visuals as much as possible and I think they are doing a fantastic job!
That final line, “I am, quite simply, Spock” sounds as if it was delivered by Nimoy himself. Ethan Peck nails it.
I loved him on DSC *because* he wasn’t trying to mimic Nimoy (same for Quinto) — and it seems here he’s really growing into the role and becoming more like the Spock we’ve always known and loved, while still retaining his own charms.
There are moments when he sounds just like Nimoy so that’s cool.
The kissing scene is so NOT who Spock was at that point in his life though so…that’s unfortunate. If that’s anything more than some kind of space drunk one-off it will undercut so much of the character in TOS : |
Spock was far more emotional in the Cage.
Also, kissing is not an emotion. We know Vulcans feel affection for their partners, even emotions (Sarek said so) and Spock may simply be expressing that physically. You know, which is the point of a kiss.
I don’t see him passionately embracing, just giving a kiss.
True re: smiley spock in the cage. But think back to the Naked Time when he was so clearly repressed. Of course it’s an action we’re seeing in the trailer, but the emotion behind such a thing is something I don’t think TOS era Spock would ever dare to allow himself.
Sometimes it seems people take what we saw in the pilot and very early TOS episodes too seriously. The Spock character then was not fleshed out. No one really knew what exactly was the deal with Spock.
At any rate, this supposedly takes place well after the events of The Cage and Spock should be more comfortable in his skin by this point. As evidenced in that promo.
Also… Is it me or are we going to get Spock going through Pon Far again?
I agree. The Spock we saw in “The Cage” was back when Roddenberry had pegged Number One as the “emotionless” one; with the second pilot, that characteristic was assigned to Vulcans instead. That early stuff wasn’t character development; it was production bobbles.
And I believe that Nimoy himself had revealed that smile in the pilot was suggested to him by the director. He went along because that was not a part of the Spock character yet.
Exactly!
Well, the traditional definition of what constitutes ’canon’ in this franchise has been what appears on film, as opposed to books, comics, games, etc. Even if you disallow the unaired first pilot, the sections of it that appear in “The Menagerie” certainly qualify by that standard, and for better or worse, the shot of Young Spock smiling is among them. And “The Menagerie” is a standout show, one of only two TOS episodes to win a Hugo. Certainly, no one would be producing a show about the adventures of Pike, Number One, et al if it had never existed. Not being a canonista I have no dog in this fight, but while you can argue it’s an early show and that Nimoy just took a bit of offhand direction, or that the editor of “The Menagerie” might well have chosen to include another bit of footage from “The Cage” instead if he hadn’t been so pressed for time — and in the end, it doesn’t matter. The character did what he did, and fans have been speculating as to the ‘Trek-world’ reasons why since the first fanzines appeared in the mid-‘70s. It’s no less “real” than any other moment in the show — I’ll take it any day over ‘Gorgon the Friendly Angel,’ myself — and no one gets to gatekeep over which moments in Trek should and should not be taken seriously.
Sadly that seems to be the case. But I feel like creators really should take such things into consideration. If something was done in a pilot before certain characteristics were hammered out, I don’t think it reasonable it should be considered canonical even if it aired. I realize this might open up a can of worms for fans but… Well I said it.
He was very emotional in “The Cage.” Plus, this is presumably his betrothed, T’Pring. So yeah, it is definitely who he was.
And this might well be about seven years before Amok Time…
Whoa— that looks a lot like kal-if-fee! If so, and if it’s Spock’s, then a) we must be in 2260 (7 years before “Amok Time”), and b) Chapel knew *exactly* what was going on with Spock when she brought him plomeek soup.
Looking forward to finding out!
My first instinct was it was a flashback, as we explored his past. But I think you might be right, since the timing matches up.
My guess was already that it was at least 2259, since it seems like some time passed between DSC season 2 and Pike going off to his cabin. So, 2260 would be just about right.
Part of me actually wants to see the whole pon-farr experience in all of its explicit detail. I mean after all the show is on streaming and can get away with those kind of scenes now.
But wasn’t “Amok Time” supposed to be Spock’s first-ever pon farr? He said in that episode that he’d hoped he “would be spared this.” If he’d already BEEN through it once, then he’d know he wouldn’t be spared.
The show never said it was his first, no. He simply said he’d hoped to be spared it.
I know that it wasn’t’ directly stated that “Amok Time” was his first pon farr, but I thought that was a reasonable inference from what he did say in that episode.
You are correct.
Thanks!
The more I think about it, the more I realize how careful they’ll have to be in showing who knows what about pon farr and T’Pring. Uhura can’t see T’Pring (she asks who she is in “Amok Time”; there has to be some reason why M’Benga doesn’t put any mention of the pon farr in Spock’s medical file (as McCoy has no idea what’s going on until he gives Spock a full physical); and Chapel is just a landmine.
I’m not saying they can’t make it work and fit with “Amok Time”, but it’s a very fine needle to thread.
It could just be handled by having Spock (and maybe one other person like Pike) go to/be at Vulcan when this happens. No emotional problems onboard the ship, no needing to reroute to Vulcan at the last minute, so no one else needs to know. Then Spock, having completed the “rituals”, returns to the ship – perhaps then expecting that he wouldn’t face them again in 7 years.
Seems like it is a fairly wide needle to thread, no need to narrow it unnecessarily without additional information.
That’s reasonable — except for the shot that appears to show Spock and T’Pring in his quarters on the Enterprise. Which narrows the needle.
Didn’t Spock also say that he hadn’t seen her since he was 7?
No. He said they were betrothed at seven.
But while they’re traveling to Vulcan, we see him looking at a picture of her on his monitor, and she’s a child in that picture, which suggests that he hasn’t seen her since she’s grown up.
No, not directly stated. But strongly implied.
That is the only bit of evidence to suggest this was his first T’Pring related Pon Far. However, I would think he has gone through it before because, 7 year cycle.
Exactly. If Vulcans go through it “every seven years of their adult life,” then Spock HAS to have gone through it before “Amok Time.”
Perhaps it’s actually not Spocks pon farr, but another ones an he just is there – perhaps a vulcan lady of his past, he did like is involved ….. and he returns to vulcan to take part …. stand by the side of her …. or by the side of a friend …. or because his mother wished him doing so …. and suddenly the vulcan lady chooses kalifee and Spock is involved … and then ….
OK, been “watching” (see what I did there) this site it’s inception (how long is that now? 14, 15 years?) First ever post. For the love of all things holy or otherwise, PLEASE incorporate the “fight music” from Amok Time during what appears to be Kal-if-fee. How nostalgic seeing Spock with lirpa in hand. Fingers crossed they find the right balance in this show!
Thanks for coming in from the cold. From another TrekMovie guy since the beginning. I too have a lot of hope for this show!
I am loving that we are seeing so much of the entire crew, not just Spock and Pike. This tells me we’re finally getting a full ensemble. And so many scenes in corridors, quarters, and other rooms, i’m hopeful this will be a show with smaller stakes, more emotionally resonant stories.
While i’d love it if it was less action, I can live with some big action if it also has that other stuff.
Yes, I think this show is focused on the right things too. Picard season 1 did a good job balancing the characters. Pretty much each one got their own solid introduction and then a “focus” episode later that gave us more about them. Hopefully SNW can continue and improve upon this, while at the same time avoiding the poor plotting of PIC S1, and avoiding the rushed “character building” of DIS (e.g., “meet Airiam in-depth for the first time, oops now she’s dead”).
I will say how odd it is that Picard seems like so much more of an ensemble than say, Discovery, considering the show’s title.
I don’t want to sound mean but, given Stewart’s age, Picard needs these other characters around him to do the work. The show wants to incorporate action. Stewart is still in good shape but he not going to run around or get into fistfights.
We get more than enough “emotional resonance” from Discovery! LMAO. This show should be about ideas and exploration, not another soap opera. I’m liking what I’m seeing so far. And, yes, I like an ensemble feel. That’s the one way that the JJ-verse movies are superior to TOS: everyone in the crew is involved in problem solving.
The visuals in this show, really incredible. The show does sound like it’s having quite a bit of fun with their characters, something TOS was good at but might come off as too contemporaneous or casual. Hoping they find the right balance. 🤞🏻
At least they are getting a lot of the other sets right. All that Vulcan stuff seems to meld right into what we got on TOS.
And I’m forced to admit I liked this one quite a bit. It was pretty obvious that in the Star Fleet Spock found himself and came to terms with himself.
As a side note, beyond his portrayal of Spock…it’s absolutely creepy how much Ethan Peck resembles and sounds like his grandfather.
It’s called genetics. Nothing creepy about it.
Plenty of people don’t resemble and sound like their grandparents as strongly as Ethan Peck.
No need to be a bellend.
I look a lot like my maternal grandfather (1888-1980). People see photos of him in 1910 and ask where did I dress up and pose in old-time clothes. :-)
Who is his grandfather?
Gregory Peck.
WOW!
Maybe his full name is Ethan Peck Soong. :-)
THIS is the character I want most to see and have the most invested in. The stakes are so high for this one. Will they extend Spock’s story in interesting and meaningful ways while being true to the character, or will they ruin him? So far, it looks promising!
I’m impressed at how well Ethan Peck has picked up the rhythms of Leonard Nimoy’s voicing of Spock. I’m hoping that bodes well for the future!
Did you see how elaborate and detailed those lirpas were? Poor TOS could only DREAM of the kind of budget this show has!
They didn’t need to concern themselves or even consider it back then.
Right, 1960s TVs couldn’t show that kind of detail. That’s also why Jeffries’ Enterprise model was so smooth. He wanted it to have subtle textures and details, but to get it to show up on TV would have meant exaggerating it too much for his tastes. When he was brought in to make a new model for Phase II, he added those details (which Minor & Co. picked up on when it transitioned to TMP).
Even he doesn’t know his first name.
Honestly, I wish they just hadn’t bothered. I was just fine with what I saw of the original, and best, crew. I don’t need this. I’m surprised that anyone does.
To each their own.
“Spock” is Spock’s personal name. Amanda says in “Journey to Babel” that it’s the Vulcan FAMILY name that’s unpronounceable by humans. Notice that his mother and father both call him “Spock.”
“ I’m surprised that anyone does.”
Oh you’re one of them.
Love it! Only good thing DIS has ever done in it’s 4 seasons is get us this spin off!
When Spock is in his quarters we see the TOS intercom speaker on his desk, along with a TOS computer. I love these little TOS touches.
Looking at his sleeves, he’s a commander now (or maybe LT Commander, hard to see).
he is a lt currently both the production team and the actor said as much he may be promoted to lt commander by the end of the season or ever next season
We look forward to seeing Spock’s journey from Pike to Kirk.
Like it but what’s up with the new monochrome red bridge graphics? Too many people liked the big E in Discovery with all the Color and visual stimulation versus their other garbage sets that they had to quash it with red graphics? Too many fans liked it? Why break what was fixed? They think they don’t have Color monitors in the 23rd century??
Was hoping was the ship at red alert but now looking they let someone probably from Picard wreck the set.
The Enterprise in The Cage was mostly gray; Jerry Finneman added the color splashes and brightness for TOS.
I am pretty sure the computer screens were all full color blinking lights, but now you have me intrigued! I will have to watch the Cage / The Menagerie again! I know the bridge was grey but weren’t the pictures and displays (supposed to be monitors) in color?
Did Spock feel fully accepted in TOS, or was there tension there that was part of the character and sometimes part of the storylines?
Perhaps he felt fully accepted but he still seemed to have a personal struggle that I think just being around both McCoy and Kirk might have helped him with. But I don’t think he fully purged his personal conflicts until after the V’Ger incident.
There was definitely tension. Look at “The Galileo Seven” with the shuttle crew second-guessing Spock or “Balance of Terror” where Spock is suspected of being a Romulan sympathizer.
Wow, wow, wow! The visuals are breathtaking! Why do the television shows look better than the JJ-verse films? PS:Ethan Peck is so much better than Quinto!
Very nice promo! :)
I just already find the dialog cringy. “You do a lot of counting down” – eye rollllll. Is that a joke? “I am quite simply Spock.” What is this, a college application essay? The writing of Kurtzman Trek is the consistent disappointment across the series – cheesy dialog that feels like it’s trying so hard to be entertaining. Why can’t the crew solving problems in itself be entertaining? When I think of classic TOS episodes like Menagerie, Balance of Terror, there was none of this contemporary jokey, quippy, snappy dialog trying to be funny. It was professional adults addressing serious situations seriously, and whatever humor there was arose naturally out of the interactions between characters who knew each other. It wasn’t some, oh let’s insert a joke here for a moment of levity because even though we’re officers we sometimes act like buffoons because *entertainment*. I sure hope these trailers aren’t indicative of the quality we’ll be getting. The cringe factor in Discovery is exactly why I can’t watch that show. I’d like for once to be able to enjoy a current Star Trek show.
I think its just a way for the new shows to be more hip or wanting to appeal more to the younger tik-tok generation who like those kind of “cringy” jokes. The older shows used to have a bit more theatricality and literacy in their writings, the new ones just want to adapt themselves to the times, which is understandable if you want to get new fans. We may not like, but if this makes the shows more accessible to the newer generation then so be it.
Possibly but, in the end, Star Trek has never been hip. I think it came closest to being hip in 1986 with “The Voyage Home” by managing to pull something off that no Star Trek series or film has managed to do since 1986: appeal to fans and casual audiences alike.
Star Trek still isn’t expanding its reach beyond Star Trek fans. We’re just feeding off of each other.
I think it’s because the writers are incompetent, full stop. This dialog sounds so unnatural to the ears. There’s one dialog exchange in the Disco season 2 premiere that is so disgustingly bad and poorly delivered that I had to just pause there. I can’t be the only one irritated by it, and the fact is that the tiktok generation isn’t watching Star Trek at all – they’re watching tiktok.
Let’s wait and see. I think, I hope, Anson really pushed for the same.