“One of the best episodes in a hit franchise”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is like a box of chocolates. Last week there was a profound take on war crimes and post-traumatic stress disorder. Singing this week. Subspace Rhapsody goes where no Star Trek episode has gone in 60 years of history. The 9th episode of the 2nd season is namely the first musical episode of the science fiction series.

How the chant is explained in the Star Trek episode

The Enterprise from Strange New Worlds doesn’t have a holodeck, so another explanation is found for why everyone (including Klingons!) is suddenly singing songs:

A Accident involving an experimental quantum mechanical probability field causes everyone on the Enterprise to erupt uncontrollably in chants, but the real danger is that the field will expand and begin to affect other ships – both allies and enemies.

Whether Spock, La’an or Uhura: everyone gets the opportunity to sing. Here you can listen to a song from the space musical:

The songs were written for the series and the soundtrack is said to be available online. Kay Hanley and Tom Polce from the American band Letters to Cleo are responsible for the music.

If you watch the episode in German, you will still hear the songs in the original version, with subtitles. It’s worth it, as Vulture notes in the recap, because a surprising number of cast members have musical backgrounds.

“One of the Best Episodes”: Some Reactions to the Sci-Fi Milestone

At Collider, Samantha Coley is enthusiastic. The new episode is “one of the best episodes in a hit franchise”:

Star Trek is known for pushing the boundaries and presenting extraordinary ideas with style and just the right dash of campiness – and Subspace Rhapsody does just that. Covering a wide variety of genres, the episode effortlessly transitions between comedy moments and stirring emotional ballads.

For Den of Geek, Lacy Baugher writes:

[…] An hour that is not only incredibly entertaining to watch, but fully accepts the chosen format. The episode uses the larger narrative framework of traditional musical theater to express something of its message in a meaningful way.

Anthony Pascale of TrekMovie writes that the episode works as a musical in all respects and summarizes for musical skeptics:

Subspace Rhapsody will surely be remembered as one of the most talked about episodes in the franchise. Music lovers will rejoice, while others may dismiss them as silly or cheesy. Still, the sheer artistry and boldness definitely make them worth seeing – at least once. This is how you can stream the Star Trek episode in Germany

Strange New Worlds is available in Germany via Paramount+ * in a flat rate. So far, nine episodes of the second season have been released in Germany. There is a new episode every Thursday.

The season finale will be released in Germany next week.

Listen to the Strange New Worlds podcast: Star Trek is the best it’s been in 20 years

Star Trek is one of the most important science fiction series ever. But after the beginning of the new millennium, the franchise slid into crisis. Attempts to restart split the fans – in the cinema as well as on television. Still, Star Trek is as good as it’s been in years.

In the new episode of the Moviepilot podcast, we explain why you should give the almost 60-year-old sci-fi series a chance and recommend three new series that are definitely worth watching.

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