Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 3 Recap and Review - Humor. It Is a Difficult Concept

Spoilers travel for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 3, “Human Best Friend.”

Ortegas and Scotty (Melissa Navia and Martin Quinn, respectively) get the spotlight this week, arsenic their long-simmering (well, two-episode long) dislike for 1 different comes to a caput successful an effort astatine a drama occurrence that’s not needfully funny, but is astatine slightest benignant of amusive astatine times acknowledgment to crippled performances from immoderate of the cast.

The technological word is "atmospheric inebriation."

With the unit burning the warp halfway intermix enclosure astatine some ends lately, and a cardinal bid dialog pending, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and First Officer Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) determine Alpha Shift needs a vacation. So a speedy travel is planned to a edifice satellite wherever the unsocial ambiance causes a benignant of inebriation for each who onshore there… and, of course, a batch of silliness too.

Look, Star Trek has been doing drama episodes practically since the precise beginning, and sometimes rather well, but there’s a instrumentality to it. You can’t truly marque amusive of your characters oregon interruption the logic of however they acceptable into the Star Trek world, and I’m acrophobic that “Human Best Friend” skirts dangerously adjacent to some of those no-nos connected occasion.

Again, it’s a good line. When a sober Ortegas and not-so-sober Scotty sojourn an seemingly wasted Spock (Ethan Peck), he’s inactive precise Spock-like. “I apologize for the mess,” helium says arsenic helium adjusts a chess piece’s placement connected the committee by astir 1 centimeter. It’s subtle and 1 of the funniest moments successful each of “Human Best Friend,” but later, erstwhile the brace sojourn Pike arsenic he’s getting a tattoo, it feels similar the full Strange New Worlds beingness is cracking astir america acknowledgment to Mount’s over-the-top instrumentality connected an inebriated Pike. It’s similar seeing your brag drunk astatine the bureau vacation party, oregon adjacent worse… your dada astatine a household gathering! Get it together, man.

Yes, I recognize that Christopher Pike is susceptible of getting drunk (or immoderate we’re calling this state), and yes, I besides recognize that helium deserves immoderate R&R similar anyone other does. I besides admit that Mount is doing a swell occupation with the performance. But for the skipper of the Enterprise to let himself to beryllium seen successful specified a authorities by his crew… I’m sorry. Maybe I’ve conscionable spent excessively overmuch clip with Captain Picard successful my life, but that benignant of inexpensive gag breaks the show.

So each quality gets their ain spot to play: Workaholic Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), truthful unwilling to relax, becomes the eventual relaxer and relaxation host; Una sings Klingon karaoke powerfulness ballads; Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) does his champion Cocktail impression; La’an (Christina Chong) is successful commando mode (again); Chapel (Jess Bush) becomes a win-or-die Bingo player; and truthful on. Some of these bits are cute, immoderate are a spot eye-rolley, but nary truly pop.

"Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna instrumentality ya..."

If the occurrence works astatine all, it’s due to the fact that of Navia and Quinn, who person bully chemistry and whose characters really get to turn a spot done these shenanigans, arsenic they’re forced to enactment unneurotic archetypal to present a missive to the skipper (“A portion of paper!?” says an amazed Scotty) and past to find their missing shuttle. That the 2 recognize they’ve apt been butting heads due to the fact that they’re, arsenic Scotty puts it, “not truthful antithetic aft all,” is simply a bully capable thread for “Human Best Friend,” and sweetly played.

But again, the logic of the occurrence is flawed. By the clip Pike and the unit are trying to fake their mode done the negotiations backmost connected the vessel portion inactive drunk – negotiations involving a civilian war, caput you – it’s beauteous wide that Alpha Shift truly shoulda called successful Beta Shift not conscionable for the negotiations, but for the occurrence itself.

Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:

• Dave Foley is mostly wasted arsenic 1 of those annoying Star Trek alien salesmen types, but helium does get a enactment oregon 2 that are worthy a chuckle.
• “It’s green.” Now we cognize wherever Scotty picked that 1 up!
• I conjecture Ortegas keeps the gaffer portion handy.
• Why discarded a mugato costume erstwhile you’ve got 1 laying around?
• We don’t usually perceive astir work shifts (Alpha, etc.) connected Starfleet ships. No uncertainty Captain Jellico would beryllium pleased by each the mentions present (while simultaneously disappointed that it’s lone a three-shift rotation).
• The animated series successful the planet’s advertisement is cute, but did you announcement the pistillate wearing the aforesaid outfit that Andrea has connected successful TOS’ “What Are Little Girls Made of?”
• So present we cognize that Scotty has six brothers. And this doesn’t see the astatine slightest 1 sister helium has, who volition 1 time person a lad – the ill-fated Peter Preston from Wrath of Khan.
• Bring backmost cookies!