119. Balance of Error (SNW 1.08, 1.09 and 1.10)

Anika and Liz put on some fancy costumes, murder some Gorn babies and agree: that was definitely a season of television.

But did we actually like season 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

Erm. Well.

• Remember when we were afraid this would be the Pike, Spock and Una show? It's definitely not the Una show, and we have different opinions on whether or not it's a Spock show!
• It's fascinating how season one of SNW shares a lot of problems with season one of TNG, but no one is out there arguing that TNG's first season was good
• Anika has to "well actually" Liz
• The Elysian Kingdom: 
  • We just want M'Benga to be happy, is that so much to ask?
  • It's 2022 and the depiction of queerness in SNW is roughly on par with DS9 in the 1990s (this is not a compliment)
• All Those Who Wander:
  • #GornRights
  • "Straight-up Aliens rip-off" is a feature not a bug for us, but the depiction of the Gorn is even more troubling than it was in "Memento Mori"!
  • PLEASE make Star Trek hire a disability consultant because the depiction of disability and mental illness in any Trek overseen by Akiva Goldsman is dreadful and offensive
  • Children, whether Gorn or human(ish), don't have rights in this series, and Anika finds that TROUBLING
  • Lifting a Spock/Uhura scene -- body language, camera angles and all -- from Star Trek (2009) but subbing in a white woman was … well, the optics aren't great, y'know?
• The Quality of Mercy
  • We don't often say this, but we hate everything about this episode!
  • Like, don't remake "Balance of Terror" if you don't understand Kirk, Spock, Romulans or the plot of "Balance of Terror"
  • It makes a good double feature with "These Are The Voyages…" but that isn't really a good thing
  • We have a new appreciation for Greenwood!Pike and the (relative) lack of ableism in his story 
  • The Great Man Theory of Star Trek history
  • The ending is … exactly the same as the ending of season 2 of Lower Decks? At least for once it's a white woman facing the Federation's capricious justice system?