this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023
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LoglineAn accident with an experimental quantum probability field causes everyone on the USS Enterprise to break uncontrollably into song, but the real danger is that the field is expanding and beginning to impact other ships—allies and enemies alike.


Written by Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff

Directed by Dermott Downs

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[–] Cynoid@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago

So, I'm a good public for this I suppose, since I loved Mamma Mia, and am a real fan of rock/metal operas. And I think this episode is... surprisingly decent?

I mean, the singing was surprisingly good, even with autotune (I mean, if you ever want to hear a real musical disaster, try Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia ; everyone here is pretty much excellent compared to that), so kudos to crew. The music was uneven : some parts were quite bland/uninspired, but I very much loved the common theme of "I'm ready"(catchy!)/"I'm the X"(lovely!) and the two widely different feelings.

On the plot side, you can feel they are trying very hard to brush over how nonsensical this musical thing is. And, somehow, I'm glad that not much progress happens here : you can summarize what happens as "La'an tell Kirk about the time-travel event, Spock gets dumped for a study program, Pike have a minor fight. And musical subspace shenanigans.", which will sure come in handy if you're allergic to musicals and (re-)watch the series.

But yeah, it was fun. The "La'an cut the captains couple argument in the middle of signing", and the boys-band/K-pop klingon were unexpected.


Overall, I think this episode somewhat suffer the comparison with the Lower Deck crossover. The s02e07 was a real Star trek story : if Lower Deck wasn't a thing, "These old scientists" would still be a decent story, it's the meta element which push it into the land of deep sillyness (even when, like me, you don't really like Lower Decks). "Subspace rhapsody" is... a musical. It's good fun! But I was hoping for a bit more.

[–] kmccoy@startrek.website 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This was incredible. Loved seeing Celia Rose Gooding so clearly in their element. And Bruce Horak returns in one of the strangest Klingon moments yet!

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[–] TeaHands@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Ok I love musicals so was definitely looking forward to this one. Did anyone else find it a little disappointing?

There was a bit too much moping and not enjoy joy, for me. That's what makes a good musical episode so great, they can progress the plot while giving us an over-the-top fun time. But instead we had everyone singing a sad song and then one or two upbeat numbers, none of which were particularly catchy or entertaining. Like, if you've seen it even just once or twice years ago like I have you can probably remember some of the songs from the OG Buffy episode, but we watched this last night and by the end I genuinely couldn't even remember the supposed grand finale song.

Boy band Klingons made the wait worth it, but I spent most of this episode spaced out a bit and just half-listening rather than watching which is the first episode I can say that about.

Shoutout to whoever decided to redo the theme music though, that was inspired.

Also the talk about bunnies has to be a reference to Buffy, right?

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[–] PilksUK@startrek.website 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When they announced this episode I hated the sound of it... Not Trek at all I said but I have to say after watching it was like ok that was fun lol

[–] LibraryLass@startrek.website 5 points 1 year ago

Star Trek had a long history of taking cues from capital-T Theater, so a musical was kind of a logical extension of that.

[–] felixxx999@startrek.website 9 points 1 year ago

thoughts after rewatch. This episode is solid. The second gimmick episode this season BUT like the last they keep the story lines going. I mean important stuff is dropped in this one. Some earned heartbreaker stuff (Discovery crew did cry a lot but I never felt it was earned. Not the case here. Some of the heartbreak feels real. Chapel trying to wash away her love for Spock is more complex then her just dumping him.)

[–] lonlazarus@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 1 year ago

So, the time has finally come. I want to mention that I'm not a huge fan of musicals, this translates to that tend to only watch them if external circumstances push me to watch one and I only enjoy if they're really well done. Well, circumstances have pushed me, and... it was meh.

I thought the songs weren't particularly memorable, the productions were a bit underwhelming and the dancing nearly non-existent.

[–] khaosworks@startrek.website 8 points 1 year ago
[–] lawrence@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I'm a fan of musicals and Star Trek. This episode was definitely one of the most unique I've ever watched. It was original, inspirational and fun. And as an added bonus, we received a collection of beautiful songs.

[–] russjr08@outpost.zeuslink.net 8 points 1 year ago

I don't generally enjoy musicals (or rather, shows that aren't musicals but then do a random episode as a musical) but SNW definitely did it right! And I'm glad I didn't skip it since I considered doing so.

[–] Jfillian@twit.social 7 points 1 year ago

@ValueSubtracted Delightful episode. I laughed, I cried, I (would have) bought the t-shirt. I have really enjoyed some of the risks they've taken this season, this one and the Mashup with Lower Decks and punctuating with the powerful war episode. I've looked forward to Thursdays.

[–] lxskllr@mastodon.world 7 points 1 year ago

@ValueSubtracted

Pretty silly episode. I'm not a fan of musicals, and I was dubious going in, but it was fun. They managed to make it as good as a musical could be for my tastes. I'm happy it was made, and I'm happy to have seen it. That's about the highest praise I could give for something like this.

[–] 1stTime4MeInMCU@mander.xyz 7 points 1 year ago

La'an definitely becoming one of my favorite characters, which is surprising because she was middle of the pack in S1.

[–] felixxx999@startrek.website 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

honestly who knew La’an and Uhura would be the main characters this season? And I'm crushing on Chapel and Uhura and La'an right now. This episode only made it worse. Yeah there are three damned handsome guys on the show. But those ladies... might be my favorite of all star trek. La'an's doomed relationship was heartbreaking btw. I knew this was happening with Spock so it didn't hit so hard (I thought they'd last longer). Meanwhile Pike's love (who is also insanely cute with that smile) may be heading for danger now. We need to do a poll to see if the woman on SNW are more loved then the men. And good songs.

[–] z3rOR0ne@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I just want a full on Erica Ortegas back story episode already. But this was a very enjoyable episode. Im not that picky with music in general, and yet also enjoy musicals generally, so I was happy.

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[–] CCF_100@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I LOVED this episode! I wouldn't be opposed to them doing another musical episode 😁

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[–] frankPodmore@slrpnk.net 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

No, sorry. Very bad. Only Rose-Gooding and Chong could sing, the autotune was obvious and jarring for all the others. The songs weren't memorable (I confess I really dislike the modern US showtune style, but it can at lest be catchy — this wasn't), the choreography and even the editing was shoddy. The first episode of Trek, other than Enterprise, that I've wanted to switch off.

[–] praxi@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

This was such a fun episode. I so enjoyed all of the male and female vocalizations. It was as campy as the TOS episodes could sometimes be, but I loved it. Definitely on my rewatchable episode list when in a light mood.

[–] ThirteenthWorrier@mstdn.social 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

@ValueSubtracted
Subspace Rhapsody is the greatest episode in all of Star Trek canon.

I will die on this hill.

Edit: cannon -> canon

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[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

Now I really wanna see an episode where they poof into bunnies!!!!!

[–] GrinningLlama@startrek.website 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What. The. Heck. Just. Happened. I always hated musicals but this was incredible! This show is KILLING it. OMG

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[–] StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I loved the episode. I’m not a huge fan of American musical theatre, but this really worked for me and my partner.

The tone was just right and the songs were well matched to the skills and characters. It’s delightful.

It was also really nice to come to this community and soak up all the positivity. I really needed a place to come like this after watching episodes. As we see it a bit later on CTV Sci-fi Channel in Canada, I can often feel blasted with fan backlash when I check out people’s views after watching.

Yes, there are a few folks here for whom this isn’t there kind of thing, and they are letting us know. We’ve not however seeing brigading negativity that is cropping up on some other social media. I can appreciate that some want their Trek more dignified and serious, but the ‘worst thing ever’ hyperbole is a bit hard to take when Threshold and Code of Honor exist.

[–] canis_majoris@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think the main split in the Trek fandom now is how serious a tone people tend to prefer. Most of TNG was professionalism porn, and most of the 90s stuff was generally serious. A lot of people got used to that, and whenever I talk to them about stuff like SNW or LD, their chief complaint is that "the characters act immature and are too quippy". To an extent, I can agree and see the point of view, but on the other hand, I really like it when Trek doesn't take itself too seriously.

I like to argue that the TOS era was a less mature era of Starfleet in general which causes the familiarity with the bridge crew to be more socially profound as opposed to professionally based. To whit, I remember SNW directly addressing things like this wherein they discuss "General Order 1" being renamed "The Prime Directive" which I feel is evident of a maturing organization.

Strange New Worlds doesn't take itself seriously unless it has to. It's been great about totally experimenting with the Trek formula to create unique, fun and memorable episodes. The plot devices are straight out of the 70's, with random space anomalies impacting the crew. They modernize the storytelling and keep up the pace, which is always just what the TOS era needed.

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