JULY 24, 2023 - This past Saturday at SDCC, Paramount released the Strange New Worlds x Lower Decks crossover early. This much-anticipated episode was everything I expected and more. Jonathan Frakes, who directed this episode, did a wonderful job at merging the energies of both shows. Jack Quaid (Boimler) and Tawny Newsome (Mariner) move easily between the two mediums, and much of the outrageousness inherent to their characters is easily explained away because, you know, they’re from the future and people are obviously weirder in the future.

    This episode has been very well received by fans of both shows, quickly becoming the highest-rated Strange New Worlds episode on IMDb. Star Trek has taken to social media to debate whether Spoimler (Spock x Boimler) or Mahura (Mariner x Uhura) is a better ship (Team Mahura all the way!!). The fans however weren’t the only ones geeking out about the episode. The actors were just as excited as we are.

    Tawny, a lifelong Star Trek fan herself, was (naturally) very excited about actually being on the Enterprise bridge. So excited in fact that she pushed (and broke) numerous buttons. In an interview, Ethan Peck (Spock) shared that he often felt the same as Tawny: "I can't believe that I get to be booping these buttons on the bridge of the Enterprise." Quaid described the whole experience as "just living out a nerd fantasy."  The actors’ love for the series really comes through in their performances. I was honestly hesitant about how bringing these animated characters to life would work out, however through their devotion, the actors were able to pull it off.

    The animators also did an amazing job at creating the SNW crew in a Lower Decks style, with Pike’s surprise party being one of my favorite scenes in all of Strange New Worlds. The writers and animators expertly executed the scene, staying true to SNW while also bringing some of the Lower Decks humor into it (i.e. Spock’s noodle arms and his incredibly Vulcan response to them).

You can catch the unique crossover event and nearly every other episode and movie of Star Trek on Paramount+.