Last week, Pamela asked the team if anyone was into Star Trek and would someone want to review the latest Trek series. I jumped at the chance. I wasn’t the co-host of Grudge Report for nothing, after all.

I am definitely a Trekkie. I’ll lay out a few of my credentials here, since some people may ask. I grew up with a dad whose Air Force call sign was “Spock” because of how much he was like Mr. Spock on The Original Series. In high school, my friends called me Spock’s daughter. Then from my junior year until I moved to Los Angeles, I attended two Star Trek conventions a year. In fact, the last thing I did before moving was attended a Star Trek convention. I’ve worn a uniform. I’ve met so many cast members.

Yes, I am a Trekkie.

And I have been incredibly excited for this new series. I’ve enjoyed Discovery, and I’m still catching up on Lower Decks and Picard, but I get to jump in on Strange New Worlds from the beginning, and let me tell you, I am hooked.

The first episode takes place after the events of Discovery’s season two finale. You don’t have to have seen Discovery, but it will help set the stage. The show will fill you in, though, on the relevant bits if you don’t want to go back. Captain Pike, played by the rather dreamy Anson Mount, is avoiding going back to the Enterprise. Did I mention that the end of Discovery season two was a bit traumatic for everyone involved? Well, it was, and he is not sure he can go back to being a starship captain.

But Starfleet is not to be deterred, and they basically suck him back in with a rescue mission of his first officer, who does not handle vacation time well, apparently, and has disappeared while on what was supposed to be a routine first contact mission.

First contact is just what it sounds like – the first time a civilization has contact with an alien. In the Federation, it happens after the signature of a warp drive is detected, meaning that the civilization is advanced enough to have developed the capability to travel far in space. As a caveat to first contact, there is also General Directive 1, which is basically a rule that the Federation does not interfere with societies that are currently in a pre-warp drive technological state.

I’ll avoid spoiling the plot. There is some interesting science in this show that deals with warp signatures and such, which I’m sure our friend Dr. Erin McDonald can explain better than I can. As a scientist, I loved the talk of genetic manipulation and technological advancement. As a Trekkie, I adored all the little shoutouts to previous shows and events. Easter eggs abound, and the new actors playing old favorites are fun, especially Uhuru and Chapel. Basically, every name in this show has weight, even the shuttlecraft.

Plus, the costumes are less mini-skirt and more jumpsuits, and that’s fine. Not everything has to mimic the 1960s.

I feel like a lot of this show review could have been done with some memes I have seen since the premier. There’s a great one where it’s “I watch Strange New Worlds for the plot” where the plot is a picture of a shirtless Spock. Thank goodness I am not actually Spock’s daughter.

There’s already another episode out this week, and so there is a strong possibility that after taping this review, I’m going to go watch it. It really was a strong start, and it already feels like it’s found its voice from the beginning, which is probably an advantage of starting during Discovery. However, I do worry that Strange New Worlds will suffer from a similar problem as Discovery in that it’s already burdened with existing canon. But so far, so good.

I hope you go check it out.