'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Came Back to Take a Leaf Out of the Pages of... 'Doctor Who'?
After a rough go of things, "Strange New Worlds" settles back in leaning on the successes of another similarly maligned sci-fi show.
This post contains spoilers for the season four premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, "Valles Marineris."
There's a moment in this week's return of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds where the long-lived Lanthanite engineer, Pelia, cracks what might just be one of the most awkward Doctor Who jokes a show could crack.
"We are to face a category 10 interstellar squall," Captain Pike explains of the Enterprise's latest mission to his senior staff. "Something we rarely see in the Alpha Quadrant."
"I've seen one once," Pelia chimes in. "A long time ago, but not from this close. I think I was in a phone box at the time."
Carol Kane gives her biggest smile, clearly having the time of her life on the show as always. But as references go, it lands with the subtlety of a brick to the face. And not just that, but because it's so awkward. The scene goes on, leaving it unacknowledged (save for a brief look of befuddlement on Captain Pike's face that feels like someone had to be physically restrained in the writers' room from adding a "well, that just happened" quip), but it just feels so weird.