@ralffff I think it started with Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Once More With Feeling," and, the show runners say that was on their minds. (I think Ally McBeal might've also done it -- maybe that was just Robert Downey Jr. singing on one of it's Christmas episodes).
@vwfringe aah, interesting. I think “that 70s show” did it as well, I’m not sure… and I read that community did one, spoofing „glee“. Anyways, I really like this kind of episodes but was sceptical if it would work with Star Trek. I don’t think this could have been done on DS9 or TNG. But SNW season 2 became so… let’s call it deconstructed or maybe meta, they opened up a lot of possibilities and room for experiments with both their episodic storytelling and the very strong and charismatic crew. They can carry these experiments even if sometimes they fail. I would still come back for the next episode. Because the characters are the constant and the episodes are the variables here. I can’t wait for season 3, I just hope the stories will be a bit stronger then.
Review by RalfffBlockedParent2023-08-03T12:23:27Z
Yeah, a lot of shows have done it. I know of three, scrubs, raising hope and 30 Rock, and I loved all of them. It’s always a joy (in my opinion), even though it is robbing us of story-content (which season two has little to offer anyway). But a musical is a different medium and it’s legit to focus on sound and show instead of deep, well written stories. That is no excuse for the rest of the snoozefest of episodes, but episode 9 is great fun and there are some real talents in the show with great voices.
So, even if this was no real Star Trek episode, only a big stage, this was one of the few episodes from season 2 that I actually enjoyed. It was a fun standalone episode, again contrasting hard with the previous one.
And since SNW feels more like Star Trek than anything that was done in the last couple years with the franchise, I trust that they will find the sweet spot in season 3.
I guess the „exploration of strange new worlds“ is taking place not in space, but in how far you can take a Star Trek episode, and how different each week can be. While season 2 mostly failed in telling good stories, they made each episode totally different, which is great. Now hire some good science fiction writers, maybe from the Orville team, a we’re golden.