{"id":623697,"date":"2026-08-06T14:43:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/623697\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T14:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:43:17","slug":"the-crew-gets-tipsy-things-get-weird-on-star-trek-strange-new-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/623697\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crew Gets Tipsy & Things Get Weird on ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds<\/a>, we had a horror tale; this week, we have a wacky, silly episode that runs like The Hangover. Apparently they\u2019re hitting all the big genres this year. What will we get next week? A western? A cartoon? And when is that puppet episode<\/a> coming?<\/p>\n

\"Io9<\/p>\n

Season four<\/a>, episode three, \u201cHuman Best Friend,\u201d opens with voice-over from both Ortegas and Scotty, essentially talking about how much they dislike each other. But in a way that seems kind of \u201cprofessional\u201d\u2014you know, \u201cI don\u2019t want to complain,\u201d that type of thing.<\/p>\n

In fact, Pike has noticed that everyone seems a little bit stressed, a bit on edge. So he announces that alpha ship is taking shore leave. He plays a video for a resort called the Cesnar Grand. It is a tech-free zone, and there is an \u201cintoxicating atmosphere\u201d that kicks in on the planet, allowing each patron to experience the resort differently. Uhura and Scotty are both worried about work, but Chapel and Ortegas are certainly not. They have negotiations scheduled with the Rodaxians to help negotiate a civil war on their planet, but that\u2019s not for two weeks. They can go enjoy a vacation, come back, and still have a week to prepare for the negotiations.<\/p>\n

The shuttle heads down to the planet, though not without some backseat driving from Scotty, which drives Ortegas crazy. The atmospheric drug starts kicking in before they even land. It\u2019s like they\u2019re tripping: wacky colors and distorted camera angles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we come back, Ortegas wakes and finds the room trashed. This is where we learn (well, when I figured out) we are in for The Hangover action. There is a tribble crawling around, and Scotty is in an outfit that looks suspiciously like a mugato costume. Neither remembers anything after the landing of the shuttle. Before they have time to figure anything out, Dendru (Dave Foley), the \u201ccruise director\u201d of the retreat, shows up to deliver a message for Pike. He\u2019s not in his room, so Ortegas is asked to find him and deliver the envelope (remember: no tech).\u00a0 And because Scotty is somehow drunk, but Ortegas is not inebriated in any way, she takes him with her because he can\u2019t be trusted on his own. Ortegas has no idea what happened, why Scotty was in a costume (which he has since taken off), or how she broke her arm (it\u2019s in a cast, and she has no recollection of what happened). She plans on dumping him with Pike when they find him.<\/p>\n

They show up at Spock\u2019s room, looking for Pike. Spock has no clue where Pike is, and insists he is drunk. Other than talking a lot, and claiming he is hallucinating seeing Kirk with him, he doesn\u2019t seem to be inebriated. Spock sends Ortegas and Scotty to check out Uhura\u2019s room. Once they leave, Kirk shows up and gets a hug from Spock. Perhaps this is because of the mind-meld they did last season<\/a>\u2026?<\/p>\n

On to Uhura\u2019s room. She is stoned, wearing a sparkly outfit, and seems to be partying her ass off. Ortegas is still looking for Pike; Uhura has no idea where he might be. She refuses to take Scotty on, because it\u2019s not part of her \u201cjourney\u201d or something, and sends them off\u2014but tells them to return with cookies.<\/p>\n

Ortegas finds that Scotty has run off. She finds him in the bar, where, even more shockingly, Number One is singing karaoke. \u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart.\u201d In Vulcan. And she is signed up to sing 15 more Vulcan power ballads. It\u2019s pretty much the greatest scene ever.<\/p>\n

Sitting at the bar, Ortegas and Scotty find Dr. M\u2019Benga\u2026 tending bar. He is loving it. He is finally doing something with his hands that he enjoys\u2014something with far fewer lives at stake. Unlike the others, he actually knows where Pike is.<\/p>\n

Next stop: the tattoo parlor, where Ortegas and Scotty find Pike getting his arm inked up. He doesn\u2019t care about the note; he wants to know what they think of him getting his face inked. Pike takes the note and says they should get them for the ship\u2014it will drive Uhura crazy. The note says the Rodaxian diplomats are coming to the Enterprise in the next two hours. Not in two weeks\u2014two hours. That\u2019s not good. Ortegas panics, wondering what they should do. Pike tells them to get the shuttle and he will have everyone rounded up by then. Ortegas tries to leave Scotty there, but Pike \u201clikes seeing them have fun together,\u201d so off Scotty goes with Ortegas.<\/p>\n

Ortegas is the only one not inebriated, something I still don\u2019t understand\u2014how is she the only one unaffected by this drug in the air? If it can even get Spock messed up\u2026 Dendru mentioned something about the \u201cfine print\u201d and the \u201cmicro-fine print\u201d which I guess means \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it; it\u2019s more fun if you don\u2019t ask questions.\u201d Okay, I can do that.<\/p>\n

Ortegas and Scotty have to get the shuttle. But someone moved it, and the woman who runs the valet says she gave the chip to Scotty a few hours ago. Ortegas is full-on pissed at Scotty for losing the shuttle. Scotty suggests using a tricorder to locate it, and only he and Uhura smuggled them in. But Scotty left his on the shuttle.<\/p>\n

So, back to Uhura. She says that she won\u2019t turn it over to them unless they clear their energy.\u00a0 That\u2019s their journey. They make crappy apologies to one another, and she turns over the tricorder. Scotty takes it and looks at it, he can see the shuttle through the hotel security system. He then throws it to Ortegas. Without looking. Which means instead of throwing it to her, he throws it over to the side, which sends it over the railing to the first floor, where it crashes to the ground and breaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The security network has a hub in the central office. Ortegas figures out they need to hack into the computer to locate their shuttle. But Scotty is way too inebriated to be successful at hacking. So they go to the one person who isn\u2019t messed up: Spock. Or, at least, not messed up in the same sense as Scotty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spock is worried that he is too inebriated to help. Ortegas assures him he is not. They arrive at the central office, but find no computer. There is a plant. Spock thinks he can telepathically link with it, sits down, and \u201cmind melds\u201d with the desk plant. This actually works and he sees that the shuttle is up north, being protected by a group of thieves. He recommends they bring La\u2019An as muscle. But Spock isn\u2019t going with them. He sees them both as plants right now, and he should rest.<\/p>\n

Ortegas and Scotty leave, leaving Spock with Kirk. Spock has never had a human best friend. \u201cI want to talk about hopes, dreams, fears\u2026\u201d They sit down and talk.<\/p>\n

La\u2019An has taken over a relaxation class, telling everyone it is now a jiu-jitsu class. Ortegas has just the job for her and drags her out.<\/p>\n

They find where the shuttle has been taken, and La\u2019An sees a group of guys. She goes to \u201ctalk\u201d to them alone, but what she really does is beat the hell out of one of them. She strides back to Ortegas and Scotty, saying she is now their leader. She needs to show them how to negotiate, so she demands Scotty\u2019s Hawaiian-style shirt (which I think also has a mugato on it, riding a surfboard) and brings it back to them as a \u201creward.\u201d<\/p>\n

They find the shuttle, damaged, behind a billboard. They couldn\u2019t sell it because the operating chip is missing. Ortegas\u2019 theory is that Scotty was trying to fix it and moved it out here because he couldn\u2019t. In frustration, she strikes the computer panel, which causes the computer to boot up. Which means the chip is nearby. They finally figure it out: it has been hidden in Ortegas\u2019 cast! They pull it out but suddenly, then are kidnapped by masked people, with bags thrown over their heads.<\/p>\n

They wake to find they are tied to chairs. Scotty thinks they took his eyeballs. They knock themselves over and their bags fall off. They wriggle around, with Ortegas not understanding why Scotty isn\u2019t mad because she has been blaming him for losing the ship, when it was clearly her fault. It\u2019s because Scotty grew up with six brothers, and he usually got blamed when things went wrong\u2014and usually it was his fault. So he just figured the same thing was happening. She used to get in trouble for blaming Beto for things that weren\u2019t entirely his fault.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They finally get untied when Dendru shows up, promising he just did what he told them he would do. \u201cDendru, keep us away from our shuttle. Tie us up if you have to.\u201d Sounds like something Scotty would say. Ortegas is still angry. Dendru suggests that if you keep looking, you will always find something to be angry about. You have to decide if you will ignore it, let it ruin your day, or figure out what you are angry about. He then suggests they stop by Room C.<\/p>\n

Room C is the Bingo room, where Chapel is playing hard, and threatening all the little old Bingo ladies. They get ready to fight, when La\u2019An and her new team of guys\u2014one wearing Scotty\u2019s shirt\u2014come in to egg them on and join in the fight. Ortegas can\u2019t handle this. She needs La\u2019An and drags her out. \u201cAvenge me!\u201d she cries out. Scotty scoops up Chapel and follows Ortegas.<\/p>\n

Everyone is back on the shuttle. They all look hungover. Number One is still wearing her crazy rainbow boa from the karaoke; Pike ended up getting that face tattoo. Pike tells the group they are now representing Starfleet and they have to be professional. Number One doesn\u2019t think the atmospheric drug has left their system yet.<\/p>\n

Pike and Number One are on the transporter deck, greeting the Rodaxians, while still giggling to themselves\u2014and getting strange looks from the Rodaxians.<\/p>\n

Ortegas goes to fix the shuttle but finds Scotty there, fixing it himself. She helps him, and starts to open up. She was hard on Beto because she wanted things to be hard for someone besides herself. She had wanted to be an engineer, but never had the brain for it. She felt bad that she couldn\u2019t do it, even though she had a knack for piloting. She isn\u2019t mad at Scotty; it\u2019s just the idea that she couldn\u2019t do it. Scotty has basically the same story, that he failed at piloting and ended up in engineering. They kind of make up, a real apology to one another. Scotty takes off a part of the console and finds\u2026 a bomb inside. If Scotty moves his hands, it\u2019s going to go boom. Ortegas runs to get help.<\/p>\n

She runs to where Pike is trying to deal with the Rodaxians. She tries to get his attention but can\u2019t. So she whispers to Uhura, standing at the front of a line of folks who were at the retreat, and tells her there is a bomb on board. But Uhura is still stoned.<\/p>\n

Spock catches up with Ortegas in the hallway, saying he heard about her \u201cavocado\u201d problem. That\u2019s the problem with playing Telephone! He used reverse human logic to figure out that it was a bomb. He is there to help\u2014but he still sees Ortegas as a plant.<\/p>\n

Spock finds a video of Ortegas and Scotty from when they were both intoxicated at the resort, telling them that the shuttle has been messed with, the key is in Ortegas\u2019 cast, and not to bring the shuttle back to the Enterprise. Okay, not logical. Spock figures out what is in the bomb and says an explosion would be catastrophic. There is only one choice: for Scotty to fly the bomb off in the shuttle. Ortegas goes with him to pilot since his hands are kind of full. Spock will attempt to transport them out before the bomb blows.<\/p>\n

Spock goes to the transportation bay and starts setting the coordinates. He wishes he had a second pair of hands to help him, and Kirk shows up. Spock thinks it\u2019s still his imagination. Kirk slaps him, hard, to prove he is real.<\/p>\n

Ortegas tells Spock they are ready, and she and Scotty have a nice moment where she says, \u201cI think we would\u2019ve been friends.\u201d Awww.<\/p>\n

Back in the negotiations, Pike has, apparently, truly offended one side of the Rodaxians. Suddenly, there is a huge explosion out the window, with a bunch of colorful fireworks. Everyone watches in wonder.<\/p>\n

Ortegas and Scotty make it back to the transport bay, alive and well. Well, except that one of Scotty\u2019s fingers was blown off. They run off to med bay, and Spock turns to tell imaginary Spock that he\u2019s really glad for the time they spent together. Before they leave, Ortegas says hi to Kirk, which leaves Spock bewildered. Kirk was on vacation on Cesnar and was glad to run into Spock and get to know him better. Kirk promises to keep all of Spock\u2019s secrets.<\/p>\n

After the explosion, the Rodaxians\u2014all of them\u2014applaud. Apparently that was the Rodaxian Formal Rite of Peace, something that has not been seen in generations. It is expensive and dangerous to do, and the Rodaxians are impressed that Starfleet would do this for them. Pike and his crew try not to look too surprised. The initially offended Rodaxians want the peace talks to continue. They shake Pike\u2019s hands, and he brings them in for a hug.<\/p>\n

In the finale, everyone is sitting in the bar, sharing their experiences and filling in Ortegas and Scotty on what happened. Apparently, they ran into a costume party trying to talk to Pike and had to put on loaner costumes. Ortegas had something called a Dragon Ball that was supposed to be a drug for the whole party, but she and Scotty must have taken it all down themselves, which would explain the loss of attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The saboteur has been caught, a Rodaxian militant who wanted to mess up the negotiations. Dr. M\u2019Benga has gotten much, much better at flipping bottles. Chapel suggests they make it a yearly retreat.<\/p>\n

Bonus! Over the credits, you get more footage of Number One singing the Vulcan \u201cTotal Eclipse of the Heart,\u201d played over footage of the crew getting wild.<\/p>\n

New episodes of\u00a0Star Trek: Strange New Worlds\u00a0arrive on Thursdays on Paramount+.<\/p>\n

\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel<\/a>, Star Wars<\/a>, and Star Trek<\/a> releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV<\/a>, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, we had a horror tale; this week, we have a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[18,117,19,17,5997,73662,36236,128,165377],"class_list":["post-623697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-paramount","tag-star-trek","tag-star-trek-strange-new-worlds","tag-tv","tag-tv-recap"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}