Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 5
"Level-Five Transporter Accident"
Writers: Henry Alonso Myers, Dana Horgan
Director: Jordan Canning
Cast: Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, Martin Quinn, Rebecca Romijn
Strange New Worlds stuffs some fluff into the final frontier this week with “Level-Five Transporter Accident,” a playfully preposterous partnership with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop that sees the crew of the Enterprise being transformed into puppets. No, seriously!
Looking to make Transporter history, Scotty (Martin Quinn) attempts to beam a childhood puppet named Little Ricky into the quarters of his Academy rival, Declan Milder — the man who also happens to hold the current record for the farthest-transported object in Starfleet history. However, when a malfunction unexpectedly changes everyone on board into a motley mob of Muppets, it’s up to Spock (Ethan Peck), who was conveniently puttering around in a shuttle placing buoys at the time, to take sole control of the ship — just in time for a visit from some opportunistic Orion pirates.
What follows is pretty much a Star Trek spin on Brian Henson’s Muppet Treasure Island. Realizing they possess all the trademark tropes of being puppets, including not being able to die when squashed by a torpedo, slashed in half by a sword, or even tossed out the airlock into the inky expanse of space, Captain Pike (Anson Mount, still brandishing an absolutely perfect head of hair) rallies his team and prepares to take back the Enterprise from its latest group of uninvited guests — which is great, given that it doesn’t take long for Spock to end up a captive of the covetous corsairs.
Of course, being unable to operate phasers, call for help, or even open doors, Pike soon realizes that the only way to properly deal with the situation before them is to lean into the chaos and outsmart the invaders with some outside-the-box (and even inside-the-box) thinking. If only they could figure out how to leave their room first — no fingerprints, remember!
“Level-Five Transporter Accident” is an absolutely absurd anomaly that dabbles in the dopey to bring viewers something that’s oh-so-wonderfully mad, yet unmistakably Star Trek. Fans who grew up spending Saturday nights in front of the TV with the glitz, glamour, and goofiness of The Muppet Show are sure to enjoy this latest genre jump as it follows in the footsteps of fan-favorite series like Community and The Simpsons by kicking off its sneakers, throwing conventional format to the wind, and just getting nuts.
The puppet designs are fantastic, with Carol Kane’s Pelia being the clear standout, bringing big, blonde hair and a surprisingly level-headed, reasoning voice to the fore. Spock’s impromptu bro sesh with Ejachi (Joe Lo Truglio), an Orion pirate who is basically a green-skinned take on Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s beloved Charles Boyle, is also a highlight. And just wait until the puppets finally take back the bridge!
There’s just something wonderfully nostalgic about watching Strange New Worlds embrace this kind of old-school silliness. The episode doesn’t feel like it’s trying to prove anything or make some grand statement about the universe. Instead, it simply wants to entertain, and that’s pretty refreshing. Every ridiculous situation builds on the last, allowing the cast to play around with familiar characters while the puppets themselves become an essential part of the plot rather than a disposable gimmick. I also thoroughly enjoyed how well it was able to incorporate a small callback to 1982’s The Wrath of Khan while also finding time to poke fun at the fate of all those unnamed Red Shirts who dare to take a job within the ranks of Starfleet — with far more laughable consequences, of course!
Unsurprisingly, I can’t recommend this week’s episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds enough. The amount of hate and negativity that has been swirling around the fandom ever since this episode was teased well over a year ago is definitely unwarranted, with the end result calling to mind the simpler days when “a ragged old pile of children’s toys” could successfully co-exist alongside the heavy-hitters of prime time and pull in the masses with a few corny jokes and some exaggerated facial features.
Bottom line, don’t take this one too seriously and you’re sure to have a good time!
Even if the ending is a little predictable.
