Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 6
"Off Hour"
Writer: Bill Wolkoff
Director: Dan Liu
Cast: Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, Martin Quinn, Rebecca Romijn
Strange New Worlds serves up a mini disaster movie this week with “Off Hour,” an emotional, character-driven episode that highlights not only how quickly things can go wrong on the final frontier, but also how effectively the crew of the Enterprise can pull together when it matters most.
Sucked into a slipstream wormhole that threatens to tear their beloved ship apart in less than an hour, the crew must work together to keep the Enterprise intact while also keeping each other calm and focused in the process. The danger is made all the more immediate with the addition of a countdown clock, which flashes on screen every few minutes to constantly remind us of the fate awaiting these characters unless they can find a way out. It's a simple device, but an effective one nonetheless, adding a growing sense of urgency to an already desperate situation.
Of course, things only get worse when it is revealed that Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), cut off in sick bay with Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) after the life-support systems are shut down in the corridors to conserve power, has been fatally wounded. A laboratory table has slammed him into an adjacent wall, damaging several of his vital organs and leaving Chapel with very little time to save him.
While the situation is grim, acting CMO Dr. Boyce (Brian Markinson, reviving the role originally played by John Hoyt in the unaired Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” complete with a United Earth emblem affixed firmly to his uniform) advises Chapel to leave M’Benga behind and concentrate on those who still have a chance of survival. Chapel, however, refuses to give up on her mentor. What follows are some beautiful scenes between the two characters, allowing their friendship and mutual respect to take centre stage amid all the chaos — this despite an argument within the first few minutes of the episode.
Meanwhile, as the clock continues to tick, Scotty (Martin Quinn) begins to panic, even questioning whether or not he has what it takes to continue his future in Starfleet. Thankfully, a surprisingly level-headed Pelia (Carol Kane) is there to remind him that starships are capable of miracles — and that sometimes, when things get bad, you have to become a miracle worker yourself.
Those words resonate deeply with Scotty, forever changing his relationship with the Enterprise and setting him on the path toward the man he is destined to be. Soon after, or just in the nick of time, a plan is devised to pull some “strong force neutrinos” from the wormhole into the ship, which should not only restore power and help them escape, but also cure Dr. M'Benga. Yeah, I know, it’s a convenient plot device that essentially gives the Enterprise and her crew exactly what it needs in an hour of darkness, but what were you expecting? This is Star Trek, after all, and sometimes a little pseudo-science is exactly what the doctor ordered.
In the end, the plan works. The neutrinos are collected in time, the Enterprise escapes the wormhole, and Dr. M’Benga receives a miracle. It’s classic Trek at its best, buoyed by Poseidon Adventure-esque tension, a twinge of technobabble and just enough body horror to make you squirm (seeing Una’s leg snap under the force of a malfunctioning artificial grav system still makes me gag, and don't get me started on Spock vomiting blue bile after he returns from a little space walk). The episode manages to keep the stakes personal even as the threat becomes increasingly massive, and that balance is one of the reasons the story works so well.
“Off Hour” is easily one of the best episodes of Strange New Worlds to date, eschewing the usual “genre of the week” format that seems to have become commonplace over the last few weeks in exchange for a wonderful return to form that calls to mind some of the strongest Star Trek episodes of the last 60 years. The chemistry between castmates is second to none, with M’Benga and Chapel definitely being the standouts this week, while the character growth of future heavy-hitters is nigh unmistakable.
Yeah, it’s a little far-fetched at times, but that’s what Star Trek has always been. Fundamentally, this is a reminder of the franchise’s core values, backlit by nods and classic story beats that longtime fans are sure to slurp up quicker than a glass of Romulan ale. Strange New Worlds just keeps on giving, and this week’s episode is no exception to the rule!
