‘Strange New Worlds’ Star Explains the Key Change That Officially Turns Scotty Into Star Trek’s Miracle Worker [Exclusive]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview contains spoilers for ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 4, Episode 6, “Off Hour.”

This week’s episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows one of the most harrowing hours the intrepid crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise has ever had to face in the four seasons we’ve known them. When the ship becomes trapped in a deadly warp emergency, the crew—and the ship—are pushed to the limit both physically and mentally. Written by Bill Wolkoff and directed by Dan Liu, “Off Hour” puts our heroes through the wringer, and while they come out of the disaster stronger for it, the experience also serves as a turning point for two of the ship’s key players.

I caught up with Strange New Worlds stars Martin Quinn, who plays Scotty, and Babs Olusanmokun, who plays M’Benga, to chat about how their characters are forever changed by their experiences in this episode. During our conversation, Olusanmokun broke down the fascinating dynamic between Chapel and M’Benga and why their relationship is capable of withstanding so much, especially in dire situations. Meanwhile, Quinn spoke about how Scotty is finally putting down roots on the Enterprise and how this episode takes him one step closer to becoming the “miracle worker” fans know and love from The Original Series. We also briefly spoke about last week’s incredible Muppets-style episode and how tricky it was to record audio for a puppet. You can watch the interview in the player above or read the transcript of our conversation below.

Bringing Two of ‘Strange New Worlds’ Best Dynamic Duos To Life

COLLIDER: One of the best dynamics on the show from the beginning has been M’Benga and Chapel. They’ve been through so much together, and this episode really pushes them to a breaking point. Why do you think it’s so important for him to push her to put down roots instead of just blindly following him?

BABS OLUSANMOKUN: Because he knows how she can be. He knows she really can neglect herself in a certain kind of way and is running in a way that he’s familiar with, also. I think he’s trying to save her, essentially, and say, “Hey, put down roots. These are good people. Stay here. I might be going off, but you definitely need to stay here. There’s no more running to do.” And I think he’s gotten to a place where he was very comfortable saying that to her. He’s seen enough evidence, and there is just enough love and care there that he would say that to her. He needed to say that to her.

Martin, I love the dynamic between Scotty and Pelia, as well, the sort of animosity, teacher’s pet trope turned on its head. What do you think that Scotty truly appreciates from learning from that relationship?

MARTIN QUINN: I feel like Pelia’s got this thing where she’s aware that something will happen. She’s, yeah, within a pickle, but it will either sort itself or the correct option that we need to follow will show itself. And I think that confidence that she has is something that Scotty, so far in Strange New Worlds, hasn’t quite got. You know what I mean? I think that she’s so laid back. He’s kind of the opposite, isn’t he? He’s quite uptight.

But at least that trust that we will solve this, I think that kind of trust is what he needs to trust a little bit more. I mean, that’s been his problem in Season 3, as well, wasn’t it? He didn’t trust anybody else to help. So, I think he kind of needs to trust that the answer will appear in front of him at some point. Maybe not right now, but soon.

Building off of that a little bit, Scotty’s relationships in this season in particular feel like they’ve had some big shifts. What does that say to you about him finally putting down roots on the Enterprise?

QUINN: He’s been the outsider during Season 3, but it’s great to see him slowly but surely making this his home. He’s got a lot to get over with what happened in the Stardiver, and he’s got to kind of accept now that this is his new family. He’ll have lost his family on the Stardiver, and then he’s moved away from his family that he does mention a couple of times in that episode. So, he’s got to kind of accept his new family, and it’s beautiful to see him, and for me to experience it, that he’s slowly accepted the Enterprise as his home.

Babs Olusanmokun Breaks Down M’Benga and Chapel’s Most Painful Episode Yet

“I think he was very, very deeply grateful for that.”

Image via Jan Thijs/Paramount+

Babs, you spend a lot of this episode pinned down by that medical table. I would love to hear about the logistics of filming that and hiding your legs and the progression of the gore makeup through the episode.

OLUSANMOKUN: Wow. Well, they built this apparatus, like a different table, essentially, and they reconstructed it below [for] my legs. I needed help to get into it and help to get out. They tried to make it as easy as possible for me. The production designers did a fantastic job. What we thought would be the best way, I ended up going in a different direction. I can’t remember exactly now how. There was quite a bit going into making it comfortable and making it something I could sit in for hours. And then the gore and the ice, it was a lot of work. It was a lot of work. It was a lot of sweating, but it was wonderful.

I love that. We’ve had a two-hander between you and Jess [Bush] each season. What was the biggest challenge of turning that conflict inward and towards each other rather than facing an external conflict together?

OLUSANMOKUN: At least for this episode, it’s a conflict that you know will be resolved. We’ll have resolution in terms of both care deeply for each other. As colleagues and through their history, there’s just a care there that’s not very common. She wasn’t going to let him go and let him down. He didn’t want to let her down. He wanted to make sure she got out, like, “Be gone! I’m good here.”

There’s been something so strong between them that is like, “No, if you can’t take care of this relationship, then who are you?” There’s a sense of home for both. The history they’ve had in the past and work, being combat medics together and being on the Enterprise together now, there’s a lot of history there. And they know with everything else going around, there’s something there where they can look at each other and speak very truthfully and seek the best for each other.

I think this episode was that, right? It’s like, “I can save you.” “No, you can’t. We’re both going to die.” “No, I can save you!” She convinces him, and ultimately, I think he was very, very deeply grateful for that.

Martin, I feel like Scotty’s true understanding of the Enterprise as his ship and the deeper connection to the Enterprise is established in this episode, especially in that moment when he feels the hull in the Jefferies tube. Can you talk about that shift in him?

QUINN: I think it’s realizing that the answer isn’t in a textbook. Things come up that you can’t prepare for, and that you’ve got to kind of listen and be present, rather than panic. That is the big lesson that probably we all could do with. I think that that is his journey. We all know that he becomes the miracle worker — it’s just taken lessons like that to get there. He’s got to listen and be present and not panic, and follow in the footsteps of Pelia.

Martin Quinn Had One Unexpected Problem With Scotty’s ‘Strange New Worlds’ Puppet

“I was losing my mind.”

Image via Jan Thijs/Paramount+

Lastly, going back for a brief moment, we had the amazing puppet episode in this season, as well. I am curious just how much fun you had making that episode, and how badly did you want to take your own puppet home?

QUINN: [Laughs] It was great. I had a scene as a person, a couple of scenes, but then we didn’t see it until we all had to put our voices over the top of the puppeteers’ work. For me, that was a grueling couple of hours. It was hours and hours I spent on it. I don’t know. How did you find that, Babs? I felt like I was losing my mind.

OLUSANMOKUN: No. I remember being surprised at how little I needed to go in three for the episode. But I was doing some other stuff. I don’t know if I was really working on another episode, but it felt like, apart from the big scene on the bridge, and then maybe the ADR, like laying out some stuff, it didn’t feel as heavy, work-wise, as I thought it would be.

QUINN: No, for me, I was losing my mind. It was whether or not the mouth and what I was saying was lining up, and I was like, “I need to go again. I need to go again.” It’s because the puppeteer was a Canadian guy, but he was doing his Scottish accent, and then I had to do my Scottish accent over his Scottish accent. So, it was trying to get it all to link up. And he was ad-libbing sometimes, and I was like, “Hold on, hold on. When I say that, is it when the mouth’s closed?” Do you know what I mean? I was just losing my mind. So, yeah, shout out to all the engineers in Glasgow who were patient with me during those sessions, the sound engineers.

New episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds air on Paramount+ every Thursday. Stay tuned at Collider for more.

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Release Date

2022 – 2027-00-00

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Network

Paramount+

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Showrunner

Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman

Directors

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Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman

Writers

Onitra Johnson

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