This Character Change Is Everything Wrong With NuTrek

By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 39 seconds ago

My first world problem is simple: Star Trek is my favorite franchise, and Paramount has systematically run it into the ground, canceling show after show due to low viewership. That’s annoying, of course, but that’s not my problem … at least, not exactly. My problem is that any time I complain about changes made by NuTrek, I get swarmed by fanboys claiming these shows are perfect and I must be some weird, right-wing bigot if I don’t agree. God forbid I complain about any changes to the franchise formula or lore, which results in those same fans crying out, in unison, “Star Trek has always been like that!”

In truth, Paramount has made countless changes to Star Trek in the ongoing effort to do the seemingly impossible: lure new, younger fans to the franchise. Perhaps the best example of this is the weird will they/won’t they relationship between Spock and Chapel in Strange New Worlds. Some diehard fans believe their relationship is in line with what we saw in The Original Series, and others give the portrayal of a very human Spock a pass because the actors have such fun chemistry together. However, according to one of the greatest original Trek writers, Chapel was originally created to emphasize Spock’s aloofness rather than his hidden humanity.

Kiss The Old Spock Goodbye

The arguments about Spock and Chapel’s relationship in Strange New Worlds are tied to a larger, ongoing debate about Spock’s portrayal in the show. As with other Vulcans, he suppresses his feelings so much that most consider him completely emotionless. That is how he was portrayed by Leonard Nimoy, whose Spock frequently got into debates with the overly emotional Dr. McCoy. While SNW is nominally a prequel to The Original Series, it has Ethan Peck playing a very different Spock, one who smiles, cracks jokes, rages out, and endlessly pines for Chapel despite having a Vulcan fiancée back home

Critics of Strange New Worlds have singled out the Spock/Chapel relationship for breaking several parts of established lore. For one thing, SNW goes out of its way to establish a Spock/Chapel/T’Pring love triangle, but in TOS, Spock hadn’t seen T’Pring since she was a child. For another thing, while the Chapel of The Original Series did flirt with Spock, he never reciprocated, which seems weird now that we know he was loudly singing about how much he wanted her just a few years earlier. This is a huge departure from what TOS writer David Gerrold said was Chapel’s true purpose: to emphasize how aloof and alien Spock really is.

The Real Reason Chapel Was Created

David Gerrold is one of the more important figures in Star Trek lore. He wrote some amazing Original Series episodes, including the Hugo-nominated  “The Trouble With Tribbles.” Later, Gerrold became a story editor for The Next Generation and wrote most of that series’ bible. He also wrote a number of great reference books, including The World of Star Trek. In that book, he wrote that Chapel “was obviously created specifically” to love Spock and that “The need to dramatize Spock’s Vulcan aloofness requires that a woman fall in love with him and be continually rebuffed. Hence, Nurse Chapel.”

In other words, the best way to show how inhuman this alien character really is was to have a drop-dead gorgeous woman throwing herself at him and him showing no interest. But Strange New Worlds flipped this formula on its head, using Chapel to constantly signal how human this alien really is. The writers and producers likely did this to add a little more romantic tension to the show, lest everything get mired in special effects and moral dilemmas. Whether you love or hate their onscreen pairing, one thing is abundantly clear: these characters and their situation are written completely differently than they were in The Original Series.  

More Human Than Human  

At the risk of sounding like an old crank (who, me?), this dramatic change emphasizes everything wrong with NuTrek. There isn’t much regard for who these characters are and how they would realistically act. Instead, everything is written to court some non-existent younger viewers who are more into CW-style drama and less into exploring strange, new worlds. Unfortunately, this adds up to the worst of both worlds: major changes to characters and lore drive away older fans, and younger fans never show up. What we are left with is a show with a dwindling audience, which is why SNW was canceled early and given such a short final season.

Now, Strange New Worlds is still an entertaining TV show, and it’s light-years better than Starfleet Academy (the ultimate “let’s make one for the kids” Star Trek TV show). But as the show gets near the time frame of The Original Series, older fans will be paying closer and closer attention to how well it adheres to established lore. If it does a good job, this show may ultimately stick its landing and cement its reputation as a solid complement to TOS. If the show keeps breaking lore and characters to pander to a non-existent audience, though, SNW may one day be considered the greatest example of how NuTrek completely failed.