THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS AS I WATCH:

• NOOO, I DON'T WANT THIS TO END!

• Previously: The various stuff happened.

• Oh, hey, Cayuga captains log.

• Nice of them to have a colony modeled after an Earth town. Saves on budget.

• "SIGNAL LOST." In space, a dropped call can mean only one thing: Invasion.

• Oh, we're doing the Independence Day thing?

• Telling a Starfleet captain to just do reconnaissance is basically telling them to go weapons free.

• Nice little tinge of one of the TOS scores at the end of the cold open. Someone more geekier than I can probably place it.

• If you ever feel like you are useless in life, just remember that there is a "skip intro" button during a "Space, the Final Frontier" monologue.

• Is the "Gorn Protocol" a hand-cannon with with a diamond?

• She flies the ship!

• I'd like to imagine there is a deleted scene where they glue every piece of junk they have onto the shuttle.

• If they're going to do a "is someone still alive in the wreckage" storyline, they probably should have flip-flopped Batel and Chapel's spots, given that we obviously know she's going to live.

• They keep giving Jenna Mitchell lines! FREE MITCHELL! Give that actreess a cast credit, cowards!

• Ah, a good old fashioned beam into the sky.

• Oh, look, a Gornzooky!

• And... vaporized.

• More Gornzookies!

• Oh my god, it's young Scotty. Hopefully this means Keenser is there. I always loved Keenser and his ability to sit on things he isn't supposed to.

• Doesn't seem like Keenser is there :(

• Of course Scotty would engineer a way to save people. He truly is a miracle worker.

• Smashing a piece of space debris is a very... brilliant idea.

• Pelia continuing to harass Una for her poor academics in engineering.

• Why do I get the feeling that whatever plan Spock has to put the rockets on the hull will also allow him to check for survivors?

• Wow, imagine that, Chapel is alive! Imagine that! Whoever would have thought! (Seriously they should have flip-flopped her and Batel if they were going to do this)

• USE THE MORSE, CHRISTINE!

• Oh, now she grabs the spacesuit. Although I guess she didn't need it yet.

• WARNING: GORNZOOKY

• COMMAND CODE INVALID'

• That looks like a bigger Gorn. An adult? Or at least like a teenager.

• So incredibly Alien.

• "GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM, YOU BITCH!"

• Oh shit, she's been impregnated with gornzookies. A very zombie movie trope.

• "There'll be time later." Before or after you get engaged to Dr. Korby?

• "We need to abort some Gornzookies."

• Yeah, Scotty would be a shitty student despite being brilliant.

• OH FUCK THE GORN KIDNAPPED THEM

• TO BE CONTINUED?!?!!?! Okay, who wants to drive to Hollywood and personally beat up some billionaires? I want this strike over NOW and I want a conclusion WITHIN A YEAR, A YEAR AND A HALF MAX!

One thing that I loved is that the fact that that is so WEIRD is actually one of the major parts of the plot. I know other places like Buffy have done similar, but I feel like poking fun at the tropes of musical theater kind of enhances it for some people like me (I don't HATE musicals, but I don't love them either.)

Thoughts/Observation as I watch:

• Where will this stand in the long history of Star Trek gimmick episodes? After all, this is the franchise that gave us "Trials and Tribble-ations", "Take Me Out To The Holosuite", "In a Mirror, Darkly", the OG "Lower Decks", and most recently... "Those Old Scientists". Holy shit, that was just two episodes ago and in between we got the darkest Star Trek thing in years!

• Uhura having to be the operator sounds like the most stressful thing to do that doesn't involve imminent danger.

• "Even if it's not fully necessary." That basically sums up every contrivance to get Kirk on board.

• KORBY ALERT

• Ah, spatial distortions, the cause and solution to everything.

• The facial acting as they enter musical-land is priceless.

• Acapella theme song!

• "So... that happened."

• "Quantum uncertainty field". That's some Hitchiker Guide type stuff.

• Ah, they brought back the Gilbert and Sullivan stuff.

• I like how they are hanging a lampshade on just how BIZARRE it is that people sing out their biggest secrets and deepest feelings in musicals.

• Good save, La'An.

• "Surprisingly beautiful baritone"

• It could have been worse for the crew. Imagine if Uhura had broadcast opera into it, then they'd ALWAYS be singing.

• Shaxs would suggest blowing it up by ejecting the warp core.

• Gratuitous zero-gee is gratuitous.

• Oh god, singing Klingons.

• Yeah, the Klingons would also like the "let's just blow it up" plan.

• Wait were those extras twins?

• Apparently the improbability field also affects the lighting of the bar.

• Isn't K'tinga the later type of Klingon ship? Ah, screw it, musical rules.

• "I don't love rules but I think you're about to break a big one."

• This totally is going into Temporal Investigations Kirk file.

• CAROL MARCUS REFERENCE

• Oh shit, David Marcus reference!

• "I'm the Ex" standing as if X in a math question is a good bit of workplay.

• Kind of surprised it took this long to give Celia Rose Gooding a full-on solo.

• Grammy-Award winning singer!

• A grand finale. How meta!

• Boy Band Klingons was not on my bingo card.

• Lol, playing the TOS theme as a curtain-closer

• "You sang about lying to me."

• "Sorry, Earworm."

• All-and-all, it was a good enough gimmick episode. But it was no "Take Me Out To The Holosuite." ("DEATH TO THE OPPOSITION!")

2x07: Wacky crossover with the comedy cartoon!

2x08: WAR IS HELL, NOBODY IS INNOCENT, MORALITY IS GREY, FORGIVENESS IS QUESTIONABLE, AND THE FRIENDLY DOCTOR MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE DELIBERATELY KILLED A GUY IN COLD BLOOD

2x09: Musical!

Find you a show that can do both.

Let's face it: this isn't even in the top five strangest things to happen to a Starfleet vessel. Arguable if it's even in the top 10.

Thoughts and observations as I watched over at the "other place", special Saturday night/early Sunday morning edition:

• AHHHHH, WE'RE DOING THIS ON A SATURDAY!
• AHHHHH, WE'RE GETTING THE CROSSOVER!
• AHHHHH, A CROSSOVER BETWEEN A CARTOON COMEDY AND A LIVE ACTION DRAMA!
• AHHHHH, IN GENERAL!
• First off, that they have "Those Old Scientists" as the title is (chef's kiss).
• Previously: Nyota had a really bad day, La'An got a bad case of Kirk hotness, and Chapel/Spock had a bad case of hotness for each other
• OH GOD WE'RE STARTING ANIMATED
• "Numero Una"
• Tendi would like to remind you all that the Orions have a rich and varied history.
• "You guys look... very realistic."
• AHHHH, ANIMATED OPENING CREDITS!
• Hahaha, the thing that eats the Ceritos Nacelle!
• AHHHH, THE KOALA AT THE END OF THE CREDITS! WHY IS IT SMILING, WHAT DOES IT KNOW!?!?
• "But flipping it open is the best part"
• "Computer, end program."
• "Worf's honor." DANGIT!
• I wonder if Frakes showed Quaid how to properly do a Riker maneuver
• "You just... laughed."
• Ah, we're tying in with what Tendi said.
• Boimler is a toddler knocking over furniture.
• "We have jetpacks now"
• Pike's birthday is a holiday... CRAP!
• Boimler freaking out over the fact he made Spock laugh is such a Boimler thing.
• Hey, a reference to his sehlat!
• I like how they are using this episode to also move the other plotlines forward.
• HE MENTIONED PIKE'S REALLY GREAT HAIR
• Triticale, as opposed to Quadritriticale.
• I totally saw Mariner coming.
• Dystopian San Francisco!
• "Have you noticed their references are weirdly specific?"
• "Hot Spock agrees with me"
• "It's a poster that is pinned up"
• I feel like Tawny herself probably demanded a scene with Uhura
• Ah, there's the Boimler scream!
• "Holy Q!"
• "They had a Trelane thing going on."
• "He had to contour the hell out of the jawline"
• "Oh, I already know." Hahaha, they finally got out-future knowledged.
• Oh god, are they going to steal a piece of an NX?
• Oh, just a piece of it in the Enterprise.
• The "Mistress of the Winter Constellations" strikes again!
• Of course Ransom calls Una the hottest first officer in starfleet history.
• Hahaha, 2D animation Enterprise crew because they are drunk!
• All-time classic.

They also tied in to Tendi's story on LD (her constant reminding to people that Orions have a culture far beyond pirating), even though we didn't see her in Live Action.

I would not be opposed if episode five of every season of SNW involves Vulcan Hijinks.

Thoughts as I watch:

• So, I'm wondering: is Cayuga a reference to Rod Serling? He named his production company that in reference to the lake in New York.

• Relationships suck when you are a Starfleet captain who knows your destiny to one day be in a beepie chair.

• Rigel 7, a deep cut!

• We have gone (ZERO) days without some sort of Starfleet prime directive problem.

• Finally, some Ortegas action!

• "THE HAT IS SUPREME." I'm going to have to use that in conversation.

• Oh man, at least she keeps the hat.

• "Subdermal universal translators" are the new translation microbes

• Oh boy, they have starfleet tech.

• Ah, we've got a good old-fashioned "Federation citizen takes over a world" episode!

• "This is a cage." Heh.

• Forgetting is a scary side effect for a planet.

• I get that they were only on there for like four hours, but shouldn't they have noticed stuff like this their last visit? Or maybe... THEY LOST

• "Welcome to Memento/50 First Dates Planet"

• Can still remember how to fight!

• So I'm guessing Spock is probably one of the more resistant to all of this due to his Vulcan-ness.

• Man, La'An is having a REALLY bad pair of weeks.

• Captain Pike even without his memories is still Captain Pike. Makes sense.

• Okay, I guess Spock isn't immune.

• Glad to see the Connie class had GPS.

• I gotta admit, I feel like Pelia would be good in this episode given just how many memories she has to lose and how many skills she has.

• SHE FLIES THE SHIP

• The ship's computer is great this week.

• Damn, that is some tough silverware, standing up to phaser blasts.

• Is it just me or is that a fresco or whatever of Alexander the Great... Zac-ized?

• Okay, that logic doesn't quite seem sound, but whatever.

• So, uhm, be careful about telling her about the Beepy-chair, Chris.

Random thoughts as I watch (cross-posted from the old place):

• Wow, first that outburst, and then Spock jams too much. Truly in his wild child phase.

• BTW, was that a Denobulan?

• Pelia totally worried that this whole utopia thing just a passing trend. And hilariously having to prove (?) she isn't a thief.

• They really are taking advantage of Babs O's Jiu-Jitsu training this year, aren't they?

• Captain James T. Kirk, the greatest menace of Temporal Investigations!

• Oh boy, alternate timeline where the Federation doesn't exist time!

• "Maple leaves, politeness, poutine."

• Clever distraction.

• I wonder if 3D chess is a thing in the United Earth Fleet timeline, because Kirk is good at the 2D in it.

• Okay, I guess they do have 3D Chess.

• I generally try not to be like this... but goddamn I'd like to thank them for having Christina Chong in various states of tight clothing and undress.

• Good thing the time travel guy went to the ship Sam Kirk was on.

• Oh man, I was looking forward to driving across Lake Ontario to Toronto (presumably from Rochester or Buffalo or something, right?), which totally would be a logical economic and engineering choice, I'm sure!

• Mildly annoyed that Kirk doesn't drive to Beastie Boys.

• James Discreet Kirk

• Soongs gonna break in even to the timelines and series they aren't in.

• Jim Discretion Kirk

• OH FUCK ROMULANS

• We have gone (zero) days without Romulans trying to screw up the timeline.

• Probably the first time that DuckDuckGo has been mentioned in Star Trek.

• Yeah, Pythagoras is the worst, Pelia.

• Oh, so this is a predestination paradox where they make her become an engineer and as a result she is there to inspire La'An to go look for her later.

• KHAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! KHAAAAANNNNNNNNN! (Or at least the institute for him)

• To be fair, this is like the third face that Captain Kirk has had.

• We have gone (ZERO) days without a time-travelling Romulan that had to ditch the ears.

• We have gone (ZERO) days without (a) Captain Kirk dying. We're three-for-three on Kirk actor deaths, folks!

• KHAAAAAAAAAANNNN! KHAAAAAAANNNN! KHAAAAAAANNNNNN!

• THEY CAME UP WITH AN EXPLANATION WHY THE EUGENICS WARS DIDN'T HAPPEN IN THE 90'S! THE MAD LADS DID IT!

• Face to face with great-great-great-great grandpa Baby Genetics-Hitler.

• Oh, great, temporal investigations. No wonder they hate Kirk so much, even his alternate versions screw stuff around.

• Good ep. Way better than it sounded when I first heard about it.

Thoughts and observations written as I watch- I'll be putting this on both Reddit and Lemmy, since infinity diversity/infinity combinations:

• Wheeee, NCC-1701 in the Star Trek tag!

• Previously: Last season happened.

• Little ships flying!

• Wonder who the lawyer that Una and Pike have tried to reach is.

• Oh, hey, the Vulcan musical instrument whose name I can't remember!

• “Fascinating.” “Isn't that usually his line?”

• The fellowship on archeological medicine? Is that a reference to Dr. Korby?

• “We must steal the Enterprise.” Buddy, if I had a nickel every time someone had to steal the Enterprise, I'd have several nickels.

• Lt. Mitchell gunning for series regular next year with how much screen time she's had early on this episode.

• Okay, having Carol Kane is already paying dividends.

• And, yeah, Carol Kane doesn't need alien makeup to be an alien. She's already an alien.

• I'm still not sure if the emphasis one the warp catch phrase is amazing or annoying, but this scene was funny.

• KLINGON UPDATE: RIDGES!

• So clearly La'An's augmented ancestors were genetically engineered to drink a lot. Which, y'know what? Fair.

• Ah, the borderlands, where utopian rules go away and everyone becomes a Ferengi.

• Congratulations to Uhura on graduating from the Academy.

• Ah, the old "I have technology that I'm totally not making up that will blow you up" bluff!

• New transporter chief?

• Okay, so the angry borderlands people are trying to do some sort of false flag thing.

• Redundant Klingon organs, the old standby.

• Roided-up doctors can tell you what bones they broke as they break them.

• These are obviously Discovery sets.

• This action scene, while well-done, is way too long.

• A D7!

• “We've gotten out of worse.” “No, not really!”

• “This I've got to see!”

• I wonder if “Lanthanite” is a synonym for “El-Aurian”

• Pelia knowing that being on the Enterprise means adventure is further proof that those ships are goddamn weirdness magnets.

• Gorn. Yes, it stretches canon but fuck it the Gorn are awesome we'll come up with an explanation later.

• “For Nichelle”

• Overall, while not one of the better episodes, it still was a good start to the season. It wrapped up one of the hanging threads of last year (La'An), we continued to see some of Young Spock's struggles with his emotions before he became the more-Vulcan Spock that Nimoy was in the main TOS series, and we got our first look at Carol Kane as the nutty new engineer. Overall, I'll call that a win!

Yes, I just have one question: was it a long road getting from there to here?