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Subspace Rhapsody

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"Subspace Rhapsody"
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode
The title "Subspace Rhapsody" and musical notes cross an old-fashioned poster, with characters above and below it as well as the actors' names and the series' title.
Promotional poster
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 9
Directed byDermott Downs
Written by
  • Dana Horgan
  • Bill Wolkoff
Featured music
Original songs
by
Cinematography byBenji Bakshi
Editing byJohn Wesley Whitton
Original release dateAugust 3, 2023 (2023-08-03)
Running time63 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Subspace Rhapsody" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American television series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The series follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the starship Enterprise in the 23rd century as they explore new worlds and carry out missions during the decade before Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969). In the episode, an anomaly makes the crew sing like characters in a musical film. It was written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff, and directed by Dermott Downs.

Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, and Rebecca Romijn respectively star as Pike, Spock, and Number One, along with Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, and Babs Olusanmokun. The second season of Strange New Worlds was announced in January 2022. It was revealed to have a musical episode that July, a first for the Star Trek franchise. The writers were inspired by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) musical episode "Once More, with Feeling" (2001). Tom Polce and Kay Hanley wrote the original songs.

"Subspace Rhapsody" premiered on the streaming service Paramount+ on August 3, 2023. It was estimated to have high viewership and audience demand, was positively received by critics, and was nominated for a Hugo Award.

Plot

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James T. Kirk, recently promoted to executive officer of the USS Farragut, visits the Enterprise to shadow Number One. While conducting communications experiments, Uhura broadcasts a recording of "Anything Goes" into a mysterious "subspace fold". It produces an "improbability field" that causes first Spock, and then the rest of the Enterprise crew to begin singing about their feelings like characters in a musical film, with the final line being Captain Pike asking, "why are we singing" ("Status Report"). Number One and Kirk engage in a duet in which she advises him on how to serve in a command role ("Connect to Your Truth"); La'an Noonien-Singh, seeing this and feeling emotional towards Kirk (with whom she had a relationship in an alternate timeline) goes to her quarters and sings about becoming a different person who takes chances ("How Would That Feel"). La'an then informs Pike that the improbability field represents a security risk, as it may cause people to uncontrollably sing about their hidden feelings and secret knowledge. Pike is initially unconcerned, but then sings an argument with his girlfriend, Captain Batel, in front of the crew, in which he expresses feelings he had concealed from her ("Private Conversation"). Elsewhere in the ship, Number One then sings to La'an about the importance of maintaining confidences ("Keeping Secrets").

Spock and Uhura try to figure out how to provoke an incident of someone breaking out into song, in order to analyze the phenomenon. They see nurse Christine Chapel celebrating in a recreational area, as she has won a prestigious research fellowship. Spock, who has been in a relationship with Chapel, confronts her about not having informed him of the award, and she reveals in song that she prioritizes it over their relationship ("I'm Ready"). Returning to engineering, Spock sings to Uhura about his feelings in discovering his miscalculation about the significance of his now-dissolved relationship with Chapel ("I'm the X"). Spock leaves, and Uhura, left alone, sings a song about her loneliness in the role of communications officer ("Keep Us Connected"). La'an confesses her feelings for Kirk before the musical can force her to, but he gently reveals that he is already in a relationship with Carol Marcus, who is pregnant. An affected Klingon ship arrives intending to blow up the fold, but experiments reveal that this will destroy all starships in the vicinity. Uhura determines that singing an upbeat grand finale will provide enough energy to close the improbability field before the Klingons arrive; she encourages the Enterprise crew to sing about the fulfillment they find in working together and exploring space (briefly interrupted by the Klingons singing a verse in K-pop style about how they dream of killing Federation personnel); when the song concludes the improbability field dissipates ("We Are One").

Production

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In an interview with Variety, showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso said that they had first contemplated a musical Star Trek episode during the first season of Star Trek: Picard.[1] Screen Rant noted that the Strange New Worlds season one episode, "Children of the Comet", which featured Uhura and Spock singing in harmony to communicate with an apparently sentient comet, made the full-on musical episode "inevitable".[2]

Bruce Horak, who had previously played chief engineer Hemmer on the series, guest starred as the Klingon General Garkog.[3]

The writers were inspired for "Subspace Rhapsody" by the musical episode "Once More, with Feeling" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers said that was one of the best musical episodes made because it was "really smart and thoughtful. It has big heart." The one thing the writers did not try to copy from that episode was creating the songs themselves;[3] instead, they brought in Tom Polce and Kay Hanley to write ten original songs for the episode. It also features a special version of Jeff Russo's main theme for the series, with most of the instrumentation replaced by vocals.[4] The songs were "built around the actors' respective vocal abilities".[1] Thematically, the songs were built around character arcs that had been plotted out for the entire season.[1]

A soundtrack album featuring the episode's songs and Russo's main theme was released digitally by Lakeshore Records on August 4, 2023. All music by Tom Polce and Kay Hanley except where noted:[4]

Subspace Rhapsody (Original Series Soundtrack)
No.TitleComposerLength
1."Star Trek Strange New Worlds Main Title (Subspace Rhapsody Version)"Jeff Russo1:51
2."Status Report" (featuring Anson Mount, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Melissa Navia, Celia Rose Gooding, Babs Olusanmokun, Paul Wesley, and Carol Kane) 2:56
3."Connect to Your Truth" (featuring Rebecca Romijn and Paul Wesley) 1:51
4."How Would That Feel" (featuring Christina Chong) 4:25
5."Private Conversation" (featuring Anson Mount and Melanie Scrofano) 1:29
6."Keeping Secrets" (featuring Rebecca Romijn) 4:11
7."I'm Ready" (featuring Jess Bush, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, and Dan Jeannotte) 2:37
8."I'm the X" (featuring Ethan Peck) 2:25
9."Keep Us Connected" (featuring Celia Rose Gooding) 4:30
10."We Are One" (featuring Anson Mount, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Melissa Navia, Celia Rose Gooding, Babs Olusanmokun, Dan Jeannotte, Paul Wesley, and Carol Kane) 4:17
11."Subspace Rhapsody End Credit Medley" 1:38

Release

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The ninth episode of Strange New Worlds's second season was originally expected to be released on August 10, 2023, on the streaming service Paramount+ in the United States and other countries where the service is available.[5] However, the seventh episode was released early following the series' San Diego Comic-Con panel and the season's remaining episodes were subsequently each moved up a week. "Subspace Rhapsody" was therefore released on August 3.[6] The episode, along with the rest of the second season, was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Limited Edition Steelbook formats in the US on December 5, 2023.[7]

Reception

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Viewership

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Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the 19 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, ranked Strange New Worlds as the most watched original streaming series for US viewership during the week ending August 6, 2022. This was an increase from third place the previous week.[8] Nielsen Media Research records streaming viewership on US television screens, and estimated that Strange New Worlds was the seventh-most watched original streaming series for the week ending August 6 with 362 million minutes watched.[9] Strange New Worlds did not make it onto JustWatch's list of top 10 streaming series for that week.[10]

Critical response

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of 9 critics reviews for the episode were positive and the average rating was 9.8 out of 10.[11]

While he criticized the plot for being "paper-thin" and "[sitcom-]worthy", Slashfilm's Witney Seibold called the episode "the kookiest the franchise has ever been" and appreciated the variety. He went on to call the episode "frustratingly in character" due to his belief that it didn't stand out from the rest of the "lightweight, somewhat comedic, openly emotional" series. He concluded that, while this was the "least" the show had done, given the strength of the rest of the series this wasn't a major criticism.[12] Darren Mooney, writing for The Escapist, said that the episode "fits firmly within the show's nostalgia for the 1990s" and was "easier to admire... on a technical level than it is to enjoy it as a satisfying piece of television", faulting the absence of a sense of stakes or a sense of momentum.[13]

Screen Rant noted that the soundtrack quickly topped streaming charts,[14] and wrote that Celia Rose Gooding's Uhura "steals the spotlight" in the episode.[15]

Accolades

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Gooding was named as an honorable mention for TVLine's "Performers of the Week" for her performance in the episode, specifically for her "powerhouse vocals". The site added that Gooding "belted out conflicted feelings of determination and insecurity in a showstopping number that we'll probably have on repeat for the foreseeable future".[16] "Subspace Rhapsody" was named the 7th best episode of the year by Salon,[17] and one of the 19 best episodes of the year by TV Insider.[18] Downs, Horgan, and Wolkoff were finalists for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, for their work on the episode.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Vary, Adam B. (August 3, 2023). "How 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Brought Its Delightful Musical Episode to Life: 'You're Like, Wait, Spock Is Singing Now?!'". Variety.
  2. ^ Orquiola, John (September 11, 2023). "Star Trek's Musical Was Inevitable After Strange New Worlds Episode 2". Screen Rant.
  3. ^ a b Romano, Nick (August 3, 2023). "Star Trek's Hemmer actor had a secret cameo in Strange New Worlds musical". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Musical Episode 'Subspace Rhapsody' Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. August 2, 2023. Archived from the original on August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 28, 2023). "'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,' 'Lower Decks' Renewed at Paramount+, Set Summer Premieres". Variety. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  6. ^ Whitbrook, James (July 22, 2023). "Surprise! Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Lower Decks Crossover Is Streaming Today". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  7. ^ London, Rob (September 19, 2023). "'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray for the Holidays". Collider. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Prange, Stephanie (August 9, 2023). "'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,' 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Top Weekly Whip U.S. Streaming Charts". Media Play News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (August 31, 2023). "Hijack Becomes Second Apple TV+ Series to Land on Nielsen Streaming Top 10 Chart". TVLine. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Gruenwedel, Erik (August 7, 2023). "JustWatch: Paul Reubens' Death Sparks Renewed 'Pee-wee Herman' Viewership Interest". Media Play News. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "Subspace Rhapsody". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  12. ^ Seibold, Whitney (August 3, 2023). "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 9 Is The Silly One Among Silly Ones (And A Musical, Too)". Slashfilm. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  13. ^ Mooney, Darren (August 3, 2023). "'Subspace Rhapsody' Is a Fascinating and Flawed Star Trek Musical". The Escapist.
  14. ^ Hulshult, Rachel (August 7, 2023). "Star Trek's Musical Soundtrack Tops Streaming Charts". Screen Rant.
  15. ^ Hulshult, Rachel (August 13, 2023). "Uhura's True Star Trek Role Is Defined In Strange New Worlds Musical Episode". Screen Rant.
  16. ^ TVLine, Team (August 5, 2023). "Performers of the Week: Kit Connor and Joe Locke". TVLine. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  17. ^ McFarland, Melanie (December 30, 2023). "The 10 best TV episodes of 2023, from an unforgettable wedding to an unbelievable courtroom". Salon. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  18. ^ "19 Best TV Episodes of 2023". TV Insider. December 20, 2023. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  19. ^ Templeton, Molly (March 29, 2024). "Here Are the Finalists for the 2024 Hugo Awards". Reactor. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
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