Star Trek Strange New Worlds: All the cliches, all the fun

I could never pick a side when it came to the dumbest of nerd turf battles - I just liked Star Wars and Star Trek equally. I thought they were both terrific in their own ways. They were both neat.

But that changed fairly recently, and most of it is the fault of a retro Star Trek series, which is finding new depths in the most familiar of stories.

For a bright, modern and shiny version of Trek, Strange New Worlds is hitting all the cliches of the overall saga and the current season is leaning into it so hard, it can't be a coincidence.

The whole season started with a crew going just a little bit rogue and stealing a starship, then there was the trial episode where somebody has to convince a tribunal that they're a goddamn human being; a time travel episode back to contemporary society; one story where everybody loses their memories, but that just allows their true natures to come out; and one where a shuttle/transporter accident has weird biological side-effects on a main character.

And it's still funnier, smarter and more human than any Trek in years. It shows that the framework you hang your stories on don't matter, it's what you do with it. Plots that have been are proven rock solid can still be infused with emotional warmth and philosophizing on the nature of friendship and help.

It's all delivered by a spectacularly charming cast - a grand version of Spock who is as deeply logical and astute as ever, but learning of the benefits of emotional range, and can drink blood wine with enemies; a doctor who is truly kind and compassionate, while also being a stone-cold killer if there is no other option; a Nurse Chapel who is so much more than just a crush; and a bridge crew who fly into the infinite with passion.

And Pike, who probably is the best captain in the whole damn thing. Always rigid for doing the right thing, even if it's not the legal thing, but also sleek and hilarious - Anson Mount's entire physical performance during Spock's engagement ceremony should be taught in acting skills for eons.

And this sense of life and openness and sheer fucking optimism feels so much more attractive to me right now than Star Wars, where even the best shows and movies are all about killing more people on the other side until you win. When Star Trek goes to war - and they are setting one up in STW from the first episode - it doesn't shy away from these things, but when it does find warmth in the void of space and the oldest of stories, it's better than anything.