The Classic Star Trek Stories That Inspired Strange New Worlds' Big Courtroom Episode
There are all kinds of fun "Star Trek" episodes, highlighting everything from the silliness of shore leave to the horrors of exploring the vastness of space, but one of the most prestigious is the courtroom episode. Putting beloved characters on trial is always a risky proposition, but "Star Trek" does it with some regularity, creating some of the best episodes in the whole franchise. So when director Valerie Weiss got the call that she was going to be directing the "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 2 episode "Ad Astra per Aspera," she knew she had to look back to the other courtroom episodes of "Trek" to get her bearings.
In an exclusive interview with /Film, Weiss revealed which episodes (and "Star Trek" movie) helped her prepare for the amazing "Ad Astra per Aspera," in which Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) is put on trial for breaking the Federations' law that bans genetically modified beings from Starfleet. She looked mostly to episodes of the original series and one of the original movies because of their direct ties to the characters of "Strange New Worlds," but there was one outlier from a later "Trek" that had a major impact, too.
Trek on trial
When asked which "Star Trek" episodes or films she watched in order to prepare for "Ad Astra per Aspera," Weiss shared the classics that inspired her:
"I watched 'Measure of a Man' for sure, and 'The Menagerie,' and I think I watched 'Court Martial.' And I did watch the movie 'The Wrath of Khan' because of La'an's story, I wanted to understand that. And I know I watched other episodes as well, and I watched all of season one for 'Strange New Worlds.' And we actually, fun fact, our old neighbor, he just passed away sadly, but Michael J. Pollard, he was Oscar nominated for 'Bonnie and Clyde,' but he was in the original series, an episode called 'Miri.' So I remember watching that with my family because he was a good friend of ours."
"The Menagerie" is especially important, as it's a two-part episode from the original series in which Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is court-martialed for stealing the Enterprise (sound familiar?) in order to help out his former commanding officer, Captain Pike (Sean Kenney). These are events that we know will eventually come to pass for the "Strange New Worlds" versions of Pike (Anson Mount) and Spock (Ethan Peck), and it's a major "Star Trek" episode, so it makes sense that she used it for inspiration. "Court Martial" puts Captain Kirk (William Shatner) on trial for criminal negligence resulting in the death of a member of his crew, and similarly is a great "Trek" courtroom episode. Perhaps more important than either of these, however, was an episode from the next "Star Trek" series, "The Next Generation."
The particulars of personhood
In the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Measure of a Man," Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) has to try and prove his personhood despite the fact that he is an android and not flesh and blood. There is a full trial, with his friends and fellow crew members pointing out all of the ways that Data is a person, and eventually he is granted the same rights as his fleshy counterparts. The episode is vital to not only "Star Trek" but "Ad Astra per Aspera," as Una is forced to prove that someone who has been genetically modified can also be a truly impactful Starfleet officer. They both must prove their value because they are thought of as "other," on account of simply being themselves.
"Measure of a Man" and "Ad Astra per Aspera" deal heavily with discrimination and personal identity, and they're two of the best "Star Trek" episodes, not just two of the best courtroom episodes. "Star Trek" has always been great at using elaborate metaphors to mirror our own world and teach us lessons, and the courtroom episodes are regularly some of the best.
New episodes of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" premiere Thursdays on Paramount+.