For 60 years, Star Trek stubbornly and firmly refused to be the only thing. Ask three fans that are rich in the Ein Born Borner Science Universe and you are likely to get many different answers, probably given in great, naked length. It is a kind of world that is built to inspire deep passion - it is sufficient to lose enough, deep enough to constantly fascinate and enough inconsistent to keep everyone complaining and caring as only true lovers.

The beautiful and inspiring thing for "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is how the needle threads. Yes, it is a series of prophecies set at a certain time and place and must constantly bend back to match the canon, but it does with such a gentle, light grace that newcomers can enjoy it without a problem. At no point do it seem to try to appeal too much to the fans of old schools and newborns, even as it does with Matka. It's a series without sweat. It is rare to watch any TV show and experience a sense of pure, extraordinary joy. Not only over storytelling and characters, but also on the pure clever of how he respects and loves the universe in which he is set. This is a show designed to appeal to these three fans described above in equal measure.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 3 does not pause or stumble up for a second, taking the momentum of the incredible, funny and reviving second season and splashing forward with the self -esteem of the show that knows it's good as it is. The previous seasons have established this as the best series "Trek" since the 1990s (with all the respect for the beautiful "Star Trek: Lower decks"), and Season 3 is like a seasonal athlete at the top of his game. Damn, he is good, and too charming and humble to even distance himself.

As expected, "strange new worlds" should round out the dramatic cliffanger of the final of Season 2 before returning to what makes it best: Tell the one -time space adventures that vary in tone and genre from episode to episode, providing the same kind of strikes. Season 3 enjoys the opportunity to play the audience from one direction to another. Intensive, military -driven military stories give a way to the playful, silly character comedy. Dark stories of ethical dilemmas coming home to return to meta-canon meta-communication for the very nature of the series we see. And after all that, why no A giant dose of cosmic space horror powered by enough fear to make HP Lovecraft to rise from his grave?

The show that plays so fast and loosely with tone can be total chaos (sometimes "weird new worlds" is deliberately chaotic), but wisely centers all its biggest changes around its stable, charming and yes, extraordinary photogenic team. Anson Mount captain Christopher Pique, given a surprising new layer this season that will shock some Trek fans, continues to be one of the best waters the show has seen so far, with its "business daily" behavior and positive masculinity that offers a unique taste that distinguishes them. Like the young Spack, Ethan Peck continues to do the impossible, reminding us of why everyone adores Leonard Nimoy as they set their way. Not every actor can catch dead humor and deliver what makes the best characters of the volcano revive, and Peck is there with the best of them.

The rest of the cast continues to shine, with Rebecca Romine, Christina Chong, Esses Bush, Celia Rose Gooding and Babes Olusanmokun all confirm that this is a bridge that is worth celebrating (and yes, valuable for your fantasy). And after two seasons to be greatly allowed to exist (colorful and joyful) in the background, Season 3 finally gives Ortegas to Melissa Pravija in the seasonal spot in the spotlight that is so desperately needed.

As long as I long for the days of 26-episodes, there is no denial that "strange new worlds" is a series that enjoys putting every penny on the screen during its shorter seasons. Decades after Kirk and Spack stumbled through the cardboard caves and fought with monsters made of blankets, the fatty values ​​of the production of this series never cease to impress, especially when they recreate the famous. Starfleet's uniforms have never looked good, the company has never been cool, and every extraterrestrial and creature, whether practical or through digital effects, is a joy to see. I will never get used to "traveling" to look like real money, but the mixture of standing sets and virtual environments is completely successful and generally feels more convincing and tangible than the average episode of "Mandalorian". (What, I was, a "track" fan, without taking at least one blow to the prominent competition?)

But perhaps the most exciting element of season 3, now that the show is so clearly comfortable in what it is, how it accepts the new one. Without going into spoilers, the series continues to use hereditary villains (some frightening, some funny), but also introduces a new threat that is just as disturbing as we have seen in Trek. At risk of hyperbola, this feels like the show finally finds his Borg or its dominance, the new threat that, if allowed, to give the show a brand new, extremely frightening antagonist to call it. Even while looking back, "weird new worlds" look forward.

Critics were delivered with the first five episodes of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" for review, and when I finished, after deliberately watching them once a day to make them last, I was annoyed that I ran out of Star Trek. This is good, and maybe even the best, problem for every show to have it. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 3 is promising and funny and exciting and silly and deliberate and scary and strange and beautiful ... and I can't wait to look more than that.

/Movie rating: 9.5 out of 10

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 3 will premiere with two episodes on July 17, 2025 at Paramount+.