Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Musical Episode: EPs Reveal the Klingons’ Boy Band Number Was Almost an Opera
Klingons have a brutal reputation as fearsome warriors, but this week’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds proved they could also be fierce singers and dancers.
The usually gruff humanoids made a brief but memorable appearance in the musical episode — with a surprise cameo from Hemmer portrayer Bruce Horak as General Garkog — reluctantly performing a catchy boy band number after being hailed. According to co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman, a different version of that fun segment exists somewhere in the ether.
“One day, in the deleted scenes, you will see there’s an alternate version of that, which is opera,” Goldsman tells TVLine. “But [co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers] and I were very much married to the boy band thing.”
Klingons thrusting their swords in beautifully synchronized movements while crooning to a funky beat is a far-fetched idea that the Strange New Worlds EP admits took some convincing.
“Our partners trust us well enough. Still, often we will see on the other end of Zoom people staring back at us wondering if somehow somebody had overdone their medication last night,” he explains. “We say things like, ‘Yeah, that would be fun. A boy band is a really good idea,’ and we think it is, but it didn’t smoothly sail into the show.”
The Klingon bit might have been an odd, though entertaining, choice, but Spock’s melancholy number felt like a perfect fit for the character. During the hour, the science officer sang a sorrowful song about his breakup with Chapel, aptly reflecting his Season 2 journey of exploring his human emotions.
“This is younger Spock, who is going through things. He’s not ready to be the person that he becomes,” Myers notes of the Starfleet officer. “He is half-human, and he is half-Vulcan, and he’s got a lot on both sides that he’s got to work out. That’s the stuff we haven’t had a chance to see as much, so that’s part of the joy of writing for that character.”
Meanwhile, Celia Rose Gooding blew us away with a powerful number that spoke to Uhura’s gifted vocal abilities, as seen in the original Star Trek series.
“Uhura is a character who could sing, and we knew this from the history, and so it was something that came up when we were going through casting,” Myers shares. “We wanted someone who was capable of that, [and] we found someone who’s particularly good.”
When it comes to Uhura’s captivating number — about her underlying insecurity while trying to solve the crew’s musical problem — Myers notes that there are “a couple songs that made me cry, and that is one of the ones that just gets me.”
Klingon Opera is a long-running “gag” through the second generation Star Trek series (TNG,DS9,Voy) so continuity wise it would have fit better!
If you are watching Strange New Worlds for canon I have some bad news for you.
It didn’t work, buffy the vampire slayer earnt it’s musical episode strange new worlds way to early especially coming of the back of lower decks crossover which was surprisingly excellent.
Then again, if you search YouTube for the Kpop parody from about ten years ago called “Klingon Style” you’ll see why Kpop was a good choice in this situation…
Except why would the Klingons send three ships if they were singing something they always sing
It didn’t work, buffy the vampire slayer earnt it’s musical episode strange new worlds way to early especially coming of the back of lower decks crossover which was surprisingly excellent.
Continuity with a bunch of series that are actually set years in the future from this one is a big ask. They’re getting the important details right. Besides, I doubt anyone in the Federation in Pike’s era knew about Klingon music. This was an amazing episode. Everyone involved deserves congratulations for pulling it off.
If it had been a full number and a major plot point, opera might have been a better choice, but as a 20-second punchline gag, the immediate comedic impact of the boy band number was pretty much unbeatable.
I was impressed by how well everyone in the cast could sing, especially Rebecca Romjin, she has the best voice.
I thought the choice of turning Klingons into NSYNC was as surprising as it was hilarious. And the songs were good – it was a pleasant surprise. Kudos to everyone on Strange New Worlds for this episode.
It was a fun episode and I enjoyed it. I didn’t care for some of the songs and no song really stuck with me, but that Klingon scene was absolutely hilarious. If I had to choose I would say Nurse Chapels number was my favorite.
Glad this musical episode was not done in the 60’s with the original Star Trek cast. William Shatner sings. Not good. Nichelle Nichols was the only cast member who could sing.
Have you ever seen the music video of Leonard Nimoy singing the Bilbo Baggins song??? You’ve got to watch it if You’ve never seen it. IT’S AMAZING!!!
Highly Illogical!
The horror…The horror…
The klingons should have sang Queens “Another One Bites The Dust”
Thoroughly loved it and the chances the writers and actors have taken this season. The Below Decks episode also memorable. This from a lifetime watcher since the 60’s.
I thought it was a very good episode. I love how sometimes you haven’t showed it is a action drama and you can do a little quick twist and create a musical comedy that gives it a whole new outlook. I would love to see another said situation someday. Thank you so much for the fun times we’ve had.
I was watching strange new worlds, subspace Rhapsody for the second time, only to find disappointingly that the hilariously good Klingons dancing had been cut. So disappointed
But were the Klingons singing in Klingon and it was being translated, or were they singing in Starfleet English?