La’an travels back in time to 21st Century Earth to prevent an attack which will alter humanity’s future history. 

Star Trek time travel back to contemporary Earth to fix something that will affect the future is nothing new – take your pick from Assignment: Earth, The Voyage Home, Tomorrow is Yesterday, Carpenter Street, Future’s End, Picard Season 2. Writer David Reed has clearly watched all of these and has come up with an absolute cracker of an episode.

Christina Chong’s La’an is being worn down by her duties, and her bad day is made worse when an injured man materialises in front of her, triggering a change in the timeline. She’s then taken back to 21st Century Toronto with the alternate captain of the Enterprise – Captain James T Kirk.

The use of the familiar tropes is knowing, from the fish out of water antics to the discovery of the catalyst that needs to be averted, but it’s the rapport between La’an and Kirk (the excellent Paul Wesley) that absolutely zings. What an engaging couple they are, as they stumble from what could be a first date into big moral territory. Does anyone have the right to change the future if it’s for the better good? Who decides?

Verdict: Strange New Worlds knocks it out of the park, setting a high standard at an early stage of its sophomore year. 10/10

Nick Joy