REVIEW - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds hits a home run with “Off-Hour”
Tension clock.
By Jonathan Garrett
31/08/26
NOTE: This review contains full spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 2, Episode 6)
You can perhaps take or leave Strange New World’s persistently doubling down on experimental genre twists within their episodic structure. Your mileage will naturally vary, but it’s also important to acknowledge that not everything is meant to please everyone. In fact, that’s a fast track route to making something safe and predictable. That’s certainly not a criticism you could level at this often bonkers but consistently earnest take on a 60 year franchise. They are willing to try something new.
That brings me to “Off Hour”, the sixth episode of Strange New World’s Season 4. After film noir, shore leave hijinks, and puppets, this homage to the realtime format of “24” could have easily felt like another tangent. But the premise (trapped in an anomaly), the escalating stakes (medical benches are nasty business), and some wonderful character beats (particularly for Chapel, M’Benga, and Scotty) coalesced to make this a resounding success.
What could have easily been dismissed as a bottle show actually delivered some of the most visually sumptuous exterior shots of the Enterprise; Spock’s space walk in particular is a clear highlight. Following “The Griffin Incident”, there are also some incredibly realistic looking injury detail. This is another instalment that may not be for the squeamish. An issue with the gravity plating is particularly wince inducing.
The cast are on fine form; M’Benga is stoic and impactful in the face of some tough odds, while the MVP has to go to Martin Quinn’s Scotty. His arc here chips away at the young engineer’s inherent anxiety over mechanical malfunctions and gives him the scope to show another gradual step toward the self assured miracle we know from TOS. His casting in SNW is pitch perfect.
Best hair in space.
WORTH IT?
At the bottom of every review, we ask the question: Worth it? And the answer is either “Yeah!” or “Nah”, followed by a comment that sums up how we feel. In order to provide more information, we also have “And” or “But”, which follows up our rating with further clarification, additional context about something we love, or perhaps a redeeming quality for something we didn’t like.
YEAH!
“Off Hour” has a great script, simple premise, real stakes, and a cast that knows how to deliver the goods. It is peak Star Trek.
BUT
Prepare to shut those peepers if bone crunching injuries and missing thumbs make you squeamish. You have been warned.
