Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has a lot of obvious nods to the original series, seeing as Captain Pike's Enterprise crew served on the ship not long before Captain Kirk took over. There are obvious recurring characters like Spock and Uhura, but those with a Paramount+ subscription may not be aware of every way the original series influenced the hit show. CinemaBlend learned one key acting trick star Anson Mount picked up from William Shatner after seeing him as Kirk in the Captain's chair.
CinemaBlend spoke to the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and when I asked Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn if they had any signature moves akin to Jonathan Frakes' Riker maneuver, I learned something very interesting from Mount. The actor shared that one of Pike's common mannerisms came from watching William Shatner and how a cool Captain's chair pose worked as an acting tool:
I saw this thing from Shatner that he used to do, which is really smart actually. When he would sit in the command chair, and he would have his elbow up on the armrest like this, right? Which is very smart because what he’s doing is getting his hand into the frame. While you’re remaining focused, and a decision has not yet been made, your hand can kind of subtly reveal what’s going on inside.
Well, it looks like I'm going to be staring at Anson Mount's hand while he's in the Captain's chair from now until the end of the series! It's cool to see he picked up on something like that from William Shatner, especially since I haven't noticed it from him either after watching the original Star Trek. If you aren't already doing so, now is the time to start paying attention to the body language of characters in shows!
Anson Mount might've based some of his character's body language as Pike on William Shatner's Kirk, but he's certainly come into his own in playing a Star Trek Captain. Despite Paul Wesley's debut at the end of Season 1 and return as James Kirk in Season 2, Mount has confirmed the Enterprise is still Pike's ship for the foreseeable future.
It's possible that Kirk and Pike will cross paths in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, given that Kirk is seen with both La'an and Uhura in the trailer for the season. Kirk and Pike aren't seen in any scenes together in the footage we've seen so far, but that doesn't mean it won't happen:
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 will feature Klingons, what appears to be modern-day Canada, and even Spock in the Captain's chair. Here's hoping the season will live up to the hype that the stars like Melissa Navia have been teasing for the past year. With a Lower Decks crossover on the way, it's hard not to buy into the hype. Honestly, I could watch that clip of Jack Quaid's Boimler stammering to Spock all day.
Stream the premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 on Paramount+ beginning on Thursday, June 15th. 2023 has already been a great year for the franchise, and there are still upcoming Trek shows on the way.
