8 Ups & 1 Down From Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3.2 — Wedding Bell Blues
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds puts the camp in campanology in Wedding Bell Blues.
Pull out the stopper for a whopper of an episode. Someone's getting married in the morning… or are they? Hold the church for the moment, anyway! Its title might say otherwise, but Wedding Bell Blues will have you smiling from ear to ear — antenna to antenna, if you prefer. It is a veritable cake fusion of happiness, and an all-round excellent outing of Star Trek.
In amongst the fun was a staggering amount of lore, inserted with the utmost care for canon. Don't let the frivolity fool you! This is surely one of the most important episodes of Trek in recent years. It would have been just for the hair products and wedding outfits, never mind the rest.
There are strong performances from guest stars. Rhys Darby's appearance as we-won't-say-who-quite-yet was worth the long gap between seasons. Cillian O'Sullivan, confirmed as Doctor Roger Korby at last year's San Diego Comic-Con, brings new life to a character seen only once before.
"Nothing says love like pahklor." Nothing says love like a little interruption from the higher planes. The bells will have to wait.
10. UP — The Irish!
This writer is almost contractually obliged to give this UP, Seán's eyes and the weight of his own family name boring into his soul. More to the point, Cillian O'Sullivan, Irish or otherwise, deserves praise for his brilliant performance as Doctor Roger Korby in Wedding Bell Blues.
"First Cork man in Space [sic]! Claimed it," O'Sullivan noted on Instagram, even though, as he told the Strange New Pod last month, he wanted to play Korby in a British accent (don't shoot the messenger!) It was executive producer Akiva Goldsman who made the call to stick with Irish. As for the 'original' Korby, it was always tough to know what his accent truly was.
For this earlier version of Korby, O'Sullivan gets to make the character his own. His portrayal is as charming as it is comedic, playing beat for beat with titan of comedy, Rhys Darby. "It's DOCTOR!" might become the new tagline for "Korbs," the expert in Advanced Ancient Cultures who is also far from a fossil.