Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Three 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Three 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 31, 2026

Strange New Worlds has been the best thing to happen to Star Trek, at least on the small screen (I have been, and always shall be, friends with the new movies), since Enterprise and arguably since the Deep Space Nine/Voyager era. Here's a TV show that honors the past but brings the past into the future. Here's a show that knows Star Trek and keeps it in its very wide lane, never trying to reinvent the wheel but doing what has always made Star Trek so successful. This third season does play more around the fringes of the lane rather than stay right down the middle of it, which is fine, but it does make for what might be the most peculiar short-burst season of Star Trek ever, what with a somewhat looser core story and a whole bunch of fun fan service type episodes thrown into the mix.

The running theme throughout season three isn't hard to get a handle on, but it's more of a sporadically driven theme than it is a main driver through the season. Season three largely builds itself around fun little side excursions, leaving the meaty main story to simmer in the background just as often, if not more often, than it takes center stage. The season begins by bridging back to the end of season two, and the resolution, particularly as it deals in the fate of Captain Pike's (Anson Mount) girlfriend Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), will also play into the season's finale. Along the way, as the narrative slowly (and interestingly) builds around secondary characters like Batel and season newcomer Ensign Dana Gamble (Chris Myers), the season plays with a good bit of Star Trek lore, (re)introducing familiar characters and places while also delivering some exceptionally entertaining side stories in classic Trek fashion in episodes like "A Space Adventure Hour," "What Is Starfleet?," and "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans."

I think that what is really helping Strange New Worlds is that it knows that, this deep into the life of Star Trek, it can't, and shouldn't, try to drastically reshape the landscape. Discovery tried that, at least to a degree far beyond any other Star Trek property, and while it had its moments, the show overall, and by its end, didn't quite feel like it was part of the Star Trek universe. But here, with Strange New Worlds, the show simply works through what has made Star Trek so good for so long. Sure, it jazzes it up with modern aesthetics, but the heart and soul of the show is decidedly rooted in the past. And, perhaps more than even seasons one or two, season three pushes harder into that Star Trek nostalgia lane with what is, really, a minimalist central story that never feels so grandiose as one might expect, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It begins, develops, and resolves well enough (even if it feels more like a Marvel movie in the season finale). But the best part of the season comes in the middle stretch of deep fan service.

Season three really has it all. "Wedding Bell Blues" offers a fun reality-bending episode that plays with Spock's romantic relationship with Nurse Chapel (Spock's love life takes center stage in this season) and it does so by reintroducing a relation of a fan-favorite TNG character. "A Space Adventure Hour" also plays with TNG-era mechanics while hearkening back to off-the-cuff franchise favorites of yore, like TNG's "The Big Goodbye" and Voyager's "Bride of Chaotica." "What Is Starfleet?" tells a self-contained story through the lens of a documentary filmmaker, while "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans" practically and humorusly looks at a theoretical conundrum: it is better to be human or Vulcan? This is classic Trek through and through, and fans are going to be elated with the many love letters penned to them throughout the season.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Three 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Paramount's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation of Strange New Worlds' third season delivers the sort of visually scrumptious, yet perhaps still slightly unassuming, presentation that fans of the series have come to expect. This is no revelation next to the Blu-ray, but it doesn't need to be. That 1080p option is an excellent option, but this UHD is more of a refinement that takes that foundation and subtly enhances it to reach maximum output potential. Details are certainly a step up, delivering finer intricacy, greater intimacy, and an overall increased feel for tactile definition, in obvious places like faces and Starfleet uniform fabrics but also on computer readouts on board Enterprise as well as around the various locales seen throughout the show, from exotic alien terrains in "Terrarium" (even bathed in relative darkness) to the cheesy throwback vibes in "A Space Adventure Hour." The Dolby Vision color grading brings deeper and richer colors to the screen, perhaps lacking the brightness from the Blu-ray but the result is a palette that is sturdier, more accurate, more pleasing to the eye. Flesh tones look exacting and lifelike. White balance is terrific and blacks are a step up even from the excellent shadows and outer space environments seen on the Blu-ray. As with the Blu-ray, I did not see any source flaws or encode issues on this UHD.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Three 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with previous Strange New Worlds releases, Paramount has foregone a Dolby Atmos soundtrack in favor of a tried-and-true DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless configuration. While the absence of a more expansive track is a missed opportunity, there's no mistaking that the 5.1 presentation certainly suits the show's needs. It's large and involved, delivering as much surround activity as one could expect of a modern Sci-Fi show, featuring all sorts of of action and environmental details springing out of every speaker with perfect balance and seamless integration. Clarity is perfect across every element, whether spoken word, score, or action effect. Listeners will never feel as if they are missing out; this track takes full advantage of every opportunity the 5.1 configuration affords it.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Three 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unlike the four-disc Blu-ray set, this UHD presents season three on three discs. While the extras are the same, there is slight variance as to where they are found. This season also ships in exclusive SteelBook packaging; every purchase of the UHD will ship in a SteelBook. It's a solid enough looking Steenbok, with Pike front-and center on the front panel and a key locale from "Hegemony, Part II" on the rear. The interior panel simply shows most of the main characters from season three. Also included are four stickers (a Star Trek 60th anniversary, one depicting Pike and Number One, another with Spock and Chapel, and another with Uhura and Ortegas).

Disc One:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p): For "Hegemony, Part II:" Extended Scenes (5:46). For "Wedding Bell Blues:" Extended & Deleted Scenes (5:31). For "Shuttle to Kenfori:" Extended & Deleted Scenes (11:31). For "A Space Adventure Hour:" Extended & Deleted Scenes (24:52).

Disc Two:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p): For "Through the Lens of Time:" Deleted Scene (0:49). For "What Is Starfleet?" Deleted Scenes (10:55). For "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans:" Extended & Deleted Scenes (5:05).

Disc Three:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): For "New Life and New Civilizations" (2:07).
• Exploring New Worlds (1080p, 43:09): Looking at the series' progression from season one to season three, the show's place in the larger Trek canon, production details, plot elements, character evolutions (both within the show and as the series evolves from TOS), and much more. This is an in-depth piece that looks at characters and episodes with great detail.
• Personal Log (1080p, 23:19): Looking into Melissa Navia's life on the set as well as a look at her life off the set.
• Virtual Visionaries (1080p, 27:29): Looking at how incredible new technologies are bringing the strange new worlds of Strange New Worlds to virtual life. The piece also looks at some of the more familiar and tangible work that goes on behind the scenes to build up and build out the show's environments.
• VFX Flights (1080p, 10:29): Exploring VFX highlights from the season.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 6:29): Humorous moments from the shoot.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Three 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While that main story arc is sort of meh, most of the season is a huge hit. Strange New Worlds demonstrates a highly capable working knowledge of what makes Star Trek so good. And even if the season finale felt a little too Marvel-esque for my tastes, the season as a whole is a joy to behold for its wink-and-nod understanding of Star Trek and its willingness to build on what works rather than try to lay a new foundation where there is no need to do so. Season three's UHD set delivers exceptional picture and sound, paired with a healthy allotment of bonus content. Highly recommended!