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

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

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

There's nothing strange about Strange New Worlds on Blu-ray. Paramount has delivered a knockout type of presentation for this latest installment of the Star Trek franchise on 1080p disc. The picture is stunning through and through, delivering the sort of tight and complex textures that are reserved for the best of the best the format has to offer. Certainly, one of the reasons why the image looks so great is the exquisite production design and high end digital captures, but one must also acknowledge that Paramount has not crammed the series on the discs; the ten episodes are spread over four discs, giving ample breathing room which results in no immediately obvious artifacts to get in the way of high definition bliss. Indeed, every starship surface, every uniform texture, and all of the skin details are presented in dazzling complexity and clarity. There is not a shot that doesn't look as rich and exacting as the 1080p format can provide. Likewise, the color output is terrific. Even lacking the UHD's Dolby Vision grading, the SDR colors deliver an explosion of richness and fidelity that pushes this format to its outer limits. White balance is particularly noteworthy, with whites looking super crisp and efficient, especially in sickbay and the medical uniforms seen throughout the season. Obviously, the other uniform colors are the standouts, but every color on bridge consoles, alien terrain, and other elements look near perfect. Black level depth is excellent, too. There's nothing at all to warrant a score of less than "perfect" with this presentation.

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

This Blu-ray release of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 3 contains extras on all four discs, with the meatiest appearing on the fourth disc.

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).

Disc Two:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p): For "A Space Adventure Hour:" Extended & Deleted Scenes (24:52). For "Through the Lens of Time:" Deleted Scene (0:49).
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:37): Humorous moments from the episode Space Adventure Hour.

Disc Three:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p): For "What Is Starfleet?" Deleted Scenes (10:55). For "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans:" Extended & Deleted Scenes (5:05).

Disc Four:

• 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 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 Blu-ray delivers exceptional picture and sound, paired with a healthy allotment of bonus content. Highly recommended!