Strange New Worlds Is Missing A Golden Opportunity To Explore One Of Star Trek's Most Underrated Captains

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Published May 2, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Shaun Corley is a Staff Writer for ScreenRant, a position he has held for five years. While he enjoys many types of comics and graphic novels, he has a particular interest in the licensed Star Trek titles.

Strange New Worlds is missing out on an opportunity to showcase one of Star Trek’s most underrated captains. The show, a prequel to The Original Series that follows the five-year mission of Kirk’s predecessor, Captain Pike, has been a smash hit for Paramount +, and has connected with fans as well. It will return for a new season this July.

A spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds is set roughly five years before Kirk assumes command of the Enterprise. As a good prequel should, Strange New Worlds has put the pieces in place for The Original Series. Strange New Worlds shows the first meeting between Kirk and Spock, as well as giving fans glimpses into the lives of Uhura, Nurse Chapel, Scotty and Doctor M’Benga before TOS. Strange New Worlds shows how these legends got their start, and became the heroes fans know and love.

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The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?

ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656

✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.

✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.

Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?

AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek

✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.

Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?

AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive

✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.

“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?

AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472

✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”

Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?

AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula

✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.

Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?

ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive

✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.

At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?

AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru

✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.

In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?

AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat

✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.

✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.

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Strange New Worlds has also added context to classic TOS episodes. In Strange New Worlds’ pilot episode, fans are reintroduced to Spock’s fiancé, T’Pring. T’Pring, introduced in the second season TOS episode “Amok Time,” here gets far more agency than she did in her first appearance. “Amok Time” depicted T’Pring as cold and heartless, but Strange New Worlds revealed she had legitimate issues with Spock. Strange New Worlds added a deeper layer to “Amok Time,” and it still has a chance to give another classic episode an even greater emotional heft.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Needs to Bring Back Commodore Decker

"The Doomsday Machine" is Regarded as a Classic Star Trek Episode

Also airing during The Original Series’ second season, “The Doomsday Machine” introduced Commodore Matt Decker to Star Trek lore. The skipper of the Constellation, one of the Enterprise’s sister ships, Commodore Decker, encounters the Doomsday Machine. The Machine attacked the ship, leaving it adrift. The crew beamed down to a nearby planet, which the Machine then destroyed. Decker stayed aboard the Constellation, and listened to his crew perish below.

As a result, Decker went off the deep end, and tried to commandeer the Enterprise, nearly destroying the ship in the process. Decker ultimately sacrifices himself to the Doomsday Machine. While at first it seemed he did so in vain, his sacrifice in fact gave Kirk and company the opening they needed to stop the Machine. Even though Decker did some questionable actions, Kirk lets the record show he died a hero.

Although it is never stated on-screen, Will Decker, from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, is Matt Decker's son.

Today, “The Doomsday Machine” is regarded as one of Star Trek’s finest hours. Written by acclaimed science fiction author Norman Spinrad, the episode drips with tension, as Kirk and his crew race the clock to not only stop the Doomsday Machine, but also contend with a shell-shocked Commodore Decker. Decker, played in the episode by William Windom, put the Enterprise in jeopardy thanks to his recklessness, but he ultimately redeemed himself.

Strange New Worlds Can Show Decker As the Great Captain That He Was Supposed to Be

Doing So Would Make a Classic Star Trek Episode Even Better

Star Trek The Original Series, The Doomsday Machine. DeForest Kelley as Dr Leonard Bones McCoy. William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk. William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker. James Doohan as Montgomery Scotty Scott.

Strange New Worlds has two more seasons left, and the show has the perfect opportunity to bring back Decker, and show him as the hero he was supposed to be. Dialogue in “The Doomsday Machine” revealed that Decker was one of Starfleet’s best commanding officers. Later, in an episode of Discovery, Saru asks the ship’s computer for a list of Starfleet’s best captains. Some of the usual suspects were listed: Jonathan Archer, Robert April and Christopher Pike. Among that list of names was Matt Decker.

Now that the Star Trek canon has recognized Decker as one of the best, it is time to practice “show, don’t tell.”

Now that the Star Trek canon has recognized Decker as one of the best, it is time to practice “show, don’t tell.” Decker could be brought into an episode of Strange New Worlds. The episode could take great care in how it depicts Commodore Decker, showing just how great he really was, through his interactions with fellow Starfleet personnel, as well as his combat and diplomatic prowess.

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If Strange New Worlds took this course of action, then it would add a deep emotional layer to “The Doomsday Machine.” After Decker’s hypothetical Strange New Worlds appearance, fans could then rewatch “The Doomsday Machine,” and would come away from it with a deeper appreciation for Commodore Decker and the grief he felt upon losing his crew and his command. It would also make watching Decker’s descent into trauma and madness a truly gut-wrenching viewing experience.

Will Commodore Decker Appear on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

Time is Ticking for Commodore Decker's Star Trek Return

Strange new worlds Comet Is The Opposite Of TOS Doomsday Machine [MINI]

Strange New Worlds is scheduled to run two more seasons on Paramount +, and production has wrapped on the series already, with sets being torn down. This means that the remaining stories have already been determined. There have been no rumors of a Matt Decker appearance on the show, meaning it has missed a grand opportunity to bring one of Star Trek’s most fascinating captains back, and explore his character further.

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