Posted in: Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Celia Rose Gooding, Ethan Peck, Jack Quaid, star trek, star trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Tawny Newsome

Star Trek: SNW/LD: Peck, Gooding on Crossover Fun w/ Quaid, Newsome

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Ethan Peck and Celia Rose Gooding on crossing over with Lower Decks stars Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome.

There isn't a shortage of memorable moments in season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, especially the first full official crossover between two active series of the Paramount+ era with the animated Lower Decks. Structuring a musical episode presented enough of a challenge, but trying to align the more fast-paced Mike McMahan characters in Jack Quaid's Brad Boimler and Tawny Newsome's Beckett Mariner with the more serious and traditional hour-long live-action of SNW was its beast of an arduous task. As part of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation series, the Nerdist's Amy Ratcliffe spoke to the principal cast members Anson Mount (Pike), Rebecca Romijn (Una), Ethan Peck (Spock), Jess Bush (Chapel), Christina Chong (La'an), Celia Rose Gooding (Uhura), Babs Olusanmokun (M'Benga), and Melissa Navia (Ortegas) to talk about how the Jonathan Frakes-directed crossover episode "Those Old Scientists" was pulled off. The episode finds the U.S.S. Cerritos sending an away mission that includes Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Noel Wells) as they unknowingly trigger a portal after the group tries to take a picture that sucks Boimler into the past and in live-action where meets the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Mariner later accidentally joins him through the portal on the Enterprise's first attempt to bring Boimler back to his time.

Star Trek: Aligning 'Strange New Worlds' with 'Lower Decks'

Ratcliffe – How did you keep up with the faster pace of 'Lower Decks' and having Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome on board?

Chong – I went around with them a lot because I'm the security officer with a big security threat. My character is the complete opposite of what they were bringing, and I found it hard in some takes to hold it together. Every take was different. They're so funny together, and it was like free standup comedy for the entire episode. The fact they're so different made my job harder.

Mount – The episode could not have happened without Jonathan Frakes, who directs both series. He was the perfect person with the deep knowledge of Trek to come in and help meld those two tones together. He needed to be there at the helm.

Romijn – Obviously, the energy of an animated show voice-wise is going to be different than on our show. Watching them figure out how to massage with the help of Jonathan Frakes was crucial.

How Quaid's Boimler and Newsome's Mariner Bonded with Peck's Spock and Gooding's Uhura

Ratcliffe – Ethan, I heard that Jonathan made the term "Spoimler" for Spock and Boimler Bromance; what was it like working with Jack Quaid?

Peck – Indeed, "Spoimler" is a Frakes invention. It was great working with Jack. It's so fun because his character is such a nervous fellow and Spock is so the opposite. They make kind of a great yin and yang duo in my opinion. Frakes tried to hone in on that, but I actually met Jack quite a few years before and was opining…I was hoping we would get to work together someday. This was just the most amazing venue to do that and with Frakes. It was a blast working with them.

Ratcliffe – Mariner and Uhura had a connection, Celia. What was it like pairing with Tawny Newsome?

Gooding – I love Tawny Newsome so much as a friend for life now. I'm so grateful to have an opportunity to work with her. Kind of like what Ethan said with the yin and yang, I feel like Uhura season two is very" book-focused, no shenanigans allowed," and Mariner as a character is "shenanigans full speed ahead." Having her be the one to bring out the more playful side of Uhura, I think, is very important because when we're working on a prequel, it's important to show the moments, interactions, and events that mold characters into the versions of them we'll recognize later. The playful nature of Uhura she inherits we'll see in 'The Original Series.' I think it's really special to think that Mariner inspired that in her and that relationship this was the moment that was the thing that gave her the freedom to let her very short hair down and have a good time. Tawny is such a sunflower of a person. For her to be the one to bring the energy out of Uhura and, in turn, bring that energy out of Celia, I'm eternally grateful for that opportunity.

For more, you can check out the video below. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons one and two are available on Paramount+.

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