During the second season of Strange New Worlds, Christine Chapel spends a big chunk of her time advancing her career with studies and opportunities. One of which gets her away from the Enterprise to spend time working with one of the Federations greatest minds. In season three, we come face to face with that mentor – Roger Korby. And with all their charm and the beginnings of a new story, the original series has already told us how this will end…
Roger Korby coming home to the Enterprise was a surprise to Spock. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone else. Not just for the first episode of seasons three emphasising that Chapel was pretty much done with the drama and ready to move on, but those who’ve seen the original series would know the legacy characters have a bit of history.
Making their first and only appearance in the original series, Roger Korby was an archaeologist and exobiologist who had gone missing for a few years before being found by the Enterprise. A heralded scientist, known as a genius within the world of archaeological medicine, Korby had went missing on an expedition to Exo III leaving behind his fiancée, Christine Chapel, who yearned to find him again one day.
That day eventually came, three years after his disappearance. Korby’s expedition was presumed lost after an ecological transformation on the planet that should have killed everyone. Korby survived. Kind of. Having already discovered that the planet was once inhabited by sophisticated androids, he’d survived the crisis by going underground. In a mix of desperation and good old fashioned scientific curiosity, after finding technology that could duplicate him in android form, he rebuild himself as a machine, letting his body die.
Fascinated by what he could achieve, Korby began to wonder if this was the key to eliminating the flaws of humanity. As a human turned machine there would be no hunger or disease. He had all the upsides of himself with none of the down sides. Or so he thought. Time and isolation weren’t kind to him. When the Enterprise found him on Exo III, Chapel was eager to go to the surface and rekindle her love. But she found someone who was merely a shallow part of himself.
In the time he’d been alone with the thoughts and the technology, Korby had began to envision a future where the hybrid of human and machine could usher in a new era where they could lead the species as a whole to perfection. His visions has a nobility about them. But without realising, he had lost the line between man and machine, and under his own egotistical view and need to spread his findings to the greater world almost forced James Kirk himself to be replicated as an android to infiltrate the Federation and create a whole new hybrid species to wipe out humanity.
Once he realised that humanity comes from struggle, learning and independent thought, he sacrificed himself in a moment of clarity. A once infamous scientist becoming a cautionary tale about unchecked ambition and the visionary who list his way.
In Strange New Worlds we meet the man who carried the ideals and humanity that he’d lost and gave his life for. Considering the complex relationships Christine Chapel has already has in the prequel series, meeting the man she’ll eventually want to marry in the years where his idealism is still something to behold may make some intriguing viewing going forward knowing there’s nothing but tragedy in their future.
About the author
A Fistful of Familiar Surroundings
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. President Forward During the Next Generation multiple set pieces were re-used and recycled from the set pieces built for the film franchise. From the obvious re-use of internal corridors, to smaller pieces such as Dr Crushers office being McCoy's, it's hard for a keen eye to ignore how much the productions shared between them. But as The Next Generation became the dominant forcer with ongoing production and full standing sets, eventually the turn tabled and by the final original cast instalment, it was the TNG stages that became the obvious redress solution. The most jarring of the films set re-uses was the office of the president. As Kirk and McCoy were charged with assassination, a political poop show begins and the Federation […]
Who is Jet Reno?
As Academy reopens it's doors, we've been introduced to a whole new cast of cadets ready to take on the responsibility of being Starfleets next generation of explorers. But among the new faces are familiar ones sharing their knowledge and experience with one of their new tutors making the jump from Discovery. If you jumped straight into Academy though, you may be wondering just who is temporal mechanics class lead, and occasional sports coach, Jet Reno...? Making her first appearance in Discovery's second season opener 'Brother', Commander Jett Reno is a Starfleet engineer renowned for her razor-sharp intellect, unflappable calm under pressure, and famously dry wit. A veteran of numerous high-risk assignments, Reno has built a reputation as one of Starfleet’s most resourceful and unconventional problem-solvers.Before Discovery, Reno began her career as a starship engineer, specializing in propulsion systems, power […]
[Treknology] The Iconic Communicator
Few pieces of tech in science fiction have been as influential or recognisable as Starfleet's communicators. Essential tech for life in Starfleet, handheld communicators were originally used most commonly with landing parties to communicate with both home base and the rest of the team on the ground, or could be used on board a starship or facility while linked in to the on-board communications network. In the 22nd and 23rd centuries, the communicators were simple clamshell designs that could be flipped open to make a call home. Appearing first in the original series, the first communicators were designed by prop maker Wah Ming Chang, who developed other tools of the trade for the series, as a sleek and slimline device that looked significantly more advanced than the bulky radio's and telecoms devices of the 60's. With a flick of the […]
A Fistful of Forgotten Technology
Travelling the stars is a lot more fun when you have engineers who can turn rocks into replicators and scientists who come up with some crazy ideas on a whim and bring some brand new tech into creation to solve this weeks problem. But sometimes you have to wonder what happens to the inventions that didn't last the week.... Borg Again Once upon a time, Neelix died. Then Seven came along, casually unstuffed some Borg probes in him and suddenly he's back to life again. Mortal Coil is an episode that focuses on Neelix's belief and psychological after effects of being dead, even if just briefly, only to experience nothing but his revival. It's a common story throughout all genre's of TV. It's just this time there were nanoprobes to speed up the 'coming back to life' part. Seven's nanoprobes […]
Across The Universe This November!
As the year comes to an end, the new cycles are spinning up as Star Trek looks ahead towards new frontiers... UNDER CONSTRUCTION.... AGAIN... It's safe to say the biggest news of December had all eyes back on the film side of the Star Trek franchise again as Paramount seems to have found a new plan to revive Trek on the big screen. Which, sure, comes with a lot of scepticism. We've already had the Tarantino plan, the Kelvin revival announcement, the Hawley film that went into pre production before another announcement and probably more that we've forgotten about. But this one comes from the all new Paramount under Skydance, so lets be cautiously hopeful! According to Deadline the new pitch is coming from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley who will write and direct a completely new take on […]
[Ships of the Line] Send ‘nubes! The Danube Class Runabout
The world of Star Trek is filled with graceful and elegant ships, huge forces of nature packed to the rafters with a bustling crew with every skill imaginable under one roof for any situation. But not all of the fleet's numbers are massive hulks ready for adventure. Sometimes you just need a little runner to get you from one place to another for missions that might last a few weeks more than a few years. Put into action in the late 2360's, the Danube Class Runabout was ideal for short term missions or teams that needed more than a cramped and empty transport shuttle to get the job done. At at least four or five times the size of a standard shuttlecraft, the Danube class was a step up from the range of short-range craft. Designed as a tightly condensed […]
Related
Who is Jet Reno?
As Academy reopens it's doors, we've been introduced to a whole new cast of cadets ready to take on the responsibility of being Starfleets next generation of explorers. But among the new faces are familiar ones sharing their knowledge and experience with one of their new tutors making the jump from Discovery. If you jumped straight into Academy though, you may be wondering just who is temporal mechanics class lead, and occasional sports coach, Jet Reno...? Making her first appearance in Discovery's second season opener 'Brother', Commander Jett Reno is a Starfleet engineer renowned for her razor-sharp intellect, unflappable calm under pressure, and famously dry wit. A veteran of numerous high-risk assignments, Reno has built a reputation as one of Starfleet’s most resourceful and unconventional problem-solvers.Before Discovery, Reno began her career as a starship engineer, specializing in propulsion systems, power […]
Who is The Doctor?
Returning to Star Trek for a second time, Robert Picardo is set to make yet another appearance as part of the new cast of Starfleet Academy as he revives 'The Doctor' hundreds of years after first materialising on screen in Voyager's pilot episode. So, who is The Doctor...? Conceptualised in the mid-24th century, the Emergency Medical Holographic Program was proposed to take action in the event of a crisis to supplement or replace the medical staff on a short term basis. The idea was simple. Whether in the heat of battle or during humanitarian aid, anything could overwhelm the medical team and that cost of life, any life, was too much to bear. With the advancement of holographic technology, the plan was to create a program that could be drafted in when required to save the day. Leading Starfleet Engineer […]
Relay Recap: July 2024
All Features Universe Categories Fleet Alert Comms GORN GIRL recap; july 2025 Picking up on the Season 2 cliff-hanger, Strange New Worlds returned to our screens this month to find Captain Pike and his crew on the edge of war with the Gorn as Season 3 was finally released!Exploring new worlds and new problems, the Enterprise crew are back in action on Paramount Plus and we're keeping ourselves up to date with weekly episode discussion threads on our FB Continuing Mission Group & Weekly episode reviews from Admin ! Explore... Episode Reviews Spoilers Group ACROSS THE UNIVERSE As we look back on Pike's adventures on the Enterprise in the prequel series, Paramount also gave us a look at whats to come next as Entertainment Weekly and SDCC's Star Trek Universe panel gave us a sneak peek at the reopening of […]
Who Is…. Montgomery Scott?
Starfleet engineers are known throughout the universe for their innovation and ability to fix absolutely anything. Whether it's connecting all the warp cores or turning rocks into replicators, the legend of the engineer all started with one man: Montgomery Scott. Born in the early 22nd century, Scott was raised in the years of Starfleet's mission that turned a small force into stuff of legend. With a passion for learning Scott was trained in a mix of obsessively learning everything he could to the point of reading technical manuals as a pass time, to hands on experience working on some of the finest and most complex systems in the fleet. Assigned as chief engineer of the Enterprise in the 2260's, Scott saw the prestigious ship as his own; engineering his complete domain where even the captain was merely a guest on […]
Who Is Phillipa Georgiou?
Phillipa Georgiou was one of Starfleets finest. Commanding an exploration mission on an aging vessel, she was a decorated and respected leader in the fleet that would inspire future generations and colleagues alike. And then she died, killed while boarding an ancient Klingon ship whose captain was determined to reignite a new war to bring the great houses together again. In comparison to the honourable captain who stood by the rules, the Georgiou that exists now is her opposite. In her world she wasn't a hero, but a savage ruler of the Terran Empire. Reigning with fear and terror, her empire was built on slavery, genocide and war. Eventually her dominance was challenged when Gabriel Lorca – himself a Terran hiding in the Prime Universe – would use Discovery's experimental spore drive technology to pull the ship back to his […]
Who Is Rachel Garrett?
Narendra III was a long standing Klingon colony first visited by Starfleet in the mid-22nd century. In 2152 it hosted the first human on trial under Klingon law at a time where the warrior caste was overshadowing all others, but almost two hundred years later it would also be the place where peace with the Klingons would be secured by an act of sacrifice for the Empire.
