Captain Kirk visits Toronto in Season 2 of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’

One of the places where “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” boldly goes in Season 2 is Toronto — yes, that Toronto, as in Ontario, Canada.

In the third episode, Enterprise security chief La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) finds herself having to travel to the past to protect the world as she knows it. And she brings an alternate version of Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) along for the ride.

They end up materializing in an alley in downtown Toronto and make their way to Yonge-Dundas Square.

“Seems to be New York City, mid-21st century,” says Kirk.

“It’s Toronto, the biggest city in what used to be called Canada,” Noonien-Singh corrects him. “You know, Maple Leafs, politeness, poutine.”

In an interview, Wesley said he loved that the show’s writers committed to setting the episode in Toronto.

“Oftentimes, you’re filming in Toronto and they’re like, ‘We’re gonna pretend it’s New York City.’ Well, they actually landed in Toronto, which is awesome,” he said.

This alternate Kirk was born in space and had never been to Earth, so “he was like a kid in a candy shop, and he got to really just sort of explore it and experience it and bask in it. And I loved that they wrote it that way.”

Among the places Kirk and Noonien-Singh take in are Harbourfront, where Kirk indulges in some hot dogs at a lakeside cart and they admire a sunset framed by the Tall Ship Kajama.

There’s an explosion in the Port Lands, a car chase along King Street West and through David Pecaut Square, and a meal at the Lakeview Restaurant. And, after an evening stroll past the Royal Ontario Museum and its Crystal, Kirk and Noonien-Singh confront the episode’s villain inside the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Wesley, who used to have the original Captain Kirk, Canadian actor William Shatner, for a neighbour, said it was a lot of fun shooting the episode over a couple of freezing cold weeks in March, even though much of it was done outdoors.

“Thankfully, they changed out of their uniforms and got into some hoodies and jackets and things of that nature. So I was grateful for that.”

The episode, titled “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” might put fans of the original “Star Trek” in mind of that show’s critically acclaimed “City on the Edge of Forever” episode, in which Kirk has to travel to New York City in the 1930s to prevent the future from being changed, at great personal cost.

New Jersey actor Wesley, known for his role on “The Vampire Diaries,” said he has always loved the original “Trek.”

“When I got the call (to play Kirk), I didn’t even have to think about it, you know?”

Debra Yeo is an editor and a writer for the Star’s Culture section. She is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @realityeo

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