The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds now streaming on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was conceived to address a creative loss at the very beginning of Star Trek. "The Cage" -- the original pilot intended to sell the series to network executives -- was deemed a no-go for reasons that have aged poorly in the extreme. Strange New Worlds picks up the adventures of that crew, who were replaced in the second pilot by the "classic" cast led by William Shatner's Captain Kirk. In the process, it gives them a chance to shine on their own terms, while exploring the creative potential that otherwise would have been lost. Hence, figures like Christopher Pike and Una Chin-Riley take center stage.
One figure from "The Cage" is still missing, however: Yeoman J.M. Colt, played by Laurel Goodwin in the pilot. While Strange New Worlds isn't obligated to include her, her absence engenders some significant questions. Answering them could form the basis of an outstanding future storyline.
Yeoman Colt Makes a Prominent Appearance in 'The Cage'
"The Cage" takes place a little over a decade before the beginning of The Original Series, with Pike as captain of the Enterprise and a crew of mostly unknowns beneath him. Of that first cast, only Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock successfully crossed over to The Original Series. Strange New Worlds takes place several years after "The Cage," with some members of the crew still onboard, and some replaced by new faces. The missing number includes Colt, who serves as Pike's personal yeoman in "The Cage" and volunteers to beam down with the rescue party when he's captured on Talos IV.
Sadly, she's not given much to do beyond that, and as the Talosians reveal, her primary motivation is unrequited romantic feelings for Pike. It's sadly typical of the predominant attitudes toward women at the time. (The Talosians essentially present her to Pike as the potential member of a harem.) Certainly, the ensuing social awkwardness would explain Colt's departure from the Enterprise after the incident, and with plenty of other characters from "The Cage" onscreen, it's easy enough for Strange New Worlds to simply move on without excessive concern.
Strange New Worlds Could Answer Questions About Colt
Yet at the same time, Colt's role in "The Cage" is prominent enough to make her absence more notable than others. And her wafer-thin motivations are precisely the kind of detail that Strange New Worlds was designed to develop in further detail. "The Cage" was rejected in no small part because executives at the time were nervous about a woman -- Una Chin-Riley -- high on the chain of command. Strange New Worlds has quickly made Una a fan favorite while demonstrating how wrong those assumptions were.
Colt is an ideal character for the same treatment. Not only would it give Star Trek the chance to properly flesh her out -- dispelling her problematic beginnings in the process -- but it would also play into her absence from Strange New Worlds thus far. With the new series now in its second season, her status has matriculated into a reasonably intriguing mystery, and her connection to Pike provides some inherent drama that could easily translate into a strong storyline. She might even return as a regular or recurring member of the crew.
For a time, fans thought that actor Jess Bush would be playing Colt on Strange New Worlds. She was eventually confirmed as Christine Chapel and has been a staple of the show since the beginning. But the misperception demonstrates how much interest in the character is out there, and what an opportunity the new show has with her: all the more because it hasn't addressed it before now.
New episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stream every Thursday on Paramount+.