Ludicrous, nonsensical, an affront to canon — 'Strange New Worlds'' puppet episode is an instant classic

SPOILERS AHEAD! ANYONE YET TO WATCH "LEVEL-FIVE TRANSPORTER ACCIDENT" SHOULD PROCEED WITH CAUTION TO AVOID VIOLATING TEMPORAL PRIME DIRECTIVES.

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, A-list stars were queuing up to guest on "The Muppet Show".

Over five glorious seasons, the likes of Steve Martin, Diana Ross and Roger Moore were happy to have themselves upstaged by Kermit the Frog and his legendary felt ensemble.

Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, C-3PO and Chewbacca even went on a crossover adventure with the show's resident astro-swine, those famous "Pigs in Space".

Now, the Enterprise's very own Mr Spock gets to join this select group by performing alongside the Jim Henson Company's elite puppeteers in "Level-Five Transporter Accident", the latest episode of " Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ".

And we're delighted to report that the results are every bit as sensational, inspirational, celebrational, and downright Muppetational as anyone could possibly have hoped for.

It's important to reiterate that this episode makes negligible logical or canonical sense.

Even within "Star Trek"'s frequently loose interpretation of "science", the idea that Scotty's transporter experiments on family puppet Little Ricky (a slightly disturbing presence, it has to be said) might transform an entire crew into fabric and stuffing is rather outlandish.

Even the writers acknowledge they've exceeded the plausibility threshold when they hint that the whole affair took place in Spock's head.

But frankly, who cares about logic or canon when the results are so much madcap fun? Even though the puppet versions of the Enterprise crew aren't officially Muppets, they're undoubtedly cut from the same cloth as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and the rest.

Those extremely talented Henson designers have somehow managed to find the sweet spot between the characters' human incarnations and their hilarious felt forms, whether it's Captain Pike's gravity-defying hair or Scotty's Beaker-esque expression of perpetual concern.

The cast also throw themselves into their voice performances, relishing the unashamed comedy opportunities and — to quote T'Pring — "hijinks" of their radically redesigned roles. (Image credit: Paramount) "We had to do the [voice work] twice because the first time it was just completely wrong," Pike star Anson Mount told SFX magazine .

"When the producers got the cut, they were telling me, 'Just do more, just feel more!' I was like, 'What are you talking about?', but when they played the scenes I was like, 'Oh, I need to do what [the puppeteers ] are doing'.

I had to set aside my ego for a little bit and follow the puppeteer's cues a little bit more." Putting these puppets on the actual Enterprise set, rather than a scaled-down comedy recreation, is part of the episode's genius.