Puppets in Space, All About Djokovic, ‘Outer Banks’ Final Season, Diana’s Death Scene

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

It doesn’t get much stranger, or funnier, than this. The Star Trek prequel has taken some whimsical (and musical) detours before, but never quite this extreme. A transporter malfunction transforms the entire crew — except for an atypically anxious Spock (Ethan Peck) — into puppets, and the doll sporting Anson Mount‘s Capt. Pike hairdo is a particular hoot. (The Muppet-like figures are from the legendary Henson’s Creature Shop.) Unable to handle weapons or interact with the ship’s biometric computer, they all rely on Spock to see them through this crisis, which gets even more complicated when they encounter an Orion pirate vessel and try to bluff their way out of the mess. “Absurdity’s kind of baked into the premise,” muses Ortegas (Melissa Navia). No argument here. Someone who’s not laughing: Spock’s super-serious Vulcan love interest, T’Pring (Gia Sandhu).

Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter

Love him or boo him, there’s no denying Novak Djokovic’s mastery on the tennis court. Having scored a record 24 Grand Slam titles, as well as an Olympic gold medal and a record 428 weeks at world No. 1, Djokovic continues to play at age 39, challenging much younger players who grew up watching him confound his more celebrated peers Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. A documentary profiles the complex Serbian, revealing his upbringing amid hardship in his war-ravaged nation and depicting the fierce discipline that took him to the top of the game. The film follows Djokovic on and off the court, in his training regimen and with his family and closest friends. Fellow tennis greats including Nadal, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, and Jim Courier weigh in on this legendary player.

Outer Banks

The fifth and final season of the teen treasure-hunt adventure catches up with the Pogues from North Carolina’s Outer Banks, grieving the loss of their friend JJ (Rudy Pankow) at the hands of his biological father, Chandler Groff (J. Anthony Crane), who’s taken off with the mythical Blue Crown. “I’m not letting Groff win,” insists JJ’s girlfriend Kiara (Madison Bailey) as the group vows to avenge their buddy and reclaim the crown, whose magical powers might even be able to bring back the dead.

Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana

Once again fanning the flames of conspiracy, the ghoulish Celebrity Crime Scene returns for a forensic visual analysis and recreation of the Paris tunnel where Princess Diana met her untimely death in 1997. Promising (or is that threatening) to show the crash from her perspective within the Mercedes, the special also rehashes various conspiracies that suggest powers within the monarchy were eager to silence the renegade princess, and even international arms dealers saw her as a threat.

Stuart Fails To Save The Universe

Reaching the halfway mark in an episode directed by Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes, the wacky Big Bang Theory spinoff strands its multiverse-tripping heroes in a world that seems too good and hospitable to be true. They’re strangers in a primitive and peaceful village that has no knowledge of technology or concepts like monogamy. Which means it’s paradise for Kripke (John Ross Bowie), if not for Stuart (Kevin Sussman), who knows better.

INSIDE THURSDAY TV:

• Celebrity Family Feud (8/7c, ABC): The summer finale features teams led by rapper Bow Wow and comedian Rickey Smiley, then DJ/producer Steve Aoki faces off against comedian Joel Kim Booster. Followed by the summer finale of Press Your Luck (9/8c).
• Monsters of God (9/8c, HBO): The docuseries finds second-generation reptile dealer Mike Van Nostrand trying to legitimize the family business, until his father Ray returns to pull them further into illicit trade with more exotic animals and an alliance with a shady international dealer.
• Disney Worldbuilders (streaming on Disney+): Filmmaker Leslie Iwerks has Disney in her DNA; her grandfather Ub Iwerks is credited with co-creating Mickey Mouse, and her father, Don, was a camera technician and inventor at Disney Studios. Her latest documentary features interviews with storytellers and executives from Disney’s extended universe of Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and Pixar, including James Cameron, Pete Docter, Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, and Bob Iger.