The cast and crew of Section 31 tell io9 why stories about the controversial Star Trek organization are necessary for the franchise's utopian vision.

I n the nearly 40 years since the one-two punch of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek: The Next Generation ignited my enthusiasm for Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi juggernau

Section 31, a feature film that's a spinoff of the series Star Trek: Discovery, will soon be available to stream on Paramount+. The movie immediately grips its audience by the throat, delivering a cold open about the brutality necessary to acquire power that almost rivals Anakin Skywalker's march on the Jedi temple in Revenge of the Sith.

Section 31 sees the beloved sci-fi franchise lean hard into outrageous, b-movie action ... and it somehow works better than you'd think.