WHY WON'T THEY? A mysterious disease forces Janeway and Chakotay to live on an alien planet for the rest of their lives, but will the tension force them to move beyond colleagues? Wait a minute. What tension? Is there actually something here, or is it merely the inertia of a man and a woman of similar ages being stranded together in a confined space? Is it the ultimate Bachelor date? Our Two Hander theme continues into *a second month* as Bryan and Kristen investigate Star Trek: Voyager's stab a...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 34
IT'S BUFFER TIME! Bryan and returning guest co-host Katie Hampton from Geekscape's Napping Through Happy Hour podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/napping-through-happy-hour/id1628046345) judge two more episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks and, folks, you're not going to believe this, but they didn't agree on a grade for either of them! We'll need your vote to break the deadlocks! After Captain Freeman orders the end of "buffer time," is the reveal that the crew's frantic behavior is NOT...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 2Ep. 33
JUST BROING OUT. A key episode in the development of Chief O'Brien and Dr. Bashir's friendship sees them trapped on an alien world trying to survive until Commander Sisko can rescue them. Joining Bryan to discuss this pivotal story is Clint Worthington, Editor-in-Chief of The Spool (https://thespool.net), a pop culture website focused on Film & TV. Back in 2021, Clint wrote "Queering the Bromance Between O'Brien and Bashir" for StarTrek.com which examines how their close bond, created in par...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 32
GEORDI'S BIG EPISODE finds him trapped on a weird planet with a Romulan centurion. We get to see LeVar Burton channel his natural charisma and show different sides of our favorite chief engineer, but it's nearly overshadowed by one of the most compelling ethical and moral dilemmas ever featured on The Next Generation when Worf has the chance to save the life of a different Romulan. Our Two Hander theme month continues, and joining Bryan to discuss what might be the most overlooked episode of The...
Jan 23, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Season 2Ep. 31
MOST FAMOUS EPISODE? Last week was the 55th anniversary of perhaps the most famous episode of Star Trek , which is really saying something. It's a middle of season three episode wherein the Enterprise takes on two passengers -- one half black on the left side of their face and half white on the white; the other half white on the left and half black on the right -- that leads to an allegory or parable about Civil Rights era America. Is it overwrought or filled with thought? The grades begin at (3...
Jan 16, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Season 2Ep. 30
KIRA'S SOLEMN VOW leads to a shocking truth: vengeance is not moral. In the course of investigating a single Cardassian she comes to the realization that collective punishment of all Cardassians isn't justice, even if this particular Cardassian wants to face judgment for his people's crimes. It's one of the most intense episodes of Star Trek ever made and to help Bryan discuss this Deep Space Nine achievement is writer Andrew Bloom (Slashfilm, Consequence, The Spool). He's written a piece about ...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 29
ODO'S PANIC ATTACKS lead to some scary times aboard Deep Space Nine thanks to some volcanic gas from a planet in the Gamma Quadrant and the arrival of Odo's old captor/trainer/parent figure, Dr. Mora (James Sloyan). It's an episode that was intended to be about alternate personalities, but it winds up being something else entirely. Kristen test runs her New Year's Resolution, Bryan tries to sing Klingon opera, and he introduces Kristen to the word "cremains." What do you think? Is that a real wo...
Jan 02, 2024•55 min•Season 2Ep. 28
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We kick off 2024 with our animated spotlight on the beloved Star Trek: Lower Decks and we do it by bringing in one of the biggest fans of the show: Katie Hampton, a comedy writer and performer in LA who co-hosts the Napping Through Happy Hour Podcast (social: @ElSassyPants or @ElSassyPantz on TIkTok). She was also a guest on our Star Trek: Picard - "Surrender" episode last season. Will she and Bryan see eye to eye on this new kid on the block in the Trek universe? "Second Contact...
Jan 01, 2024•1 hr 47 min•Season 2Ep. 27
A TRANSPORTER MIRACLE created two Rikers eight years ago setting up a situation where Counselor Troi would be confronted with the man she fell in love with who was still madly in love with her and Commander Riker looking a different part of himself right in the eyes. It's all in service of getting some Important Scientific Data from a planet and that could not be any less interesting than the love triangle aboard the Enterprise . How do Bryan, Kristen, and special guest Kat Spada respond to this...
Dec 26, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 26
KIRK'S TOXIC MASCULINITY is unleashed after a transporter accident involving mystery ore from a freezing planet splits him into his Negative Side and Positive Side. This mascara'd drunk sexually assaults Yeoman Rand. Meanwhile, the Positive Side winds up being the passive side and his inaction and softness begins to offend Mr. Spock! It's an episode that only could've been written in the 1960s and it should come as no surprise that its general statement about the darkness inside every man comes ...
Dec 19, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 25
TWO MANY JANEWAYS? That's the conundrum at the heart of season two standout "Deadlock," and joining Bryan this week is Captain Janeway superfan Marina Kravchuk from Daily Star Trek News to talk all about. There's a lot of technobabble that only makes sense because of the years of world building going on since the TNG days, but there's also a lot of Voyager-specific tropes deployed in an episode that finds Voyager being duplicated because of a rift in subspace. And there are Vidians thrown in for...
Dec 12, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 24
BLEEP GOT FREAKY aboard the USS Voyager , but BLEEP gets even freakier aboard the USS Cerritos after it's assigned to tow the famous ship to its final home as a museum piece. In this special bonus episode, Twitter/X's FanSince09 returns to discuss how Lower Decks deals with Star Trek's version of the trolley problem. He also uses this opportunity to soft launch a podcast he's been thinking about for a while -- which idea winds up being more grotesque? FanSince09's podcast idea or the blob of peo...
Dec 05, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 23
DEEP LORE TREKKIES aren't the only ones who know about the episode where Captain Janeway straight up murdered a dude. Indeed, the one where a transporter accident merges Tuvok and Neelix has been the subject of philosophical and legal papers and years of social media debate -- but has it all added up to this one being worthy of the Star Trek canon? Is it marriage material? Joining Bryan and Kristen to help them decide this week is Twitter/X's FanSince09, who has never let this one fade from memo...
Dec 05, 2023•58 min•Season 2Ep. 22
UHURA TAKES COMMAND and the Enterprise becomes trapped in a sentient cloud (again, and not for the last time) -- it's another exciting month of animated Star Trek ! Bryan and Kristen examine two more from Star Trek: The Animated Series , one that features floating teeth and another that has the men aboard ship so horny that they could die . Does this 50-year old children's programming hold up in the 21st century or is it all too silly? Find out! If you're enjoying the show, considering rating an...
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 21
KILL ALL MEN? That's the tantalizing hook for the latest episode in our Trials of Season Two theme month and guest co-hosts Kat Spada of Feminist Frequency Radio and artist Ethan Harper can't help but think what might've been. Instead, we get an episode about a member of the Q Continuum who wants to die. The only thing stopping him is another member of the Q Continuum -- John de Lancie! Can he convince Captain Janeway to rule in his favor and sentence a wayward Q to an eternity trapped inside a ...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Season 2Ep. 20
TRIAL BY RETCON. Ohhhh, sorry Captain Kirk. Turns out it's fairly common for the captain of (the) Enterprise to stand trial on the Klingon home world. Jonathan Archer did it 80 years before you were even born! Our Trials of Season Two theme month continues with this rehash of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country with some DS9 "Tribunal" thrown in for good measure as David Goodman, the President of the Writers Guild of America, jumps from sitcoms to Star Trek to co-write an episode that borrows...
Nov 21, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 19
O'BRIEN MUST SUFFER is a Deep Space Nine tradition, and one of the first episodes that really tortured our favorite Chief of Operations involved the bloody Cardies and their bloodless fascist court system. We continue our Trials of Season Two theme month that sees O'Brien arrested for terrorism and Odo dispatched to serve as his co-counsel. Meanwhile, the Niners Scooby-Doo around the station in an attempt to clear the Chief's name. The grades begin at (14:26). You can watch the "Don't Talk to th...
Nov 14, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 18
NUMBER ONE'S TRIAL kicks off our first theme month: The Trials of Season Two . In order to exonerate his embattled first officer, Captain Pike takes a personal day to travel across the galaxy to get a ringer/the best civil rights attorney in the galaxy. She's portrayed by Yatide Badaki in one of the best Star Trek guest appearances of all-time. Is her performance as Attorney Neera enough to deliver a Trek, Marry, or KIll? The grades begin at (26:49). If you're enjoying the show, consider rating ...
Nov 07, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 17
THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the debut of The Animated Series more or less coincides with Trek Marry Kill's 1ST ANNIVERSARY , and so to celebrate both, Bryan has decided to remove this podcast's original sin of holding the animated shows off to the side by fully embracing them with the first of what will be monthly special episodes dedicated to animated episodes. Joining him for the first special episode is Laurie Ulster of TrekMovie.com, who hosts the All Access Podcast on that network. She also cop...
Nov 01, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 16
A HAUNTED HOUSE traps Kirk, Spock, and McCoy who are teased, tortured, and brainwashed by a pair of bickering aliens from another galaxy -- one of which transforms from a simple black house cat to a forced perspective oversized black house cat meant to suggest a panther! That's not the goofiest thing that happens in this episode and there's a lot more scary stuff surrounding the episode's production, from diva actors to tragedy. The grades begin at (32:06). TOMORROW, Bryan will be joined by Laur...
Oct 31, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 15
OUR FIFTIETH EPISODE! This week, Bryan is joined by Shereese & Andrea from The TNG Podcast to discuss an important episode of Star Trek: Voyager . Seven of Nine becomes a mentor or a big sister to a baby Borg drone created by a transporter accident that mixed her Borg nanoprobes with The Doctor's 29th century mobile emitter. The trio has a lot of fun digging into the social morays of a stranded crew on a long-term voyage home and get serious about the real-life clash between Kate Mulgrew and...
Oct 24, 2023•2 hr•Season 2Ep. 14
HEY BATTER BATTER! Star Trek finally gives in to Michael Piller's love of baseball with The Baseball Episode of Deep Space Nine where Captain Sisko gets the crew together to play against some competitive Vulcans. It's the 25th anniversary of what's probably an oddity for most fans. Think of it like the musical episode of its day... Joining Bryan to discuss the episode where his favorite captain wears the hat for his favorite baseball team is national baseball writer Michael Baumann of FanGraphs....
Oct 17, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 13
DYING IS EASY. But wrapping up Star Trek's first-ever three-parter isn't. In the exciting conclusion of Deep Space Nine's Circle trilogy, veteran writer Michael Piller deploys every trick in the book to bring this story to an exciting conclusion. Does it hit every mark or will Bryan and Kristen be left wanting even 30 years after it first aired? There's also plenty of off-topic conversation like what kind of Mission: Impossible stunts our intrepid hosts would attempt on the holodeck and why they...
Oct 10, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 12
BAJOR IS OVER. At least, that's what Quark wants us to believe after a wave of Bajoran nationalism threatens the lives of every of non-Bajoran on the station. This week, Bryan and Kristen take a look at part two of Star Trek's first ever three-parter which sees the introduction of the 90s version of Hot Pries t, Vedek Bereil, Major Kira's soon-to-be boyfriend. Is he as interesting now as he was then? They also discuss the life of this episode's writer, Peter Allan Fields, with the help of this i...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 11
IT'S THE NINETIES. The Star Trek franchise has never been more popular and striking while the iron's hot is the Deep Space Nine writing staff determined to chart their own course away from the Next Gen juggernaut. But is this show's specificity and sometimes uncomfortable parallels with modern history a bridge too far for the audience of the time? How about today's audience? Bryan and Kristen explore an episode that deals with Bajoran nationalism, surprisingly weird casting, and an even wackier ...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 10
BRAIN AND BRAIN! For a very long time, the third season premiere of The Original Series was considered one of the dumbest episodes of TELEVISION to have ever aired. Part of the reason Bryan wanted to do a Star Trek podcast was to see if time + examining episodes from a somewhat different perspective -- like the series of questions we ask about every episode before arriving at our judgment -- would help us see any differently episodes lodged in cultural memory a certain way. There's certainly a l...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 9
PLAY IT AGAIN? Captain Picard comes to the rescue of a woman he ghosted! Will it be awkward? Chill? A chance to do it all over again? Bryan and Kristen relive some of the worst that eighties TV had to offer as Patrick Stewart and Michelle Phillips act out trite melodrama in a story that deals with some cultural detritus that has been (seemingly) left behind in the 20th century -- you don't see too many naked ripoffs of Casablanca these days! There's also some stuff about a time fart in here that...
Sep 12, 2023•55 min•Season 2Ep. 8
POOR ROMULAN COMMANDER. She thinks she's got a chance with Mr. Spock, but his loyalty is to the Federation and Captain Kirk. This week, Bryan is joined by Mark & Ryan from the Ship Full of Jerks podcast to judge what many consider to be the best episode of The Original Series' third season. Mark & Ryan delve into the slashfic aspect of Kirk & Spock and how their dynamic plays into the events of this episode. Kirk and Spock execute an elaborate ruse on the Romulans and their commander...
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 7
KIRK, SPOCK & McCOY just play their behavioral hits in a classic episode of The Original Series that includes everything great and everything 1960s about the show. This being the 55th anniversary year of the episode, it's worth wondering how much of it holds up and how much of it is of its time. Will Bryan and Kristen delight in the character-specific dialogue along with the Roddenberry-driven "science fiction" scenario of a planet in the thrall of both "Caesar and Christ?" If you're enjoyin...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 6
STEALING THE ENTERPRISE has never looked so easy! In the second season premiere of the hit Strange New Worlds , the writers needed to write around Anson Mount's limited availability and did so by coming up with a prequel to "The Menagarie" -- Spock's first effort to hijack the ship! Is Spock's first time as impressive as his next time? And, does getting new backstory on M'Benga and Chapel give enough weight to their storyline in this episode where they inject themselves with drugs to Hulk out? M...
Aug 22, 2023•54 min•Season 2Ep. 5
