Hey, Joe. Hi.
So, we are back after quite some time watching 2 episodes of Star
Trek Prodigy, Series 2, episodes one and 2, Into the Breach Part 2
and Into the Breach Part 2.
At the start of July, Netflix dropped all 20 episodes of season 2
all in one go, which is not at all what we used to.
What a bumper tree.
Well, it kind of happened at a time when I was, you know, away on
holiday and I haven't really had time to catch up.
So I'm really only about a 3rd of the way through the season.
It could be whilst I find the world's smallest violin that you
were too busy sunning yourself in Greece to watch Star Trek
prodigy.
It was a big problem.
But I will get back to it.
I will get back to it because I do find it really terribly
agreeable.
I have to say, so we're watching episodes one and two, and when
Prodigy 1st came out, it was with an hour long special, remember?
Wonderful.
Yeah, yeah.
And so this is kind of like that, although all of the episodes in
this season are just kind of half an hour.
There's an opposite.
I have no reason.
We're getting quite a few sort of full length stories.
Yeah, but it is basically serialised as well.
So it is all one big story and it is one thing I think that
prodigy has managed to do is a good mix of serialisation and each
episode having its own thing happening in it.
And certainly I've noticed that so far in series 2, and it was
definitely a thing in series one.
I think the other thing it's done is it throws the premise away
quite quickly.
And so it promises to be a show about kids on a starship, you know
doing Star Trek things, and then midway through series one, they
introduce Admiral Janeway, and the show takes a different turn and
we get the introduction of the construct.
And we had those sort of 100 Valnacot agents who kind of go back
in time in order to get the proto star and stuff like that.
So that kind of changes things quite a bit and makes it sort of
fairly complex.
And now here, we're getting the show relaunching, but it doesn't
relaunch with a clean slate, and a lot of the threads from the
previous year are still up in the air.
You haven't watched all of series one, have you?
No, I've watched the 1st half and then just the ones we've done
for this, but enough that I could understand what was going on
here.
Are you sure this throws away the premise because I've only
watched episodes one too.
And at the end of episode two, I felt as if we were going back to
the premise of series one as they go off in a spaceship into an
unknown region of space.
Yeah, but the 1st one...
But the original premise, I think, is, you know, the kids on the
starship under the command of Hologram Janeway and they have their
own Federation starship that they kind of run themselves.
And that was sort of really rather charming and sort of sweet, but
they had to come up with a way to keep them away from the
Federation, I think, over 20 episodes.
And so that's why we have the construct.
So series one ends with them kind of being about to be welcomed
into Starfleet Academy.
And so series 2 starts when they're at that position, but they get
to go off into space and and suddenly we still have the question
of where did the proto star come from, which is sort of resolved
at the end of series one.
But we still have the proto star in play, even though it's
destroyed in the present day in the finale.
No, no, no. title later on in the season called Last Flight of the
Protestar, Parts one and two.
So I think your answers may be coming.
Do you know, I'm going to have a long-winded answer to my reaction
to this episode because I'm not entirely sure whether it's a good
episode of Star Trek Prodigy, but I thought it was a very good
episode of Star Trek Voyager.
And I thought it was a pretty good episode of Lower Decks as well
because I was getting huge lower decks vibes in this, as the below
decks and above decks plots were happening at the same time.
And as an episode of Star Trek Academy, this mooted series that
has never come to be, I thought it was absolutely sublime.
I actually really thoroughly enjoyed this to the point where I got
to the end of the 2nd episode and I said straight away to my
brother, who's in the next room, I want to watch all of this now
I'm well invested.
This is more, for me, I think, than series one and I like series
one a lot, but I maybe wasn't as on board with the aimlessness of
it as you were.
I like the idea of them being grounded on earth and going off and
having adventures and exploring all of that because we haven't
really done that.
Weirdly, given all of the Star Trek that we've had.
We haven't told that story of kids at the academy, well, except
for coming of age and terrible episodes like that.
I really, really like this.
Well, I think it is terribly cute and I love the way that they're
all kind of gathered at the beginning, you know, kind of the posse
comes together at the beginning of the episode as everyone gets a
message and we see what they're doing at the academy and how
people are reacting to the academy.
And in particular, Dal, I think, is kind of interesting that he's
not happy at the academy because he doesn't want to study.
He wants to go out and adventure.
He says at one point, doesn't he?
We had a ship.
We could go to whatever planet we wanted and now we're stuck
reading these books.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Just won it, yeah.
Do you know, one thing that really stood out as well is we've done
a bit of 90s trick lately.
And I thought in the plotting of this and the writing of it, there
are, that people are pointing at a prodigy and said, this is for
kids, there are much, much stupider episodes of 90s trek than
this.
I thought this was very well written.
I thought the way the plot was constructed was really interesting
with enough surprises and mysteries to keep me going.
Like, obviously, this is TV for a modern audience.
That's TV from the 90s.
But as an episode of Voyager.
I would have said this was top tier, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
And I love the Voyager stuff.
I think, you know, Voyager is a little bit unloved, including by
us, but but we do love Voyager and have enormous warm feelings
towards it, I think.
And so like just that moment at the beginning of part 2 and the
opening credits where you've got 2 of the 3 Roberts, you know
their names in the opening credits are on the one slide, which is
pretty great.
I think I think they must have been reluctant to spoil Robert
Picardo's appearance in episode one, which is why he doesn't get a
thing in the opening credits.
But just having him back.
That's a great surprise.
I really...
You know, the best character of Voyage is here.
That's right.
My only only pictures of all this Voyager love, and I really like
the fact that they are waving the flag for Star Trek Voyager in
this show as well is, you know what I'm going to say here, is I
really feel like.
DS9 is.
Again, the lost child of the 90s because we've had like one off
stories there.
But we've had an entire series that's whanked off the next
generation.
Now we've got a series which is wanking off Voyager.
And Paul DS9 is not even having his testicles tickled.
Well, there was an episode of Loading.
It is the best show of the 90s.
Come on, Christmas tree.
What's wrong with you?
But I do not object to all of this.
I mean, it's Kate Mulgar and Robert Picardo, how could you
possibly object?
He's pretty great, isn't it?
It is pretty good.
I think that there's something to be said for avoiding answering
the question of what happens next to Ben Cisco and leaving that a
mystery, leaving his disappearance at the end of what you leave
behind a kind of unresolved plot thread.
I think it would be wrongdoing to come.
Avery Brooks has lost his mind.
Well, there's that.
I mean, they probably can't have him back.
But, but I also think that that ending is good and they should be
wary before they come in and travel.
It doesn't need it doesn't need lifting because it's a good show
in its own right.
But I just, I don't know.
I want to hang out with those characters more.
That's all.
And lower decks, lower decks has gone to DS9, and we have done a
few nice touches.
I mean, Kira and Quark in that episode. were fabulous.
Yeah.
So good.
But, uh, yeah, I mean, I'm hoping we do push away from this much
Voyager into this being sort of purely prodigy as the series goes
along.
Or is this just what prodigy is now?
A hybrid or this Voyager.
Yeah, I think it probably is.
I think probably the rescue of Chakotay.
Like I said, I haven't gone into it far enough, but the rescue of
Chakotay still seems to be a sort of major thing, we're on board.
But we want to rescue him.
Well, you know, like I think they sell it.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, oh, there's a wonderful bit where, you know, he goes, she
goes he was my number one.
And you're like, what the hell does that mean?
That's got some layers, that statement.
Yeah, I thought so too.
But also the kids owe him as well.
And it is pretty early on in the season that they actually meet
him too.
Spoiler alert.
So that's a thing that's coming.
Well, we should probably go into the episode, but I will just say
one last thing before we go in.
And that is, if this is going to be the new prodigy, this little
hybrid of Voyager and prodigy, then I'm very pleased that we're
finally getting Voyager written by capable writers.
Let's go.
All right.
I will count us in.
Have I just dismissed 7 seasons of Star Trek?
Cruel bit fair, though.
Um, does it?
Five, four, three, two, one, and we're off.
Now look at the weird thing.
So that's the voyage and look at that weird space thing.
There's some Are you getting the trailer, the Star Trek trailer?
Yeah.
So it's just a, so that's a mission statement that Voyager is the
ship on prodigy now, yeah?
I think so yeah.
Oh, because the shit they got, I figured that was going to be the
ship they were going to be in for the rest of it.
Yeah.
Oh, I thought it was totally wrong.
No, that's fine, just that they go off in. isn't it?
Voyager A. Oh, what?
The little ship at the end.
It goes into the wormhole.
Oh, no, that's what's that called?
The infinity, I think.
Yeah, I figured that was gonna be that.
Well, maybe there'll be just sort of dual ships.
Oh, okay, no, you've seen more than me.
Okay, cool.
Oh yeah.
So I just need to say to you about this fabulous piece of title
music that we have for prodigy.
And that is that my other half heard the strings coming in and so
I came into the room right and started doing his sort of dancing
and then somewhere halfway through the theme, it became sort of
sexy dancing.
I wasn't quite sure what was going on.
And then by the end of the theme, he was dry humping me on the
sofa.
I know, and I did say to him at the end of the music, you do
realise this is a kid's show, and then he ran off out of the
room.
We should write to Michael Cacchino and tell him.
I'll try and film it. you know, put it out alongside the episode.
But it is gorgeous.
And the music, that da, da, da, da, da.
I love it.
Look at Janeway, look, made up of all of those.
Hologram Janeway.
Made up of all those L cars displays.
We should not hologram anymore, though, is she?
No, no, it's Admiral Janeway now.
And it is Admiral Janeway halfway through series one.
And I think Hologram Janeway sacrifices her life.
So we kind of reenact Endgame.
Do you know what I mean?
Where we have a spare Janeway to sacrifice to solve the kind of
problem posed by the finale.
I mean, in this episode.
The only bit I really didn't understand was when we went off to, I
can't remember the girl's name now to her home planet and all of
that because that was all dealing with stuff that happened last
year and the consequence of it.
But what I did like about that was, I said, bloody hell, I wish
forward you have been doing this back in the 90s, having an, you
know, an A-plot, and then a running B-plot going throughout the
season.
And it's very clear, like, even if you don't have the backstory
you know, watch a look at Murph.
Oh, I love it.
I've seen like a person now.
So he goes into a kind of chrysalis and then emerges looking like
that.
So I think they decide to redesign a character.
I think he's still adorable.
But he's a little...
But he can't do what he did in the 1st episode when he went
sliding across the camera. when the ship was under attack.
Well, you remember he was a toddler and I think that they decided
that was too restrictive.
All right.
So this was a reference to Lieutenant Larkin.
So this is Rocktock giving a, um, giving a little lecture, uh, like
a presentation about trible biology, uh, and she mentions uh
Edward Larkin, the lieutenant from the trouble with Edward.
Ah, okay.
Yeah, so there's a reference to that.
We have references here to lower decks as well.
There's an episode talking about lower decks.
And look, I love this thing with Jankum too.
So Jankum has decided that he has to be clean and polite and well
behaved if he's going to be in the academy.
But he's still clumsy because he falls over clumsy.
How incestuous all these shows are getting referencing each
other.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because they're all part of the same franchise.
That's right.
I never understood why Buffy and Angel saw did it all very
discreetly, you know, when they were referencing each other.
So I wonder where this goes.
Because this happens twice, doesn't it?
So we have, um, we we have 0 who is unable to touch anyone envying
these 2 teenagers who are just holding hands or touching one
another's hand.
Um, I cannot tell you how impressed I am by the vocal performance
of 0 because I really, he's a ball with some lights in it.
Yeah, I can absolutely feel what he's going through there wanting
to be able to experience intimacy.
Yeah.
So that's Angus Imory, of course, who's Celia Imory's son.
Wow, the talent does not fall very far from the tree.
Exactly.
And so it's a jam, fabulous as a cartoon.
I know.
Finally, we get the message that Janeway's sending and she's
getting all of them.
So they're not cadets yet, are they?
They're kind of, they're studying to pass some sort of entrance
exam before they become.
Well, we're changing the rules a bit now, because generally
speaking, back in the day, you did not go on to starships to get
your entrance, you just sat down in front of a boring computer and
you know, looked at some diagrams and things, like in coming of
age or whatever.
Yeah, that would make a very boring episode if that was the case.
Also, like these guys, and we don't quite know yet why they've
been chosen, but she's got them on board because the wormhole is
something that they created by detonating the proto star and
because it involves them.
So it isn't a thing that normally happens.
Or there's the Nova Squadron people on board, aren't there?
I loved all of that.
I loved, I love the fact that you, they were expecting to go on
the ship for Janeway to welcome them with open arms for them to
all be a lovely big family, you know, after what they've been
through in series one.
And it turns out she's at a distance, she's too busy.
They're out of the loop.
Something is going on on the ship.
It's got lots of suspense.
I really love that approach.
And that's the lower decksness of it. isn't it?
That they don't know what's going on.
There is even one bit where they go on to the bridge and the door
shuts on them, you know, and I was like, yeah, that's so low.
We're not privy to this.
Yeah, yeah, we have to go to a cargo bay and hide.
Unfortunately, Murph starts glooping down at one point. just to
sort of figure out what the plot's all about.
Oh, here we go.
Oh, the reveal of the doctor.
They're really kind of milking it.
I'll tell you what.
The doctor is so great.
He was so great for 7 years, he deserves this moment.
Yeah, yeah, he really does. absolutely should be back.
It does look like he's sort of made out of plaster scene there
though, doesn't he?
Well, yes, yeah, yeah.
It's funny, isn't it?
The people, particularly people who we know as actors, do look a
little bit odd.
But I mean, that was always a problem with Janeway, I think, in
series one too.
I think the design of Dao is beautiful.
Like that species.
It's such a gorgeous look.
So he, we discover he's um, a mutant like genetically engineered.
And so there is a moment where it seems like he can't go into the
academy.
Um, and we're doing the thing that Star Trek never does because it
would break the budget every time.
Loads of scenes set on earth with gorgeous city scapes.
The Golden Gate Bridge over there, Starfleet Academy over there is
what I've always wanted to see, you know, is actual just normal
scenes.
Normally we go to that water filtration plant where there's a
garden and a building, you know, that's all we ever say.
Look at that.
Look at the show coming away from Earth. doesn't it?
gorgeous.
I don't think this is this is talking down to adults at all, though
the tone of this.
Like, I generally don't.
No, no, no.
I think I think a lot of people have dismissed this show and said
it's, oh, yeah, that's the one for kids, isn't it?
Like, this, to me, feels like a good episode of Voyager.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm never worried about that.
I think that that, like, I'm I'm happy to watch well-made kids
TV.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, I don't I don't mind.
And I mean, it's not like Star Trek is, you know, the Sopranos or
something.
It's still, it's still kind of cheesy genre TV. very boring
pleased it wasn't the sopranos.
People were horrible on that.
Well, maybe DS9 approached the sopranos every day. and again.
But I do think listeners of Untitled Star Trek Project, people are
like Dave Rennie and a few other people like that that I know
haven't given this show a chance and I want him to listen to this
episode and hear how good it is because I think he deserves a
shot.
Also as well, the whole sort of cancellation and moving channels
and all of that.
I think that sort of tarnished the reputation of prodigy a little
bit of like, oh, this isn't worth it.
It's not even worth screening on our channel.
Let's just throw it out somewhere else.
It's good stuff.
Yeah, yeah, I think so too.
It's better than it needs to be.
And I think we spoke when we 1st covered it, just about the
generosity of it.
You know, that it is not the opposite of gatekeeping.
It's inviting kids into the Star Trek universe.
Look at this beautiful shot of the new Voyager A. What I should be
saying then is not that it's not talking down to adults.
It's not talking down to kids and that's more impressive.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, you know, a few weeks ago we were watching an episode of the
animated series, it was clearly aimed at children, and it was just
dumb and basic, you know.
Look how big the corridors on Voyager on now.
Now we're in computer generation.
That can be enormous.
We can afford this really being said.
I mean, that's the one thing that I missed a little bit because I
thought the proto star was beautiful with those enormous spaces.
Well, we're going to go back there later on in the season.
Oh, so this is the equivalent of red squat that we had in the DS9
episode.
What was it called?
Valiant.
And they were absolutely obnoxious and so were this bunch.
But weren't this the bunch that Tom Licano or whatever his name
not Tom Licano.
Right.
Nova Squadron.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, from the 1st duty.
What was the name of that pattern they did in the sky?
COVID Starburst.
So you're such a geek.
I knew you would know this.
Janeway has 2 crew members here.
One is her 2nd in command, who is David Diggs.
We talked about that before, Commander Thisus.
And then the Tellrite, there is, of course, Jason Alexander from
Seinfeld, who, of course, did his own episode of Voyager as well.
Kurtzman Trek continuing to get in ridiculously talented voice
artists.
Yeah, yeah. to do their shows.
I must say the Adorian doesn't look quite as hot as me in the
Untitled Star Trek.
No, no, no, promotion picture.
Isn't this shit beautiful, though?
The new village is gorgeous, yeah.
Frankly, this is what we could have had all along.
I just love the fact that they have these massive widescreen
windows in the bridge now, you know, like discovery does and all
the ships do that.
I don't know why.
My God, when you saw this, the turbo lift going down and then
another one going across.
Something you never would have seen him.
It was just a simple thing. and I was, because I would you say to
you?
how do they go across?
Now I can see it.
Yeah.
And so it slipped sleepstream drive?
That's a thing, which is mentioned in Voyager a couple of times
and it looks like it's become a thing.
I think that's what they use in the later seasons a couple of
times to, you know, bump ahead a few minutes.
Look at this.
Look at Murph goes into the holiday and collects all of these
rusty weapons and it's like hugely excited because he's going off
to just like beat the shit.
Zero's working in, um, in the Sick Bay Infirmary?
Yeah, infirmary.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sick Bay?
Sick Bay, isn't it?
Yeah.
And the lady there's just given birth.
And again, again, he's looking on longingly at the lack of
intimacy that he can experience.
I'm hoping that that has some sort of resolution.
I'm clearly setting it up.
I'm hoping, I don't know, his little lights managed to go into a
person by the end of the year, maybe in the season.
So this is Cetacean Ops, which is a thing that's established in
lower decks.
Remember that lower decks has sort of tanks that are full of
dolphins and stuff?
And I think it's, like, it's not properly mentioned, but I guess
the idea is that Star Trek 4, you know, brought Wales back to
Earth and now they're on board this starship for some reason and
like whatever, what the fuck you care?
You never know when we might.
That pro might be back again.
You never know when we might need them.
So the...
Rock is our tendee of this show. sort of the very cute one.
That's really happy to be involved with everything.
Yeah.
It's so funny, actually, because the character, you know, the
actor who plays her is so young.
Like, she was nine, I think, in series one.
I did notice that the age is creeping up in her voice.
It was already a very good performance, but I thought she was
wonderful in this.
Yeah, yeah.
But she does sound a bit older. you know, if she's still
interested. somebody voices the, oh, is this what we're doing?
Like, look what we did last year.
So I am pleased, because style could often be that sort of one
where you're going, oh, God, I know he's going to come good in the
end, but why is he being so stupid?
But actually, I thought they used him really well.
Oh, he looks so despondent.
Yeah, this, but then this big, you know, look at the mess hall
compared to the tiny shitty set. in Voyager, this massive space
for this massive window.
Can't they have a hologram?
Neelix saying, hello, I've got you some neon stew.
Yeah, justice for Ethan.
Why hasn't he been back?
I'm just checking on my phone now for a second.
I want to see if there's a Murph doll because I really want one
because he's so cute.
He is adorable, isn't he?
It must be a figure or something, right?
No, not that I can say.
Oh, shame.
I'd be interested to see why they decided to change him, but I
suspect it's because like the Murph toddler thing was fairly
limiting.
Yeah, like how many jokes can you get out?
Yeah, before you just start repeating the joke.
Yeah, yeah.
And, and like, just that sort of, because he plays a bit of a big
role here and there is a, there's a, there's a whale, one of the
Cetacean whales sort of tries to communicate with him and all of
that.
So it is a, it is definitely a thing.
We're looking into Murf and learning more about him as a
character.
But the idea was, of course, that rock would have to do security
because she's so big and intimidating, but she never wanted to do
that.
She wanted to be a scientist And so leaving Murph being the one
who does security is really cute.
Those windows in the, uh, in the mess hall there.
Starscape. amazing.
There was a great bit of dialogue there where Dal said, well, we
used to be heroes.
And Rocktok goes, well, if we want to be heroes again, we've got
to get into the academy.
Yes.
We'll find a way of bypassing all of that boring stuff in this
season.
I don't think we will.
I think rock has to be right and Dale has to learn a lesson.
Do you know what I mean?
Because it's Star Trek and that's what Star Trek's like.
There was a line there.
It's not going to keep quoting lines. it's just because it's so
nice to have a Voyager episode with good lines.
Where, oh, no, I've forgotten the line already.
Will you stop looking so pretty, please?
very distracting.
I think the queen is looking pretty as well.
I just remembered the line.
Yeah.
Thank you for covering for me.
He said, what is it?
No, she said, it's the new Voyager.
What's not to love?
that's absolutely the effects team when they were given this
brief.
We want you to create the new boy.
Because you've got to, there's got to be fans involved in that
effects team, right?
Oh, of course.
Well, in fact, there was a line of dialogue at the time saying, of
course, Voyager is now a space museum, um, which is, of course, uh
canon because of the episode 2 Vix, at the Lower Decks, episode 2
Vix, where we actually go aboard that museum.
And so this is the Voyager A, which is a different ship
altogether.
Not to be mistaken for Living Witness, which is where Voyager was
a space museum in the future, where they were all misremembered as
a load of villains and bullies.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Wonderful episode.
So this is kind of sweet.
It does feel I see what you're saying.
Like, I mean, I love it because I love Star Trek.
But again, like discovery.
It feels like it's gone back into Star Trek default mode.
You know, we're back on a Federation starship.
We're going out on a mission.
We're at the academy.
I think the kids will get to play a bigger role. and get to do
their own thing, like get a little bit more initiative, but I
think it is from the context of this ship.
But that's okay because I think those, you know, the characters on
the ship are good.
I'm not being cynical when I say this, but I think by having your
in into series two.
You know, you love a series 2, episode one, when I show
reformats.
And actually, getting off on the 1st foot saying, actually, this
is our Voyager episode.
Janeway is going to have a big role in this.
A lot of people that maybe were resistant to series one might go
yeah, because I've seen Mulgrew at these conventions.
People love Voyager.
They love this crew.
So they're going, oh, God, it's, you know, the new Voyager, Captain
Jane Wafer Real, the doctor.
I'm going to give this a go.
I think it's a really smart move. to start this way.
And it kind of does work because remember, Janeway was always out
in.
She was the one who was teaching our crew about federation kind of
morals and kind of ways of behaving and ideals and stuff like that
like introducing us to the world of Star Trek.
I'm not too sure about the timeline.
Is 7 of 9 off with the Fenris Rangers right now?
Uh, yeah, I meant to check all that, but I can't remember it.
Can she make an appearance later on, you know?
I've just skipped over from the Starship Enterprise which I'm
currently capsing in.
Hello, Captain Janeway.
So I do know that the Stardaid in episode 2 starts with the digit
61.
And when Voyager ends, what, what, what other star dates then?
Is it, like, five, four?
So it's probably 7 or 8 years after Voyager comes back, I think
but I'm just guessing.
I'm the Star Trek fan that don't like technobabble.
How could you possibly ask me about Stardates?
Oh, but you know how Stardates work, don't you?
That, like, it's a four.
Don you know?
Say the 2nd digit.
Oh come on.
The 2nd is shit.
The 2nd digit is what season of Star Trek, the next generation it
is.
So for one, all of the Stardates in series one of the Next
Generation are 41 number, number, number, dot, 3 and 42.
So season 7 is 47, right?
And then Voyager is 48, season one.
And so, I don't know, it's a thing.
No?
No, I have managed to successfully get through 44 years of my life
without not knowing that.
I think my life will be more enriched now, I know it.
Well, so what I want you to do is go back and look at the website
where we always put the Stardates for every episode that has
them.
No, because I'm always able to see the pattern.
Well, the photograph that you've chosen, you know?
You chose a particularly good one for Meridian, I noticed.
Yes, super upsetting.
Another one.
Another thing I really loved about this 1st episode as well.
There is, it does introduce the mystery, but quite light.
And for the most part, it's just these characters being together
going onto Voyager and sort of finding their place in the universe
again.
And I really like that.
It was a very gentle opening.
It's the same response I had to image in the sand in boys DS9
series 7.
It's just a lot of hang time before episode two, the shit all hits
the fan. and by the end of that one, we've got our season
rolling.
That's nice.
Yeah.
I don't think you need to gum in guns blazing every time.
No, no, I thought that was quite, quite good, and they spent, you
know, they sold the premise quite well.
We got to see the ship, all of that sort of stuff, we got reminded
of who all the characters were.
We get like Gwen Gwyn's plot on the planet Solum explained and
just enough backstory to remind us what that's about. that we're
seeing here.
We get to introduce the children to the word cockamamy as well.
Yes, yeah, which is adorable.
Which seems to be a running joke now.
Yeah.
Yeah, and so we're getting this stuff about cloaked ships that
ships can be invisible and the kids who've just watched this don't
know that, but that it's possible but illegal.
Oh, here we go.
So here is our grown-ups, and the kids have are now hanging from
the ceiling.
And there's some very loud dialogue from the kids, which then they
make, they hang a lantern on, don't they?
Where, where, where...
Oh, someone goes, will you please be cool?
Are we trying to be captured?
Like, do we really want to be noticed?
I love as well.
They're doing that thing that they do used to do in 90s trek is
like, you know, when the plot requires it, the regulars behave in
a suspicious way.
So Janeway just came in sort of sinister lighting and went, wow
well, gentlemen, what is going on here?
you know?
So for a 2nd, we're supposed to think, well, what are they up to
these adults, you know?
What evil deeds are occurring here?
But no, it turns out.
It turns out Chakotay's the prize all along.
Yeah.
So it's an illegally cloaked ship.
So that is also a thing.
You know, they're doing something wrong.
This is so adorable with them hanging from the ceiling.
I don't know what happened to 0's legs, but maybe they just
retract.
I am just utterly entranced by the light inside 0's ball.
Like, I just, I just watched that light.
I could put that on YouTube and just sit there watching it on my
TV.
Oh, oh no.
Hank, can I ask about Murph?
Because a bit of him just dripped down there from the ceiling.
So it's not like Odo, is it?
No, I don't think so.
That was like gloop, wasn't he just sort of coughing up goop?
Because he's kind of revolting?
What do you think of Janeway's sort of sexy streak of gray, you
know?
Yeah, it's awesome.
He's an very nice.
And it was used to differentiate her because originally she has
sort of Janeway season one hair, sort of like Voyager season one
hair is what hologram Janeway has, you know, and then she has sort
of season 7 hair, but with a streak of extra gray just to let us
know that 10 years have passed or whatever.
I love the listening to Janeway talking about prodigy.
Sorry, Kate Mulgrew in conventions, because she's there on the
stage and she's going, you know, they asked me to be on this kid
show, Star Trek's kids show, and I went, what's this?
No, I was doing, you know, sophisticated science fiction in the
90s.
I know, I'm playing, you know, terrifying punk lesbians now in
prisons.
You know, I can't be in a kitchen.
And then the scripts came through and I said immediately, of
course, I'll do this.
She was blown away.
She was blown away by the writing and she said she really wanted
to do it.
And then she goes on to say about how vital it is to get kids
young into space exploration and science and things like that.
Like, Mulgrew never just gives a facetious answer to anything.
It's always very thoughtful.
And and I think that that's, you know, that that's what's
happening here, isn't it?
Because it isn't just space, you know, it's the ethic of Star Trek
that's introduced here too, which is pretty great.
It is pretty great.
And the world and the ridiculousness of the world, which is kind
of awesome as well.
There is one weird thing.
Did you notice?
At the end of, um, at the end of the episode, I don't know if it
did it on yours, it goes to black, like, there's a dramatic cut
and then the title's cut in.
Yeah, yeah.
As if it's kind of chopped up oddly.
I thought that was on too, and I, and it happens in the middle
there, and I wondered whether that, because this was a full length
like a 50 minute episode, that it was a result of that.
But then it happens every episode.
So I don't kind of know what's happening.
All right.
So what do you think?
Have we got any closing remarks before we launch into episode
two?
Yeah, I think my last closing remark of many positive closing
remarks, I sort of went into this recording telling you my powder
was dry because I just wanted to be full of praise throughout the
entire episode because I really liked it.
Um, is, I think, uh, like series one, starting series 2 as a 50
minute 2 parter, is another statement as well of them saying we're
not just doing these little sort of vignette episodes.
We're telling proper Star Trek stories, you know?
And actually looking ahead at the season and all those 2 partters
in there, if this is how the show's going out, then they're going
out telling sort of big stories.
I like that a lot.
Yeah, it's funny.
We don't know whether this is how they're going out, do we?
because it's always possible that this goes well enough on Netflix
for them to want another series.
And if they do have another series, that's 60 episodes.
That's more than Star Trek discovery reached.
Well, 40 is more than Picard.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it's still a substantial amount.
And I haven't seen the end and I don't want to be spoiled
particularly, but I have heard that it's a good ending and that it
could serve as an ending to the whole show or it could go on from
there.
It could serve either way.
So we won't feel robbed if we don't get another series except it
would be lovely to have another series.
What they've proven here is if is that is the ending, and it's
satisfying great, but they can retool this show so they can pick
it up again for series 3, just like they've done here for series 2
which is completely different from one and then get going again.
Yeah.
And this also seems to be designed.
This season seems to be designed in two, 10 episode blocks with a
finale at the end the way that the original series came out as
like 2 series.
And they are quite different from one another, those 2 series. you
know, they have quite different premises and things.
We're just like to ask.
So if they are going to lean into Voyager quite a bit.
And can we have a few of the old favourites back, please?
Chaotica, Cesca, you know, some of the best people.
I've seen a triple episode ahead.
We never got our voyage or triple episodes, so, you know.
That's true.
But someone ring Ethan Phillips's people, please.
All right.
We still in the Delta Quadrant with that family.
Oh, well, they can get to the Delta Quadrant.
They got slipstream drive.
Oh, sorry.
No, we've got to go and rescue Chakotay first.
All right, so we have to rescue Chakotay and to that end, I think
it's probably time for us to do part two. do you think?
Yeah, lovely.
If they do rescue Chikose and they do bring in seven, please can
they give her the line, I can't believe I ever went there.
Yeah, no, that was another upsetting outbreak of interest.
Yeah.
Series 7 avoid.
Yeah, exactly.
All right.
Okay.
I'm going to count us in.
Five, four, three, two, one and we're off.
Da-da-da.
And that weird...
So they animated slightly differently for each Star Trek series
apparently.
So that's exciting.
Here we go then.
We've got all of our mysteries set up.
Why is there a cloaked ship?
What's it got to do with the wormhole?
What's Janeway hiding?
Why might the mission be cancelled?
I mean, a lot to tie up here.
There is, and it turns out the person who might cancel the mission
is Admiral Jellicoe.
Isn't that awesome?
I'm so glad that they find a way, counsellor.
I prefer formal dress on the bridge, all right?
Ever since that line, I've been in love with that character.
He's, um, you know, had such an impact and it's really great.
This is a bit funny bad. all the time.
It was so refreshing.
It's just like Pulaski.
It was so refreshing to have an arsehole, an enterprise for just a
little bit.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Do you know, when Riker goes, you know, you really need to make
more of an effort with the crew. you know, get to know them a bit
more, you know, he goes, yeah, all right.
He goes you deal with that for me.
We actually get a little bit of that in Discovery Series 5 as well
with rain.
What was great was Ronald D Moore refused to dial back on it.
So even when they're all starting to work together in the 2nd
episode of Chain of Command with Jellico, he's still on arsehole
by the end of it.
Yeah.
I think it's really good.
He's not horrible to people, really.
He just doesn't want to be anyone for his friends. as relaxed as
Captain Picard was and I never thought I'd say those words.
No, no.
It's pretty great, isn't it?
Captain Picard.
If he had a look at Captain Pike and how he runs things, he did
absolutely...
Yeah exactly.
Into the breach.
Part two. looking good.
Gotta say, we're not seeing it yet, but that wormhole later on
looks terrific.
Really good, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love their faces and the prodigy were in, the letters.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, so this is the B plot.
Will you explain all this to me, please?
I'll do my best.
I'll say what I can remember.
When the show opens, she's on Tars Lamora with her father, and
that's where the proto star is, and her father's looking for the
proto star.
And her father is one of, um, a 100 people who are sent back from
Solem from this planet, 50 years into the future, 50 years in the
future, they come back in order to find the proto-star.
And what they want to do is they want to prevent the Federation
from making 1st contact with Solem because it causes a civil war.
Okay, when it does.
That was very succinct. you.
Yeah, yeah.
And so she's here now trying to prevent that civil war, and that
was mostly what her and Dal were talking about when he was in his
quarters, and he was talking to her on the pad.
So her job is to say that the Federation exists. and she's doing
it now.
She's explaining that she is a Valnakot, but she comes from a
federation and is aware of other people.
Now, the thing is, one of the other 100, like one of a 100 people
who comes back as well as her father, is this character Asencia
who was disguised as a trill officer on board the Dauntless, which
was the ship.
Yeah, I remember.
Yeah, I remember her.
And she's played by, um, uh, It's a great voice.
It's a very clipped British voice.
Yeah, it's Jamila Jamil from the good place. am I not recognised?
Yeah, yeah.
Very posh English voice, so absolutely.
And she's about to appear now, I think, isn't she?
And, and, um, so she's still trying to prevent 1st contact because
she's still on her mission to um, there we go.
So do you think it's just going to run for quite a bit?
There's a plot?
I don't know.
It is super important and it's, you know, we've got this wormhole
with 50 years distance.
Yeah.
Um, uh, and so there's 50 years in the future where Solom's been
devastated and we're going to see a hologram of that in a minute
uh, and sometime between now and then is when the Federation makes
1st contact and she and Gwynn's father were trying to prevent it.
Those are not simple ideas for kids to get their heads around, you
know?
Yeah, especially the timeline of that.
Yeah.
I think there's a level of simplicity in the way that it is
introduced.
Like we understand what Asencia wants and what Gwynn wants and we
kind of understand what the stakes are.
And so that's super clear and comprehensible.
So all of the timeline stuff doesn't really matter from sort of
scene to scene.
But it took me a little while to remember because it had been a
while since I'd watched that 2nd episode.
See, notice that there's a younger version of Asencia here on the
planet and that introduces us to the possibility there might be a
younger version of her father.
So her father travels further back in time than the others, which
is why he's older, and he dies at the end of series one, but we
reintroduce the character here as the younger version of himself.
What you also get with these scenes is a planet ripped straight
from a very expensive Star Wars series because the exteriors and
the interiors on this planet are amazingly good.
She's literally on the wire now going through all the spires down
into sort of the under city.
And it just, it feels very sort of rogue one-ish to me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's definitely that Star Wars aesthetic that we noticed at the
very beginning of series one as well on time.
They're doing this all on computers.
Why wouldn't you do that, you know?
It's hard to reconcile this planet with those old studio
landscapes from series one of, although there's elements of that
in this.
It is just more beautiful, isn't it?
And they're expansive.
I often point this out, but Nathan Curry has the cityscape behind
him on the Zoom screen.
That is just an image, isn't it?
Just beautiful.
Gorgeous sort of spires sticking up into the air.
The lighting.
We've moved a long way from those map paintings of Bajor.
Although I love that, yeah.
Yeah.
Chakotay is stranded on the other side, Nathan.
They should do the Red Dwarf, Joe. Well, quick.
Let's get out of here before they send it back.
I mean, he wasn't the most riveting of characters.
We do have consensus on that. don't we?
But you remember the one episode where we thought, yeah, resolution
well, was resolutions and the consciousness.
That's the one shot romance that worked.
We were trying to think of one the other week, weren't we?
It really does work, doesn't it?
And it's sort of sad.
You can see why they reject that and close the book on it, but it
is sad.
Because they're chemistry in that episode is absolute best.
Better than those scenes, you know, we had in Scorpion, where they
were, or equinoles, where we were just baffled by Chakotay styles
on the whole thing.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
No it was really good.
So just there we got introduced to this new Vulcan character from
Nova Squadron, and she's called Magell.
Uh, so the same as Magella.
Is her surname Barrett?
No, she's Magel, but with an apostrophe, obviously, because she's
a space person.
And she plays...
But in this, they're still using, despite the fact that we're
computer generating, and they could do any crazy aliens that they
want, and they do a little bit, but they still go with the old
designs, the Andorans, the Vulcans, you know.
Yeah.
Well, like you said, this is the only time that the teller rights
have been made to work.
Well, it's funny because Jankum doesn't look much like any other
Telleride.
He looks like a cartoon Telleride.
And I was a little bit surprised to see that he was a Telleride
but Doctor, no, I think his name is, the Jason Alexander character
or counsellor, Noom, looks a bit more like a traditional
Telleride.
What is this thing?
Not there, it was beautiful.
There's a globe thing that's coming out warning them not to enter
the anomaly.
Of course, it's an anomaly.
Yeah.
Oh, Joe, we should go.
I thought I'd had enough of these anomalies back in the day.
But we don't know who that is.
And that weird globe bubble thing appears and starts talking to
them and warning them and we don't know who it is.
I'm hoping it to be Chakotay from the future.
Hello, Captain June, maybe.
Maybe.
I thought that was great, where he just falls from the ceiling.
And so this is the scene you mentioned before where he gets
escorted out and we see the door closed.
The door to the bridge closes.
Away with you.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But it closes, but yes, there you go.
And so he's locked out.
Yeah.
So now he knows, he knows.
Well, they all know, and they summing us up.
Yeah.
But it was like Dal letting her know that we know something.
Has she taken them to Voyager 4, a specific reason, or is it
literally what they said, that it's just a learning experience
before going to the academy?
Because I feel like there's something more there.
Oh, no, no, I think it is a definite reason.
We do have a conversation here, but I'm not entirely sure what the
reason is yet.
I don't think, but they do, you know, like, because they are
involved.
Um, and because Chakotay, whom they're trying to rescue is kind of
responsible for them being here too.
I just love the aesthetic down on this planet.
It's beautiful, isn't it?
Yeah, these sort of dingy streets, but it's got an epic sort of
scale to it.
I do remember when, you know, DS9 was doing the streets of
Cardassia, they just had a sort of the front of a warehouse and a
light.
That was it.
Okay, yeah.
So here's her father.
So this is her father.
After or before?
Before he goes into the future and becomes a diviner.
No, so he look at bro and become he'll so he'll he will eventually
like in the future, 50 years into the future or whatever, he'll go
back in time in order to prevent 1st contact.
So 50 years into the future, Solum is devastated by a civil war
course by 1st contact with the federation.
He's one of the 100 people who goes back in time.
He goes further back in time than Asencia, uh, and he goes back in
time to Tars Lamora, which is where the show starts.
So this is way before that's all happened before he's gone back in
Taiwan. when he's just a nice fella.
He's just a person.
And it's really funny, actually.
There's a moment Gwen can't properly say his name.
She's never said his name allowed before, and she hesitates as she
says it, and he's just a normal person, and it turns out he's a
nice person.
Like, he's a nice person, and he's kind of immediately supportive
of her as his daughter, whereas, of course, she was just the
progeny, when the show 1st began, and something that the father
owned and controlled, but didn't really kind of love in any way.
Now, this is all very intriguing.
Chakotay in the future, the last known footage of Commander
Chakotay on this dangerous mission where his 1st officer gets
killed.
What the hell was that about?
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Whoa, fell in battle. we, there he goes.
So that's a Drake. who is the 1st officer.
He's not there.
Kotai has done some.
He's got very slim compared to...
He's very trim.
Yeah, I think he's dyeing his hair again too.
Tell Catherine.
I'm sorry.
But I'm doing this for you.
Now, is he talking to Janeway there?
Who's he talking to?
Oh, no, he's just recording a recording, isn't he?
Yeah, but he's addressing somebody.
I'm doing this for you.
Oh yeah, no, he's saying tell Janeway.
I'm doing this for you. doesn't so is it Janeway?
Are they going to have a romance part again of the season?
No, but look.
Look, so this is what we discover.
So he launches the proto star through that wormhole so it ends up
in the past and it goes to Tarsamora.
And so, and that's where it buries itself and that's where they
find it.
So Chakotay is the one who's responsible for them being able to
escape from from there.
And so if they change anything to do a Chakotay's mission, which
because they're there to extract him, then none of them would have
met, and the series would not exist, and they wouldn't be in the
academy now, et cetera, et cetera.
So there's huge stakes in both storylines, then.
Yeah that's right.
And, um, that I will spoil it in one way.
There is a change to the timeline or what happens, but it doesn't
affect our present sort of as far as I can tell.
Things seem to continue initially the same way.
But very strange.
And I keep seeing these, like as I was looking some stuff up in
preparation for this, and all of the memory alpha articles, say
original timeline, change timeline, and I was trying to avoid
reading them because I didn't want to be spoiled.
Most people I've never had any tiny bit of sex, have they?
No, we grateful to them.
I mean, we can have a lot of sex.
Instead of writing those articles.
We don't have to write the articles.
We can just talk bollocks for an hour a week and then get on with
the rest of our lives.
There would be, that would be an interesting thing for them to do
though.
Imagine they did change it.
And then you could have like the Road Not Taken episode where we
go back to series one and show, this is what happened.
And I don't know, kill them all off in spectacular ways or
something like that.
They're going to do that in a kid's show.
Just for the one off episode, you know?
That's not fun to watch.
Why is that?
Who wants to kill?
Do they kill people in this show?
Probably.
I can't really remember.
I can't think of that.
Let's keep an eye.
Let's keep an eye out.
Yeah, okay.
Okay.
Well, but I do like that.
I like the fact that there are stakes in both timelines.
So this planet is going to be roasted if she doesn't do what she's
trying to do.
And uh, they never will have met if they...
The show doesn't start.
Yeah.
Oh, well, then let's just leave Chakotay there then and not worry
about it.
He's not going to bring anything too interesting to the series, is
he?
No.
He'll be sitting in that commanders chair.
Is he captain now?
Yes, yeah.
Captain Chakotay.
He'll be alongside Janeway by the end of the season, I promise
you.
Do you think?
Yeah, this seems like a happy end of sort of a show to me then.
They're not going to kick him out in favour of stupid...
What's his face?
Robert Beltran.
Oh, no.
We do lots of complaints about Star Trek for during the writing
and now I'll see him being interviewed on the 7th rule, starring
Sirok Lofton, saying, oh, how wonderful to be back in Star Trek.
Oh, yeah.
Did the work dry up after a weird complaint?
I think it is wonderful that they're back in Star Trek.
You know, you do want Star Trek to wander off and do its own thing
and obviously that's what discovery was for, and that's how it all
started.
They even brought back Robert Duncan McNeil, didn't they?
in an episode.
So he's been back twice in lower decks.
Once in an episode called We'll Always Have Tom Paris, and then in
the most recent series where he's Nick Lucano and plays the big
bad.
So he...
I'll tell him, you think there's justice in Kurtzman Trek when...
And the worst robbers had 2 appearances. yeah that's right.
Justice for TS9.
I'm going to start waving the blackards now.
What's happening here now?
He's sort of slightly sexier now too.
Look at his outfit.
Like when you see him in sort of long shot, I mean, he still looks
like a sort of weird kind of guy, but he's got he's got a look.
He was he was definitely sort of terrifying old guy in series
one.
But now he's kind of a little bit younger.
It's 50 years in the future.
Yeah, that's true.
That's true.
I look pretty hot, you know?
30 years ago.
What's going on now?
I have no clue what's occurring in this subplot.
There's a robot.
Yeah, so that's a robot and of course that looks like the scary
robot from series one who's still in the opening credits, but he's
just the librarian.
Um, so, yes.
I would absolutely return all my books if that was the library.
So they're consulting this to try and work out how she can best
convince the people of Solemn to listen to her rather than
listening to a senseia.
And so that's what putting her heirloom into this globe thing is.
And we learn about...
Imagine how rich or what it would have been if they had done stuff
like this.
You know?
Like we said, have a series of episodes, have subplots going on on
different worlds?
I know, I know they were never going to do that.
It would have been great.
But I think, you know, like we're lucky that we live in an age
where TV now can do that, you know, I think.
So weird that both Star Trek and Doctor Who have had this thing
where people that loved it then are making TV now.
And the TV that they're making is just full of kisses to the past
and the stuff they love then.
Yeah, but they're making it in sort of a modern mode.
So this serialised thing, which is so different from here we go.
I suppose the big question is, is will the people what's in
Kurtzman Trek now, you know, the kids grow up to make television
and go, well, we're going to do loads of references to prodigy?
Lower decks?
That'd be something.
Do you think, can I ask you a question about Kursman Trek in
general, do you think this will be as, and once the sort of the
dust settles, will this be as remembered as original Trek and 90s
Trek?
Will it be as important?
Don't know because TV is so different and the audience is so
fragmented.
You know, that when original Star Trek comes out, there's how many
TV networks, like 4 or something, I didn't even know about the
history of American TV, it's probably less than that actually.
It's, um...
There's such a flood of episodes, isn't it?
There's so much of it that it absolutely made its impact just just
for how prolific it was.
But I think Star Trek the Next Generation was a big deal because
Star Trek had been a big deal and it was still successful films.
Remember that, you know, the 1st 4 films come out before Next Gen
starts.
I think.
I don't want to dismiss everything else, but I think Strange New
Worlds is the thing that will stand out from Possibly.
That's the one where people will go, well, yeah, you remember
Curtis when Trek?
Oh, yeah, Strange New Worlds, wasn't that?
It's definitely the one with the broadest appeal, I think, in
design to be that.
Yeah, yeah.
It's designed to be the flagship, I think.
And it lets everything else free to be a little bit more weird.
It's almost like they had to do a little bit of, sorry, I realise
we're not talking about the plot.
They had to do a little bit of discovery, um, to figure out how to
do it, and then they did that strange new world sort of knockoff
in series 2 of discovering it.
Right.
Now we know what we've got to do.
We could do that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And meanwhile, back on prodigy.
So we're back in Shuttle Bay 3 or whatever, but we're trying to
get away in the infinity.
So they've decided, I think, that they want to go, is that right?
Oh, no, no.
Um, they, they learned about the Infinity and then Dal was just
talking uh, in such a way that he got overheard about it, and so
Migel now knows about it, and she wants to stop them.
Dal is not trying to fly the ship into the wormhole.
He's just trying to move it out of the way so that Migel and the
Nova Squadron don't catch them in it.
But here they are.
I love all of this.
Just nicking the share, taking it out.
It sucked into the wormhole.
You know, and what I love as well is that there's no resolution
here, you'd think we'd have an opening 2 parter, and that will be
a contained story.
Absolutely.
No, no, it's not.
You're kicking into episode 3 and this is still running.
And episode 3 is about something different.
It's said in a different place, you know, like it's still part of
this ongoing plot.
Look at birth punching.
Look at punching the guy in the head.
They're both grabbing Zero's arms.
And he's about to be torn into...
Oh, she does a...
That's a falcon nerve pinch.
Yeah, and then Jane compresses the go button with his face before
he falls on the ground unconscious.
And I'm pleased here that they fall out the door.
So you get Rocktock was still on Voyager and you get the Vulcan
character on the shuttle.
So we're shaking up who our regulars are because they're now going
through the wormhole.
Yes.
And I was a little bit concerned and I wondered whether it was
because Riley wasn't able to do the whole season or whatever.
Do you know what I mean?
Because I thought...
I think they're just, no, they're just dividing the story.
But for a moment I was a little bit worried because I love rock
and I...
What it means now is we've got 3 lots of stories going on.
Inside the wormhole with that bunch, on Voyager, with rock talk
and back on the planet with Lady U's name, I've forgotten again.
Gwyn. you.
I don't wash enough of this, all right?
Look at that wormhole wowsers.
Oh, they got that animation on Janeway's shock's face perfect.
Absolute Mulberry, that was. didn't they?
Just a slight raise of the eyebrow.
And so this is where it ends.
It ends with them going into the wormhole, which is actually a
great ending, isn't it?
I think it's like what the hell is going to happen now.
Looks beautiful, just...
I knew that's how music was coming and I was going to end and I
was going, no, come on, come on, come on.
Really great.
Really engaging, really captured my interest.
I still really like all the characters.
I like the new setting on Voyager and I'm really intrigued to see
where it's going.
Yeah, it is a bit exciting, isn't it?
I am too.
Again, I'm going to say it on the Kurtzman trick shows.
It's the animated ones that are holding my interest.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
They're awesome.
And you know, I'm not saying I've got the intellect of a child
although some people could probably say that.
But this just seems perfect for me.
It's pitched at a level that totally sucked me in.
Oh, no, me too.
Me too.
I think that's, you know, there's something there's a
straightforwardness about it.
The story is still sort of complex or the background is complex or
whatever, but it can't get too up its own backside.
Do you know what I mean?
Because it still needs to be sort of accessible and comprehensible
to the target audience.
I just think it's really fun and great.
And I think the genius of Kurtzman Trek, the thing that makes it
better than Berman Trek in a way, is that what Berman Trek does is
just sort of iterations of the same show in a slightly different
environment, whereas each of the Kurtzman shows is vastly
different.
You know, perhaps the 2 most similar ones are Discovery and
Strange New Worlds, and they're not particularly similar and
everything else is really wild and like completely different
genres like kids show and comedy cartoon.
And I think that was absolutely a genius approach, and there
should be more of that.
I think, um, this is the last time I'm going to directly talk to
the untitled Star Trek project audience, but you people out there
um, if you have resisted Star Trek prodigy, and you fancy watching
a Voyager episode, which Kelsa Breeze is visually stunning, has
likeable characters in it, great dialogue, and, you know, running
plots that are really interesting and engaging.
Then check out.
Oh god, what was it called?
Into the Breach part one and two.
Because I think you might just find yourselves quite surprised at
what you watch.
Yeah.
I think so too.
All right, it's the end of the episode and it is time for us to
work out what we're doing next.
It was me who chose these episodes of Star Trek Prodigy, and so
that means it's your turn now, Joe, what series are we picking?
I am going to take us back to 90s trek again.
There's tons of it still to watch.
But I'm going to put all 4 series in.
Next Generation, Dick Space 9, Voyager, and Enterprise to see what
tasty selections we have.
Okay.
I'm hoping for Enterprise.
Let's see how we go.
Be disappointed then.
Your random Star Trek Voyager episode is, oh God, what is it with
us in season seven?
Yeah.
Season 7 episode 19?
Q2?
Uh, I don't know what one.
That's the one with John DeLars's son in it who comes onto the
ship to sort of seduce Echeb to the dark.
Oh my god.
At one point he turns engineering into a nightclub.
He removed 7 of 9 clothes.
And rather wonderfully, she just goes, what do you want me to do?
especially to be embarrassed by this.
Look at me.
I'm Jerry Ryan and Jerry Ryan.
Let's not watch that one.
We've done so much We'll have, we'll literally finish Voyager
season 7 and then have to watch the rest.
Yeah.
It'll be our 1st full season.
Obviously, the randomisers feeling kind by offering me skin of
evil from the next generation.
We will be covered.
Oh, another queue episode.
Your random star for the next generation episode is, oh, yes
please can we do this?
Season three.
Episode 13.
Dejar Q. It's the one where he has all of his powers taken off
him.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That sounds great.
It's our proper sitcom Next Generation episode.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, properly hiked.
Do you ever he turns up on the bridge completely naked?
Naked. on the floor.
Well, so the thing is that they were trying to shoot it and he had
a modesty pouch on and because it's John DeLancey.
They couldn't make it work and he said, oh, no, fuck it.
And he just took it off and they didn't do it.
I think he'd be allowed to do that now, and rightly so, perhaps.
But he certainly did it then.
I just remember there's this sort of gaseous entity. that is
winding up at the start of the episode. and then when his powers
are gone, he keeps tormenting him.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A guy that takes her opportunity.
Stabs him with a fork.
I think he tries to seduce Beverly Crusher as well.
It's just, it's crazy antics, but at a point where they figured
out how to do it, you know?
Yeah.
Oh, how far?
Oh, let's see if it lands.
That would be really cool.
Oh, yeah, proper comedy lands by series three.
Even the end, dude, he's on the bridge like a karanka.
He's got his Mexican band.
Let's do it Alright, brilliant.
You've been listening to untitled Star Trek Project with Joe Ford
and Nathan Bottomley, where online at untitled Star Trek Project
com, where you can find subscription links and links to our social
media accounts.
Our podcast artwork is by Kayla Ciceran, and the theme was
composed by Cameron Lamb.
This episode was recorded on the 23rd of July 2024 and released on
the 2nd of August.
We'll see you next time for Star Trek the Next Generation, Deja Q
Okay, we should say something now, but it's hilarious.
Well, I should, you can do that.
I should leave you to do that.
You're a funny one, video.
Something hilarious.
Okay. something hilarious.
Well, because they're going to say something for the people.
The last...
They like to have an insight into our relationship.
Yeah, this is a bit where we're off.
I should start taking my clothes off now then, really, shouldn't
I?
Well, it's audio.
Oh, yeah, but that's not for their benefit is for yours.
Noisily.
I'm trying to tell them.
Well, we normally go out to.
Oh, no, we're about to watch a kids show.
I should start on, anyway.
I'm wearing a star junk shirt.
I'm not wearing any trousers.
You know?
Oh, really?
It's just a t-shirt and box of shorts.
And the sort of, oh, make it.
Too cold for that.
I've got about 5 letters. roast in here, if I'm honest.
Yeah.
What's roasting?
Like a 23 degrees or something.
You look like Vedic bottom league is what you look like. do not
disturb on now.
This is what people want to see.
I still think that the best tag was that one recently where you
were just humming the Star Trek.
No, the best one ever was when you was talking about the fence.
I just painted it the colour of shit, you went.
Have you had any more terrorist attacks on your back garden since
the last one?
No, no.
I think that the, I think the graffiti repellent paint repels
graffiti and, I mean, don't get any anymore.
They've moved on elsewhere now.
Maybe they have.
I'm assuming crime's not too bad in your neck of the woods.
No.
Whereas you've been to my road.
Crime is prevalent around here.
Yeah.
Yeah, there's a lot of broken things and a lot of weed.
A lot of weed wafting out of the various houses.
Did I ever tell you about the time when the man broke into my back
door and he was half naked and covered in blood?
Uh, was it Mark?
No, I was with Ludo at the time.
Oh, my goodness.
Yeah, we're sitting there watching it.
I was like, you know, when you become aware, something's not right
in your environment.
Like something's shifted.
I didn't hear him coming in and the door was open because it was a
hot summer's day.
This fellow was there, literally ripped.
He was gorgeous and he had blood all over his chest.
No top on, and really sweaty, and a beer in his hand, a bottle of
glass bottle of beer.
What?
I know, and I went, who the hell are you like that?
And he saw me and I was literally in boxers that day as well when
Ludo's there with me and he's going, uh, gazer, like that.
And I'm like, I'm gonna fucking kill him.
So I went for him and Ludo's standing between us.
Turns out he was the drunken grandson of my neighbour who was
still alive at that point.
There were a woman that lived there.
They come in the wrong back gate.
He thought he was coming into her house.
And she was weird enough, and bless her, God bless her.
Am I going all a bit long now?
No, no, this is gold.
There was one time when I was like, because I used to sit and
write my Star Trek reviews.
I referenced them sometimes in the episodes.
Do you remember I used to write them in the, oh, did I know you
then?
I think I did.
I used to write them in the dead of night, like sort of 3 in the
morning.
The computer was downstairs.
And again, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And you've got the door there, you know, that leaves outside.
Well, they didn't have a fence then.
So the 2 gardens were inside each other.
Yeah, yeah, right.
And I didn't realise you'd come out in the garden.
She didn't realise I'm typing on the computer.
I look up, she looks up.
She's in the dark, yeah?
And she sort of goes, and claw talons came up and I was like, oh
my god.
Luna woke up and ran down the stairs and said, are you all right?
I was like, there's a witch in the gold.
He went, no, it's just a neighbour next door.
This is a small insight into what happens in Winchcombe Road in
Eastbourne.
Oh my goodness.
We can't put that out because that would compromise your upset
saying where exactly you live, wouldn't it?
No, I don't care.
Jesus Christ, let the hype well can come.
There's 60. no there's 265 houses on this road.
Anyone could get the hate. down, though, I suppose.
All those fans of sub Rosa. are sending their letters in.
Well, you were very positive about that, Rosa.
We was.
We like the ducks.
We actually were.
We were pretty positive about meridian, you know.
Given how terrible it was.
Yeah, yeah, I've come to the conclusion.
This would be the last thing I should say for the tag now.
I've come to the conclusion that the worst sort of Star Trek is
sort of the mid-dull Star Trek, like the masterpiece society
yeah?
And sort of, you know, 0 god.
Yeah, this is unendurably mid.
Whereas the terrible stuff, we can just laugh our heads off.
That's quite fun. generally.
And the great stuff, obviously, the good to great is really fun to
watch.
Well, I think, like, the episode that's made me angriest that
we've done.
Angriest one.
Yeah.
Can you think what it is?
Yes, it's that enterprise episode.
Was it Stigma?
Oh, cogenitor.
That was it.
Yeah, yeah.
Like, I thought there was a lot to be said for that.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, I didn't think it was an uninteresting hour of TV.
I think maybe the, what was the other one with the terrorists and
stuff?
and it was just like, like, I get annoyed at series, it was
Promised Land.
Was it promised land?
Well, we did a couple of weeks back, chosen around.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The one where we've got angriest at each other.
We don't have them very often was Equinox part 2 when I was
advocating for alien murder and you as a poor pilot.
They were people.
They were just slime of ghosts.
Yeah, they were probably evil.
Star Trek.
So it's nice to know we don't just laugh.
I'll wait for a living thing. we do get very passionate indeed.
Yeah, right, but I'm not going to be very passionate about this
one.
Although I didn't think it was pretty fun.
All right, here goes.
Hey, Joe. Hi.