Hey, Joe. Hi.
So we're back aboard the Enterprise D for the end of its first
year.
It's the 16th of May, 1988, and it's series one episode 26, The
Neutral Zone.
Now I have to say that I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected
to.
I have to say, I was slightly baffled after watching it when you
messaged me saying you enjoyed this as much as you did.
I was like, well, he's gonna have to give you some pretty serious
explanations for this.
So yeah, so this is an episode that's already suffering from the
writer's strike, which will properly hit in series two.
Was this not written then?
Was this AI Generated?
No, no, no, no.
It was written, but it's super thin, and that's one of the
characteristics of season 2 is that its episodes are languid and
thin and not much happens, and that's certainly true here.
We have a very leisurely B plot and a very thin A-plot.
There's not a lot going on.
But what it does do is, um, it does what series 2 does, and
perhaps what series one does a little bit as well, is one of the
things that it's still doing is it's teaching us what this world
is like, and it's interested in showing us life aboard the ship.
And one of the things that I think series one does, and we maybe
forget is because it's introducing Star Trek again, but it's
introducing a new kind of Star Trek set 80 years later.
And so the amount of time in encounter at FarPoint that's spent
establishing the holodeck and the replicator, which are the 2 bits
of technology that we didn't have in Star Trek, the original
series, uh, you know, so it's and the 24th century.
We didn't know when Star Trek was set when it went out, did we?
The original series.
We had no idea what year it was.
It's the 24th century.
We know it's the 24th century in Star Trek, the Next Generation.
And so the world of the 24th century is really important.
In Encounter at Farpoint.
We get a little bit of history between the present day and the
24th century.
We see, you know, the World War 3 and whatever goes on in the
middle of the 21st century and that sort of stuff in that
flashback with Q. And so all of that sort of thing creating that
world is a bit of a thread of series one of Star Trek, the Next
Generation.
I think it really culminates here because what they do is they
bring some people from the present day or perhaps more accurately
from TV from the present day.
You know, these seem like characters on TV shows in 1988.
And suddenly, we get what now looks like a very, very 80s episode
of Star Trek.
Suddenly it's the 1980s.
You know, you've got Poundland, F. Murray Abraham playing, you
know, like Gordon Gecko, just 6 months after Wall Street comes
out.
You've got that southerner guy.
You've got the woman with the very, very 80s hair, all of whom
have been sort of thawed out and brought on board.
And so we get to experience, again, what we experience when we 1st
started watching Star Trek the Next Generation, which was people
from 1988, experiencing the 24th century for the 1st time.
And I think that's really good.
That reminds us of what we've been enjoying for this year and
makes it real on screen.
And so I had a lot of time for that.
I think the characters are all terribly overwritten.
The arcs don't properly land.
It's not, you know, a super successful take on it.
But it was a fun thing to do and it did remind me of what it was
like to watch series one for the 1st time.
If this is what TV characters were like in the late 80s on
American television.
I'm very pleased I was not watching television in the late 80s in
America.
I mean, I had the same issue with this bunch as I did with the 3
Marquis members last week in Learning Curve, which incidentally
was the last episode of the 1st season of Voyager.
The randomiser as a bizarre sense of humour.
In the hands of the prophets is coming next.
Yes, I can absolutely see your reading on this, but watching this
as a piece of television in its own right, and not as an
intellectual exercise, as a culmination of the 1st year of Star
Trek, the next generation.
I thought this was a bit drab.
I don't think the joke's land.
I think it's visually uninteresting.
I found those 3 characters.
Not just irritating, but a bit boring as well.
And we never see them again.
Of course we don't.
So what's the point?
Like those marquee people.
Um, I do like the return of the Romulans in this and I do like the
fact that they're thinking ahead.
But even in that plot, I couldn't believe the end of this episode
where it just ended.
And there was no sense of climax.
There was sort of no culmination of the season there.
There was no culmination of this episode.
It was just like, we're back.
That's it.
Okay.
So the other thing that does, of course, is examine what the
values of the federation are and what a post scarcity society is
like by having people from 1988 meet.
I know they're from 1994 shut up, but they're from 1988, having
people from 1988, meet our crew, and there is a kind of statement
of intent as we finish as well.
You know, Picard gets a little bit of a speech.
And yes, like it's all sort of very undercooked and it is very
like I get drab.
I think that that is kind of fair enough, but I just think as a
kind of amateur Star Trekologist, this was like a pretty reward.
Don't go giving yourself qualifications.
Just because you've watched 100 Star Trek episodes and
compensations.
You did.
Yeah, we both are.
But also as well, I'm very well aware that we are just can't
forget we're in series one of Star Trek and the next generation
because none of the characters are formed.
Still, everyone's very stiff and there's some very bizarre
characterisation of Captain Picard.
We never would have got later on in this, and I'll talk about it
as we go through the episode.
But, you know, like poor Gates McFadden in this doing a blank.
I mean, I'll send you a clip of her going, you know, we found them
in the pods.
I unfroze them.
You know, it's like, what are you doing?
I mean, to be fair, she knows at this point she's been fired.
Why would she...
Why would she even give any effort to this bullshit that she's
been asked to say?
Um, but also Troy's still in that sort of good girl phase that we
don't really like.
Riker looks weird without the beard.
Like everything just doesn't feel like it's quite there.
And you and me, we've done brilliant episodes, you know, who
watches the watchers, the game from like three, four, and 5
recently.
So to go back to when they were making tentative steps towards how
great it would be.
I mean, I like it because of that because I like seeing, well, God
this is how bad it was to start off with.
How they learned some lessons, which is really great, but it does
mean going, it's just all a bit awkward.
I think I wanted to like this more than I did.
So I'm a bit disappointed at myself, frankly.
Mine was the other way around.
I knew that it was a kind of boring episode and I actually find
the 3 kind of TV characters who've wandered on board actually kind
of fun.
I mean, they're overwritten, but so is literally everyone else on
board ship.
That won't get me my lawyer.
I need to get onto the bank.
I'm so sorry, but all the lawyers and bugs are dead.
You know, what?
But, you know, that's a very, very now portrayal.
Do you know what I mean?
It's literally sort of 6 months after Wall Street is released in
December of 1987.
And so that character is very now, and yes, he is sort of
terrifically overwritten and stuff, but he's the one who, you know
we talked about it when we watch Shades of Green.
Remember the B plot where we turned up on a planet where a post
scarcity society had just been introduced and all of the rich
people were pissed off.
And so we sort of get to see that here.
And he's in a position to completely misunderstand the world.
And then, of course, he's on the Bridge of the Enterprise, and he
is crucial in the negotiations because he understands what's going
on because he's devious and everyone else on board the ship is
super naive.
I know that that doesn't quite work.
There is an attempt, like conflict of the 2 plots coming together
when the Robulus turn up on the screen and then he walks out the
turbo now, go, who's this on screen?
What's going on?
Is anyone right in this?
But there is an attempt, I think, to give all 3 of them an arc of
some kind.
I mean, their plot does at least come to a conclusion.
You know, and they go off to live their lives in the future.
The other plot, it just stops.
It just stops.
In fact, something like 15 years later, Sonny Clemens is
performing at a concert where some teenagers are injured because
they are stampeding and they rush the stage.
And that is reported in grounded, which is an episode that we've
already covered on untitled Star Trek project.
So Sonny Clemens is not forgotten.
He does turn up, he does get mentioned, and in an episode of lower
decks, and he does have a successful singing career.
Oh, of course, is absolutely useful. is ridiculous.
Karen, I don't forget anything, do I?
I think they made a list.
Right.
Come on.
Let's make a list of all the shittest things that ever happened in
Star Trek and we'll do it.
And they went, oh god, we've got a whole volume for Voyager
right?
We'll have to write a whole episode.
We'll call it Tuvix, and we'll have everything in there.
I think the best example of it is that the outrageous O'Connor
turns up both in lower decks and in prodigy.
And it's still William Campbell, isn't it?
Well, I don't think I don't know that he gets lines in lower decks
but I can't remember, but dumb, yeah, is that terrific?
I fucking love that show, you know.
I love this show as well.
Just not quite yet.
Yes.
No, that's fair enough.
I think that is definitely fair enough.
And like I said, I'm enjoying it as a historical curiosity rather
than as an actual functional hour of television, which I think it
just manages to be, but only just.
See, that's why I love Bay you in Asia.
You can watch TV on these 2 levels.
One is a piece of entertainment and 2 as an intellectual
exercise.
Alas, my intellect is not up there with you, so I only watch it as
a piece of entertainment.
I know those levels is a bit lacking.
It is a little bit, I'll concede that.
Well, I get to talk about it with you.
Well, yeah, take that piss out.
Gates McFadden quite a bit too.
Exactly.
She gets quite a good bit in this, which I will point out when we
get there.
Jean-Luc.
All right, let's go in.
I'm ready.
Although, please, can we do something good next week?
All right.
I'm gonna keep pressing that fucking button until I get something
good. entirely up to you.
All right.
I will count us in.
Five, four, three, two, one, and we're off.
What a fine looking pro we have there.
It is, isn't it?
It looks a lot nicer, you know, in the new version.
I watched the old version earlier.
Oh, was it super different?
I'm watching the new version as well.
Sort of shoddy bit of model work.
Now it's a nice bit of CG.
CG.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So this is a little bit like space seed, isn't it?
Like the Botany Bay they pick up in Star Trek, the original
series.
It might even be from the 1990s as well.
But this is from the 1990s that nearly happened, I think.
I did say to you in a message, you know, it's very strange that at
the end of TNG series one, and what probably should have been the
end of Voyager season one, which is the 37s, they both discover a
piece of space flotsam from the past and go, oh, wow, it's a point
of historic interest, we must explore, and then it leads them to a
bunch of pods with people cryogenically frozen. from the 20th
century.
Yeah, that's...
In that one, it's a truck and we eventually end up meeting Amelia
Earhalt.
So it's a bit more crazy.
That is a little bit weirder and a little bit more exciting.
I really like this set.
Yes.
And there's there's a panel as well.
Because what's interesting about it is, of course, one of the
themes of this episode is the difference between the late 20th
century and the late 24th century.
And there's a beautiful shot of a panel, which is just coming up.
Look at that.
Look at that panel with all of, you know, the lights and stuff.
Excitable lights, there, sort of nomadish, isn't it?
It makes me quite exciting.
I don't know what all those lights do, but it's very complicated
I'm sure. selling it.
I think in early TNG, they do this sort of stuff really well, this
exploring derelict ships and things like that.
They've got a dry ice machine that's going crazy and they're not
afraid to do some sort of crazy lighting as well.
Later on, it all gets a bit flat.
I think I remember us saying that in heart of glory.
Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it?
And you've got Ron Jones and they're going, da, da.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, you sent me the clip of Ron Jones.
And I was paying close attention to it because as is already well
established at this point.
I did have the best of both worlds soundtrack.
Oh, on CD.
So great, isn't it?
Yeah.
Although, you know what?
My favourite track is on the Ron Jones album.
What's that?
It's the skin of evil one.
Oh, it's just wonderful. when trashy R dies is great.
It's a weird trade-off though, isn't it?
Because later on, obviously we get a better show.
It's a more thoughtful show.
It's a better acted show.
It's a better written show.
But I do think some of the atmospherics.
I've toned down.
It's like Rick Berman looked at all of this and went, you know
this is far too atmospheric.
Will you just dole down the lights, please, and the music?
Yeah, I mean, we were talking about that and we, it will come up
because um, the, the enterprise itself looks quite different.
Yeah, I knew that she would be what we go to the opening credits
on.
So that was Claire.
So, you know, like the, we've talked about it before.
I think they've, they haven't quite established how to light the
enterprise either.
And so there's shadows on the walls cast by the characters and
stuff like that.
Um, whereas we get a sort of, uh, I think it's cinematic.
Like, I think I remember, you know, I'd watched all of series one
nearly all of series one, because it was, you know, released on
VHS at around about the time for rental, and I scoured all of the
shops in the area, all of the video stores in the area to rent it
until I'd seen the 24 episodes that were released.
And so when I finally started to see series 4 stuff coming through
from America.
It seemed more cinematic, but the lighting is flatter, you know, um
I think there's a whole fesus that you could write, you know, on
the lighting of Star Trek, the Next Generation.
Because here, like we said, it's a bit drab, but it is a bit more
interesting.
Shadows make things a bit more visually interesting.
Yeah, yeah.
But do you remember when, you know, the genuine cinematic lighting
hit in generations?
we were all like, well, what the hell is this?
Yeah.
Yeah, the same familiar sets looking completely different because
they're being lit like it's a feature film, which it was.
Um, yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I like it because it's trying things that it
eventually kind of settles on not doing again.
And we've said before, that what happens is, of course, we raise
the floor enormously in series 3.
And we raise the ceiling.
I mean, there are better episodes in series 3 than there are in
either of the first two.
It's a net win, but we do lose something.
We also, yeah, we've acknowledged we lose some of the risk of the
and, you know, risk me, if you take a lot of risk, it means you
fall flat in your face a lot, which they did anyway. one and 2
happens a lot.
Great fun to watch it though.
But the light in this episode, I was like, oh, it's like when you
get a really dismal sort of reading lamp, you know?
and it throws out this sort of horrible brown light and everything
sort of a little bit off.
I don't know, I couldn't explain it, but it wasn't pleasing to
look at, I don't think.
No.
And, oh, they're still slumping back in those bloody chairs on the
bridge.
That's terrible, George.
You could need a shot for your back.
They do get rid of those.
But look, the guy at the panel behind Riker is casting a shadow on
the wall and that's something you would never see in series three
I think.
But you remember that fabulous lighting in the 60s?
You know, stuff like the doomsday machine?
We've unlearned lessons in the 20 years.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it wants to be more even and more controlled, I think.
Now, this is written, or the telly plays written by Maurice Hurley
right?
who is a very divisive figure.
You go and watch the documentary about series one and two.
They wanted him out because he ended up up saying, and of course
he fired Gates McFadden.
I have nothing but love for the man.
But he also did write Q-Hoo and he wrote Times Squared in the 2nd
season.
So he could write a really good script.
Times squared's a bit shit.
Oh, I like it with 2 Picards.
So I don't think his instincts were always wrong.
But he just had a habit of pissing people off.
I mean, he's trying to set up something that doesn't end up
eventuating in series 2 because of the writer's strike because one
thing that we didn't mention in our introduction is this is the
introduction of the Borg.
And they introduces a mystery, the central mystery, which is being
explained now.
Oh, we don't know about the Tomed incident.
So we haven't seen the Romulans for like 80 years or something.
And that's kind of the same position that we're in in balance of
terror, isn't it?
No one's ever seen the Romulans before.
We don't know anything about them.
We'll talk more about the Romulans.
It is.
It explicitly stated that the ball, when they turn up in Q Who in
the 2nd season, that they were responsible for this.
I think so, but definitely the opening, you know, before we go
into the opening credits of the best of both worlds, part one.
We're standing on that planet where an entire colony has been
scooped off the surface of the of the world, which is exactly what
you're being described here.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's a great visual.
And, you know, they could never have achieved it in series one of
of Star Trek the Next Generation.
They didn't know how to do it yet.
Look at the lighting here.
Look at, it's not flat and even, is it?
It's, you know, there's a lot of shadow on Picard, you know.
Can I tell you a little bit about James L. Conway who directs this
episode?
Yeah, because this is the man who brought us some of the very best
Star Trek episodes in the 90s, right?
But unfortunately, the 2 he directed in series one of TNG are
justice and the neutral zone.
So it's sort of, let's say humble beginnings that he then goes on
to direct. listen to this.
Frame of mind.
Duet, necessary evil, way of the warrior, um, for the cause, deaf
wish, which we've already watched, in a mirror darkly, that
fabulous alternative universe one for men's prize.
So he does the entire run from TNG all the way through to the end
of Enterprise.
But he does 4 stories per series, not season per series.
Wow, per series.
And they pull him in like, where, the Warrior, man?
The direction of that is fabulous.
It's really good.
So I don't know how he managed to get those choice gigs after
delivering justice, but here we go.
So again, see this, this is them looking at us.
We were looking at them for the entire year.
We were looking at people from the 24th century.
They're looking at us and seeing what we died of, we emphasise how
incredible the medical technology is now, and we emphasise how no
one smokes and drinks anymore when we look at poor old Sonny
Clemens. a very tedious life in the 24th century, don't you
think?
Imagine not been having a glass of red wine.
Yeah, no, but no, no.
I watched, um, I watched Cause and Effect, which is a brilliant
and accomplished episode full of incident and carefully written.
That's right.
But Beverly is drinking some kind of DJ Steve after dinner.
She's got her little kind of...
Well, yeah.
Synthetic alcohol.
Oh, they're so refined.
Did you hear her then?
I love that when they talk about science.
She's like, cryonics.
Jean-Luc.
They feared dying in the past.
Oh god.
So, I mean, he has a point. dead bodies.
Do you know what I mean?
Like and they weren't...
You know, if they're just dead bodies on their, they, you know, do
we have to try and make them up?
Look how shitty this set is, by the way.
Can I just because it is just the observation lounge redressed?
And they've pasted...
They've pasted some fabric over the winter.
It's so obvious now you spell it out.
It's the same windows.
Oh my god.
You can even see where they've stuck the fabric at the edges
look.
Yeah, the very silly...
Oh, TNG, come on now. pull out the stops.
Oh, they do have that fabulous coloured liquid there, though. still
want to know what that is. away from series one.
No one knows.
Is it Cortrazine or some of the things that, you know, the
anaesthesia uses.
I didn't think you can leave cordes, hanging around.
This would be straight.
I believe those windows.
Yeah, yeah, you can see the crinkles in it.
Oh, in this terrible gag, which, again, Ron Jones gets to kind of
go, this is a funny game.
Oh, I think I messaged you about this bit.
She sees warf and faints because obviously there's no Klingons in
the past.
I think the music is more like, look, look, look, look, look
look.
It's terrible.
Welcome to the 24th century.
The 24th century.
We does it again with Rasmusen in...
Oh, of course he does.
A matter of time.
Do you know, Dr. Beverly does have a very hot assistant there
in...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I've seen him before, I think.
He is in it a little bit.
I think, uh, you know, she's going soon.
Dr. Pulaski will come along.
Shell appreciate him even more.
Yeah, probably, probably.
So, I actually have to say that I quite like this woman, like that
actor, I think she's quite good.
Because she's so mumsy.
Yeah, she's too mumsy.
But she's very kind of, but that's it.
Do you know what I mean?
Like she's just an ordinary person.
It says homemaker and data goes, oh, it must have been some kind
of construction or something.
Like he assumes that she's a builder, which again, I think it's
like just a cute Star Trek thing, you know, where they don't fully
understand the past.
Got quite a nice hairy chest. one on the end, doesn't it?
Yeah, so that's Sonny, yeah.
The thing is, though, is that when that woman breaks down later on
it just, it's so murder she wrote, you can just see in every
procedure.
Absolutely.
That's exactly what it is.
She's just in here from another TV. tune into TNG for, you know
though.
Yeah, but sometimes you do get that.
Do you know what I mean?
It's not always sort of beautifully performed and the characters
are really quite overwritten.
The punching... study to be done on, if you look at all the guest
actors of TNG, and then look at all the appearances in murder she
wrote, and how the correlation. bet there's a lot.
There must be a huge overlap.
Oh, look, she's still wearing one of the, what are they called?
There's a few people in scant, actually.
I didn't see a man in scant, but there are a few scenes with women
in scant.
Why would they put them in these clothes?
Look at these horrible fucking set as well.
Blue clothes.
Now, why don't you all wear identical clothes now?
I mean, it's sort of like what it looks like to describe this to
the listener.
It's sort of like a polo neck, black polo neck with a dressing
gown on top of it.
It's very odd.
So, we just saw a pretty significant moment, um, uh, which is data
saying what year it is, and we've never known what year it is
before.
He says an encounter at Farpoint. from the Starfleet class of 78s
but that's not what we settle on here.
It's 2364, I think, is the date.
And we've never heard the date on the screen in Star Trek before.
So this is the beginning of what will eventually, I think, kind of
throttle the franchise, which is mapping out the details of future
history.
Did you hear what that woman just said then?
How racist.
You know, that guy before, the guy with the head.
Yeah.
With the head.
Yeah.
It is a pretty bad head in series one though.
Oh, that man, it's sort of a hillbilly man.
He's got terrible teeth, hasn't he?
I, I actually, I actually quite like him and one of the reasons
that I like him is that he's, he's slang and stuff is so fun and
so incomprehensible that I don't get it either.
Like, I'm in the position that Riker and data are in.
It's just like, because there's one thing where data turns to
Riker to interpret the human expression, which is normal.
And he goes, yep, no, I don't know.
Do you know who that woman reminds me of?
It's old Gillian from Star Trek 4.
It's that same sort.
She just went, can somebody please tell me what's going on here?
This guy is so chill about being in the future.
Like, he's he's actually quite cool.
And there's, I love the bit at the end where, um, oh, we'll get
there, but data has a great reaction to him and, and, uh, and I
really enjoy it.
Like, he really kind of bonds with data in a way that I think is
quite nice.
I like the fact that they call it cryonics. of cryogenics as
well.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because it's the bullshit version.
Did you see that data going, hooey?
Oh, but he knows, he works it out.
He even comes up with his own words.
I think I'm just too cynical to all of these data games now where
they do it a lot though, don't they?
Where he doesn't understand a word.
Yeah, particularly early.
And then somebody explains the word and it's the payoff's never
very funny.
No.
But do you remember that it's just the 1st thing that we see him
say in all good things when we go back to the very beginning to
everyone arriving on the ship and data turns up and he doesn't
understand a thing?
There's some saying that he doesn't understand.
Yeah, yeah, let's do it.
He goes, all right, let's we have to do series one data for this
which is kind of perfect.
It's sort of watching the rushes coming in.
He goes, no, you haven't got Tashia.
Y's hair right.
What are you doing?
Oh, I just couldn't care less about these 3 though.
Like, I tried.
I try to be involved with their story.
But they're deliberately written to sort of get in the way and
they're treated like a nuisance and Picard is really mean to
them.
So I'm like, are we supposed to like them?
Because they don't really want them there.
Because I think what happens is, and this is the bit that's
undercooked, is that Ralph manages to help out on the bridge with
negotiations because of his skills of being an evil businessman
you get Claire, who is uncontrollably sad, but then discovers
about her future and thinks that she has a stake in the future.
You know, the people who breed.
They have a steak in the future.
They own the future in some way.
And so she has a kind of family and we don't dismiss the loss that
she's had, but she's able to kind of contextualise it and cope
with it.
So something's happening there, and Sonny develops the friendship
with data.
And that's the most undercooked of them, but it is kind of, you
know, you know, he gets the guitar and all of that.
There's something, you know, there's something there and that's
what's kind of happening.
So we dismiss them.
We kind of think, oh, we are so much better than them.
How did we ever get through the 21st century with people like
that?
And then we discovered something that humanises them, I think, is
meant to be the ark?
But sort of the effect in the sort of middle of the episode is
they're written a bit over the top and everyone's reacted them as
if they're annoying.
So the result is we're like, oh, just fuck off.
We just want the Romulans, you know?
But I mean, I don't like this.
You know, it's looking at the, it's the, that would be what I
would do with a replica.
I would get it to make me a martini because I'm not a fucking
monster like Sonny Clemons, I wouldn't have an even number of
olives in it because I know what I'm doing.
I would alter one of Deanna Troy's Iceland special chocolate
sundaes.
Well, I think I'd have a martini and a chocolate sundae, I think
so indulgent, you know.
But as well.
One of the things I really don't like about the 1st season of TNG
is just how pompous.
Picard is, okay?
And he spends a lot of the season, either given a speech to people
that are, you know, low lives and going, well, we've taught you
all a lesson now. war number two, let's go.
You know, or like in this.
We watched who watches the watches the watches recently, right?
And that's the point where they have uninserted that enormous
stick from Captain Picard's bar, and he behaved in a very
sensitive, empathetic way with Nuria, who came along.
Now, 2 seasons in the future.
He probably would have done that here as well.
These are people from the past who are disassociated, from
everything they know, and he goes to Riker, oh, you deal with
them.
I can't be asked to deal with those people.
That's the season one Picard, and I really don't like him.
So, I mean, there's a whole scene, isn't there, when he 1st meets
Riker?
Like, and he meets him for the 1st time in Encounter at Farm Point
where he explains to Riker that he's kind of obnoxious.
I want you to stop...
And hear me from making an ass of myself with children, Riker.
And so that's all overwritten and, you know, like it has to be
establishing stuff.
But here, so they turn up behind his back, you know, the 1st sea
discovers is that Beverly's unfrozen them.
He doesn't know anything about them.
He's in the middle of something that's very kind of that is being
painted as a massive deal, even though it's consumed, virtually no
screen time at this point, which is the Romulan thing.
You know, something big and scary and momentous happening.
They're heading to the neutral zone.
He doesn't have time to deal with this.
And so he deputises Riker.
And it's a different...
There is still a conscious shift in his character, though.
At the same way.
Oh, absolutely.
He would never behave like this later, but it was an interesting
thing to consider was, don't you think, making the captain a bit
grumpy and a bit distant?
Like, you're initiating him from Kirk?
It makes right to like that, right?
Because he's the one dealing with all this dodgy work.
That's right. that's right And that's why they walk it back, I
think.
But, like, they say now where he goes, you know, Riker, did you
give him permission to use the communication system?
Why are people not allowed to do that then?
Yeah, and then he goes into the room.
He points in his face and goes, you know, don't you ever use that
again?
Who the hell are you?
You big bully.
Just stop being such a prick.
Yeah.
But I mean, it is like they don't fully get their situation and
it's a warshipping in a sort of perilous situation, you know?
I think as well, there is an element of Patrick Stewart's
unhappiness. in series one because all the actors say, oh, he was
just so uptight.
And they were all trying to have fun and he would literally be
there on the set going, we're not here to have fun, you know.
And one day, Denise Crosby sat him down and went, Patrick, we're
here for 17 hours a day, all right.
We'll do the acting of these shitty scripts, but please let us
have fun.
And one of the most beautiful things is they took this RSE prick.
And actually, they softened him and then he fell in love with all
these actors.
And then as the show continues, You can see how in love with them
he is.
It's rather wonderful.
And then he comes back.
It means you have to suffer his own years is the trouble.
Yeah, exactly.
But like, he's being sort of hilariously.
He's actually being quite forbearing here, Mr. Offenhouse, we're
in the middle of an important meeting right now.
Oh, I just can't do these reference.
Data, what is the QE 2?
A passenger linus.
Oh, Christ, all right.
Morris Hurley, will you give this script another pass, please?
So it's still around.
Did you know that?
It's in Dubai in the horror of Dubai.
It's a hotel.
It's a floating hotel.
It doesn't go anywhere.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, oh. his hair. is fabulous, isn't it?
I love it.
He says, this is the worst run ship I've ever been on.
Got to pick up.
The card actually turns up.
Like, I think he's being a little bit conciliatory here.
Do you know what I mean?
Like he's not telling...
He shakes his hand, but why can it do away with that?
You'll see that finger point in a second.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And that too.
Like his reaction here is quite good.
If they're that important, why don't they need a key?
And it's kind of like, this is how your world differs from mine?
Yeah?
Like, because no one would use them out of turn, you know?
Then surely, if I was the guy from the past, I'd be going, yeah
but do you know what?
I'm new here, all right?
And this isn't what the world is like where I'm from.
So cut me a break.
He doesn't do that.
Do you know what I mean?
He says, my situation is more critical than yours because I earn a
lot of money and you don't.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, that's his approach.
I think he's quite chill.
I mean, they do have another part.
Do you remember when they bring Samuel Clements into the future in
Time's Arrow and he's walking the corridors and he's talking about
money with Troy?
And she goes, you know, we don't need that anymore.
You know, we don't, we long since moved past those things.
And Samuel Kennedy is going, and you're telling me that life just
isn't like that anymore.
And she goes, yeah.
And then he goes, hmm, maybe there's something to the future after
all.
And it's all done in one scene.
It's wonderful.
Yeah, this is laboured, but but this guy has a different attitude
towards capitalism than Samuel Clements, you know, uh, Jerry
Harton as well, Ben.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, obviously, charming as hell.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But this, we've a, so we get to restate that.
We get to restate.
It's never been about possessions.
It's about power.
Power to do what?
says Captain Picard.
Yeah, but it that kind of control.
It's an illusion.
I don't know.
You see, I like this interaction.
I do like this interaction.
I like what they're saying, I don't think the dialogue is much cob
though.
No, no, I agree.
I agree.
And this is odd too. because he's terrible in these situations. and
she's kind of, she's not irrational or anything like that.
You know, she's not, this is sort of reasonable.
Why is she the only person thinking about her family?
Oh, that's right, because she's the woman.
Well, yeah, there's that.
And she's a homemaker, remember?
Where he's thinking about his money.
And Sonny Clements is thinking about his ex-wives, but he doesn't
have any children.
Look, he touches her on the shoulder.
Yeah, and then he goes, Roy, cut to Troy.
Yeah, I'll get a woman to deal with. with this woman, please.
There's a crying woman in my on my sheep.
Can you go and deal with it, please?
Where is again?
Again, can we please just think about how he treated a woman in
who watches the watches?
Yeah, she was the leader.
So sensitive with her.
And I like this too, where he's honest with him.
And then Pecan says that's the 1st thing you said that I
understand, you know, like, you know.
So again, that conversation has them back down a bit from the
conflict and then eventually he plays an important role on that
thing.
Like, I don't, you know, like, it's embryonic.
It's not very good, but...
He's trying to do something.
Well, you get those people under control, please.
You're the control.
You arrogant brick.
Oh no, here we go.
The string started coming in here.
My name's Deanna.
Oh, my family.
Oh, she used the word shrink, which she doesn't recognise, which I
think is really great.
I mean you're right.
It is nice that whilst Beverly and Troy are in sort of typically
female centre roles.
It is nice that Tasha Yard.
Oh, no, she's gone in, she's dead.
She's gone at this point.
She's still in the opening credits, but she's gone.
Yeah.
I suppose the next woman that comes in that isn't is Rowe, isn't
it?
And some row.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Got wait a couple of years for that, yeah.
Yeah, that's right.
Although, you know, Pulaski may be in a, she may be a doctor, but
she's fucking terrifying.
Yeah, yeah.
I actually love how she talks about her husband as well.
Like Donald, like that he's a bit of a deep shit and a bit of, uh
you know, like he obviously would have loved cryonics because it
was clearly a scam, you know, so no wonder she spent the money and
stuff.
And then she thinks about why he does it.
Because, I mean, just her thing is that her, everyone she knows is
dead at this point, you know, like she's suddenly lost people.
She, unlike the other 2, didn't know that she was dying.
You know, it came as a surprise to her.
And it, like, it is, like, it's a sort of shitty TV thing and it's
you know, you know, come on.
Whatever happens to my children.
Did they get married?
Did they have kids?
It's a so, isn't it?
It's really right, but it is actually a proper thing.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, no, no.
The sentiment.
What she's saying is fine.
It's how it's presented.
Yeah.
No, because I, like the thing that it reminded me of, like, I
don't want to get all thing about it, but, like, my mother was
gone before I finished university, and so she never found out
anything about what my life was like, or who I grew up to be, or
you know, what job I ended up doing and stuff like that.
She never found any of that out.
And so I actually found the fact that Deanna was able to do that
for this woman.
Do you know what I mean?
She died.
She never found out what her kid's life was like, and Deanna helps
her find it out through the magic of 24th century technology.
And so that resonated with me a little bit.
I thought that that was actually quite good.
No, and I have seen this idea done elsewhere extremely well.
I don't I don't think the instinct of what they're trying to do is
bad.
It's just how it's all portrayed.
I mean, did you hear him?
Talk to Beverly, then he goes, there ain't no need about it
darling.
Look at this, look at this.
He just, you're about the prettiest little old doctor I ever seen
and then he touches a bum and then she goes.
She should have slapped him round the face.
Just sort of think, oh my god, people from the past.
They're such deep shit.
I mean, so...
And it leaves into that thing we always say about gates is that
when she gets to react in a human way, she's fired.
She was quite funny there. that earlier on where she went, you
know, Jean-Luc, I unfroze them, you know, it's terrible.
But you see, I like this too.
She's gone from being just uncontrollably sad to like actually
having something to hang on to.
And she's still sad.
It's not fixed.
The thing that we missed was the screen with all of the
grandchildren was originally all of the Doctor Who's and a few
other people.
Yeah.
And now, as you, as you say, sent to me.
Yeah, yeah.
It's what the TNG actors.
It's a TNG crew.
Yeah, why did they change it?
the actors.
Because they, because of the, um, because I don't think they
intended it to be visible.
You know, it was one of those in jokes that they didn't want to do
know that people making this, though, you know, had some taste.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
They love Doctor Who.
That bit a 2nd ago where she's looking at the screen and reading
about her kids, yeah.
Yeah.
It is a good moment as written.
The actress, she's just not up to it.
There's nothing happening in her face at all.
No, but I just think she's charming and pretty, and I think that
that's what she's there to do, and she's mumsy and stuff.
Like she sells the that sort of person, but she is a very 80s TV
actor and it's a very 80s TV performance and I don't think that it
ever struck me.
It must be a long time since I've seen this, but just the sheer
80sness on display here, is so much more vivid because you've got
these 3 characters from the present day. absurd thing of watching
modern TV recently, right?
I've been watching Severance.
And even like the one shot guest actors that turn up in that
show.
I'll give him performances so nuanced.
So interesting to watch.
I mean, the compari- I know this was years and years ago, but they
can do it in TNG, though.
They do have guest actors coming.
I mean, Gene Simmons.
Hello?
You know, they have people come in, absolutely close your mind.
They're still not quite there yet.
No, no.
And I mean, this is crappy kind of network TV.
Do you know what I mean?
Like severance is expensive prestige TV of a kind that probably
didn't really exist.
I don't know, in 1998.
Oh there you go.
That was the information there about it being scooped off the
planet.
Yeah, scooped off the surface of the planet.
So this is definitely the board.
And I think originally the idea, and there's hints of it here, that
the Romulans and the Federation or the Enterprise were going to
team up and go and investigate the Borg.
And eventually we just have to short circuit that by having it
happen by magic in Qhu next season.
I mean, I've got both Michael Pitt, I have to wait.
He looked at series one and he went, well, do you know what?
Scooped off.
That's a really great idea.
Right.
We'll have the ball do that.
We'll show it. see that.
And he goes, oh, Tasha, you are dying.
That wasn't very satisfying. you know what?
We'll bring her back to the one episode and give her a heroic
ending. yeah.
Look at Sonny's shitty guitar.
It's so great.
No wonder he has a successful career.
He even says, you know, like here in the future, no one will know
any of the, any of the shit, you know, any anything that I know.
No one will know it.
So I'll be new and exciting.
I did appreciate that line there where he went.
Why don't you just relax and let them get on with their jobs?
But of course, it's arrogant, man.
There's now off to the bridge.
Oh my god, the music's coming in a second.
So good.
It's sort of like an underscore of dun dun.
Dun, dun, dun.
Dun, dun.
That is so good.
I'm not lying when I say I listen to this stuff for fun, you know
off YouTube.
No, I know, I know.
So we're about to see on screen for the 1st time as well.
The very 1st Derodex class Romulan Warbird, which I think is
absolutely stunning.
And actually, it's so funny because when DS 9 has the ability to
switch across to CGI.
It does mean that all of the special effects work is suddenly a
lot more dynamic, but the Romulan ships, when they're not models
and when they're CG, there's something a bit cartoony about them.
This model work is stunningly good.
Incredible, isn't it?
But think about that.
We already had the Klingon bird of prey from the films.
Yeah, so that was already established and sometimes they actually
used footage from the films for the Klingon bird of prey on this
show.
So that was already there.
It's a slightly greener green.
This is a sort of darker, more blue, blue green.
I think it's an astounding looking ship.
It looks huge and it's like, I think Star Trek in this era gets
the ship's right.
There's a lot of ships that look the same in Star Trek, the Next
Generation, because they're physical models and they can't have to
build a new one each time.
But, you know, the hero models, like the Cardassian ships look
really distinctive and interesting.
Yep, yep, yeah.
They follow it through in GS9, because I think the Gemadar ships
look great as well.
Amazing.
Both types of shit.
I can't remember what the caisson ships look like, you know?
What do they look like?
They're a bit like Cardassian, aren't they?
A beer.
They're the same colour as Cardassian, but they're like a, they've
also got a kind of predatory bird kind of shape to them, to their
heads, sort of thing.
And we discover they're trade ships, of course.
Copying this and not doing it quite as well.
Yeah, yeah.
No, I think that they look good.
Do you remember the little one that shoots in through the window
in like alliances or whatever, like it's a little helicopter
thing?
I think they look cool.
Yeah.
Again, they do good ships, I think.
I think the birds of prey might be my favourite, though.
Just when they swoop in, they just look so cool.
Well, but they obviously pre-exist, you know, they're they're
already around from from them.
They beef them up a bit, though, don't they?
You know, yeah.
And give us some serious hardware.
Like, what are the security guards?
just standing there.
Oh, wait, there's a guy.
You know who that man is?
holding him.
It's the same man who gets frozen in and counter a far point, which
Troy goes, it's frozen.
Oh, look at that.
Actually, obviously that's been tarted up for HD.
That looks even better.
Incredible, doesn't it?
Just amazing.
We're doing some spaceship porn here.
Live reactions.
And I like the fact they get they make it a moment as well.
They do, you know, Ron Jones brings in really exciting music
everyone's giving it a sense of gravity.
Because, I mean, there is a Romulan war, but original trek in
balance of terror, but it looks a bit shit, and it has a, like, it
has a very distinctive design as well, but this is just streets
ahead of that.
It looks amazing.
I was so typical of early 90s trek in that, you know, they bring
it in and you're like, my God, there's going to be an all out, you
know, there's going to be a fight.
No, the climax is the Romulan just goes, well, we're back.
That's it.
Yeah.
But again, what that is, like, it's a very low level, oh, what
happens now?
You know, like even Picant says our world or our lives just got a
little bit more interesting, which is absolutely true.
Yeah, that's right.
That's right.
Oh, no way.
We're going to season two.
It's a little while, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Romulan's in series 2, aren't they?
I can't remember.
But you know what?
Look who's here.
I mean, Marco Lamo is always fabulous.
I really feel sorry for them.
Those shoulder pads are something else, aren't they?
So this is Michael Lemo's 2nd appearance in Star Trek, The Next
Generation.
Who was he?
He's an Antikon.
Oh, of course.
It was a large meal.
Lieutenant.
Yeah, I remember.
But he came back with, it gets to wear slightly less makeup here.
Do you remember the line?
He goes, what is it now?
If violence does break out, we will not start it, Lieutenant Yar
but we will finish it.
I love that episode.
And actually, he comes back again in Times Arrow.
He's one of the gamblers in that.
Okay.
So they sort of keep using him.
Obviously, he's the Cardassian masse in the wounded until they
finally give him a regular. find a role for him.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's like his audition pieces, TNG, and then he gets his full role
in DS9.
And thank God he did.
Yeah, he's so good, isn't he?
He's tremendous.
Yeah, but this.
So this guy, like this guy, he understands what's going on, you
know, and he gives the crucial advice and then Picard recognises
it.
They've had the conflict.
Picard's been dismissive of him, and it turns out that he's not
completely useless in the 24th century, which I think is okay.
And they don't dwell on it.
You know, they don't make it a thing, but that's clearly where his
plot's going.
They don't have to give that Romulan ship a sense of depth like
they do.
That's a really interesting choice.
Normally, it would just be a room, you know, but they've chosen to
have 2 levels to it.
I mean, part of the problem is, of course, you've got that set
which is a one offset and vastly cheaper than the main set that
we're currently in.
And so you have to do something.
And so the way they do is they just have a length of corridor with
a person behind it at one of the controllers.
Don't you have earlier in the season, when the Ferengi 1st turned
off?
And his whole face filled the view screen.
Yeah, yeah.
So we didn't have to see how she was.
That's why God, they've got some money now.
We've got a backdrop Oh, dear.
Although, like I said to you in a message, I really like the fact
that they are sowing seeds here rather than showing the conflict
now.
And then they go on to explore this in wonderful episodes.
The enemy, the defector.
What's the Troy one called, Face of the Enemy.
Yep, yeah.
Yeah, wonderful website.
I mean, I think when the politicing starts in unification, I
really have issues with unification.
I think it's quite drab, but yeah, yeah.
But it's a huge event, you know, and it is a huge thing.
And think about where the Romulans go.
Like, think about where we are in Picard series one with the
Romulans.
Like they're still around. interesting, you know.
You're, I mean, I know you're less keen on it than I am, but that
wonderful.
I will bring the Romulans into the war and in the pale moonlight
you know?
They become big players in the alpha portion.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah It's hugely important and it's happening
here.
Like, you know, the Romulans are not huge in original Trek.
They're much bigger here.
Oh, here we go.
Back to this woman and her family.
Look at the shitty foil wallpaper behind.
Did you say that?
Hideous pot plants that were in that room they were in earlier.
Yeah.
In that orphan guest lounge.
So bad.
I don't know who's buying the sort of the, yeah, yeah. extraneous
furniture.
I need shooting.
Did you see that terrible effect on the screen of the man's face?
Yeah.
It's 3D face.
Shocking.
It reminded me of sort of poem back in the day, you know, when it
would come across the screen.
It would take a long time to download.
Yeah.
I shouldn't really be admitting it, that sort of thing, shouldn't
I?
Oh, well.
No, I just remember that scene where comic book guy in The
Simpsons is trying to download porn of Captain Janeway and it
appears just line by line.
I was very aware watching this this morning, right?
Oh God, there's only 3 minutes left.
Like, how are they going to wrap this up with the Romulans and all
these people in 3 minutes?
They're just like, we're not.
And it just bins.
You people go off and the Romulans will deal with them later.
But this, what will I do?
How will I live?
And it like he just says, well, this is the 24th century, we
better ourselves, material needs no longer exists.
This is the mission statement.
This is wrapping up the season.
This is what we were introduced to because all that post-scarcity
stuff is not explicit in Star Trek, the original series, but it's
hugely important to Star Trek the Next Generation.
And so this is why we work.
We don't work for money.
We work to enrich ourselves.
That's why we're here.
I like to think that Mr. Offenhaus goes, yeah, I don't want to do
that, Captain Picard.
And then he goes to DS9 and hangs with Quark for a bit.
And because obviously money's very important to him. money.
There is money.
Yeah.
Does some dodgy dealing.
See, I love this where he says, oh, you know, I'm going to try and
make it as a musician because nobody knows my staff and I could be
a success and Picard's response is, well, yes, anything is
possible, which I think is really great.
And then he says to Data, do you want to come with me, boy, or
whatever?
And Data says, I'm actually intrigued.
And then people look at Data and go, you're kidding me?
I also think it's great.
So I love the idea that data is actually intrigued enough by Sonny
Clemens to maybe, you know, go with him and be his roadie or
something for just a few milliseconds.
You might want to watch that.
I don't.
I was watching his makeup in that last scene and I know it's an
odd thing to say about a character that, you know, always looks
like a zombie.
But, oh, he looks like he's got jaundice or something, doesn't
he?
Yeah, yeah.
It takes a while before they get the makeup. has had nothing to do
in this finale, has he?
Yeah, yep.
Yeah, so this, you know, here he's going.
There's still much to do, still so much to learn, like this is
just him saying, sorry, this season was a bit shit, but we will do
some exciting things next year.
You know, like...
Okay, let's please, can we dissect that comment there?
Because I don't think all of Suras one issue.
I mean, no, it's mostly shit.
No, it's not.
I love crazy shit, like skin of evil. and what's the one with the
weapons floating around, you know, with Beverly Crusher?
Wonderful.
Oh, you know, I mean, I don't think it's good, but when the bow
breaks with a fabulous planet, Aldea popping out of existence
there's something to series one.
I don't, I can't, I'm not sure I can tangibly say what it is.
But they they're trying a lot and I do like that.
Because when they figure out what they're doing.
They try less and they just do what they do well a lot.
Yeah, I mean, when we say they try less, they try less weird
unsuccessful things, I think it's what they try.
Because I do think that they do like an amazing job, you know, and
there's a huge variety of different types of episodes, you know
think about the game in the middle of series 5 where we've had
Dharmok and and, you know, power play and and later on we get
cause and effect and all of that.
Like that's an incredible and a really varied season that succeeds
by doing a huge range of different things.
Although, it's quite delightful that we've explored a fair bit of
this already.
They come the final season, you know, where they're all a bit
bored.
They go back to the season one approach of just trying any old
random shit.
Genesis, you know, the magical brick, all of that weird stuff
going on.
Fantasm. to the battle.
Um, so, do you know what's strange, right?
The child started. gone straight into the next episode.
Skip straight to Sirius 2.
Suddenly, Riker's got a beard.
Everyone's sitting up on the bridge.
Wesley crushes in a new uniform and oh, Troy's being impregnated
by a light as well.
Like Tinker Bell.
Yes.
They did make a lot of changes.
At least they looked at one and went, hmm.
I think we need to make some revisions here.
Oh, and they get, and 10 forward as well. 10 forward and they give
Geordie a job.
Make they give Geordie a proper job.
That was quite important, wasn't it?
Paul Levine.
Yeah, like absolutely crucial, I think.
Yeah, so I don't know.
Like, I'm I'm not saying that series one is shit, but you can see
them, you know, they introduce the Romulans and say we're going to
do something with them.
They introduce the mystery of the Borg and they end up paying that
off.
They have the writer's strike that fucks their plans up for a
whole year and let's say the next season's a bit of a disaster.
But once the riders are back and everything's under control, they
turn the show into something pretty great.
And you can see them heading towards that in that finale.
I quite appreciate going back to early TNG because I really think
we get to see what does work later on when we see what wasn't
working.
But I think part of it is I can still feel that excitement I felt
when I 1st watched series one and this was just the most exciting
TV show.
I had ever seen.
Visually sumptuous, you know, phaser battles.
We were going across the whole universe, you know, this wasn't
science fiction on a shoestring, like Doctor Who.
Yeah, yeah.
Now we look at it and go, oh, dear, oh, dear, they didn't have
much money, did they?
inexpensive.
Will we look back on Star Trek discovery in 50 years and go, oh
dear, what was happening there?
Who knows?
But no, that was I think I can see more worth having seen it
through your eyes, but it's still a bit lame.
Oh yeah, I think that's, I think that's fair.
What I said was that I appreciated what it was doing and I thought
it was an interesting, you know, moment in Star Trek history
something that was a bit illustrative of what was going on in the
show.
And that history, you know, is so weird and so contingent.
It just sort of happens that they land on something in series 3
and then, you know, 150 years later, we're still making and
watching new Star Trek as a result.
I don't want to say that, you know, watching a load of hillbillies
come to the future isn't exciting, but I'd much rather watch, you
know, Armus, the skin of evil.
Killing Tasha Yar and things like that.
Yeah.
So I look forward to the next time we come back to one.
Yeah, me too.
All right, it's the end of the episode and it's time for us to
work out where we're going next.
I chose this, and it was an excellent choice, turns out, and that
means it's your turn to take control of the randomiser.
Where are we gonna go?
Are we redefining the term excellent choice?
Well, I mean, not an excellent episode, but that's certainly
something to talk about.
It was, it was.
I've only got one piece of music to sing to you. da, da, da, da, da
da, da.
I messaged you earlier today and said like, oh, maybe yesterday.
And say, I want to hang out with my gang again, because it feels
like it's been a while since I've been on the station with Kira
and Quark, and so now I know I'm going to get something that isn't
set on the station and... something that's terrible.
Truly awful.
I've got a feeling I've got to press the button a few times until
I get something reasonably good because I've just watched Learning
Curve and the neutral zone.
Yeah, fair enough.
Be nice to be reminded that something of worth came out of 90s
trek.
Okay.
All right.
Okay, off you go.
Oh no, this isn't so great.
Season two, episode 11, rivals.
That's the one where Bashir and O'Brien play racquetball for a
whole episode and the neutrinos are spinning in the wrong
direction, meaning that O'Brien's really good and Bashir's
terrible.
Oh, there's something affecting probability or something?
Is that it?
that's the one.
Yeah.
These sort of games.
It's a big name guest star in that one.
Somebody was quite big in lie entertainment at the time.
Right, okay.
Let's not do that Oh, we've done this one.
Season five, episode 20, Ferenke love songs.
Sometimes the only thing more dangerous than a question is an
answer, if you recall.
Ooh.
I'm quite tempted.
It's terrible, is it?
And it is on the station and everybody's involved.
Oh my god, is it babel?
No, but there is a wedding.
Season six, episode seven.
You are cordially invited.
Oh yeah, we have to do that.
Yeah, we're doing that.
That'd be brilliant.
Sitting there dressed like a rising and slut.
Yeah, what is it?
You need to go back and beg to Sirella.
And Dax goes, I don't beg.
Oh, it's glorious.
Do you wanna do that one?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
Absolutely, we do it.
It's the one where they decide we don't want to wrap up Odo and
Kira.
We just have them go into a cupboard and then they'll come out.
At the end of the party and it's all sorted.
I think it could be a lot of fun.
Yeah, let's do it.
That'd be fun.
We've done 2 run more comedies before.
We did House of Cork and what was the other, what was the other
Grillka one?
Looking for palmark in all the wrong places?
Oh, no, yep.
Hang on.
We've also done take me out to the holosuite.
We done quite a lot of remore comedy.
Well, good.
I like them.
Well, it's time to watch Dax and Worf get married.
Brilliant.
Awesome.
Looking forward to it.
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 Ciceron, and the theme was
composed by Cameron Lamb.
This episode was recorded on the 1st of April 2025 and released on
the 4th of April.
We'll see you next time for Star Trek Deep Space 9, you are
cordially invited.
That's brilliant.
Oh, God, there's another...
I actually think McDonald's is pretty good in this one.
What is it?
They've got a fast.
Bashir and O'Brien and Cisco. got a fast whilst they're doing the
bachelor party with Wharf.
And then, because of the wedding, looks like it's off.
They didn't, they order all this a massive banquet of food and
court brings it all out.
Discover the wedding set gone.
The wedding's back on.
And he goes, what is it?
No food for those on the path to cow hire.
And then court goes, yeah, no refunds for those on the path to
count.
Oh yeah, we'll have fun with this.
Yeah, that would be good.
Yeah.
They do comedy well, then.
I don't know who the mother-in-law is, but God, she's a presence.
I forgot my name she is.
Sorella is just sister in Italian.
Invited, DS nine.
Let's have a look.
Oh, man, Chatsy, it looks so gorgeous in that dress.
Who is Syrilla?
Shannon Cochrane?
I don't know who that is.
And what has she done?
Oh, bloody hell.
A lot.
Oh, she's one of those ones, like modern family, friends.
Great's Anatomy, Law and Order, Frasier.
Star Trek Nemesis.
Beautiful outfit. directed by that dipshit David Livingston.
Oh, geez, Cyrella.
And actually, I think it's one of the very rare episodes where
they have a party in 90s trek.
I remember David Liberton saying in an interview.
I just wanted some energy in it.
Usually the parties in 90s trek are people standing around
discussing politics with synth hole, you know, and things like
that.
Well, do you remember, um, uh, how surprising that party is in, um
oh, the, magic to make the sanest man go mad, where you just sort
of think, oh, that's an actual party, and, you know, they, of
course, you've got Tilly there making it more of an actual party
by being a kind of real person.
That brings to this because she insists that the fella from
Captain Shelby's ship comes along.
I'm looking at him.
He takes all of his clothes off.
He takes all of his clothes off and starts juggling fire.
I know.
Look at him.
Lieutenant Manuela at all.
Yeah, very pretty.
It's super hot.
Look at him.
Nogs in the background doing that weird comedy dance where there's
a one there's a little outtake on the DVD where David where Aaron
Eisenberg goes, well, they wanted me to dance.
He go, David, I can't dance.
I'm a really bad dancer.
He goes, just do something alien.
And so he's there going, ah, and then everyone apparently fell
about on the set because he was so terrible.
And then you watch in the episode, everyone starts doing it at one
point.
Oh, dear.
I can't stop looking at him.
He is so hot.
Look at him.
This is exactly gorgeous.
I'm so glad this one came up.
This is what I wanted.
I wanted to hang with with the crew.
Yeah, well, that's what I was thinking actually at the time.
Oh, he's got an official website, just a sec.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
I was going to say like hang time with the crew.
That's absolutely what this is.
I don't imagine that there's much space shit going on. whatsoever.
Just the wedding.
Oh, he's very religious.
That's kind of sweet.
Oh, look.
Oh, he's look at that, bless.
Oh, yeah.
I'm sorry, I've just seen the...
Oh, it's a YouTube video.
What if?
Oh, look, he's...
He sells batons that you can do the fire dance with.
Does he?
He's got merch.
Yeah, no, I'm looking at his website.
Of course she does.
Yeah.
Should we buy one I actually think the wedding ceremony is pretty
good as well.
Like it's a proper Klingon story, you know?
Does Cisco perform the ceremony?
No, Sirella, the mother-in-law.
Oh okay.
Okay.
So, of course, they make up in the air.
Oh, and there's a beautiful scene between Dax and Cisco as well.
He basically says, you need to get over yourself, you know, and go
and do what you've got to do.
Oh wonderful.
Okay, yeah, I shall watch that over the weekend.
Yeah, that'll be fun.
That'll be nice.
Excellent.
I'll try and find I may just have a picture of Lieutenant Manuel
Air.
That's the picture.
No, the trouble is that memory Alpha's picture for it is just a
shot. of um, the 2 of them getting married where Worf just looks
so handsome.
He's wearing the most beautiful, like the ring, you know, the
circlet around his hair. just that beautiful outfit.
Like that's such a great picture and I always want our picture to
be different from the memory alpha picture, but that's such a
perfect image, isn't it?
I can see the picture of court watching the ceremony.
It's so funny because everyone else is like, oh, God, it's so
poetic.
And he's there rolling his eyes going, God's sakes.
Oh, that'll be fun.
That'd be good.
Oh, and Alexander's in that one as well.
You know, new Alexander.
Oh, okay.
Does he come back or is there another other Alexander?
It's the same one who was in in the 6th part, you know, the
occupation arc that came before us.
I mean, this is immediately after that.
Because it opens with it opens with Cisco going, you know, the
war's still there, but God, what an exciting time to be alive or
something like that.
I can't remember the exact. you know, we, because Kira says, you
know, something like, you don't know how much I've missed you
saying that or something like that.
Good morning, Kira.
Do you know how much I missed you, sir?
Say good morning to me.
Do you know how much I hated saying good morning to Dakatsa?
Oh, that'd be fun. awesome.
And it's actually just coming in at the end of a big giant 6
parter, so that's exactly where I want to be.
Do you know what I mean?
We've got the big epic thing out of the way.
Now it's time to reward ourselves.
Judzia and Wharf separated.
They are, aren't they?
Because they talk about getting married before, don't they?
They, like, they, they could off getting married because of the
war.
They get engaged in call to arms.
She goes, if that doesn't give you a reason to survive.
I don't know what will.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love it.
Well, what I really liked as well about this point was obviously
you had that amazing 6 episode arc, really exciting climax with
Sacrifice of Angels.
Then they followed it up with this proper sitcom episode.
But then they went into like a mix of, you know, yeah, far beyond
the stars, waltz. magnificent Ferengi.
Oh, it was a great run this.
Cool.
What a time to be alive.
Unless we both hated on this watch, in which case.
Wow.
Yeah, what if that happens?
No.
It's like I said about that dreary one with the profits in it and
Zek.
If I'm hanging out with the GSN crew, I'm all right.
I'm okay I didn't think that was terrible anyway, everyone hates
that one.
Frankie Love songs, right?
No, profit motive.
No, oh, profit motive.
Yeah, I thought that was okay.
Yeah.
Right.
Oh, shit, no.
I've got literally 15 minutes to get ready.
Oh, okay, send me the thing.
Oh yeah, I'll do it now quickly.