Hey, Joe. Hi.
So, we're back aboard Deep Space 9 again.
We've been away from it for 6 episodes, or some of us have. and
yep, now we're all back together after the 1st 6 episodes of
series six.
This is series six, episode seven, you are cordially invited.
So we've just had sacrifice of angels, is that right?
Literally before this, yes.
The biggest space battle we've ever seen in Star Trek.
And so what did I do next?
What they do next, Nathan?
Yeah.
A sitcom episode.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I have to say that I thought this was really great.
Like, I don't think it's quite as funny as some of the ones that
we've seen before from Ron Moore, but I do think it was really
really good.
And I'm sort of picturing, like, I've seen that 6 part story, but
you know, it's been a while, but I just imagine it's a great
relief to have an episode that is all about our core crew back on
board the station for the 1st time in the entire season.
And everyone gets something to do.
Everyone really gets some fun moments and it's absolutely hang
time with the crew.
I thought this was a really witty script.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I think Ron Moore can not many writers of 90s Star Trek can
achieve this, but he can actually genuinely write comedy.
Like he can write great drama as well, but he can write the sort
of fast paced wit that we get now in Star Trek, a lot of back and
forth, but he's got the benefit as well of just 6 years worth of
brilliant characters forming.
Um, and you bring them all together with really, really funny
jokes.
Oh, it's just gold.
I mean, I was going to start this episode by saying to you, Nathan
you will come with me now and perform the brain on ritual to my
satisfaction or I will cancel this podcast just because I wanted
to quote Sorella at the start of the episode.
So it's absolutely a like a classic sitcom plot, isn't it?
Because Sorella isn't quite the mother-in-law or anything like
that.
But at this point in the show, she's terrifying.
She's really good.
She's really great.
And so it's kind of like we need to impress the mother-in-law in
order for the wedding to go ahead.
And it's an absolute sitcom premise.
In fact, strange new worlds will do it in series two, uh, with
Spock having to impress Tupring's parents in exactly the same kind
of sitcom setup.
Are they just frightening us, Serella?
They are, and of course, some space thing has happened to Spock.
And so he's human and he has to pretend to be Falcon.
It's, it's, the sort of the annual kind of strange issue worlds, um
spock sex comedy episode.
It's really, really good.
But it is just sort of this classic sitcom premise to the point
where I thought that we would resolve the problem where Dax
punches Sirella in the face by having Sirella say, well, that just
really shows how much you love wharf, and I'm touched by that, and
so I've decided to, you know, it's that, you know, the sitcom
thing where you go to all of this trouble to kind of fool the
mother-in-law about something, like to pretend that something's
true and it isn't.
And then you get found out.
And then she says, I can't believe you went to all of this trouble
for me.
You know, I love you and you're fantastic.
And also bits of it.
But it's absolutely that sort of that entire sitcom plot.
It works really well.
There's lots of really fun stuff with like Julian and Miles.
Oh boy.
Of course, a Klingon Stack party is the most miserable experience
you could go through.
Blood, death, and pain and famine or whatever it is.
Oh count me out.
It's really great, isn't it?
Because when when we 1st mentioned it had been a while since I saw
this and I thought there are painsticks involved in this, they're
definitely painsticks.
But of course, you know, like it was possible that it would be a
huge drunken party because we've seen Klingons participate in that
before.
In DS9, last year.
Yeah, in Apocalypse Rising.
And certainly that's what Jake and Quark think it is, you know
they think it's going to be that and hugely exciting and then it
ends up being a sort of austere and horrific religious ceremony
where they're kind of, you know, letting blood and virtually
setting themselves on fire and stuff like that.
And all of that's really funny It's glorious.
But, like, you and me, we've talked about the soap opera element
of D Space 9 quite a bit, you know, there was me back in the day
thinking this was hugely, you know, exciting, hard science
fiction.
And then I'll start talking to you and I suddenly realise it's
just like neighbours in space and I love neighbours and I love
space.
So this is great.
And of course, they do all the cliches.
The wedding is called off. you know, the night before and all of
our friends have to rally around to try and get them to talk to
each other or stop themselves from eating an entire banquet. will
get there.
I love that scene But one thing I think that really stops this
from just being a sitcom stroke soap episode is, I have heard the
criticism that, well, why on earth are Dax and Worf in a
relationship together?
They're total opposites, you know, and they go through bumpy
episodes of like, let here is without sin.
Why on earth are they together?
And by the end of this episode, they absolutely address that they
are completely different people.
And yet they are head over heels in love with each other.
For that very reason.
It's just glorious.
And you get a one, 2 punch at the end of this episode, a scene
between war for Martok, and a scene between Cisco and Dax, where
the comedy drops away, and the performances are gentle and subtle
and beautiful.
I was really moved by the end of this episode.
And then, of course, you get the wedding, which is fabulous.
Really really great.
I think that maybe the scene between Wharf and Martoc is my
favourite scene of the episode.
And I think Michael is magnificent in it, like just really
properly good.
And sort of sells the subtext, the more he describes how different
they are from one another, the more his face lights up because
that's what he loves about her.
JG Herzler is no slouch in that scene either, though.
Well, that's brilliant too. when we'll talk about it when we get
there because I think it's a really, really well done scene.
You know, the rest of the episode is kind of building up to it in
the same way that the episode's building up to the Dax Cisco
scene.
Yeah, like I think that that all of that is really really dry.
Just when you think it can't get any better.
There is a hot naked man juggling fire in Dax's quarters in a
party scene that has some fucking energy in it in 90s.
It still does look a bit like a party on a 90 strike set.
That is so much better than your usual.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's sit around and drink synth hole and talk about politics and
oh, what a lovely nebula over there, you know.
People like their dogs.
They're getting drunk.
I mean, Dax is hung over in the morning.
It's all the cliches that you want in a wedding episode.
Can I regale you with a quote from Terry Farrell before we go in?
Please, because clearly this is the most fun that she has ever had
doing any Star Trek episode.
You know, she's relaxed into the role.
They're given a terrific material at this and now she's got the
wedding episode.
It's all about her and she does get the most to do, I would say, in
this episode.
Well, here's what she has to say about getting married to Michael
Dawn.
I felt like a queen for a day in that dress.
I have to tell you I never thought that I'd feel so great in red
leather, even though it was 104 degrees on that set.
I'm 34 years old.
I've never been married and I sometimes wonder if I ever will be.
So it was so cool to wear that dress and pretend with a good
friend like Michael, who's also not married, that I was getting
married.
It was like it was like being a little girl again and playing
Barbie.
Michael was my Klingon Ken and I was his leather clad Barbie.
Horrible.
I just don't believe the people who say, where's the chemistry
between the 2 of them?
You know what I mean?
Like they're 2 of the most sexy and charismatic actors on the show
and you're kind of going, why aren't they showing me the chemistry
here?
It's baffling.
Like, I just don't understand that at all.
And I think that there's a, there is a lack of sympathy with
things like romances and weddings and stuff like that because
they're not seen as proper science fiction.
Wars and battles and spaceships and crashes and all of that sort
of thing.
Those are the proper thing that Star Trek should be doing, and a
wedding, focussing an episode on something as domestic as that is
a problem and, you know, like it's a waste of time and we need to
justify it.
But I thought it was just terrific and for the very reasons that
it's focussed on a wedding and the wedding of 2 really, just
wonderful, lovely, and sexy characters.
It's almost as if you know what's coming next.
You don't, but on that note, so just in case you feel as if you
are missing out on everything that makes Star Trek, Star Trek
before Nathan and I have fun for 45 minutes.
I thought I'd read you out a small passage from Andre Bormanis's
Star Trek science logs, just so you feel like you get something
but it's a normal Star Trek. and very boring.
Verteron and graviton particles.
Excellent.
The stability of the wormhole connecting the alpha and gamma
quadrants appear to be a coincidence of a unique scaffolding
composed of verteron particles.
Verterons are amongst the most extraordinary particles ever
discovered in nuclear physics.
Most strikingly, they possess negative mass, which accounts for
their ability to maintain the extreme spatial curvature necessary
to sustain a wormhole.
Sorry, I'm nearly there.
You know, terrified right now.
I'm loving it, though.
The Verterons are bound together in an elaborate geometric matrix
that provides a traversable spatial conduit, some 500 metres in
diameter.
Now that's the normal bullshit that you get on Star Trek.
Thank God, we aren't doing none of that shit.
Let's go.
Brilliant.
I just didn't want the geeks to feel left out, you know?
I know, and I love a good thing about Verdon particles, I have to
say, I'm a big fan.
Special matrixes.
Well, I didn't know the negative mass thing. tuck that one away.
Is it hot in here?
It will be by the time that naked man arrives with the fire.
All right, I think we should go in.
So I will count us in. 5, 4, 3, 2, one and we're off.
The war is over.
Look at all the stuff that's happening around the station as well
like all of these ships.
Think about the old days of season one when we couldn't afford all
of that.
And they've got it, again, look, look at all these extras.
Everyone's so happy in the dominion of God.
Morn's heading to the bar.
It's a great shot, isn't it?
Like just taking us through the promenade.
It's pretty great.
And this fabulous crane shot of Cisco as well.
I mean, our tend to like crane shots to end on someone as
beautiful as Avery Brooks.
Yeah, but that's a great one too, because he's delivering the, you
know, the captain's log, but then we see him just there.
So it is just, you know, like a voiceover.
But this is so nice, just reestablishing, you know, the status quo
ante.
There's still a war, but now we're back together working
together.
And look how warm she is.
She gets some really great moments here.
It's a really kind of minor plot that she and Odo have.
And Ira Stephen Bear doesn't much like what they did.
I think it's perfect. agree with you.
What would the alternative be?
Like, we don't need an episode of the 2 of them getting therapy
sorting out their differences.
Go in that closet and by the time you come out, it's dumb.
Yeah, yeah. really good.
It's really good.
Look at her smiling at him.
She's so beautiful.
Like, and so she sort of looks after him and smiles, she's still
smiling when he leaves.
Oh, she's so great.
She's so good.
Oh, Mortok's such a ham.
You know about this, didn't you?
Nothing to stop it.
Oh, it's the, um, uh, like he's got promoted and now he's
stationed on Deep Space 9, isn't he, from now on?
right.
We guess to hang out with Wolf.
What he whinging about?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He gets to be a semi-regular character who's just on the on the
station.
That's awesome.
Oh, Cisco's just smiling his way through these things as well.
Oh, everyone's happy.
I mean, to be fair, it's been a tense time the last couple of
episodes.
It's quite nice to see everyone so chill.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I think this is that's exactly what we want, I think, at
this point.
Like, it's a big risk, I think, upsetting.
Like, you know, deep space 9 is kind of the redheaded stepchild
and no one much cares what it does and so it is allowed to break
format for 6 episodes, but that's a big deal in Star Trek, isn't
it?
But I think it's there. it's wise as well.
After doing that, after breaking the format and then sort of
putting the toys back in the box after what, 7 episodes?
to then follow that up with a big hitter, like a wedding.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
After this is resurrection, that dismal alternative universe
episode where Mirror Barrile comes along.
Now, if this was Voyager, and we were upset in the status quo, that
would be the episode after that, you know?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, here's the Alexander who can act just about.
So, so we had Brian Bonsall, back on Star Trek, the Next
Generation, but not immediately.
And he is like a soap opera child, someone who has grown up
incredibly quickly. 15 years or something, isn't it, since we last
saw him?
No, no.
So he's born sometime between season 2 and three of Star Trek the
Next Generation.
Isn't he sometime between Amistry and um...
Oh, so he's about 10 now, is he?
Yeah, if you're lucky, maybe eight.
So maybe Klingons very quickly and so do Naomi Wildman's and it's
just a thing that happens on Star Trek.
So I didn't know that he was in 2 episodes and I didn't know that
we liked him.
I thought it had been like when they meet in sons and daughters.
It's a little bit kind of rough or something, but I can't remember
it.
Sons of Daughters, no, it is.
What's it called?
Yeah, it is, it is.
Cork went, handsome young man.
You must get it from his mother.
He hates warf, doesn't he?
I'll tell you what.
There's a couple of moments in this as well.
Even like during the wedding, he looks so disinterested, Corp
doesn't he?
great.
They never forget a grudge.
Yeah.
But I do like this.
Bring in the wedding forward and doing it just so Alexander could
be there.
Now, did you know that 2 of the TNG actors were actually
potentially going to be in this?
LeVar and Jonathan Fraggs.
But basically, and it's such a shame.
I think they should have, if they were available, put them in.
But Ira went, no, it's all or nothing.
Yeah, they're all in it or nobody is.
I kind of agree.
I think it overshadows the episode and that's not what we want.
Like we, you know, we had 7 years with them and there are films
and stuff like that.
This is time for the Deep Space 9 crew and they sell it because, of
course, it's a wedding that they're just suddenly doing because of
Alexander, so they bring it forward. that means that we don't have
to have all of these people.
Oh, yeah.
I find Alexander irritating as a klutz only because I see so much
of myself and him.
This is literally, I am like, on a daily basis, knocking things
over like this.
Oh, so that's it.
We set up our premise.
The wedding's being brought forward.
Nathan Bottomley's rule number one of the pre-title sequence in
Star Trek.
I go.
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, that one's not, because it doesn't sort of set up a theme
or anything like that.
It is just a weird doing the wedding and then we have him fall
over and then we go into the thing.
So it's a little bit kind of linear.
It's not quite as clever.
What, I mean, the, I guess the thing this is about, just apart
from reestablishing the status quo.
And I guess this is a stand in for a celebration of them
returning.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, we didn't, there wasn't a party when they came back as far
as I know.
And so this is kind of that.
Yeah, but it's the, it's the, what I thought was the most
interesting thing about it was having Martok and Sorella as the, as
the other married couple in the show.
And like, we're about to see...
They stolen characters from Shakespeare, weren't they?
I thought I was reading in...
Yeah, so they said that they were playing it like Beatrice and
Benedict from Much Ado about Nothing, but not really.
Like, no.
But, but, uh, what I really like about it is that, because we're
about to see her and I think she's magnificent.
I think she's really, really great.
So this is Shannon Cochran, who has been in 2 episodes before
playing the same character.
Did you know this?
No.
So she plays a character called Kalita, and she's in preemptive
strike, the 2nd last episode of Star Trek, the Next Generation
with Row, and she's a McKee character.
And then she comes aboard, like she's in the episode with Thomas
Wright, Riker.
Oh, in defiant.
Defiant.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, she's so different.
I know you mean now.
Wow.
And she's a Romulan in Star Trek Nemesis as well.
When people slap on that Klingon makeup, they just become
incredibly Shakespearean, don't they?
Yeah.
But she's magnificent.
Like the, I think, I think I was thinking the word magnificent
when Martoc actually said it to kind of describe her.
And you know, just the fact that he's in awe of her.
Like she comes in and just declaims this speech and she's
fantastic.
There are not enough scenes in Star Trek of 2 women in the lift
gossiping, all right?
Love it.
It still doesn't pass the Bechdell test because they're talking
about a man, but...
But it is a wedding episode, so I think we can probably forget
it.
And I do love the fact, I love the fact that it's war, that it's
obsessed with the wedding and the details.
Yeah, yeah, not her.
I don't want it before.
But also, just her talking about what he's like, you know, and
being so insightful about him and telling us stuff that she sees
in him that we don't necessarily sees the audience.
Okay, so this is introducing the Odo Kira part.
Is it my imagination or did Dodo just avoid us?
It's just great.
It is like they've been doing sitcom the whole time.
Honestly, they're so great in it.
Yeah.
And I like this too, that we don't go over, like you don't need to
know exactly what it is in those 6 episodes that tore them apart.
And I think I have a memory of how it happened, but not a very
strong one.
And you don't need it.
Do you know what I mean?
You just need to know that they, and she says, I don't want to
talk about it now. and so we don't.
And so the episode isn't about that in any way, but it resolves
it.
And it resolves it, I think, in a way completely satisfying.
It's why as well, in his way, which we've already done. where Dax
comes along when they snog on the promenade and she's sort of
giving them that look.
It's because she's watched this journey all the way back from
where it was revealed in children of time through this right away
to there.
It's really lovely.
Oh, here we go.
I describe it as a time of unbridled pleasures.
I guess because he's a Klingon.
Yeah, that's right.
I dread to think what they get up to in bed, you know.
If it's pain and, you know, all that stuff.
Yeah, the grief, men recite poetry and the women throw furniture, I
think, is the...
OBrien and Bashir thinking they're going to have a time of
unbridled fun and debauchery, don't they?
Well, it's the two.
It's the 2 people from the British Isles.
Like, it's the Englishman and the Irishman, and they just think
they're going to get muntered, you know, like, because it's a
thing.
Oh, they play the comedy so well, though.
The bit where they're hanging above the spit.
Oh, it's wonderful.
But that seems hugely important setup, but what I think is just
about the best final moment of a Star Trek episode ever.
Look how beautiful she is.
She shot from below.
Like we're looking up at her because she's just so magnificent.
I think this is just David Livingston, isn't it?
Is it David Livingstone?
He loves he loves a low angle shot on a woman. all over it in
crossover.
But Martok is looking up at her and look at his reaction.
Look at his reaction and she's going, yeah, you got old.
Um, you know, like she's being critical and stuff and kind of
horrible.
It's not, I guess that's what the Beatrice and Benedict thing is
because they really love each other, but they're kind of
constantly critical of one another.
But it's not quite that.
It's not quite as playful as that.
But Martoc lights up. you know what I mean?
Like, and really, really is really into it.
And that's the same thing that we see with Worf and Dax.
We've already seen Dax say that she knows more about Worf as a
person than we do and that she sees things in him that we never
get to see.
And then when she leaves, magnificent, isn't she?
Yes, isn't she?
He's great.
And as well, though...
I was almost like, oh, she's so horrible.
Why does she like him?
And then in that scene at the end, when he talks about it.
He just sells it.
And yet I do love her. deeply is what he says.
Could I just very quickly read out something else from memory
alpha because I think it's worth discussing.
So it says here, Ronald D. Moore saw this as an episode which
would allow him to correct an inaccurate impression of Klingon
society, which he had himself created.
After Star Trek, the next generation, more felt that he had shoved
Klingon women into the background, promoting the view that they
were unimportant to the proper functioning society.
This dates back to the TNG 4 season episode redemption, to which
it's revealed that women cannot sit on the Klingon High Council.
In subsequent Klingon episodes.
Women had virtually no role, and the whole society ended up
appearing to be completely male dominated, just like the Ferengi
Society.
This was something that Moore was keen to rectify in this
episode.
And as such, he determined that if men rule the council, then
women rule the houses, and that the mistress of a great house
wields unchallenged power, in terms of the functioning of that
house, thus restoring a degree of balance, to cling on gender
roles, I think that is such a great, great thing for him to do.
Yeah, I mean, it's still without kind of, you know, rectifying it
completely.
I mean, they have a domestic sphere that they're in charge of and
the men are in charge of the political sphere.
And I think, you know, eventually we just kind of are going to
just generally forget that and we'll just have more male and
female Klingons in the same kind of roles.
But showing her as a woman that is really strong and really
powerful and that her husband is deferential too, you know, and
she's the focus of the episode, we have to please her.
And look at her.
She's so, she is magnificent.
And that moment where she just says, you know, the candles, like
next time try, if you're not going to use the proper candles, just
try not to use such obvious fakes, but, you know, and, and, like
she was mocking Worf beforehand for not thinking for not realising
they had to be fakes, you know?
There is a line here, Nathan, that kills me every time I hear it.
He goes, I'll go and talk to Cyrilla.
No, I wouldn't do that if I was you.
Why not?
She doesn't like you.
She doesn't like you much either.
No, I likes you wolf, really, sorry.
Oh, J.G. Hertzler.
He can carry a funny line.
He's wonderful.
And, you know, like part of the thing is too, that he has to put
up with that because she's magnificent, because we don't choose
who we fall in love with.
He just has to tolerate how obnoxious she is because he's in awe
of her.
You know, he loves her.
It's wonderful.
I love the whole line at the end about, you know, we tow our
prowess in battle.
You know, we're amazing warriors and we love to go off and kill
people.
But what the fuck does that mean?
When there's no one to come back.
And ultimately, Sorella will determine whether you're going to be
with the woman you love or not. right?
You need to impress her.
Yeah, wonderful.
Like, it is funny.
It is funny.
It is silly.
It is sitcom.
I think there are some depths to it though.
Not a lot but there's enough.
What I like is that it does show us more of the Klingon culture
without it being just the usual boring shit about how the, you
know, the politics are corrupt and all of that sort of thing.
They say that you have no sense of view.
I say, you have no sense of humour.
One thing that really stood out to me, because I started thinking
about the episodes that we've covered for series 6 of DS9.
We've done rocks and shoals, we've done this.
We've done his way, and we've done far beyond the stars.
There's a confidence to this year.
They're really on fire at this point.
And we haven't done some of the lesser ones, but I think you'll be
surprised just how good some of the, even the sort of, you know
maybe not resurrection.
That's terrible.
There's got to be a few duds, though, right?
I love how Alexander's the foul Klingon, because we did have that
didn't we?
There's a terrible season 7 episode of Star Trek, the Next
Generation.
Isn't there?
James Sloyan plays Older Alexander.
Older Alexander, that's right. is in it all the time.
So we're setting up the final gag, right?
So, we are mustuckers.
Yeah.
And the great thing about it is I think I had forgotten this time
through how this ends, right?
And at the very end of the episode, um, we will see O'Brien and, um
Julian, um, going, is it time?
Can we do it now?
And I had just thought it was eat.
Like I had thought because they'd starved for 4 nights.
They had all that food brought to them. and they want to hurt
him.
No, because this is 16 minutes in, right?
It's 30 minutes, nearly 30 minutes to the end.
It's just a sort of little bit of colour.
And he says, you have to carry these with you for the rest of the
time, but they don't get mentioned again.
Do you know what I mean?
And so there's enough time to forget about it and there's enough
going on in this plot that you, I just wasn't thinking about it
anymore.
And so the moment at the end where they just rush out and just
rush towards him with those big fucking sticks and they're going
to beat the shit out of him.
Spash, bash, bash, bash.
It's so funny and it fades to black and I was just waiting for
some fucking scene at the end of the episode where they all sat
down and talked about what it had meant and it doesn't happen.
Instead, we just get fade to black as they run towards wharf to
beat the crap out of him.
It's wonderful.
It's so good.
This is really funny.
So this thing between...
This is that dialogue I was talking about.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, so he says that, you know, someone's bought my stories.
And Quark says, oh, for how much?
He says, no, no, it's a figure of speech. and then he says, oh
well, we'll have a party to celebrate it. and the 1st round of
drinks will be on the house and he says, fairly, and Quark says, no
it's a figure of speech.
I think it's so great.
Like so properly funny.
I mean, please remember how bad 90s trek banter can be.
Yeah, we watch Voyager quite frequently.
Can't run more right every script, please.
Oh, no, my favourite was later, though.
I've done it in the previous episode, though.
What's it?
No food.
No food on the path.
Cow hire.
No refunds for those on the public.
Sorry.
You can count on almond to come in and just deliver the best comic
lives.
Like the rhythm of the line is absolutely perfect.
The way it parallels the previous line.
Like it's just perfectly constructed.
Then, you know, people don't always get the rhythm, I think, is
the thing.
Is this a bit?
No, it's a bit later.
The silent gag where they're going, you know, who will be fast to
get the noise?
Oh, and everyone's step, they all step backwards and leave Julian
at the front that he doesn't realise.
Marto says, I wasn't expecting you to volunteer and he looks
around and goes, no, I wasn't expecting it either.
Oh, this looks miserable.
I can't imagine anything worse than sitting in a sauna with 4
straight men singing boring songs.
Jesus Christ.
That's the thing.
Dax has got the right idea.
She gets old Manuel from the Starship Sutherland to get all his
clothes off and start juggling fire.
Although Michael Dool does have a nice voice, doesn't he?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, they're singing in proper harmony here.
Like the 2 of them have clearly practised this because they're
singing different parts.
It's not super complicated or anything.
Look at ducks' muscles there.
Go on, girl.
So normally, of course, you know, the actor would be carrying
something incredibly light, but it's absolutely clear that she's
not.
There's no hiding there, is there?
That's right.
That's it.
Like, she looks great.
Like, you know, she's not hugely muscular, but she is muscular.
I mean, she's lean and she's an attractive, conventionally
attractive woman, but they're a muscle player.
This is the same woman who played that meek Dax in series one.
Yeah, I was really underwhelmed by her in series one when I 1st
saw it.
I thought she was the least interesting character by far.
And she's magnificent at this point.
I turn it around, don't they?
Yeah.
To the point where people were going, how could Asri possibly live
up to her?
Of course, they just go in a completely different direction.
Yeah, absolutely adorable.
Like just absolutely fantastic.
I love her crown, the crown that Cirella is wearing is so
beautiful, isn't it?
I think I got this speech from my ex-muff-in-law, you know.
In this family, at best you would be an object of pity.
Do you know, she used to make me, oh, 1st moved in, right?
She used to make me go and make her cups of tea, yeah. and I'd
make it for her and she was at a massive house.
She was right at the other end and I take it to her and she'd go
it's not really tea coloured, is it?
Try again.
And send me away again.
She was worse than Syrilla.
I'll tell you.
We were actually very good friends by the time the separation.
I was going to miss her more than him.
Now this scene, this is the one scene I don't quite understand.
I don't understand why Jad Sia gives her the true historical
account.
It's pissing her off and she knows, like, why is she doing this?
Yeah, yeah.
And it's sort of boring as well.
Like, I just don't, like, it's not that interesting a scene.
And like the dynamic between them.
Like, I don't quite know what the dynamic's supposed to be.
She's winning.
Why?
You know, like, and it doesn't lead to anything because it's not
that that makes her call the wedding off or anything like that.
It's much more fun when she turns up in the quarters and goes, you
know, you're sitting there dressed like a rising slut.
I mean, there's something about, you know, the fact that Dax is so
much older than her and has so much experience and she's
presenting herself as this matriarch.
You know, there might be something interesting, but that doesn't
seem to be what the dynamic is based on here.
I just, I don't get it.
She's still using those obvious fakes from the earlier scene as
well. you know?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I have candles.
But yeah, very odd.
Although one decision that they made, I think I read in Jammer's
review, actually.
It was sort of 2.5 stars.
You said one Ben he gave it, didn't he?
Yeah.
And he was going, oh, you know, you miss the scene where she
apologises to, No, we know that's gonna happen.
What on earth benefit would we get from seeing that?
Yeah, I wanted to talk about that because I actually think that
that resolution is really great.
And like I said, it's the standard sitcom scene where the mother
in-law says, I find it touching that you went to all that trouble
or that just shows me how much you love him and or it shows me
that you are you have the heart of a Klingon because you punch
someone in the face.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, it doesn't matter.
We do need to know that it's resolved.
And I think the line, Sirella's line is so gracious and so
accepting.
Like, it's really good.
She must have begged a lot, you know, when she went to it.
And that's it.
If she's begging.
Like, if it really is, she has to beg Sirella for forgiveness, why
would we want to see that?
Like, in what way is that enjoyable for us to watch?
This thing is well right.
It's just Jake and Kira on the problem.
It just feels busy.
This whole station just feels like it's sort of thriving at the
moment.
So it's also doing, it's doing the Odo thing because he sees, you
know, we see Odo and then Odo sees her and he pisses off in the
background.
And so that's what that's for.
And then we're also talking about, what's happening in the, in the
you know, on the road to Calhire.
But she gives him a look, as if to say...
Go right initial stories.
So stupid.
I mean, they are right.
They are. right.
This is so funny.
Oh, it's Julian's asleep.
That's why he doesn't step forward.
He's kind of, he's not eaten for 2 days.
He's such a star.
And then he looks around.
Did you see the gleam?
Look at the gleaming wharf's eye with a knife.
I do not think it would be you, doctor.
Let's go.
Oh, dear.
Oh, we set the time for the hot man.
Oh, yes.
Come on, man.
Yeah, isn't he great?
Do you know what I like as well?
He's got a little bit of a tum. very sexy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's a lion.
The actor's name's Sidney Liu Fow, I think.
I hope I'm pronouncing it correctly.
And his name is Manuela Artoa from the Sutherland.
And the original idea was that he was going to be Samoan, but he's
the actor's Hawaiian.
And so he, like, I think he's beautiful.
Like I just think he's absolutely gorgeous and and what's really
great is that the girls think he's hot as well.
Lisa is all over him.
Look at Lita.
Look at Lena looking at him.
She's biting his leg.
Mum goes, I've never seen anything like that.
She goes...
She's really into it.
Did you notice as well in the next scene?
Leah's on the bloody table.
Rob's trying to get her down and she's pissed as houses on the
table.
But she's playing the drums with Manuela as well.
Look, Danks is playing the drums in the background of this scene.
I think it's really great because Star Trek is, you know, so male
gaze focussed. you know what I mean?
Like they now Kurtzmanrek has beautiful men all over the place
right?
But it's not a thing that happens in original Star Trek and it's
not a thing that they even think of.
And think about all of the kind of fairly uglier and unimpressive
men that the women fall in love with in Star Trek.
So we've come in the 90s. a few of them, aren't we?
yeah, yeah.
Do you remember?
Yeah.
So this scene here, the the ending doesn't work without this
scene.
So this scene where the 2 of them are hanging over the fire and
Julian says he's having a vision that he's going to kill war. going
to kill war.
I'm going kill him.
That's what I'm going to do.
I can see it so clearly now.
And that scene is funny in itself.
It works by itself.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, it's it's funny. those 2 boys.
Do you know what I mean?
They're having a really terrible time.
Well, this party is going on elsewhere on the stage.
She's having the best time. and more doesn't chess bub with
Napoleon.
Oh, they had a fight before.
So they had a fight before.
Oh, and this. this is so great.
She goes, this party will continue as long as the chief officer
says, it just happens to be me.
Yeah, yeah.
But neither of them are making eye contact like they're having
this conversation, but they're not making eye contact with each
other.
She's not looking at him at all.
He was never going to say what she says here.
I'm so pleased she's the one that does it.
She just goes, Odo, don't you think we need to talk?
Yeah.
Because I don't know if you remember that amazing scene in favour
of the bold, where he says, I'm sorry, and she goes, we are way
way past.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Great.
Yes.
No, I really like it because it needs to be resolved, but we don't
need to see it.
And you know, we just don't need to see it, you know, and they had
some plan.
We did need to see every part of their romance in his way
because...
And we needed to see this fucking party.
Like, I don't want to watch them talking.
I want to go.
I want to be at this party, you know.
No, it was so great as well in the morning.
They're still in the closet.
They go, what the hell is the time?
It's 1030 in the morning.
Oh, God, I'm on duty.
Jesus.
Manuela's fire eat, fire breathing.
Oh my goodness.
And I like the fact that Dax is very honest.
He goes, I'll get you a couple more days off.
Just stay here and give me something nice to look at.
Yeah, yeah, stay here and be me.
And Captain Shelby gets a count out.
She's the she's the captain of the Sutherland.
Nathan, I don't get to say this too often on untitled Star Trek
but God, you just get on him and ride him, wouldn't you?
I mean, look at him pretty, isn't he?
It is adorable.
He's adorable.
This is wonderful.
This is the most soap moment of the whole episode.
Leave her or I'll cut your head off and hang it from my belt.
I love a dress too.
Isn't her dress beautiful?
I bet she can pie, Serena, you know, when she walks to.
Yeah, yeah. busy.
I can't believe she slaps around the face.
It's great, isn't it?
Like, it's absolutely superb and it's exactly what you want to
happen.
Poor dog gets shoved out the way.
Please, please.
And then she spits on the floor.
Oh, she pretends she mimes spitting on the floor anyway.
Look at Rom's face.
He's absolutely baffled. what's going on That's a great reaction
Slack John.
Oh my god.
There's that stupid dial that's that Aaron Eisenberg did.
There's a whole bit in the documentary about that.
It's like, I can't dance.
He goes, just do something.
And then everyone fell in love with that shit dance and started
doing it.
It's like the same from Wicked, isn't it?
Where they all do alphabet's terrible doubt.
And oh, so wait, you tell me.
You should forget this sort of thing.
Ma and Manuela last night.
That's why they're still.
Your issue is.
There's no problem with that.
It's the night before the wedding.
No, she's not married yet.
And so that's definitely a thing that happened.
Oh, look.
Oh, hair morn is very well endowed, you know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He takes 2 glasses with him.
Come on let's go get a drink.
But do you know what?
Like, they've had a party.
They're hungover.
These just feel like real people, just for once. just, you know
isn't it?
Oh, and this is wharf.
I love it when wharf is extremely melodramatic.
And at the end of the scene where he goes, perhaps Sorella was
right about you, there shall be no wedding. and then he flouts his
off.
Wolf is absolutely the woman of this elephant.
Yeah, yeah, I really like that.
But it's consistent with his character.
Even consistent with his terrible character and let him, he was
without sin.
You know, like he's, of course he wants a traditional wedding
because of the way he was brought up.
He goes, you've been forbidden to join the House of Martoc.
She goes, oh, I won't be invited to the family picnics.
Who cares?
she gets in bed, doesn't even take her boots off, yeah.
Oh, yeah, we carry.
I don't care in the climate.
Kira looks so relaxed.
Hi.
That's really great, isn't it?
It's like me at the start of these episodes.
Oh, Kira's dress is beautiful as well.
Gosh, the women, the women are both wearing such great casual
wear.
Party wear.
Like, you get more of Kira and Dax than you think throughout the
1st 6 years.
And I'm really pleased that then when Ezri comes along, you then
start getting Kira and Ezri scenes as well.
Because there's just not enough women in 90s strike.
No.
Yeah.
There you go.
You go back to sweating and bleeding with your friends. get
married in Benjamin's office.
They're just looking at this confrontation, which absolutely needs
to happen, doesn't it?
So that we can have the wedding.
I mean, the wedding had to be called off at some point.
Yeah, of course it did.
Of course it did.
It's wedding episode.
It happens in day to day, remember?
But what's so great as well is after this, they could have just
okay, fine, they got married.
They're living together.
We have seen after scene of their domestic arrangement at home
which I really love.
Like, it doesn't sound like a lot, right?
In TV terms, it doesn't sound like a lot.
You have 2 characters get married in a TV show and then you see
scenes of them at home.
But that's a lot in 90s Shrek.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
And so now we have 2 married couples on the on the station.
You know, like among the regular characters.
I don't know if you remember, Nathan, that fabulous, you know
subplot in Times Orphan, Bombay mix.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That was a great sumplot, like a really properly great sumplot.
I really really enjoyed it.
And I'm pleased we get change of heart as well in the middle of
the season.
And that's it, you know, the episode that I think everyone knew
was coming where Warf would have to choose between his owner and
the mission and Dax, but so well played by the 2 of them.
Like, in a way, I kind it would be miserable for her to go out
that way for him to have chosen to have abandoned her.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But it's probably a better last episode than the one she actually
gets.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, this.
He sums up both Wharf and Dax.
He said, isn't it?
Pick Ed stubborn man.
He puts tradition above everything else and she's like frivolous
and stuff.
An emotional woman.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You see what the problem is?
They're both right.
They're both riot.
Yeah.
That's exactly what you're thinking as well.
Like, that's exactly what you think.
He gets really great.
What's great is, I think, 0 my god, we can finally fucking eat.
And just the food porn that we get when finally the food arrives.
It's just that massive bread cob looks so amazing.
I'm like, oh, yeah. talk about this scene.
This scene is so good.
This is so good.
I think we've almost kind of talked about it already.
But you've got, like, this is, this is the centre of it, I think.
Yeah. because it's not really that Dax needs to overcome her pride
although that's important, but really it's Worf needs to put this
whole thing into perspective, I think, you know, and Martok is so
great because we've seen him and Sorella in that opening scene and
they're completely different.
They don't look like, you know, the loving couple that you kind of
imagine on telly.
And this, look at him describe her.
Look at Michael describing her.
She plays Tongo with the bartender.
I can barely stand him.
Now look at him.
She mocks everything.
And he's...
She mocks everything.
I take everything so seriously. smiling and that look, he realises
that that's why he loves her.
Like he, he, you know, it's so great.
And this, we're not accorded the luxury of choosing the women that
we fall in love with.
It's wonderful.
It's just like, I mean, I don't want to reveal too much about our
personal life, but you know, you and me, we've been friends
sometime now.
We've had many conversations about our overalls and they're
fucking irritating things they do all the time.
And yet, as Martok says, we do love them.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
It's almost an irrational love, but it's, you know, look at him.
Look at him selling it too.
You're right.
I hadn't really noticed this last time round.
But it's like, but yet I love her deeply and that's a kind of
cheesy line.
But fucking hell if Hans doesn't sell it.
Why it's so effective is because he usually spits and growls his
lines and here he speaks so softly.
Honour gives little comfort to a man alone in his home.
I mean, this could be pony lines, but they're great.
They look really great.
And back, oh, yeah, but then Wolf goes to try and apologise to her
and shit, having none of it.
Oh, fuck you.
All right.
You had your chance.
So this.
No, you see, it's not the mushrooms, but it is Julian's food.
Like, I don't know, I double L tear sandwich.
He gives a shit.
Oh, I can't have those prawns, though.
Look at those massive shrimps.
They kill me.
The jacket potato looks delicious.
You're right about the food, the bread, though.
Yeah, it takes you want to rip it over. amazing.
You know what will go great with that massive bread would be
fondue.
Just dipping it enough onto.
I'm missing you mop up the gravy from the steak.
Oh, we go.
No.
On the path...
Look at, Julian, the face.
I'm like, no.
Bring it back, please.
I mean, Nathan, if we didn't eat for 5 days, Can you imagine?
No, that could never happen.
I would literally kill somebody.
You haven't noticed, right?
I watched them because I watched this twice.
The 1st time I did notice them, the 2nd time, they're literally
constantly putting up the decorations and taking...
I look at his face.
He's like, oh, you kidding me?
got to put this up again.
Oh, I love that.
I do love this scene as well.
And I'll tell you for why, it's because Avery and Terry have just
got their chemistry down pan now.
So when after her anger subsides and she's on the sofa with him
and they're really tactile, they touch each other, she hugs into
him and I just buy it, I buy the friendship.
I mean, I'm not, I'm, I'm less convinced about this scene.
I think, because I think that because the Martok wharf scene is so
great.
Because Michael's performance is so subtle.
Come on.
Curse on negotiated near court. got news for you.
You ain't cursed on anymore.
Yeah.
Oh, he's great.
And I guess too, the thing here is a bit of a space thing as
well.
Do you know what I mean?
Like you're, uh, you know, 350 years old, but you just look like a
young woman and you have to kind of know your place.
Like, I don't know.
I like, no, but if she wants to join the family, she has to obey
the traditions.
That's fair, I think, you know?
Fine.
Don't join the family then.
I think, though, a better ending is Sorella recognises that she's
a Klingon.
You know, the, it's the, I'm not putting up with your crap and
it's kind of like you have the heart of a Klingon, don't you
think?
I do wonder if Dax's got a bit big for her boots at this point. to
get over herself a little bit.
But, you know, like, it's just the kind of like, no, beg the old
lady for forgiveness that's not a great outcome, and it's why I'm
glad that we're spared seeing it.
How she sums this up, though, because, you know, I was perfectly
happy being by myself.
I had friends, a career.
See, season 3 of Deep Space Nine, I was so happy.
And then Michael Dawn walked into my life and well, they realised
we had great chemistry.
I fucking hate the line, but this Klingon with a bad attitude
walked into our life.
It's so bad, what a cheesy day of life.
I have a total sitcom line, isn't it?
So, so, if, no, no, no, if, that's a great line, though.
Where he goes, she goes, I always leave with my heart, and he goes
that, you know, that's what I've always loved about you, and
that's why I love you too.
It's just because he says it so softly.
So she says that she's 356 years old here. which means that she
was born in 2018, which means that right now, as we record this
she's seven.
On the true home world, yeah?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So she's not sure that worm hasn't gone to anyone.
Yeah, it's got opportunity for a little while. no I don't know.
Oh, don't you just want a hug from Avery Brooks?
He looks like a good hug.
I also like the I grew up thing and she says maybe it's time I
grew up too.
I thought that was pretty good.
I did think that was okay.
And it leans into the history of the 2 characters that Curzon used
to mentor, Cisco, now vice versa.
It's just nice.
It's that stuff I said to you about self-petuating character
scenes, just because they've set all this stuff up.
Now, I think this ceremony is fucking great.
I think that the speech about the Klingon heart is actually really
good.
Like, I think it's actually really good.
It's cheesy and science fictiony as hell.
Do you know what I mean?
But there's a poetry to it, which I don't think is terrible.
Look at that.
Look at how great Quark's bar looks with all those decorations.
Did you notice the wind instrument come in as well?
whilst the music was playing.
Obviously, you've got the drums going, but there's a flute that
comes in at one point.
But it's really good.
Like, I think it's really good.
And it's Ron Moore, who basically created the Klingons and created
the part of the mythos.
Didn't he, did he create the thing where the Klingons killed their
gods?
Because it's been mentioned.
It's been mentioned before.
It's mentioned in Star Trek, the next generation.
I think we've talked about it on this show at some point.
The thing is, it feels, and it does have to do both of these
things.
It feels authentically Klingon and it feels authentically
religious.
Well, religious as well, in a way that we recognise.
But also romantic.
Like it's just it's about how much the 2 of them love one another
and how strong their love is because they're Klingons.
It's also, and the best possible way is hugely dramatic.
And the gods knew that they had air.
I love it.
I think it's really good.
It could have been so shit, but I think it really, really works.
She has she has a bit of an issue with coming in.
She loved the dress.
Why wouldn't she?
She looks smoking fucking hot.
But they gave her boots that were too big and she goes, I wish
they cut the bit of me coming in.
I look like a trucker coming along to a wedding.
I did keep an eye out for it.
No, I think she's a bit harder on herself.
I think if you didn't know that you wouldn't pick up on it.
Oh, so here's Alexander's role, which obviously we need to see
because it justifies the thing.
The 2nd heart beats stronger than the first.
I mean, for once, they've just got the costumes.
Perfect.
They both look terrific.
The headdresses as well.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he looks beautiful, doesn't he?
They look great.
Jamma, go and watch this again.
Why wouldn't they be in love?
They're so fucking smoking hot, the pair.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And Sorella's line as well.
When the 2 hearts began to beat together, did she say something?
Like nothing could even stop them.
Oh, that's coming.
Yeah, yeah, for the 1st time, the guards knew fear.
They tried to flee, but it was too late.
The Klingon hearts destroyed the gods who created them. and turned
the heavens to ashes.
Ready?
To this very day, no one can oppose the beating of 2 Klingon
hearts.
Not even...
Doesn't she say?
No, even me.
Not even me, which I thought was really good, and it's actually
beautifully delivered, and she looks straight at Jadzia, and
Jadzia looks at her.
And I think that, you know, the idea that that's been achieved by
her grovelling to Sirella.
I don't think that's a great outcome, but fortunately we don't
have to see it.
Did you see that?
We cut to the Ferengi family and Lita looks at Rom, like she is so
in love with him.
Just little moments like that.
I love this show.
It's great, it's lovely.
It's really probably good.
I like it when she says my daughter as well and gets in the
heart.
I do too.
I think it's very generous.
It's lovely. yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, your joke's still to come yet, though.
Now?
I really, genuinely thought, can we eat?
Can we eat now?
Can we eat?
Because that's all I was thinking of.
I don't think it maybe it's designed like that too.
Like maybe we have that whole food thing there to throw us off the
track.
I know, because they've got the fucking sticks.
Like, how did I not pick it up?
They're there with the big drumsticks in there.
It's when they both go...
But again, we're so used to it.
Yeah, look, now, now.
I want to beat the shit out of that gang on prick.
Come on.
And it's stupid.
Do they beat them both up?
No, no, no, no. would be no fun.
And they hug.
Look at that.
Here we go.
It's so good.
That's so great.
Just wear it fades to black.
It's just perfect.
And Star Trek so rarely does that.
It's so rarely willing to forego the stupid scene at the end where
everyone tells us how they feel about what's gone on.
Well, do you remember we, you know, one more, forgot this lesson
because we love to take me out to the hollow suite, but then we
have that scene in Quarks at the end, you know, where they're
always... and there's a crap joke. than you, you know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
This ends on the gag.
Wonderful.
It's really good.
We need more of that.
Mission.
This week was to hang out with my favourite crew and have a great
time and I think we've succeeded admirably.
Absolutely, we have.
We've just been screaming out lines and laughing our head off for
an hour.
No, this was really great.
Much, much better than I anticipated.
Really, really properly fun, just well done and so enjoyable.
Is the key then, because you and me, we've done some miserable
romance episodes in 90s trek, yeah?
It's the key to getting a romance episode right in Star Trek that
it's too regulars because we love this and we loved his way.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And do you remember the, um, that beautiful episode in Discovery
with Gray and Adira as well.
Yeah, so I...
It doesn't work so much when a one shot, you know, murder shot act
because we know it's not going to go anywhere.
I mean, I like a one shot romance episode.
Like I like it as an idea and it's, you know, in this sort of TV
in this sort of anthology show or this sort of very lightly
serialised television, it's often the only thing that you can hope
for, but because Deep Space 9 is a soap opera rather than that, you
know, we've had time for that relationship to happen.
And so you don't have to introduce the person, you don't really
have to spend time.
You do a little thing, you know, that thing where Kira and Dax are
talking about wharf and what he's like.
You know, we learn a little bit about how she sees him, all of
that sort of stuff, but it's part of a bigger picture, and it
matters to us more, and it's more focussed.
It's not the romance episode where there's a romance, a space
thing happens and then they're parted forever.
That turns out not to be that rewarding.
There's um, there is the odds, what you're right.
What's that lovely one with Picard and the one in late?
Yeah, that's useful. and rejoined with Dax and Lenara Calm.
That's beautiful as well.
But, you know, more often than not, it's something like
unforgettable when Chakotay forgets Virginia Mazden, who turns up
for one week or something like, or Harry Kim's latest doom romance
or something like that.
Yeah, or just the terrible ones we've done like Meridian and the
Price and the host.
Like the Bryce and the host are interesting because they have
strong science fiction things, but the romance stuff basically
fails, I think.
I can just remember watching a call to arms and then the 6 episode
Dominion Arc, culminating in Sacrifice of Angels, which was the
most exciting Star Trek episode I'd ever seen to that point.
And then this, and I just had nothing but hope for the future of
DSN.
I was like, they're at their peak.
Like, how is this going to get better?
They're just delivering one banger after another.
And there are the odd week episode in 6 and seven.
But I think they're sort of here, you know, they've reached their
zenith and and it just gets better.
And given that we've just explored much of Sirius 7 already.
We've only got shit DS9 to cover.
All right, it's the end of the episode and it's time for us to
work out where we're going next.
This was your choice.
Of course, and so it's my turn.
And I am going to choose a different metric this time.
I'm going to choose the F. that we have done the smallest
percentage of episodes of.
If that was out to be your usual metric of just choosing
enterprise.
Enterprise, yeah.
Oh, I might have known.
Okay.
All roads laid back, sir, Nathan possibly choosing Enterprise on
the randomiser.
Enterprise.
Why?
don't know. don't know.
It's given you no suggestion that you should be intrigued by it.
It's terrible, but I cannot look away and...
You're like rubbernecking a really dodgy car accident of some kind
for 4 years.
Okay.
Well, let's see what we get then.
Well, look, we might be ahead of a few a few series once we've
done this, so...
Do you remember the last one we did, that Malcolm Reed episode?
So boring.
It was terrible.
All right.
Here goes.
Okay.
Your random Star Trek episode is singularity.
Season two, episode nine.
What's?
I have no idea.
Maybe just keep pressing it until it's one that we recognise.
We'll never get one then.
I don't really...
No, I know quite a few.
No, no, I do know quite a few.
Okay.
You might get the Borg one, regeneration.
That sounds so boring.
I want one where he's just an absolute asshole.
I guess that could be any of them, really.
You won't be disappointed.
Ah, so jam summary of it is while surveying a black hole, the
effects of undetected radiation poisoning caused the crew to
engage in erratic behaviour.
So it could be like the naked now, but not fun in any way. like
the beginning of this episode where I have to...
Troupe or Madness's Star Trek science logs.
I don't think I'm gonna need to do that in that episode.
All right.
Don't make me bring out Andre Balmanners.
I think he was working on Enterprise.
What you talking about?
So this is series four, episode eight, Awakening.
Oh, I don't have a clue what that is.
So it's the episode before Kashara.
So you remember Kashara is, uh, there's a 3 part story, the Forge
Awakening and Kashara, which is the Vulcan 3 parter, where the
Vulcans kind of, you know, reembrace their heritage.
So it's the middle one of those.
We have talked about it a little bit, but we haven't actually
watched it.
Let's see.
I feel like we covered, we covered the best for that in the last
one.
Lots of action in it.
We can do that later.
Okay, how about this one?
It's season two, episode 13, dawn.
Dawn.
Yeah.
It's called Dawn.
I don't know if Michelle Trachtenberg is in it, perhaps.
Very angsty.
I should imagine that episode.
Lots of scenes of people screaming, gao, my bedroom, you know?
Go again.
That sounds really boring as well.
Trip and an alien pilot are marooned on a desolate moon where the
2 adversaries must put aside their differences and overcome a
language barrier so they can escape.
It's Dharmok meets the enemy only crap.
Hang on a second.
What's that called?
Dawn.
Is this the one that Jama gives 0 styles to?
No.
Oh, okay.
I thought it was that episode.
If it was, I really wanted to do it.
He gives it one BM.
It's genuinely terrible.
That sounds boring as well.
Keep going.
Okay, come on.
We'll get that. will get there.
Kishara?
It was fun?
It was good.
Shadows of Pajam, which I think we may have rolled before.
It sounds Klingon to me.
Season one, episode 15.
Well, season one.
We haven't really gone there too much, have we?
No, so this one is Archer and Poll.
Oh dear.
I held hostage by a rebel organisation that wants to overthrow
their planet's reigning government.
Oh, one last time.
Just press it one time.
That sounds really tedious.
Whatever this is, we'll do it, yeah?
All right, it's season one, episode 16, shuttle pod one.
Oh, no, for another Malcolm Green episode.
You said, you said we have to do it.
Do we have to do it?
It's Malcolm Reed and Tripp stuck in a shuttle pod for a whole
episode doing such a Butch heterosexual banter for our episode.
Oh, no, no, no, kiss at the end.
Of course they don't.
No, they talk about they talk about a woman with big tits or
something.
It's really.
No, we're not doing that.
All right.
It's seasoned.
Yeah, season three, episode 23, countdown.
The second last episode of the season, I guess.
Which episode season three?
Season three, episode 23?
Now, this could be potentially exciting because I think this is
the episode that ends with the cliffhanger of the great spherical
weapon heading towards Earth.
I think that you're right.
So, um, the final 2 episodes of series 3, a countdown and then 0
hour.
Now, I'm making a ruling because they've got different titles and
because this is heavily serialised anyway, we'll just do
countdown.
So it's the 2nd last series.
So the most recent one before that, did we do damage?
did, didn't we?
No, we did as Aussie Prime. which ended with that amazing
Cliffhanger Enterprise being, you know, pummelled to death. and
then there's damage.
So it's a few episodes after that.
But I'd really like to see that.
That sounds like it's pretty central to the arc of series three
which is an interesting, if flawed thing.
Could be fun to talk about.
I think that last little run of series three.
In terms of production, maybe in terms of confidence, it might be
the best that Enterprise ever was.
I don't remember the penultimate episode, but yeah, no, I'm
intrigued.
Let's see how they head into the finale.
Let's do that then.
You've been listening to entitled Star Trek Project with Joe Ford
and Nathan Bottomley.
We're 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 8th of April 2025 and released on
the 11th of April.
We'll see you next time for Star Trek Enterprise Countdown.
Sorry, anything will be better than the Malcolm Reed one.
Oh, yeah, okay.
Yeah, no, no.
I'm kind of imagining like marooned, you know, in Red Dwarf, only
not funny or entertaining in any way.
Yeah.
Is that one?
There's another one where they're stuck on a planet, like a shore
leaf planet, the 2 of them, and they wound up getting into, you
know, japes, uh, the pair of them, like with sexy women, and, oh
it's just, do they get robbed by the sexy women?
Like, I'd watch that.
I don't think so.
They get impregnated by the sexy woman they have done already.
I think they just fuck them, you know?
Thank God.
Okay, that does sound fun.
Then I'll do what I said I was going to do weeks and weeks ago and
that is take us back to TOS because I think it's been a little
bit.
Yeah.
In fact, I think we wonder if it was the last TOS?
When was the last TOS one we did?
Wait a sec?
I'll bring up this...
I can't even remember.
Been a while.
Oh gosh.
So...
Neutral Zone.
Sweet Sorrow, the game, how do you deck 12?
We don't even have a TOS episode on the front page of the site.
So we haven't done it for 10 episodes, and the one before that was
the way to Eden.
That was the most recent one that we've done.
Which is terrible, but super interesting to talk about.
There was so much to say.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think that would be great.
I should have chosen that actually.
But I would love Enterprise.
You do.
I don't know why.
I had you this, you know, this wonderful fun wedding episode. such
sweet sorrow.
That was like a big, exciting, two-part thing, which only had some
crying in it, like it was okay.
That was pretty enjoyable.
Lots of exciting things happening.
We did spend most of the 2nd episode going, look at that.
Yeah, because it looked fucking amazing.
If people watch genuinely watch it alongside the episode, they'll
have a great time.
Otherwise, they're like, what are they talking about?
Oh, I'm so sorry.
I read out that bit about Verderon particles at the start.
Well, I just thought, you know, let's be kind to people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, there's probably some Verderon fans.
What was the other particle in there that got mentioned?
Oh, uh, hang on, Verderons, and I mean, this book is so long.
Oh, Christ, look at that.
Look at that alien. they put a picture in off.
Oh no.
What is that?
It's from Voyager.
Of course it is.
It's like a 9.9 style.
Bimorius. isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The Mutara nebula, there's a whole section there.
Oh, okay.
Well, that's important.
Maybe every time, every time, you know, we do an episode that's
actually fun.
I'll pull out Andrew Bahman.
Yeah, spoil it for everyone.
So...
Oh, Verdron and Gravitron.
Gravitron.
Gravitol.
Sorry.
I think about the moon base skin.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, it's never far from my thoughts.
So I'm glad the one note that I have, I have 3 notes for this
episode, right?
is Dax was born in 2018.
Because I was thinking about that.
You got that in?
Terry thinks she walks like a truck driver to the altar because
she...
You got that in?
There's no way Agentsia didn't have sex with Mourn and Manuela
after the party broke up.
Definitely got that one in.
Although, I've ruined it somewhat by talking about more than
enormous cock.
No, no, that's all right. it needed to be brought up.
Do you know what?
She thinks he's cute.
Remember, she talks about the little wiry hairs on his chin or
whatever?
Like she's very open-minded.