Deep Space Pride: A Gay Star Trek Podcast

Shockingly, Mike and Johnson have different thoughts when it comes to the Discovery finale. At this point, we're publishing once a month! But life is busy and full of the unexpected. It's definitely been a long road and we're not sure how we got here, but Star Trek Discovery is over. On this week's episode, we talk about the series finale, "Life, Itself." We catch up on some news first, including the Paramount/Skydance deal (is it happening...?) and Holly Hunter's casting on Starfleet Academy. Our series finale deep dive then has us talking about the past, present, and future of the Discovery crew. Who had the best character arcs - and who had the worst? What did we think about the coda - and do we care about the tie-in to Calypso? Listen to find out!

And after another unexpected break, we find out that we have four episodes of Discovery to catch up on! This is fine. April is but a distant memory, and we find ourselves in May - with Memorial Day right around the corner! Unfortunately, this means that we have NOT been keeping up with recording, and before you know it we have a backlog. But not to fear! We'll get through it in less than two hours somehow. This week, we chat about Jinaal, Face the Strange, Mirrors, and Whistlespeak (it was a challenge just to remember all these episode titles). Discovery Season 5 is definitely ending up to be one of the stronger and consistent seasons of the series - but what did we think about each of these episodes? Listen and find out!

So after a bit of a break, we're back with new Trek and new episodes! Let's see how long we can keep it up. And in a blink of an eye, we're in April 2024. Spring is in the air, the pollen count is increasing, and there's new Star Trek - finally! Mike and Johnson catch up on life, love, and the shows they've been watching - from 3 Body Problem to One Day, we have multiple genres covered. But of course, we're here to talk about Star Trek, not other shows! The final season of Discovery is finally upon us, and we're ready to break it down. Are we excited? Nervous? Hopeful? Tired? All of the above??? Listen to find out!

Somehow, we all made it to the end of 2023! That means other than catching up on Star Trek news, we're here to talk about all the things that stood out for us this year. Despite the ups and downs of the franchise, 2023 was a great year for Star Trek - we chat about some of our favorite episodes and moments. Of course, a year end recap wouldn't be complete without a look ahead; other than the upcoming election cycle (sarcasm), what else are we looking forward to? Join us and find out!

With the cadence at which we're recording these episodes, there's a lot to catch up on! But mostly about everything else besides Star Trek because there's a a dearth of new Trek episodes on the horizon, and - oh right - the actor's strike. Maybe that's why we spend the majority of the episode chatting about our lives and everything else we're watching that's not Star Trek! Once we finally get to it though, we discuss "Caves," the most recent episode of Lower Decks Season 4 we've seen. This most recent entry is essentially an homage to Berman-era Trek cave sets, and perhaps a wink and a nod to Shades of Gray. We also spend a bit of time looking back at the season so far -- and what does Mike McMahan have in store for us for the finale?!

Star Trek Day was amazing this year and totally worth watching, right!? Given that there's going to be a dearth of Star Trek on the horizon doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of Star Trek to talk about! Between discussing Star Trek Day (which Mike watched and Johnson did not), Very Short Treks, and United We Trek, there's actually a lot going on in the Star Trek universe - and that's BEFORE we even get into Lower Decks! That being said, we spend a bit of time talking about "Twovix" and "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee." We're glad to say that the show hasn't missed a beat, and it seems like Mike McMahan heard our feedback and finally gave everyone promotions (we're willing to take all the credit). It's incredible how much this show can pack into less than 30 minutes of television - whether it's all the Voyager references you could want, or a new character that would make the perfect plush toy.

The near end of summer also means that Strange New Worlds Season 2 has come to an end - with Season 3 airing in... 2025? We discuss this and other news items - which honestly isn't a lot considering the SAG/AFTRA strike. In fact, after Lower Decks Season 4 and Discovery Season 5, there might not be much new Trek for a while - how will we survive!? But that is a tomorrow problem! In today's episode, we're here to talk about the last two episodes for SNW S2, the musical episode "Subspace Rhapsody" and the finale "Hegemony." Mike and Johnson share their thoughts, and definitely become animated in discussing their different views on these two episodes. Do we want more musicals? Do we want more Gorn?! Listen and find out!

We fast forward past a few SNW episodes to talk about a recent favorite, "Those Old Scientists!" Mike and Johnson are both huge fans of this episode, which features Boimler and Mariner visit the Strange New Worlds crew. From the constant references to physical comedy, this episode is somehow able to blend the spirit of both shows successfully. We're huge fans! But first some news items, which includes a look at the final season of Discovery, a trailer for the next season of Lower Decks, and the announcement of a musical episode of Strange New Worlds!? Mixed feelings on that one.

And we're back bitches! After an extended break (not Johnson's fault), we catch up on what's been going on in our lives the past couple of months. Will listeners be surprised that we're alive? We then move onto talking about the latest Star Trek news - there's a lot to wade through, including the cancellation of Star Trek Prodigy. We then chat about the first two episode of Strange New Worlds Season 2, "The Broken Circle" and "Ad Astra per Aspera." One of these days we'll also wrap up our discussion of Picard Season 3!

We are continuing our series of having guest hosts on Deep Space Pride, with folks from the LGBTQIA+ community! This week we chat with Kelvin Wood, Star Trek enthusiast and cohost of All Good Things, a Star Trek podcast that examines thematic topics in Trek lore. We chat with him about the difference that Star Trek has made in his life, and his love for the Trek community. We also talk about this season of Star Trek: Picard (up to episode 8), and what we're loving about the show so far. We also discuss the matter of representation in Star Trek - what the franchise has gotten right, gotten less right, and where we hope for it in the future. You can find Kelvin here: https://www.instagram.com/kelvinstimeline/ https://twitter.com/allgoodpod

We've returned from a short hiatus with a special guest! This week we have Matt Jennings, fellow Star Trek fan and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. As a multi-talented artist who has pursued a career in the performing arts, Matt has spearheded 1701: A Blerd Story - a self referential web series that examines his life as a Black Gay Nerd. We chat with Matt about his show, his inspiration, and where he's taking things next. Of course, we also can't help but to talk about some of the latest Star Trek news - including where we are with Star Trek Picard Season 3, and the impending final season of Star Trek Discovery plus lots of Deep Space Nine love. Join us for our thoughts and banter!

Star Trek Picard Season 3 is right around the corner, and we're here for it! We chat about the trailer that premiered during the NFL Championship game (which is also when we discover Mike's knowledge about football), discuss what (or who) we're looking forward to most, and provide spoiler-free thoughts on what we've seen of this season. Before we get into everything Picard, we have a quick chat about Annie Wersching's passing - our memory of her roles in other shows, and the highlights of her performance as the Borg Queen on Picard Season 2. RIP Annie - we'll miss you!

On our first episode of the year, we have a special guest - Davey Willett, the host of The Treksperts Quiz podcast. Mike and Johnson were contestants on a recently released episode, and decided to return the favor by having Davey as a guest on Deep Space Pride. In addition to spending some time getting to know another Star Trek fan who's a member of the LGBTQ+ community - we chat about the 30th anniversary of Deep Space Nine and the two-part Season 1 finale of Prodigy, before we all drop by Deanna's office to share some life updates. We recorded this episode earlier in January, and talk about Trektalks 2 which took place on Saturday, January 14th. You can still go to https://trektalks.net to donate to the Hollywood Food Coalition and also watch the replay of the telethon. We also hope you'll go check out The Trekspert Quiz podcast which can be found all the places you listen to podcasts. You can follow the show on Instagram and Twitter @trekspertsquiz or go to https://www.trekspertsquiz.com. You can find Davey on Instagram @dingodave84

Not quite sure how we're here already - but welcome to the end of 2022! We take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to do a quick recap of the year, which has us literally going through all the Star Trek we've watched this year. It's hard to believe that 2022 brought us 51 episodes of new Trek, but it happened! Of course, we also need to talk about what we're looking forward to in 2023. While Johnson persistently questions whether or not he'll even be able to stay alive, Mike is a bit more hopeful and anticipates some great Trek in the not-so-distant future. Special thanks to our fellow Trek Geeks Podcast Network podcasters Kasey and Ron for sharing a highlight or two of theirs for inclusion in this episode. We also want to thank all our listeners for sticking with us over the past year. From Mike's constant wi-fi issues to the Discovery soapbox that is always calling Johnson's name, we're just glad that you're all still around. See you next year!

Another two weeks have passed, and we inch ever closer to the end of Season 1 of Prodigy! On this episode, we chat about "Masquerade" and "Preludes" - which has us find out more about Dal's past, see Murf become chief of security, get backstories on the other characters, and finally discover the truth about when Chakotay is. Johnson theorizes that the first chunk of Season 2 will have us go on a Chakotay rescue mission - only time will tell! Before we get into the episode goodies, we talk about everything else that's going on - the Star Trek we've been watching, Kirstie Alley's passing, our stint on the Treksperts Quiz Show, and an update on our personal lives. Thanks for joining us!

Our hearts are broken by more gun violence against the LGBTQIA+ family with 5 lights being prematurely extinguished by a lone gunman at Club Q in Colorado Springs. We hope you'll join us in donating to a Go Fund Me page for the survivors, victims, and families at https://bit.ly/club-q-gfm This week, we chat about two more episodes of Prodigy - "All the World's a Stage" and "Crossroads" (and no we're not talking about the 2002 hit starring Britney Spears). From discussing TOS throwback references to Kate Mulgrew's nuanced contribution and performance to the show, we're enjoying the adventures of the Prodigy crew. But is there another extended break in the cards for season 1B of Prodigy?! We'll hopefully find out soon. In addition to the episode review, we have forced sharing time - and talk about how the fear of failure (Crossroads' weekly moral lesson from Kate Mulgrew) may have shaped certain decision points in our lives. And if you listen long enough, you hear an interesting story about a massage experience Johnson had in China back in 2014.

It's been a long time -- but Prodigy is finally back! This week, we chat about two episodes of what Johnson likes to call Season 1B - "Asylum" and "Let Sleeping Borg Lie." It's been so long Prodigy, and we've missed you! Also glad that there's more fuel for the fire when it comes to those Janeway and Chakotay shippers. In addition to these two episodes, we also give a quick update on our comings and goings, and venture into a bit of off topic cause we just can't help ourselves. Thanks for joining us!!

It's finally here - our 100th episode! Mike and Johnson take some time to reflect on the highlights and lowlights of over a hundred hours of podcasting, what it was like to start a podcast during the pandemic, and why this podcast is special. And with all that - what are they looking forward to next? We then get into talking about three episodes of Lower Decks - Crisis Point II: Paradoxus, Trusted Sources, and The Stars at Night. We both have high praise for these three, which closes out Season 3 with a bang - but do all signs point to an AI-driven apocalyptic event in Season 4? We'll just have to wait to find out!

A lot happens in the world of Star Trek in just two weeks! First, we chat about our New York ComiCon experience, and our thoughts on the Discovery, Prodigy, and Picard panels (which we unfortunately couldn't attend in person). Though we wish we were there, at least we still got some trailers to react to. Speaking of reactions, we also give our honest thoughts about two episodes of Lower Decks, "Hear All, Trust Nothing," and "A Mathematically Perfect Redemption." While it was awesome to see and visit DS9 again (though perhaps we were left wanting for more), it's the Peanut Hamper episode where we have rather... different opinions. What did we each think? You'll have to listen to find out!

After a short break, we're back! This week, we chat about various Star Trek milestones - including the 35th anniversary of Encounter at Farpoint. Mike and Johnson chat about where they were when TNG premiered, which snowballs into a conversation about Star Trek series premieres in general. We also discuss the (not) shocking news that Star Trek 4 has been removed from Paramount's slate. We then move onto our Lower Decks discussion, which covers both "Room for Growth" and "Reflections." From reminiscing about college dorm lotteries to pondering about Mariner's future in Starfleet, we have a lively chat about times that the show does a good job of building additional layers onto our favorite 2-dimensional characters. And yes, Johnson thinks that Masks is an underrated TNG episode.

After the deluge of news that came out of Star Trek Day, Johnson and Mike find themselves with a lack of Star Trek updates to talk about - so they lean into discussing all the current stuff they're watching, including House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, The Expanse (technically a rewatch), and The Handmaid's Tale. This leads into a conversation about the portrayal of complex characters in TV and Movies, and whether or not Lower Decks gets much deeper than its 2D art style. We then move onto the focus of this week's discussion, the episode "Mining the Mind's Mines" - which has us following the adventures of Mariner, Boimler, and Rutherford as they battle their fantasies/nightmares, Tendi setting out to prove herself, and Captain Freeman getting caught up in some petty bickering. But we also ask - does this episode offer us anything new? Join our conversation to find out!

Another week, another flurry of Star Trek news! This time around, we have all the announcements and trailers coming out of Star Trek Day. While the event itself probably could have been better, at least we have plenty of Star Trek news to chew on, including first looks at some upcoming episodes. But when are we going to get news about a new show?! We then chat about the most recent episode of Lower Decks, "The Least Dangerous Game," which features Klingon Dungeons and Dragons, a Bold Boimler, and Mariner reenacting Chris Pine's dive from Star Trek 2009. Thanks for joining us!

After weeks of no new Trek, we've finally arrived at the third season of Lower Decks! Has the wait been worth it? Mike and Johnson break down the season opener, which has Mariner dealing with emotions while the rest of the Lower Deckers live out our James Cromwell fantasies. In addition to the episode discussion, there's a lot of other Star Trek to talk about - from news coming out of Vegas to a rich array of multimedia for us to consume, it's Star Trek at all places and at all times. We're also on the lookout for some new news, with Star Trek day right around the corner!

While most of the gang is in Vegas for the 56-Year Mission, Mike and Johnson are stuck back in NYC - but that doesn't mean they don't have anything to talk about! This week, they have a special guest - Dr. Samuel Kim, who is an assistant professor of school psychology at the University of Denver. As a member of the LGBTQ community and a Star Trek fan, Dr. Sam brings a unique perspective to viewing Star Trek - particularly as it relates to mental health. Our discussion ranges from examining Deanna Troi's counseling technique, a look at Barclay's addiction to the holodeck, and the portrayal of trauma in Star Trek. What can these examples from a fictional universe teach about mental health in the real world, and how do we go about addressing potential issues when we don't have Vulcan mind melds or holodecks at our disposal? Listen and find out! Useful links: Dr. Sam's Website: https://samuelykim.com/ Dr. Sam's Instagram: https://instagram.com/drsamuelykim Mustard Seed Generation: https://www.mustardseedgeneration.org/

And it's another week with no new Star Trek. To ward off impending withdrawal symptoms, Mike and Johnson decide to dip back into the past, and examine how Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country applies to our modern sentiments. Do the lessons from this 31-year Star Trek film still apply to our world today? The answer is a somewhat depressing yes. But first, we do a quick catchup on our lives, and also preview the forthcoming season of Lower Decks! What are we most looking forward to, and what do we hope to see more of? Come for the fireside chat, stay for the TED talk.

We're finally back to recording episodes after a month off! Mike is back into the swing of things, which means we have a chance to catch up on all the news items we missed in the last month - from Nichelle Nichols' passing, to the announcements at Comic-Con. And just because we can't help ourselves, we also chat about all the other shows we're watching, from The Sandman to Paper Girls. October is also in less than two months! How did we get here?

Mike is back from his big Asia trip, but he's still catching up with life and getting over jet lag! Fortunately, we had banked this great conversation with special guest, Callie Wright from Queersplaining and the Lambda Quadrant. We met Callie at Star Trek Mission Chicago back in April where they were part of an amazing panel about LGBTQIA+ representation in Star Trek. We talk about queer life, the DS9 episode "Prodigal Daughter", representation in Star Trek and a myriad of other topics. It's a fun, educational, and entertaining conversation which we hope you enjoy.

Star Trek is taking a slight hiatus, which means that we have to come up with other stuff to talk about! Fortunately, Mike and Johnson are connoisseurs not only of Star Trek, but of many other shows and franchises. Join us as we deep dive into all the other media content we're consuming, including but not limited to For All Mankind, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Umbrella Academy, Westworld, and Fire Island. Be on the lookout for some minor spoilers, and perhaps join us as we go through a slight Star Trek dry spell until late August!

Mike and Johnson are back on track this week with their episode discussions - this time, they're wrapping up the first season of Strange New Worlds! They go into lengthy discussion about "All Those Who Wander" and "A Quality of Mercy" - including the debate over a major character death, their reactions to the season finale, and some predictions for Season 2. Due to upcoming travel and vacation, Mike and Johnson are also banking some episodes that they'll be releasing through the end of July. Stay tuned for some great content and have a great summer everyone!

This week we chatted with Wil Wheaton, who plays Wesley Crusher in the Star Trek Franchise. He also likes to go by "New York Times Best Selling Author Wil Wheaton!" We talk to Wil about his book Still Just A Geek, his very busy life (which includes hosting The Ready Room for Paramount+), and his love of Star Trek. Wil also opens up about his own experiences that inspired his book, and his allyship and support of the LGBTQIA+ community. We hope you all enjoy this amazing interview!

Before we get into the episode this week, we have some news items to share - including an update on an upcoming episode of Deep Space Pride where we get to interview Wil Wheaton! We also touch on SNW Episode 9, "Those Who Wander" - and discuss our hot take on some big reveals while it's timely. We then dive into our discussion of "The Elysian Kingdom." Despite the episode's lack of true significance since almost everyone forgets everything by the end, we both loved how the cast relished the characters they played in this episode. But we couldn't help but wonder - what is M'Benga going to do next season!?

Happy Pride to all our listeners! At the start of this episode, we reflect a bit on the importance of Pride, given some of our own recent experiences. Mike has also fully recovered from COVID, while Johnson has introduced his mom to more 21st Century tech. Our episode discussion this week is on "The Serene Squall," which features an amazing Jesse James Keitel as Dr. Aspen/Captain Angel. We test a different format this week by doing an episode recap, which in the spirit of Strange New Worlds may be a one-off episode format than something we decide to stick with.

Mike still has COVID, but he's recovering - in the meantime, he's fully taking advantage of his isolation to catch up on some great TV! We accidentally go down an Off Topic rabbit hole at the beginning of the episode to discuss what he's watching, including The Morning Show and For All Mankind. We dive a bit deeper into the latter, and discuss how shows such as For All Mankind and The Expanse are great at bringing to life how dangerous space can be. We then get into this week's SNW episode, "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach," which we both thoroughly enjoyed. We dive deeper into this episode's use of metaphor for our society today, the hopes and fallacies of humanity at large, and our thoughts on the reality of Gene Roddenberry's vision.

After taking a week off, we're back - though Mike is now the one with COVID! But ever the trooper, he stays committed to the cause of talking about Star Trek on a regular basis. This week, we cover off on two episodes of Strange New Worlds - though we get a bit sidetracked talking about some off topic (e.g. Obi-Wan Kenobi) before diving in. When we finally focus, we dive into Johnson's two favorite episodes of the season, Memento Mori and Spock Amok. We debate the character of La'an (whose name Mike continues to have problems pronouncing), while loving the character development this show is giving us overall.

This week, Mike and Johnson did a LOT of Star Trekking - probably too much! Other than recording this podcast, they went to a Star Trek exhibit, tried to see Mary Wiseman's play (but failed), and watched The Motion Picture in a theater. We promise we're not crazy fanatics! We then chat about the latest SNW episode, "Ghosts of Illyria" - which presents us with a mystery of the week, as well as giving Una the chance to reveal more about her past. Mike and Johnson talk about their favorite and least favorite moments of this episode, and some of the best standout character moments.

Now that Picard Season 2 is fully behind us, we can fully focus on Strange New Worlds! This week, we have an Uhura-centric story in "Children of the Comet," and for once in quite some time Mike and Johnson have a lot less to argue about. We discuss how this show is giving us characters that seem fully fleshed out and lived in, and we talk about some of our favorite moments from the episode.

We've finally made it to the finale of Picard S2! Are all of our burning questions successfully answered? We discuss in detail our thoughts on the resolutions to this season's dangling plot threads, before we each give the season an overall rating (spoiler: Johnson gives a lower score than Mike). We then both talk about something that we're both on the same page on - the premiere of Strange New Worlds! Other than gushing about our excitement for this new show, we also can't help but talk about the men in the series that we think are cute. Yes, this is definitely a gay Star Trek podcast.

The embargo is OVER and we can finally talk about Strange New Worlds! Mike and Johnson give their quick takes on what they've been able to catch of Strange New Worlds so far, and what they're excited for folks to see in the upcoming season. Long story short - we're both excited and enthusiastic! We then move on to talking about the penultimate episode of Picard Season 2, "Hide and Seek." Johnson disliked fewer things about this episode, but both he and Mike are dubious as to whether or not we're going to see a satisfying resolution to all the dangling plots that we're left with. Will we be left with a cliffhanger? Will Q's story spill over into Season 3? One thing we DO know is that Jurati isn't coming back - bye Alison.

The countdown to Strange New Worlds officially begins, while we get closer to the Star Trek Picard finale! On this week's episode, we chat a little bit about some random Star Trek news, and what's in store for us over the course of the next month - including seeing The Motion Picture in theaters! Will Johnson stay awake? Only time will tell. We then move onto "Mercy," which really starts to set things up for the end of Season 2 for Picard. Both Mike and Johnson feel this is a relatively strong outing, with some decent narrative momentum that's driving things forward. That being said, things are still sparse in the Q department - should we be doing so much guesswork at this point in the season? Mike predicts that that the Q storyline is going to spill over into Season 3, while Johnson is hoping that we leave all that behind ASAP.

The high from Chicago is long over, and yet there's plenty of Star Trek to discuss! This week, we cover off on a bit of light Star Trek news, which includes us NOT being invited to the Strange New Worlds NYC premiere! Which Johnson wouldn't go to anyway because he has other plans. And congrats to Wil Wheaton, who has a bestselling book on his hands! We then chat about this week's episode of Picard, "Monsters" - which Mike appreciates a bit more than Johnson. We decide to structure the conversation a bit more than usual and break things up into the A plot, B plot, and C plot - though sadly we don't get as much Jurati/Borg Queen in this episode.

We're back from Chicago, and there's a lot to talk about! We go over the details of the three day convention, and discuss some of our favorite moments. From Wil Wheaton and Kate Mulgrew, to Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks, we traverse the ups and downs of the conference, and what we're hoping for next time. We also talk briefly about the Season 3 cast announcement of Picard, and the implications of having the entire TNG cast back! We then move onto this week's Picard episode "Two of One," which inches the plot forward. The season is half over, and at this point we're concerned that the many dangling plot threads aren't going to be wrapped up to our satisfaction. At least we have Jurati and the Borg Queen!

It's the week leading up to Mission Chicago, and we are moderately excited! In a shocking twist of events, Paramount decided to release the (amazing) trailer for Strange New Worlds, which we totally didn't think was going to happen before the convention. We chat about this first look and what we're looking forward to in Chicago, before diving into the most recent episode of Picard, "Fly Me to The Moon." This episode definitely has a lot going for it - with our crew reunited, we're hoping the back half of the season starts tackling some of the show's bigger mysteries. Hopefully, Picard doesn't pull a Discovery and wait until the very end to reveal all the answers - like why does Q have such a bad Austrian accent?