Punch It: Writing in Star Trek

What if J/C was canon?In our last episode of Punch It: Writing in Star Trek, we tackle something near and dear to our hearts. Janeway and Chakotay are in love and you can't convince us otherwise. What if those cowards in the writer's room pulled the trigger and made it canon? We make up the relationship on the fly and figure out how the show would change if it was revealed they have been in an intimate relationship.Thank you all for listening.

What if the Voyager crew got stranded in LA when they went back in time?In Star Trek: Voyager's "Future's End" the crew got taken back to 1990s LA. They had to find their way back and of course, they did. But what if they didn't right away? What would happen? Would they get jobs? Would they move on? Would they stay together? We answer these questions and a whole lot more.

22nd Century Short TrekThis week we tackle Short Treks once again but this time within the 22nd century. Enterprise showed a great relationship between Trip and Archer. We wanted to expand on that and talk about their survival training together in Death Valley. What type of Enterprise short trek would you guys like to see from Star Trek?

24th Century Short TreksThis week we take a fantastic listener suggestion and develop 24th century Short Treks that bridge The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. We took a stab at two and an interesting theme came up that is revealed in the title.What are some Short Trek ideas you would have liked to have seen in the 90s?

What stories could be explored if Star Trek leaned heavy on animation?We've had Star Trek: The Animated Series and now we're getting Lower Decks. But what if an executive came into a room and said "We're starting a new initiative with a lot of animated Star Trek projects. Pitch me some ideas." This week, we discuss that scenario and explore what kind of stories could be told.

Punching Up "The Trouble with Edward"Char didn't like the latest Short Trek and Tristan thought it was fine. Regardless of your opinion on the quality of the episode, there are more than a few things that stand out as puzzling. This week, your Punch It crew takes the episode and figures out how they can punch it up and have it appeal to a wider Star Trek audience.

Picard/Disco Trailer DiscussionWe've been gone for quite some time but are happy to be back! We catch up with​ each other as well as the audience as to what was going on during those three weeks. But we mainly geek out about the new Picard and Discovery trailers! We talk briefly about the new Short Treks but there are zero spoilers.

Weird shipping in Star TrekWe continue with oddball pairings this week and it goes into some uncomfortable territory. Last week we developed an entire relationship between Janeway and Neelix. This week we spend time on more than one couple. We tackle, flirting, infidelity, and how there were a lot of triangles in Deep Space Nine.

What if Neelix and Janeway were in a relationship?You read that right. We're actually doing this. We pose the crazy question and then explore it over the course of this episode. We had no plans that this is what we would discuss but it just happened. But what would that relationship look like in Star Trek: Voyager?Honestly? It turned out great and oddly touching. Listen and let us know what you think.

What makes a mediocre Star Trek episode mediocre?It's easy to make a best and worst list of Star Trek episodes; they're all over the internet. But no one is making a "mediocre" list. In this episode, we discuss what are some common characteristics of forgettable Trek episodes that aren't terrible.

As Star Trek fans, we lead rich fantasy lives.Char and Tristan discuss what it was like growing up Star Trek fans and how they either wrote down their Trek fantasies or just played them in their head. Imagining themselves on the bridge of the Enterprise or lost in the Delta Quadrant, it didn't matter because it was a place to escape. They discuss this as well as how certain fantasies can become unhealthy.What are some of your Star Trek fantasies that you go to?

What would an R rated Star Trek movie look like?Listen, neither Char nor Tristan want an R rated movie. That's why they think it would interesting if they were forced to write one. With news of the possibility of a Tarantino Trek coming getting more and more serious, they wanted to see what it would take to get a Trek amped up to R. How much language, how much sex, how much violence would be "appropriate"? More importantly, what kind of story would be ideal?Listen to find out the direction they go.

What happens right before Star Trek: Picard?There is zero way of knowing for sure but your Punch It crew loves a good "What if?" This week, we take a look at the Picard trailer again and see if we can fill in the gaps between when Jean-Luc leaves Starfleet and when the show picks up. So many direction to go in it's hard to choose one, but we try.Listen to see how we tackled it.

What if "Year of Hell" was on other iterations of Star Trek?This was a listener suggestion that we were itching to try out. We started developing scenarios for Deep Space Nine and The Original Series and got really excited. As we moved on to The Next Generation and Enterprise we started seeing a pattern in the existing writing of the show.Listen to find out what we learned.

Our honest and hyped reactions to the Star Trek: Picard trailerWe started out the episode thinking this would just be an intro topic but it ended up filling the entire episode. This week we ponder the ramifications of this type of show as well as the possibilities of directions that show as well as the character of Picard could take.20 years is a long time and the world, as well as our former Captain, is very different. What do you hope to see in this upcoming show?

On-the-fly episode about PhloxPhlox is an extremely interesting character from Star Trek: Enterprise. His backstory is extremely colorful and this week we explore a scenario where it comes back to haunt him.In this episode on-the-fly, we create a story where a husband of one of Phlox’s wives is bad news.

What if Deep Space Nine's wormhole went to the Delta Quadrant?The Bajoran wormhole has given us some amazing stories in Deep Space Nine by taking us to the Gamma Quadrant. But what if it didn't? What if it went to the Delta Quadrant and Star Trek: Voyager never existed?In this episode, we talk about how DS9 would change and what familiar faces we could possibly see. How do you think the show would have looked?

How would the other captains react to the Caretaker?In another "What if?" scenario, this week's episode of Punch It tackles Star Trek: Voyager's series opener, "Caretaker," and how Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Pike would have reacted to the situation of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant​.What do you think each captain would do?

Kirk and Crew take on the BorgYou read that right! In this episode of Punch It, we craft a story that postulates what the Borg would look like and how the events would go down if it was a TOS episode first. But we couldn't stop there; we tackle a sequel movie as well. If you're thinking this is reminiscent​ of Space Seed/TWOK then you are very perceptive.Please listen and write us what you think the episode and the movie should be called.

Everyone, I mean everyone, is in the NexusYou read that right. Your Punch It hosts create an absurd story that gets every single lead Star Trek character into the Nexus. How did they get in there? Do they try to get out? How do they find each other? Who gets along and who doesn't? Listen to hear this off-the-wall tale of heaven and plot devices.

Picard is on its way and hopefully, so are some Short TreksThe new teaser trailer for Picard dropped and it asks more questions than it answers. It begs you to watch it find out more and it feels like a tonal shift from Discovery that might bring in some different types of fans. In this episode, we discuss what types of Short Treks could be made as a lead up to Star Trek: Picard as well as Discovery season three. We also talk about how other Star Trek shows would have handled Short Treks if given the chance.

Would Tom Paris fit on any show other than Star Trek: Voyager?This week we take a look at everyone's favorite pilot, Tom Paris, and see how his character would fit and/or develop on all the other iterations of Star Trek. From TOS to DSC. The hardest part seemed to be how to get a person with his past physically on the ship/station. Listen to find out how we did it. How would you do it?

The Sound of Thunder's Prime Directive ProblemPike made a decision in Star Trek: Discovery's season two episode "The Sound of Thunder" that changed the course of evolution for one species and altered the balance of power with another. These were both non-federation races. The captain had a split second to make that monumental choice. How would other captains react?In this episode, we discuss how Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer would have done if they were the captain of Discovery during that mission. We also discuss how the episode would have looked on their respective shows.

What if Seven came aboard the Enterprise-D instead of Voyager?Adding to our "What If?" catalog, we tackle Seven of Nine and transplant her as a show regular on Star Trek: The Next Generation. How would Scorpion be different? Would it be a rewrite of I, Borg? How would she get along with the crew. We discuss this and more on this week's episode.

Star Trek: The Next Generation "Ménage à Troi" RewriteAfter taking a forced two weeks off due to illness, Punch It is back and we are tackling Ménage à Troi from season three of TNG. An episode that was not as good we remembered it but was chock full of fun parts. We open the show with a Star Trek: Discovery season two wrap up. Mild spoilers.

The Adventures of the U.S.S. KelvinWe know so little about the U.S.S. Kelvin but it's impacted the Kelvin-Verse immensely. Hell, it's the reason it exists in the first place. But what about Kelvin Prime? How did this ship continue on in the Prime Universe? We know George Kirk lived to see James T. Kirk become the captain of the Enterprise but not much more than that. In this episode, we explore how this ship could have been built, how George and Winona met, and why Captain Robau is a badass.

We most likely won't get a Star Trek 4 so we wrote our ownCompletely on-the-fly we write our own version of a fourth Kelvin Star Trek film. As stated above, it most likely won't happen so we didn't​ want this prime opportunity to go to waste. We ask ourselves what kind of bad guy do we need? Where is Jaylah? Does it need to be another world ender?We open the show with our reactions to Star Trek: Discovery's "Red Angel" and the likelihood of a Quinton Tarantino Star Trek film.

What is Star Trek V featured the Voyager crew?Some of you might have already started to roll your eyes, but you only need your ears to hear this amazing tale! We take the template of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and alter it to fit the Voyager crew. Who breaks Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok out of jail? Does Neelix need his pain? Listen to find out.

What If Discovery's characters were transplanted to other shows?We love our "What If" scenarios but we've purposefully left out Discovery until now. We always felt like we need more episodes under our belt to get to know the characters better. Now that season 2 is more than half over, we felt we could pursue it. What would Michael look like on DS9? Would Saru fit on Voyager? Listen in and let us know what you think.

Almost everyone is excited about the new Picard show, but what comes after?We know that there are a few things on the docket, Lower Decks, Section 31, and maybe even a few more. But what shows would come out if we were pitching them to the studio?This week, we discuss what type of shows we would like to see produced on CBS All Access. Some are limited events, some are Short Treks, some are episodic. Listen and lets us know what you think.

Part three of our Star Trek Voyager: The Next Generation movie trilogyThe last two episodes we have grafted the Kelvinverse movie framework onto the Voyager crew. What ended up happening was the next generation of Voyagers commanding the Voyager-A. We have already done Star Trek 09 and Star Trek Into Darkness. This week Star Trek Beyond is added to the adventures of Miral Paris and Naomi Wildman.

What if the Voyager crew was in Star Trek Into Darkness?Last week we did a "what if" with the Voyager crew and Star Trek 09. Long story short it ended up being a kick-ass Voyager: The Next Generation. Miral and Naomi are commanding the Voyager-A and Admiral Harry Kim is there instead of Pike. We won't spoil anything but you should listen to last week's episode before this one.We open the show with a quick opinion on Star Trek: Discovery and the current state of fan interaction online.

What if Star Trek 09 had the cast of Voyager instead?This is a way out there idea that was a lot of fun to talk about. The concept is simple and followed the same idea as last week. Take a Star Trek movie and replace the crew from another show. How on earth were we going to adopt 09 to Voyager?Would it be a Kelvin version of the Voyager crew? Would it take place in the 24th century? Do we try to make it fit within established canon? This episode took a lot of twists and turns and we can't wait to hear what you think.

What if Star Trek The Voyage Home was a Next Gen movie?We love our “what ifs” on Punch It: Writing in #StarTrek so we asked ourselves the above question. Star Trek IV is a movie beloved by millions and is instantly recognizable. Even non-Star Trek fans know “the one with the whales.”So, who goes and gets the transparent aluminum? Who winds up in the hospital? Does Picard hit it off with Dr. Taylor or does someone else? We answer all these questions and a whole lot more in this very fun episode.

What if Picard, Sisko, and Janeway were all in a movie together?You read that right. Tristan and Char develop the movie we all wanted after Nemesis ended to celebrate their 100th episode. Taking place after Nemesis but before the upcoming Picard series set in 2399, Tristan and Char write, on-the-fly, what would bring these three amazing captains together.What new thread is lurking? Who will make a cameo? How will it end? Listen to find out.

Rewriting Wesley Crusher for Star Trek: The Next GenerationWesley is not exactly a fan favorite. In fact, he was voted just below Jar Jar as sci-fi's most annoying character. On this show we have the supreme gift of hindsight so what could have been done differently?On the previous episode, we punched up Beverly Crusher so how would that effect Wesley's development on the show? We start with Farpoint and work our way all the way up to Nemesis.

Rewriting Dr. Beverly Crusher from Star Trek: The Next GenerationIn another example of a fantastic character where the writers had no idea what to do, we bring you Beverly Crusher! In this episode, we take a look at the character of Crusher and try to figure out what works and what doesn't. We even go down the path of punching up her relationship with Wesley. Could this mean that they have to have ... the talk? Listen to find out.

Ayala was Chakotay's right hand man back in the day. What did that look like?This week we take a listener suggestion and develop a story on-the-fly talking about the first time Chakotay and Ayala met. We don't know much about Ayala but we had his name mentioned often in Star Trek: Voyager. He even had more to do than our beloved Lt. Jae.Listen and subscribe to hear our story of intrigue, espionage and escape.

What is daily life like in the 24th century?We don't have a lot to go on with this question. Star Trek focuses on adventure in space and not so much the 9-5ers back on Earth. Sure, we've had some glimpses from a New Orleans restaurant and Harry's apartment in San Francisco but not too terribly much beyond that. So we try to postulate what transportation, housing, and work might look like in Gene Roddenberry's utopia.

What if Kes stayed for all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager?No Seven of Nine, no writing off Kes. What if she stayed and finished the entire run of the show? This is something that we're sure many a Star Trek: Voyager fan has pondered. We ended up rewriting Scorpion as well as Endgame (making it better in the process) as well as everything in between on a high level. What would Kes' life be like on the ship post Scorpion? How would she age? Would she find companionship in someone other than Neelix? Would she have another Elogium? Find this out and more by listening.Warning: This episode discusses traumatic events involving childbirth.

Star Trek: Enterprise was a great show. Some of its characters were not.We all know the walking void that was Travis Mayweather but what about the lack of personality coming from Malcolm Reed? While we love these actors, we also realize that they weren't always given enough to work with. But what if they did?In this episode,​ we take a critical look at Reed's character and try to tweak, change, and even sometimes erase certain aspects in order to get a fuller and more interesting character.

What if Janeway was the commander of Deep Space Nine?A few weeks ago we asked about Sisko on Voyager. A few weeks before that we talked about Archer on the 1701-D. This week we discuss what Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would have looked like if there was no Sisko but in fact Captain Kathryn Janeway commanding the station.As always, this was a fun exercise​ and allowed us to explore the different types of relationships she would have with the crew. Listen to find out what is different and what is the same of what you know.

Where's Carol Marcus?This week's Punch It started with searching for a story. Where are the gaps? Where are the areas to expand? We began looking in the original series movies but ultimately ended up in the Kelvin universe. Where did Carol Marcus go and would things end differently than in the Prime universe? Listen to find out.

Can we treat Troi from Star Trek better than the writers did?That's the main question. Troi is by no means a bad character but she didn't have the best start and even after she was developed, not enough time was devoted to her. Char and Tristan explore her character, her backstory, her traits, and see if they can be altered or enhanced with hindsight​ being 20/20.How would you change the approach to Troi?

What if Sisko was the captain of Voyager?Last week we asked that question and just focused on Caretaker. This week we were able to expand that to his relationships with his crewmates. How would Chakotay work with him? Would he tolerate Neelix? Would Tom be able to foster a paternal relationship with him? We ask all these questions and a whole lot more.

What if Sisko was the commander of USS Voyager?Star Trek is the perfect testing ground for "What if?" questions. Last episode we discussed what Star Trek: The Next Generation would have looked like if Jonathan Archer was the captain of the 1701-D. This week we tried to answer the question of what Voyager would have looked like if Benjamin Sisko was the commander of USS Voyager.We mainly discuss what Caretaker would have looked like and logistically how Sisko would have ended up on the ship and ultimately in the Delta Quadrant.

What would Star Trek: The Next Generation have looked like if it was captained by Jonathan Archer? We love our "what if?" scenarios on Punch It and this is one of our more exciting ones. If Archer existed in the 24th century and captained the 1701-D, what would TNG have looked like? Nothing else is different other than no Picard. Riker is the XO, Data is the science officer, etc. We explore that and hopefully many more scenarios like this one in the future.

What makes a Star Trek episode a guilty pleasure?We all have them but some are easier to admit than others. Are we convinced that an episode is bad because of peer pressure? Or deep down do we know it's bad but we just don't care? Is it the premise, the writing, the story, the acting, the directing, or all of the above? In this week's episode we try to find out what it takes to be considered a guilty pleasure Star Trek episode. 

We tackle rewriting Star Trek: Enterprise's series finale: These are the VoyagesThis is not a beloved episode of Trek. Some say it's hated on too much but you'll never hear "I love this! What a great ending!" Enterprise was robbed of further seasons and Rick Berman once described the episode as a "valentine to the fans". This was the end of 18 years of consecutive Star Trek on television and the showrunners felt the need to incorporate Trek outside of Enterprise to give the franchise a send off instead of just the show. This resulted in a situation where Riker and Troi have more focus than Archer and company. Your Punch It crew has the gift of hindsight and boy do they use it. Listen to hear what we change because whatever it is, it's an improvement.

We take a fan suggestion and rewrite Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Attached" on-the-fly We often take fan suggestions and we got a lot of them via Twitter just a few days before this recording. There were so many great ones but one stood out because it was a challenge. Rewrite TNG's "Attached". This episode is a solid episode with a lot of good parts so what could we make better?Listen and find out what we kept and what we didn't.

Hoshi Sato didn't get enough love on Star Trek: Enterprise. So we talk about what happened to her after the show. There were more than a few underused characters on Star Trek: Enterprise. Much like with Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation; great character, just not a lot to go on. When we sat down to do an episode on-the-fly, we had no idea it would result in a Hoshi episode but then again we never know. There's so little we know about Hoshi and even less about her after the show, for obvious reason.In this week's episode, we try to do Hoshi Sato justice and play to her strengths. It's said that she was promoted three times in 5 years and then left starfleet. Why? Well, we answer that question.