Podcast appearances and mentions of andy farber

Today, we're looking at the final episode of Star Trek Continues. "To Boldly Go. Part 2." So how does this episode hold up against other series finales such as "All Good Things" and "What You Leave Behind". And how well does this episode tie together Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. There's a lot to talk about, including some cool stories shared with me by director James Kerwin. Audio Player control at bottom of page. ----more---- Transcript Welcome to Nerd Heaven. I'm Adam David Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars. And I am a Nerd. This is episode 107 of the podcast. Today, we're talking about the final episode of Star Trek Continues. “To Boldly Go, Part 2.” bringing our coverage of this show to a close.   The description on IMDB reads The iconic mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise comes to an end, as Kirk and his crew battle the ultimate adversary.   This teleplay was written by Robert J. Sawyer and James Kerwin. With story by Vic Mignogna, Robert J. Sawyer and James Kerwin. It was directed by James Kerwin And it first aired on the 13th of November 2017.   We pick up in a very tense situation from last episode's great cliffhanger. Kirk is unwilling to relinquish his bridge. He, Spock, and Uhura all try to fight back. To no avail. Even the security officer's phasers are useless against Lana's powers.   And then the big surprise twist happens. Smith's eyes go silver. She is uplifted as well. This was nicely foreshadowed in the last episode where they mentioned that she was holding Garry's hand when they passed through the barrier. I felt then, that she was holding something back. She uses the same lightning force powers that Lana was using. We saw Gary Mitchel and Elizabeth Denher use them in “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. She forces Lana and Sentek to retreat to the Kongo.   So … it seems Smith wasn't quite so unaffected as she claimed. I think this is a very cool development. But it raises a lot of questions. Where does Smith sit in the esper scale? Has she always been affected, but has been hiding it, or have her powers only just now manifested. And if so, why?   Kirk asks security to escort her to sickbay. At first, she's taken aback. After all, she's one of the good guys right. She helped them against Lana. But after a moment of thought, she relents. It's probably a good idea. She understands the potential threat she represents. She sees things from Kirk's point of view. Maybe she'd even do the same thing in his place. She voluntarily goes with security.   The big question is, why are they just sitting there. Why have they not destroyed the Enterprise and her crew? McCoy has the answer. It takes time for uplifted  espers to grow in their powers. Perhaps they're biding their time until they all reach full strength.   Bones has a medical defence that might help with the illusions. Scotty recommends keeping their distance as the espers don't have unlimited range with their powers. The Kongo's engines are offline. The crew must have shut it off before they were overpowered. Maybe the espers don't know how to get them going again.   Kirk hasn't slept for two days. McCoy doesn't argue. Usually Kirk would be wrong, but not this time. He needs to keep going. I'm not sure McCoy is right, actually. As Riker says in Best of Both Worlds, you can't fight the enemy at the same time you're fighting your own fatigue. Lack of sleep impairs human decision making. I know my mind is absolutely useless after putting in a day of work, and Kirk has been going much longer than that. Yes, the situation is critical, but for the moment, it's quiet, This might be the perfect time for Kirk to catch 30 minutes of sleep while the enemy regroups. Of course, there's a lot to accomplish while they have this time. Coming up with defences, a plan of some sort. There are no good or easy answers, which is probably why McCoy is not arguing with him.   In five years, 73 people have died under Kirk's command. He remembers the exact number. Of course he would.   McCoy says “we'll stop them” but that's not the point. “At what cost, Doctor?” Kirk asks. That's what's really on his mind. It's fitting for Kirk to reflect back on the cost of his five year mission as it's nearing its end. Especially at a moment like this, when it looks like that cost is about to skyrocket. But there's more to it, as we'll soon discover.   McKenna goes to see Smith. Everyone is afraid of her. Understandably. Contact with Gary, at the time of his uplifting left some residual energy in her. She didn't uplift at the time, probably because she doesn't have the psi rating necessary. But her proximity to the barrier now has reactivated that residual energy enough to uplift her.   Smith has developed telepathy. She can read McKenna's mind. She can feel the power flowing through her, but she claims to not be dangerous. She would never hurt anybody.   But McKenna can't know that for sure. Gary shows early signs of megalomania quite quickly. Denher much less so. She still retained her humanity despite temptation to the contrary. Why?   Was it that Denher was intrinsically a better person? What is because Denher had a lower psi rating than Gary? If that's the case, it looks good for Smith as she seems to have a lower rating still.   So far, it's looking like Smith has a good chance of keeping her humanity long term. But there are no guarantees here. We just just don't know.   Charvanek comes to see Spock. It seems she is still trying to pursue a relationship with him. A relationship he was tempted to enter into in the past, but resisted.   She asks Spock to come with her when her ship departs. The mission of the Enterprise is almost over. His job is complete. It's a logical time to make a change in his life. She tempts him with the promise of unification between Romulans and Vulcans. A promise that will consume him a century from now. But why would a Romulan commander want reunification? She is as he would want her to be, not as she truly is. This is not Charvanek. When Spock resists the illusion, it disappears.   Other illusions are being used against the crew. An order to Checkov to lower shields and head into the barrier. Even Kirk's preoccupation with the deaths of crew under his command.   I'm glad these moments were included. The greatest weapon Lana's espers have is their mental abilities. Their ability to confuse and manipulate the crew of the Enterprise. They should be using it every change they get. Probably a lot more than we see on screen. With that many espers, and so many on board the Enterprise susceptible to them, it's actually a miracle they don't blow up their own ship.   This is one weakness I see in Deep Space Nine, actually. Now DS9 is my favourite of all the Star Trek shows, and I love everything to do with the Dominion War and the changelings. But their greatest strength was not the military might of their ships, or the fighting acumen of the Jem Hadar. Their greatest weapon was the ability to infiltrate the Federation. We saw a little hint of the potential they possessed in Homefront and Paradise Lost. And that was only 4 changelings. They should have used these infiltration tactics a lot more during the war. We know the blood screenings were not entirely effective. The Federation wouldn't have stood a chance.   The reason I bring all this up is just to praise this episode for including these scenes.   The battle begins. The Kongo fires on the Enterprise. The starboard nacelle is damaged. The Romulans join the fight but then move off.   The espers might need a minute to recharge their powers.   The nacelle needs 30 minutes to repair. Kirk orders a risky cold restart. The esper's powers cannot deflect multiple simultaneous strikes. But two vectors will not be enough. Three would do the job, but they don't have a third ship….or do they?   Kirk orders the crew to prepare for a risky procedure. One they have never before attempted. Scotty will re-start the engines. They will separate the saucer from the Stardrive. Spock will command the saucer. Kirk, the secondary hull.   Obviously, this is something that TNG did, but TOS never did.  I was already aware that Gene Roddenberry had intended that the TOS Enterprise be able to separate. They didn't really have the budget to make it a reality until Encounter at Farpoint. What I didn't realise, until it was pointed out by James Kerwin, is that Kirk referred to the process, which they called “Jettisoning”, not “Separating” in two different TOS episodes. “The Apple” and “Savage Curtain”.   Spock points out that it will be very difficult to re-integrate the ship after this. But not impossible I like this approach. It shows that while yes, the original Enterprise COULD separate the two sections, it wasn't a routine operation like on the Enterprise D. It's a last resort. Not necessarily indeed to be undone. Kirk describes it as “jettisoning the stardrive section.” So it's not the same as in TNG.  I like this a lot.   This gives the final episode of Star Trek Continues quite an epic feel. Now they can conduct a three-pronged attack on the Kingo.   And it's working. The Kongo's power is decreasing.   Kirk is commanding the stardrive section from Auxilary control, which was seen from time to time in the original series. The set was built for episode 3 “Fairest of Them All”.  Director James Kerwin shared a story with me. The Auxilary control set was re-assembled for the finale, not having been used in a couple of years. But the buttons and lights on the helm console had deteriorated due to humidity and dust. They no longer worked, and they had to film in two days.   Kermin checked the travel manifest and realised that Grant Imahara, who played Sulu, was flying in that day. Grant was an electrical engineer by trade. Kermin called him on his mobile phone and said “Grant, I'm so sorry, I know you have a day off before you need to film, but could you please come to set now and try to repair the auxiliary control helm console? He gladly did so and made it work beautifully. So when we see Sulu pressing the aux control helm buttons, and the lights on the console flashing, that was Grant's work.   The Kongo hails the Enterprise. We hear some ominous music. Music that is very reminiscent of the score from Star Trek The Motion Picture. A very nice touch.   This episode was the third time Andy Farber wrote and recorded original music for the show. Starting to integrate some themes from The Motion Picture was a deliberate charge from Mignongna to Farber. This episode is, afterall, the missing gap between TOS and TMP. A handing of the torch. What he did was incredible. He weaved these different styles of music together in an impressive and wonderful way. You hear it clearly during the saucer separation.   What made this extra special was the inclusion of Craig Huxley. This man has deep connections to Star Trek. He played Peter James Kirk - the nephew of James Kirk, and also appeared in the episode “and the children shall lead.” He invented a very unique musical instrument that featured heavily in the score of Star Trek The Motion Picture. The blaster beam. The longest stringed instrument ever. You probably know what I'm talking about. The score for TMP had these deep resonant sounds like nothing you've heard before or since. Those sounds came from this unique instrument. Jerry Goldsmith discovered this instrument and wanted to use it in his score. It was also used in Star Trek 2 and 3, and even Back to The future and Alien. I was surprised to hear that, because to me, those sounds are uniquely synonymous with The Motion Picture.   They brought Huxley back to perform some blaster box for the score of this episode, and man does it make a difference. It impacts me on such an emotional level, because of the link to The Motion Picture.   The Kongo's original crew, including their captain, are alive in the cargo bay. Lana is going to use them as leverage to negotiate.   They want McKenna to beam aboard the Kongo, in exchange for the Kongo's captain. If she doesn't they'll decompress the hanger deck. It's a classic prisoner exchange, like in Generations. But who will it benefit most? McKenna is willing to go. Sentek gives only one minute. Spock tries to contact Kirk but Uhura can't get through the interference.   McKenna is trained in mediation. She can find a way to a win-win situation.   Spock is in command. He has to make a decision. This could be a deception. The Kongo crew may not even be there. McKenna urges Spock to listen to his feelings, rather than his logic. Interestingly, I would have thought that his emotions would want him to protect McKenna, his friend. But he relents and agrees to the exchange. Mckenna for Captain Azmi.   This raises the important question of why they want McKenna so much.   As soon as McKenna beams away, it is revealed that the lifesigns were an illusion. There are no crew to be saved. Sentek lied. When Spock confronts him about this, saying Vulcans never lie, Sentek says they both know that is not true. And I can't argue with that. They now have a valuable hostage. One for whom Spock has affection. And that may be motivation enough for the espers wanting the exchange.   Lana orders Spock to stand down or McKenna will die. Spock agrees.   The Kongo warps out of the system.   Can things possibly get any worse?   Lana brings food to McKenna, which gives her the opportunity to try to reason with her. McKenna says there is room for everyone in the Federation. She'll do all she can to help them find acceptance. Lana points out that time after time, humanity has turned its back on self-improvement. After all they've done, Lana knows there is no place for her and her people in the Federation. She may be right. I can't imagine many in the Federation would be keen to welcome these people, given the danger they possess.   Lana sees her and her people as humanity's successors. She doesn't want to assimilate into the Federation. She wants to replace it.   With help from the Romulans, the Enterprise has been re-attached into one piece. They're now in pursuit, but they're a long way behind.   Starfleet has requested help from both the Klingons and the Romulans. Both have said no. McCoy's medical defence is ready to help them focus. This is important for the story, because otherwise, sooner or later, someone on the ship would succumb to an illusion. The good guys have to have a chance to succeed at some point. Uhura has a way to circumvent the esper's subspace disruption, so they'll be able to communicate and coordinate.   The Enterprise will be working with the Exeter and the Potempkin. The only other two constitution class ships in service.   Spock apologises for his recent decision. Kirk confirms he would have done the same thing in his place. Smith wants to help. Kirk isn't convinced it's a good idea. Her power is growing quickly. But is her ego growing with the power? There seems to be no evidence of that so far.   Five years ago, Smith watched Kirk make impossible choices to protect his crew. That set something in motion in her.  He showed her what it means to serve.   Originally a yeoman, Smith left and got her commission so she could return to the Enterprise and serve her crew. This is what she's meant to do - help. Either Smith is a very good actor, or she is still herself. Still a good person. It's a great speech and a very nice character moment for Smith.   If things weren't already bad enough, it seems the Exeter and Potempkin have both been destroyed. They fired on each other. The espers powers of illusion have grown significantly. Probably greater even than what Gary's were before he died.   This episode is doing a fantastic job of taking the tension and ramping it up further and then further.   Uhura and Spock have come up with another way to shield the Enterprise from the illusory power of the espers. It will be limited, but might buy them some time.   But without the other two ships, time to do what?   When they see the Kongo on screen, we hear another booming note from the blaster beam. So effective.   Smith is going to try to use her powers to force her way through the Kongo's shields in order to beam over there.   Kongo has started firing. Spock has located McKenna. Smith is on it. The scene where she storms into the Kongo engine room and throws the espers aside is awesome. She has become a powerful superhero and I love it. Who would have thought, looking at the character in Star Trek's second pilot, that she would end up here. But now it's two against one, and their powers have had a lot more time to grow than hers. As they zap her, her eyes seem to dim. So she starts to fire all her power into the ship's engines. The espers run. Her eyes fade to normal. Her lifesigns are gone. She used the last of her energy to burn out the Kongo's systems.   And this brings the story of Smith to an end. She dies a hero. She fulfils her dreams. She is able to serve in the most powerful way, doing what nobody else could have done.   When I think back on this episode, I always remember another death, that we'll talk about shortly. But after this time through, Smith's death will stick with me just as much, maybe even more. This death is just as emotionally impactful. This is the moment when the good guys win.   James Kerwin really enjoyed shooting Smith's sacrifice. He and actress Kipleigh Brown had been working together on film projects for many years, and both started working on Star Trek Continues at the same time, episode 3. He was glad to give the character an honourable send-off.   Not only did Kipleigh Brown write the previous episode, “What Ships are For”, she also wrote Smith's farwell speech to Kirk.   The Romulans are firing killing shots at the Kongo. But they still have someone over there. The Romulans, like their Vulcan cousins, it seems, are very pragmatic in this situation. They're not willing to risk the galaxy just for McKenna.   The visuals of the damages Kongo with it's decks exposed looks awesome. Reminds me of the remastered effects in The Doomsday Machine.   Even Charvanek,who is still aboard the Enterprise, doesn't approve of Tal's actions. Now the Romulan ship is firing at the Enterprise too.   The Enterprise takes some very significant damage. Casualty reports coming from all over the ship. As the saucer is mangled, and sparks flare all over the bridge, we get an epic sense of disaster you wouldn't see in any other episode of TOS. This is the finale. It all ends here. This nicely gives an added reason for the ship to undergo a major refit prior to TMP.   Charvanek disables the weapons on her ship, relieving Tal of his position.   The Kongo hails. They're in bad shape. Even Lana has lost the silver from her eyes. “Well fought, Kirk,” she says. “For a moment we knew the freedom of infinity.”   Their reactor is building up. Scotty needs a minute to beam McKenna out. He doesn't get it. He's half got her, but having  trouble re materialising her. It looks like Spock has done it, but it still doesn't work. Spock's emotions come out as he hits the console.   McKenna is still standing there, shimmering, allowing them to have a tearful goodbye.   Kirk apologises and thanks her.   Spock approaches. It's a painful moment for him. She says something to him, although it isn't overly apparent to me in this scene. We get hints of music from Star Trek 2. Fitting. This scene really tears me apart. McKenna herself seems to have a quiet acceptance of her death. She has a smile that seems to say “Thanks for trying.” She is remarkably brave in the face of her imminent death. Were I in her situation. I'd probably be horrified. McKenna fades away. Dead. It makes narrative sense that McKenna would die in this episode. Over the course of this fourth season, she has become an important part of the show. Part of this family. It makes no sense that she wouldn't be around in the movies. It's logical that she would die. I guess the same is true for Smith. And in a story of this magnitude, there needs to be loss. There has to be a price for victory.   In the end, McKennma's death was kind of senseless. She wasn't able to make a difference, although it does serve an important story purpose as we'll see in a minute. But Smith's death was critical to their victory. They never would have won without her. In a very real sense, she is the hero of this story.   The Enterprise crawls home on its hands and knees. She has come home. But it's not the triumphant moment they had anticipated. Their recent losses, how close they came to disaster, it all weighs heavily on them. Kirk's log is spoken with a very sombre voice. We see the spacedock in orbit, where she'll stay until her refit is complete and Kirk takes her out to confront V'ger.   We see a TOS shuttle fly over the golden Gate Bridge in a scene that otherwise could have come from the motion picture.   Admiral Nogura, who we hear about in the motion picture, but never see, congratulates Kirk on completing his five year mission, and on saving the galaxy. It's cool to have that character appear in this episode.   In the show, we didn't see the Enterprise crew saving the entire galaxy. They tended to deal with smaller scale issues most of the time. But it's very fitting that they have faced and overcome such a threat in their final story.   Kirk still feels the cost acutely. Based on Kirk's experiences with McKenna, Kirk calls the experimental counsellor program a success. It should continue. Starfleet ships from now on will have counsellors on board.   Kirk looks at a series of models, from Cochrane's Phoenix, to the NX-01, We see the USS Discovery, the constitution class, and finally, the constitution refit, as the TMP theme starts to play.   I get goosebumps.   Now, potentially, Discovery shouldn't be seen here, as that ship was classified when it travelled into the future. Of course, Discovery season 1 was brand new when this episode was made, so that canon hadn't been established yet. Personally, I think it's not out of the question for an admiral to still have a crossfield class model in his office. It was still a part of Starfleet history. Nogura would have been active in Starfleet during the time of Discovery. And I think it's worth it for the emotional resonance of seeing it in the lineup. It's nicely ties old and new Trek together.   The Enterprise will be refit from the keel up. The crew will be given promotions. And the Federation council has voted to reinstate the enterprise Delta as the official insignia of Starfleet.   Kirk says Scotty always thought it reminded him of the port and starboard warp signatures of Cochrane deceleration. I can't help but wonder if this is a nod to the novel Star Trek Federation. To Kirk, it's an arrow. Rising upward and outward.   I was never a fan of the alternate insignias for other ships, and I believe, neither was Rodennberry. I remember reading somewhere, and I don't remember where, so take this with a grain of salt, but I seem to remember Roddenberry wanted the crew of other ships to have the familiar delta, but the costume designer kept making new insignias, probably because he wanted to express his creativity.   For me, this is a part of canon I tend to try to ignore. It's clear that in most of Star Trek, the delta is intended to be the logo for all of Starfleet, and always has been. But, those alternate insignias are part of canon. And they were further canonised by both Enterprise and Strange New Worlds. Later Star Trek established the delta was used as the general Starfleet logo both prior to Kirk's five year mission, and again afterwards.   James Kerwin resolved this by having Nogura say that in honour of the Enterprise, they were RE-establishing the delta as the official starfleet logo.   This episode makes it all work here in a fitting way.   Kirk is questioning whether his time has ended. He is not the same person he was. He's suffered a lot of loss. His preoccupation with the loss of people under his command may have been brought on by the espers, but these feelings are real. He expects more of himself than he's able to give any longer. He could never be happy with that.   This makes him more receptive to what Nogura is about to offer him.   We see the Enterprise crew assembled in the same room where Kirk briefs them in TMP. It's fascinating seeing those colourful TOS uniforms in a background plate that looks like it's taken directly from TMP. I do love the transitional moments like this.   Kirk emerges in his motion picture admiral uniform. Like most people, I'm not a big fan of the TMP uniforms, but the one exception is Kirk's admiral uniform. I like that a lot. I kinda wish the movie had just used that uniform for everyone.   Kirks makes a speech. He has been promoted to admiral and chief of Starfleet operations. That's the bad news. The good news is that they will continue to reach deeper into the stars. Explore more new worlds. Venturing further into the final frontier.   Our greatest adversaries, he says, are ourselves. We have much to learn about what's out there, but also about what's in here. The experience with the espers has cemented that lesson.   Now the music goes full TMP.   The next thing the episode needs to do is set up where McCoy and Spock will be at the start of the movie.   McCoy says he's done. He's seen enough death. What he hasn't seen is his daughter in five years. He's leaving Starfleet and going home. I feel that McCoy's departure hasn't been as well set up as Spocks, which we'll get to in a minute. But his reasons are sound. Particularly the family thing 5 years is a very long time to not see your child. We don't know the exact details of his family in the prime universe canon, but it has been established through the years, particularly in books, that McCoy had a family. The Kelvin movies made his marriage and divorce canon. I can't begin to imagine not seeing your child for five years, but I applaud him for doing something about it now. This works really quite well for me, but I think it would work even better had there been a little more foreshadowing through the season. Seeing McCoy start to lament the lost time with his daughter. Realising how great that cost had become.   Of course, this isn't the end of their friendship. And there's a nice little nod to Drake. There's an acknowledgement of the awkward but strong friendship that exists between Spock and Bones when he invites Spock to join them.   Spock tells Jim what McKenna said to him before she was lost in the transporter beam. “Forgive yourself.”   A difficult thing. McKenna encouraged Spock to pay attention to his emotions. He did so. He made an emotional decision, ignored his logic and allowed her to beam over.   That decision cost many lives, including hers.   Spock doesn't know how to deal with the guilt and regret he's feeling. All he knows how to do with emotions is suppress them. And that leads him to make the decision to undergo the Kholinar. He will purge all his remaining emotions.   This whole Kholinar thing seemed to come from nowhere in The Motion Picture. So Spock's arc in this episode makes a whole lot of sense. It retroactively makes Spock's arc in TMP even better. I absolutely love what the episode does here. It's brilliant character work.   Kirk will see his two friends at dinner. But there's one last thing he has to do. He goes to the bridge of the Enterprise. Now shut down and empty. And he looks at it. Says goodbye. While Kirk says goodbye to his command, we say goodbye to a bridge that we will never see again - not in this form.   It's a powerful scene. It holds similar emotional resonance as the poker scene at the end of “All Good Things.”   The episode hangs there. Gives Vic the time just to look and react.   We finish with a captain's log. Kirk's last. At least for now.   Then we pull back on a shot of the Enterprise in spacedock, as the music becomes very TMP sounding.   There is no music over the ending credits, just the ambient sound of the bridge.   This episode does everything a series finale should do, and it does it in style. We had a huge story with epic stakes. Powerful impacts for our characters. A sense of full-circle as we link back to the beginning, and a setting up for what will come after.   I'd put this one right up there with the best of the Star Trek Finales, “All Good Things” and “What you Leave Behind.” This is certainly orders of magnitude better than “Endgame.”   I've loved Star Trek Continues as a whole, but this final two-parter epitomises the reasons I love this show so much.   I have to give a huge congratulations to the cast and crew. To everyone who made this labour of love a reality. This show has a special place in my heart, and I'm deeply grateful to those who created it.   I would like to acknowledge the tragic passing of actor Grant Imahara who played Sulu. He passed away on the 13th of July 2020 at just 49 years of age   I'd like to say a huge thankyou once again, to James Kerwin for reaching out to me, and generously answering my questions and sharing some cool stories. Thanks, James.   Here ends my coverage of Star Trek Continues.   So what next? Well it seems crazy not to jump right into Star Trek The Motion Picture after this. I've covered all the TNG movies on the podcast, but I haven't covered the TOS movies. So I'll make my way through them.   I also have some ideas of things I can do along the way. I've been thinking of revisiting the original Transformers cartoon from the 80s, which I have powerful childhood memories of. See if there's anything in them worthy to discuss as an adult. I'd likely cover more than one episode in a podcast, and probably not go into as much recap detail as I've been doing with Star Trek. The idea is something I can do a little more off-the-cuff. Something that will take less time as I try to focus more on the fiction writing.   I'm also thinking of giving periodic updates on my reading of DC Comics, using the DC Universe Infinite app.    Anyway, there's plenty more to come, so I hope you'll find something of interest in the future of Nerd Heaven.   Until next time, Live Long and Prosper. Make it so.  

On this 100th episode of the Nerd Heaven Podcast, I discuss the Star Trek Continues episode "Come Not Between The Dragons" a deeply thematic episode starring aussie sci-fi royalty - Gigi Edgly of Farscape Fame. Join me as we discuss the episode and it's themes, and then reminisce a little over the last 100 podcasts. (Place button to listen at bottom of page) ----more---- Transcript Welcome to Nerd Heaven. I'm Adam David  Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars And I am a nerd.   And it's a big moment. This is episode 100 of the podcast. How insane is that? When TV shows make it to 100 episodes, it's a big deal and they usually celebrate by doing something special.    I'm going to spend a bit of time reflecting on the past, and maybe having a little fun, at the end of this podcast, But first, we're going to be talking about the Star Trek Continues episode “Come Not Between The Dragons”.   The description on IMDB reads A troubled creature pierces the Enterprise hull, pitting the crew against a pursuer that threatens to tear them apart.   The teleplay was written by Greg Dykstra, James Kerwin and Vic Mignogna The story was by Greg Dykstra It was directed by Julian Higgins And it first aired on the 28th of May 2016.   And just a little warning, this episode deals with themes of violent abuse by a parent.   The first thing you'll notice that's special about this episode is the presence of Aussie sci-fi royalty - Gigi Edgley. Most famous for her role in Farscape as Chiana. In this episode, she plays Ensign Eliza Taylor. And the cool thing is, they let her keep her Australian accent for the role. I don't hear many familiar aussie accents in Star Trek, so I found that pretty cool.   While I gave up on it too early back in the day, I've become quite a fan of Farscape, so it's very cool to see her here. By the way, I can't believe I didn't notice it, but a few episodes back, in The White Iris, the character of Amphidamas, the alien representative, was played by another member of sci-royalty, Colin Baker, who played the 6th Doctor on Doctor Who. I'm unbelievably embarrassed that I didn't notice and comment on it. Sorry about that.   This one starts off seeming to be a monster story. But we'll soon learn that it's not. This is a real thematic message show, but one with a real difference.   Scotty is currently in command. Eliza Taylor hands him a padd. And then Kirk enters. 8 ships have been destroyed studying an accretion disc. But the crew have been rescued   It's very telling of Scotty when Kirk says “at least there were no casualties” and Scotty says “there were - the Lexington.”   With the shift over, Smith and Eliza leave the bridge. Smith and McKennah are heading to the rec room, and they invite Eliza to join them. I get the impression she's not quite part of their little friendship circle, but they're welcoming her in. And isn't that just the way a friendship group should work? I know it's not easy. You really need an extrovert in your group to do the inviting, but cliques are not healthy, and being excluded can be quite hurtful - even for an introvert.   The Enterprise suffers a hull breach from a meteorite travelling near light speed.  As Chekov says, “that should be impossible.” But I'd have to believe that an object travelling that fast making impact with the ship would have to completely destroy it, so there must have been some substantial and rapid deceleration.   Whatever it is, is moving through the ship, from Deck to deck. Scotty can't find it. As we end the teaser, we see that whatever it is has broken into Eliza's quarters. But we don't see it, only her reaction.   This is an okay use of the ‘hide the monster' trope because we'll almost immediately see what she's seeing after the credits, but her reaction gives us a powerful hook. And Taylor isn't sure what she's looking at just yet. We experience it with her as the thing slowly unfolds. Some kind of lifeform. Hard and rocky with glowing eyes and a part that looks almost insectoid.   This creature was a practical effect. The alien was designed by the writer of this episode, Greg Dykstra, who appeared in the previous episode as the union doctor. He pitched this story to Vic because it was very personal to him. We'll get to that. Dykstra designed the alien and then they got a creature effects company to actually build it. It was huge. An actor could wear it as a suit, but it was very heavy and hot, so the guy they cast needed to have breaks.   I'm a big lover of CGI creatures, but I have to admit that this alien works very well as a practical effect. It looks awesome. It provides a link to the original series who always had to use practical effects, because CGI wasn't a thing yet. It's also fitting because we have a Farscape actor in this episode, and Farscape was really into practical creatures, being made by the Jim Henson company.   The alien stands tall. Much bigger than a human. It's bipedal. Taylor cowers in the corner and throws something at it. It retreats.   I'd say Taylor reacts in a very non starfleet way here. She's trained to experience the unexpected. But she may be a new officer. This might be her first experience with the unknown. And despite all your training, seeing something like that in person for the first time could be quite scary, especially if it suddenly appears in your quarters. So I can't judge her too harshly.   It doesn't take long to find the intruder. It rips holes through walls. It's not exactly subtle.  Kirk begins by assuming the intruder is intelligent. He asks if it understands him. The lack of reply certainly doesn't imply a lack of intelligence, though.   Kirk calls the transporter room and asks the chief on duty to beam it out of here. Now when I hear that, it implies to me that Kirk wants it beamed into space. But he asked the chief about his intra-ship beaming skills. Either way, Kirk's order is very imprecise. Where exactly does he want the chief to beam the intruder to? In any case, the alien can shield itself from scanners so they can't transport it.   Kirk's next action is strange. He throws some debris at the alien. The alien reacts pretty much as any lifeform would to being attacked. It lashes out in self defence, requiring security to stun it with a phaser.   I'm not sure what Kirk was trying to accomplish there, but it certainly didn't help build any rapport of trust between them.   Kirk and Bones have found some fascinating things about the creature's biology. It's a unique lifeform - probably natively spaceborn. It has multiple hearts and no lungs. But all McCoy's tricorder will register is a rock. Again, suggesting the creature can shield itself from their sensors.   Spock and Uhura have configured the universal translator to better work with the alien's unique vocalisations. I don't know that we've ever seen a hand-held universal translator like this in TOS before, but I could be wrong. In the TNG era, we know that Starfleet universal translators are embedded in the com badge (while Ferengi use implants in the ear)   Kirk gives the honour of speaking to the alien to Taylor, as she was the first human to encounter it. This is a big deal. First contact is what Starfleet are all about, afterall.   Taylor seems to carefully consider what her first words should be. She wisely, in my opinion, chooses to start with “I'm sorry if I hurt you.” and then asks what it's called. It replies, Usdi. When asked why he came here, Usdi replies “Me. To. Hurt.” That doesn't sound good. Is it a threat? It's hard to tell with such a limited understanding between them.   Usdi is an example of a cosmozoa, a space-fearing lifeform. His species is called the Utana.   Something out there is using a form of echo-location to search for something. The shockwaves are damaging to the ship.   When the next wave hits, Spock begins to act very strangely. His voice filled with anger, he calls Udsi disobedient and demands his respect. Fires a phaser at him. He then attacks Taylor when she tries to intervene, and blames it on Usdi.   This, I believe, is a common thing with people who struggle with extreme anger problems. Blaming the subject of their anger for their own actions.   Something is clearly going on with Spock. He's not himself. Perhaps in a literal sense. But others are feeling it too. Kirk is the first to vocalise his concern, in a way, opening it up for others in the bridge crew to discuss what they're experiencing without fear of judgement. Checkov is feeling suspicion and paranoia.   Spock's in a bad way. We learn that the part of the brain responsible for suppressing emotions in Vulcans is called the mesiofrontal cortex. So that's pretty cool. But it's working so hard right now McCoy is worried it'll burn up. Spock is filled with powerful emotions. But they're not his. Spock is also physically injured. Possibly from his dust-up with the alien. He asks Spock to lock him up. He's dangerous. Something dark and dangerous in his Vulcan mind is being awoken. Kirk would do well to follow Spock's recommendation here. Spock knows what he's talking about, and currently still has the presence of mind to communicate it.   The next wave is stronger than anything so far. It drives Spock to rampage through the ship after the alien. He says “Usdi is hiding from me.” He looks like he'll tear the alien limb from limb.   After Kirk stuns him, he orders Spock put in the bridge. McCoy argues against this, because Spock is not himself.   The funny thing is, Kirk is right. He's absolutely right. For the wrong reason. He's wanting to put Spock in the brig as punishment for insubordination. McCoy is right that Spock isn't himself, but he needs to be put in the brig for his own safety, and the safety of those on the ship.   When McCoy helps Kirk realise that he's not himself either, that he's filled with unnatural anger, he changes his turn and has Spock taken back to sickbay under double restraint. Yeah, good luck with that.   The brig was the best option for now. He still needs medical care, of course, but I wouldn't be trusting any restraints, double, triple, or quadruple, in sickbay when the next wave hits.   By the way, this is the third episode in a row to have original music composed by Andy Farber. And I have to give it to the student musicians that are performing it, they're brilliant.   While all of the crew are experiencing elevated levels of anger, and lowered patience, Kirk and Spock specifically seem to be experiencing anger directed at Usdi.  It's like when Spock was stunned, Kirk became the new puppet of this force. Kirk refers to Udsi as a delinquent brat. He also describes him as disobedient and undisciplined.   I'm embarrassed to say the first time I watched this, I didn't put it all together until later, but watching it now, it all seems so obvious what we're dealing with.   Taylor is hiding Udsi in her quarters. She calls in McKenna for help. She doesn't know who else to turn to.   Taylor has figured out that Udsi is familiar with these waves. And he gets more and more afraid each time one of them hits. McKenna is now having her rage directed at Udsi, as the latest wave hits. “You must have done something to deserve this,” she says. Could it be the proximity to Udsi is what focuses the rage, while those who've had little or no contact with him just feel general anger directed at whatever is at hand?   But the most interesting thing of all is that it's pretty clear at this point that Taylor is not being affected. She may be the only one on the ship that is truly herself.   McKenna is very aware of her condition. She's trying to push through it. But it's hard. Taylor made a wise choice here. As a trained counsellor, McKenna may have more tools at her disposal to fight this anger than the rest of the crew. She genuinely wants to be free of it.   She needs alpha wave generators. When she says “Leave McCoy to me” I wasn't imagining she'd just slug him in the face and knock him out, but it was effective. She can't fight the anger in her, but here she was able to use it for something good. Well, not that punching McCoy is good, but it's for a good cause in helping her in her mission.   She asks for the alpha generators from a nurse, but not chapel. She calls her Sarah. While I like seeing familiar characters show up in this show, it's kinda cool that they're filling out the medical staff. It often felt, in TOS, like McCoy and Chapel were the only two medical officers on the ship. We know this is not true, of course, but the budget likely didn't allow for filling sickbay with extras.   Scotty is reacting to all of this a little differently. Rather than getting angry at everyone, he's having a lovely old time drinking. Scotty hasn't had contact with Udsi, so his priorities are different. He cares, as he always does, about his engines.   They have now cured a couple of crew members of the anger influence. They have McKenna, Uhura and a redshirt. They figure that Usdi is hiding from the ship that is generating the waves. But he's not talking.   The redshirt figures out if they move Usdi to engineering, the ship might have a harder time locating him. He's able to simulate Scotty's voice using the universal translator, and a little technical magic from Uhura. He calls for an evacuation of engineering. But Kirk sees through it, because he knows Scotty is in the brig.   Once engineering is cleared, all they need to do is beam there with Udsi. Saves trying to drag him through the ship in front of crew who want to attack him.   Smith finds McKenna and the transporter chief in the transporter room. She's still under the influence of the waves. Kirk should be here soon as he told Smith to meet him here. We're not sure what he's doing on the way yet.   Smith insists that Udsi is going to get what he deserves. McKenna gets her to stop and think a little when she asks “Why”. Smith can't answer, because she's being motivated not by logic or reason, but by emotions. Emotions that are clearly not hers.   McKenna's question, and her offer of an alpha generator definitely gives her pause. If Kirk hadn't called her, she might have relented, but a conflict ensures. Possibly not a great idea of McKenna's to attack her while she was distracted. Smith is clearly the better fighter, and the fight only serves to feed the anger.   I'm noticing that in this episode, there's a real focus on the female characters. Taylor, McKenna, Smith, Uhura. They're all taking on significant and powerful roles. But the episode doesn't make a big deal about it. And I think that's the best way to do it.   I recently watched the Star Trek animated episode “The Lorlelai Signal”. That episode came up with a convoluted way to put Uhura and other female officers in charge of the ship, and then have Uhura do very little. This episode succeeds well where that one failed. And I don't know if this was even a deliberate and active choice, to make this a female-centric episode, or if it just ended up that way. And I think it's better for it. Contrast this to that scene in Avengers Endgame which just felt a bit on-the-nose to me.   Anyway, I'm loving it because these are great characters played by great actors, and I'm enjoying seeing them get to do much more than the original series would have allowed them. I'm especially enjoying how they're developing Smith.   Usdi is communicating with Taylor again. She says she understands, but we're not hearing a verbal translation this time. So … I'm not sure how that works.   Kirk beams in with Smith and several security officers. Kirk has a big phaser rifle, so that's what he was up to. That's not good.   All 4 of them fire their phasers at Udsi. Luckily, he survives. His body is essentially made up of stone, afterall. Interestingly, the Utana feed on space-born rocks and minerals.   Those under the influence are subdued, mostly because of quick thinking on the parts of Taylor and Uhura. With generators on their arms now, they'll all be able to think clearly.   Honestly, I'm not sure it would have gone down that way. Kirk and his team seem to be the better fighters, and they all started armed with phasers. But let's apply a little suspicion of disbelief so the good guys can win and move the plot forward.   The ship has arrived in visual range, but it's not a ship. As the image appears on the monitor, we see that it's another Utana, but much bigger than Usdi.   The entire crew are wearing alpha generators now, so we've resolved that particular conflict and moved on to the next. I think that was a good choice for the script. We don't want an entire episode of mutiny among the crew, because ultimately, that's not what this episode is about.   Kirk surmises the difference in size between Udsi and this attacker could be the difference between an adult and a child. And he's right.   Greg Dykstra actually chose the Cherokee word Udsi, which means little, as the name of the alien. When we first see him, he seems anything but little, but now, as we realise he's a child, and he's very small compared to the adult outside, the name makes sense.   Scotty apologises for his behaviour. Hardly necessary, since they were all in the same boat. Kirk's answer “I'll fire you later,” reminds me of a line he'll say much later in Star Trek 3. “Fine. I'll kill you later.”   The adult refuses to respond to hails. It attacks the Enterprise. I wouldn't necessarily expect a space-born lifeform to be able to receive and respond to subspace radio signals. But anyway.   Spock points out what might be their only logical option to survive this. Release Usdi into the adult's custody. But how can they? That thing wants to kill him.   Kirk finds an alternative. Fire a torpedo at the part of the alien's body that seems to be generating the destructive waves.   When Usdi sees the attack against the adult on the screen, he says “Usdi protect.” Taylor misunderstands. Usdi isn't asking for protection. He's stating that he must protect the adult.   Taylor goes to the bridge to explain the situation. The alien out in space is Udsi's father. Usdi has left the ship. Positioned himself between the Enterprise and his father. The attack has stopped.   If we haven't already figured it out, we realise at this moment what this episode is really all about. This is about parental abuse. Greg Dykstra wrote this story because there was a history of this kind of abuse in his family. His grandfather had been a violent abuser. It had affected his father and grandmother profoundly. He wanted to explore that theme, and a Star Trek episode turned out to be the perfect tool for that kind of thematic expiration.   The creatures look at each other - moving their heads. Most likely engaged in communication we can't perceive.   Now it's time for Kirk to make one of those famous Starfleet captain speeches. He points out that while all the entity's anger was directed at his child, Usdi still protected him. Udsi saved his life, because The Enterprise would have killed him.   Only time will tell if that will make a difference.   This is the heart of the message that Greg Dykstra wanted to get across. That despite the hurt and damage caused by an abusive parent, the victims of that abuse still love the parent. It's a complex paradox. A difficult one.   There's a nice scene between Kirk and Spock. I'm noticing that over time, Todd Haberkorn is winning me over more and more as Spock. It just took a little longer than with Kirk and Scotty. But he really is doing a good job of it.   Kirk is used to being able to persuade others with words. He's frustrated that he was unable to convince Udsi's father to change.   Spock points out that the alien had a deeply ingrained behaviour. Did he really expect to be able to change that with words? With one conversation? This also, is very thematic. I'm sure there are many loved ones of violent abusers who want so desperately to change that person. But it's probably not an easy task.   In the case of Greg Dykstra, his father learned to move on from the experience, but his grandfather never changed. Never overcame that darkness inside him.   Ultimately, Kirk didn't expect silence.   But maybe silence isn't so bad. Maybe silence represents thinking. Maybe a contemplation of one's own actions is better than lashing out.   Kirk wonders, what would it take to change someone like that?  Spock's answer, “one is better able to lead someone down an unfamiliar path when one has already been down that path oneself.” Wise words.   Kirk is a little surprised to learn that Spock has regular conversations with McKenna about life and people.   This, I believe, is the first hint of a growing connection between those two characters. We'll continue to explore it, to see where it might lead.   They've found where Udsi and his father have gone. Kirk goes to see Taylor. “I wasn't able to reach him, but maybe you can.”   Spock's words have sparked an idea in Kirk. And I think maybe he knows something about Taylor that we don't yet.   Gigi Edgley's acting in this scene is wonderful. (not to mention the CGI shot of the Enterprise parked next to the cloud)   Taylor knows that Usdi came to her for a reason.  “Your son loves you very very much. Just like I love my father,” she says. “I know in your heart that you're not a monster, but every time you lash out in anger at your son, you become less the father he loves, and more the monster he fears. Please, find a way to heal yourself. Because my father never did.” The alien says one word back. “Heal.”   “Change for Usdi.”   I'm sure this alien has a difficult challenge ahead of him, but maybe, just maybe, he can do it. Because Taylor reached him.   Wow, what an emotional scene. Huge credit to Gigi Edgely for this. What a legend. And huge credit to Greg Dykstra for a powerful story.   This episode is something of a masterpiece. This is true Star Trek at its core. One of the things I love so much about this episode, is that it's a thematic episode, it's a message episode, but there's nothing political or controversial about it. It's the kind of message I've never seen in a TV show before, but it's an important message. The creators of this show found something important to say that not many others have said before. And I'm not saying sci-fi shouldn't address political or controversial issues, but I think this episode left the well-trod paths and found something new and interesting to say.   When we watch a show like this, it's easy to think, “well, obviously this is not for me. This is for those deeply problematic people, those violent abusers, the ones with the real problems. But maybe rather than thinking about others we know who need to hear this, we should stop and think, what can I take away from this.   Most of us are not violent abusers. But most of us who are parents, at some point, have become exasperated with our children. Have lashed out and treated our kids more harshly than they deserve, because of frustration. Maybe it's because the child has genuinely done something really bad, or maybe it's pressure in life that has nothing to do with them.   I know from time to time, I've taken the time to stop and examine my parenting. To ask hard questions of whether I'm taking my frustrations out on my children in a way that I shouldn't. To see if there are any changes that I need to make in how I parent. And I think that's a healthy thing to do. For the sake of our kids.   Anyway, Star Trek Continues never fails to impress me. It's just a whole other level above most other fan productions in so many ways, and honestly, sometimes better than actual real Star Trek.   So as I said. This is episode 100. I still can't believe I've been talking about sci-fi for that long. It seems only yesterday that I started Nerd Heaven.   It was the 6th of December 2019 when my first podcast went live. I talked about Star Trek: The Next Generation “Best of Both Worlds.” I was doing a little series in the lead-up to the launch of Star Trek Picard season 1. Covering episodes and movies that I had selected as a good lead up to the new series based on what I'd seen in trailers. It was a fun little series and allowed me to cover some old favourites.   I remember I'd recorded just enough episodes to release one weekly until the premier of Picard episode 1. I did them in a big batch and scheduled them for release so they'd drip out while I was away on an extended Christmas holiday. We visited family in Tamworth, New South Wales, and then took a carnival cruise to New Caladonia and Vauatu. What a wonderful experience that was.   After finishing Picard season 1, I did a few random things. I talked about my own history with the Star Trek franchise, I covered the remaining TNG movies I hadn't already talked about, and I watched Stargate Origins: Catherine for the first time. I also started looking at Lord of The Rings, both the book and the movies. I never actually finished that series though. I was doing a walk to Mordor challenge, but the unexpected pandemic kind of got in the way of that.   I then started going through the movies of the DCEU. I really love some of those movies, like Man of Steel and Batman V Superman. And I had a lot to say about them.   After making my way all the way to Shazam, it was time for Star Trek Discovery season 3 to come out, so once again, I covered this show live as I did with Picard. This was really challenging. I'd watch the episode on Friday night just for fun. Then I'd watch it again on Saturday morning, taking notes. Then I'd record the episode, and spend most of Saturday afternoon editing and publishing it. It really did consume a lot of my weekend. In addition to doing a travel vlog on youtube, this is when my writing life really took a hit. I no longer had time to work on my books.   After I finished Discovery season 3, I knew I needed to make a change. I couldn't keep up this pace. And there were so many other content creators covering new Star Trek. I couldn't compete with them. Even today, after 100 episodes, I only average around 10 to 20 listeners per episode. Not big numbers. Not enough to justify the huge amount of work I was putting in. I needed to have the freedom to spend time with my family.   So I made a switch to covering retro stuff. Doing re-watches of old classics. Stuff I'd loved in the past that I really wanted to talk about.   The obvious choice there was Stargate Universe. A divisive show. A show that so many dismiss. But I knew the show had something to say. And I knew I had a lot to say about it, beyond just the question of whether it's good or bad.   While this was a less crowded niche, I didn't suddenly become a superstar, but I did pick up some new passionate listeners, which I really appreciated.   In any case, I now have a complete set of podcasts discussing every single episode of SGU. That will stand forever as something people can find and enjoy. And I'm really proud of that.   After finishing SGU, I jumped into Star Trek Continues because again, there were things I wanted to say about it. And I'm having a blast.   So what lies in the future? I'm not sure. I have plenty of ideas of shows I could talk about after I finish Star Trek Continues.   The biggest challenge I face is balancing all my creative endeavours. This podcast, my travel vlog, and my writing. I still don't have all the answers, but at least I'm not burning myself out like I was this time last year.   I'm pleased to say that I have got back into my writing and at the time of recording, I'm nearing the time where I'll finally publish book 3 of Jewel of The Stars. I can't wait to talk about that in a future episode of the podcast.   I want to thank all those who have listened to this podcast. I'm sure my audience has changed over times as I've covered different shows. I don't know if there's anyone listening who's been around since the early days, but if there is, let me know. Because that would be really encouraging.   Next time, we're talking about the Star Trek Continues episode “Embracing the Winds.”   Until then, have a great two weeks. Live long and prosper. Make it so.  

Today in the podcast, we talk about the Star Trek Continues episode "Divided We Stand" which sees Kirk and McCoy living out something of a nightmare in the American civil war. And we discuss what the mysterious nanites might represent in the greater world of Star Trek. ----more---- Transcript Welcome to Nerd Heaven I'm Adam David Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars And I am a nerd.   This is episode 99 of the podcast. Today, we're talking about the Star Trek Continues episode “Divided We Stand.” And if you'd like to check out some of my original science fiction, head over to AdamDavidCollings.com/books   I recently appeared as a guest on the Yum Yum Podcast with fellow Australian nerds, Ryan and Rachel, discussing the Babylon 5 episode “Ceremonies of Light and Dark.” If you love Babylon 5, as well you should, be sure to check out the episode, and all the other stuff that Ryan and Rachel do at Yum Yum Podcast.   The description on IMDB reads After an explosion on the bridge resulting from a failed attempt to isolate the ship's computer from a nano-virus, Kirk and McCoy wake up to find themselves in the middle of one of America's bloodiest conflicts.   The teleplay was written by Marc Cushman & Susan Osborn With story by Vic Mignogna and additional material by Todd Haberkorn It was directed by Vic Mignogna And it first aired on the 25th of September 2015.   This episode was dedicated to the memory of Grace Lee Whitney. Another of Star Trek's veterans who sadly passed away during the making of this show.   This one gets right into the action, making good use of the captain's log to skip past all the setup and throw us right in the thick of the crew's trouble. The Enterprise computer has been infected with a virus, or as Kirk calls it, a pathogen, a term I haven't heard in computer science before. This happened when they tried to make contact with an old Earther probe called Friendship 3. This is significant, because, as you may remember, Voyager once encountered the predecessor - Friendship 1 - in the Delta Quadrant.   What makes this pathogen interesting is that it is of a much more advanced technology than the primitive earth probe. It is quickly migrating through the entire ship, Spock's library computer, scotty's engineering specs.    Spock doesn't think this is a virus, and it's not singular. He says he detects hundreds of thousands of microscopic objects. So…are we talking actual physical objects? He's also seeing evidence of high-level intelligence.   McCoy shows a startling lack of awareness as he casually arrives on the bridge and berates Kirk for not keeping his medical checkup appointment. Now if the circumstances were different, McCoy would be well within his rights, but it's very obvious that the bridge crew are in the middle of a crisis. Kirk clearly has a good reason for missing his appointment and this is not the time or place to hassle him about it. That time will come later, of course.   The intelligence of whatever is invading the ship is growing.   As the bridge controls overload, Kirk finds himself in a very unexpected place and time. He's on a primitive battlefield, surrounded by men firing rifles, and wearing unfamiliar uniforms.   This scene marks “Divided We Stand” as the first episode of Star Trek Continues to take us off the ship. If you think about it, the last four have all taken place on board the Enterprise.   If I'm not mistaken, this is the American civil war. Is this a holographic simulation? A fantasy created by a being like Trelane? In Star Trek, there are many possibilities, but in their shoes, time travel wouldn't be my first thought. I mean, what could have caused it right? So Kirk and McCoy would be feeling understandably disoriented and confused. But, they're in uniform, which means they're expected to fight. At the very least, they can't just sit here and wait for the bullets. They may have to play along until they figure out what the go is. But they wisely manage to remove themselves from the situation to avoid taking any rash actions they may not be able to undo.   They wisely also choose to treat this as real, and not take any unnecessary risks.   Now, you'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge about his particular event in history. Oh, I know the basics. North vs South. I believe it was primarily fought over the issue of slavery, although they may be more to it? I imagine American audiences would be able to tell immediately by looking at their uniforms, which side Kirk and McCoy are meant to be on. At this point in the story, I haven't figured that out yet.   The interesting thing is, it seems that they are both on different sides. Now THAT could make things interesting.   And it was cool to see Dr. M'Benga in this episode. It's only logical for him to step up and take on the role of chief medical officer while McCoy is missing. I believe M'Benga only appeared in two episodes of the original series, although he is, of course, a series regular on Strange New Worlds. At the time of recording, I still have no idea why, although he was chief medical officer under pike, he seems to have been demoted by TOS. I mean, he's still serving on the Enterprise but McCoy is chief. So what happened? Strange New Worlds is gonna have to address that at some point.   At first it seems strange that Spock is asking M'Benga about the computer virus. Why would  you have a medical doctor assess a computer problem? Then we pan over and see Kirk and Bones unconscious in bio-beds, their faces pale. Whatever has infected the ship has also infected their bodies.   I think this episode is lacking some precision of terminology when it comes to what we are dealing with. From what I gather, this isn't a computer virus, which is simply a self-perpetuating piece of software with malicious intent. It's some kind of swarm of small physical objects that are interfering with the computer somehow, but also invading Kirk and McCoy's bodies.   M'Benga can't prevent the spread of these things in the human bodies, he can only slow it, but in a day or two, they'll be dead.   So, what we can gather so far is that despite the episode descrition, we're not dealing with time travel here. We're dealing with some kind of mental projection from an alien entity.   Kirk refers to McCoy as a southern gentleman, so I gather his uniform is from the south. But then again, McCoy himself IS southern, so Kirk could be referring to that. A group of Kirk's team find them. They assume McCoy is Kirk's prisoner, at least until they notice Bones still has his weapon.   The leader of this group is pretty aggressive toward McCoy, but then, this is war. He takes Kirk's word for it a little too easily when he pretends to be a famous Kirk from the time, especially given his uniform has the wrong rank.   The leader is shot by a sniper on the other side. And we get verbal confirmation that McCoy's uniform is confederate, which I believe is the south. Kirk wants to bury the confederate sniper. The northerners are hesitant. Afterall, he's the enemy.   Kirk tries to preach the virtue of having compassion for all people, even one's enemies, but they're not very interested.   It's hard to judge them too harshly. Kirk is correct, of course, but it's not easy to have compassion on somebody who just killed one of your own - probably a friend.   McCoy could easily save this wounded soldier's life with 23rd century technology, but it'll be a challenge with period instruments. But I don't think it's just technology. A doctor of the time could probably do a lot more because they're familiar with the equipment.   McCoy raises the typical time travel problems. What if man is supposed to die and they heal him, or what if he was supposed to live, but by being here, they caused him to get shot? Being in the past is very risky. Of course, they don't know that they're not actually in the past. They have to treat this as if it's real.   Like the previous episode, this one had new music composed by Andy Farber and performed by the STC Orchestra.  Back in the original series, they didn't write all new music for every episode. Each season, they'd record some new music cues to add to the toolbox, and a music editor was apply them to the scenes of episodes, But when something big, special, or out-of-the-box happened, they'd write specific new music for it.   That's kind of how they did this episode. With all the civil war stuff going on, this episode really cried out for new original music. They re-used stuff where appropriate, but created new stuff where it was needed.   Some really interesting trivia. They used the melody of Uhura's song about Charlie, in the episode Charlie X, but that melody actually dates back to the American Civil war. It was a folk song about union volunteer soldiers. In this episode, it becomes Billy's theme.   Spock and Scotty have found a way to draw the alien presence out of the Enterprise computer. It's attracted to new sources of information. They can lure it into a backup module and then jettison it.   I'm a little shocked that Spock chose to destroy the jettisoned objects with the phasers. Yes, they were an infestation that caused problems to the ship, but there was also evidence that collectively, they represented an intelligent lifeform. It doesn't seem very Starfleet to just blow them up. Once removed from the ship, they were no longer an immediate danger.   In any case, the ship is safe. Now they've just got to save Kirk and McCoy.   The northerner doctor doesn't care about uniforms, he is just happy to have another set of hands to help the wounded. And as a doctor, McCoy is willing to help whoever is in medical trouble, regardless of who they are.   Spock clearly values McKenna's services. He knows that this will be a stressful time for the crew, with the captain and doctor incapacitated. But he naturally assumes he is immune. McKenna not-so-subley makes it clear she is available to him as well.   It raises the question of Vulcan mental health. Vulcans have emotions, strong ones, so it would seem that counselling and psychology would be needed, and a logical people would understand their importance. But because of their mental disciplines, Vulcans are so good at suppressing their emotions. They don't let themselves be controlled by their emotions.   Does this negate the need for counselling? For a human, to suppress everything you're feeling is not healthy, but Vulcans aren't humans.   Doctor M'Benga has discovered something interesting. While their bodies are still, he is detecting high levels of neural activity in Kirk and McCoy, very unusual for patients in a coma. And they spike at the same time, showing that they're linked. He's well on the way to uncovering what's actually going on here.   Checkov has found that at the time the computer was shut off, the entity was reviewing a particular battle in the American Civil war, as part of its analysis of Earth history. So while they don't have solid evidence, the Enterprise crew have pretty much figured out what is happening to Kirk and McCoy.   One of the soldiers is no longer sure what he's fighting for.  Just to free some slaves? He doesn't know the victims of slavery so it doesn't feel personal to him. Kirk suggests that they're all slaves to something, and this war is about freedom for all.    They're all having doubts. One of them wants to be there for the birth of his grandchild, but instead, he's here taking lives. And he's right to see that as a tragedy. But Kirk explains that what they do here will be remembered. He knows this as a matter of historical fact. They can't understand that, of course. So his words fall flat for them.   I'm really struck, in this scene, just how much Vic looks like William Shatner. It's almost uncanny.   Bones is horrified by the brutality of it all. The wounds, the lack of proper anaesthetic. It all feels barbaric to him. But it's not about technology, it's about the human suffering he's seeing.   Kirk blames himself. If he'd gone to his physical, McCoy wouldn't have been on the bridge. But as I said, in this case, he had a good reason. But I like what Bones says back to him. “The only thing worse than being stuck here with you, is you being here all by yourself.” Now that's friendship.   McCoy raises an uncomfortable reality. It's one thing for him to be saving lives, even lives that history says should be dead, but tomorrow, Kirk has to go onto the battle field and kill people. He can't do that.   Despite that, he's on the front line with the other men. Kirk has formed quite a bond with Billy, the young kid fighting for the first time.    I've got to give it to this episode, the scale is something else. The many actors, the horses, the canons. For a period piece like this to be done on a fan production's budget is very impressive.   Kirk was fighting, but he's badly wounded. I wonder if that's because he held back from doing his best in an attempt not to kill. With the equipment of the day, all Bones can do is amputate Kirk's leg below the knee. That's a pretty big deal. We know that even in the 24th century, Star Trek medicine can't just magically grow back a limb. Nog was given an artificial leg in Deep Space Nine. This is a loss Kirk is going to have to live with for the rest of his life, if this were real, of course, which we know it's not, but Kirk and McCoy don't.   Can you imagine what it would feel like to have your leg cut off with a saw, when all you have for pain relief is a piece of wood to bite down on?   I can't. The thought absolutely horrifies me.   Even if it's not real, the pain Kirk experiences is real. But it's even worse. M'Benga finds that back on the Enterprise, Kirk's real leg is dying. I'm not even going to try to make sense of that. There's no reason that should be a thing, so let's just accept that and move on.   M'Benga has managed to extract one of the pathogen objects. Turns out they're nanites. Not a big surprise. The episode was clearly leaning in that direction.   Spock has an idea. They can help Kirk and McCoy the same way they cleared the Enterprise computer. Shut down their brain functions temporarily to starve the nanites, then lure them away with a trail of new information sources.   M'Benga can do it for a very limited time, but the while feasting on a biological brain, the nanites might not be tempted by an inorganic source. They need something cybernetic. Nurse Chaspel suggest a prosthetic limb. There's a crewmember with a bio-mechanical arm but confidentiality prohibits her from disclosing who it is. But with the captain and doctor's lives at stake, Spock asks her to forgo her principles. The ideal way to handle this would be to approach the crewmember privately and ask if they were willing to help, but what if they said no?   Another thing you wouldn't normally see in a fan production is a practical effect for a soldier missing half his arm. It's just a background detail, but it's another example of this show's professionalism.   Billy is in bad shape. Not physically, the bullet just grazed his head, but emotionally, he's suffering from what was once called shell shock, a form of PTSD. McCoy doesn't blame him.   Turns out, when the shooting started, he turned and ran, crashing into a tree. Now he feels like a coward. Kirk's words touched him last night, but he's questioning it all. He noticed that Kirk didn't shoot anyone.   Kirk can't properly explain his reasons for not firing, but he can say  that his freedom was taken away. Taken by the alien entity. Once again, Kirk tries to inspire Billy. When Spock explains the situation to Lieutenant Drake, he's quick to volunteer his cybernetic arm.    I was confused when M'Benga said that if this fails, he'll lose all three of them. Kirk, McCoy, and Drake. So …. Why would they lose Drake? Are they not just going to remove his arm and use it as a tool? Worst case scenario, he doesn't get his arm back. And he has to wait until a new one can be made for him, maybe on a Starbase.   But apparently, Drake's arm cannot be removed. He's sitting there in a chair between the biobeds holding a device. So….I guess that means there's a risk the nanites could enter Drake's body.    Kirk must have been asleep for some time. When he wakes, Billy isn't in the next bed anymore. Turns out that Kirk's words had a big impact on him. When all hope seemed lost, Billy led the charge, inspiring the other men to fight for freedom. He lost his life in that battle.   I think Kirk is feeling both proud and guilty. It was his words that led that boy to his death. That's got to be a heavy thing to live with.   When someone announces that the president is here, Kirk jumps out of bed onto his crutches, despite his injuries. He doesn't want to miss the chance to see a famous historical figure like Abraham Lincoln. Although, he's already met him once. That was a pretend Lincoln, of course, manufactured by aliens, but then, so is this one. Kirk just doesn't know it yet.   There's a historical photo I've seen of Lincoln talking to some soldiers outside a tent. The staging of this shot looks very similar to that photo, and at the end of the scene, we see someone taking a photo. So I'm assuming this was meant to be the moment in history when that real photo was taken. It's pretty special for Kirk to be there. McCoy points out that while Kirk only has one leg, he still has purpose, and that can allow him to stand just as tall. M'Benga successfully draws the nanites out of Kirk and McCoy, then gives them stimulants. Their skin returns to normal colour. Drake is escortedto the transporter room for some reason. It's still not clear exactly how this whole plan is working. But I think the nanites are not so much in Drake's artificial arm, as they are in the device he was holding.   Except when Drake enters the bridge to see Kirk, he's missing the arm. So …… I'm really confused. None of this was clear to me.   McCoy points out there could be more of the nanites out there. Kirk says God help anyone who encounters them.   This sounds like the episode is suggesting the nanites might be something we've seen before.   The obvious place my mind goes is the Borg. We know they use nanoprobes. The Enterprise wasn't assimilated, and neither were Kirk and McCoy, but their skin did go gray. So maybe these are early Borg nanoprbes. I'm sure they had less sophisticated ways of assimilating before they developed nanotechnology properly. Perhaps in Kirk's time, they've only recently assimilated that technology and have yet to perfect it.   It's all speculation, of course, But that's half the fun of science fiction.   I felt the script was a little lacking in this one, when compared to the previous 4 episodes. Some things weren't explained as well as they could have been. But it was still a good story. And the production with all those extras, costumes, location shooting, was very well done.   This is hardly a bad episode, just not as the good as the ones that have preceded it. But still well worth watching.   Next time, on what will be our 100th episode, we'll be talking about a special episode that gives us some practical creature effects, and a special guest appearance by an Australian actress of Farscape fame.   I'll see you for Come Not Between the Dragons.   Until then, have a great two week Live long and Prosper Make it so.  

In this episode of The Working Artist Project, Darrian Douglas and Noah Jackson talk to Andy Farber about his newest release, Early Blue Evening. Farber expands upon the legacy of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, paying homage to the kings of swings while bolding staking his place in jazz history. Support this podcast

Trying out CDs by unfamiliar artists is a little like speed dating.   You've got minutes to decide if you're compatible, if you're likely to be in a relationship for the long term, or if you're just ships passing in the night.  Or something like that.  Mike and Pat listen to four 2021 releases by unfamiliar artists and ask themselves who they'd like to take home.  Stay tuned for a pop matters that sneaks in discussion of Indy Jazz Fest's final day.  Brandon Goldberg – IN GOOD TIME; Mark Zaleski – OUR TIME REIMAGINING DAVE BRUBECK; Dave Meder – UNAMUNO SONGS AND STORIES; Andy Farber – EARLY BLUE EVENING.

How to Smash Your Bass In Front of 50,000 Fans -- In another Musical X-Files, the gang talks to Andy Farber and Vic Mignogna about the iconic Music of Star Trek. Raven and NYPD Cold Case expert Jocko Johnson report on the bizarre murder of 60's rock star, Bobby Fuller. Counting Crows bassist Matt Malley recounts the time he intentionally smashed his bass guitar in front of 50,000 fans. Also, more Musician Jokes, what William Shatner is really like, and how best to avoid Kenny G. Special Guest: Mark Poulin.

How to Smash Your Bass In Front of 50,000 Fans -- In another Musical X-Files, the gang talks to Andy Farber and Vic Mignogna about the iconic Music of Star Trek. Raven and NYPD Cold Case expert Jocko Johnson report on the bizarre murder of 60’s rock star, Bobby Fuller. Counting Crows bassist Matt Malley recounts the time he intentionally smashed his bass guitar in front of 50,000 fans. Also, more Musician Jokes, what William Shatner is really like, and how best to avoid Kenny G. Special Guest: Mark Poulin.

In another Musical X-Files, the gang talks to Andy Farber and Vic Mignogna about the iconic Music of Star Trek.  Raven and NYPD Cold Case expert Jocko Johnson report on the bizarre murder of 60’s rock star, Bobby Fuller.  Counting Crows bassist Matt Malley recounts the time he intentionally smashed his bass guitar in front of 50,000 fans. Also, more Musician Jokes, what William Shatner is really like, and how best to avoid Kenny G. Special Guest:  Mark Poulin.         Mack Maloney Online: Website - https://www.mackmaloney.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/WingmanMack/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MilitaryXFiles Twitter - https://twitter.com/WingmanMack Amazon – https://amzn.to/2IlFRkq

Back when I was in high school, I attended some jazz workshops on Long Island, and I met Andy Farber at a couple of them. We became friends, and even back then I was astounded by the knowledge he had of jazz recordings and artists. Well, our show today will be like a jazz history...

Edited by Thomas Lahren (https://www.thomaslahrenmusic.com/) Aaron and Drew sat down for a lengthy discussion with legendary composer, arranger, saxophonist, and educator Andy Farber, who has been a leading writer in the NYC and international jazz scene for many years. His many collaborations include Wynton Marsalis, Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, Bobby Short, Michael Feinstein, Catherine Russell, Frankie Laine, Alan Harris, Cynthia Scott, Billy Stritch, B.B. King, Ray Charles, and more. He has also composed music for a number of film and media projects, including Star Trek Continues. Find out more about Andy at his website: www.andyfarber.com

Edited by Thomas Lahren (https://www.thomaslahrenmusic.com/) Aaron and Drew sat down for a lengthy discussion with legendary composer, arranger, saxophonist, and educator Andy Farber, who has been a leading writer in the NYC and international jazz scene for many years. His many collaborations include Wynton Marsalis, Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, Bobby Short, Michael Feinstein, Catherine Russell, Frankie Laine, Alan Harris, Cynthia Scott, Billy Stritch, B.B. King, Ray Charles, and more. He has also composed music for a number of film and media projects, including Star Trek Continues. Find out more about Andy at his website: www.andyfarber.com

The Musical Era of "Far Beyond the Stars."    According to the novelization of the episode "Far Beyond the Stars" by Steve Barnes, the episode takes place in 1953. A time of societal unrest, racism was affecting people all over the world. This episode tackles the issue head on, showing us the struggles of Benny Russel, a science-fiction writer whose race is kept hidden from the readers of the pulp magazine that publishes his stories. During this era, several important musical artists including Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Ralph Ellison, as well th epoet Langston Hughes were mentioned as inspirations for Benny.   In this episode of Melodic Treks, host Brandon-Shea Mutala is joined by Andy Farber to discuss the music of the early 1950's. We talk about different styles of music, artists that Benny Russel name drops in the episode, the charts, source music, and the score. Chapters  Intro (00:00:00)   Welcome to Melodic Treks (00:01:01)   Keeping up with Andy (00:01:30)   The Musical Era of "Far Beyond the Stars" (00:04:50)   R&B, Charts, and the Era (00:10:10)   "Django" performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet (00:15:25)   Dizzy Gillespy and Be Bop and More (00:18:33)   "In a Sentimental Mood" performed by Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet  (00:23:02)   Benny Russell Name Drops (00:25:00)   "Miles Ahead" performed by Miles Davis (00:26:38)   Racial Issues (00:28:47)   "Potato Chips" performed by Slim Gaillard (00:34:29)     The Score and Source Cues (00:38:00)  "Back to the Future" composed by Dennis McCarthy (00:41:32)   The Episode (00:43:43)   Finding Andy (00:49:30)   Closing (00:56:26)      Hosts Brandon-Shea Mutala   Guest Andy Farber   Production Tony Robinson (Editor) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Stephen Boyd (Associate Producer) Bobby Tucker (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

"The Doomsday Machine" With Dan Davidson and Andy Farber. The music of Star Trek has become such a staple of fandom and the episodes that we love, that just playing a few notes of a score can conjure up images from the episode itself. One of the most memorable score from the original series' run was the freight-train like sounds of Sol Kaplan's "The Doomsday Machine." In this episode of Melodic Treks, host Brandon-Shea Mutala is joined by Trek Geeks co-host Dan Davidson and Star Trek: Continues composer Andy Farber to discuss the music of "The Doomsday Machine." We talk about Sol Kaplan and his Hollywood exile during the McCarthy hearings, comparing the score to "The Enemy Within," and the proper pronunciation of several words. Chapters Opening (00:00:00)  Welcome, Dan and Andy! (00:01:00)  Our Stories (00:03:05)  Sol Kaplan (00:12:21)  "The Doomsday Machine" (00:16:22)  "The Dead Ship" (00:17:53)  "Kirk Does it Again" (00:19:15)  The Commodore (00:21:40)  The Releases/Hooked on Phonics (00:23:09)  Scoring: Kaplan, Steiner, and Freid (00:27:23)  "The Enemy Within" (00:33:24)  "What is a Doomsday Machine?" (00:37:30)  Final Thoughts (00:38:28)  all music from "The Doomsday Machine" composed by S. Kaplan Host Brandon-Shea Mutala Guest Dan Davidson and Andy Farber Production Brandon-Shea Mutala (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

Sheridon Stokes Interview. Sheridon Stokes was hired as a piccolo player in the Denver Symphony when he was 16 years old and was the youngest contract musician in Hollywood at age 20. At this young age, he was working with the 20th Century Fox Orchestra under Alfred Newman.  He has been featured in many television and film scores, including the television series Mission Impossible, Roots, and Kung Fu, as well as the films Jaws, E.T., Ghost, Glory, Patriot Games, and more recently, Mission Impossible, Waterworld, Jumanji, Independence Day, and Rush Hour II. He was solo flute at the Academy Awards in 1997 and 1998 and played the famous penny whistle solo from the Titanic song “My Heart Will Go On” with Celine Dion. In this episode on Melodic Treks, host Brandon-Shea Mutala is joined by Andy Farber, composer for two episodes of Star Trek: Continues, and Sheridon Stokes. We discuss his early works in film and television, the kind of flutes he has in his arsenal, many of the composers he worked with, and some fun memories of Bernard Hermann. Chapters Intro (00:00:00)  Contests (00:01:30)  Review and Feedback (00:03:53)  "Two-Edged Surveillance" (from Patriot Games, composed by J. Horner) (00:07:40)  Welcome, Sheridon (00:09:16)  I Grew Up in the Music Business (00:14:15)  Instruments (00:16:16)  There's So Many Good Ones (00:20:06)  James Horner (00:23:23)  Sheridon's Arsenal (00:24:26)  Kung Fu (00:28:50)  "The Paradise Syndrome" (00:33:44)  Rosenman, Shiffron, Kaplan, and Courage (00:35:33)  Pop Music (0038:04)  Albums (00:40:08)  Buddy Baker and Electronics (00:42:34)  Currently (00:47:50)  "Main Title" (from Patriot Games, composed by J. Horner) (00:51:27)  A Bit More From Andy (00:52:54)    Host Brandon-Shea Mutala Guests Sheridon Stokes Andy Farber Production Brandon-Shea Mutala (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Bobby Tucker (Associate Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art Creator)

Jay Chattaway Interview. Born in Monongahela, Pennsylvania on July 8, 1946, Jay Allen Chattaway was conscripted into the military while working on his graduate degree. He joined the Navy Band and served as the unit's chief arranger and composer. After his discharge, Chattaway moved to New York City to write music, and later moved to Los Angeles to compose for film. His diverse scoring career began with many slasher and action films. Eventually he landing the job of composer for Star Trek: The Next Generation, alternating scoring duties with Dennis McCarthy. In this episode of Melodic Treks, host Brandon-Shea Mutala and Andy Farber, composer for Star Trek Continues, are joined by Chattaway for a candid conversation about his work as composer for 183 episodes of Star Trek. We also discuss some of his early composing credits in the slasher genre, including Maniac and Silver Bullet, as well as the Chuck Norris action films Missing in Action, Invasion U.S.A., and Braddock: Missing in Action III. Back in the realm of Star Trek, we talk about his audition for TNG's "Tin Man" and his work all the way through his Emmy Award-winning score for Voyager's "Endgame." Then we finish up with fan favorite "The Inner Light." Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Feedback (00:01:26) "Major Gigabytes" (from "Our Man Bashir," composed by J. Chattaway) (00:09:02) The Ultimate Voyage (00:10:15) Firepower (00:13:10) Missing in Action and Invasion U.S.A. (00:14:52) Maniac (00:19:19) Larry Cohen (00:22:56) Silver Bullet (00:23:38) "Tin Man" (00:27:26) "The Outcast" and "The Host" (00:28:46) Auditioning for "Tin Man" (00:30:30) Technical Questions (00:34:37) Wanna Hear a Funny Banjo Story? (00:40:29) The Emmys (00:42:34) Approaching Two Series at Once (00:43:27) Spotting and Time Frames from Script to Scoring (00:46:59) "A Fistful of Datas" (00:49:00) James Darren (00:51:56) How Jay Writes (00:54:02) "Counterpoint" (01:02:21) "The Inner Light" (01:03:52) One Other Convention (01:21:52) Seventeen Years (01:24:23) Jay's Current Projects (01:26:11) The "Endgame" Emmy Story (01:32:56) "Old Friend/Return to Starbase" (from "Remember Me," composed by J. Chattaway) (01:36:57) Host Brandon-Shea Mutala Guests Jay Chattaway and Andy Farber Production Brandon-Shea Mutala (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Bobby Tucker (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

Discovering Fil Eisler. On July 23rd, 2016, the world got a sneak peak at the newest addition to the Star Trek franchise in the form of a trailer for Star Trek: Discovery. Rarely has one minute of footage been met with such anticipation. Along with images of our newest hero ship, we were treated to a magnificent audio piece composed by Fil Eisler. In this episode of Melodic Treks, host Brandon-Shea Mutala is joined by Andy Farber, composer for Star Trek Continues, to discuss four scores on which Eisler has worked, and to speculate on what approach he might take should he be chosen to score the new series. We also try to determine whether or not synth scores become dated, and if the main title for The Terminator was an influence on him. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Star Trek: Discovery (00:01:00) On the Ice (00:17:44) How to Be Single (00:31:30) Revenge (00:37:27) Natural Selection (00:55:07) Host Brandon-Shea Mutala Guest Andy Farber Production Brandon-Shea Mutala (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Bobby Tucker (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

Star Trek Las Vegas 2016 Interviews. One of Star Trek's biggest celebrations takes place each year at the Rio All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Organized by Creation Entertainment, the event brings together producers, actors, writers, and others to discuss Star Trek—past, present, and future. This year, the STLV convention was extended to a fifth day in honor of the 50th anniversary. In this Melodic Treks away mission, host Brandon-Shea Mutala sits down with a few familiar faces to discuss their musical careers outside of Star Trek. J.G Hertzler (Martok) and Robert O'Reilly (Gowron) talk about their Klingon- and Blues Brothers-inspired group. James Darren (Vic Fontaine) discusses how he came to Deep Space Nine. And Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) talks about working with Duke Ellington and shares details of her newest album. Also presented here is composer Jay Chattaway's panel and a chat with Andy Farber—composer for episodes four, five, and six of Star Trek: Continues—in which we discuss the score for "The Man Trap." Chapters Intro (00:00:00) J.G Hertzler and Robert O'Reilly Interview (00:03:03) Jay Chattaway Panel (00:17:10) Andy Farber Interview (00:42:32) James Darren Interview (01:04:54) Nichelle Nichols Interview (01:11:24) Host Brandon-Shea Mutala Guests Jay Chattaway, James Darren, Andy Farber, J.G. Hertzler, Adam Malin, Nichelle Nichols, Robert O'Reilly Production Brandon-Shea Mutala (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Bobby Tucker (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

Andy Farber Interview. Star Trek Continues picks up the story of The Original Series right where it left off in 1969. Essentially a fourth season, the independent production features a talented cast that includes Vic Mignogna as Captain Kirk and Chris Doohan in the role made iconic by his father. Since 2013, Star Trek Continues has brought us five incredible stories from the 23rd century, with two more on the way—the next of which, "Come Not Between the Dragons," is set to premiere at FedCon in Germany on May 13, 2016. In this episode of Melodic Treks, host Brandon-Shea Mutala is joined by Andy Farber to discuss his contributions to the fan series. As a teacher at the famous Juilliard School and a renowned saxophonist and composer, Andy has been lending his talents to the sound of Star Trek Continues. We talk with him about the influences on his music, what a leitmotif is, and why he feels that the music of the next Star Trek series should still be composed in a traditional manner. Chapters "M18 Flyby" (00:01:28) Listener Feedback (00:01:43) "M15 Flyby" (00:03:55) "M13 Little Girl" (00:06:45) Meeting Andy (00:07:13) Conductor vs Orchestrator vs Composer (00:23:30) Composing for a Documentary (00:31:37) Leitmotifs (00:34:00) Composing Continues (00:37:55) The Process (00:40:28) Discussing Rejected Scores (00:44:30) The Changing Face of Scoring (00:49:28) Star Trek Should Be Classically Scored (00:57:27) Andy Farber: Composer for Star Trek 2017? (01:05:48) Current Projects (01:17:25) "M36" (01:20:38) (All cues by A. Farber from the Star Trek: Continues episode "White Iris") Host Brandon-Shea Mutala Guest Andy Farber Production Brandon-Shea Mutala (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Will Nguyen (Content Manager)

Scotty in TNG.The continuing mission of the characters from Star Trek The Original Series was left a verboten topic for the first half of The Next Generation. However, after the appearance of Ambassador Sarek in season three ("Sarek"), as well as the cameo of a certain ornery admiral in the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint," the floodgates were open for TOS characters to "special" guest star in the second incarnation of Trek on television. Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott beamed into the 24th century in the sixth season episode "Relics" and found it difficult to find a place on this new Enterprise, with its "bloody" D suffix. Daniel Proulx, Darren Moser, and guest co-host Andy Farber explore Scotty's difficulties of being a man out of his time, and whether theTNG writers were faithful to his character. The interplay between the competingEnterprise chief engineers, Scotty and Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge, reveal not only the differences between those two characters, but also the differences between the two beloved Trek television shows. Join Earl Grey as they mourn poor Franklin, drink something green, and remember times past on the Holodeck for their discussion of Scotty's appearance on TNG.HostsDaniel Proulx and Darren MoserEditor / ProducerDarren Moser Production Manager Richard Marquez   Content Coordinator Will Nguyen ChaptersGuest Andy (00:02:10)Relics (00:10:30) Hey look, its Scotty! (00:21:22)Pacing Issues (00:44:15) Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep our shows coming to you every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm