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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.  

Today, we're looking at "To Boldly Go Part 1", the first half of the Star Trek Continues grant finale. See how this episode ties back to the Star Trek pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before", how it sets up everything for the exciting conclusion, and hear some fascinating new insights into the episode from director James Kerwin. Player at bottom of page http://AdamDavidCollings.com/books ----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 106 of the podcast. Today, we're talking about the first part of the Star Trek Continues grand finale, “To Boldly Go, Part 1”.   I got an email a few weeks ago. It was from James Kerwin. Yes, that James Kerin. Writer, producer and director for Star Trek Continues, including director of today's episode.   He reached out to me to say he'd been listening to the podcast and enjoying it. This was a huge thrill. It's very humbling to find that one of the creators of the show has been listening to the podcast, so I want to give a big shout out and thank you to him, not only for his work on the show, but for his encouragement.   And he pointed out a few fascinating things that I'd missed. Remember in episode three, I talked about how good the shuttlecraft exterior looked. It turns out, they didn't build that from scratch that was the real shuttlecraft Galileo from Star Trek The Original Series. How awesome is that?   I've made mention of Nurse Chapel a couple of times, but that wasn't actually Chapel. They made a conscious decision not to have Chapel appear on screen in this show because she should be off at Starfleet Medical getting her doctorate at this point in time, which makes a lot of sense. So it was always Nurse Burke, a character who had appeared in Star Trek comics and novels.   And Lieutenant Smith has not actually been on the Enterprise the whole time. But we'll learn more about that in the next episode.   But here's a big one I missed. The actress who plays her, Kipleigh Brown, was the writer of episode 9 “What Ships are For” I didn't put that together, but I think that's really cool.   The description on IMDB for today's episode reads To solve the utmost mystery, the Enterprise must return to where Kirk's five-year mission began. The teleplay was by Roberty J. Sawyer based on a story by Vic Mignongna, James Kerwin, and Robert J. Sawyer. It was directed by James Kerwin, And it first aired on the 18th of October 2017.   Robert J. Sawyer was the primary writer of this two-parter. He is a very famous Canadian author who wrote FlashForward, which was adapted for TV by Star Trek's Branon Braga, and Man of Steel's David S. Goyer.   When Star Trek The Next Generation was preparing to wrap and move to the big screen, they gave it a two-hour finale. This idea was pretty unheard of at the time. Lots of shows in the 90s had movie-length pilots, but not finales. TV shows tended to pitter out and end with a bit of a whimper. TNG changed all that.   But the original Star Trek never got a proper finale, like TNG, DS9, and Voyager.  Even Enterprise got a finale of sorts, which I will partially defend, though not the feature length extravaganza that others got. But things were different in the 60s. TOS had no ending. It was cancelled. Turnabout Intruder wasn't intended to be the end of the story, it was just an episode.   One of the greatest things about Star Trek Continues is that it rectifies this. It gives TOS the ending it always deserved. And it's done so well.   Much like “All Good Things”, it calls back to a lot of things from the past, but it specifically links us back to the very first episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Even the titles relate, each is part of Kirk's iconic phrase. The symmetry is beautiful.   But hold on, I hear you say. “What about the Cage? Isn't that the pilot of TOS?” Well, yes it is. Star Trek had an unprecedented  two pilots. But The Cage never actually aired in its original form during the run of the show. These days, I tend to think of The Cage as the pilot for Strange New Worlds. So in my mind, it makes a lot of sense for this episode to tie in with “Where No Man has Gone Before.”   Director James Kerwin gave me some interesting insight into the production of these episodes. They actually filmed this two-parter before they filmed the last episode “What Ships are For.” CBS/Paramount had implemented their fan-film guidelines, guidelines.    Now a show like this would have needed some substantial changes to fit with these guidelines. They were required to be less than 15 minutes or no more than 2 30 minute parts in total with no additional seasons, episodes or sequels.   CBS didn't require the show to shut down, but with these guidelines in place, and Discovery about to release, out of respect, they decided to wind down Star Trek Continues. They did a final fundraiser to complete episodes 8, 10 and 11, but there was no money to make episode 9.   But at the last minute, a generous donor gave them the money for episode 9. They shot the finale first to get it out of the way, and went back several months later to film “What Ships are For.” I'm glad that generous donor made it possible, because that last episode was pretty amazing.   The episode opens with Spock & McKenna meditating together. This is normally a very private affair, but Spock considers it an honour to teach a willing student.    Meditation is the one time that Vulcans truly acknowledge their emotions. You can see why it's so private.   McKenna's inclusion in this moment shows the level of intimacy that has grown between these two.   They will both miss these sessions when the mission is over.   We learn here about a vulcan discipline, the Dulhutnar, an alternative to the Kolinahr.  Rather than the purging of emotions, the Dulhutna is about accepting the wisdom of vestigial emotions. Spock considers there to be No chance of him pursuing either. Of course, we know that shortly after this finale, he will return to Vulcan and pursue the Kolinahr.   Spock and McKenna's relationship is special. They share private things they wouldn't share with others. Time with humans has taught Spock to value his human side. And then they hold hands. That's a huge deal. Vulcans are not comfortable with physical contact. And even for humans, holding hands is a sign of affection and physical intimacy.   The Enterprise is scheduled to return home soon. Their 5 year mission is coming to an end. The loss of The Hood crew still weighs on him. You'll remember that back in “Embracing the Winds” a mysterious life support failure cost the lives of the entire crew. A failure that Scotty was unable to explain.    I remember commenting at the time that I hoped the show would follow up on that. I couldn't remember if it did. We'll see in this episode that it is definitely followed up.   The Yorktown and the Republic were both damaged while investigating The Hood's loss. The Enterprise is being sent to the Federation colony on Aldebran III which went completely silent shortly afterward.   Admiral Thesp, a very cool looking Andorian, admits that the Federation had a secret laboratory on the planet. A supply vessel sent to investigate never returned. They detected anti-proton residue. That means Romulans.   The colony has been destroyed. The central reactor suffered a containment failure. Scotty thinks that should be impossible. He installed the safeguards himself 5 years ago, which, I suppose, gives us a glimpse of what Scotty's job was before the Enterprise's 5 year mission began.   Interestingly, Vic pronounces the word Sabotage the same way Shatner does. Sabotage. I don't know how common that is in America, or Canada for that matter, but here in Australia, we definitely say Sabotage. Anyway, I love these little bits of attention to detail. It's really cool.   The underground pandora research lab is intact but it has a scattering field so Scotty will have to beam them down outside.   The set for the planet looks very reminiscent of what we might have seen on The Original Series, and yet, kind of better, in my opinion. It's a real work of art.   I like the little elevator shaft to gain entrance to the lab. The only sign of habitation nearby. Presumably, the colony was elsewhere on the planet.   A drone appears and attacks them. The effects here are a good match for the original series. Again, better quality, but recognisable.   There's a good sense of danger to this action scene.   After they've dealt with it, a human woman, Lana, appears out of the turbolift. She's surprised to see a Vulcan. The sensors detected him as Romulan.   Lana is played by actress Nichola Bryant who famously portrayed the Doctor Who companion Peri, a character I've been known to refer to as “the whinging yank”. But in fairness to her, Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor was a bit of a prickly guy to be around.   James Kerwin was a big Doctor Who fan growing up. Colin Baker and Nichola Bryant were the doctor/companion pairing that he most remembered as a child. It was a big honour for him to work with both of them on Star Trek Continues. Colin Baker appeared in Episode 4, The White Iris, as Amphidamas. And Nichola Bryant appeared in this two-parter.  How cool is it that he got to work with them both on this show?    Lana is wearing a visor. To me, it looks similar to the one that Spock and Miranda Jones had to wear when viewing the Medusans back in “Is There No Truth in Beauty.”   But as she removes the visor, we see her eyes. The same metallic colour we saw in Gary Mitchell after he was uplifted by passage through the galactic barrier, back in the pilot episode.   Ever since this phenomenon was discovered, after “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, Starfleet have been gathering people with high psi-quotients and experimenting with them. Trying to uplift them. There are 25 of them.   This sounds like a REALLY BAD IDEA   My first thought is, are section 31 involved? This woman is part of a first trial. They have already gone through the barrier. They are weaponised humans - to serve as a last resort in case the Federation is invaded by a superior force.   When Kirk questions the legitimacy of such an action, she refers to the starfleet charter. Article 14 Section 31. And there it is.   Lana makes the statement “Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely. It corrupts selectively.”   I don't believe that all power will always corrupt. I don't buy into the old adage. Lana makes a fair point - of the two espers that were uplifted in the pilot, one became a megalomaniac. The other retained her humanity. We don't really know why. Did Gary already have elements of megalomania in his personality? Was he somehow more susceptible to it than Denher was? There could have been all sorts of factors.   And that uncertainty makes this whole thing a very risky endeavour. Lana claims that psychologically unstable espers were excluded from the operation.   But they can't know for certain what might cause another Gary Mitchell. That, in my opinion, makes what they're doing too dangerous.   Kirk asks which she is, and she answers by saying she follows “Sas-tar-po-harn” This is a human spiritual movement that follows the pacifict teachings of Surak and T'Mord of Vulcan. I think this is a very interesting idea. And a logical one. In Babylon 5, when humans made first contact, there was a growing interest in alien religions among humans, the theory being that races that are more technologically advanced than we are, must be closer to God.   I can see some people thinking that way. It seems a similar thing may have happened in the Star Trek universe. After first contact with Vulcans, it's only logical that some humans may have chosen to adopt Vulcan philosophy. So this is a nice touch.   Lana explains that a cloaked ship came here and attacked the lab. It destroyed the Hallifax. The other espers have been kidnapped by the Romulans. Lana played dead with her powers so they didn't find her.   Spock surmises that Vulcans cannot be uplifted, based on his prior experience at the barrier. He was not uplifted despite his psi-abilities. If Vulcans cannot be uplifted, then neither can Romulans. But this raises a question. Do Romulans have the same telepathic abilities as Vulcans? I've never heard of a Romulan conducting a mind meld. The Romulan ancestors left Vulcan during a time of barbarism. The TNG episode “Gambit” suggests that ancient Vulcans had telepathic abilities because they constructed a telepathic weapon called The Stone of Gol. That suggests the Romulans may indeed have similar telepathic abilities to Vulcans, even though we've never really seen it. Unless there's some example I'm forgetting.   The Romulans want to use the kidnapped human espers because they can't create their own. Seems logical. The interesting thing is, they don't want to use the force against the Federation, but to overthrow their own Praetor. Apparently, the Romulan Klingon alliance has ended, and this group of Romulans oppose the end of the alliance.   Spock raises concern over taking Lana with them. Better to leave her here. Stranded. As they had intended for Mitchell.   A Romulan appears. Sentek. He is played by Cas Anvar, who played Alex Kamal on The Expanse. The Expanse had already aired a season or two by this point. I continue to be impressed with the actors that Star Trek Continues is able to get. Lana disarms Sentek. They beam out (with the prisoner) just before the explosion.   They're pursuing the Romulan ship but it'll enter the neutral zone before they catch up. Admiral Thesp orders him to enter the zone and pursue all the way to Romulus if necessary. Just get the espers back.   Kirk doesn't look too impressed with this. Among other reasons that he probably realises, this is a suicide mission, but in addition to that, it could provoke a war.   Spock asks Uhura to transmit an encrypted message. It's all a bit mysterious.   Kirk has some hard questions for Lana. Why was that one romulan left on the planet? Why didn't she use her powers to overcome him? She theorises that he is a praetorian spy hidden among the dissidents. He fled to the hills. None of her answers sound particularly convincing.   The Enterprise officially crosses the border. They are now in violation of treaty. Of course, so were the Romulans, but it seems they didn't represent the Romulan government so that will be a very weak excuse as far as they are concerned.   A bird of prey decloaks. It's not the marauder. When Spock identifies the ship, Kirk shakes his head. He knows what Spock is up to.   They are hailed by the Romulan commander from The Enterprise Incident. Played wonderfully by Amy Rydell, the daughter of the original actor to play the part in the TOS episode. She does a fantastic job, and almost convinces me she's the time-travelling original actor.   She is referred to Charvanek in this episode but was never named on screen in The Enterprise Incident. She does whisper her name to Spock but we never learn what it is. The Name Charvanek was used in a number of non-canon sources. But she's also given other names in various novels and games. She doesn't attack but her words make it clear she considers a formal declaration of war is all but inevitable due to the Enterprise's entry into the zone.   Kirk isn't impressed that Spock contacted her of his own volition. Spock admits the reason he didn't ask is because he knew Kirk wouldn't agree. How human you are becoming, Mister Spock.   Spock believes he can convince her to assist them in pursuing the dissidents, due to their previous rapport. Kirk gives him 30 minutes.   At the end of The Enterprise Incident, Charvanek was taken into Federation space and released on a world on our side of the border. It seems that Sarak was the one who negotiated the treaty that led to her return to Romulan space. It seems she was able to get her old command back. That must have taken some convincing on her part.   Spock appeals to her loyalty to the Praetor. It doesn't take much to convince her to help stop the dissidents.   The twist happens when she meets the prisoner. He is no Romulan commander that she knows, and she knows her fleet. She knows her fellow commanders. As he is discovered, Sentek beams out, apparently at Kirk's command, according to the transporter chief.   Sentek tries to sabotage engineering. In the battle, Charvanek  is rendered unconscious by something similar to a Vulcan nerve pinch.   It's nice to see Doctor M'Benga again.   McCoy has found that Sentek is actually a Vulcan who lived on the colony, and he's married to Lana. He had unusually high natural psionic ability, even for a Vulcan. They speculate that he wanted an equal for a mate. A human who could be uplifted to be his equal. They also speculate that Lana's trip through the barrier may not have been approved by Starfleet.   When Kirk confronts Lana, she explains that she sees her uplifting as a way to accelerate human evolution, which she considers to have stalled.   We get some very interesting worldbuilding. Apparently the barrier around our galaxy was artificially constructed and placed there by the preservers. I love this. It makes sense of what was a bit of a silly idea in TOS, and adds to the mystique and mythology of the Star Trek universe. It's a shame that Star Trek never explored the preservers more than it did.   When she asks why the preservers did it, McCoy speculates that “it was probably to keep us in, to prevent our violence from spreading”. This reminds me somewhat of C.S Lewis's space trilogy, which suggests that the vast interstellar distances between stars are God's natural quarantine to keep sinful humanity confined.   Lana has a different theory, that it was so that naturally superior lifeforms could be uplifted when they devised the technology to leave the galaxy. McCoy pushes back “you don't know what gods think.” It's very chilling when she replies “Yes. I do.”   The implication, of course, being that she is a god. When humans start thinking of themselves as gods, you're probably in for trouble.   It turns out, the ship the Enterprise has been following was just an illusion. Created, presumably, by Lana. But why does she want to start a war between the Romulans and the Federation? Uplifted espers seem to have very similar powers of illusion to the Talosians.   It's nice to see Sulu taking command on the bridge. He's showing a good aptitude for the job he'll eventually have.   Charvanek is still working with her old first officer, Tal. He doesn't seem interested in apologies. He's planning to destroy the Enterprise. This raises the question of where Charvanek is. If she's still on the Enterprise, he'll be killing her. More likely, she's on her ship, but left the bridge in the hands of her first office, much like Kirk has with Sulu.   We get some interesting insight into Romulan religion when the commander says he hopes that Spock's katra finds its way to Vol-to-vor. We know from Star Trek 5, that vol-to-vor is the romulan's equivalent of Eden. So it seems in their religion, it is both a place of origin as well as a destination. This is somewhat different to Christianity, where Eden and heaven are distinct.   The Romulans can't fire. They think they're pressing the button, but they're not. Lana's influence, no doubt.   When Charvanek returns to the bridge we see that Tal has been overstepping his authority. She orders that they will assist the Enterprise with their mission. I smell a potential mutiny in their future.   Kirk figures out the truth behind Lana's deception. There never were any dissidents. The espers weren't kidnapped by Romulans. There never were any Romulans on the planet. The espers stole the Halifax. The deception was to buy time for the espers to make it to the galactic barrier.   This is what happened to the Hood. The espers convinced the crew to shut off their own life support. Just to see if they could. That's horrifically cold. These people truly see themselves as above humankind. Of more value. They have no regard for human life. Given that, it seems believable that Lana would be willing to start this war just as a distraction.   There is no doubt now. Lana is a full villain   Kirk is now questioning his judgement   He calls those who were present at the events of “Where no man has gone before” which includes Smith, who is back on the ship now.   Plus others who were not there.   Spock asks Smith if there's anything she can share of her experience. She was holding Mitchell's hand when they crossed. She has nothing to add that wasn't in her report. But her demeanour suggests maybe she's holding something back.   Scotty is keenly aware of what they're up against. Gary was difficult enough to defeat on his own. They're going to face an entire ship full of uplifted espers.  Kirk takes solace in the fact that despite his powers, Gary was still just as susceptible to human frailty. Then he adds “he couldn't even remember my middle name” which is an amusing little nod to the “James R Kirk” tombstone in that episode. Canon fixed.   Charvanek's  takes the practical approach. Strike first, before they have the ability to grow in their power. Similar to Spock's recommendation all those years ago.   Kirk won't have that. These are still Federation citizens. This is a rescue mission.   I get it. I'm all for idealism, and I'd side with Kirk on this. You can't just shoot to kill while they're still human. But calling it a rescue mission? I believe that's a little naive. These people know what they're doing. They're actively trying to undergo this transformation. I guess the difference is that their egoes, their ambitions, will be increased along with their powers. (much like Khan with his genetically engineered nature)   Sulu comes up with an ingenious way to catch up with the espers. Combine a traditional warp field with the space-folding singularity used by the Romulan ship, reminding us of his background in natural sciences, back in Where No Man Has Gone before. There's a lot of physics to flying a starship so it makes a lot of sense to me that a good helmsman would have a background in science.   Lana decides it's time to escape captivity. She flings the forcefield away and then forces Drake to kill the other guard, and then slowly commit suicide. This is a very chilling scene, and again demonstrates how little regard she has for human life. Can you imagine the horror of that moment, feeling your arm moving, knowing you're about to disintegrate your body, and having no power to prevent it. It's horrifying.   This moment is better than any other redshirt death that has ever happened in TOS, and possibly Star Trek in general.  Firstly because we've gotten to know this character. He's been developed of a number of episodes. He's not just a nameless face. We know he's a person with a life, people who love him. In addition to that, it treats the moment with the gravity it deserves.   I'm left feeling something very deeply, and that would probably even be the case even if we hadn't been introduced to him earlier in the season. Farewell, Drake. You will be missed.   The Enterprise and the Romulan ship have made it to the galactic barrier. The Hallifax is at the border. But have they gone through yet or not?   Kirk hails them. He offers aid, to be a go-between for them with Starfleet Command. He doesn't give the impression of a neutral party, though. They do, after all, work for Starfleet Command.   But it's a trap. The Halifax is empty. Another ship appears behind them. A constitution class ship, The USS Kongo emerges from the barrier. It's too late. There are only around 12 people on board. We get a view of their bridge, and they all have silver eyes. If that wasn't bad enough, Lana and Sentek enter the Enterprise bridge. “Relinquish command or the Enterprise will suffer the same fate as the Hood.”   To be concluded.   This is a fantastic cliffhanger. Not quite up there with Best of Both Worlds, but better than most.   This episode was a great set-up for the finale. I love how it pulled together so many threads, both from TOS and from Star Trek Continues itself.   Only one left to go. It's been a wild ride.   Don't forget to check out my original science fiction at AdamDavidCollings.com/books   And I'll see you next time to discuss To Boldly Go, Part 2. Until then,  Live Long and Prosper Make it so.

In this episode of Star Trek Continues, we are treated to the return of John De Lancie is a new role. But just because he's not playing Q, doesn't mean he isn't awesome. "What Ships Are For" explores an issue that has been topical in our world in recent years - immigration and refugees. ----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 104 of the podcast. (Yes, I'm counting the chat about DC comics from last time) Today, we're talking about the Star Trek Continues episode “What Ships are For”.   The description on IMDB reads Kirk struggles with aiding a society whose inhabitants view their isolated world in a very unique way.   This teleplay was written by Kipleigh Brown With story by Vic Mignogna, James Kerwin, and Kipleigh Brown,  It was directed by Vic Mignogna   And it first aired on the 30th of July 2017   When I first heard that Star Trek Continues was bringing in the legendary John DeLancie, but that he'd be playing a character that wasn't Q, my initial reaction was “What a waste of John De Lancie.”   My thinking went something like this. The idea of having Q visit Kirk's Enterprise would be fun. Something that could certainly happen in-universe because Q can travel through time with the click of a finger. But it couldn't have ever been done in TOS because The Next Generation didn't exist yet. It's the similar problem to having Kirk and Spock make references to Archer and T'Pol. While Enterprise took place before TOS, it was created more than 30 years later. These kinds of references and interactions can only be done by fan productions (or maybe Strange New Worlds). But as fun as it would be having Q show up in a TOS episode, it's unlikely a fan production would be able to get John DeLancie.   But Star Trek Continues managed to get him. But they didn't use him for Q. They cast him as another character. Added to the disappointment of him not being Q, was the fact that De Lancie is a very recognisable guy, so seeing him as a different character would be odd to say the least.   After watching the episode the first time, I had to back-pedal my thoughts on this because of De Lancie's great performance. He did a fantastic job with this character, and now it's hard to imagine this episode without him.   The Enterprise is responding to a distress call from an inhabited asteroid with a limited warp capable society.   I like that it's an inhabited asteroid. We always see people living on planets, but I think we need more inhibited moons and asteroids, not only in sci-fi, but in fantasy as well. If I ever write a fantasy book, the world I set it on will be a moon, rather than a planet.   And a nice bit of ongoing continuity, we learn that two Federation starships have been dispatched to investigate what happened to the hood. Both have suffered unexplainable damage. We also learn that Nurse Chapel is already at Starfleet medical, studying to become a doctor. We know that by the time of Star Trek The Motion Picture, Chapen is a doctor. This is the first really big sign that Star Trek Continues is on a trajectory toward that movie, starting to set up some of the big changes that occurred off-screen between season 3 and the movie.   You sometimes see nurses who decide to become doctors in both fiction and real life. It can be almost viewed as a promotion, which, I suspect it technically is, if you look at the hierarchy of authority in a hospital. But nursing certainly needn't be seen as a stepping stone to medicine. Nursing is a respected profession of highly intelligent people. And interestingly, my wife works with a nurse who used to be a doctor, but decided she'd rather be a nurse. You don't often see it go that direction.   The other hint of the motion picture you see is the white medical uniform the doctor at Starfleet is wearing. Kirk jokes that you'll never get him in one of those things.   The Hyalini have refused outside contact for centuries. We know little about them.   We get a little TOS style womp-womp humour, which I don't really care for, but it's very authentic.   When the landing party beam down to the asteroid, they are surprised to be seeing everything in black and white. When I heard that the creative team behind this show were looking for ways to do a black and white episode, I wasn't convinced. But the conceit they come up with works nicely for me as a science fiction concept, and also allows them to approach a topical issue in a very unique way. So good on ‘em.   While they puzzle over what might be affecting their eyes, they are met by Galisti, leader of the inner council, played by De Lanci, and Thaius, their newly appointed ambassador to the Federation.   Galisti is surprised that the human visitors look so much like Hyanoid bipeds. He was expecting a tentacle or two. Thaius is the first to notice that Spock is different from the others. I laughed out loud when she asked with all sincerity,  if he was an Earth female. McCoy managed to get by with a stifled chuckle.   She is also fascinated and delighted by Spock's kindness and gallantry revealed by pure calculated reason.   She notes that in all her excitement at meeting aliens, she didn't see anything other than his ears. “How often we look but forget to see.” This is an important line, not only because of what it says, but because of who says it. As we'll see at the end of the episode.   We also learn that Galisti and Thaius are married. Galisti says “How fortunate I am to call my friend, my wife.” And I totally get behind that. I believe that romantic love is best born out of friendship.That's why I don't understand this whole “friend zone” thing that “the kids” talk about these days.   Kirk struggles to find the words to ask the aliens about the lack of colour. How do you describe colour to someone who has no concept of it? It would be a bit like describing colour to a blind person. There is simply no common frame of reference.   Gaisti and Thaius don't really know what Kirk is getting at, but they assure him the way their world looks is the same as it has always been.   They launch right into an explanation of their situation. Their isolation was never meant to end now. Hundreds of years ago, they united in a goal of becoming worthy to one day join the galactic community (clearly they knew, or believed, that alien life existed). They wanted to become a utopian society, somewhat like what Earth has become.   Spock explains the black-and-white as the property of an unusual form of radiation from their sun, which impairs the cone cells in humanoid eyes. So far, this is just a strange quirk of this world. And Star Trek is all about discovering strange new worlds. But this will come into play in an important thematic way later in the episode.   I love the establishing shot we see of the town. Feels reminiscent of the planet where Pike fought the warrior on Rigel in The Cage. I wonder where they shot it. Might even just be stock footage.   When Kirk is introduced to Thaius's most promising student, Sekara, Kirk goes all … Kirk. When he meets an attractive woman, he can't help but flirt with her.   Things get awkward when Tomiat, one of the council, points a gun to his head and yells that Galisti shouldn't have brought the aliens here. They are all ruined. His perspective seems to be that making contact with aliens, before they themselves are perfect, will destroy them. I can kind of understand why a group of people would want to perfect themselves before joining the larger community, but this guy's ideas seem odd and extreme. Evidently, the others of his people do not share the extremity of his view. He refers to himself as a “true believer”. But a believer in what? Their plan to perfect themselves? What leads him to take the mental jump from “This would be a good strategy” to “if it doesn't go as we planned, we're doomed”? It seems a bit of an absurd leap. I don't know what he's basing it on.   Spock brings things to a peaceful end with a well-placed neck pinch.   That's when Galisti explains that Sekara had a disease. She'll be dead before the year is out. This is why they broke their isolation with the distress signal. They don't know what it is, only what it isn't. These people seem to have medical knowledge at least in line with ours.   McCoy is confident the disease is related to the same radiation that makes everything look black and white. Not sure how he concludes this.   He wants to bring Sekara on board the Enterprise to examine her in sickbay, but Kirk sees a potential issue. On the Enterprise, she'll be shielded from the radiation. Spock isn't certain whether she'll see colour or not, but if she does, it could be traumatic. I can totally get that. Kirk tries to prepare her for what she might see. He does a good job of it. He warns her that it will be unusual, it might frighten her, but it will be safe. She accepts this.   When she arrives in the transporter room, we get the reveal that her skin and hair colouring are not what you'd expect from a human. Greenish skin and purple hair. Cleverly concealed by the black-and-white nature of her asteroid home.   She still sees in black and white for a moment. But then it happens. And as you can imagine, it's pretty overwhelming.She goes into a panic attack. She asks “is it alive?” Again, Kirk does a good job of calming and reassuring her.   This was nicely done.   It's taken millennia for the radiotoxins to induce acute radiation syndrome. Mccoy has started sekaras treatment   Now that she's gotten used to it, Sekara has a real sense of wonder about colour. It's like nothing she's ever experienced before. I like how something that is so mundane to us is so awe-inspiring to her.   The Hyalinans do have limited space travel, but they don't have shields that can block the radiation. That's why they still don't see colour when they travel through space, but Sekara can when on board the Enterprise.   Anyway, treating them for the illness is only a bandaid. It will continue and re-occur as they are exposed to the radiation. But Spock has a daring idea. The spectral signature of the Hyalinus sun can be altered using a modified stellar probe.   This is something I'd approach with caution. You're talking about fundamentally changing the nature of their sun. What un-expected side-effects could that have? What damage could they cause if they do it wrong? But, with lives on the line, they're right to try. They just wanna make sure they do it properly   Sulu is going to accompany Spock down to the surface to see how the radiation has permeated the food chain. For once, he gets to use his botany for the story.   Spock took some scans while he was down there. The tricorder doesn't rely on cone cells to detect colour. His can show there are multiple skin pigmentations on the planet. Sekara has greenish skin with purple hair, while many of the others have orange skin with black hair.   I'm suprised at how shocked and dismayed the crew look. Earth has a number of different skin tones. This needn't be a surprise. But given the history of Earth, I guess the Hyalians might be in for a shock, and it could lead to treating people differently.   Spock and McKenna conclude, in what I think is a bit of a leap, that Sekara and the other minority that share her pigmentation, are aliens. Not native to Hylinus.   McCoy points out there could be other explanations, but Spock has apparently gathered enough data to know there are other differences. These people are unquestionable a race not currently native to Hyalinus.   And that's a very interesting development. Uhura and Palmer are searching for any other habitable bodies nearby.   They have to decide whether to confront Sekara about her origins. McKenna suggests not doing so yet. They don't know who she is, or even whether she knows herself.   Kirk surmises that a species as isolationist as the Hyilini would never allow aliens to live on their world, but given their inability to distinguish colour, they probably don't know. Sekara was born on Hyalinus and orphaned at a young age. Her intense awkwardness in trying to answer when Kirk invites her in, suggests she may be as smitten with him as he is with her.   She asks an interesting question. “What is the purpose of colour?” Is that something you've ever wondered? Probably not, as it's just such a normal part of our existence. Kirk suggests that it provides variety, vibrance, beauty.  Like poetry for the eyes.   This episode makes me wonder. We feel like our perception of vision is complete, but so did Sekara. What if there is something …. Other. Something additional that we can't perceive that another species might. What could that be? I can't even imagine it. It's so outside our realm of experience.    It also reminds me of the Terry Pratchet book, The Colour of Magic. In that book, there is another colour called Octartine. While the book tries to describe it using a combination of other colours, we can't actually conceive of what a colour unknown to us would look like. Because as humans, we've already given names to all the colours that our eyes can perceive. There is nothing more alien than that which you cannot perceive, or conceive of.   And then Kirk gets really creepy. At least, that's how it comes across. I'm not suggesting his advances are unwanted by Sekara. But it seems a little premature. But that's Kirk. At least, how he was portrayed in TOS. Palmer has found radio waves coming from another asteroid in the belt. 2 small shuttlepods approach. Unarmed and barely spaceworthy. The Hyalini lock weapon platforms on the shuttles. The council won't respond to Kirk's hails. He makes the decision to intervene. He destroys the platform after it gets off a missing shot.   The Enterprise is now involved in this conflict. A potential prime directive issue.   Now the council wants to talk. They demand an explanation for the destruction of their platform.   Sekara describes the people on those shuttles as Abicians. They've been trying to sneak onto Hyalinus to escape the consequences of their own savagery for decades. They lie and conceal their identities so that they can benefit from the peace and prosperity that we've worked to achieve. One which they have not earned themselves.   Kirk asks if they are criminals or refugees. Is it a crime to want to live peacefully?   Sekara makes the point, that I think is fair, that Kirk doesn't know enough about the situation to stand in judgement. Her parents were murdered by abicians.   Kirk concedes this. It's all too easy to criticise the policies of another until you lose someone those policies could have saved.   Now, Kirk says something that I think is very wise. “Please tell me, Sekara. I want to understand.”   Their world is in turmoil. Territories perpetually at war. Technological innovation fueled solely by the desire to build better, more lethal weapons. They have squandered their natural resources and polluted their world in the process.  Her parents were part of a diplomatic envoy sent to help. To show the abicians a better way to live. Their ship returned to Hyalinus on auto-pilot and all 18 people on board were killed. Sekara was 10 years old.   Kirk admits that those people who killed her parents were barbarians. But that doesn't mean they all are, does it?   And I think that's the crux of the matter. The biggest issue with what the Hylians are doing is judging all members of a species based on the actions of their leaders. The reality is, the people on those shuttles probably disagree with the violent ways of their leaders. They only want to get away from the killing. As Kirk says, to be able to live in peace.   Sekara says “you assume they think like us. They do not. They do not respect our laws. They do not value knowledge or honesty and they do not question their conscience before turning to violence.   This sounds like something she's been taught, rather than something she knows factually about these people from experience. As Kirk says, have you ever met an abician? She admits her answer is no, but says they've managed to keep them off their world. This is the moment Kirk chooses to reveal the truth. There are hundreds of thousands of Abicians on Hyalinus. They look just like hyalians, unless you can see colour. You are abician. Your parents were abician. That must be an even greater shock for her to accept than the introduction of colour into her world. And Kirk didn't do much to prepare her for that shock. But what could he do? In the end, he had to just come out and say it.   Can you imagine discovering you're a different species to what you thought you were. That you are actually the thing that you have always distrusted?   Sekara now has to face the reality that not all abicians are the way she has pre-judged them to be.   Spock and Sulu have found that the food chain has been affected by the radiation at almost every level, but there is no permanent mutation, which means after they've put their plan into action, future Hylanini should be healthy and free of the disease.   Kirk is trying to reason with the council.  Galisti asks if his people must meet some arbitrary moral standard set by Starfleet in order to receive help. Kirk assures him that is not the case. And that's good. Our compassion for people shouldn't be limited by our agreeing or disagreeing with them on moral issues.   Kirk is trying to understand why the Hyalini see a few people who are desperate for a better life as such a threat.   Galisti gets to the crux of it. “Granting entrance to some is an invitation for all. They would overrun our world.” They have limited resources. They're struggling to feed their own people. This is a legitimate concern.   Kirk isn't suggesting that they open their borders to everyone, but he says they're defensive system is excessive.   This was a very topical issue at the time this episode was made, especially in America, but also here in Australia.   But it reminds me of the jewish people fleeing Nazi germany. They went from country to country in boats that were falling apart. But nobody would take them in. So they'd have to head back out into open sea, where they faced the very real risk that their boats might just sink.   And I wonder, how can people be so heartless? I'm more conservative than the average Star Trek fan, but I don't have a problem with immigration - especially if the people are refugees.  I believe in compassion.   Kirk is trying to be reasonable here and see both sides of the issue. He is taking the Hyaliani's position seriously. But it's difficult to reach any sort of logical compromise when Galisti refers to Abicians as “vulgar, selfish and violent. A scourge .”   This is a very interesting conversation between the characters. They both say some interesting things. Galisti has quantifiable proof that violent crime went up when they suspected Abicians of being on their world, and down again after they started using their weapon, but again, they're pre-judging all based on the actions of some.   Galisti has valid concerns for the safety of his people, as their leader. But I really like Kirk's response to that. “Safety and compassion are not mutually exclusive. Conscience requires balance.” And that's what missing on Hylainus. Balance.   Then Galisti points out the hypocrisy of the Prime Directive, in the way it is sometimes applied in Star Trek. “And you stand here before me, lecturing me about ‘compassion' about ‘balance” You condemn the many for the crimes of none. Who do you think you are?   And I'm sorry to have to say it, Kirk, but he's got a point here. Not necessarily against Kirk specifically, but certainly against the Federation itself. I'm not saying the Hyalnini are right in the way they're viewing and treating their neighbours, but the Federation is definitely not morally perfect, as much as they'd like to think they are.   Kirk is concerned about what will happen once they cure the Hyalini of their disease and their colour blindness. They'll be able to see the abicians all around them. He doesn't necessarily think they'll resort to violence and killing, but he's worried they'll round them all up and send them home, washing their hands of what happens to them.   McKenna recongises that this is deeply personal for Kirk. He's not just angry, he's afraid. Afraid of what might happen to Sekara. He cares for her.  Given the few minutes he's spent with her, I think it's probably more accurate to say he has the hots for her, but this is based on 60s episodic television. So I guess we have to suspect a little disbelief for the sake of truncated story-telling.   Kirk sees that for all their piety, the hyaliani have no problem turning their backs on desperate people. They have no compassion.   And piety without compassion leads to some dark places.   They take help, but they won't give it. Kirk wonders if they deserve his help at all? But as a man of compassion himself, as a man of duty to his principles, does that make a difference? Do you only help those who deserve it? Or is this a case where Kirk has to exercise some costly grace?   Because if he doesn't as McKenna points out, he'll be no better. He'll be turning his back on desperate people with nowhere else to go? Some of whom may not agree with the prejudice of their leaders. And that phrase “nowhere else to go” sparks an idea in Kirk.   Sekara is feeling desperate. She's considering destroying the probe that will save Hyilinus. Because of what will happen next. People will turn on each other. They won't see neighbours and friends, they'll see the brutes and thieves they've heard about.   She asks Kirk to help find another way to help her sun. One that won't change the way they see. But there is no other way. The two are inextricably linked. Kirk talks her down.   She feels so powerless. Terrified of the people she'll return to. Their eyes will change but their hearts may not. Then again - her heart has changed. She is the one person who can change the hearts of their leaders. Galisti and his wife love her very much. She is the proof that Abicians are not all just savages.   It's time to carry out the mission. Kirk warns Galisti that there are abicians living among them. If he repairs their sun, they will be able to see them.    Despite their attitude toward the abicians, the hyalini have accomplished much to be proud of. They have achieved a peace and unity in a short time, that it took earth Milennia to achieve.  All fueled by the hope that they will one day achieve readiness to join the galactic community. But how will they know when they are ready? The problem is, there is no one answer. An undefined finish line means they never have to finish. Your people will never have to leave the comfort and safety of what they have now.    And if you'll permit me, just briefly, to get spiritual, this reminds me of how some people approach God. They feel they need to be perfect first. But of course, that's impossible. I believe that God says, come as you are.   Then we get an explanation for the episodes' title. An old saying. “A ship in the harbour is safe, but that's not what ships are for. Do you serve the hope, or have you twisted it to serve you? After making an impassioned speech, Kirk reveals they launched the probe twenty minutes ago.   Thaius tells Galisti their world is about to change forever, and reassure him her love for him will never ever change. Why would it? He must wonder, until he starts to see colour. I like how, even though the two races have different skin colour, this was never about colour. They didn't even know the difference. It was about fear and prejudice regarding the abician's character.  But their blindness has given them the proof that they were wong. That they need to re-think their attitude toward abicians. There is the possibility that going into the future, some kind of skin-colour-related prejudice may arise, but maybe, just maybe, this experience has taught them the lessons to avoid that.   Galisti marvels at this wonder called colour. But then he looks at his wife. She is abician. She's wanted to tell her for a long time, but she was afraid he'd reject her. “I'm still me, I'm still the same person,” she insists. But Galaisti pulls away from her.   “This changes nothing,” he says.  It seems Galisti is still clinging to his attitude. He can't accept the woman he loves. Kirk has fixed the sun but the asteroid is still bathed in radiation. It needs to be cleared.   Galisti asks Kirk to proceed, but he can't. He says the Enterprise has been called away on an urgent mission and won't have the time.   But then the surprise. It turns out the Abicians have the technology to fix your sun.   “But why would they help us?” Galaisti asks. Why indeed. Because they now have something the abicians need. Medicine. Enough for both worlds. Turns out the abicians are suffering the same disease, but they've had it much longer. It's no wonder their world has fallen into chaos.   These worlds can save each other, but they're going to have to put the past behind them and move on.   Giving half of the solution each to two warring parties, so they are forced to work together, is a very Star Trek way to resolve a plot.   It's very easy to judge Galisti at this moment. He's been given the proof. Why doesn't he see Kirk's point. He's still being a jerk - which he is. But changing your attitude and beliefs is not an easy thing to do. If we're fair, we can't expect Galisti to change his entire outlook in thirty seconds, but you can see that it is starting, as Thaius and Sekara say “there is no them anymore, only us.”   This is an emotional journey for Galisti. One that will take time, but I have confidence that he will change. He has to. If he doesn't, his world will die. This was a powerfully written and performed episode. Another example of why Star Trek Continues deserves to be viewed in the same light as official Star Trek.   Only two episodes remain - the two part finale that bridges the gap between TOS and The Motion Picture. But before we go there, next time we're going to take a brief detour. We're going to talk about an episode of another Star Trek fan show. Star Trek New Voyages “The Holiest Thing” I like to include this one when I do a re-watch of Star Trek Continues, because, like continues, it delves into the history of Star Trek and fleshes out a gap that exists between TOS and the movies. This episode will introduce us to a much younger Dr. Carol Marcus.   Until then, Live long and prosper Make it so.  

A look at this interesting time related relationship film that mixes genres successfully. Interviews include producer and actor, Chase Masterson and fellow actors Kipleigh Brown and Nathan Mobley plus composer Kristopher Carter and director James Kerwin from 2012

We chatted about her role as Hoyle in Yesterday Was A Lie with Chase Masterson, plus her role on Star Trek Enterprise.

We chatted about her role as Hoyle in Yesterday Was A Lie, plus her appearance on Star Trek Enterprise.

A look at this interesting time related relationship film that mixes genres successfully. Interviews include producer and actor, Chase Masterson and fellow actors Kipleigh Brown and Nathan Mobley plus composer Kristopher Carter and director James Kerwin from 2012

Haven Red Carpet Special – Featuring Eric Balfour, Emily Rose, Colin Ferguson, Lucas Bryant,Emo Phillips,James Kerwin,Kipleigh Brown,Monster Man Cleve and Constance Hall and Chase Masterson.

From 2014 , podcast version Of Google Video Hangout with James Kerwin, Chase Masterson and Kipleigh Brown.

Episode 224: Pondering Picard... A TWOFER!   The mission this week is to discuss two episodes from TNG that have already been discussed in the past, because we believe they may ready us for what is to come. “The Measure of a Man” and “Who Watches the Watchers” are episodes that deal with Picards moral standings, his integrity, his dedication to his crew, and shows that he is willing to go toe-to-toe with the Federation if he feels it necessary. This is the third episode in a series of investigations into Picard, in hopes of getting us inside Jean-Luc’s head before the much anticipated series airs in 2020…  For deeper discussions on these two episodes, enjoy Episode 143: The Measure of a Man with Kipleigh Brown, and Episode 174: Who Watches the Watchers with Robbie Palmer. Our music is provided by! http://warp11.com/  you can follow them at! https://twitter.com/warp11 If you would like to donate to us to help keep the show going please look at our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Synthaholics?ty=h If you are a fan of Guy Davis and his art and comics you can support him at his Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/GSDavisArt?ty=h Take a look at Holly’s Website and blog https://hollymichellev.wixsite.com/voiceover Join the Facebook conversation!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/Synthaholics/ Email us synthaholics@yahoo.com Subscribe to our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/synthaholics Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/SynthaholicDuo  Or Tumblr http://synthaholics.tumblr.com/ Subscribe to us on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/synthaholics-star-trek-podcast/id981239466?mt=2 Subscribe to us on Google Play https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Immzfeujybtpjrz54khq3luqj3m Subscribe to us on iHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/show/263-synthaholics-a-star/ Or subscribe to us on Stitcher Radio http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/david-duncan/synthaholics?refid=stpr

The Event Horizon

Beyond the Playlist Kipleigh Brown I talk to actress and writer Kipleigh Brown about her work, her history and her approach to acting. We also talk about her work in sketch comedy, Star Trek Continues, and R.U.R.  https://www.kipleigh.com/ https://twitter.com/KipleighBrown https://www.youtube.com/user/StarTrekContinues Support me on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/jhammondc Sponsored by: http://www.tweakedaudio.com/ For more Beyond the Playlist with JHammondC https://twitter.com/JHammondC https://www.facebook.com/groups/Beyondtheplaylist/ Theme music by Magnus Sellergren featuring The Jimmy C and the New York Brass Cover art by Phil Rood

It isn't everyday that a guest responds to an invitation to come on our show in Klingon! How could we not be excited? In this weeks episode of Trek Geeks - A Star Trek Podcast, Dan and Bill welcome the very funny and very talented Kipleigh Brown to the show! As Lt. Barbara Smith, she has helped navigate Kirk and crew to new worlds and new civilizations in several episodes of Star Trek Continues, and we are thrilled to have her discuss her experiences on set! Additionally we talk about other projects Kipleigh has been seen in, such as "R.U.R.: Genesis" and "Yesterday was a Lie", both directed by our good friend James Kerwin, as well as Season 3's "The Forgotten" on Star Trek: Enterprise. Whether it is stand up comedy, drama, science fiction or sounding like a robot, Kipleigh is always full of energy and ready to share some great stories! In addition, the guys discuss Bills recent guest appearance on the Tricorder Transmissions Podcast as we finally "cross the podcast streams" with our good friends Jeff and Heather. Also, Tony Todd in the new Star Trek Series on CBS All Access? Your face in Star Trek: Wrath of Gems? The Trek Geeks Trek50 Project? All this and more on Episode 48 of Trek Geeks!

It isn't everyday that a guest responds to an invitation to come on our show in Klingon! How could we not be excited? In this weeks episode of Trek Geeks - A Star Trek Podcast, Dan and Bill welcome the very funny and very talented Kipleigh Brown to the show! As Lt. Barbara Smith, she has helped navigate Kirk and crew to new worlds and new civilizations in several episodes of Star Trek Continues, and we are thrilled to have her discuss her experiences on set! Additionally we talk about other projects Kipleigh has been seen in, such as "R.U.R.: Genesis" and "Yesterday was a Lie", both directed by our good friend James Kerwin, as well as Season 3's "The Forgotten" on Star Trek: Enterprise. Whether it is stand up comedy, drama, science fiction or sounding like a robot, Kipleigh is always full of energy and ready to share some great stories! In addition, the guys discuss Bills recent guest appearance on the Tricorder Transmissions Podcast as we finally "cross the podcast streams" with our good friends Jeff and Heather. Also, Tony Todd in the new Star Trek Series on CBS All Access? Your face in Star Trek: Wrath of Gems? The Trek Geeks Trek50 Project? All this and more on Episode 48 of Trek Geeks!

Kipleigh Brown  (@kipleighbrown) is a sketch comic and actress and is in a couple episodes of the ongoing series !  We talk wigs, “music” to sleep to, SCIENCE! And, of course, Star Trek. Check it out. This month our sponsor is Vilmos! You might know him from the CREDITS. Yes. He made an ad. He’s a hands on, great guy for websites… do it!!   I have revealed that I have a new hour comedy video out at right? Cuz I do. $5 download. It’s called “This Will Make An Excellent Horcrux” because comedy is all about soul ;) … Own it today and forever. OR get a hard copy (or the CD) on the Merch page on my website.   Speaking of They are the podcast network The Dork Forest is a part of. Plenty of other great podcasts there if you’re looking for them. DONATE folks… I’m working over here.   or You can donate directly, get t-shirts and CDs, and you can click through to order from our Amazon Banner on . That is also where my full schedule of stand up shows and live TDF’s are listed. Thanks for tuning in folks. Credits: Audio leveling by Music is by Website design by : Really good Web designs. If you like a specific app – they are available with bonus content:  or . Libsyn is also just PUBLISHING the bonus content, for free, with Andy and I talking about the show for a sec, on tdf.libsyn.com… no App needed. There you go.

Hello Captains! Welcome to Priority One's 140th episode, recorded on Thursday, September 5th, 2013 and published on Monday, September 9th, 2013 at PriorityOnePodcast.com! With James still working overtime on replacing the Heisenberg Compensators, that leaves the show this week - once again - in the capable hands of Elijah and Tony! This week, Priority One Treks Out a new science fiction film project titled “RuR” with Director James Kerwin and actors Kipleigh Brown & Chase Masterson. There may not have been a lot to cover in STONews this week -- but, this is usually the “quiet before the storm.” And although the boys won't talk much about Legacy of Romulus Dev Blog #40; there's plenty of discussion regarding another STO Lobi sale, the latest Spotlight on the Foundry, and a review of this week's patch notes. Additionally, this episode we are joined by Terilynn Shull - author of Massively.com's Captain's Log articles and host of the G&T Show - for a special Foundry/FanFiction discussion. In this episode's Community Spotlight, Chivalrybean introduces a new Foundry Review format just before we open hailing frequencies and listen to your incoming messages. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mark "h2orat" Valentine. He was a respected artist who brought passion and commitment to Star Trek Online and its community. For more information on how you can pay your respects, please visit: http://www.gofundme.com/valentine. Topics Discussed: RuR Legacy of Romulus Dev Blog #40 Spotlight on the Foundry Lobi Sale Release Notes September 5th RuR We are Live on TrekRadio.net every Thursday at 10pm ET / 7pm PT! If you'd like to join us live, during the show, Trek Radio has a built in IRC Chat client. Just click on the Community menu tab and select IRC Chat - input your desired screen name and enter! The Priority One Network is always looking for new team members that have a passion for Star Trek. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our content, then send your contact information and experience along with a few writing samples to incoming@priorityonepodcast.com Did you miss any of our great Blogs last week? Stop by this link and see for yourself! How about our latest Video Release? You can also follow us on the social media sites! We're on Facebook! Head over to www.facebook.com/PriorityOnePodcast and say, "Hi!" Or, Check us out on Twitter via @stopriorityone for show times and other cool stuff. Liked this episode? Totally hated it? Leave a comment below, Contact Us using our handy web form or leave your comments on the STO Forum thread for Episode 140! Enjoy the show!

Starring Dana Gould, J. Elvis Weinstein, Emily Maya Mills, Laraine Newman, Emo Philips, David Higgins, Janie Haddad Tompkins, Joe Keyes, Ron Lynch, Jimmy Dore, Stef Zamorano, Mark Thompson, Kipleigh Brown and Frank Conniff. Written and Directed by Frank Conniff. Music by Tony Conniff. Lyrics by Frank Conniff. Produced by Thomas Chan, Frank Conniff, Olana DiGirolamo and Tony Conniff. Musical Direction by Tony Conniff. Music performed by Tony Conniff, with Larry Saltzman on guitar. "Foost Family Singers" vocals by Karen Lloyd. "Hell Tool" vocals by J. Elvis Weinstein. Sound Design by Jake Posner. Dialogue Editing by Rebecca Lord. Recorded, Edited and Mixed by Thomas Chan and Jay Posner at Amalgamated Sound & Picture. Logo Art by Thom Foolery. A Podhouse 90 Production.

My guests are: Actress, Kipleigh Brown ("Star Trek: Enterprise") Director, James Kerwin ("Yesterday Was A Lie") Artist, Sia Abderezai ("Black Iron Kisses") To hear this show: http://www.latalkradio.com/Sheena.php For more info: http://www.sheenametalexperience.com

My guests are: Actress, Kipleigh Brown ("Star Trek: Enterprise") Director, James Kerwin ("Yesterday Was A Lie") Artist, Sia Abderezai ("Black Iron Kisses") To hear this show: http://www.latalkradio.com/Sheena.php For more info: http://www.sheenametalexperience.com