Podcasts about voq

Star Trek: Discovery, Series 1, Episode 12. First broadcast on Sunday, 21 January 2018. This week, the crew of Discovery find themselves trapped in the Mirror Universe with nothing much to do except to incrementally advance their individual plot threads. Paul chats to himself and his dead partner, Saru tries to persuade Voq's girlfriend to help him through an identity crisis, Michael partakes of an extremely upsetting hors d'œuvre, and Lord Ealing goes off somewhere in search of a mop and bucket. Fortunately, Cousin Michelle — Her Most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominus of Qo'noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centaurius — is being absolutely as fabulous as she sounds, while Gabriel Lorca becomes the first Starfleet Captain to defibrillate some poor bastard's head before stomping it into a soft paste. Nathan — if no one else — loves it.

Continuing our look back at our Star Trek Las Vegas trip, this is That Time When we had a chat with Shazad about Ash Tyler, Voq and the future… Catch the interview in full right here. The post That Time When : STLV with Shazad Latif appeared first on Trekzone.

For the penultimate episode of DIS season 1, Dom and Fr. Cory discuss the return from the Mirror Universe; the war without (the Klingon War), and the war within between Tyler and Voq, plus the implausibility of the final stratagem. The post The War Without, The War Within (DIS) appeared first on SQPN.com.

For the penultimate episode of DIS season 1, Dom and Fr. Cory discuss the return from the Mirror Universe; the war without (the Klingon War), and the war within between Tyler and Voq, plus the implausbility of the final stratagem.

This week TV addicts Schmee and Riker review the two-part pilot of Star Trek: Discovery, "The Vulcan Hello" and "Battle at the Binary Stars" (Paramount+). We discuss how well it did in defining the genre/conventions of the show, introducing its characters, how well it informed the series plot, and how well it hooked us to watch more! Star Trek Discovery - Brig Ethical Protocols Clip https://youtu.be/QjxmfOd79vw Follow us and let us know what you think! Twitter: @PilotsThePod Facebook: www.facebook.com/PilotsThePodcast Check out our website at www.PilotsThePodcast.com.

The second-last episode of Star Trek Discovery Season 3 "There is a Tide" plays a little like Die Hard in space, but it also adds some serious depth to our villain Osyraa. There is a fantastic negotiation scene between her and Admiral Vance. So let's dig in and talk about it. -- Get my space opera book Jewel of The Stars for just 99 cents at books2read.com/jewel ----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 49 of the podcast Today we’re talking about Star Trek Discovery There Is A Tide.   And Happy New Year. By now, the whole world has switched over to 2021.  So far it’s been a great year. No major tragedies. Of course, much of the world is still suffering the effects of that pandemic that turned last year upside down. I’m really lucky here in Tasmania. We don’t have any cases at the moment.   The description on memory alpha reads After capturing the USS Discovery, Osyraa seeks a meeting with Admiral Vance while Burnham and the crew must overcome unimaginable odds as they attempt to regain command of their ship.   This episode was written by Kenneth Lin It was directed by Jonathan Frakes And it first aired on the 31st of December 2020.   Make it so. After I upload each episode of Nerd Heaven, I go and check out what other youTubers and podcasters are saying about the episode. It’s interesting to compare notes and see where we agree and disagree.   I never watch before I finish my own review because I want to keep my opinions my own - as un-influenced by others as I can. But I noticed the thumbnail of one last night said (“Die Hard in Space”) And that’s not a bad way to describe this week’s episode. It’s an action movie with Michael Burnham trying to rescue the hostage crew of Discovery from terrorists who’ve taken over the ship.   Last week, we learned the cause of the burn was basically a shockwave sent from a Kelpien, genetically modified from living on a radiation-soaked planet, having a tantrum.   The general consensus from people was “Is that it?” I didn’t really comment too much about it, other than my relief that Michael Burnham wasn’t the cause (although I also saw a thumbnail with a depressing theory that she is indirectly responsible because she freed the Kelpiens from the Ba’ul, but let’s just leave that one aside)   No, I wanted to wait until this week, to learn more, before I said too much about my thoughts on it. Except we never re-visited the planet in the verubin nebula this entire episode. The whole thing was centred on Discovery and Starfleet headquarters.   I wasn’t expecting that.   So we’ll talk more about the burn next week.   This week, in addition to giving us a pretty cool action thriller, also does some very interesting things with Osyraa’s character, which I’m looking forward to talking about.   But let’s start at the beginning.   Osyraa is playing a dirty trick. She has her own ship, the Veridian, firing on Discovery, to make it look as though the two ships are locked in combat, and that the Discovery crew are still in control of their own ship.   Vance is hesitant to Discovery in through the shields immediately. I guess to lower the shields would be to potentially allow the Veridian in as well. We actually get a decent amount of Vance this episode. He’s doing more than just giving Discovery their mission. And that was great.   The bridge crew are being held in the mess hall. That seems to be standard procedure when you take over a Starfleet ship. It’s always the mess hall.    Remember Zareh, from episode 2 of this season? He was the thug that broke into the pub and terrorised the local township. The bartender threw him out into the ice, to survive if he could. Well, turns out he worked for the Emerald Chain, and he survived. He’s here now, Osyraa’s second in command for this mission.   Poor Tilly isn’t happy to see him again. This episode makes a couple of references to Tilly’s ineptitude which lead to the ship’s capture. A lot of it comes from Zareh, who was already trying to belittle her back at the beginning of the season.   To be honest, this is fair. Don’t get me wrong. Tilly performed admirably for an ensign put into the big chair during a very difficult situation. But I’m sure the chain took over quick and easier than they would have if there had been an experienced captain in charge. No shame against Tilly for that.  For the first time, We actually see some point to this morphing thing that Book’s ship does. They’re travelling through a transwarp conduit, and we finally get an understanding of why they are considered so dangerous. They’re full of debris from other ships. Book’s vessel is constantly morphing into different shapes to avoid hitting all this stuff. Okay. That actually makes sense. Nice to finally get answers to two outstanding mysteries in this scene.   Strangely, there’s a big ship in the way. Book says “There’s no morphing our way around that.” and then the ship morphs its way around that.   Vance is going to have to let Discovery in before their shields fail. So he orders a window just large enough for that ship. But orders security on alert. Something is weird with all of this. And then Book’s ship arrives. But Michael can’t get through to federation HQ for some reason and is unable to warn them. So Discovery is let in.   Michael decides the only hope now is to board Discovery. So book’s ship morphs again into a long thin sharp kind of shape. At first, I thought they were forming into a breaching pod. Something that could pierce the hull. That makes sense. But then I realise, as usual, Discovery’s shuttle bay doors are open and they just have the forcefield in place.   So….forming into a sharp thin shape allows the ship to get through the forcefield? I find that harder to buy.   And in fact, these forcefields are generally designed to hold in oxygen, but allow shuttles to pass through, so why would they need to do anything special to go through anyway?   Osyraa mentions something about them getting in while Discovery’s shields re down, which does make sense. Shields should prevent anything from getting into the shuttle bay. But why are discovery’s shields down? Maybe to allow the tractor beam to pull them in, but why the need for a tractor beam? Discovery has thrusters. It’s all a bit messy. But let’s move on.   This is where we meet Aurellio. He’s a scientist working for the Emerald Chain. One of the best in the galaxy, apparently. He’s confined to a hoverchair because of a genetic defect he has. It’s another little element to add some interest to his character. And it’s nice to see people of different abilities on the show.   The interesting thing here is that Aurellio is plated by Kenneth Mitchell who played Kol in season 1, and then Kol’s father in season 2, as well as the child of Voq and LaRell. He’s fast becoming the new Jeffery Combs. In fact, he’s now played just as many distinct Trek roles as Combs.   But this is the first non-Klingon role he’s had.   But what I didn’t realise when I was watching, is that Kenneth Mitchell is currently suffering from Motor Neurone Disease and is confined to a wheelchair. And that’s really sad. My heart goes out to him. But isn’t it nice that they were able to create this character for him to play.   I love how Book’s first priority when getting back onboard Discovery is to find and secure his cat. He went all the way to sickbay and then back to the shuttle bay. A little far-fetched perhaps, but cute.   Book has a life-sign masking device which Michael can use to get around the ship undetected. He has to turn himself in because they’ll be expecting a pilot for the ship that just breached them. With some luck, they won’t even know Michael is on board.   And there’s a nice little moment when they say “I love you” to each other. This relationship has played out so much better, and more naturally than the Tyler relationship in season 1.   Even though Michael wasn’t able to warn Vance, he figures it out himself, which is good. It shows he’s got some brains on his shoulders.    Michael makes her first kill but gets a knife in her leg for her trouble. I like this. It’s showing she’s a capable fighter but she’s not Superman.   She takes the regulator’s badge but it won’t transport. Probably coded to his bio signs. But why does she need his badge to transport? She has her own Starfleet insignia badge on her uniform. Why can’t she just transport with that? Certainly, no reason I can think of.   Osyraa hails HQ and Vance chats with her. She’s releasing all the Discovery crew, except the bridge crew, who she’s keeping as leverage, but keeping them in good health. She’s here to talk and hopes that things will go well. If so, Vance will have the bridge crew back shortly.   This is an unexpected development. We were expecting invasion, not negotiation.   Michael is hiding out in the Jefferies tube. At first, I was confused about the phaser she was using. Did she get it off the regulator she killed? It seemed holographic, projected by a wrist band. Turns out, this is the new Starfleet phaser, as seen in the opening credits. This is what the Discovery crew use now. But they don’t have holsters. The phasers are constructed from programmable matter. They just wear a little thing on their wrist. This is really cool. I’m surprised the comm badge doesn’t create the phaser actually. It does everything else.   There’s a nice moment where Michael records a touching goodbye message to her mother, as she knows this might not end well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gabrielle shows up with the cavalry next week.   I like that Osyraa calls out the absence of the Federation president. The type of negotiations she’s about to enter into really should include the Federation president. This has been an issue in the past for Star Trek. How many decisions did Sisko make on behalf of the entire Federation that really should have been above the pay grade of a captain?   Vance explains that to have the president sit down with a known terrorist at this time would be a security breach, which makes perfect sense, so he’s been authorised to negotiate on behalf of the Federation. He’s Starfleet Chief of Staff so he’s pretty high up there. And he’s not gonna make the final decision anything. Nicely done.   I like the scene where the bridge crew overcome their guards. They work together, anticipating each other’s ideas, with the distraction of the morse code tapping. It shows these people have worked together for a long time now. They know each other well and make a good team.   Tilly immediately takes charge. Again, doing the best she can under the circumstances.   Zareh has managed to locate the intruder with the badge she took from the regulator, who’s death has now been discovered.    Aurellio wakes Stammets so they can discuss the spore drive. They bond over opera music, which Stammets has slowly come to appreciate because Culbert loves it.   Stammets identifies, that Arellio has children, and that his partner is Orion based on the traditional piercing behind his ear. And Stammets admits he has a child too. Adira. At this point, I’m speculating that Arellio is actually Osyraa’s husband. She was acting very protective of him at the beginning of the episode. They seemed to have a personal connection. The episode never says it outright, but I think it’s strongly implied. What do you think?   We learn that sadly, the tardigrades are long-extinct in the 32nd century. (unless he’s lying to Aurellio) But Aurellio thinks he can grow new tardigrade cells from Stammet’s DNA, thereby making other people able to navigate the mycelial network.   Michael takes out her second regulator, in another thrilling action movie sequence. It’s not just a fight scene. It makes good use of the fact they’re in space. It’s a triumphant moment. Although I suspect Michael should be facing more unpleasant consequences from the cold alone, when the tube is exposed to open space.   I also like how they have an EMH serve as a lie detector during negotiations as standard procedure.   So far, Osyraa is being truthful. She wants the Emerald Chain to unit with the Federation in peace. And she’s being genuine. Her reasoning, the chain can’t go on the way they are without dilithium. So realises she has to make changes to how her organisation works if it is going to survive. The spore drive is a big bargaining chip. So why does she need the Federation? The Federation was always a symbol of hope. The Emerald Chain will never earn the trust of the people like the Federation once did. What the chain needs most now, is legitimacy.   Remote parts of the former Federation, who no longer have contract with headquarters, are already engaged in trade with the chain, because they have no choice. This is really interesting stuff.   A fruit platter is brought in and Vance mentions that their replicated food is made from human feces. But he doesn’t say feces. That’s the base material they use in their replicators. They break it down to the atomic level and then reform the atoms. This, of course, is a total load of … well….. Feces.   That’s not how replicators work.   Replicators work on a similar principle to transporters. It’s all based around the conversion between energy and matter.   Replicators don’t create matter from other base matter. They convert energy into matter. And then, when you recycle leftovers, that matter is turned back into energy. They don’t stick base matter into them. This might have been the case for the more primitive “food synthesisers” back in the 22nd century. But not of the 24th century onwards.   Modern Star Trek has a real problem with replicators. In Picard, they looked like 3D printers. They even built up the food item layer by layer like a 3D printer. But it’s not how it’s supposed to work. This annoys me.   The emerald chain, apparently, don’t use replicator technology. Not sure why. I mean, you don’t need dilithium to power a replicator. Dilithium is just a catalyst in creating the matter / anti-matter reaction in a starship’s warp core.   Osyraa wants trade with the chain legalised, and she wants to establish an embassy at Starfleet Headquarters. That will send a powerful message.   This is a big issue for Vance. The Emerald Chain engage in morally reprehensible acts. Slavery. Oppression. Interference with pre-warp civilisations.   Surprisingly, Osyra is making changes to the way the chain operates. She’s outlawing slavery. She’s even pulling back from worlds like Kwijan, at considerable financial expense, over a 15 year period, to prevent causing chaos.   She’s even got an armistice written up, a treaty that the president can sign.   And Eli, the EMH confirms she is being completely genuine about all of this.   This is very interesting to me. This is taking Osyraa from being a moustache-twirling villain to something much much more interesting. She is now by far the most interesting villain we’ve had on Discovery. Now she has depth. She’s still very dangerous, but she’s a reasonable woman who is willing to make significant changes for the good of her people.   I’m kinda loving this.   Aurellio seems to have a very rosy-coloured view of Osyraa and the chain. He’s surprisingly blind to the horrific things she’s done. Stammets tries to open his eyes to the reality of it all.   Vance is impressed with the armistice. Osyraa has made a lot of concessions. She really is wanting to plot a new course for the chain. One free from the immoral acts of the past.   But Vance needs more. He can’t just ignore the past. So he asks Osyraa who will be the public face of the chain for this alliance. The implication is that it can’t be Osyraa. She’s a known terrorist and criminal. Not somebody that the Federation can legitimise. As soon as he asks that question, I think Osyraa is reasonably sure that a deal is not going to be reached. She wants to be the public face of the Emerald Chain, or at least be the controlling power in the background. But Vance wants her to give herself up to trial for the crimes of her past. Vance can’t just forgive the crimes of the past. He can’t just overlook it. Osyraa says the past cannot be undone, And Vance says “but it can be made right.”   This is a very interesting dilemma, and I’m curious where people sit on this. One the one hand, Osyraa has made a genuine commitment to change her ways from now on. And since the burn, the Federation hasn’t had completely clean hands. They’ve done their best to continue living the ideals they have always represented, but this is a messier universe than it once was.  Maybe the concessions Osyraa is making are worth wiping the slate clean and forgiving the crimes of the past.  One the other hand, Osyraa may have made some promises regarding policy, promises that I believe she is willing to honour, but at her core, her values haven’t changed. She’s offering to be good, not because she’s had a change of heart or any true repentance, but out of political necessity. This will be confirmed at the end of the episode where we see what kind of person she is deep down. Vance asks his people to die for Federation moral values on a daily basis. How can he ask that of them and then just forgive Osyraa with no consequence for her crimes.   So what do you think? Should Vance just accept the armistice and let go of the past, or is he right to push for this?   And what about Osyraa? Is she letting her pride talk her out of a deal that will be good for her people? The federation has a very just legal system and quite humane and generous treatment of the convicted. The penal colony in New Zealand where Tom Paris did his time looked like a beautiful paradise. Osyraa could do worse than to accept punishment for her crimes for the sake of her people and live out a comfortable life as a Federation convict.   It’s funny, but I see a lot of theological parallels here that connect with me on a spiritual level.   It’s these deep and interesting ideas that make this a really great episode of Star Trek.   Sadly, these two can’t find any common ground on this issue so the negotiations break down and Osyraa returns to Discovery, where Book and Rin have been captured. Michael arrives to rescue Stammets. But Michael and Stammets have a profound disagreement on how to proceed. Michael wants to get Stammets off the ship. The Emerald Chain can’t be allowed to learn the secrets of the spore drive from him. So he needs to be removed.   But he wants to jump straight back to the nebula to rescue Hugh and Saru. And then he learns that Adira is there too.   As he says, his whole life is in that nebula.   It’s wonderfully acted. So much raw emotion. Michael admits that they’ll likely die back there, but she has to make the tough call. True to her word. She told Vance she’d never hesitate again, like she did with Arium. She renders him unconscious Osyraa asks Aurellio to leave the bridge. She doesn’t want him to see what she’s about to do. But he wants to stay. Stammets words have impacted him. He wants to see who she really is when he’s usually not around.   Ryn gives a nice speech about how he’s no longer afraid of Osyraa because he’s seen real bravery. It’s great.   He won’t fix the sensors so she can locate Michael, Stammets and the bridge crew. So she’s about to shoot him. But in a potentially foolish attempt to save Ryn’s life, Book volunteers information about the dilithium planet in the nebula. So that’s where Saru is. But she kills Ryn anyway, and Aurellio is watching. She’s going to get the information from Book using truth serum.   Michael has put Stammets into an emergency escape field. She’s going to eject him out of the ship so Federation HQ can rescue him, getting him away from Osyraa’s grasp.   He begs Michael no to do this. Without him on board Discovery, Hugh, Sar and Adira will die a horrible death. It’s a heartbreaking scene, and so well acted by Anthony Rapp.   He reminds her that the Discovery crew gave up everything to follow her here into the future, so she wouldn’t have to be alone. They did that for her. And now she’s going to let those three die.   She’s doing this to save the Federation from being destroyed by Osyraa. So many hard choices being made in this episode.   Michael has been captured, but she’s accomplished what she set out to do.   The bridge crew have armed themselves and are ready to re-take the ship. Tilly is being pretty awesome.   And then the dot robots show up, possessed by the sphere data. Otherwise known as Zora. It’s hard to take these robots seriously, as they look so cute, but despite that, it’s a great ending to the episode. They have a cool new ally. Who’d have thought, when we first saw the sphere data back in early season 2, they’d be paying it off like this?   This wasn’t just a great episode of Discovery. This was a great episode of Star Trek. I loved it. And I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it all resolves next week in the season finale. Next week’s episode is called “That Hope is You Part 2” calling back to the very first episode of this season. Interesting.  I wonder if that name will stay. A lot of these episodes have been getting new names from what was originally announced.   It was cool to see Zareh come back this week, but you know who we haven’t seen since episode 1, that I really expected to be a recurring character throughout the whole season? That lone Federation representative serving faithfully on that outpost. I’m disappointed we never saw him again. Is he still there? Has Discovery even mentioned him to Vance?   But with next week’s episode title making it a direct sequel to the first episode, I’m wondering if this is when we’ll see him again. It’ll be interesting to find out.   I’m still doing my walk to Mordor Challenge that I started in April last year. I’ve passed the gates of Moria.   I’m now back at work on Jewel of The Stars season 3, and am looking forward to getting it out in the world when I can.   Hard to believe there’s only one more episode of Discovery to talk about this season. We’ll be launching into Stargate Universe very soon. I’ve already recorded a couple of episodes. I hope you’ll all stick around for that. I’m looking forward to it.   But first, I’ll see you next week for the season finale of Star Trek Discovery.   Have a wonderful week. Live long and Prosper. Make it so.  

In Star Trek Discovery Season 3 Episode 3, Michael Burnham is reunited with the crew of the USS Discovery. Saru takes his place as the official captain, and they jump to Earth to see what has become of the Federation in this new century. But they don't receive the warm welcome they were hoping for. Time for some good old Starfleet diplomacy. And what's the deal with the mysterious Adira, a United Earth Defence Force inspector who is trying to sabotage the ship?   At the beginning of this episode, I acknowledge the passing of the great Sir Thomas Sean Connery, or Sean Connery as he was known to us.  ----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 40 of the podcast. Today, we’re talking about Star Trek Discovery season 3 episode 3. People of Earth.   But first, I want to acknowledge the passing of Sir Thomas Sean Connery, or as we more commonly know him, Sean Connery. I learned just last night that he had died at the age of 90. He brought a lot of joy into my life through his acting work, and I’ll always remember him as James Bond, Henry Jones Snr, and King Arthur from First Knight.   He remained married to his second wife, Michelin Roquebrune right up until the end, 45 years in total, which is an achievement worthy of respect among famous actors. He is also survived by his son Jason Connery.   But, you know, Sean Connery has a Star Trek connection. While he never appeared in Star Trek, he was originally cast as Sybok, Spock’s brother, in Star Trek V The Final Frontier. But he was unable to do it because he was busy with Indianna Jones and The Last Crusade, which honestly, was a much better movie in my opinion. But the mythical planet Sha-Ka Ree was named in Connery’s honour. Which I think is really nice.   So, I’d like to express my condolences to all of his loved ones, especially his wife and son.   So, back to Star Trek Discovery.   The description on Memory Alpha reads “Reunited with Burnham, Discovery heads to Earth to find out what has happened to the Federation in the last thousand years.”   This episode was written by Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt It was Directed by Jonathan Frakes And it first aired on the 29th of October 2020.   Make it so   The episode opens with a quick recap of what Michael has been up to during the last year, while she’s been searching for Discovery, indirectly waiting for them to show up. It’s a shame we didn’t really get to see any of her adventures with Book, but I’m sure there’ll be plenty of tie-in media that will be more than happy to fill this gap. She worked as a courier, travelling from world to world making deliveries for a tiny handful of Dilithium.   But the interesting thing is, it does this in the form of a log entry, aimed at Discovery. The voiceover makes it clear that even before the burn, Dilithium was becoming rare. And we get to see a glimpse of some 321st century Starfleet ships. They don’t look all that different to those we’ve seen from other centuries. We don’t see any of them up close, but the basic shape is present in both of them. Saucer section, secondary hull, warp nacelles.   Burnham didn’t give up everything for this version of the future and she’s determined to set things back to how they should be. She’s also searching for answers on what caused the burn.   And we see her hair change over time, visually confirming the passage of time. She seems to have built a very meaningful relationship with Book, although it seems it’s not romantic as such. And while I think they’d make a great couple, I’m cool with that. I like their friendship the way it is portrayed in this episode. Although It does feel like there’s some romantic tension between them.   But what would a log entry be without a stardate? In the first two seasons, they just kinda made up random stardates. None of it made any sense because to be true pre-TOS stardates, they’d have to be 3-digit numbers.   The stardate Michael quotes in this episode is 865211.3. This is a six digit stardate. Those in the 24th century, starting with TNG, were 5 digits. Now, I haven’t done the maths, but I imagine this stardate is correct, that they’ve calculated from the TNG system onwards the right number of years. I mean, it looks about right. So that’s pretty cool.   And then we cut to Michael’s arrival on Discovery in the transporter room. And we get a very emotional reunion between her and all of her family. It was wonderful to see. Once again, Sonequa Martin Green’s facial acting really gets across so much emotion. Anyway, I loved this. It was very well done, and it certainly made me feel. And there’s this look between Burhnham and Georgiou, who stands at the back of the room, unlike the others who crowd around Burnham for hugs. That’s not Georgiou’s style. Especially not the mirror Georgiou. But there’s a little moment there between them. Hard as it might be to believe, coming from the former Terran emperor, Georgiou genuinely feels something for Michael. She’s the closest thing she’ll ever get to her daughter, and this one is unlikely to betray her the way the mirror Burnham did.   Burnham and Saru have a nice scene, catching up as they walk through the ship. Burnham has promised Book some Dilithium for helping to rescue the Discovery. Saru is more than happy to honour the promise.   Nobody knows whether the burn was a natural disaster, or a deliberate attack. And that’s kind of worrying. Neither option is especially appealing. Either way, millions died.   During her year, Burnham received a transmission from an Admiral Senna Tal. He is waiting on Earth for anyone who still believes to join him. Burnham was never able to follow up on this lead because with Dilithium so rare, Earth was always out of reach. Now that she has access to a Spore drive, she can go there. Nobody on Discovery is gonna argue with that. They all want to find out what has become of the Federation.   Michel suggests they jump outside of Earth’s scanning range and pose a starship from this century that was stranded by the burn.   Again, It’s not clear to me why they can’t just be honest with Starfleet about being from the past. Why the deception? It seems unnecessary, especially if they want to earn the trust of present-day Starfleet.   But Georgiou approves of this plan. And I can understand why she would like it. Don’t give away more than you need to. That’s consistent with who she is.   Stamets is waiting for the order to prep for the jump, but he’s unsure whose orders he should be following, Saru’s or Michael’s. And Saru says “Oh yes, we are due for a conversation.” He wants to discuss with her who is going to be the next captain of the Discovery.   This is a weird hold-over from last season. Saru told Pike to not worry about who will be captain. They’d work that out later. But it seemed silly to me that there would even be a question. Saru was first officer. He’s next in line. Obviously he will be serving as Discovery’s captain. It’s not only logical, it’s well-earned. WE saw that last week. Saru has grown a lot in the last two seasons. He’s gone from the timid first officer questioning his every decision, and asking the computer for leadership advice, to the man that took charge last week.   Michael agrees. There’s no need for that conversation, Saru. It’s you. She agrees that chain of command discates it, and that Saru has proven himself. It seems she and I are on exactly the same page. Saru is captain in the truest sense of the word.   But for Michael, there’s more to it. She’s changed over the last year. She’s had to. She’ll say later in the episode that she had to leave some things behind in order to survive in this new hostile world. I  suspect she’s talking about more than just Starfleet protocol and military discipline. I think she’s had to compromise on some principles. Probably not any big ones, but some smaller ones. It’ll be interesting to learn more about this over time, as I’m sure we will. Anyway, it was a nice scene. I’m very happy with how that turned out.   Saru says this ship bears the name Discovery, and never has that been a more fitting or more prescient name. I agree with him, and I’m excited by the possibility that the ship will truly get to live up to her name this season. We certainly got some of that last season, but I think we’ll get even more this time.   And all of that was just the teaser. But we’ve come to expect long teasers in modern Star Trek. DS9 often did the same thing.   Discovery is undergoing repairs. We see a bunch of those repair droids from the opening credits. They’ve got a little memorial for those who died in the crash  (and probably also in the battle with Control). The insignia badges are all on display, in memory of those who wore them. I find it particularly confronting that some of those badges are cadet badges. Just kids.   Things have been so hectic, nobody has had time to grieve, and not just those who have died, but those they left behind.   I like that even though there was that big communal hugging scene earlier, that Miochael gets individual catch-up scenes with those that are closest to her, that being Tilly and Saru.   Tilly is coming to terms that her Mum is gone. Dead. For centuries. She never had a very good relationship with her, but … it was her mum. I often wonder how Tilly’s Mum reacted when she got that message from Tilly, saying she was going to the future.  I wonder how it made her feel. I wonder if she realised her shortcomings as a mother in that moment, the way she had failed Tilly. I wonder how that affected her, and if she ever truly recovered from the grief of that realisation, and knowing that she’d never have a chance to make it right? Or did she remain stone-hearted, and just accuse Tilly of being needy and selfish. We’ll probably never know. Tilly is hoping that there’ll be something on Earth that they recognise, after all this time. I love Michael’s line back to her that cake is eternal. That would make a good tshirt, but perhaps a little too obscure for many people to get.   Tilly points out that Michael seems lighter. And she’s not wrong. And I’m surprised to find myself saying that I’m liking this lighter Burnham. I don’t mean lighter in the Marvel sense of the word, that she’s all jokes now. No, it seems like a great weight has been lifted from Michael’s shoulders. And I like that. She’s had to let go of a lot of baggage in this new world. It’s been like a fresh start for her.The ultimate sea change. You know, I was invited by a friend to appear on his podcast recently. The Christian Geek Central podcast. We talked about the current state of Star Trek. And in that discussion, my friend, Paeter, said he wished that Michael’s return to grace hadn’t happened so abruptly at the end of season 1. Can you imagine how much more powerful this moment would be for the character if she hadn’t been forgiven her crime of mutiny and given back her commission? If she had remained a technical prisoner, serving her time on Discovery, rather than in jail, for the whole of season 2, but now found herself in a whole new world, where she could truly have a fresh start? A second chance. That could have been amazing. But it’s still really cool. Michael was a pretty up-tight person during those first two seasons. Now, she’s something different. And that’s some interesting character development. And it wouldn’t be as cool if we hadn’t had the uptight Burnham beforehand.   For some reason, Georgiu is the one who beams Book aboard. Oh, I get why she’s doing it, she wants to check him out, see who this guy that her daughter has been galavanting around with is, buit, surely somebody else was meant to be on duty in the transporter room. Book was expecting Detmer or Tilly. Which is weird because neither of them work in the transporter room.   Anyway, Discovery has a huge supply of Dilithium, by today’s standards. They cut off a little piece for Book. This is gonna make them a target. They can’t let it become too well known that they’re so stocked.   Michael wants Book to come to Earth with her.  IT could be a fresh start for him. And he’s interested, at least for a temporary expedition. He asks Michael what she gets out of it and she goes all awkward and coy. She can’t just say “You’re my friend and I’d miss you if we weren’t together.” I kinda wish she had. But instead, she says he can help them mask the dilithium. Which is quite true. His ship has a cloaking device.   Book has never been to earth, but in a sense, neither has Michael. Not this earth.   We should talk about Book’s ship. I like the interior. That’s really cool. But the exterior, well, that’s a bit weird. There are elements that I like about it, but the asymmetry of it really bothers me. I guess I just like things to be symmetrical. It’s a very odd shape.   Saru is now wearing his captain’s uniform. And it looks good on him. He was shocked that Michael never considered trying to take the captaincy herself. Which as I’ve explained is weird to me. I don’t see why anyone would think she had a claim to it. Yes, she and Saru both held the rank of Commander, but he was higher in the chain of command. Anyway, dead horse. Sorry. The point of this scene is that Michael has changed. Saru can see it, and Michael doesn’t deny it. I’m the same person. And I’m not. She had to adapt to this world. She did what she had to, to l;earn as much as she could.  Saru finds it hard to trust Book. He doesn’t know Book like Miachel does. But for Michael’s sake, he accepts the idea, with some logical security conditions.   Booker joins them on the bridge and they jump into the sol system, just past saturn.   As Discovery approaches Earth, a giant forcefield envelops the entire planet. This makes sense. First of all, because we are in the far future, and such a technology should reasonably exist. But secondly, because this is a harsher more dangerous time. The people of earth want to protect it. They probably still have a relative paradise down there. We’ll soon see that this is effectively the case.   Two ships arrive. United Earth Defense Force. Apparently, ships are not welcome in the vicinity of Earth. Not any ships. Not even one bearing a Starfleet registry.   We meet  Ndoye, a captain of the UE Defense Force.   Ndoye can find no mention of the discovery in her records, because of the classified nature of the ship. Saru tried to sell her on the story that they are a long-range ship returning from a very long classified scientific mission. They are the descendants of the original crew. Personally, I think that would be harder to swallow than time travel. But anyway.   NDoye can pinpoint Discovery to only the range of 23rd to 25th century, based on the metals used in the hull.   Ndoye’s security force beam aboard immediately. A bunch of people on all decks. Again, believable. Book has to pose as a Starfleet office so as to not attract attention. He hates wearing it, but Michael gets a kick out of it   Book compares wearing the uniform to a time he saveD Michael from a bog filled with leeches., This conversation is very reminiscent of one between Anakin and Obi-Wan in Star Wars Episode 2. But it gives the sense of a long history of shared adventures between these two. The scenes actually serve the exact same purpose in both stories.   This is yet another example of the Star-Warsey feel to this new setting. It should feel out of place. It maybe should even bother me. But you know, despite the star-wars esque dystopian setting, this season feels very very Star Trek. And that’s because of Discovery itself.   Imagine the Enterprise got pulled into the Star Wars universe, and continued to carry on it’s mission there. Imagine there was a show about that. The show would have a Star Wars setting, but it would still very much be a Star Trek show. That’s kinda how this feels. The crew of Discovery make this feel like Star Trek, even though the setting doesn’t.   Gergiou also needs to wear a uniform, and she picks an Admiral’s uniform. This is typical of her character and mildly amusing. But it is good to see a Discovery Admiral’s uniform again. I always liked their admiral uniform.   Georgiou makes some interesting observations, that Michael isn’t sure she fits in here anymore. She’s gotten used to not having to follow orders and be in a chain of command.   Earth has been re-built to be self-sufficient. So it’s still very much the Star Trek earth down there. Beautiful gardens. A world without poverty. But it’s under constant threat. People want what they have. They want their dilithium. And it’s made the people of earth paranoid and suspicious. Understandably so perhaps.   Right now, their greatest threat is a group of dilithium raiders led by a bloke named Wen. Ndoye tells them they won’t find what they’re looking for on Earth. Starfleet and the Federation haven’t been on Earth for a long time. Having Federation headquarters on earth would make it a target. Earth is no longer part of the federation. And that’s huge.   She says that Admiral Tal left earth years ago but died on his ship. That kinda sucks.   Adira gives the impression that she is in charge of those inspecting the  spore lab, and that she is really hard and grumpy. She’s only 16 years old. Not much older than my daughter. We’ll find there more to her than is apparent a little later.   But Wen’s raiders have arrived.  And something is interfering with the personal transporters used by the Earth Defense people. Ndoye claims this is sabotage by the Discovery Crew, something Saru immediately denies. So this is awkward. Seems they’re all stuck with each other.   Book’s disappointment when he realises that the Discovery only has synthehol is amusing. But this is actually a canon violation. Synthehol was a 24th century invention. Scotty, in his retirement years, had never heard of it until he found himself in the future on board the Enterprise D. Discovery should not have synthohol and Michael should have no idea what it is.   Stammets and Tilly quickly realise that the sabotage was Adira’s doing. She has trapped her people on the Discovery, but it seems she was working alone. The show seems to be setting her up as a villain. Perhaps working with Wen.   Michael has a plan. She and Book leave Discovery in Book’s ship without asking Saru’s permission.   Book observes that these raiders are not in good shape. We get more talk of past adventures, and more and more, I’m wanting to experience some of those stories. Michael appears to be offering to give her dilithium.   Saru is determined to protect Book’s ship. Ndoye won’t allow the dilithium to fall into Wen’s hands. So he says Discovery will take the hit. This is a very risky move. These are 32nd century weapons being fired. By all logic, they could slice through a 23rd century ship like it wasn’t even there. Detmer is very hesitant, to the point of almost being insubordinate. But she eventually obeys. I’m sure this is tied into her weird head condition last week. A lot of people are speculating that Detmer has PTSD, rather than a physical ailment. And the evidence seems to be pointing toward this. This is interesting, because I feel like we were cheating out of the promised exploration of PTSD with Tyler when he turned out to be Voq.   Anyway, I’m kinda with Detmer on this. Taking the hit from these advanced weapons is a terrible idea. In reality. Discovery should have been destroyed. But then there’d be no show anymore. Their shields are completely depleted by the shot, but the ship itself is undamaged. Yeah right. As if. But, they can’t take another hit.   The plan is simple. Get the enemy to lower their shields to accept the dilithium, and then beam their captain aboard as prisoner. It works easier than it probably should have, but that’s ok.   And this is where we get really Star Trek. Saru and Micahel want to get Ndoye and Wen to talk to each other.    This is where we start to understand how Earth’s isolation has affected others in the galaxy. Wen says that Earth hordes all the dilithium while the rest suffer. They don’t even use their supply because they don’t leave their planet.   Gerogiou is getting bored with the slowness of diplomacy, so she pulls off what is apparently a mask and we see that Wen is human. Not only that, he was played by Christohper Heyerdahl. He played Todd the wraith on Stargate Atlantis, not to mention two separate roles in Sanctuary. He’s the type of actor that regularly plays multiple roles, both in and out of prosthetics. Anyway, it’s cool to see him.   Ndoye is shocked to learn Wen is human. This is classic Star Trek. Look past the monster to see the humanity beneath. Talk to your enemies .   Wen and his people are not typical raiders. Their home on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn are barely livable. They’re just a group of desperate people trying to survive. Titan is no longer self sufficient. It was an accident that destroyed much of their colony. The first ship they sent for help to Earth, their home planet was shot and destroyed. Wen’s people realised then, they were alone. Earth has had to protect themselves, but they’re become so paranoid that they’ve lost all their compassion for others. They’ve forgotten what it means to be human, in the Star Trek sense of the word. The negotiations are not difficult, once they start listening to each other, but it took Saru and Michael to make it happen. These people aren’t used to solving problems with diplomacy.   Stamets finds Adira messing about in the jefferies tubes. He puts together that she is curious about their technology but may not be a significant threat. He tells the truth about everything. The spore dive. Even them being from the past.  Adira became an inspector in the hopes of someday finding a Federation starship. The sabotage was to have more time to spend on Discovery. She wants to join the crew. It seems Adira is one of those true believers Book talked about, and she claims to know Admiral Senna Tal.   The crew of Discovery have now been granted permission to visit Earth. Ndoye gives Adira permission to leave Earth and join the crew of Discovery.   Adira says he is Admiral Tal. At first, I thought this just meant that Admiral Tal was a fabrtication by a tennager who dreamed of starfleet. But no, it’s way more than that. It turns out that although human, Adira is host to a Trill Symbiont. Burnham didn’t know about them until she met some working at the exchanges.. They were known in the 23rd century. Emony Dax travelled to Earth to judge a gymnastic contest, where she met a young Leonard McCoy. But they were possibly not a well known or understood species to their Federation at the time.   So how does all work? Can a human be host to a Trill Symbiont? Well, there is precedent for that. When we first met them,, in The Next Generation, Riker once served as host to a symbiont. Very little had been established about the species at that time. But Adira is having trouble accessing Tal’s memories, being human. I like this. It shows it is possible but problematic. Of course, Riker didn’t seem to have any problems with his symbiont, but there was a lot that wasn't properly established in that episode. In fact, a lot about the trill changed when they were brought back for Deep Space Nine, including their appearance. This was all because Terry Farrel was an attractive Woman, and they didn’t want to cover her face with prosthetic and lose her beauty. So they said, we’ll, let’s just give them spots, then. This should bother the heck out of me. The reason it kinda doesn’t is that I never saw that TNG episode until years later. I actually thought that Emissary was the first appearance of Trill for a long time. So from my perspective, DS9 was correct and that TNG episode was wrong, best forgotten.   Saru mentions that Trill hosts can access the memories of their former hosts. What he doesn’t mention is that the symbiont also has a personality of its own, and that personality blends with the host, as well as the memories of former hosts, to create a new individual. I can understand them simplifying things for the sake of this conversation. I just hope the writers fully appreciate how this species works.   While Saru and Michael are talking, Saru is taking out Captain Georgiou’s old telescope. They don’t mention it at all. It’s just there., Kinda weird. I mean, it was a nice callback, but it seems a bit of a pointless inclusion.   Michael admits she should have told Saru her plan. She’s been out of Starfleet for a year. She’s not used to working in a team like this. Michael let go of a lot of things during this year, and it’s gonna take her time to pick them back up again. If she can. But Saru trusts her to grow through this change.   Michael accepts the post as first officer of the Discovery. Notice that Saru is kind of our very first alien captain. I know there have been alien captains in Star Trek before, but not regular characters, not on the title ship of the show. So that’s significant. Michael has an emotional goodbye with Book. IT seems he’s not staying indefinitely. He’s going back on his ship to live out his normal life. But I’m sure this is not the last  we’ve seen of him.   We end with a heartwarming scene of several crewmembers down on Earth. They find a tree at Starfleet academy. A tree that still exists from their century. It’s gotta be over a thousand years old. This is the recognisable thing that Tilly was hoping for. It’s a nice little moment.   Our final shot is a nice pull back over San Francisco, as the Star Trek fanfare plays. This season definitely feels the most Star Trek of anything we’ve been given in the Kurtzman era of Star Trek so far. That’s not a knock against Discovery seasons 1 and 2, or Picard. I liked all of them. But this feels more Star Treky. Personally, I don’t mind the way they mixed things up previously. I can appreciate both. But I think a lot of people will be saying “Finally, this is proper Star Trek.” Anyway, I continue to enjoy what is feeling like a strong season.   Next week’s episode is called Forget Me Not. Discovery will continue their search for Starfleet headquarters by trying to access Tal’s memories. (and yes, I’m assuming Tal is the name of the symbiont, which would make the current host Adira Tal.)   The good thing about being in the far future is that we get to have some references to 24th century Trek. And I’m very pleased to notice that a lot of it is DS9 stuff. That’s good, because I’ve been wanting some more love to be given to DS9. All I need now is the appearance of a beloved character like we’ve had from TOS, TNG, and Voyager. I actually think there’s a good chance this will happen next week, in a roundabout way, but I’ll save that for the next episode.   Have a great week. Live long and prosper. Make it so.  

After a long wait, Star Trek Discovery is back. Michael Burnham has succeeded in saving the universe, but she now has to face the fact that the lift she knew is gone forever, and her friends aboard Discovery are nowhere to be found. Worse than that, she learns that the Federation is all but gone in this distant future. What's a Starfleet officer to do? It turns out, this new century might need Michael just as much as the previous one did.  This is a good solid episode that opens the new season and promises an interesting and satisfying story. So let's geek out about it. -- Find my books at books2read.com/jewel books2read.com/jewel2 ------more---- Transacript Welcome to Nerd Heaven. I’m Adam David Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars. And I am a nerd.   This is episode 38 of the podcast.   Today, we launch into something new and exciting. We’re covering the first episode of Star Trek Discovery season 3, and we’ll be doing weekly review analysis on each episode until the season is done.   And welcome to my new timeslot. Back when I was covering Star Trek Picard season 1, I’d watch the episode Friday night, then watch it again Saturday morning, taking notes and scripting the podcast. Then I’d record, edit and publish by Saturday afternoon. It got pretty intense. This time, I plan to pace myself a little. I’ll be posted on Mondays, Australian time zone. Probably Monday morning. That just allows me a bit more time to get the episode together and get some other things done on the weekend.   Today’’s episode is called That Hope is You. Part 1. The description on Memory Alpha reads Burnham navigates a strange, new galaxy, 930 years in her future, looking for the rest of the Discovery crew. (Season premiere)   The episode was Written by Michelle Paradise, Jenny Lumet, & Alex Kurtzman It was Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi And it first aired on the 15th of October 2020   Make it so.   The end of season 2 was a big game changer, liquifying the status quo of the series. Michael Burnhan and the USS Discovery flew into a wormhole taking them into the distant future. Further into Star Trek’s future than we’ve ever seen before. And that was an exciting prospect. So now, finally, we get to see what kind of world they emerge into. This gives the writers of the show the opportunity they’ve wanted all along, to create something brand new. To establish a completely unexplored era in the Star Trek universe. They must have had so much fun brainstorming ideas.  Honestly, Star Trek Discovery should never have been set in the pre-Kirk 23rd century, given the kind of creative freedom they wanted. The writers finally realised this and used the second half of season 2 to set up this change.   So … the very first scene shows us a bird, with a digital clock projected on its side. Okay. That’s different. Evidently, this is some kind of futuristic alarm clock projecting a hologram. I kinda like it. I’d wake up to that.   We see a man wake up and leave his bed, which dissolves into a liquid state and disappear. The whole structure seems to be constructed from nanites. It’s very cool on screen. He cleans his teeth, and a desk and chair are created by the same nanite technology as his bed. The process repeats, giving us a sense that this man’s life is very very routine and predictable. He’s searching for signals, and he carries a case that bears a Starfleet logo (Oddly, it’s the early 23rd century logo with the split delta.)   When The Next Generation first came out, they designed a whole new aesthetic for the technology. We got the beloved Okudagrams, often referred to as LCARS, although technically, LCARS is the library computer access retrieval system. Anyway, we all love that look.   But for the 32nd century, they needed to similarly re-define the visual look of the Star Trek Universe. This nanite-based technology is both visually interesting and logical. It’s a believable extension from the replication and hologram technologies.We’ve heard the term “Particle Synthesis” from time to time in Star Trek. Arturis used it to fool the crew of Voyager into thinking his ship was Starfleet. Species 8472 also used it to re-created Starfleet Academy in the Delta Quadrant. I can’t help but wonder, is this an advanced form of particle synthesis? The name seems to fit what we see on screen. Later, we’ll see a control panel on a ship. Instead of okudagrams on a touch screen, we’ll see this same nanite technology creating displays and controls. So for the most part, it seems this has replaced the holographic controls we saw in Star Trek Picard. This technology actually reminds me of the Kryptronian technology in Man of Steel. That was kinda similar and also very cool. Anyway, you could argue that this doesn’t look like Star Trek, but honestly, it shouldn’t. We’re almost a thousand years beyond the world Burnham left, so I think they’ve done a great job. I like it.   Then we cut to a space battle in orbit of an M-class planet. A spinning ship, maybe inspired by the jelly-fish ship in Star Trek 2009, is pursuing a character we’ll come to know as Cleavland Booker, or Book for short. It seems Book has stolen something from this rather ugly alien. I don’t recognise his species. But whatever it was, the aliens had stolen it first. Then the wormhole opens and Burnham emerges, in the red angle suit. No sign of Discovery yet. So is this planet Terralesium? That’s where Michael was expecting to emerge. I like the little shot of the CG bugs. I always enjoy seeing alien animals . Michael bounces off Book’s ship, causing them both to crash on this planet. A shield in the suit protects michael. The suit disengages from her, looking way too advanced for 23rd century tech, as always. She can’t reach Discovery on her communicator. The suit tells her she’s in the year 3188. She asks the computer if there are any signs of life. Her face holds so much emotion in that moment before it answers. Imagine if she’d failed. And finds herself alone, the only living being in a universe devoid of all sentient life. That was basically her mother’s life. But the computer confirms. There are multiple life signs on this planet. And she gives this great scream of relief, and victory. It’s a powerful performance from Senqua Martin-Green. It really makes me feel her emotions. She did it! She saved the universe!. Now, technically, she should already know she was successful. She emerged in the middle of a space battle between two ships. She knows someone is here, although, I guess those ships could have been AI controlled. In any case, I forgive it because it’s a wonderful moment. The wormhole is closing, so she has to send the final red signal back through it, letting Spock and Pike know that she arrived safely and successfully. The red angel suit flies off, on its last mission. The signal is sent and the suit explodes. This is important because it means Michael no longer has any way of getting back to the 23rd century. Her life, her entire world is gone. She’ll never see it again. And we get another beautiful outpouring of emotion. Before she can explore, let alone embrace, her new world, she needs to take a moment to mourn the loss of the old one. It’s really great stuff.   All she has is her badge, a tricorder, phaser and ration pack. She clings to the one other thing she has. Her identity as a Starfleet officer. She doesn’t yet know just how meaningful and significant that will be.   Now we have a new opening titles to discuss. There are no major changes. I suspected they might do a new arrangement of the music, to make it feel less connected to TOS, but the score is unchanged. As with season 2, some of the visuals have changed to reflect what is happening this season. The first big difference we notice is a huge collection of DOT-7 robots. Those were the things that popped out of the Enterprise Hull last season during the battle. Basically repair droids. Like R2D2. I Wasn’t a fan of this. Oh, they’re cool, but they felt out of place in Star Trek. That’s more of a Star Wars idea. It felt like they were trying a bit too hard there. Anyway, no idea what they’re showing up here. I guess they’ll have some significance this season. This captain’s chair from the Enterprise bridge is still present, which surprises me. I’d have thought that no longer relevant. Then we see a phaser. As usual, it pulls apart, but as it goes back together, it forms into a futuristic, possibly alien sidearm like we’ve never seen before. This shot makes the most sense it ever has. Then we see Book’s ship (I think). It doesn’t follow the traditional Starfleet  design at all. No visible nacelles. But it’s constantly changing shape, like it has moving parts Reminds me of a transformer, actually. I don’t yet have a good sense of this ship. We see the new oval-shaped com badge. That won’t appear in this episode. And then the three badges on the transporter pad meld into the new shape.   We get some beautiful vistas of this alien planet. They went and shot on location in Iceland for this. I love that. It makes such a difference. We occasionally got location shoots on Star Trek TV shows in the 90s, even in TOS, but I don’t think they ever went to another country just to film. That’s more of a movie-budget thing. Just another sign of the investment they’re making in this show. You can’t deny that CBS takes Star Trek very seriously at the moment.  Anyway, it makes me want to go to Iceland, because this planet is both beautiful and exotic. Michael has found Book’s ship. And it can turn invisible. Is this just a cloaking device, or some relation to the particle synthesis tech?  Watching this episode the second time, I’m picking up on a lot of foreshadowing of Book’s true nature that I didn’t notice the first time. Book thinks Michael is here to take his cargo. But he’s fiercely protecting it. It doesn’t belong to her. She tries to explain herself to him but he’s not interested in what she has to say. They get into a bit of a fist fight. Nicely done action. But the fight ends when she pulls her antique phaser.   This is where we get our first hint related to the new nature of the universe. Book questions the wisdom of ripping space apart, to create artificial wormholes. He says  “It wasn’t enough for you and the Gorn to destroy 2 light-years worth of subspace?” But ‘you’ I assume he means Starfleet. So something has happened to subspace, and it appears that both STarfleet and the Gorn were somehow responsible. We’ll talk more about this in a little bit.   When Michael asks if this is Teralysium, he says, it’s “Hima.” So, is that just a new name for Teralysium, or a different planet? From evidence so far, I think it’s a different planet. But right now, Michael doesn’t know what sector, even what quadrant she’s in. I assume she’s somewhere in the alpha quadrant because of the races we meet here. Andorians, Orions, Tellarites, Lurians, and of course, humans.   Anyway, she makes an impassioned plea. I’m all alone in the universe. I have to trust someone, and for better or worse, that’s you.   We get a look at the interior of this ship. We see the particle control panels. Michael is as taken by them as I am.   The dilithium re-crystaliser on his ship was damaged during impact. He can’t fly using quantum slipstream (another technology that Voyager toyed with on their quest to get home) without Benamite, which is apparently very rare. Tachyon solar cells are too slow. It seems there are a bunch of methods of interstellar travel in this time, but not many of them will work, due to lack of resources. What Book needs is dilithium for his warp drive. By now we can already tell this is not the super-advanced utopia we’ve glimpsed in the 29th century, nor the time-travel-obsessed 31st century. This is a time of shortage and challenge.   And that’s when we meet Grudge, the cut. She’s sure to become a fan favourite. Michael points out she’s a very large cat. And Book replies that she has a thyroid condition. This is kinda weird. My wife tells me Grudge is a Mancoon, which are naturally a very large breed of cat. So …. What put this thyroid line in there. I wonder if that’s going to become significant at some point during the season.   Michael hopes she can trade her antique equipment for dilithium. If she helps him get off the planet, maybe he’ll help her try to contact Discovery.   Then some more gorgeous location shots of a waterfall and moss-encrusted rocks. So good.   Time for some exposition, so Michael, and the viewers, can learn a little about the state of the galaxy. We learn that the Federation is gone, which is shocking news to Michael. How can the Federation be gone? What is the Star Trek universe without the Federation? Apparently, there are some true believers out there that still believe in its ideals. But not Book. He’s a courier. Out for himself. At this point in the episode, he seems like a bit of a Han Solo type. But we may challenge that assumption later on.   Book doesn’t know all the details, but the Federation collapsed a long time ago, after the burn. The burn was the day the galaxy took a hard left. Everyone has been doing a lot of speculating, since this line was revealed in the trailer. The most popular theory, by far, is that it was caused by an explosion of Omega Particles. Omega PArticles disrupt subspace. If one goes off, a large area around it will become so damaged that warp drive is impossible in that region. Fans surmised that omega explosions have made warp drive impossible, in this time. So everyone is cut off from everyone else. This made a lot of sense, and explained why Discovery’s spore drive would come in so handy.   What Book says is “Dilithium. One day most of it just went boom. Dilithium is the heart of every warp-capable ship The Federation weren’t sure what happened or why,but after a while they just weren’t around anymore.   So what we’re seeing doesn’t quite seem to fit the omega particle theory. Warp drive is still possible, and we’ll see it used later this episode. The problem is that Dilithium is very very rare (but not so rare that Book can’t get his hands on some before the episode is done.) But he did mention damage to subspace in a 2-lightyear radius. And THAT sounds like omega. We’ll also learn later that people in this region of space cannot scan very far out.   This all seems a bit muddy at the moment. We don’t get a full picture of what the real state of things is in this episode. But I’m starting to worry that they’ve taken the concept of the omega particle, but complicated it way more than was necessary. Kind alike what they did with Voq in season 1. The idea of surgically altering someone to look like another species is a very common Star Trek Trop, as far back as the original series. But the show complicated the whole thing with Voq so much that to this day, fans are still trying to get their heads around exactly what happened. They made it more complex than it needed to be.   Hopefully this won’t be a similar thing.   Sonequa is doing a lot of really good face acting in this episode. She portrays so much emotion without saying a word. It’s awesome.   They arrive at a city. A massive city. When they try to enter the mercantile, some kind of market, they scan Book and Michael. IT seems everyone in this time has some kind of technology embedded in their forearm. Reminds me a lot of the omni-tool in Mass Effect, actually. Because Michael isn’t from this time, she doesn’t have one, so they won’t let her in. I guess it’s like trying to enter a country without a passport, or trying to get a job without a social security number, or as we have in Australia, a Tax File Number.   But whoever runs this place is convinced that what Michael carries could be valuable.   Michael sees people using a site-to-site transporter, or as she calls it, a portable transporter. This technology existed, but was rare in the time of Voyager. It’ll be just like a toothbrush in this time.   And that’s when Book betrays Michael. He frames her as a bank robber and steals her equipment. Seems he’ll need more than just the tricorder to afford the dilithium he needs.   The Andorian and Orion security officers drug Michael to make her talk. It really does feel like the wild west out here. It’s funny, but the current creative team behind Star Trek really do want to make Star Trek feel more wild west. Emphasis on the wild. Star Trek Picard took us out of the safe comfortable Federation worlds into dingy places where morals were lower and danger lurked around every corner. Places where the peace is kept by Fenris Rangers because there’s nobody else to do it. It all felt a bit more Star Wars-ish to me. That’s feeling like a trend.   Anyway, it makes a lot more sense here, because a world without the Federation or Starfleet is basically gonna be like the wild west of Star Wars.   Michael’s reaction to the drug is mildly amusing. I do love the line when she says “I have a friend with red hair. You cannot give this to her.” It’s funny. This drug basically turns Michael into Tilly. So imagine what it would turn Tilly into.   The new round phasers are kinda cool. Michael certainly likes them, her appreciation enhanced in her drugged state.  As much as I don’t endorse the use of drugs in any way, it’s kind of nice to see a more playful side of Burnham. She’s really letting her hair down, so to speak. I’m realising now, just how much of her vulcan conditioning she still clings to most of the time.   In the end, Michael has to steal the dilithium because Book can’t buy it. And then we learn that Book has a site-to-site transporter. And so begins a game of cat and mouse and they beam away, and are quickly followed by the guards, only to beam somewhere else again. It’s a great way to show off more of this wonderful location. And we notice that not all the guards are Andorian and Orion. There’s a Lurian among them. You know, one of Morn’s mates. The lurian is bald, just like Morn, which is interesting, because we learned, in Deep Space Nine, that most Lurians have hair. Morn lost all of his because he was storing liquid latinum in his second stomach. I think this is a case of “it would be more correct for this lurian to have hair, but who wants to see that? We want to see the familiar bald look because it gives us nostalgia for Deep Space Nine, and Morn in particular. So I’m okay with it. Afterall, who says other Lurians can’t lose their hair? There are plenty of bald humans in the world.   Then we’re introduced to Book’s super power. He speaks in an alien language, that sounds somewhat like Hebrew, a glyph glows on his forehead, and a plant grows out of the water. The plant produces a substance that can heal Michael’s wounds. Book says that what he was doing was “something like” praying. He seems to have a connection to nature. We’ll see him use it to command an animal later on.   Book has figured out that Michael is a time traveller. He doesn’t know how she got her hands on what brought her here, but we learn that all temporal technology was destroyed and outlawed after the temporal wars. Nice to get some closure of that temporal cold war thing from Enterprise. Because we are further forward into the future than the time Agent Daniels came from. This is important because if time-travel was still prevalent, then our heroes could return home. But this was always meant to be a one-way trip for the sake of the story.   They get back to the ship but the guards have tracked them down again. When the Andorian says “What good is a courier who lets his cargo get stolen” and the dodgy bloke says “I’m the best runner in the galaxy”, it sounded very reminiscent of Han Solo. But then he gets shot. These guards want Book’s cargo. Book relenets and opens his cargo hold. There’s an animal in the3re. A giant slug thing, When they let it out, it eats the guards. What exactly were they thinking? Why would you come here to take possession of a dangerous animal, but have no way to contain it? Anyway, after eating the guards, it swallows Michael. But Book uses his magic powers again and convinces the slug, which he calls Molly, to vomit her back out.   I don’t really have any opinion on Book’s powers yet, because I just don’t know enough about them. Anway, Molly seems very friendly now.   So they’re now flying through space at warp speed. We’ve come to realise the truth of Book’s mission. He’s not just a courier. He’s an environmentalist. He’s rescuing these animals, endangered species, and returning them to their homeworld.   I like the red trees on the transworm planet. It’s a simple thing but it makes a place look suitably alien.   Now that his job is done, Book knows somebody who might be able to help Michael find her ship. He takes her to see that guy from the very beginning of the episode. Remember him? He lives on an old Federation relay station. The guy’s name is Sahil.  Michael is excited to meet him, but he’s in awe to meet her. He can’t find Discovery. But we learn there are two Federation ships out there. So not all is completely gone. But Sahil can’t scan beyond several sectors. Long range sensors failed decades ago. On first viewing, I thought this was a widespread problem in the universe, but now, I Think it’s just because the long range sensors on this space station are damaged. So maybe this is not related to the burn after all. But he says he imagines it is the same for all others, so who knows. It seems Discovery either landed somewhere a long way away, or it hasn’t arrived yet. IT could arrive tomorrow, or in a thousand years.   Sahil explains that he’s not a commissioned officer. Several generations of his family have run this facility, but when Sahil took over, there was nobody left to swear him in. But what about the two other ships out there? Couldn't he ask them? Anyway, for 40 years, he’s been waiting for a genuine Starfleet office to come. Michael is that hope. Sahil doesn't know how much of the federation still exists, but he does his own little part to keep the dream of it alive. And that’s when Michael hangs the flag for him. Only a commissioned officer may raise it. This episode seems to be using the terms Federation and Starfleet interchangeably. But they’re not the same thing. Very closely related, of course, but Starfleet and The Federation are two distinct things. The  Federation is a political alliance of worlds. Starfleet is their scientific, exploration and military service.   So, while she hasn’t yet found her friends, Michael has a new purpose. She commissions Sahil. Together, they will seek out others and help to rebuild the dream of the Federation.   So let’s examine this new world we find ourselves in. The utopia of the Federation is gone. In its place we now have a somewhat dystopian future. It seems they like to do that a lot. Discovery Season 1 plunged us into war with the Klingons. Our characters had to fight to get their utopia back. Then Picard season 1 turned Starfleert somewhat dystopian by having them be corrupt, due to certain influences. And now Discovery season 3 and yet again given us a Star Trek dystopia. It’s starting to feel like alex Kurtzman and his team really like dystopia, and are not actually that enamoured with the traditional utopian view of Star Trek. Deep Space Nine actually pushed back against the utopia a bit, and in my opinion did it more effectively than anything else has since. There are those out there who are not fans of this trend. I can understand that. I’m not particularly bothered, but I’m definitely noticing a trend. One question people like to ask is “What would Gene Roddenberry think? I’m convinced he wouldn’t have liked Star Trek Picard. He was always against Starfleet being portrayed in a negative light. I believe he didn’t even like what they did in Star Trek VI. But you know what, I suspect he’d have liked this. Why? Because of another show he created called Andromeda. It followed a similar plot to this. An officer from a great utopian alliance was thrust into the future where his government no longer existed. He strove to re-build it. And that’s the essence of what we’re seeing here. A determination to re-build the ideals of the Federation. There’s a whole lot of optimism to it.   And that concludes the first episode of season 3. I enjoyed it. There’s a lot we still don’t know. But I’m excited that our heroes have a whole new Star Trek universe to explore, and I’m looking forward to exploring it with them. I suspect this is going to be a good season. It’s the first one that has been produced without massive disruption behind the scenes in the writers’ room, so that alone is promising.   I like Book. He’s a cool character and I’m looking forward to seeing his arc across the season.   Don’t forget, I have a book series out called Jewel of The Stars. It follows the passengers and crew of a cruise ship in space, boldly travelling through unexplored space, after Earth fell to an alien occupation. Just like the crew of Discovery, they’re all on their own. You can read the first book completely free on Wattpad, or get it wherever eBooks are sold for 99 cents. It’s also in paperback. I’m working on edits to book 3, but I’ve been a bit delayed because my day job has really been kicking my butt lately. But hopefully that’s mostly over, and I can get on with life again.   I’ll see you again next week, when we discuss the second episode of Discovery season 3, which strangely enough, is not called That Hope is You Part 2, it’s called Far From Home. Catch you then. Live long and prosper. Make it so.

Would you believe it? Another week, and another new episode of the It's Got Star Trek podcast! In this new entry to our rapidly-expanding library of insightful, irreverent (and ultimately irrelevant) audio recordings, your hosts discuss the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, 'The Vulcan Hello' and 'Battle at the Binary Stars.' There will be praise, there will be frustration, and, most importantly, there will be references to the Klingon blood scientist from Enterprise. Oh, before you ask, yes we will be covering the third episode, "Context is for Kings," next week since that is essentially a second pilot for the series. Note that this episode was not sponsored by Siggi's Icelandic-style Triple Cream Vanilla skyr yogurt, no matter what you think you might have heard. Subscribe to the It's Got Star Trek Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, or whichever clever podcast app you are most fond of. Note that this and all episodes of the It's Got Star Trek podcast contain explicit language and, frankly, an unnecessary amount of offensive content, so the show is intended only for adults and really really cool kids. Please utilize one of the following options if you have an interest in contacting your hosts: Email us at feedback@itsgotstartrek.com Twitter us @ItsGotStarTrek Instagramaphone us @ItsGotStarTrek Facebookify us @ItsGotStarTrek Telephone us at 202-456-1414 You can also visit www.itsgotstartrek.com and leave a comment or head on over to the It's Got Everything subreddit to join the discussion. Don't say we didn't give you options here!

The Rise, Fall, and Rise of L'Rell. From humble beginnings as a follower of T'Kuvma, L'Rell comes to support Voq, the Torchbearer, with whom she develops a relationship that proves beneficial. But when Kol uses her to captain a ship in his fleet—only to find that she has conspired with Admiral Cornwell—the trust she has earned is lost. Then, with hope seemingly gone, a hydro bomb lands in her lap—compliments of the Federation. With the power to destroy Qo'nos now in her hands, L'Rell rises again, ascending to the role of Chancellor—or Mother—of the Klingon Empire. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin discuss L'Rell's journey from follower to leader. What are her motivations? Do they change throughout the first two seasons? Was she really a believer of T'Kuvma's teaching? Is she searching for unlimited power over her people? Does she truly want to unite the Klingon houses as one family? Yeah, we have a lot of questions … and maybe a few answers. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Follower of T'Kuvma (00:08:41) Was L'Rell a True Believer (00:17:40) Turning on Voq (00:24:36) Arrested on Discovery (00:32:06) L'Rell with the Bomb (00:36:34) The Baby (00:55:45) Final Thoughts (00:59:38) Closing (01:04:38) Hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin Production Patrick Devlin (Editor) Amy Nelson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Lisa Slack (Associate Producer) Tom Puleo (Associate Producer) Shoaib Mirza (Associate Producer) Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer) James Muldrow (Associate Producer) Cornelia Reutner (Associate Producer) Ryan Maillet (Associate Producer) Chris Tribuzio (Associate Producer) Brian Meloche (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art)

A Star Trek: Discovery hatodik része alapján keletkező válogatott konteók szemléje. Felmerül Cornwell admirális esetleges kapcsolata az eredeti sorozattal, még mindig nem tudjuk, hogy hol van Voq (ezért további elméleteket veszünk számításba), de az is eszünkbe jut, hogy egy harmadik fél kezében találkoznak a vulkáni és a klingon szálak. Emellett Sarek eddig ismert gyermekei is felkeltik a rajongói érdeklődést: a legelképesztőbb konspirációk közül válogattunk.

This week, we're in disagreement! Regardless, we talk plot, story, and character progression, theories, favorite quotes, trivia, and some Borg-related listener feedback!CBS ALL ACCESS SUMMARY:A fourth signal leads the USS Discovery to an insular world, where Pike is forced to make a life-changing choice. Burnham and Spock investigate a Section 31 ship gone rogue, leading to a discovery with catastrophic consequences.Star Trek Universe Podcast #041 - 'Star Trek: Discovery' 2x12 - "Through the Valley of Shadows" Review

Por fin Jesús y Andreu nos abren su mente a Discovery y nos explican sus sensaciones con la última serie de Star Trek, sus personajes, su estética, primera y segunda temporada. Pero, ¿estamos seguros que son ellos y no los titulares de Star Trek Replay en el Universo Espejo? Algo de esto puede haber porque Jesús cree, equivocadamente, que el 'nuevo' Hugh viene del Universo Espejo, cuando es el mismo que mató Tyler, o fue Voq, y que quedó vagando por la dimensión de las esporas. Por su parte Andreu cree que Michael desaparecerá con la serie. Ya, y Picard será director de la Academia, sí. Si apostara algo, rápido le veríamos vestido como Riker en Angel One. Aunque, ¿hay alguna teoria más loca que Picard sea el ángel rojo? ¡Insuperable! En cuanto al episodio de esta semana, 'Coming of Age', algo que por lo que se ve todavía no han pasado nuestros presentadores, es un buen episodio de Wesley, aunque esta afirmación sea una paradoja en sí misma. El episodio también nos muestra una tripulación fiel a su capitán y nos prepara para los eventos del penúltimo episodio de la temporada. Así que ya falta poco para que la USS Replay atraque en Risa para unas merecidas vacaciones de verano.

Por fin Jesús y Andreu nos abren su mente a Discovery y nos explican sus sensaciones con la última serie de Star Trek, sus personajes, su estética, primera y segunda temporada. Pero, ¿estamos seguros que son ellos y no los titulares de Star Trek Replay en el Universo Espejo? Algo de esto puede haber porque Jesús cree, equivocadamente, que el 'nuevo' Hugh viene del Universo Espejo, cuando es el mismo que mató Tyler, o fue Voq, y que quedó vagando por la dimensión de las esporas. Por su parte Andreu cree que Michael desaparecerá con la serie. Ya, y Picard será director de la Academia, sí. Si apostara algo, rápido le veríamos vestido como Riker en Angel One. Aunque, ¿hay alguna teoria más loca que Picard sea el ángel rojo? ¡Insuperable! En cuanto al episodio de esta semana, 'Coming of Age', algo que por lo que se ve todavía no han pasado nuestros presentadores, es un buen episodio de Wesley, aunque esta afirmación sea una paradoja en sí misma. El episodio también nos muestra una tripulación fiel a su capitán y nos prepara para los eventos del penúltimo episodio de la temporada. Así que ya falta poco para que la USS Replay atraque en Risa para unas merecidas vacaciones de verano.

We're following Michael and Spock back to a familiar place with a new spin: Talos IV, the setting of the original Star Trek pilot! Listen in as we discuss the updated aesthetic, our first real look at Ethan Peck's Spock, more Red Angel theories, favorite quotes, trivia, and an impromptu, spoiler-filled discussion of 'Captain Marvel'! Summary courtesy of CBS All Access:Spock and Burnham head to Talos IV, where the process of healing Spock forces the siblings to confront their troubled past. Stamets desperately tries to reconnect with an increasingly disconnected Hugh, while Tyler struggles to shed the crew’s suspicions of him due to his past as Voq.Star Trek Universe Podcast #037 - 'Star Trek: Discovery' 2x08 - "If Memory Serves" Review

Star Trek Discovery Staffel 2 läuft sich warm und bringt dieses mal, in Folge 3 "Lichtpunkt", drei Stränge voran. Michael setzt sich mit ihrer Familie auseinander, Tilly mit ihrer Ausbildung und ihrer freundin May und das Klingonische Reich ist gespalten, worum L'rel und Voq bzw. Ash Tylor kämpfen. Was unser eindruck dieser Folge war, hört ihr in diesem Podcast. Memory-Alpha: Star Trek Discovery - S02 E03 - Lichtpunkt

In which Joe and Jason both gradually convince each other that Star Trek Discovery is picking up the unresolved thread of the Temporal Cold War from Star Trek: Enterprise.   The Discovery encounters a time rift above Kaminar, so Captain Pike and our man Voq decide to fly into it. This yields mixed results. They don't die, but they are attacked by a Sentinel from 1999's The Matrix. Burnham misses it all because she's home on Vulcan in the middle of some serious family drama, where Amanda has been secretly hiding Spock for God knows how long. Sarek tells Burnham to turn him into Section 31, but Emperor Georgiou says that's a bad move and helps her escape. So instead, they set course for to Talos IV.    Directed by Marta Cunningham, and written by Ted Sullivan and Vaun Wilmott, "Light and Shadows" first aired on February 28th, 2019.

Point of Light. Family has always been a theme in the stories of Star Trek, and “Point of Light” is no different. Here we learn that L'Rell and Voq had a child together, but before the two can set down the path of building a family the chance is ripped away by Kol-Sha of the House of Kor. Meanwhile the complicated dynamics of Michael's family are revealed with the help of Amanda, and both experience guilt over their treatment of young Spock. In this episode of The Edge hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin discuss the multiple story lines of L'Rell and the Klingons, Tilly and the spores, and Michael and Amanda's family relations. We question if eternal life is to be found in the mycelial network and if Spock could intentionally kill his doctors. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Opening (00:01:12) Point of Light Title (00:05:00) L'Rell and Tyler (00:08:19) Tilly and May (00:29:19) Amanda and Michael (00:43:04) Section 31 (00:57:49) Final Thoughts (01:10:35) Closing (01:13:42) Hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin Production Patrick Devlin (Editor) Amy Nelson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Thomas Puleo (Associate Producer)  Lisa Slack (Associate Producer) Shoaib Mirza (Associate Producer) Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer) James Muldrow (Associate Producer) Cornelia Reutner (Associate Producer) Ryan Maillet (Associate Producer) Chris Tribuzio (Associate Producer) Brian Meloche (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

Our review plus trivia, favorite quotes, and spoiler talk regarding the rest of the season!Summary courtesy of CBS All Access:As the crew continues their guise, Burnham undergoes a merciless mission in hopes of helping the U.S.S. Discovery return home. Tilly works on restoring Stamets' neurofunction.Star Trek Universe Podcast #022: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Review - 1x11 - "The Wolf Inside"

Attend any convention and it's clear fans have preferred versions of their favorite Trek icons. You'll see a gaggle of bearded Riker clones, for example, but nary a single clean-shaven one. Why is that? And what do these various looks truly mean to the popular characters and their personal narrative? This week hosts Cam Smith and Tyler Orton attempt to decide between bobs or ponytails while examining the evolution and symbolic meaning of the personal styles of the franchise's biggest power players. In addition to Number One's season 2 facial hair, the duo also ponder the changing hairstyles of Janeway, Worf and Kirk, Voq's seamless Ash Tyler makeover, Lorca's sweet leather jacket and more! Plus, in a bonus segment, the hosts weigh in on Alex Kurtzman's recent promotion to Trek TV mastermind and the potential of Captain Picard and Starfleet Academy spin-offs.  Right-click to download.Read more »

Ask any rando on the street to name a popular Star Trek term and the word 'Klingon' will likely be among the first they utter. After all, the proud people of Qo'noS have had a very long and complex relationship with the men and women of Starfleet, and inspired some of the greatest and most popular sci-fi tales of all time. This week hosts Cam Smith and Tyler Orton tap into their deeply buried warrior spirits in order to examine how these iconic aliens have been reimagined time and time again in order to fit the needs and interests of the storytellers. From their first appearance in the classic TOS episode Errand of Mercy, all the way up to the current day shenanigans of L'Rell, Voq and Kol in Discovery, the duo chart all the critical transition points in the Klingons' fascinating 50+ year journey. In addition, the hosts review the first issue of IDW's new Discovery comic book arc The Light of Kahless, discuss the Tarantino Trek movie news and the Ortonville takes on The Orville's 11th episode, New Dimensions. Qapla!Right-click to download.Read more »

Revisiting The Vulcan Hello and Battle at the Binary Stars. For some, the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery are a prelude to the real story. They introduce the characters, establish the time period, and set up the war with the Klingons, that classic Star Trek foe that plays an important part in Discovery's first season. And at the forefront of Klingon antagonism is T'Kuvma: a strong leader who seeks to unite the Empire brings a new political order to the Alpha Quadrant. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin are joined by Joe Keegan to discuss the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery: “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars.” Hindsight, it is said, is 20/20, and we take a new look at these episodes with the advantage of knowing the whole story. Along the way, we find that the Klingon storyline is that much more relevant as we examine Voq, L'Rell, and T'Kuvma and wonder whether or not they will achieve their goal of political unification. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Welcome to the Edge (00:01:11) Rewatch Thoughts (00:08:29) The Shenzhou (00:14:30) When the Klingons De-cloak (00:24:34) Opening Sequence (00:28:34) Unpopular Opinion (00:32:28) Dialogue Errors (00:41:39) Did T'Kuvma Do What He Set Out To? (00:47:23) The Federation Had No Idea (01:03:00) Federation or Starfleet (01:11:35) T'Kuvma Speech (01:20:48) Tidbits (01:29:50) Final Thoughts (01:25:37) Closing (01:33:37) Hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin Guest Joe Keegan Production Patrick Devlin (Editor) Amy Nelson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Lisa Slack (Associate Producer) Tom Puleo (Associate Producer) Shoaib Mirza (Associate Producer) Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer) James Muldrow (Associate Producer) Cornelia Reutner (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

Star Trek: Discovery – Season 2 and Picard Show News Roundtable! It’s finally time for us to bring you our long-awaited Season 2 News and Picard Show Roundtable!!! Recorded on September 8th, Ruthie and I were joined by two past roundtable participants – Mark Des Cotes from Solo Talk Media, and Steve Brown of the Panels to Pixels Podcast, and two new participants – Mark Deal and Wes Huntington from The Minnesota Star Trek Nerd Podcast. We had some recording glitches during this episode, including some we didn’t know about at the time. More on that later. We start with the news… We reacted to the former co-showrunners Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts being fired from the show for both budget concerns and abuse in the writers’ room. We discussed the announcement of Alex Kurtzman becoming the new showrunner and James Duff later made an executive producer and probable next showrunner. Then, we reacted to the casting announcements of Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and, most recently, Ethan Peck as Spock. Onto the trailer!!! Most of us had seen the trailer (one exception… and you’ll have to listen to find out who hasn’t), but we talk about the trailer and our reactions to it. We also talk about what we would like to see in Season 2. Jean-Luc Picard… Is Back!!! After that, we then spend a good deal of time discussing last month’s announcement at Star Trek Las Vegas that the next Star Trek series will be focused around Jean-Luc Picard. We reacted to that announcement; we dissected some of what Patrick Stewart said about the show is and isn’t, and we speculated what the show will be about. What we think some of the other shows might be was also discussed. We finally get to some undiscussed feedback!!! Ruthie and I finally go through some feedback that came in after the end of the season. We recorded that feedback separately, so the other panelists do not participate during that section of the podcast. We STILL didn’t cover EVERYTHING… The “Short Treks“, four shorts covering short stories within the Star Trek: Discovery universe, were not covered in this roundtable. In hindsight, we probably should have. On September 20th, CBS announced that the first of these Short Treks – a Tilly story called Runaway – would be released on October 4th. This would be followed by shorts in November, December, and January. We will definitely be covering the Short Treks next time. A few days after we recorded, CBS CEO Les Moonves resigned amidst allegations of sexual harassment, and since he’s been the driving force behind CBS All Access, I’m sure we will have more to say about this next time. We also didn’t talk much about the existing characters, some of the people involved in the Picard show, like Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, who also wrote one of the Short Treks, TNG cast talking about the Pi

After a five month hiatus, we finally bring you the long awaited roundtable episode, covering news about Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 and the Picard TV series! Joining Ruthie and I are Mark Steve from the Panels to Pixels podcast.

After a five month hiatus, we finally bring you the long awaited roundtable episode, covering news about Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 and the Picard TV series! Joining Ruthie and I are Mark Steve from the Panels to Pixels podcast.

Star Trek Discovery Season Two San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Hall H Panel was moderated by Tig Notaro(Reno). The panel featured Sonequa Martin-Green(Michael Burnham), Doug Jones(Saru), Anthony Rapp(tamets), Mary Chieffo(L'Rell), Wilson Cruz(Culber), Anson Mount(Pike), Mary Wiseman(Tilly), Alex Kurtzman(Producer), Heather Kadin(Producer) ,and, Shazad Latif(ash/Voq).   

SDCC is here! We take the better part of this episode to discuss Star Trek Discovery news coming out of San Diego Comic Con 2018! In addition to the cavalcade of news coming from San Diego, we give a review of the third Succession comic from IDW.

In this weeks episode, we cover the last book from IDW’s Star Trek Discovery “The Light of Kahless” series, issue four of four. We also take a look at issue two of the Star Trek Discovery “Succession” series.

L'Rell. When we first met this unassuming Klingon in “The Vulcan Hello,” we had no idea she would become such an important part of the Star Trek: Discovery story. A member of the House of T'Kuvma and the House of Mo'Kai, she uses her connections to protect Voq in the only way she knows how: by having him transformed into Ash Tyler. Her mission to unite all Klingons drives her to do anything she must, and this leads to her eventual rise to the top of the Klingon Empire. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin are joined by Barry DeFord of PoliTreks, to talk about L'Rell and her need to push unification forward at all costs. We highlight actress Mary Chieffo and her portrayal of L'Rell, and discuss the complex relationship between L'Rell and Voq/Tyler—and it's possible toxicity. We also explore her possible role in season two. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Mary Chieffo (00:03:58) Character Arc (00:8:23) End Game (00:15:21) Relationship with Voq (00:27:03) Toxic Relationship? (00:33:43) New Leader (00:44:38) Final Thoughts (00:54:04) Closing (01:01:13) Hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin Guest Barry DeFord Production Amy Nelson (Editor) Patrick Devlin (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Lisa Slack (Associate Producer) Tom Puleo (Associate Producer) Shoaib Mirza (Associate Producer) Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer) James Muldrow (Associate Producer) Cornelia Reutner (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

We cover the latest from IDW’s Star Trek Discovery books, as we review Star Trek Discovery Succession Issue #1. We take a look into this exploration of the Terran empire, following the events of Star Trek Discovery season one.

Ash Tyler. Star Trek is often a reflection of our own society, and Tyler/Voq is a good study of how people with mental disorders are seen. Should they be held liable for crimes committed when they aren't “themselves”? Through Tyler/Voq, the Star Trek: Discovery writers show how someone with two personalities must deal with different sets of memories, intentions, and actions depending on which personality is dominate at the time. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Amy Nelson and Brandon-Shea Mutala are joined by guests Patrick Devlin of Warp Five and former Earl Grey host Lee Hutchison to discuss Ash Tyler/Voq, who the real person is inside the body, and who is responsible for actions taken. We also consider mental disorders, how they affect people, and how we believe they affected Tyler/Voq. Chapters Intro (00:1:04) News (00:02:44) Initial Thoughts (00:05:07) Voq … or Tyler … Is Set Free (00:16:51) Gender Identity (00:27:04) Take a Chance (00:34:55) Answer for His Crimes (00:38:33) Tyler–Burnham Relationship (01:02:16) Is Voq Tyler? (01:15:40) Final Thoughts (01:20:11) Special Announcement (01:27:16) Closing (01:32:17) Hosts Amy Nelson and Brandon-Shea Mutala Guests Patrick Devlin and Lee Hutchison Production Amy Nelson (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Tony Robinson (Associate Producer) Lisa Slack (Associate Producer) Tom Puleo (Associate Producer) Shoaib Mirza (Associate Producer) Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer) James Muldrow (Associate Producer) Cornelia Reutner (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

After a hiatus, we finally bring you the long awaited Season 1 Roundtable episode for Star Trek: Discovery! Joining Ruthie and I are my former co-host from this show, Adam, whom you can still hear on The Nerfherder Council Podcast, and Steve of the Panels to Pixels Podcast. We learn about his... well... let's say Steve REALLY loves Denise Crosby! :-)

After a hiatus, we finally bring you the long awaited Season 1 Roundtable episode for Star Trek: Discovery! Joining Ruthie and I are my former co-host from this show, Adam, whom you can still hear on The Nerfherder Council Podcast, and Steve of the Panels to Pixels Podcast. We learn about his... well... let's say Steve REALLY loves Denise Crosby! :-)

Star Trek: Discovery – Season 1 Roundtable! It’s finally time for us to bring you our long-awaited Season 1 Roundtable!!! Recorded on March 30th, Ruthie and I were joined by my former co-host Adam, of The Nerfherder Council Podcast and Steve of the Panels to Pixels Podcast. Unfortunately, our stellar feedback contributor Mark, from Solo Talk Media, was sick on this night. Steve was able to fill the fourth seat, on short notice, and he was great! We also learn about his… well… let’s say Steve REALLY loves Denise Crosby! Starting with the season as a whole… We had some discussion as to whether the serialized format of the show led to us not being able to highlight specific episodes. We had a split vote. The Mirror Universe! When we had our first roundtable, we hadn’t gone to the Mirror Universe yet, so we talk about the Mirror Universe in detail, and its impact on the season. You can’t talk about the Mirror Universe without talking about Lorca!!! Jason Isaacs was incredible in the role of Captain Gabriel Lorca, a Federation Captain with a different way of doing things. Many were complaining that he did not act like a Starfleet captain. We later learn why… he’s from the Mirror Universe! Mirror Georgiou is an interesting character… The Mirror Georgiou, former emperor of the Terran Empire, now stranded in the Prime Universe, we all agreed is a very interesting character, and we hope that we’ll get to see a lot of her next season. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the bonus scene that was shown at WonderCon a few weeks ago, with Georgiou and a representative from an organization you may have heard of! I said the last episode that I wondered if Georgiou would become an agent of Section 31, or running the whole thing. After watching that scene, it seems that I may have been right! Yeah, Tyler, Voq, the Klingons in general and the war… We’re all a bit underwhelmed by the Tyler/Voq story and how little we got to see of the war. Of course, we can’t go an episode without talking about how much we dislike the Klingons… big shock there. All the rest We go a long way into this episode before we really talk much about Burnham at all. Tilly’s character we all love, and we also discuss Saru and Stamets. We hope to see more of the bridge crew next season, which is why I picked this image for the episode! NCC-17… We had this roundtable before the recent announcement of Anson Mount taking the role of Captain Pike of the Enterprise in Season 2. We still wonder who will take the Discovery’s captain’s chair. It could be Pike’s Number One (as seen in the TOS pilot episode The Cage), Saru, or someone else, even a not dead Prime Lorca. We’ll still have to guess. We still wonder how much the Enterprise will play into Season 2, as well as how well the show will fit into canon. So that’s it… and remember to pour one out to Lieutenant Yar for Steve! I could use your help… We last talk about whether or not we are dropping CBS All Access. The vote was 2 dropping, 1 keeping, and 1 abstention. Unfortunately, though I would love to keep watching the show, I had to drop my subscription, due to fina

Star Trek: Discovery – Season 1 Roundtable! It’s finally time for us to bring you our long-awaited Season 1 Roundtable!!! Recorded on March 30th, Ruthie and I were joined by my former co-host Adam, of The Nerfherder Council Podcast and Steve of the Panels to Pixels Podcast. Unfortunately, our stellar feedback contributor Mark, from Solo Talk Media, was sick on this night. Steve was able to fill the fourth seat, on short notice, and he was great! We also learn about his… well… let’s say Steve REALLY loves Denise Crosby! Starting with the season as a whole… We had some discussion as to whether the serialized format of the show led to us not being able to highlight specific episodes. We had a split vote. The Mirror Universe! When we had our first roundtable, we hadn’t gone to the Mirror Universe yet, so we talk about the Mirror Universe in detail, and its impact on the season. You can’t talk about the Mirror Universe without talking about Lorca!!! Jason Isaacs was incredible in the role of Captain Gabriel Lorca, a Federation Captain with a different way of doing things. Many were complaining that he did not act like a Starfleet captain. We later learn why… he’s from the Mirror Universe! Mirror Georgiou is an interesting character… The Mirror Georgiou, former emperor of the Terran Empire, now stranded in the Prime Universe, we all agreed is a very interesting character, and we hope that we’ll get to see a lot of her next season. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the bonus scene that was shown at WonderCon a few weeks ago, with Georgiou and a representative from an organization you may have heard of! I said the last episode that I wondered if Georgiou would become an agent of Section 31, or running the whole thing. After watching that scene, it seems that I may have been right! Yeah, Tyler, Voq, the Klingons in general and the war… We’re all a bit underwhelmed by the Tyler/Voq story and how little we got to see of the war. Of course, we can’t go an episode without talking about how much we dislike the Klingons… big shock there. All the rest We go a long way into this episode before we really talk much about Burnham at all. Tilly’s character we all love, and we also discuss Saru and Stamets. We hope to see more of the bridge crew next season, which is why I picked this image for the episode! NCC-17… We had this roundtable before the recent announcement of Anson Mount taking the role of Captain Pike of the Enterprise in Season 2. We still wonder who will take the Discovery’s captain’s chair. It could be Pike’s Number One (as seen in the TOS pilot episode The Cage), Saru, or someone else, even a not dead Prime Lorca. We’ll still have to guess. We still wonder how much the Enterprise will play into Season 2, as well as how well the show will fit into canon. So that’s it… and remember to pour one out to Lieutenant Yar for Steve! I could use your help… We last talk about whether or not we are dropping CBS All Access. The vote was 2 dropping, 1 keeping, and 1 abstention. Unfortunately, though I would love to keep watching the show, I had to drop my subscription, due to financia

In this episode, we take a look at IDW’s third issue of their Star Trek Discovery book, “The Light of Kahless”. Join us as we give the book the deep-dive, as well as discuss the Star Trek Discovery news coming out of WonderCon 2018!

In this episode, we take a look at IDW’s second issue of their Star Trek Discovery book, “The Light of Kahless”. Join us as we give the book the deep-dive, as well as talk a bit about our time at PENASCON–were we got at meet Robert Picardo!

Welcome to Fan Effect!  The show (formerly known as SLC Fanboys) is evolving and we're glad to have you along for the ride! In this (audio only) episode of the podcast, Star Trek superfan Adam Thomas and his co-hosts Tysen Webb and Andy Farnsworth give their final, SPOILER-FILLED thoughts on season one of "Star Trek: Discovery." CBS All-Access' grand experiment ended season one with a surprise: The sudden appearance of (SPOILER).  Along the journey, however, the ship & crew traveled to the (SPOILER), some characters evolved, others turned out not to be who they seemed, and the overall show was successful enough to get a second season order. Adam, Tysen and Andy talk about what were season one's strong points, what things were satisfying to long-time Trek fans, which new characters resonated and which did not, and what we might get to see in Season Two. This episode also available in video form on our show page. We're grateful for your support! Please, share our show with your friends!

Aquí tenéis el último Órbita Discovery de la temporada, coincidiendo, obviamente, con el último episodio de temporada de nuestra serie favorita. Episodio lleno de acontecimientos y probablemente uno de los más trekkies de la serie. Novedades importantes, y no diré hasta que punto, sobre las lineas argumentales de La Guerra Federación-Klingon. También importantes avances en las historias de Michael, Tyler, Voq, L'Rell, Georgiou y demás tripulación de puente. Van a pasar, y pasan, muchas cosas, a cual más sorprendente… No os lo podéis perder. Y vamos a ver como, solo dos episodios después de la apertura de la linea argumental de la Discovery de nuevo en nuestro universo y en medio de una guerra a la desesperada, la historia da un vuelco que abre mil nuevas posibilidades que comentamos en este episodio. Así que hazte con un buen bol de palomitas y dale a play, porque vamos a rajar de lo lindo.

There was a lot to say about the season finale of Star Trek: Discovery, S1E15, titled Will You Take My Hand? We also got more feedback about S1E14 The War Without, The War Within. Ruthie & I analyze the episode, discuss your feedback,

There was a lot to say about the season finale of Star Trek: Discovery, S1E15, titled Will You Take My Hand? We also got more feedback about S1E14 The War Without, The War Within. Ruthie & I analyze the episode, discuss your feedback,

Star Trek: Discovery – Season 1, Episode 15: Will You Take My Hand? There was a lot to say about Star Trek: Discovery S1E15, which is titled Will You Take My Hand? It was a season finale, after all, right? In fact, like last week, it took extra time to get this episode to you as a result. More about Season 1, Episode 14: The War Without, The War Within Before we get going and talk about the season finale, we got more feedback about last week’s episode and some pre-finale speculation. We share that feedback about the penultimate episode! Fred’s pics… Part 5! Fred from The Netherlands shared more pics again this week, showing us more wonderful use of lighting in the season finale! I have used one of those pics as the featured image for this episode, and a couple more below. If you want to see them all, you can see Fred’s image collection from the episode here. You’re no Captain Georgiou, Emperor!!! It seems that not all Starfleet captains from the Mirror Universe are good at hiding in plain sight! During his time in the Prime Universe, Lorca was able to pass himself as a Federation captain, albeit with some unconventional tendencies. Emperor Georgiou, on the other hand, doesn’t even TRY to hide her true self, despite Admiral Cornwell installing her as the long thought dead Captain Georgiou. The way she conducted herself on the Bridge was quite shocking, but also right in character. I was a bit surprised that she survived the episode, but when I think of the possibility of her as this crew’s longtime antagonist, like a Q, Gul Dukat or even Daniels, it makes me giddy! I still wonder if she will end up an agent of Section 31, or running the whole thing. Maybe she’ll try to start a new empire? Who knows, but I look forward to seeing her again! NCC-17… Yup, that’s right!!! At the end of this episode, Discovery answers a distress call from… you guessed it… the USS Enterprise NCC-1701!!! Now, in this era, sometime around the Kirk is not the Captain of the Enterprise yet. Instead, his predecessor, Captain Christopher Pike, is the Captain. However, Sarek’s son and Burnham’s adopted brother, Spock, does serve on this era’s Enterprise. We can only hope we’ll see this Enterprise in Season 2. Will Zachary Quinto reprise his role, or will they cast someone else as another version of Spock? And will it be Bruce Greenwood, who plays Pike in the 2009 and 2013 reboot films, reprising the role, or will it be someone new? What about the enigmatic Number One, who was played by the late Majel Barrett in The Cage (the original TOS pilot)? Some called the appearance of the Enterprise as fan service, and Ruthie is a little trepidatious on how this might affect canon next season. I say bring it on!

It’s that time, time to discuss the Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 finale, “Will You Take My Hand?”. We dive straight into the details, so there’s an early spoiler warning. We’ll discuss the basics, overall plot, characters, location designs, references, and of course, the ending. Plus, we talk a little about our first ever live...

There was a lot to say about S1E14 of Star Trek: Discovery, titled The War Without, The War Within, and we also got a lot more feedback about S1E13 What's Past Is Prologue. So, sit back, put on your favorite set of headphones or take your favorite driv...

Star Trek: Discovery – Season 1, Episode 14: The War Without, The War Within There was a lot to say about Star Trek: Discovery S1E14, which is titled The War Without, The War Within. In fact, it took extra time to get this episode to you as a result. More about Season 1, Episode 13: What’s Past Is Prologue We got more feedback about last week’s episode, which was a big one! Before we get into the discussion, we share that feedback. Fred’s pics… Part 4! Fred from The Netherlands shared more pics again this week, showing us more wonderful use of lighting in this series! I have used one of those pics as the featured image for this episode, but I am not going to feature the rest here, since it takes the extra time it to create the blog post when I do, and you’ve had to wait long enough! You can see Fred’s image collection from the episode here. The War Without, The War Within, The War Goes Badly For The United Federation of Planets… Soon after the pseudo-ISS Discovery becomes the USS Discovery again and rejoins its own universe, albeit nine months later than when they left it, we see Cornwell and Sarek forcibly take over the ship. They make Saru subject himself to a mind meld from Sarek. That was something you wouldn’t normally see a Federation Admiral and Ambassador do! You could see that they were pretty freaked out. We learn that Captain Killy’s ISS Discovery was destroyed in the Prime Universe, so they thought that Discovery was no more. We know things are bad when they are trepidatious of the Discovery warping to Starbase 1. Cornwell’s reaction to the 80,000 people gone from the starbase, probably many if not most of them dead, and a damaged base, tells you all you need to know. The Federation is losing badly, and with them installing Emperor Georgiou to captain Discovery, impersonating her doppelganger, that can only mean they are desperate, to the point where the very tenets of the Federation may have to be ignored to continue its survival. However, is there ANYONE out there who thinks this is a good idea??? This has BAD IDEA written all over it. The War of Lorca’s Legacy Lorca, or the shadow of him, is all over this episode. If you had any doubt, Lorca (Mirror version) was a jerk. A real jerk! By jumping into the Mirror Universe before transmitting the cloak breaking algorithm, he has doomed the Federation, taking them to the brink of annihilation. Would Cornwell, the former psychiatrist, prescribe shooting up Lorca’s remaining bowl of fortune cookies? For me, this was a highlight of the episode. The War of Fan Expectations I thought that The War Without, The War Within would either have time travel in the episode or set up a time travel episode for next week’s finale, to correct the timeline. The finale may still go that way, but it doesn’t look like it will be now. The show continues to keep me guessing, and I love that about the show. The Canon War Speaking of the finale, it’s going to have to address several elements of the story. We know there’s no spore drive going forward. The war with the Klingons, though we know very little about it according to canon, seems to be going worse than makes sense from what we know of the Federation in TOS. Those are the most glaring examples, but there are more. I will assert to listeners one last time to wait on judging the show on those matters until the finale. I have faith that they will be addressed, and if they aren’t, it will

There was a lot to say about S1E14 of Star Trek: Discovery, titled The War Without, The War Within, and we also got a lot more feedback about S1E13 What's Past Is Prologue. So, sit back, put on your favorite set of headphones or take your favorite driv...

Jared, Brian, and Kayla come together once again this week to discuss the penultimate episode in Star Trek: Discovery‘s first season, which kind of felt like a long setup for next week’s finale. Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, Episode 14 – Debuted Sunday February 4th, 2018 Written by Lisa Randolph Directed by David Solomon None of your hosts were particularly enthralled with the latest installment of Discovery. Lots of loose ends were left hanging or cut awkwardly short in an episode that felt like filler leading up to next week’s big finish. Can the show wrap everything up next week? The pseudo-resolution to the Tyler/Voq/Burnham storyline was welcome in principal (we haven’t heard from our dear friend Voqler in a couple of weeks now), but the soap-opera overtones of Tyler and Burnham’s heartfelt reconciliation left something to be desired. Discovery seems like it wants to struggle with the ethical issues surrounding Voqler (who, as Voq, killed a man) but instead seems to sweep them aside in favor of everyone just being glad to see their old pal Ash (who, again, killed a man as Voq) in an awkward mess hall scene led by Tilly. In this storyline, Stamets seems to be the only one acting rationally, and Anthony Rapp lays on a great bit of emotional acting in the confrontation between his character and the now de-Voqed Tyler. It was great to see Admiral Cornwell back again. The scenes in the briefing room (so Star Trek!) and between Cornwell and L’Rell were particularly fun. But, just like the other threads of this episode, we’re left feeling like the characters in the story have lost their minds. A Vulcan and human admiral conspire with a treacherous genocidal maniac to win a war against the Klingons? And they do so by parading said maniac around as a fallen war hero, which was a mentor to many of the people now serving on the Discovery? The writers may have kept some of the pieces from us, but it’s hard to imagine a world in which this makes much sense or leads to a satisfying conclusion. All-in-all, your Shuttle Pod crew was left confused and dismayed. But, of course, the show has one more chance to pull this all together. What could possibly await us this coming Sunday?

In this weeks episode we discuss the big reveal. I mean huge one. Ken has trouble getting over fandom figuring this out. Matt loses his mind and his vocabulary. Also we continue to discuss last weeks reveal about Voq, his possible death in this episode, and how awesome J. Frakes continues to be. All this and more........

Aquí tenéis vuestra dosis de la semana de Órbita Discovery. Después de un episodio 1x03 de “puente”, los acontecimientos parecen acelerarse de nuevo. Se trabaja duramente en la investigación del sistema de salto con Setitas, que no parece funcionar como debe, y que de poco acaba con la nave hecha a la brasa. Michael Burham ya sabe lo que el capitán quiere de ella y no parece hacerle ninguna gracia, porque tiene que ver con su bonito gatito, lo que no es plato de gusto. Y vuelve a vestir el uniforme pero solo como tripulante, lo cual le produce más recuerdos de su posición perdida que satisfacción por estar de nuevo en la flota. El primer oficial Saru no confía en ella y eso la afecta. Cada vez que la ve, sus instintivos ganglios del peligro asoman como gelatinosos recordatorios de que la ve como una clara e inminente amenaza para la seguridad de la nave. Los acontecimientos del Imperio Klingon se complican y se demuestra que la reunificación alrededor de la ideología de T'Kuvma y de su sucesor Voq no van a ser tan sencillos. Kol no parece dispuesto a perder sus opciones de ganar poder político pescando en semejante río revuelto de candidatos firmes a acabar en Sto'Vo'Kor. Y la USS Discovery entra de nuevo en acción, con lo que vemos de cerca la cara de la guerra cuando un puesto minero, responsable de la producción de gran parte del dilitio que usa la Federación, se encuentra bajo un raid de los Klingon que desean tomar o destruir un puesto tan estratégico. No os perdáis el episodio…. y el podcast.

This week, John, Ken and YOU tackle episode four of Star Trek: Discovery. What's going on with Voq? Tardigrade - delightful or deadly? And Landry, we hardly knew ye. Plus - Women at Warp's Sue Kisenwether joins us to talk Discovery's time at New York Comic Con. Remember - we're live every Tuesday night at 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific at Facebook.com/MissionLogPod! Join us and call in!