The Story "Gaps" in Star Trek
The Trek franchise continues to expand, and with more and more series and movies, fans learn more about this fantastic universe. But even after all this time, there are still stories that feel like they are "missing." The real-world reasons are obvious: Writers don't want to get into how Spock spent his time from post-Star Trek VI to the events of "Unification" (TNG) because they don't want to disrupt any future stories. Or else they just never got to telling the events of the Romulan War because "Enterprise" got cancelled. The trio takes this opportunity to explore the "untold" stories of the Trek franchise that deserve further investigation. From the voyages of the Enterprise-B to the Enterprise-E's missions during the Dominion War, from the history of the many lives of the Dax symbiont to the origin of the Borg, join us as we ask, "hey ... what happened?"
What if ... Starfleet Didn't Have Shields?
In the ever popular game of comparing sci-fi franchises to each other, one unique aspect of Star Trek compared to others, like "Battlestar Galactica" and, to an extent, "Star Wars," is the presence of shields on starships during combat. The trio imagines a Trek universe where shields don't exist (or are not as effective), and ships show a little more wear and tear after they log a few star miles (or kilometers). How would our favorite "hero" ships and space stations look every season? Would there need to be new title sequences every year? Join us as we imagine how Starfleet combat doctrine and ship construction would change in this new imagined universe.
Hologram Rights
Star Trek is often at its best when exploring philosophical debates about the very nature of existance. Holograms, especially the Doctor from "Voyager", litter the franchise - but what rights should they have? Are they "people" (whatever the means)? Are they more than they appear? Or does their very appearance make us believe they are more than these computer programs are? The trio goes through the holographic panthoeon of Trek and other artificial lifeforms, exploring how our organic characters treat holograms and what that says about them. How should we treat holograms? Let's under the holodeck and learn more about what this "sentience" thing is all about.
Season 7 - Voyager
"Star Trek: Voyager" was the third (and, to date, last) Trek series to enter its seventh and final season. The previous series had taken different approaches to "wrapping up" their time on television screens -"The Next Generation" continued its more episodic approach, with a finale that left our cast still exploring the final frontier; "Deep Space Nine" continued its more serialised approach, with a final few episodes that was dedicated to wrapping up the story of the Dominion War and give each character (more or less) a proper narrative ending. "Voyager" entered its seventh season with a question hanging over it - would the crew finally get home? If so, how? And when? Would we see the aftermath of this mixed crew finally reintegrating back to "normal" life in the Federation? Or would we see a season of "consequences" from their time in the Delta Quadrant? The trio look at the final season, both what we might have liked to see and what we actually got. We look at which character arcs dominated the last season, where our characters ended up, and wonder if the writers remembered there was a ticking countdown clock to the end of the series.
Trek Celebrity Autographs/Pictures/Etc.
If you've been to a Trek/sci-fi convention, you know the options: You can wait in a long line for a quick photo with your favourite actor/director/writer/etc., you can attend a panel, or you can get an autograph, along with a few seconds of interaction. The trio discusses their past encouters with Trek (and other franchise) celebrities in the autograph line. Who would you like to spend a few moments of coversation with, while leaving with a signed piece of memorabilia? Is there a better system? Let us know about your con experiences! |