All Access Star Trek Chooses To Live With Geordi On ‘Picard’ And The Latest Episode Of ‘Discovery’

All Access Star Trek podcast episode 68 - TrekMovie

[Prodigy episode 105 talk starts at 9:53 / Discovery review starts at 23:13]

Tony and Laurie talk about LeVar Burton’s new interview in Rolling Stone, where he talks about the chances of him appearing on Star Trek: Picard as well as his disappointment with Geordi’s storylines on TNG. They share the news that Prodigy‘s first episode will air on Nickelodeon, then check in with Tony’s niece and nephew, Ani and David, to see what they thought of Prodigy episode 105, “Terror Firma.”

After that, they discuss a behind-the-scenes look at Gersha Phillips’ costumes from last week’s episode of The Ready Room, then dive into their review of Discovery’s newest episode, “Choose to Live.” They wrap up the podcast with a look at a Star Wars: The Clone Wars-style promo for DS9’s “Move Along Home” and a peek inside the Star Trek Borg Cube Advent Calendar.

Links:

LeVar Burton Talks Geordi’s “Plausible” Return On ‘Star Trek: Picard’ And “Insulting” Romance Storyline On TNG

LeVar Burton Assumes Geordi Will Appear In ‘Star Trek: Picard’… But Not In Season 2

One-Hour ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Pilot Will Air December 17 On Nickelodeon

The Ready Room feature on Gersha Phillips’ Discovery costumes

Little Riker celebrates Hannukah

Trekbits: 

Tony: Deep Space Nine’s “Move Along Home” in the style of The Clone Wars

Laurie: Review: The Star Trek Borg Advent Calendar Is A Gift That Keeps On Assimilating

Let us know what you think of the episode in the comments, and please post your suggestions for topics we should cover in the future as well as guests you’d like us to have on.


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Always enjoy your podcasts. I have a suggestion for this podcast or the Shuttlepod. Or maybe it’s a full Shuttlepod/All Access crossover. Does that make it “Shuttlepod Access”? Haha.

My suggestion – We have 3.23 seasons of Discovery now. How will it age? For example, when ENT was on in the early 2000’s, I watched it but I was a kid and didn’t connect to the stories as much. Now, I watch it over and over. And I love it because I see the cerebral nature of the stories. The same goes for me with DS9. 25 years later I’m finding new ways to connect to VOY. Will DISCO have the same effect 25 years later or will the things they touch on be too connective to the time we are living in now?

I’m guessing you may have done something similar. But if you haven’t, I suggest this as a topic.

Great idea. We’ve touched on the idea here and there in episodes of the Shuttle Pod when we were reflecting on Discovery seasons 1 or 2.

I’m afraid I don’t think Disco will age all that well. It’s very rooted in the trends of this decade — aspects like the cinematography and frenetic directing style (Seasons 1 and 2 heavily fall prey to this), and of course the heavily serialized arcs with the need for a “mystery box” at the expense of everything else (some call this the “Netflix Original” model).

I think to get a better read on the long term impact we’d need to wait until Discovery finishes its run and/or we have more seasons of live action CBS Trek shows to compare it to. Picard has only had one season at this point and Strange New Worlds hasn’t been released yet.

I agree. For me, serialized storytelling has blurred DISCO. I don’t remember specific episodes like I do with the other series. To be honest, the only episode I remember of Picard is Nepenthe and that’s because Riker and Troi appear. I remember season arcs, but I rarely find myself wanting to go back to re-watch entire seasons of shows.

I look forward to your next podcast episode.

I tend to agree with Matt. The Original Series was also very much a product of its time (the way it was filmed, the look of it, the language) but being episodic instead of serialized was a big help in making it eternal. Some episodes hold up beautifully, others less so. But it’s hard to have much perspective on Discovery right now since they’re still making new episodes. Of all the new shows, I think so far Prodigy is the one that will age the most beautifully.

What Matt said. I also think it chases social media trends, which will probably date it more than anything else.

Also agree with everything Matthew said. I think that’s why all the old shows have endured as well as they have because most of the stories still resonate today and you’re always finding new ways to connect with them. I honestly had no idea I would still be watching shows like ENT, TNG, VOY, etc today and yet I can keep watching them and always go back to them because of the variety of story telling and I’ve grown attached to all of the characters at this point. All the shows have aged pretty well IMO. I actually think Enterprise out of all of them has aged the best (and it is the youngest out of the classic shows).

I’m just not sure I will feel the same way about DIS or even PIC in 20 years. Not because they are ‘bad’ shows but because their format just feels a lot more limiting compared to classic Star Trek. But I have a feeling I will still be watching them though (if they improve), just maybe not at the level as the others; but I hope so!

I agree. DS9 was great being the odd one out at its time and back then, serialzed storytelling was fairly new and unique, which isn’t the case these days anymore. Over the last two decades we have seen countless genre shows, space-based and earth-based that have exploited the serialized, depressively dystopian format and more than once they have failed…

DSC and PIC tried to jump that bandwagon of a trend that was once started by DS9 and Babylon 5 but that has now become tiresome and worn-out.

Ironically, re-inventing episodic TV would be far more unique and a rather fresh approach by modern standards. That way Trek could truly set itself apart from all the rest while at the same time returning to its very own roots…

And I also think DS9 just had supremely superior writers and how they were able to make it work so well. Doing my grand rewatch this year I realized I was satisfied with each season finale because they did such a great job building up to them every year. They didn’t feel overly convoluted but still ended up on a great note. They weren’t all amazing but generally good.

With DIS and PIC, for me, not any of the finales were good and we’re talking four seasons worth now. Because by the time they get to them, the story feels either like a mess or just didn’t wrap everything up properly like I felt was the bigger issue with Picard. I will say the Discovery season 3 finale actually did a decent job of wrapping the season up, but still had a lot of problems. A lot of the ‘twists’ for these shows ends up really divisive too because they try to go too big or left field with them. DS9 didn’t actually have a lot of big ‘shock’ twists. There were a few, but really very few. They just tried to tell a good and consistent story first and not a lot ‘OMG’ type of plot twists. With Discovery, they do it to the point of detriment but the show exist in a time where that’s very common now since all these shows rely on that type of story telling.

But I’m not saying these shows can’t get better and become iconic in their own right. As someone who has been highly critical of them (for good reasons ;)) I’ve also said they are still new. PIC had one season, so it would be VERY unfair to rule that show out. As we all recall, most Trek shows has become infamous with mostly bad first seasons although YMMV. And I’m now excited about that show again with Q being back and a new show runner with a good record dealing with serialized time travel stories and a lot of ‘OMG’ twists that actually works. So I can’t wait.

Discovery IS better for me these days, but it still has problems. Season 4 is very early though so maybe it will pull an ENT type of revival and wow me the way that show did in its fourth season but not holding my breath yet.

DSC has still some minor issues but it has improved A LOT in the 32nd century. It should have started out in the future to begin with.

S1 was a bloody mess and S2 was only good because of Pike, Spock, Una and the Enterprise, which got us SNW…

At the moment, my main issue with DSC is my fear that it might be cancelled too soon to truly do some world building for the 32nd century. It’s been exciting but rather sketchy so far.

I can only guess at this point: DSC may get a 32nd century spin-off show sooner or later, maybe about the Voyager-J going to other galaxies. I think this may have already been teased with Rillak holding out for a suitable commanding officer. The whole point of PROD might be getting started some VOY hype for a new VOY show to take off.

As for PIC, they got A LOT to make up for in the two remaining seasons. S1 was all over the place on almost every front. It had some great moments but so many plotpoints either made no sense or simply got aborted along the way.
S2 combines two very Trek-ish plotpoints: dark alternate timeline and time travel to the present.
And in the end, the show itself could be reinvented, with La Sirena being destroyed and Picard being rewarded with a Stargazer Refit for himself and his new crew for S3… But that’s just me daydreaming so far…

Wow it’s nuts how I agree pretty much everything you said here lol.

Of course I agree about DIS and that is a much better show today. It still has problems, especially in the writing department but it actually fits well in the 32nd century. And yes, I too am worried that the show will be cancelled before they can expand on the 32nd century. Even though I’m still not in love with the show itself, I’m really obsessed with seeing this period. Everything feels new and exciting again. I love both the 23rd and 24th centuries but they been pretty much set for decades now. The 24th century now has 6 shows in this era if that isn’t crazy enough. Obviously they can still tell tons of interesting stories about these centuries, I’m only saying is we basically know the layout and how the Federation functions in them although Picard has shifted some things too. We know all the key players at this point. For the 32nd century all of that is wide open again and why it’s exciting to be in another era and one so far from the others.

So I hope DIS goes several more seasons, but same time this being a streaming show and with all their Star Trek plans going, sadly it’s probably feeling a bit long in the tooth now. I have no doubt it will get a fifth season, but I do question if it will go beyond that. Hopefully it will. OR as you said, it would be great they just spin it off with another show and keep the 32nd century story going. In fact, I was really hoping the Section 31 show would just stay in this era, but it obviously was never in the cards and that show seems to have a big question mark now.

As far as Picard, again, agree on all of it. I DO hope your point turns out to be true though and like Discovery the show just gets a reinvention. It sounds like we could get something like that by season 3. Maybe what happens in season 2 will change some of the future in the 24th century and Picard never resigned from Starfleet for example. Maybe it won’t be Picard on a starship full time again but I do think it would be cool to see him back on one, especially on an Enterprise! And if not, that’s OK too, as long as the show just gets better in general.

Deleted my thoughts. Decided it wasn’t appropriate enough for the topic.

I’m pretty sure the purpose or the impact of the mindmeld was to show Book what he actually experienced, not what he remembered after physical impact created his trauma.

Perhaps this is what they were getting to without previously revealing that Book’s scenes in this season have been from his POV? It was actually subtle, a feat for this show. Maybe?

I think Book’s homeworld will be like Gallifrey and exist in a pocket universe inside the anomaly.

Good convo!

I have also considered the possibility that Book’s homeworld will return. I still maintain that she told Book he’d only be able to see what’s in his memory, and if his memory is that he turned away from the kid, there’s no way he could’ve seen the kid turn back. Harumph.

Ha!

And maybe the best outcome that there is no solution at all. Just new variations if the anomaly’s mystery.

He could have remembered the moment incorrectly and the meld helped him to clear it up.

Except he said out loud that he’d already turned away. I know it’s a small nitpick, but it just bothered me because they spelled out the conditions so clearly and then just did that anyway. I can always watch the scene again to find some headcanon that’ll make it work for me, I guess.

I had chalked it up to a trauma repressed memory, but you’re right they made it clear he had turned away in the previous episode. Grrr.

I think the thing is that traumas can impact memory. It’s like a car accident and why you hope there are witnesses.

T’rina may have created the memory in the mind meld to give him peace. Possibly?

I had the same idea about Kelvin-Vulcan and even Prime-Romulus. If Black Holes are in-world extensions of a primordeal singularity that encompasses space-time like a hologrid in quantum flux, then all of these planets sucked into Black Holes may still be around on another plane of existence, two-dimensional quantum quintessence, the information stored in a highly advanced quantum field.

Loved the podcast as always and thanks for the review and commentary. I never cease to be amazed with how gorgeous this show looks. The vistas are stunning (e.g. sunset on Ni’var) and to my eye, superior to most current movies.

I also completely agreed with your comments regarding Geordi La Forge and his ineptitude with women. Having done a complete re-watch of STTNG last year there were some cringe inducing episodes that really did the character a major injustice and to my surprise, was not something I picked up on back when it originally aired. In particular, there was an episode when he invited a woman back to his quarters for dinner and when she arrived he had ditched the uniform in favour casual attire (a dreadful multi-coloured sweater), while adding music and soft lighting in an attempt to create a romantic ambiance. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was toe curling.

That episode was the second part of the Leah Brahms story line that Burton himself and others was referring to and that he personally hated as well. I never had a big problem with it as others, but yeah it was definitely cringe worthy looking back on it now.

Hi,

I loved the episode. S4 is a big improvement over S3 so far.

I accept Gray’s resurrection because they used canon to give us an explanation. I’m still not a fan of how they did it, but I’m glad it’s over. I hope that they can give Ian something to work with for their character. I also hope that even though the allegory is right on the nose, I hope it helps anyone struggling out there. Star Trek is best when it sends a message of hope to viewers who may be going through difficult times.

I agree 100% with the hope that it helps someone struggling out there, and I think it will. I thought Tony made a good point after I said it shouldn’t be so on on the nose… I think he’s right and I was wrong. It’s the same as that little moment last season when Adira said they weren’t comfortable with “she”… sometimes a little thing like that can make a big difference to a lot of people.

I agree Laurie, that it’s hard for those outside the community to know how this might land with those within.

For me this worked fine as a C plot. Thinking back to TNG, in the old A plot – B plot or A-B-C plot episodes, not every plot thread was compelling for every viewer and that was ok.

Ideally, the plot lines had some common theme, which held here. So, overall, I see it as a very solid episode all together.

That said, I wish Gray and Adira’s story was as riveting as that of Nia Naal and Braniac 5 in Supergirl. While much of the last few seasons of that series dragged for me, every Nia and Brainy moment was gold.

Nicole Maines is an incredible talent, and it would be amazing to have her on a Star Trek series. Knowing now that she was the child around whom a major trans rights case was focused in her home state, is in her case all the more reason to keep her in roles where she can model positive outcomes. It’s unclear if there will be a future in the DC television multiverse for her character, so now would be the time to find a role for her before she’s locked into work elsewhere.

Jesse Rath is also a great actor with astonishing range.

You are reminding me I need to catch up on my Supergirl. I think I’m half a season behind.