Tony and Laurie start the podcast with Akiva’s comments about the “undeniable” appetite for a Star Trek: Legacy show as well as Patrick Stewart’s wish for a Picard movie. They give some details on the upcoming Picard Blu-ray and DVD set and the “Picard Legacy” limited edition set, the upcoming Star Trek: Infinite game, and IDW’s new Star Trek: Picard’s Academy series, along with a long-awaited audiobook from DS9’s Andrew J. Robinson.
They cover the latest news on Strange New Worlds (including fan reaction to Akiva’s canon comments and new info on Carol Kane’s Pelia). The rest of the pod is their review of the newest episode, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” comparing it to other Trek courtroom episodes as well as seeing how it fits into SNW lore. They both liked the episode a lot, but still have their nitpicks.
They wrap things up with a look at two different podcasts: Trek Politics with Mary L. Trump and Bob Cesca and the SyFy Sistas with Ira Steven Behr.
Links:
Akiva Goldsman Says Appetite For ‘Star Trek: Legacy’ Spinoff From ‘Picard’ Is “Undeniable”
Patrick Stewart Envisions One More “Extraordinary” TNG Movie Follow-Up To ‘Star Trek: Picard’
Dave Blass’ Production Design & Set Decoration Presentation [Twitter]
Drama Roundtable: Bella Ramsey, Diego Luna, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Christina Ricci, and Jeremy Strong [LA Times/YouTube]
Watch: ‘Star Trek: Infinite’ Gameplay Trailer Reveals Details For The Grand Strategy Game
Exclusive: IDW Launching ‘Star Trek: Picard’s Academy’ Series About Young Jean-Luc Picard
Interview: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ EPs On Spock’s Arc, Klingon Design, Gorn Canon & Season 3
The 7th Rule with Chris Fisher
Carol Kane And ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Showrunner On Lanthanites And Just How Old Pelia Is
Tom Cruise as United States Navy JAG Corps Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men [YouTube]
Bits:
Tony: Trek Politics podcast with Mary L. Trump and Bob Cesca
Laurie: Ira Steven Behr on the SyFy Sistas podcast
Let us know what you think of the episode in the comments, and should you be so inclined, please review us on Apple.
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Another fun podcast! I was a bit surprised however, about how critical you guys got of the SNW episode. It got really nitpicky. To me it was one of the best Trek episodes I have ever seen. (I’ve never seen Court Martial btw.)
Regarding the Federation colony: I kinda got from it, that maybe it was a Federation colony at first, buy when things got really hostile there, they might have withdrawn or something like that?
I think the lounge set was shot on the AR wall. I’m positive all of the outside wall with the windows and the ‘upstairs seating areas’ were virtual. It blends very well with the furniture so it’s hard te tell, but the huge round red couch kinda gives it away. There’s also no access to the stairs to the upstairs areas. And the fact no one is ever sitting there is also a clue. ;)
Yeah… that’s why I made a point at the end that I liked the episode despite all the nitpicks. It was still a good one despite whatever issues I had with shoes and whatnot. Ha!
RE: The colony. When TOS was made, it was implied that considerable amounts of time could pass between actual interactions between Federation members. That was one of the rationales as to why Starfleet captains has a lot of latitude to interpret regulations. That Governor Kodos went off the rails (TOS episode Conscience of the King) certainly demonstrated that a Federation colony might have a lot of time to jump the rails before authorities could intervene.
This episode does kinda dig into looking at how the Federation sausage is made. TOS didn’t take a deep dive into Starfleet/Federation life. TNG did, somewhat, either way, the results aren’t always satisfying. I can think of all sorts of questions that are sure to stimulate some arguments.
Interesting, thank you!
Phil, great post!
I found this episode to be exceptionally well-written and put together, a real relief after last week’s misfire. More of this, please.
Well said, I could not agree more.
In regards to Trek courtroom episodes, I’ll put a word in for Worf’s DS9 trial. Not Measure of a Man level, but a damn good story with interesting 4th wall breaks.
I know this is the wrong spot but we have breaking news on Prodigy being cancelled.
As usual, I loved hearing your news updates, your review and your bits of the week. I agreed with y’all that this was a solid episode. But, like many Star Trek episodes, it required us to look past its flaws to appreciate the bigger picture. My two biggest concerns were things you both didn’t address. Wondered if you had thoughts.
First, the scene with Spock and the Vulcan JAG was never paid off. Why was it there? I agree it was fun for what it said about Ortegas and M’Benga (and Spock). But I felt like there should have been a narrative reason for setting up their antipathy for each other. I know you both suggested it could come back later in the series. That scene seemed too insignificant to be called back later in the season but too significant to ignore within the episode.
Second, Una’s lawyer resolving the episode by conveniently pulling a clause out of the Starfleet code—one with no foundation or precursor anywhere in the episode or canon—felt a lot like deus ex machina to me.
It’s the sort of thing Star Trek fans are used to ignoring.
Thanks for reading.
Yeah, I’d say it’s the sort of thing that Trek fans are used to ignoring. Typically an episode starts out with a mystery, or conundrum, or problem to be solved. Spock, McCoy, or Data will propose some kind of theory or solution, which with a little tweaking to round out the hour usually resolves the issue. Rinse and repeat — except that’s not how problem-solving works in the real world. In this case, the producers evidently wanted an offbeat solution to Una’s legal problems that would allow Starfleet to let her off the hook without changing the status quo (since we know the genetic ban is still in place in the 24th century). What they came up with wasn’t perfect, but I thought it checked those boxes well enough.
Tony/Laurie,
First, I just saw the news of Prodigy’s cancellation. This is indeed a sad day for Star Trek. I felt is one of the best new trek shows. It moved Star Trek forward while honoring the legacy characters that we love.
I enjoyed this episode a lot better than last weeks episode. Here is what I think was awesome about it:
My nitpicks:
Overall, a good episode and an improvement over last weeks. I hope they revisit the Illyrians again. I find them more interesting than the Gorn.
LLAP! Have a great week!
Hi KevinB, that’s exactly what I was trying to say about “because of the Eugenics Wars” as a rationale. I wish they had gotten into it more specifically so we, as viewers, could relate to what the specific fear was. Great opportunity to do that in a courtroom setting, no? I don’t know if they needed to break canon but we should at least have seen the line of reasoning behind it in more detail.
Good points KevinB and I would agree with you on Yetida Badakai, who I thought was outstanding.
Agree on that too! Yetide Badaki shone.
I don’t know, I love your podcasts, but, I mean, to me, this was hands-down the single best ep of of Trek since DS9, and it’s not even close. This was magnitudes better that that the all-over-the-place, well meaning, fan service final two eps of Pic S2. My wife and I were glued to the ep, experienced the tension, the great acting, the drama, the feeling, and the awesome legal principles ending.
This is what Star Trek is all about when it’s at its best! It’s not about space opera fights, characters getting super powers, and zombies…it’s about adults in a better world using their brains to advance the story in an exciting way in science fiction, not fantasy. I didn’t even register most of your criticisms, and I love this ep so much, I really just see that as nitpicking…my opinion.
But IDIC, and like the great Dave Mason song says, there ain’t no good guy, there ain’t no bad guy…there’s only you and me and we just disagree. :-)
I’m always happy to read things like this, to know that people are still so excited about new episodes of Star Trek. Nitpicks aside, I definitely enjoyed the episode! I wouldn’t put it that high on my list, but so what? I have a friend who told me his #1 favorite Trek series is DS9, and second is SNW, which I found really surprising but kind of wonderful.
Thanks, Laurie. Keep up the good work!
My Top 5, in order: TOS, DS9, SNW, TNG, DSC
I just watched it for a third time. And I’ve changed my mind. It is a great episode. It’s so dialogue heavy and it’s easy to lose some of the details. But, I get it now.
It totally grew on me the more I watched it too.
Hi,
OT, but this so reminded me of the vibe with the friendships of this crew. And wow, isn’t it great to have that vibe. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7joUyD8vaPg
By Joyce Lin