Out of Contreks

Ep. 66: ”Vaulting Ambition” (DSC S1E12)

Ryan and Brady grapple with more Discovery Mirror Universe stuff in their second in-person recording. We also talk a lot about Space Jam for some reason. When Brady emailed Ryan this episode, his email subject was "Execute episode 66," which made Ryan laugh. Maybe it will do the same to you!

Ep. 65: "Author, Author" (VOY S7E19)

In this late period Voyager installment, Ryan and Brady talk about surprisingly efficient storytelling, hologram repression, and how much holodeck human Torres looks like Ripley from Alien. There's a surprising amount to unpack from this deceptively simple episode premise, and we get into it in an intimate, in-person recording.

Ep. 64: "Ferengi Love Songs" (DS9 S5E20)

Ryan and Brady talk about this, perhaps the most sitcommy episode of Star Trek we've yet covered for this show. Also, Ryan was going on vacation and he couldn't get the screenshot from Netflix to load, so it's a short description this time. Fun episode, though!

Ep. 63: "Return to Grace" (DS9 S4E14)

It's a real two-hander of an episode between Kira and Dukat. Even though it's a good episode, it's not necessarily the kind you can talk about for too long, but fortunately, Ryan and Brady dive deep into the ongoing narrative of Deep Space 9 to explain how exactly this episode could even come to be. By the end, we're talking about DS9's place as the most leftist Trek show and making analogies to real world terrorist attacks. It's a journey! Why not join us?

Ep. 62: "By Inferno's Light" (DS9 S5E15)

It's one of the best episodes we've watched for this show, probably a top five DS9 episode overall, and arguably the best ever episode for Worf, the galaxy's most dejected Klingon. Ryan and Brady discuss the catharsis of Worf finally getting his due, the momentous nature of this episode overall, and what might be Ryan's favorite line ever uttered in a Trek show.

Ep. 61: "Silicon Avatar" (TNG S5E04)

In a kind of sequel to our last episode, we discuss the end of the Crystalline Entity, uh, saga? Can something be a saga if it's only in two episodes and then mentioned a couple other times?

Regardless, Ryan and Brady talk about a great guest star turn, a dark ending for a TNG show, and mull the classic question: Why isn't Riker creepy? This episode is a little on the short side, but we pack in some very fun discussion.

Ep. 60: "Brothers" (TNG S4E03)

It's a Brent Spiner-stravaganza! For this important world-building episode of The Next Generation, Ryan and Brady talk about how much Brent Spiner loves to cut loose, camera tricks, and also how that one little boy in this episode is a huge tool.

Ep. 59: "Strange New World" (ENT S1E04) (feat. That's Now How Science Works)

It's what we hope is becoming an annual summer crossover with the ladies of That's Not How Science Works! Today's episode looks in on a very early entry of Star Trek Enterprise, a show Caitlin and Nicole have both seen more of than Ryan and Brady. We talk about early human-Vulcan relations, the decidedly non-space trappings of Enterprise, and Caitlin and Nicole class up the joint with some actual science talk.

Speaking of which, here's the article Caitlin cites on jet-injected vaccines.

Ep. 58: "Judgment" (ENT S2E19)

Back to our regular schedule this week! Ryan and Brady have different reactions to this mid-period Enterprise episode, which bears a lot of similarities to Star Trek VI. Ryan liked it more than Brady did, which is why he spent 10 minutes trying to pause Netflix at the right time to get this episode image.

Ep. 57: "Survival Instinct" (VOY S6E02)

We're had some scheduling issues, so we moved an episode up to cover the gap. We're hoping to get back to our schedule over the next couple of episodes.

 

In THIS episode, the Borg return once again to Voyager, and Ryan and Brady have mixed feelings about it. We continue to explore the usefulness of the once-fearsome race frequently appearing in the Delta Quadrant, making detours into a strange racquetball sport and the underappreciated Jeri Ryan.