Out of Contreks

Ep. 51: "Unimatrix Zero, Part 1" (S6E26)

Ryan and Brady cover the sixth season finale of Voyager, and... they think they might be starting to understand a lot of the complaints people have about Voyager, folks. To distract themselves, they also discuss bat'leths of the mind, Borg anatomy and #JusticeForHarryKim. And check out that episode image! Pretty gross for Star Trek, huh?

Ep. 50: "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

It's our 50th episode, and we've got something special for you: Rather than watch a random Star Trek episode, we've watched a random Star Trek movie instead! But is Wrath of Khan really the best Star Trek movie of all time, or does that ending leave a little something to be desired? There's some disagreement on this point, but one thing is certain: Ricardo Montalban was absolutely RIPPED.

Ep. 49: "Phage" (VOY S1E5)

Watching this very early Voyager episode, Ryan and Brady discuss one of the weirdest ethical dilemmas Star Trek has ever posed: Is it OK to steal a man's lungs if he stole them from you first? Also discussed: The universality of chefs hats, the vagaries of the universal translator, and Neelix's sickbay mobile.

Ep. 48: "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not For The Lamb's Cry" (DIS S1E04)

When it comes to Star Trek, how dark is too dark? Does knowing the twist about one of Discovery's characters make them more enjoyable to watch? Do replicators revolutionize the concept of doing the dishes? We discuss these questions, and more, in our second ever episode about Star Trek: Discovery.

Ep. 47: "Birthright, Part 2" (TNG S6E17)

We hope you had (or are in the process of having) a very happy holiday! This week, we suffered a computer crash while recording, so a bit of the episode has gone missing, but most of it remains for your edification. "Birthright, Part 2" (and our discussion thereof) is all about Worf: his rudeness, his efficacy as an allegory for cultural revolution, and his sexy bod in that tactical turtleneck.

Ep. 46: "Nothing Human" (VOY S5E08)

Our scheduling is back on track, at least for now, so here's that Voyager episode we promised you! We talk medical ethics, faulty hypotheticals and get into a discussion of just what the Cardassian/Bajoran conflict is supposed to be an allegory for. It's a classic Voyager episode: We don't agree with the conclusion, but we appreciate the thought it took to get them there!

Ep. 45: "Statistical Probabilities" (DS9 S6E09)

We return to DS9 and try to figure out what this late period episode is about. Relating to neurodivergent people? The triumph of the human spirit over computers? Eugenics? Oh yeah, and how does a transporter handle velocity when beaming in a moving object?

Ep. 44: "First Flight" (ENT S2E24)

Not a very good episode of Star Trek, but one that opens up a variety of questions about the Star Trek universe, including the following: "Do offices go back to looking like they did in the late '90s in the future?" "When did the Starfleet fighting style change from 'actual fighting' to 'pretend karate chops'?" "What were the other cast members doing the week that Scott Bakula, Connor Trinneer and Jolene Blalock shot this?" "What is the Temporal Cold War, and why can't we ever watch an episode about that instead?"

Ep. 43: "Dreadnought" (VOY S2E17)

We talk about nuclear proliferation and the unified Torres theory of the Delta Quadrant in another Voyager episode. We also neglect to mention that this episode takes place one episode previously than the last episode we talked about. Isn't that weird? The random number generator works in mysterious ways!

Ep. 42: "Death Wish" (VOY S2E18)

Brady's computer crashed while he was editing this one, so the audio might be a bit wonky at times. Still, we think the conversation about this episode, one of the best we've yet watched for the show, is worth it. We talk about Q, mortality, bureaucracy, and how a guest star choice almost made this episode much, MUCH worse.