Out of Contreks

OOC Special 2: Lower Decks Season 1

Is Lower Decks the best Star Trek put to screen since Voyager? Ryan and Brady think so. Join us for our overview of the first season of the latest CBS All-Access Trek offering.

 

*As with the Picard special, the Lower Decks special was recorded one day before air and consequentially received a somewhat looser edit. We still think it's a fun hang, though!

Ep. 41: "This Side of Paradise" (TOS S1E24)

OK, look. I (Ryan) was editing this episode and realized that we spent the cold open talking about whether Brady looks like Spock, a conversation that no listener would have context for. Thus, the image for this episode: At left, Brady when he was 16 (I have cropped out his mullet). At right, everybody's favorite Vulcan. Now you can decide for yourself if my wife was correct. 

 

Or, you can skip ahead and listen to the rest of the episode, about a pretty goofy, weirdly capitalist episode of TOS.

 

I did not ask Brady if I could use this picture, so it might change later and you'll be left wondering whether any of this was worth it. The internet, like life itself, is an ephemeral being.

Ep. 40: "Live Fast And Prosper" (VOY S6E21)

This is one of the best episodes we've talked about yet. It has one of the best names, one of the most fun plots, and one of the best one-shot guest stars either of us have seen. It's a rollicking good time; why not join us?

Ep. 39: "Time's Orphan" (DS9 S6E24)

It's a tale as old as time: Bad A Plot, Good B Plot. On our first DS9 episode in a while, we talk adorable Worf, the engineer who's bad at math, and how misconceptions about mental health sadly continue to exist in a socialist utopian future.

 

Also, here's the unfortunately relevant article mentioned on this episode on the sexism in Star Trek during this and other time periods.

Ep. 38: "Equinox, Part 1" (VOY S5E26)

OK, folks, seriously... Why don't people like Voyager? It rules! This episode is really good! There are ethical dilemmas and bad Doctors and Slimer aliens.

Ep. 37 "Innocence" (VOY S2E10)

Tuvok gives a kid a gun in this one, but it's very good, we promise! We reflect on mortality, misunderstandings and the durability of the Star Trek episode format.

Ep. 36: "Pathfinder" (VOY S6E10)

It's our first Reginald Barclay episode, but oddly enough, it's not a TNG episode! As sometimes happens in Voyager, "Pathfinder" is a compelling episode for the first 35 minutes or so before falling apart in the denouement. Hopefully you don't feel the same way about our recording.

Ep. 35: "Gambit, Part 1" (TNG S7E04)

It's a fun little Next Generation episode with not a ton to discuss in theme, so Ryan and Brady take some time at the beginning to do a Star Trek draft based on a recent post from the Star Trek twitter account. See the post here, and follow along at home!

Ep. 34: "Will You Take My Hand? (DIS S1E15)

It's our first episode of Star Trek: Discovery, and our first episode with guests: the always great Caitlin and Nicole from That's Not How Science Works! We talk about new, darker Trek, the efficacy of trying to blow up a volcano, the leading women getting a spotlight and... yes, this is the episode where we find out that Klingon men are really packing down there, and we do discuss that briefly.

Ep. 33: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" (TAS S1E08)

Ryan and Brady discuss their first watch of an Animated Series episode, and it's perhaps their widest-ranging talk yet. Theology, the Salem Witch Trials and the origins of Kylo Ren all get a mention. It's a trip!