Out of Contreks

Ep. 23: "Blood Oath" (DS9 S2E09)

I'll be honest. I (Ryan) upload these, and this is an episode Brady edited, and I forgot to do this until right before I went to bed the night before the episode is scheduled to drop and I can't remember very much about what we talked about. It's a Klingon culture episode, but with Dax instead of Worf, and there are some interesting Trill ideas, too. I can't remember much else; we recorded it two months ago. Listen along, and we'll find out together!

Ep. 22: "Real Life" (VOY S3E22)

Is paternalism still going to be a problem in the future? The Voyager episode Ryan and Brady watched this week certainly seems to think so. Join them as they discuss how "Real Life" compares to "The Offspring" and "Fair Haven," and stay for an update on brain trauma and the weird race stuff that frequently afflicts Star Trek's handling of alien species.

Ep. 21: "Trials and Tribble-ations" (DS9 S5E06)

Ryan and Brady heap love on this DS9/TOS mash-up but aren't exactly sure how to talk about it, given its strange narrative structure. Also, Ryan at one point goes on a tangent about the streaming wars? It's kind of a weird one, but very positive.

Ep. 20: "Dark Frontier" (VOY S5E15/16)

This Voyager episode raises a lot of questions about the Borg. What is their ultimate purpose? Should there even be a Borg queen? And why are they so squeamish about the nude human form? Ryan and Brady set out to answer these questions and more in their 20th release.

Ep. 19: "The Arsenal of Freedom" (TNG S1E21)

In this sleepy episode, Ryan and Brady talk about a throwback TNG outing that sleepily condemns Reagan-era foreign policy. They also puzzle over a strange idiom left by a hologram from a dead civilization.

Ep. 18: "Fair Haven" (VOY S6E11)

The holodeck shenanigans never end on Star Trek, especially on Voyager. In this episode, Ryan and Brady explore Janeway's dalliance with a holographic man, whether it's creepy or not, relationship dynamics, and whether you can murder a computer program.

Ep. 17 "Alliances" (VOY S2E14)

Brady is your guide to Voyager during this episode, explaining the reasoning behind the Kazon and Seska's updated fashion choices. Ryan is along for the ride, and they both get some licks in on a bad speech at the end of ep!

Ep. 16 "The Omega Glory" (TOS S2E23)

What would the human body look like if you sucked all the water out of it? What is an acceptable trade-off for immortality? Why is Captain Kirk patriotic about the USA when he was born more than a century after it ceased to exist? Brady and Ryan explore all of these questions and more in an episode of The Original Series that really goes for it in the best way.

Ep. 15 "Two Days and Two Nights" (ENT S1E25)

This episode of Star Trek: Enterprise features two dogs. We know one of them is an Earth dog, but where's the other one from? Ryan and Brady talk about this and more quandaries in our discussion of "Two Days and Two Nights," a Star Trek episode that could almost be an episode of a modern day soap opera instead.

Ep. 14: "Crossover" (DS9 S2E23)

Why don't Ryan and Brady *get* DS9? We continue to explore this question in DS9's first episode set in the Mirror Universe! Tell us why we're wrong at outofcontreks@gmail.com!