Out of Contreks

Ep. 112: ”Kobiyashi Maru” (DSC S4E1)

In this discussion of the Season 4 Discovery premiere, Ryan and Brady talk effective storytelling, sub-Whedon banner, and how diagnosing patients in the 32nd century is even easier than in the 23rd century. Just point and click! This episode a little more positive than our usual Discovery episodes but it's still not exactly glowing.

Ep. 111: Short Treks (w/ That’s Not How Science Works)

Caitlin and Nicole return for our longest episode ever, discussing all 10 webisodes/short films/whatever these are that make up Paramount+'s Short Treks streaming series. We talk bad animations, what makes good tie-in media, and take a detour at the end of the episode to talk about our hopes and fears for the Section 31 TV show.

Ep. 110: ”The Alternate” (DS9 S2E12)

Things get unexpectedly real in this Deep Space 9 Odo episode, as Ryan and Brady talk about this surprisingly layered examination of the dynamics between fathers and sons. We also discuss why Odo looks like that.

Ep. 109: ”Evolution” (TNG S3E1)

Ryan and Brady cover the first episode of TNG Season 3 and try to remember at what point in this season the show actually gets really good. We also discuss the humanity of computer viruses and Guinan's questionable backstory. The episode image is a shot of a deleted scene mentioned in the episode.

Ep. 108: ”Forget Me Not” (DSC S3E4)

Ryan and Brady take on a Discovery episode chockablock with elements we don't care for and use it to talk about writing crutches, conflict resolution, and an extended riff on a time when a Star Trek mobile game made several members of its player base extremely mad.

OOC Special 8: Picard, Season 3

On this special episode of Out of Contreks, Ryan and Brady engage in a quickly recorded, mostly unedited discussion of the recently-concluded final season of Star Trek: Picard. Topics include plot presentation issues, interesting in-universe ramifications, writing crutches, and also how Michael Dorn is the absolute king.

Ep. 107: ”Face of the Enemy” (TNG S6E14)

On this week's podcast, Ryan and Brady talk about the underrated Marina Sirtis and a surprisingly layered late period TNG episode. We also talk bad haircuts, whiffed endings, and once again speculate on the rapidly changing levels of inconvenience associated with species reassignment surgeries in the Star Trek universe.

Ep. 106: ”Darmok” (TNG S5E2)

Ryan and Brady talk about one of the best ever episodes of Star Trek, what it has to say about communication and metaphor, and how it's served as an even more prescient indicator for the way we talk to each other now.

Ep. 105: ”Power Play” (TNG S5E15)

On this episode, Ryan and Brady discuss a fun little mid-period TNG outing that allows sometimes-shunted-aside players like Troi, Keiko and O'Brien to flex their muscles. We also discuss the perpetually locked-in Michael Dorn and try to figure out what exactly Picard is hoping to accomplish at the end of the episode.

 

Here is a link to the Jim Henson Productions title sequence mentioned on today's episode.

Ep.104: ”Imperfection” (VOY S7E2)

In this wide-ranging discussion about a late-period Voyager episode, Ryan and Brady talk about Icheb, Jeri Ryan's ability to elevate material, Neelix's odd food classification, and Star Trek video games.