Random Trek Review

RTR Bonus: Desiccating Discovery

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 03:00:00 -0800

It's another special bonus edition of RTR as Matt and Andrew talk about the recently completed third season of Star Trek: Discovery. They discuss the season's plotlines, character developments and much more!

RTR 62: It's Just So Voyager-y

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 5 Jan 2021 02:00:00 -0800

Andrew and Matt ring in the new year with a review the Voyager episode "Good Shepherd". They talk about the joys of cable television, Janeway the science know-it-all, this episode's rock star and much more!

RTR 61: Vulcans Stole My Homework

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 05:37:00 -0800

Matt and Andrew get very Ferengi as they review the Deep Space Nine episode "The Nagus". They discuss the perils of following the Rules of Acquisition, how poor Mr. O'Brien became a substitute teacher, two characters named Gral and much more!

RTR 60: Full Complement of Shuttles

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 8 Dec 2020 02:00:00 -0800

Andrew and Matt head to Abaddon's Repository of Lost Treasures and review the Voyager episode "Alice". They discuss some quality acting in the episode, Voyager's strict dress code, debate who Star Trek's best pilot is and much more!

RTR 59: Turbolift Fistfight!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 02:00:00 -0800

Matt and Andrew are off to the mirror universe as they talk about the Discovery episode "Despite Yourself". They discuss Discovery's quick death trigger, Tilt-A-Whirl staff meetings, an Inception level callback and much more!

RTR 58: Come to Quark's, Quarks' is Fun

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 02:00:00 -0800

Andrew and Matt deal with some timely stuff as they discuss the Deep Space Nine episode "The Quickening". They talk about Matt's memories of Quark's ad jingle, the speed at which plagues are typically cured in Star Trek, how to pass time alone on a runabout in a nebula and much more!

RTR 57: Hell Hath No Fury Like Kes Scorned

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew get vengeful and furious as they review the Voyager episode "Fury". They talk about Jennifer Lien's departure from the show, the questionable special effects, Voyager's time travel destinations and much more!

RTR Blog: Andrew's Star Trek Discovery Season 3 Predictions

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 05:58:00 -0700

Hmmmm, Star Trek Discovery Season 3. Is this the year that they break out of their shell and become another classic Trek series in the pantheon of Trek series? Or is this the year that they fizzle out and lose all credibility? I am choosing to take the high road this year, I learned my lesson during Lower Decks and I don't want to cry foul to be proven wrong this time. I think above all else the shift forward in time by 900 years will allow the writers to tell the stories they want to tell unencumbered by the timeframe in which the show takes place. When we look back at Star Trek DISCO in the future, not unlike the Next Generation, we will say that season three was when they caught their stride!

CHARACTERS

Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. I think that season one and two of Discovery did a horrendous job of developing the characters that we have and in some instances (like Saru going through Kelpian puberty), somehow made them worse! I am hoping that we are going to see some better writing and better use of the cast this season. It would also be really nice to not use Burnham so much, but I can't go so far as to say they will pull that trigger. I think that over the course of the season, we will start to like the characters a little bit more, but there will still be some residual stank from season one and two that will take another couple of years of airing out to fix!

STORY

Lets just pray that it isn't another season of mystery box theatre. Last years reliance on the Red Angel gimmick made for some pretty lack lustre television with some overly pandering "cliff hangers". I think that because we will be so far into the future, just finding out where everything is an whats been happening will be interesting enough to carry the show.

VISUALS/SPECIAL EFFECTS

They will continue to be good and will fit the show better now that its in the future.

This is a bit rushed, but I wanted to get something out before the season was half over, I am eagerly anticipating this season, and love having new Trek to watch on Thursday nights!

RTR Bonus: Looking at Lower Decks

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Andrew and Matt come at you with a very special bonus episode in which they discuss the recently completed first season of Star Trek Lower Decks! The discussion covers plot arcs and characters, the first appearance of a mimbo on Star Trek, their favourite moments from the season and much more!

RTR 56: You Give par'Mach A Bad Name

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 02:00:00 -0700

It's back to the Bajoran sector for Andrew and Matt as they review the Deep Space Nine episode "Looking For par'Mach in All the Wrong Places". They discuss the very odd O'Brien/Kira love story, Klingon courting rituals, a Jackie Chiles appearance and much more!

RTR 55: Dr. Sleepy McCoy

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew are back in the universe of cartoons as they review the Animated Series episode “The Pirates of Orion”. They cover the unintended hilarity of Mr. Spock, the treaty citation showdown, the notable writer of the episode and much more!

RTR 54: A Star Trek Cougar

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Andrew and Matt are back on the Enterprise-D as they discuss the Next Generation episode "Manhunt". They talk about how forgettable the episode is, some of the wild aliens from early TNG, medical school in the 24th century and much more!

RTR Blog: An Exciting Announcement!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 8 Sep 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Greetings RTR listeners. We are very excited to announce that Random Trek Review will be moving to the Holosuite Media Network!

We are working with the fine folks at HSM to transition to their platform. We will continue to post blogs and podcasts here for the time being, but we expect to complete the move to their platform within a few weeks. We will still be posting blogs, RTBR podcasts and our bonus season reviews of the current Star Trek shows.

In the meantime, we both encourage our listeners to explore the other podcasts currently available on HSM by checking out their website www.holosuitemedia.com. They have a variety of Star Trek podcasts covering series old and new as well as a few other science fiction related podcasts. Who knows, you might find a podcast that you love just as much as RTR!

This is an exciting move for us. Holosuite Media has been around since 2009 and is experiencing a bit of a renaissance as some changes in the Star Trek podcast landscape have led to many opportunities for HSM to increase their offerings. Please stick with us during the transition period. We anticipate that once the process is complete, RTR will be better than ever!

Thanks for tuning in, we look forward to continuing to produce more great podcasts for your listening pleasure.

RTR 53: DS9 Doing Its DS9 Thing

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 1 Sep 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew kick off the third season of Random Trek Review with a season premiere as they talk about the Deep Space Nine episode "A Time to Stand". They discuss the great chemistry between the DS9 cast, revisit the Kira hair-o-meter (again), the beginning of the end for Gul Dukat and much more!

The RTR 2nd Birthday Spectacular!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Andrew and Matt get out the noise makers and party hats to celebrate RTR turning two! They run down the season that was before engaging in the second annual RTR Trivia Bonanza. Join in the party as RTR turns two!

RTR 52: You're Not Supposed to be Thinking At All

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 02:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew continue their foray into the Kelvin timeline as they discuss the second half of the movie Star Trek (2009). They debate the merits of Nero's planet destroying technique, Kelvin Kirk's subpar fighting skills, some of the casting choices for the film and much more!

RTR Blog: What Matt Hopes to See From Star Trek: Lower Decks

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Wed, 5 Aug 2020 02:00:00 -0700

When the slew of new Star Trek series were announced over the past 18 months, the one that was most intriguing to me was Star Trek Lower Decks. This was partly because the concept of seeing the Star Trek universe through the eyes of lower ranked officers alone has an appeal and partly because it was going to be a comedic animated series. I love comedy. As much as I love Star Trek, Seinfeld will probably remain my favourite show of all time with The Simpsons also ranking very highly. The thought of an animated comedy Star Trek series is something that is of great interest to me. Star Trek has done its share of comedy episodes, but this is the first series that will purposefully put a comedic spin on Star Trek.

With the series premiere now only one day away(!!), here are some things I'm hoping to see as Star Trek Lower Decks journeys into the universe of the comedic:

First, and perhaps most obviously, I hope the animation is good. The trailer gives me high hopes that we won't get any weirdo animation style or attempts to be cutting edge. It appears that we're going to get an animation style in a similar vein to Futurama/Simpsons which is fine by me. Realistic enough but with little doubt that it is a cartoon and not a CGI faux-realistic show. It's a solid and tested style that I think will work really well with a comedic science fiction show.

It's an animated series, which means the reins of what can realistically be filmed in a live action series are completely gone. I hope the writers and producers take full advantage of this. When Andrew and I reviewed the TAS episode “The Infinite Vulcan”, we talked about the Phylosians, aliens that were sentient plants. I loved this idea. I hope we get to see all sorts of zany and wild aliens that would be virtually impossible to do in a live action series. The writers and animators are really limited by their own imagination rather than budgets or special effects technology. With this sort of limitation lifted, I'd love to see the writers and producers go completely wild with weird aliens and even spatial anomalies. There's no reason not to.

Being an animated comedy series, one fear I do have is that the show won't take itself seriously enough. I get that being a comedy and a cartoon, this isn't a show that should be taken quite as seriously as the live action shows, but I hope that this series isn't a full on farce. Parodies are fun and all but I think there are enough interesting possibilities with this concept that the writers don't need to make this a let's-poke-fun-at-Star-Trek kind of show.

One thing that I always look for in a comedy show is genuinely funny, intelligent humour. The Simpsons mastered this, particularly in the first ten or so seasons. I'm hopeful that the writers are able to make me laugh without resorting to low brow cheap laughs. I'm not necessarily talking about jokes that only die hard Star Trek fans will get or deep cuts into trivia, but rather funny things that require some level of thought. I'm sure they'll throw in some cheesy stuff here and there just because but I'm hoping the intelligent humour takes center stage. Afterall, Trek fans are supposed to be smart, right?

Finally, I hope that behind the humour we don't lose the essence of what Star Trek is. I've always regarded Star Trek as a positive vision of what humanity could be in the future. This central theme is what keeps drawing me back to the franchise, especially as I've gotten older. I hope that we don't lose that even in an adult comedy series. Sure I want to laugh, hear and see some good jokes, but I also want to see this key pillar of Star Trek on full display.

I'm very intrigued to see what Lower Decks has in store for us being only the second animated Star Trek series and the first full out comedy. There are certainly some interesting possibilities and different directions this show could take. I'm very eager to tune in and see what we get from Star Trek Lower Decks.

RTR Blog: Andrew's Lower Deck Predictions

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 4 Aug 2020 02:00:00 -0700

It feels like it has been a lifetime since I sat down and wrote my predictions for the Picard series back in January. Who could have predicted what a wild and rocky year we would have way back then, when our biggest worries were how CBS was going to handle the Jean-Luc Picard character. I was almost certain that we were going to get Star Trek Discovery season 3 in the spring and then Lower Decks in the fall, but as we hit the dog days of summer, we are about to embark on twenty three straight weeks of new Star Trek!!

First and foremost, I think that an animated Star Trek show is an excellent idea! When I first heard that they were doing an animated show, I thought that it could be a great opportunity to dig into elements of the series that would typically be too expensive to shoot. Bizarre aliens (potentially quadrupeds, bug like, or plant based!), huge battles or wars and travelling to planets that would be far to expensive to construct. When it was later released that it was a comedy based show like Rick and Morty I had three thoughts 1) I have never watched that particular show, but know that it is known for being extreme 2) It would probably use low brow humour to lure in new fans and 3) It will probably laugh AT Star Trek rather than WITH Star Trek. This all makes me very nervous, as the trailer and subsequent TV spots have done little to quell those fears. I am using all of my cognitive energy to stay positive, but a third Star Trek show that alienates the fans and dumps on cannon, is the last thing the community needs. So without further ado, here are my predictions for Star Trek: Lower Decks....

The Characters

We will get lots and lots of who we don't like and very little of who we do. This seems to be a running theme with new Trek; the writers can write interesting characters, but they are typically left in the background, while they jam some annoying character down our throats. We saw this in ST:DISCO, where we were constantly barraged with Michael Burnham, Tilly and Spock while other characters like Detemer, Airiam and Bryce were barely mentioned or only seen in the background. Worse still, if the fan base really liked a character, like Lorca, Georgieu, Airiam or Culber, they killed them off pointlessly. All of the trailer and promotional material revolves around Ensign Mariner, who, to me, just seems annoying. Bouncing around being loud and painfully unfunny. Almost everyday I see a clip of her putting the blast shield up and down, up and down....if this is the best they've got, I am definitely worried. More so, I have a sinking suspicion that the "main" crew will all be really well written and interesting, but we won't see them that much, leading the fan base to ask the question "Why did you saddle the show with this Lower Decks gimmick?". Not to pick on Discovery, but this exact thing happened with this show. They went out of their way to make the first officer the show, only to realize that it doesn't work. We have spent years associating the shows with their captains at the helm, and so when you try and put others front and centre, everyone spends their time craning their neck to see what the Captain is up to. Don't believe me? How many people preferred Lorca, Georgieau and Pike over Michael Burnham? Oh yeah, everybody.

The Stories

I think that the stories will be fine, but eventually get hamstrung by the gimmick of having only following the Ensigns. There is a reason why over the course of the seven season of The Next Generation, there was only ONE episode that focused on the lower deck crew. It's because it's not that interesting most of the time. I am almost certain that they are going to start off great, looking at the daily comings and goings of life on the lower decks before swiftly running out of ideas and forcing reasons for the lower deck crew to interact with the main crew and to be part of the action!

The Ship/Locations/Look/Feel

This is one thing that I am pretty sure they are going to nail perfectly! They have had so much push back about the blue uniforms on Discovery and the lens flares on Picard, they are going to just give us what we want! I can already tell from the trailer that the show will look beautiful, but I think that they will go the distance to make sure the uniforms, the sounds, the planets and everything else are all amazing and will scratch every Trek fan where they itch. Setting the show slightly after TNG (the most successful Trek), and building slightly on that universe is a brilliant move and will no doubt be the thing that everyone likes the most about the show.

The Comedy/In jokes/References

One thing that New Trek loves to do is self reference itself. Youtube is filled with Trek fans that painstakingly go through every episode and point out the call backs, references and nods to old Trek shows. I think this trend will continue with Lower Decks, and that we may even be lucky enough to have some great cameo appearances from Trek alum, that they have snuck in to surprise us! As for the comedy, I don't think that it will work for Star Trek. I know the kind of comedy that they are leaning towards, the Rick and Morty, Family Guy shock comedy that is super hyper and in your face. I don't think that it will blend well with your average Star Trek fan, who is used to more subtle, clever humour that is sprinkled in amongst a good story. Sadly I think that the show will too often make fun of the Trekisms that we all hold so near and dear, and rather than get a laugh from a hardcore Trek fan like myself, it will more feel belittling and insulting. I also highly doubt that it will draw in fans of other shows like Family Guy, because without the deep Trek knowledge, the jokes will fall flat or not make sense.

In Closing

I am super excited for Lower Decks, and I want so badly for it to be a great addition to the Star Trek universe! That being said, I don't think that it will be, and will more than likely be shelved after one season. An animated show is a great idea, and using the ensigns of the show is a great idea, and having it be a comedy is a great idea, but that doesn't mean it is going to work. I am not the first person to point out that this show is not aimed at anybody. If you are a fan of zany cartoon humour, there are so many other shows that probably do it better and are not limited to Star Trek jokes. If you are a kid, it is probably too vulgar for your parents to allow you to watch it. And sadly if you are a die hard Star Trek fan like me, you are probably too sensitive to laugh when a show takes the piss out of something that you love and devote so much time to. In the end, only time will tell, and this is an instance where I will happily admit that I'm wrong if none of these predictions come true, hell, I will ever write an apology post if it is great; that being said, if you don't hear much from me in the upcoming weeks, be sure to listen when Matt and I do our end of the season retrospective. It will be right around Canadian Thanksgiving, which is quite fitting, because I think we will roast this show like a turkey!

RTR 51: It Looked Cool

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 05:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew take a deep dive into the Kelvin universe as they take a look at the first half of Star Trek in episode 51 of Random Trek Review. They talk about the film's visuals, the effectiveness of the kolinahr ritual, some questionable decision making and much more!

RTR B7: Last Best Hope

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 06:44:00 -0700

Fifteen years ago….you led us out of the darkness. You commanded the greatest rescue armada in history. Then….the unimaginable. What did taht cost you? Your faith. Your faith in us. Your faith in yourself. Tell us, why did you leave Starfleet, Admiral. Every end has a beginning! This week on RTBR, Andrew looks at the prequel book to the CBS hit show Picard. What were all of your favourite characters like Raffi, Juratti and Jean-Luc Picard up to before the events of the televison series. Find out on this special book edition of RTR!

For more great Star Trek content, check out our most recent review of In the Hands of the Prophets!

RTR 50: Vedek Bareil Flanders

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 08:24:00 -0700

Andrew and Matt take another spin on DS9 as they discuss the Deep Space Nine episode "In the Hands of the Prophets". They talk about the perils of old school television viewing, the age old science vs religion debate, Andrew's disdain for Vedek Bareil Flanders and much more!

RTR Blog: Matt Builds a Phaser! (Prop Replica)

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 7 Jul 2020 05:00:00 -0700

About a year ago I made the decision to get back into model building. It was something I had done to much joy as a teenager and that I picked up again in my late 20s. I built science fiction starships almost exclusively and loved every minute of it. Last year I dusted off an old Star Wars Rebel Base kit that somehow survived all these years and re-did a few of the small ships that came with it as a refresher. With my skills dusted off, I thought it was time for something more Star Trekkian.

I decided to fulfill a childhood fantasy by putting together and painting a prop replica model of a DS9/VOY era phaser. I always loved the design and as a kid I always wanted to have a screen accurate phaser. I ordered a prop replica kit back in March, just before the madness of the pandemic set in, and got to work on it shortly thereafter.

The kit was two solid resin pieces, the handle/body and the black emitter. This was my first resin kit and it could very well be my last. I spent a lot of time filing the tiny holes throughout the kit and sanding them down. Admittedly I got impatient and decided to leave some of the smaller ones and get into the painting.

I roughed up the entire surface with some fine sandpaper and then sprayed the whole thing with some automotive primer. It was a bit weird seeing the whole thing a red colour, but at the same time it kind of introduced a 'what if?' moment.

Once the primer was fully applied and dry it was time for the light gun metal colour base coat. It was a bit darker than what we see on screen, but I really loved the metallic quality and I think the darker colour works quite well. While that was drying, I painted the emitter black.

Next I masked off the setting indicators and hand painted those green. You can see some of the holes that I probably should have filled, but I think it turned out pretty nicely.

The next step was to mask off the control area and paint it black. Once that was done I hand painted the control buttons white.

The final painting step before clear coating the whole thing was to mask off and paint the bottom grip black. I was a bit nervous about this because it had some tricky corners to mask off, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Once the paint was all dry, I glued the emitter to the main body using two part epoxy glue. It took a bit of tinkering, but I got it positioned well and once the glue dried it was rock solid.

Once that emitter was solidly in place, I sprayed the entire phaser with a semi-gloss clear coat. The semi gloss finish was pretty much exactly what I was going for. It allowed the metallic finish of the gun metal to come through without reflecting too much. It also dulled down the gloss finish of the setting indicators and the controls nicely.

Even though it was a bit time consuming doing the prep work, this was a fairly straight forward build which I think turned out pretty well for someone just re-honing their skills. I'm not sure how eager I will be to do another resin kit in the near future, but who knows. There are several other cool prop replica kits out there to try so perhaps one of these days I'll add to the collection.

Stay tuned to the RTR blog, I've got a couple more projects that I plan to start soon!

For more great Star Trek content, check out our most recent RTR episode where we looked at The Next Generation episode Firstborn or our most recent literary trek review, where we looked at Star Trek Discovery's The Enterprise War!!

RTR 49: Off to the Klingon Renaissance Fair!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 05:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew take another look at Klingon culture as they discuss the Next Generation episode "Firstborn". They talk about the lack of foreshadowing, the best Trek crossover appearances, Worf's impeccable taste in workout attire and much more!

RTR B6: The Enterprise War

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 06:57:00 -0700

A shattered ship, a divided crew – trapped in the infernal nightmare of conflict! Hearing of the outbreak of hostilities between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Captain Christopher Pike attempts to bring the USS Enterprise home to join in the fight. But in the hellish nebula known as the Pergamum, the stalwart commander instead finds an epic battle of his own, pitting ancient enemies against one another – with not just the Enterprise, but her crew as the spoils of war. Random Trek Book Review is back this week, as Andrew looks at the fifth book in the series The Enterprise War!

For more great Star Trek content, check out our most recent review of Hide and Q

RTR 48: Cringe Level Maximum

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 05:00:00 -0700

Andrew and Matt have their first encounter with the Q Continuum on episode 48 of Random Trek Review as they review the Next Generation episode "Hide and Q". They rank the Q episodes, tally up the episode's Roddenberry-isms, discuss the series finding its footing and much more!

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RTR 47: Sitcom Level Buffoonery

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 2 Jun 2020 05:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew dive into the late episodes in the Delta Quadrant on episode 47 of Random Trek Review as they review the Voyager episode "Natural Law". They discuss the symptoms of franchise fatigue, the Mr. Bookman of the Delta Quadrant, Matt's driving instructor and much more!

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RTR B5: A Stitch in Time

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 26 May 2020 05:00:00 -0700

After several cups of coffee while reading, Matt sits down (with another cup of coffee) and gives his review of the Deep Space Nine novel "A Stitch in Time" written by Andrew J. Robinson. He talks about how he came into possession of the novel, the history between Garak and Dukat, thoughts on post-war Cardassia and much more!

For more great Star Trek content, check out our most recent random review of the DS9 episode Honor Among Thieves HERE
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RTR 46: That Certain Level of Dinge

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 19 May 2020 05:00:00 -0700

It's another trip to the Bajoran sector on episode 46 of Random Trek Review as Andrew and Matt discuss the Deep Space Nine episode "Honor Among Thieves". They talk about the seedy bars of Farius Prime, the episode's reasonable stakes, crazy sets to build and much more! Also, everyone here at RTR wants to say a HUGE thank you to feedspots list of top 60 Star Trek podcasts, where we recently made the list at number 53!! Check out this list here:
https://blog.feedspot.com/star_trek_podcasts/
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RTR 45: The Cat is the Star of the Show

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 5 May 2020 05:00:00 -0700

Things get very spoooooooky on episode 45 of Random Trek Review as Matt and Andrew review the Original Series episode "Catspaw". They talk about the episode's curious similarities to an episode of Gilligan's Island, Starfleet haunted house training, silly magic wands and much more!

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RTR Blog: Matt's DS9 Top Ten

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 05:00:00 -0700

Deep Space Nine has grown to be my favourite Star Trek series. The shades of gray and later the Dominion War made it a great series that I've appreciated more and more as I've gotten older. Since we've drawn a number of Deep Space Nine episodes so far in season two of Random Trek Review, I thought it timely to count down my DS9 top 10. Let's go:

10: The Siege of AR-558

This is a great look at the ugly side of war. Several of the Deep Space Nine crew are stranded on a communications station on the front lines where they encounter a garrison of very fatigued soldiers who are on edge. The DS9 crew deal with the first hand reality of war as they prepare the troops for an assault after Jem'Hadar shock troops land on the planet. We see some outstanding performances from the guest stars who portray soldiers on the edge of completely losing it having been in combat for months. The action at the end was a great climax to a very intense episode that deals with a lot of different issues associated with being on the front lines of a prolonged conflict.

9: It's Only A Paper Moon

Reviewed in episode 15 of RTR, this episode picks up on the events of The Siege of AR-558 as Nog deals with PTSD and the loss of his leg. There are some fun, light moments in the early stages of the episode as Nog bonds with Vic Fontaine. The tension builds and culminates in the very intense climax as Nog is finally forced to confront his feelings. This was an incredible performance by the late Aron Eisenberg as Nog completely breaks down and admits that he is scared of the real world. It was an incredibly powerful scene that has had an impact in the real world. The final scene when Nog admits to several of the crew members that he isn't fine, but he will be was a great ending to a very memorable episode.

8: Take Me Out to the Holosuite

Baseball? Star Trek? Yes, sign me up! It was a collision that was bound to happen given the fondness several Star Trek producers had for America's pastime. I absolutely love this episode in which the crew of the station are challenged to a baseball game by an old rival of Sisko's. A nice diversion from the Dominion War story that had numerous great light and funny moments as the crew learns the game and hone their skills, including umpire Odo. During the game itself, there are several moments that highlight the eccentricities and nuances of the game that I truly enjoyed as a baseball aficionado. It all culminated with the glorious scene in which Rom accidentally lays down a perfect bunt allowing Nog to score the Niners lone run in the 9^th inning. It was a delightful episode on so many levels for me.

7: Rocks and Shoals

This episode is part of a mini arc kicking off the sixth season which sees Sisko and crew destroy a Dominion outpost using a captured Jem'Hadar ship. Here we have the crew crash land on a planet where a group of Jem'Hadar had also crashed. Their Vorta is dying and they are running out of ketracel white. Seems like a collision is inevitable. I like this episode because we see the crew get dirty and antsy while in a very dire situation. We also get to see things from the point of view of the Jem'Hadar and gain some insight into the mentality and unwavering loyalty of the Jem'Hadar. The Vorta orders them into an obvious trap and the soldiers don't think twice about fighting to their certain deaths. Even when Sisko offers them an opportunity to live, their leader scoffs at the opportunity. An interesting episode which shockingly guest stars Phil Morris as Ramat'iklan, a major departure from his better known role on Seinfeld: Jackie Chiles.

6: Emissary

We tackled both parts of Emissary in episodes 30 and 31 of RTR and to me this is the best series premiere. Although it heavily features Sisko, we do get some nice introductions to the other crew members. It picks up nicely on the Bajoran occupation by the Cardassians that was explored briefly through the fifth and sixth seasons of the Next Generation. We also get introduced to the Bajoran wormhole and the prophets which play a huge role in the series going forward. I loved the beginning where we see the station completely trashed and the crew running around trying to clean things up while dealing with pillagers and other criminals. It quickly established the darker themes of the show and that this was not going to be your ordinary Star Trek. There was a nice little standoff with the Cardassians, although some of the action felt a bit forced, and the episode wrapped up nicely establishing the Cardassians as an early antagonist. It's a solid episode that gives a good start to the series.

5: The Visitor

Andrew named this as his favourite DS9 episode in the intro episode of RTR and for good reason. We see an aged Jake Sisko, now a famous writer, talk with an unexpected visitor who seeks refuge during a rainstorm. He talks to her about his efforts to rescue his father who became stuck in time due to an accident on the Defiant many years ago. I loved the time jumps forward where we see Nog and many other members of the crew in the future helping Jake in his attempts to rescue his father. We also see Jake give up everything he worked for in his life after the accident in an effort to save his father. He gives up his writing career, marriage, everything to learn all he can about what happened so that he can save his father. It was cool seeing the crew rally around him when it came time to mount a rescue. His ultimate sacrifice at the end when Sisko appears again to give them both a second chance was an incredible moment. It's a great episode about the bond between father and son and the lengths we will go to in order to save the ones we love.

4: Improbable Cause / The Die Is Cast

A Garak heavy two part episode? Yes, please! I absolutely loved the first part of this episode where Odo tries to unravel the mystery surrounding the bombing of Garak's shop. The visit to his Cardassian contact who won't allow Odo to see his face was great. Learning that it was all a ruse to draw Odo into an investigation into some strange activity in the Orias system was classic Garak and we learn of a plot to destroy the Founders homeworld. In part two we learn some new things about Garak and his background which was fascinating. We also get a pretty grisly scene as Garak tortures Odo using a Romulan device to prevent him from changing his shape. Kudos for the makeup team for that scene. I loved the twist at the end when we discover that the founders cooked up the whole scheme and had Jem'Hadar warships waiting for the incoming fleet bent on destroying the planet. There's a nice battle scene at the end between the two fleets with the DS9 crew swooping in on the Defiant to rescue Garak and Odo. A nice two part episode that has everything I enjoy in a Star Trek episode.

3: The Way of the Warrior

The appearance of the Klingons at the start of season four was a bit unexpected but it was certainly welcome in this episode which marks the return of Mr. Worf to Star Trek as he joins the DS9 crew. There is some good mystery at the beginning of the episode as we wonder what this massive fleet of Klingons is doing hanging around the station. Once Worf arrives, unravels the mystery and we learn that the Klingons believe the Cardassian government has been infiltrated by Changelings, it's time for some intense battle action as Sisko and the crew step in. There are some moments of levity throughout. Garak's quips before and after being roughed up by some Klingons, Sisko and Dax's bet about whether Dukat would complain before or after thanking Sisko for rescuing him. DS9 had a knack for adding some great moments of comic relief in the midst of a very intense episode. This was a classic season opener that made the Klingons a major part of DS9 and began the cold war that became a major part of the fourth season.

2: In the Pale Moonlight

An episode that could only ever happen on Deep Space Nine, this is an absolute classic that features Sisko wrestling with his conscience as he uses nefarious means to drag the Romulans into the war. This is another episode where we see Garak's full talents on display as he does all of Sisko's dirty work in the shadows as we would expect from Garak. I loved seeing a determined Sisko set his mind to a goal and work towards it by any means necessary. This sort of moral debate is something we could only see on Deep Space Nine and probably only something we could see Sisko doing. Picard or Janeway going against their own morals and Starfleet regulations? Not a chance. Sisko? Even though we see him wrestle with his conscience throughout the episode, ultimately he decides to reach his goal regardless of the cost. And in the end, he decides that his feeling of guilt are worth getting the Romulans into the war. Oh, and I nearly forgot, the plan he devises with Mr. Garak was really good and watching them put it in motion and deal with the snags along the way was really entertaining. An absolute classic DS9 episode in so many ways.

1: Call to Arms

The moment that was teased for .. well, the better part of three seasons finally descended upon us in Call to Arms as the Federation and Dominion are finally plunged into war. The episode sets things up nicely as the crew of Deep Space Nine are ordered to mine the entrance of the wormhole to prevent further Dominion convoys from reaching Cardassia. There are some nice light moments in the early parts of the episode as Rom and Leeta plan their wedding and the crew designs the mines to be used at the entrance to the wormhole. The Dominion pleads with the Federation to abandon their plan, leading to great scene with Sisko and Weyoun as they discuss the situation. Of course we all knew this would lead to a stern response and we get it in the form of a massive armada of Cardassian and Jem'Hadar warships attacking the station. The ending is a bit of a surprise and leads to a pretty solid cliffhanger as the station is lost to the Dominion, but the last thing we see is the Defiant joining an equally massive armada of Federation and Klingon vessels. It was quite a cliffhanger to live through wondering for an entire summer how epic the counter attack would be. This episode put in motion a great ongoing story arc that kept us going for two years. It had everything that made Deep Space Nine great which puts it at the top of my list.

As always, some honourable mentions in no particular order:

Duet

A rare gem from the first two seasons, a Cardassian is held for war crimes at a Bajoran labour camp. It turns out the man had cosmetic surgery to impersonate a famous Cardassian war criminal in the hope of being tried and forcing Cardassia to admit their wrongdoings during the Bajoran occupation. It is a powerful story of a man who is so overcome with guilt and remorse that he would be willing to give up his life in order to make amends to crimes he allowed to happen without opposition.

The Ship

The episode that set up Rocks and Shoals, this is a nice episode that puts the crew in a similar predicament when they capture a Jem'Hadar warship, but are stranded after their runabout is destroyed. I loved seeing the crew struggling through a dangerous situation and the cat and mouse games between Sisko and the Vorta. It was a suspenseful episode with some good emotional moments that had a pretty shocking ending

The Search

The Search finally introduced us to the Dominion in earnest and setup the conflict that would linger until all out war breaks out three seasons later. We get introduced to the USS Defiant and get a nice ship battle showing off its abilities. The second part was intriguing but finding out at the end it was merely a simulation was a bit weak. Still, this overall was a good episode that helped steer DS9 in the right direction.

Crossover

Even though DS9 went to the mirror universe well far too many times, the first episode was one that I really enjoyed. We get introduced to all the great mirror universe versions of the main characters and a few others. It was interesting to see how the universe established in the classic TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror" had evolved and the DS9 characters roles in it. The accidental foray into it was believable and it was fun to see the mirror versions of our heroes.

Faith, Treachery and the Great River

My favourite DS9 comedy episode, O'Brien and Nog go for a wild ride on the Great River as they attempt to make a crazy series of trades to obtain items to improve crew morale. There were so many good moments of humor in this episode as O'Brien and Nog struggled to make things work and faced the ire of various characters after their stuff goes missing. Of course in the end O'Brien and Nog are successful and everyone is happy, making their wild ride worthwhile.

RTR 44: Can You Hear the Wedding Bells?

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 05:00:00 -0700

It's Wedding Day! Andrew and Matt don their formal Klingon battle armor on episode 44 of Random Trek Review and celebrate the wedding of Jadzia Dax and Worf. This can only mean they are reviewing the Deep Space Nine episode "You Are Cordially Invited ..". They discuss wild Star Trekian parties, thoughts on weddings after several lifetimes, and much more! If you'd like to see Andrew's top Trek weddings click HERE!

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RTR 43: Bureaucratic Borg

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 7 Apr 2020 05:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew take the show back to the Delta Quadrant in episode 43 of Random Trek Review as they break down the Voyager episode "Collective". They talk about their dream Voyager away teams, sacreligious poker games, how annoying First was and much more!

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RTR: Dissecting Star Trek Picard Season One

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 06:00:00 -0700

Andrew and Matt bring you a very special episode of RTR as they take a look at the first season of Star Trek: Picard! They talk about some of the major plot threads throughout the season, discuss the new characters, revisit their blog posts from just before the premiere and much more!

WARNING: This podcast is littered and filled with Star Trek Picard season one SPOILERS.

Please forgive the shoddy audio in the first hour or so, we are using a different setup due to the pandemic. It does get better!

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RZR 42: The Meme-tastic Episode

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 05:00:00 -0700

After Matthias tries to sell Andy a membership to Bad Life Gym, the two dive deep into the Voyager episode "Live Fast and Prosper" on episode 42 of Random Trek Review. They debate the quality of the imposters' schemes, Voyager's design flaws, sleeping arrangements on the Delta Flyer and much more!

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RTR 41: The Prophets Work in Mysterious Ways

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 08:11:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew return to the mouth of the Bajoran Wormhole in episode 41 of Random Trek Review as they discuss the Deep Space Nine episode "The Collaborator". They talk about Winn's otherworldly level of verbal jabbing, the Kira hair meter (again), how this episode inspired a later classic DS9 episode and much more!

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RTR 40: Worf Is Kind of the Worst

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 05:00:00 -0800

Andrew and Matt head back to their favourite space station as they take a look at the Deep Space Nine episode "Afterimage". They talk about Ezri vs. Jadzia Dax, Worf's perpetual grumpiness, very brief speculation on what a tympanic tickle is and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to the Hollywood Walk of Fame

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 07:00:00 -0800

Last year, the Hollywood Walk of Fame was named the worlds largest tourist trap according to Stasher, using a variety of metrics including Instagram posts, TripAdvisor ratings and "other factors". When I was in Los Angeles, despite knowing how much of a tourist trap it is, I went anyway! I figured, how bad can a free attraction be, and wanted to see the stars of the Original Series and the cement hand-prints at the Chinese Theatre. Considering it is always shown on TV as being this glamorous, upscale redcapetesque place when celebrities are getting their stars, it's really quite the opposite. It's kind of dingy, disgusting and for being a tourist spot, there are a lot of less than reputable characters wandering around, some of which are dressed as Elmo, Woody and other childhood characters. I've read that the Walk of Fame isn't as much of an honour as it seems, and a lot of times, people either campaign or pay to have a star on the walk of fame. Not to mention the instances where celebrities fall from stardom and people revolt by smashing or defacing their star, such as Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein. I think that their is some good to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it is sometimes used as a place of memorial (such as James Doohan pictured below), and is legitimately a great idea. If it were in a nice area with lots of shops and interesting things to do, it really does make for a great time to search out and find your favourite stars. Lastly if nothing else, it is amazing that every member of The Original Series including Gene Roddenberry have stars on the walk of fame! When I was there, I had only two goals, to find all the Bonds on the walk and to find all the Original Series cast members!! It didn't take too long, and it wasn't as magical as I imagined it would be, but it made for a fun morning, and I was glad that I did it!

RTR 39: Red Alert! Shut the Blinds!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 09:47:00 -0800

It's back to the USS Voyager on episode 39 of Random Trek Review as Matt and Andrew talk about the Voyager episode "The Void". The discussion includes the episode's links to Babylon 5, plot driven shield damage, aliens resembling Mr. Potato Head and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to Yosemite National Park

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 4 Feb 2020 05:00:00 -0800

There is a lot to not like about Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. It has been ripped apart enough times over the last thirty one years and everything that could be said about it probably has been said about it. Even with all of its flaws, the one part of the movie that I have always loved is the fist 15-20 minutes in Yosemite National Park.

Despite being new to directing, I think Shatner did an amazing job with all of the establishing shots and the rock climbing scenes. I know that the action looks a little bit cheesy now, especially the part where Kirk falls, but the beauty of doing live on location shooting is that the parts that show half dome and El Captain are still absolutely breathtaking today. I always felt that the movie did a great job of capturing Yosemite in the early morning, and you get the feeling that Kirk must have started climbing at the crack of dawn, and we are just starting the story as the day starts to warm up. I recently read Edward Gross's and Mark Altmans book Star Trek: The Fifty Year Mission, and in it, we get some very candid interviews with William Shatner and the crew.

Of all the stuff in The Final Frontier, Shatner was most proud of the beginning at Yosemite. In fact he also talks of how he perhaps spent too much money on early parts of the film and ran out of money for a bigger climax at the end. Personally I wouldn't trade a big cheesy action piece at the end for the stuff at the park (yes with the Row, Row, Row your boat and all). Surprisingly it is very difficult to actually film in Yosemite National Park, and the producers has to pull some strings to get the filming rights. Movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Small Soldiers, and the Great Outdoors also filmed in the park, but when I was there in 2014 my brain immediately jumped to Kirk free rock climbing and Spock in rocket boots. I don't have the skill or the nohow to rock climb like Kirk, but I did the next best thing and hiked the four mile trail which gave me great views of the park just like James T. Kirk. If you ever get the chance to go to Yosemite National Park, it really is just as magical as it looks on screen, and if you're even luckier to get to go climbing there, make sure to wear your blue vest or rocket boots!

If you're looking for more great Star Trek content, check out our latest RTR review of "The Host" here: http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2020/01/rtr-38-dr-crusher-life-update.html

RTR 38: A Dr. Crusher Life Update

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0800

Andrew and Matt dig deep into the Next Generation episode "The Host" on episode 38 of Random Trek Review. They talk about Dr. Crusher's quick love affair, comparative Trill lore, spa options on other Federation starships and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Hopes and Dream for Star Trek Picard

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 05:51:00 -0800

TODAY IS THE DAY!! PICARD IS HERE!!!

Anything Matt can do, I can do better? Well I guess we'll find out!! Tuesday Matt made some bold predictions, as well as stated his hopes and dreams for Star Trek: Picard. Today, I'll do the same today with only hours left before we finally get to feast our eyes on what is genuinely the most exciting piece of Trek content we've had since Random Trek Review 😉. I thought that Matt made some good predictions and I think we can all agree that the deep rooted Next Generation fan in him, made him seem more positive than if he was making some predictions on Discovery season three. That being said, I don't know that i am as confident or as positive as he is, so without further ado, here are MY hopes, dreams and predictions for Star Trek Picard!!

Don't Star Wars it!!

In a world where we have seen literally every major franchise been rebooted, redone, revived, rearranged and re-imagined, it's enough to make you want to regurgitate. Lots of these have been great! James Bond in Casino Royale, Spiderman in the Marvel Universe and the amazing Cobra Kai mini-series based on the Karate Kid all spring to my mind. That being said, there have been so many beloved franchise fall victim to reboot hell, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, the Terminator series, Ghostbuster 2017, hell even the J.J Abrams Trek reboots ran the series into the ground! I think the worst of the worst though has to be very fittingly the Star Wars Sequel soft reboot trilogy. Considering people spent hours of their childhood arguing over whether Star Trek or Star Wars was better, it is the best possible example of what I don't want Picard to be. After being intrigued by Force Awakens, the second and third movies, The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker, literally killed the franchise for me. And based on Rotten Tomatoes and the general pulse of the Star Wars community, it wasn't just me. Most people either hated the last two movies or were so begrudged by Last Jedi that they just plain don't care anymore. This would be, for me anyway, the worst possible way for Picard to go. I don't care about Dahj, or Dr. Juanti, or a samurai vulcan! I want all my old favourites, and I don't care that they are 100 years old. I want cameos upon cameos, and so much Star Trek fan service that I'm sick. When everyone looks back at the Star Wars sequel trilogy from now until eternity, all anyone will say is that "man it was a shame we got no scenes with Luke, Han and Leia all together". I don't want that for Picard, I want to know what every TNG charachter has been up to, where everyone is now and I want to see them drop in on Jean-Luc like it's a Golden Girls rerun!

Go Beyond the Next Generation

It's already been announced that we are going to get Jeri Ryan back for this series, and in my opinion,

why stop there? I'd love to see other Voyager characters, DS9 characters and even maybe call backs and time travel episodes to visit the Enterprise and Original Series crews! I know this kind of fan service is sometimes looked down upon, but the reality is, if you didn't want that stuff, why even bring back Picard in the first place? We already have Discovery to pave a new path, so Picard can be like the reunion tour!

Slow, Steady and Deep!

I don't want or need this show to have very much action, and I definitely don't need to see 80 year old Patrick Stewart running around with a phaser or fist fighting anyone. Jean-Luc Picard was beloved in TNG because of the speeches, moral quandaries, and his diplomacy. When they went to a more action oriented Picard in the TNG movies, it didn't really work, with the exception of First Contact. I'm ok with some of the new supporting characters getting into some scuffles, but I'd actually prefer to keep it to a minimum! I want the vast majority of the show to be slow, and build towards big ship battles or fights that mean something through slow steady story telling!

The Story

I have tried very hard to avoid spoilers for this series, and don't know very much about what to expect other than what I have cobbled together from the couple of trailers and the Short Trek: Children of Mars. My prediction is that after the events of ST: Nemisis, Starfleet uses the B-4 prototype to research android technology. They do a poor job controlling it (ala Control in ST; Discovery), and that leads to the androids rebelling against humans and attacking Mars as we saw in the Short Trek. Picard will be upset that he allowed them to use B-4 and didn't keep up his beliefs from Measure of a Man and will leave Starfleet. We'll essentially get the same story arc as we saw in ST: Disco season two, but with some 7 of 9 /borg/Romulan connection that will end up being connected to the synths! I actually think that the producers will have learned their lesson from Disco, and will do a much better job of keeping the pieces linked together and the overall feel will have a much better payoff as well! I think that like Star Wars, they won't do a good job of creating or crafting new characters and will rely to heavily on the nostalgia of Hugh, Seven, Riker, etc. I won't be mad about it, but I think the fandom will say they want the show to develop the new characters more, and when they eventually do, they won't come up with anything as good as we've seen in previous Trek. I worry the story will suffer from too much action and fighting, and if we do see Picard doing any fighting, it will verge on Irishman level believabilty!

NEW PICARD - NEW TREK - LETS PARTY

Whether this show is good, bad, great, or crap, who cares? We have new Trek on TV, we have Jean-Luc Picard back, we've got Riker back, Troi back, Seven back!! When I was fourteen years old and the Phantom Menace came out, I loved it!! I loved it for years, until the internet faithful, and Fandom Menace pointed out every little mistake and problem with the film and it kind of ruined it for me! I don't want that for Star Trek, I want to pop the bubbly, and go into this with totally rose coloured glasses, and I'm gonna just enjoy the ride. If there are lens flares, and dumb action and cheesy lines, Im just going to roll with it and be glad that Im watching TNG characters run around in 2020!!!

Check back to this space to see our reactions to Picard, very very soon!!

RTR Blog: Matt's Hopes and Dreams for Star Trek Picard

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0800

It's been about a year and a half since the Star Trek world was shaken by the news that Patrick Stewart would be returning to television to reprise his iconic role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I've been excited since the news hit and in only two days, the wait will finally be over as Star Trek Picard hits the airwaves .. err, streaming waves.

It's no secret that Star Trek: the Next Generation was the Trek that got it all started for me and that I'll always have a soft spot for the crew that got me loving Star Trek. Even though I enjoy the shades of gray on Deep Space Nine more as an adult than I did 20 years ago, Picard is a character that I have become more able to identify with as I've grown older. His solitary tendencies and strong sense of morals are two traits that I think many of my friends would also attribute to me. I am indeed very intrigued to see what has happened to Jean-Luc since we last saw him in Nemesis and how he has changed.

As the trailers and other news of the series has trickled in over the past six months, my mind has been going at warp nine thinking of the possibilities for characters, plotlines and nearly everything in between. With the new series now just over the horizon, I've put together some of my hopes and dreams for Star Trek Picard.

It is more than fan service.

I can hear the groans already. Don't worry, I'm not going to be the guy who writes this off before even seeing an episode. I'm very optimistic this will be more than fan service. Patrick Stewart doesn't need to do this. Jean-Luc Picard is already a beloved character and one of the most quintessential Star Trek characters of all time, probably behind only Kirk and Spock. He had done his job. Had this been a pointless Next Generation reunion I am quite certain that Stewart never would have agreed to do it. The producers presented something that stirred Stewart's imagination and something that stirs his imagination is certainly good enough for me. We are going to get a piece of Jean-Luc's life that will be a worthwhile story to tell, I'm almost certain of it.

We see that Picard has changed, grown and we see why.

Twenty years is a long time. We have seen in the trailers that something drastic took place in Picard's life. He has abandoned Starfleet and lead a life of solitude on the family vineyard. I hope we get an opportunity to understand what led Picard down this path. I hope it doesn't end there either. There's a great opportunity here to fill in a large period of an iconic character's life while continuing to chart a path for him going forward.

It has a good story.

Without question, my biggest gripe about the recent iteration of Star Trek has been the ... less than stellar stories and writing. I often describe the newer Star Trek as fun and satisfying when I want to turn my brain off. I hope that I don't have to turn my brain off to enjoy Star Trek Picard. It seems pretty obvious that this is going to be a more introspective character driven show which intrigues me greatly. My hope is that we get this character development within the framework of a great story that doesn't rely on flashy effects and massive space battles to capture your imagination (see more about visuals below). I also hope this isn't yet another crusade to save all sentient life in the universe. High stakes can make for good drama and all, but this doesn't strike me as that kind of a show. We have been promised this would be more introspective which I think better matches up to a character pushing 80 than the shoot 'em ups we've seen recently. Here's hoping the writers have come up with something interesting and that has some substance rather than fluff.

The cameos are meaningful.

So far we know that Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan and Jonathan Del Arco will be reprising their roles in the first season of Star Trek Picard. That number would ordinarily frighten me into thinking this could be too fan service-y, but footage from the trailers gives me hope that each of these has high potential to be meaningful. The Borg are obviously going to play some part in the show, so Seven of Nine and Hugh make perfect sense to appear. Data is almost certainly going to appear in dreams and/or flashbacks which I tend to think will influence Picard's decision making over the course of the show. Finally, it seems obvious to me that Riker and Troi will appear as a send off to whatever mission Picard embarks upon, getting advice from his old number one. Given that the cameos seem to be well woven into the story and aren't just there for old times sake, I'm optimistic that this dream will come true.

The supporting cast get a chance to shine somewhat.

Okay, I get it. This show is about Picard. I fully expect him to be front and center almost all of the time. Patrick Stewart isn't going to come back unless it is worth his while. But one gripe I have about Star Trek Discovery is the near dearth of character development outside of Michael Burnham and I hope that isn't repeated here. I do hope that the supporting characters are given an opportunity to be more than just people in the background who make the ship go and solve problems when they are needed. I want to see some character development and growth outside of Jean-Luc. I want to care about the other people involved in this mission. Hell, I'd even like to know their names. One thing that the Next Generation did so well was allow all of its characters to develop and grow over time. I realize we are in a different era of television which limits what you can do with supporting characters, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do any.

The show is not overwhelming visually.

As great as Star Trek Discovery looks on the screen, I do find that the visual effects tend to get a bit zany, especially when there are battle scenes involved. This is probably a pipe dream, but I do hope the producers try to tone things down a bit with Star Trek Picard. I'm all for taking advantage of technology when creating visual effects. With high definition televisions and the computer effects technology that are out there now, television is going to look a lot better than it did in the TNG days of physical models and post production effects. But when you have hundreds and thousands of moving parts on a screen at once during a frantic battle, I think it is easy to lose focus on what is really happening. Making a visual effects scene as busy and complicated as possible isn't always necessary and I hope the producers tone things down and give the audience a chance to follow the action.

The Borg and/or Romulans are not butchered.

Both long time adversaries are surely going to play a major role in this story. Now, I'm not going to say that every previous alien race has been butchered by Discovery, but ... well anyway. My hope here is that we don't see wild deviations from the established lore. I get that 20 years has passed in the Star Trek universe. Things are not going to be the same. The Collective is in shambles (we think) and Romulus has been destroyed. Both adversaries I'm sure will have evolved over those 20 years, but my hope is that we still see the core values and traits play a big role in the characters we see from those civilizations. These are adversaries that have both played a huge part in shaping Picard's life and I really hope we don't see drastic departures from the norm with both races.

This truly is an exciting time to be a Star Trek fan, especially one that grew up on the Next Generation. There is a lot of interesting possibilities re-visiting Picard 20 years after we last saw him in Star Trek Nemesis. I'm quite excited for the series and very intrigued to see what is in store for Picard, some old friends and a new crew. Only two more days until we find out!

If you are looking for more great Star Trek content check out Andrew & I's review of the Next Generation episode "Thine Own Self" here:
http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2020/01/rtr-37-dishevelled-podcast.html

RTR 37: The Dishevelled Podcast

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0800

Matt and Andrew return to the USS Enterprise-D as they discuss the Next Generation episode "Thine Own Self". They talk about TNG's ambitious women, primitive vs empirical science, Riker's otherworldly embouchure and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to Kaminar

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 7 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0800

A week into 2020, and I find myself already eagerly

anticipating warmer weather, beach days and most of importantly more Star Trek!! As I work on my resolutions and eagerly await Picard to debut in two weeks time, I also am taking the time to organize and back up my photos from 2019! As I was going through my summer pictures and reminiscing about patio beers, warmer weather and midnight swims, I found some pictures of me on Kaminar!

Fans of Star Trek: Short Treks will no doubt recognize this location from the season one Short Trek episode "The Brightest Star" and Discovery fans will recognize it from season two's episode "The Sounds of Thunder". In actual fact, it is a very small beach at Bluffers Park in Scarborough (a burb of Toronto). It utilizes the beautiful Scarborough bluffs and a little bit of digital redening to make this little beach in Ontario feel very alien.

One of the nice things about finding this filming location is that it is very easy to either drive to Bluffers Park or take the TTC (public transit) in the summer time; and once you're there, all of the areas that they used for the two episodes are withing a five or ten walk of the main parking lot. On a hot summer day, I would recommend hiking the bluffs or utilizing the beach (although Lake Ontario is kind of cold) anyway, but the fact that you can walk in Saru's fictional footsteps and see real world Kaminar without risk of the Ba'ul killing you, makes this a must see! It is definitely reccomended to go during the summer time, but the spring and fall are also really beautiful as well. As always I can't recommend filming location scouting enough, whether you're in Los Angeles, New York or yes, even Toronto, there are always great adventures to be had!

For more great Star Trek content, come check out Matt and I's latest review and break down of the Original Series episode "Requiem for Methuselah" here: http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/12/rtr-36-guy-with-cape.html

RTR 36: A Guy With A Cape

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0800

Happy New Year! Andrew and Matt ring in the new year in episode 36 of Random Trek Review and review the Original Series episode "Requiem For Methuselah". They talk about quick love, Kirk's hunkiness (again), guest characters in capes and much more!

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RTR Blog: Top 5 Trek Holidays

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 24 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0800

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy anything else you celebrate from Matt and I here at Random Trek Review. In honour of the holiday season, I am counting down the TOP 5 Trekian holidays I wish were real, so I could celebrate them!

5 - Gratitude Festival (Bajoran - DS9)

Mentioned numerous times throughout Deep Space Nine (The Nagus, Tears of the Prophets and Rapture), the gratitude festival was an annual Bajoran celebration of great importance, dating back to 17600 BC! We learn very little about the holiday other than it used to be called Peldor Joi, and that each year one person presides over the festival; Major Kira presided over the festival the third time it was hosted on the station in the episode Fascinations. We also learn that it is customary to write your problems on a scroll and to burn them symbolizing that the problems have disappeared and turned to ash. Although we don't get a lot about the Gratitude Festival, we get just enough to keep me intrigued and wanting more. A lot of our holidays center around giving thanks, so it makes sense that other cultures and planets do the same!!

4 - Federation Day (Federation - TNG/ENT)

I would love to see a whole episode on a future series dedicated to Federation Day. Similar to Canada Day, Independence Day, etc. It makes sense that the Federation would celebrate the signing of the Coalition of planets (These are the Voyages). We've gotten little nuggets throughout the years in books, deleted scenes, and games but nothing really concrete other than Deanna Troi choosing "federation day" as a poker variant in the episode Outcast. I love this level of world/universe building in Star Trek and would really love to see what kind of celebrations take place on Federation Day!

3 - Prixin (Talaxian - VOY)

Here in Ontario, we have a holiday in February called Family Day, this is essentially the Earth equivalent of Prixin. It's really a simple holiday, but I loved that it got a big chunk of the Voyager episode Mortal Coil! We learn a little about Prixin in the episode including that it takes place over multiple days and that fruit compote was eaten served with root nectar aged over several weeks. I
always though this holiday fit well with what we know about Neelix and thought it was really sweet that the crew celebrated it along with him each of the years they were stranded in the Delta Quadrant!

2- Ancestor's Eve (Voyager)

I know that not everyone loves the episode 11:59, but for anyone that lived through the millennium and all of the hoop-la that surrounded the year 2000, it wasn't surprising that Voyager tried to capitalize on it. I always liked the idea that all holidays were made up by someone at some point, so why not Neelix and Ancestors Eve. It these nice little added touches that makes Voyager one of my favourite series. I also like idea that in the future our ancestors will have so much more information about us, pictures, videos, messages, internet search histories....well hopefully not that. But regardless, I hope in the future, people will feel more connected to their ancestors just by the sheer fact that they will know so much more about us than we know about ours!

1 - Cpt. Picard Day (Enterprise-D)

Was there ever any doubt? Captain Picard Day is obviously the greatest holiday/celebration that any of the Star Trek writers ever came up with. The kids drawings and models mixed with Riker ribbing on Picard about the whole thing is just classic! I think that it is the stinger to an all time great episode of the Next Generation helps a lot, but regardless, I think that everyone has a special spot in their heart for Cpt. Picard Day and would probably celebrate it if it were a real holiday on Earth. Who knows maybe we will see it again next month when Picard debuts!! Here's hoping!

Thanks so much for reading everybody, again happy holidays and can't wait to see all of the great new Star Trek stuff to come in 2020!! RTR will be along for the ride, hopefully you will continue to join us!!

For more great content from RTR, check out our most recent podcast on the Voyager episode "State of Flux" here: http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/12/rtr-35-no-maury-povich-in-delta-quadrant.html

RTR 35: No Maury Povich in the Delta Quadrant

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0800

It is back to the Delta Quadrant for episode 35 of Random Trek Review as Matt and Andrew review the Voyager episode "State of Flux"". They talk about Chakotay's very questionable decisions, the composition of Kazon hair, stem to stern wardrobe malfunctions and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to the Drive In

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 06:56:00 -0800

There is an old-timey drive in just north of where I live. For years going back to when I was in high school, every time I visited, I always went with a pocket full of loonies to burn. I'd always go a solid hour before the movies started so I could blast some Borg before the show! Sadly, when I was here in the late fall, it looks like it has been mothballed, sadly ending the tradition! Considering these old arcades are pushing twenty years old, I suppose it's not surprising that they are starting to break down. So in honour of all the hours I "wasted" playing this game, here's me one last time with the old girl, before they most certainly scrap it.

RTR 34: In Cahoots With The Crystalline Entity

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 3 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0800

Andrew and Matt return to the USS Enterprise-D in episode 34 of Random Trek Review as they review the Next Generation episode "Silicon Avatar". The discussion includes Moby Dick, Riker's Roger Moore level of cheese, Dr. Marr's meh-ness and much more!

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RTR B4: The Way to the Stars

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 05:00:00 -0800

With Black Friday just around the corner, this week on RTBR Andrew looks at the fourth book in the Discovery era book series. The Way to the Stars looks at a young Silvia Tilly and her struggles to find her place in a private school and eventually the galaxy. Is this one you should pick up to put under the tree this year, or is it a lump of coal? Find out on Random Trek Book Review!!
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Want more great Star Trek content? Check out Matt and Andrew's most recent review of the Discovery episode "The War Without, the War Within" here:
http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/11/rtr-33-standard-issue-painting-drone.html

RTR 33: Standard Issue Painting Drone

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 05:00:00 -0800

Matt and Andrew get the roasting pan out just in time for US Thanksgiving as they make their first foray into Star Trek: Discovery and review "The War Without, The War Within". They talk about the size of starship hull markings, the puzzling staff meeting, the likeability of Michael Burnham and much more!

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RTR Blog: Reflections of the Future Trading Card Set

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 05:00:00 -0800

It seems fitting that after reviewing an episode on the podcast that centered around a baseball card that I would take a look at a collection of Star Trek cards that I've had in a binder for some time in the first installment of my Artifacts From the Future series. The story actually begins with a previous blog in which I reflected on my trip to Star Trek: The Exhibit many years ago (if you missed it, check it out here). I picked up my first packs of the Reflections of the Future trading cards at the gift shop after my visit to Star Trek: The Exhibit. Years and years later I finished off the set. Let's take a look at it.

It was a cool set that had a nice look with full colour glossy photos with subtle series specific graphics in the background and another small photo with a description on the back of each card. I didn't complete the set until recently, but I always enjoyed pulling these out once in a while and flipping through them.

Originally released by Skybox as part of Star Trek's 30^th Anniversary back in 1996, Reflections of the Future was released in three Phases over the course of 1996, each with two distinct themes which were easily identified by six color coded icons. Phase One covered ships and technology, Phase Two covered aliens and personnel and Phase Three covered cosmic phenomena and tribute. Each Phase consisted of 100 cards and the last few cards of each phase served as a preview to the next phase. There were also numerous chase cards and rare inserts (of which I had none).

Phase One included many of the well known starships from the first 30 years of Star Trek. Being a starship aficionado, this is probably my favourite part of the set. All the ships you would expect are there as well as a few one offs and weird ones from the animated series. It also included cards depicting some of the technology of Star Trek. Some of these were a bit obscure and the explanations were very rudimentary making this the part of the set that I probably look at the least.

Phase Two begins with the alien races from the Star Trek universe. It has a great assortment of the aliens we have seen over the first 30 years of Star Trek from the most well known to a few memorable one offs. It's pretty solid, mostly avoiding boring one offs and sticking to the aliens that stick out in your mind. The second half of Phase Two covers the personnel which to me is the meat of the set. Each of the main characters from the first four series is featured as well as several recurring characters. Each character gets a nice sum up on the back and the photo choices are pretty solid, particularly the Original Series personnel who are depicted in their movie garb on the backs of the cards.

Phase Three covers many of the cosmic phenomena encountered by our heroes. Although some are generic, most are phenomena that were central to many of the most memorable episodes of the franchise to that point. Some memories were definitely stirred going through this section. The tribute section is an interesting mix. It has cards featuring some celebrities that appeared on the show during the first 30 years of Star Trek. It features a cool 9 card timeline that forms a large single image when the nine cards are placed together. It finishes with cards highlighting the major awards won by Star Trek series over the first 30 years. A nice section showing off some of the high points of the franchise.

I wasn't really into trading cards when I first stumbled upon this set back in 1996, so I didn't really go out of my way to find them after my initial discovery at Star Trek: The Exhibit. I was happy to have the opportunity to complete this set later on though. It's a nice set that covers the first 30 years of Star Trek pretty well. The base sets are pretty easy to find on eBay these days and are relatively inexpensive to acquire. The chase cards and inserts I'm not as sure about, but if you are a serious card collector looking for a Star Trek set to go after, this one is not a bad choice from the 90s. I'm glad I stumbled upon it all those years ago and that I had an opportunity to complete the base set later on.

Keep checking back for more Artifacts From the Future!

RTR 32: We Can Just Goof Around

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 5 Nov 2019 05:00:00 -0800

Andrew and Matt keep the DS9 streak alive in episode 32 of Random Trek Review as they discuss the Deep Space Nine episode "In The Cards". They talk about comedy episodes of Star Trek, writers ripping off themselves, the blue man with the nice shoes and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Top 10 Trek Funerals!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 05:00:00 -0700

Happy Halloween Trek fans!! Last month in the height of wedding season, I looked at the Top Ten Trek Weddings in a Four Weddings style showdown. This month, with Halloween just days away, it seems more than fitting to talk about death and give the Top Trek Funerals the same treatment. I'll be looking at multiple factors including, cause of death (and longevity of death), the ceremony/speeches and finally the impact of the characters death overall. Once analyzed, I'll rank them to end up with Andrew's Top 10 Trek Funerals!

10 - Grand Nagus Zek (DS9 - The Nagus)

Death/Length of Death/Character -
Zek slowly passes away in his sleep while talking with Quark to set up the premise of Quark

becoming the Grand Nagus in the episode of the same name. It is your run of the mill Yoda style death (he even kind of looks like Yoda), where he drifts off to death, but with none of the weight, depth or emotion we saw in Return of the Jedi. I like a lot of people have a hard time getting through the Nagus episodes, unless he's in very small doses, so him dying doesn't elicit much emotion from me,asides perhaps relief of not having to hear that voice anymore. Throw in the fact that he was just faking it the whole time in an elaborate Ferengi rouse, makes the whole thing pretty weak.

Fuenral/Speeches -

Zeks funeral plays second fiddle to the story of Quark becoming the Nagus in this one; there aren't many in attendance and the only real distinguishing feature is a picture of Zek in a gaudy brass frame, in classic human ceremony fashion. One saving grace is that we are introduced to the Ferengi tradition of selling off the remains of the deceased in vacuum packed petri dishes as a collectible. We would see this again in future episodes done much better, but this was where the idea was born, and so deserves a tip of the cap!

Overall -
Considering that this wasn't actually a death, but more of a test that Zek was running to see what his son would do with the Grand Nagus power, it ranks at the bottom of the list. We do learn that nice piece of Ferengi tradition of selling off the deceased, but we also get no speeches, no real emotion and no real funeral proceedings, so for that, Zek finds himself in the tenth spot on our list.

9 - Dr. Ira Graves (TNG - The Schizoid Man)

Death/Length of Death/Character -
The Schizoid Man will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the very first episode we ever reviewed on Random Trek Review. Dr. Ira Graves is a one off character used here for one of the many Data not being Data story lines that we saw in TNG. A brilliant, but nefarious scientist, Ira Graves is able to transport his conscienceless into Mr. Data shortly before his inevitable death. Unfortunately this is not seen on screen, we just get a conversation between Graves and Data talking about the androids off switch (you shouldn't be making that public knowledge Data!). Getting around the whole "how did he overpower/outwit Data and transfer his mind into his body", we come back from a commercial break to find a not-so-Data-like Data announcing "Ira Graves is dead!"

Fuenral/Speeches -
Dr. Ira Graves gets a very traditional "buried at space" style funeral, with the added bonus of a tiny window on the torpedo so we can see his face setting up "Data's" speech later on. What makes this scene, and to some degree makes Schizoid Man a memorable episode is the eulogy that the delusional Dr. Graves gives to himself through Data's body. "Look at that face....", "To know him, was to love him, to love him was to know him...." there are so many great lines in this wonderfully acted scene by Brent Spiner, it's hard to do it justice in text; you really need to go back and watch this one to appreciate it, or better yet, go listen to Matt and I discuss it on RTR episode 1!!

Overall -

Despite being memorable, I don't think that this funeral packs a lot of emotional punch, as they played it more for laughs. We do get the classic torpedo coffin here, although Picard chooses to beam it into space rather than the typical shooting into space we've seen in prior funerals. Dr. Graves is a somewhat memorable character but is essentially a one off set up for the story the writers wanted to tell. For that reason, Dr. Ira Graves ends up number nine on the list.

8 - Lt. John Kelly (VOY - One Small Step)

Death/Length of Death/Character -
Star Trek at it's greatest right here! In the course of fortyish minutes the writers of ST:Voyager are able to introduce, develop and kill off a character, all while taking the audience along for the emotional ride. In the teaser, we get introduced to Lt. John Kelly, and with some banter between him and his team, we get a sense of his character and learn of his love for baseball. He gets sucked into an anomaly alone, only to be found by the Voyager crew many light-years and time-years away! As the crew learns more about John through his logs, the audience does as well, from his wife to his dad and his urge to explore in general, the crew grow to appreciate him and so do we. His death, which in all honesty could have been played for fear, lost in space, is played more emotional as he laments that he regrets nothing other than never finding out the winner of the World Series.

Fuenral/Speeches -

For a single episode character we get not one but two speeches from both Cpt. Janeway and 7 of 9. Janeway's speech is well written, linking the idea that without people like Kelly, people like her would never have been able to find a home in the emptiness of space. Seven of Nine takes a more personal approach as she has learned so much about Kelly while she herself was in the anomaly, capping the emotional speech by announcing the Yankees in six. Tuvok has the entire crew stand at attention while a random crew member plays the whistle and Voyager shoot Kelly off to space in the classic torpedo coffin!

Overall -
What a great Trekkie episode of Star Trek! It may be a little on the nose with some of the messages here, but it is beautifully told and packs the emotional punch that the writers were hoping for. John Kelly isn't a main character, so it's hard to rank him too far up the list, but he is memorable and a got a great funeral scene in Trek!

7 - Laforge/Ro (TNG - The Next Phase)

Death/Length of Death/Character -
The Next Phase (another episode Matt and I reviewed) lead to a lot of classic scenes and a great funeral/wake. Transporter mishaps are pretty much common place on star ships, but they're pretty rarely fatal. Unfortunately for LaForge and Ro, some new Romulan tech causes them to shift out of phase and be presumed dead. It leads to so many great scenes between both the characters out of phase but also the characters in phase as well. We get Geordi and En. Ro arguing about whether or not they are dead or not, they get to see their death certificates get written and say things to their senior officers that they never got to say in life; It's all great stuff. Of course they get brought back into phase at the end of the episode, which hurts the position on the ranking, but does give us a great insight as to how the Enterprise and it's crew deals with the death of friends and colleagues.

Fuenral/Speeches -
Data does a lot of deep thinking about what type of funeral services he wants to have for his best friend Geordi. He asks lots of people on the crew what their suggestions are before eventually landing on an Irish style wake. We get Riker playing the trombone, snacks and fond memories of the two deceased. This leads to more comedy as we live through the frustration of the out of phase characters trying to get the attention of the inphase characters capped off with the two coming back into the phase and asking "looks like a great party, mind if we join you"

Overall -
This is a fun and memorable episode that goes more for humour than emotional punch. That being said, it is a great look at how the crew reacts when somebody dies, especially someone as prominent as the main engineer. We get a little look at how difficult it must be to plan a funeral in the 24th century with so many different customs and traditions, only to settle on the classic human tradition of the wake. It all works wonderfully well, and sits in the seventh position on our list!

6 - Sim (ENT - Similtude)

Death/Length of Death/Character -

Enterprise pulls a sneaky trick on the audience here, setting up a teaser that makes it appear that Trip Tucker has been killed only to reveal throughout the episode that it was in fact a replication. Oddly enough it works really well! When Tucker is severely injured in a routine engine test, Dr. Phlox gets the idea to clone him in order to get the organs necessary to heal him. This is all great in theory, until we realize that the clone, named Sim, becomes his own unique person and will essentially need to be sacrificed to save Trip. As the episode progresses you really get a sense of sadness about the clone, Sim, as he ages rapidly and while he goes through the process of aging and then learning his eventual fate it hangs heavy on the heart. There is some really deep stuff here when Sim has the urge to live and challenges Archer on whether he will go so far as to murder him, adding some good tension to the last act. Eventually Sim realizes his purpose in life is to prolong Trips and agrees to sacrifice himself. There is a great scene where he thanks his "father" Phlox and a cheesy "you owe me one" line for Trip, but it all plays very nicely.

Fuenral/Speeches -
This clone usage allows the viewers to get a preemptive look at a Trip funeral without having to actually kill him off, which I think works nicely. That being said, Sim becomes a character all his own and we are sad to see him go when it's revealed at the end of the episode that it is him and not Trip. Archer makes a speech, we get the typical torpedo coffin shot into space, but it is a nice funeral for a one episode character and it is nice to see a funeral during the Enterprise era.

Overall -
Sim isn't a main character but the fact he looked like Trip and sounds like Trip, his funeral had a main character feel. It isn't anything overly memorable, but that initial teaser shock and the fact that they were able to take this cheesy idea and give it some emotion is impressive enough to land it sixth on the list.

5 - Airiam (DIS - The Red Angel)

Death/Length of Death/Character -
A lot of Discovery fans after the first season were clamoring for the producers to give us more
depth to the supporting characters on Disco. In the second season we did get more depth, but it did feel somewhat ham-fisted. None more blatant than the treatment of the background character Airiam; the cyborg looking, mysterious, half-robot-half human we've been seen lingering in the background for a season now. In the episode "Project Daedalus" we learn a whole lot about Airiam, she was married, she has a long term memory impairment and she had an accident that left her in the suit she currently wears. I think the idea was a good one, but by the time she sacrifices herself at the end of the episode, the whole thing just felt rushed and lacked the emotional heart I think that everyone was hoping for. If they had done what fans had wanted and built the character up over time, this would have made me feel something, but because it was done at such a break neck speed, it just didn't.

Fuenral/Speeches -
Despite being a lackluster character and a rushed death scene, the modern day aesthetics and technology made her funeral something to behold. Done in what I think is supposed to be the cargo bay or torpedo assembly area, it looks absolutely amazing! Burham makes a long speech (surprise, surprise), which although was predictable, was also quite nice, you get Saru singing some weird Kelpian song and the whole thing feels very Trek. It was just another torpedo coffin funeral, but this one felt very epic which is why it ranks so high on the list.

Overall -
As we hit the halfway mark of the list, I realize that so many of these funerals are very human in tradition. As Discovery heads off to the distant future, I really hope we see a different race's funeral traditions or perhaps how ours have changed over that long a period of time. As for this funeral, it has the big budget, the lengthy speech, the over the top singing, and just enough emotion to break the top five.

4 - Cpt. Lisa Cusak (DS9 - The Sound of her Voice)

Death/Length of Death/Character -

Leave it to Deep Space Nine to weave a story that makes you care so much about a character you can't see and even worse is already dead! In such a brilliant use of sci-fi story telling, the crew of the Defiant spend six days talking with a lone survivor of a crashed ship of whom they picked up a distress call from. As each of the main cast get to know Lisa, we do to, instantly making us root for Sisco and co to make it to her in time. Of course the tension is dialed up as she is fading fast and we are given only the slimmest of hopes that she'll be alive when they get there. As only DS9 can do, they get to the cave just in time, only to find that Cusak is dead, not only that, she has been dead for three years. There is some technobabble about how the planets atmosphere time shifted the communications, and she spent her last days talking with people from the future that had no chance of saving her. It is a very sad moment, and packs the emotional punch that I'm looking for on this list!

Fuenral/Speeches -
They end up taking her body back to DS9 and giving her a proper funeral in the common area of the station. This isn't anything special in terms of the decorations or ceremony, but really hits hard are the speeches. Each of the characters gets a moment to speak of how those conversations created a friendship that will be remembered for a long time, and there was none better than O'Brien's speech where he says "The war changed us - pulled us apart....I want my friend in my life, because someday we're gonna wake up and we're gonna find out that someone is missing from this circle. On that day we're going to mourn, and we shouldn't have to mourn alone"....absolute legend!

Overall -
I may have ranked this disproportionately high because of my love of this episode,the amazing O'Brien speech or both, regardless it's warranted. In forty-forty five minutes, the writers were able to get us to care about a character that we don't actually see, then deliver speeches at the funeral that bring a tear to our eye. This is how it's done!

3 - Jadzia Dax (DS9 - Tears of the Prophets)

Death/Length of Death/Character -

If i told you that a main character gets killed by the main villain of any television series, not to mention a Star Trek series, you would assume that it would be pretty epic. Sadly this falls just short for me, We all know the story at this point, Terry Farrell got another job and the writers hastily wrote her out. That being said, issues with the actress shouldn't have rolled over onto the character, and in this situation, it does somewhat feel like it. Evil PaWrathe Dukat shoots her in the belly with a fireball and she dies; that's what we got. All of the emotional punch here comes from our love of the character and the reactions of her fellow crew members as they react to the news. Her last lines to Worf about their unborn child would have being beautiful, is pretty heart breaking stuff.

Fuenral/Speeches -
We don't get a funeral for Jadzia sadly, we get Sisko talking to his old friend through the cliched torpedo coffin. It is a pretty big scene with regards to DS9 lore, during a pivotal section of the overarching Dominion storyline which adds a lot of depth to the moment. I really would have loved to see what the others would have said at Dax's funeral, especially Quark, since they had a close relationship, but alas it will be left to our imagination!

Overall -
I may get some flak for rating this one as high as I have, but at the end of the day it is very rare to see a main cast character killed off and stay dead. For that reason, I had to put her in the top three, and because by the end of season six we had grown to love the character so much, when she died it really did hit home. I actually am a fan of Ezri Dax too, and think that it opened up a lot of great ideas for season seven, it really is just too bad we had to lose Jadzia to get her.

2 - Tasha Yar (TNG - Skin of Evil)

Death/Length of Death/Character -
In perhaps the biggest career "whoopsie" since George Lazenby turning down a seven picture

contract to play James Bond, we have Denise Crosby. After having a miserable time on the set of TNG, she decided to step away from the role of Tasha Yar, and so the character was killed off. I don't think that Skin of Evil is a great episode by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love the way Yar gets killed in the death scene. Armus kills her for "no meaning" with a green shock wave, which causes her to fly across the screen with a huge flip that always makes me gasp; it looks like the stunt woman tucks her head at the absolute last second. I think the way that Data, Riker, Troi and Crusher all deal with the loss is great and really makes us feel the weight of the situation as well.

Fuenral/Speeches -

Utilizing the holodeck for a funeral is such a brilliant idea, and makes perfect sense for the new and improved Enterprise-D. I like the idea that the deceased can choose the perfect setting, a rainy gloomy day, an early morning sunrise or as Tasha picked a beautiful sunny day. I also liked that they took a 24 century approach to the funeral and chose to have Yar herself speak via a hologram. I know that nowadays people take video of themselves and have the family watch it after/before the funeral, but still, this felt futuristic and perfectly put over the remaining cast in her leaving. Which watching now years later, perfectly summarized everyone on the main cast. Data gets the final word and so perfectly caps the second best Trek funeral we've seen thus far.

Overall -
In hindsight, I think we all agree that killing Tasha Yar was not the right call. They could have kept her alive and then as the series progressed, potentially brought her back as Yar rather than Sela. That being said, she holds a very rare distinction of a Star Trek character dying for real and staying dead. Yar got a wonderful little funeral on an episode that would be forgettable if she hadn't died in it. Her death is a great piece of stunt work and has just enough weight to make us feel bad that she died, even if we've only known her for 22 episodes.

1 - Spock (Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn)

Death/Length of Death/Character -

Get your Kleenex out folks, we are at the number one Star Trek death, and there is absolutely no surprises here with Spock in Wrath of Kahn. This is not just one of the best Star Trek deaths of all time, this may be the best sci-fi death of all time; hurt only by the fact that he was resurrected in the very next movie two years later. Everything works with this death, it starts with the great interaction between McCoy and Spock, when the doctor is trying to stop Spock from entering the radiation. As great as the interaction with the doctor is, the true main event comes when Kirk runs down to talk with his best friend one last time before he dies. Its all here, live long and prosper, the needs of the many, it is all amazing and you really feel this death even years later, knowing he comes back.

Fuenral/Speeches -
I know I've talked about the overuse of the torpedo coffin funeral, but this is the one that started it all. It is absolutely perfect in every way!! Kirks speech about Spock being human, Scotty playing the bag pipes, the camera work, the lighting, literally everything is perfect! What are you doing reading this, you should be Youtubing it right now!

Overall -
I doubt that we will ever get another Trek funeral as good as this one, you could watch it after all these years and it will still illicit the same emotion as back in eight two. All of the actors are at their absolute best here, especially Shatner in both the death scene and the funeral scene. It was a very bold move to kill off one of the most beloved scifi characters of all time, but boy it ever pay dividends. I don't know that I could add much more that others haven't been saying for years, its just amazing in every sense of the word and my top Star Trek funeral of all time!

And that's my list, I know that I missed the many time Harry Kim died and Kirk getting buried in rocks at the end of Generations, but they didn't make the grade. Thanks for so much for reading and if you are looking for more great Star Trek content, come listen to Matt and I review the second half of the Deep Space Nine series premier Emissary here:
http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/10/rtr-31-picard-loves-tea-kirk-loves-women.html

RTR 31: Picard Loves Tea, Kirk Loves Women

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:00:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew continue their discussion of the Deep Space Nine series premiere "Emissary". They talk about old time vs futuristic baseball, parallel parking runabouts, Bajoran orb Pokemon and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to Visit a 37

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 06:48:00 -0700

Back in late August of 1995, Star Trek: Voyager was early into it's second season and still finding it's footing in both the Delta quadrant and in the hearts of fans, as the true heir to the Next Generation's episodic throne. One of the more bizarre episodes in Voyager's catalog, is the second season premier The 37s. Choosing to not go with a cliff hanger finale to season one, the writers chose to start season two off with a wild mystery plot rooted in conspiracy and Earths history. Floating through space, tens of thousands of light years from Earth and humanity, the crew finds a Ford pickup truck from 1936!

If that wasn't enough to make you start scratching your head, they soon discover an S.O.S signal emanating from a nearby L-class planet, and the source of the signal is coming from a Lockheed Model 10 airplane, also popular in Earth's 1930's. Now for those of you that are fans of aviation, conspiracy theories or perhaps the dirty thirties in general, you'll know that this was the plane that Amelia Earhart went missing in, back in 1937. There are numerous theories that exist about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart; running out of fuel and crashing, landing on Gardiner island, being captured by the Japanese, she was a spy, or my favourite that she assumed a new identity and lived out her life in New Jersey. For as wild as some of these theories may be, I think that the writing staff of Voyager takes the cake for the craziest conspiracy theory of them all. In the episode they find Amelia and others were abducted by an alien species called the Biori and put into stasis for 400 years. I seriously doubt that the History channel or even the wildest of conspiracy theorist would give this episode the time of day, but its hard to argue that it doesn't make for a great hour of television even if it is a bit far fetched.

Now if you're wondering how one would take a trip to visit a 37? Well you need to use your imagination and welcome the fact that Star Trek is something that you can find all around us, sp long as you open your eyes to it. On a recent vacation to the east coast of Canada, I happened to find myself in the very tiny town of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. A place where I would have assumed that there would be nothing remotely Star Trek related. That was until I found out that this tiny town, used to have an airport runway that was one of the most easterly airports in North America. For this reason, Amelia Earhart,

among others chose to use it as a start or end point for trans-Atlantic flights in the early days of Aviation.

This was the spot that Amelia and her crew departed from on June 17th, 1928, becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

In her honour the town of Harbour Grace erected a statue in front of a 1935 DC-3 to celebrate the rich aviation history in the region. Of course being a huge Star Trek nerd, and remembering the Voyager episode, The 37's, I had to go down and check it out, not only to see one of the most inspirational women of our time, but also to see the star of one of Star Trek's most zany episodes.

RTR 30: A Very Non-Starfleety Thing

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 8 Oct 2019 05:12:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew gear up for their first series premiere on episode 30 of Random Trek Review when they take a look at the first half of the Deep Space Nine episode "Emissary". They talk about the Kira hairstyle meter, O'Brien's favourite transporter room, the story of Morn and much more!

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RTR B3: Fear Itself

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 1 Oct 2019 05:00:00 -0700

It is officially fall weather, and Random Trek Book Review is back with Star Trek Discovery's third outing, Fear Itself. Fall is a great time of the year to curl up with a good book, so this week Andrew gives us an in-depth review of this Saru centric book and determines if it is worth a read or not on this special edition of RTBR!

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For more great Star Trek coverage, check out last weeks review of Deep Space Nine's season four finale; Broken Link here:
http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/09/rtr-29-worf-begrudging-sourpuss.html

RTR 29: Worf the Begrudging Sourpuss

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 05:00:00 -0700

It is time for episode 29 of Random Trek Review where Andrew and Matt discuss their first season finale, the Deep Space Nine episode "Broken Link". They talk about the episode's stellar makeup, the great banter between the DS9 crew, Worf's unending suspicions and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Top 9 Trek Weddings!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 10:47:00 -0700

Growing up in a household with two sisters, I was no stranger to getting out voted when it came to choosing what show to watch as a kid. One my sisters favourite shows to watch, when I wanted the T.V for Star Trek, was a show called Four Weddings on TLC. Four Weddings was a show that pitted four brides against one another all vying to win a free honeymoon after attending and ranking each others wedding on three main components; Dress/Attire, Venue/Location and Ceremony. It was a decent enough show, but it was definitely not Star Trek. So today, years later, I'm going "Four Weddings" the onscreen weddings we've seen in Star Trek and give them a rating out of five! This is Andrew's Top 9 - Star Trek Weddings!

9 - Robert Tomlinson & Angela Martine (TOS - Balance of Terror)

Attire/Dress:
I know that the budget back in season one of the Original Series probably wasn't high, but it meant that poor Robert and Angela had to go without a tux, without a dress, and even without a dress uniforms. Angela did get a tiara to wear, she had her hair done nicely, and did come down the aisle to "here comes the bride", but for her big special day, you'd expect something other than a standard duty uniform.

Venue/Location:
Despite probably being a lot of Trekkers dream to get married on the classic T.V Enterprise, it doesn't make for the most glamorous in universe location to get married with so many strange new worlds to choose from! Scotty notes that he's set up a video system for the crew to watch on monitors and they also get a pretty nice alter and dais to host the ceremony as well.

Guests/Ceremony:
Having Captain Kirk officiate your wedding automatically gives your ceremony a certain degree of prominence. Add in senior staff guests Dr. McCoy and chief engineer Scott, and you've got all the makings for a great ceremony. Unfortunately an attack on outpost number four brings about the condition red alert and an unfortunate abrupt end to the proceedings. It could be assumed that at this point in Trek lore, we would get a pretty standard North American style wedding, but we never get to see it, hurting this ceremonies score.

Overall:
Overall, it is really interesting to see that wedding ceremonies, and marriages themselves are still going strong in the twenty third century. This ceremony also happens to benefit from being the teaser to a memorable and amazing Original series episode Balance of Terror. A lack of wedding attire, exoticism or a completed ceremony is what holds back this wedding the most, and ranks number nine on the list.

8 - Benjamin Sisko & Kasidy Yates (DS9 - Til Death Do Us Part)

Attire/Dress:
Despite being an impromptu wedding, Kasidy still had time to either replicate or purchase (perhaps from Garek) a wedding dress that I think looks great. The soon to be Mrs. Sisko opts for a more silvery short cut dress rather than the traditional white. Benjamin and Admiral Ross go with the traditional duty uniform, and as much as I love the grey shoulder later season DS9/First Contact uniforms, it would have been nice to see the more formal dress uniform for a big life event like this one.

Venue/Location:

It's understandable that a wedding taking place amidst the final ramp up and conclusion to the Dominion war would need to be done on the quick, and so the conference room makes sense for a venue. As nice as it would have been to see a nice Bajoran location for the wedding, it made sense for the story so you can't blame the writers for setting it there. That being said, as a wedding venue, it was dark, lacking decorations and had no real area designated area for performing the ceremony itself (well other than those weird shapes behind Ross).

Guests/Ceremony:
Dr. Bashir, O'Brien, Odo, Kira (begrudgingly), Nog and best man Jake all scored invites to the Sisko's wedding. Quark got the catering job and Admiral Ross got the officiating duties. Unfortunately Worf and (Ezri) Dax had been captured by the Dominion at this point, and weren't in attendance. As for the ceremony itself, it was a pretty standard TV wedding, with your typical cliche back and forth. Unlike the Tomlinson/Martine ceremony, this wedding we get to see go to completion despite a mid-ceremony plead from the profits for Sisko to not go through with it.

Overall:
Overall this is a nice little bright moment amidst the darkness of the Dominion war, but does feel very underplayed. I always liked this wedding story wise because I think that it adds some really good emotional punch to "What We Leave Behind", a few episodes later. Unfortunately as a wedding itself, it lacks a lot of the pomp and circumstance that you'd expect from the main characters of one of the shows getting married, and for that reason it sits eight on the list.

7 - Rom & Leeta (DS9-Call to Arms)

Attire/Dress:
The Sisko's were not the only couple on Deep Space Nine to get married due to the Dominon war, Rom and Leeta had a similar rushed ceremony when the war was just breaking out in the episode Call to Arms. Rom wore his slightly fancier engineering outfit and Leeta wore a kind of schmocky green and pastel dress that wasn't as nice as a lot of other outfits she wore on the show. Oddly Quark and his date? Or maid of honour were much better dressed that either the bride or the groom.

Venue/Location:
Just like with the Benjamin-Kasidy wedding later in the war, the rushed nature meant that the good ole conference room had to used in a pinch. It's hard to rag on war time weddings that are done with a looming threat, but if this were a real four weddings scenario I'm sure those brides would be tearing this to pieces.

Guests/Ceremony:

Perhaps Quark said it best when he said "well, that was the most pathetic excuse for a wedding ceremony I've ever seen. No bridal auction, no latinum dances, and the bride? The bride was severely over dressed!" How high on the list do you think a traditional Ferengi wedding would have made it? This is not the best ceremony by any stretch and the only notable guests are Quark and Nog, but part of why I rated this slightly higher than what perhaps it deserves is because of the lead up. For many episodes leading up to the wedding and even in this episode we get to see Leeta and Rom discuss and debate many aspects of the wedding. Should it be Bajoran or Ferengi, what dress should she wear etc. Deep Space Nine did such a great job of world building and this wedding was no exception, even if the ceremony itself was hurried through before chaos hit the station.

Overall:
It was very tough to decide between this wedding and the Sisko-Yates wedding. They were done under similar scenarios, and to a certain extent for similar reasons. I thought that Kasidy had the nicer dress, and their ceremony had more marquee guests, but at the end of the day Rom and Leeta did it first and I always liked the episode Call to Arms more than Til Death Do Us Part, and for that reason I gave the tie break to Rom and Leeta!

6 - Koss & T'Pol (ENT-Home)

Attire/Dress:

Vulcan, Vulcan, Vulcan! Well modern era Vulcan that is, everything about Koss and T'Pol's wedding in the Enterprise episode Home falls in line with what we've seen from Vulcans during this era (TNG and beyond) of Star Trek. Everyone wearing long flowy robes and veils with the exception of T'Pol who looked stunning in a long purple dress with matching purple head scarf. Again, not the traditional white that you'd expect, but perhaps purple is a Vulcan sign of purity or something. This is yet another wedding that happened somewhat abruptly, but you have to give it to them that they took the time to at least make the bride look stunning.

Venue/Location:
I'm not sure if this is outside of T'Pols mothers house or not, but it definitely feels like a redress of the generico Vulcan set we've seen in Enterprise. They spruced it up slightly with a nice roaring bonfire and some big gongs, but still doesn't wow me like some of the other venues yet to come.

Guests/Ceremony:
Another short ceremony, but what we do get is pretty good. We get a little sense for what makes up a Vulcan wedding; the two that are marrying kneel on pillows and touch three fingers while the equivalent of an officiant performs a very Earth like ritual. Only the envious Charles Tucker III and T'Pol's mother T'Les are in attendance to make note of with some extras thrown in to fill out the scene.

Overall:
Overall, I didn't love this side arc during Enterprise season four, nor the side plot of T'Pol getting married despite being in love with Trip. It was really interesting to see a true proper Vulcan wedding and the show runners, costume and set people put just enough effort into this to make it feel unique, especially considering that it doesn't take up that much screen time. If T'Pol had married Trip with the whole crew on Vulcan, it would have ranked way up the list, but because they didn't, this one falls in the top half.

5 - Tom Paris & B'Elanna Torres (VOY-Course:Oblivion & Drive)

Attire/Dress:
I may get some flak for ranking this one so highly especially since it is technically the Tom and B'Elanna copies from the fourth season demon planet. That being said this is the first main cast memeber-main cast member wedding that we've seen on the list. It is a very standard affair, including the attire. All of the senior staff, including the bride, wore their dress uniform while oddly the lesser crew members or extras (friends of the couple I assume), wore their regular duty uniform.

Venue/Location:

Considering that Voyager is lost in the delta quadrant it makes sense that the demon Torres and Paris would use the mess hall as a venue for their wedding. I would however, have expected the over excitable demon Neelix to go way over the top with the decorations for the event, especially considering we've seen him do so for similar Talaxian holidays in the past. Oddly this was very underwhelming; a tiny little archway a few flowers and that was it, I expected more from Neelix, and it left me really wanting more.

Guests/Ceremony:
Where Tom and B'Elanna's wedding really shines is with the very classic traditional Earth style wedding. We get a shot of a three tiered cake complete with tiny figurine toppers (do you think they were playmates?), Ensign Kim playing his clarinet, champagne, vows, rings, a bouquet toss and even rice on the newlyweds, even if it's molecular structure broke down immediately after being thrown. I liked that Chakotay walked the bride down the aisle, I liked that Janeway officiated, and I liked Kim as the best man, even if his line about "they're saving the pain sticks for the honeymoon" was slightly off colour for a wedding.

Overall:
It was about as paint by numbers as you can get, but it has a certain charm to it that I really liked. I also appreciated that we also get to see the classic "Just Married" sign with cans dangling behind the Delta Flyer in the seventh season episode "Drive" eluding to the fact that the non-demon copies of Tom and B'Elanna got married. This was a relationship that the writers on Voyager really took their time with and lengthened out throughout the whole series, so when we finally see them get hitched, it was a genuine feel good moment!

4 - Miles O'Brien & Kieko (TNG-Data's Day)

Attire/Dress:

For the O'Briens nuptials, we get the men all dressed in you're traditional and very much expected (for military people) dress uniforms, which is par for the course. Keiko's choice of wedding dress on the other hand is what pulls this wedding up the list in terms of attire. Being from future Japan, Keiko wears a traditional Japanese uchikaki (a wedding komono) with a matching Tsunokakushi, which is the hat. Oddly, in Japanese, the Tsunokakushi translates roughly to "horn hiding", meant to veil the woman's horns of jealousy, ego and selfishness. It's intention is to indicate that she is ready to become a gentile and obedient wife, something I would have expected to have been abolished in the enlightened twenty fourth century. Regardless, I love that the costume designers "futurized" it by making it out of a pink plastic with tonnes of glitter and flowers as accents. Great stuff.

Venue/Location:

Despite being probably the coolest hangout in Trek history (sorry Quark!), it does boil down to another wedding in the "common area" of the ship. I think that they dressed it up a little bit more than the Paris or the Tomlinson wedding with some blue spacey tapestries, Bonsai tress and flowers.

Guests/Ceremony:

I remember this being much, much, much longer than it actually ended up being. Capping off such an iconic Next Generation episode, Data's Day, definitely helps this brief but effective ceremony. You've got officiant Picard, best man Laforge, and man of honour Data, which we see getting set up throughout the episode. I liked that they added the Japanese tradition of having the sake, and you can see behind the bride and groom a very nice spread of food for the reception. Eagle eyed viewers will see Riker and Troi in the background as guests, which really makes you wonder what Crusher, Worf and Guinan had to do that was better than attending this, or perhaps they weren't invited.

Overall:

Although not a perfect wedding, I have to admit that this was the one that I thought of when I first was compiling my list to review. It has the benefit of being in a memorable episode, it ties Keiko's Japanese culture into the 24th century and it probably holds the record for longest on-screen romance in Star Trek, as we see how it progresses throughout Deep Space Nine. It didn't seem like it now, but it actually is really cool that they put this much care into a minor character, which paid dividends when Miles O'Brien became a main character years later on DS9!

3 - William T. Riker & Deanna Troi (Star Trek: Nemesis)

Attire/Dress:

Being the only wedding that we get in the Trek movies, it is understandable that this one has a little bit more of a budget to play with. That being said, I am happy that they stuck with the movie dress uniforms for the men. This is easily the best the formal uniform we ever got, with the white jacket and grey insert while the Captain got a double distinguishing central white piece. The accouterments like the shoulder and sleeve piping with the familiar placements of the rank pips and communicator were done perfectly making this uniform second to none. Marina Sirtis as Counselor Tori looks amazing, and in a non-traditional pink wedding dress, it really makes her stand out as the bride amidst the wedding party all in white, and the guests as well.

Venue/Location:

Taking place at the foot of some mountains in Alaska, which is Rikers home state, is about as perfect of a place as you could imagine for a wedding. I would have loved to see the second half of the wedding on Betazed if the crew hadn't been interrupted by that pesky Shinzon! Because we have movie money here, we get much nicer tables, linens, and even a band complete with futuristic green plastic symbols. It's a shame that the trees and the mountains in the distance look kind of fake and "set" like when you really look carefully, because if this had been filmed on location it would have been five stars for sure!

Guests/Ceremony:

Sadly we don't get to see the wedding ceremony itself, which is the only negative that I can come up with for this section. Narratively it makes sense, because ST: Nemesis is such a go,go,go movie, that a lengthy wedding scene would slow the pace to a halt. That being said, we do get to see the reception fresh with Picards best man speech, Worf playing the part of drunk uncle, and Data doing his best Adam Sandler impression as the wedding singer. I also love that everyone got an invite to this long awaited matrimony, we get of course the main cast, but also Guinan and a returning Wesley Crusher back from his time with the traveler. In a perfect world, Majel Barrett would have been able to make an appearance one last time as Troi's mother Luwaxanna, especially since that was such a running theme throughout the television show that she wanted to see her daughter get married. Unfortunately I think that she was too ill at the time to make an appearance, and the fact that she was probably arranging the Betazed half, makes for an understandable in story reason for her not being there.

Overall:

Taking the third place prize, Deanna and Will got the advent of a big movie budget in what isn't perhaps the greatest Star Trek feature. There is a lot to love about this wedding, including that we had all waited so long to see if they would ever finally get together. I think that this is one of the better parts of Nemesis, and if you look at just the wedding in isolation, it is a lot of fun. If you'd like to hear more about this wedding specifically, Matt and I actually covered ST:Nemesis as part of our one year celebrations, you can listen to it here: http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/07/rtr-25-naked-and-hungover.html

2 - T'Pring and Spock ( TOS - Amok Time)

Attire/Dress:

Camp level maximum!! I'm not one that goes back to the Original Series that often, but when I do I am always pleasantly surprised with how campy and over the top it is. That is never more apparent than the attire here in Amok Time for Spock's wedding. T'Pring, the bride, wears a very 60's future looking silver dress with lots of accent pieces for her hair and jewelry. Unfortunately Spock, Kirk and McCoy wear their regular outfits, with an addition combat sash belt for Kirk and Spock during the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee. I think we can all agree that it is the wedding guests/guards that steal the show in terms of attire here. Bare chests, insane silver dome helmets and plague-doctor-esque masks are just some of the costumes we see here. You almost need to freeze frame the episode to really appreciate how exotic and alien everything looks when the wedding party arrives. It is totally 100% sixties camp, it is so over the top, but yet so amazing all at the same time!

Venue/Location:

After so many mess hall wedding ceremonies, we finally get a wedding on a strange new world! This is the early TOS version of Vulcan, with it's red sky, red soil, high temperatures and low oxygen levels. This looks and feels exactly how you would want an alien planet to feel like. Throw in that it takes place on a huge clifftop rock pedestal, and you have the perfect setting for what will become one of the most famous Star Trek scenes of all time. In terms of a location, you get a sand floor, a giant green gong and a burning coal fire pit in a circular combat area. It's hard for me to think of any possible way to make this better. It is as outlandish as the outfits, and unique enough for it to be remembered so fondly by so many people so many years later!

Guests/Ceremony:

If anyone out there in the Trek community is planning on having a traditional Vulcan wedding, please invite me! This is the kind of alien wedding ceremony I've been waiting for. It's hard to summarize all of the elements of what makes up the Koon-ut-kai-if-fee, and us as the audience learn about it along side Kirk and McCoy. So here's how it works, children at a very young age (Spock at seven), are bonded to each other through telepathy, in what we would call an arranged marriage. At the appropriate time, the psychic bond will draw one another to the aforementioned "Koon-ut-kai-if-fee" which roughly translates to marriage or challenge. Now if there are two males in Pon-farr, they can fight to the death for the love of the woman or if she does not desire her arranged partner, she can choose a defender to challenge instead. Of course, considering this is the most exciting of the options, it's the one that occurs in the episode. And to throw another layer of excitement, T'Pring chooses Kirk, Spock's closest friend and Captain. It appears that the challenge occurs in multiple stages like a gladiator fight, as the combatants are first given a Lirpa (a staff with a half circle blade on one end and a muddler on the other), and in the second round they are given leather straps. Of course in Amok Time, McCoy cleverly fakes Kirk's death with an injection, so that our two main characters don't actually have to kill one another, but one can assume that after one person kills the other, they continue on with the marriage ceremony.

Overall:

For everyone that is currently upset that this isn't number one on the list, let it be known that I really, really struggled with the top two. At the end of the day, as amazing and iconic as this episode/scene is, it ends on a somber note. T'Pring admits to Spock that his reputation has made him unfavourable as a mate and that she desires Stonn instead. She explains to Spock that by choosing Kirk as the champion, either outcome would result in neither combatant wanting to marry her (Spock for being betrayed, and Kirk because he was chosen against his will), a plan that Spock gives her credit for being perfectly logical. I do love how we get to see Spock leave with at least some level of pride when he tells Stonn, that one day he may realize that having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting.

1 - Worf and Jadzia Dax (DS9 - You are Cordially Invited)

Attire/Dress:

To me this is the only true five star wedding that we've gotten in Star Trek to date; it could always be topped next year in Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, or Lower Decks. Starting with the costumes, it just doesn't get better than this! Worf and Dax in crimson red robes, leather gauntlets and crowns! Jadzia looks beautiful, Worf looks bad ass and the whole thing just screams Klingon! An added bonus is the male guests wearing the Klingon "bachelor party" attire and Sirella has an awesome blue version of what Worf and Dax wore to officiate. Every thing about this costumes and attire for this wedding was just done perfectly. Even the other guests, if you look closely are all well dressed; Ferengi, Bajorans, Klingons, etc, they are all wearing their Sunday bests for this one!

Venue/Location:

They may have just dressed up Quarks bar for this one, but I feel like they really went above and beyond to make it look different. We've seen the mess hall and 10 forward used for past weddings, but the disappointment was always that they threw up some flowers and a tapestry and that was that. Here they totally revamped the set to make it feel totally different and unique. We get burning flames, red drapes on the walls and a huge alter where the vows can take place. If you just saw a screen cap of this episode I very seriously doubt that many people could determine if it was Quarks or Kronos!

Guests/Ceremony:

This is just a nice wedding ceremony. Leave it to Deep Space Nine to take an entire episode to set this up and make the whole thing feel really important and special. Although it is not technically part of the wedding ceremony, seeing the two different stag parties throughout the episode is just hilarious and entertaining. Dax and the girls have the traditional Earth style bachelorette party with a hunky guy dancing, tonnes of food and of course drinking. It is contrasted with the men going through all of the Klingon bachelor party rituals. Most of them involving some sort of pain or torture, getting to see O'Brien and Bashir suffering throughout the episode is hilarious and sets up the stinger for the end of the episode nicely. As for the Klingon wedding, I thought it was really cool, they tied in a lot of the Kahless stuff we've seen in the past and I loved that took the time to think about why a Klingon would get married and what would it look and feel like. It was very story driven, with mock Bat'leth combat and the explanation that a couple is stronger fighting with each other rather than against. I loved the dialog of the importance of the Klingon Warriors heart and how the couple says that their heart only beats for the other rather than the typical "I dos". Kiss the bride, and cue Bashir and O'Brien to rush the groom with the painsticks, what better way could you end a Klingon wedding?

Overall:

And there you have it, the best Star Trek wedding that we've seen in the fifty plus years of Star Trek. This really was a great episode featuring two very likable main characters that I think most people were rooting for. Every aspect of this was spot on, and I tip my hat to everyone involved. Costume designers, set makers, directors, and of course the actors, this was done to absolute perfection and whenever we get our next Star Trek wedding, it'll have to really go above and beyond to top this one!!

If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it and thank you so much for reading!! Did you agree or disagree with my list? Leave your thoughts and comments in the comment section below, and if you are looking for more great Star Trek discussion, debate and more I encourage you to check out Matt and I's most recent podcast where we looked at the Next Generation episode Imaginary Friend here:
http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/09/rtr-28-some-nice-delicious-energy.html

RTR 28: Some Nice Delicious Energy

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In episode 28 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew tap into their inner child as they take a look at the Next Generation episode "Imaginary Friend". They delve into kid episodes of Star Trek, Alexander Rozhenko's sculpting prowess, Picard's legendary speeches and much more!

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RTR Blog: Matt Remembers Star Trek The Exhibit

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 3 Sep 2019 04:28:00 -0700

The year was 1996. Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were going strong. Star Trek First Contact was on its way. Star Trek: The Next Generation re-runs were on twice a day. It was a good time to be 13 years old and obsessed with Star Trek. In the summer of '96, it was even better to be 13 years old, obsessed with Star Trek and within striking distance of Toronto because ... dun dun dun ... Star Trek: The Exhibit descended on the McLaughlin Planetarium.

The commercials for Star Trek: The Exhibit played during the TNG re-runs on CityTV, a local network that showed TNG re-runs daily at 7pm in those times. I absolutely had to go. It promised sets from the show, costumes on display and so much more. I started badgering my dad shortly after the ads popped up and my persistence paid off.

In front of a headless Klingon costume slumped in a chair. Too much blood wine?

I seem to remember Star Trek: The Exhibit was nearing the end of its run when, on September 9, 1996, the day before school started, my dad and I drove the hour and twenty minutes or so to Yorkdale. We parked the car as we often did when going to see the Blue Jays at the SkyDome and took the subway downtown (a strategy I would never recommend now days).

Looking badass next to Geordi in front of .. Voyager's warp core?

Although I remember feeling a tad disappointed, it was quite a nice excursion. I recall that the ads seemed to promise all the sets from all the shows on display which is, of course, ridiculous. They were not all there which in my 13 year old head was an outrage. What was there were tons of costumes, props, replica sets and concept art on display. Fortunately I saved my allowance and brought a disposable camera with me that day. Unfortunately, either a) I only got my dad to take a handful of photos with that camera or b) only a handful of those photo prints have survived into the present period of time.

Working the transporter controls

I don't have a lot of specific memories of the exhibit itself, aside from having a ton of stuff to see and spending a good 4 or 5 hours soaking it all in. The photos don't really do the exhibit any justice as far as the size of it. The planetarium was completely filled with displays which I probably could have spent all day enjoying. What the photos do highlight is my curious sense of fashion what with the Oakland As ball cap and Detroit Tigers tshirt.

Acting frightened (?) by a bust showing the Talaxian makeup

Like most exhibits, it ended with a visit to the gift shop. Even though I was several years removed from collecting baseball cards, or trading cards of any kind, I opted to buy a few packs of cards from the Star Trek Reflections of the Future set (a brilliant title). I don't remember exactly which cards I got, but I do remember thinking that they were pretty cool, probably after ripping open the packs in the car on the way home. I came across these cards several months ago while going through some miscellaneous trading cards that had been sitting in a box for a decade or more and decided to complete the set. It helped jog my memory of the exhibit and led me to digging up the surviving photos.

The flash from the camera ruined this cool shot standing next to Picard in the ready room

I certainly miss those days when Star Trek was on top of the universe and had a bright future. With the franchise in the midst of a revival, I certainly do hope that in the near future, we will see Star Trek: The Exhibit return in some form to Toronto.

If you're looking for more great Star Trek content, come and listen to our most recent podcast from Star Trek: Enterprise: Silent Enemy here: https://bit.ly/2ZsKOlH

RTR 27: Zany Aliens

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 05:00:00 -0700

Season Two of Random Trek Review kicks off as Andrew and Matt review the Enterprise episode "Silent Enemy". They discuss the mystery of the episode's silent enemy, debate just how boring Malcolm Reed is and much more!

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RTR Season One in Review

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 06:00:00 -0700

In this very special birthday edition of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt celebrate one year of RTR with the first ever Star Trek Random Trek Review Birthday Bonanza Trivia Competition*. After they tally the score and determine their rank, they also reflect back and reminisce about the first season of RTR and talk about the future.

RANKING SYSTEM

95+ - Admiral

90-94 - Captain

80-89 - Commander

70-79 - Lt. Commander

60-69 - Lieutenant

50-59 - Lieutenant (junior grade)

40-49 - Ensign

30-39 - Chief Petty Officer

20-29 - Moral Officer

10-19 - Crewman

0-9 - Civilian

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RTR 26: It Was Very Pointless

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 06:36:00 -0700

Our special film review continues in episode 26 of Random Trek Review as Matt and Andrew continue their discussion of Star Trek: Nemesis. They discuss the pointless Riker vs Viceroy fight, more holes in Shinzon's risky plan, the infinite wisdom of Soong-type androids and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to New Eden

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 6 Aug 2019 06:00:00 -0700

Most Star Trek fans agree that one of the stand out episodes of Discovery's seconds season was the second episode "New Eden"! An away mission to a strange new world, where humans had been displaced and created a hodgepodge of religions amidst the confusion of being transplanted.

Add a sprinkle of the Prime Directive and how it applies to displaces people of your own people who aren't warp capable, and you have a very Original Seriesesque episode. Needless to say it was one of my favourites as well, and when I learned that it was filmed only an hour south of where I live; a summer road trip was in order! New Eden is in fact Ball's Fall Conservation Area in the small town of Lincoln Ontario, just outside of Niagara Falls. It includes walking trails and a maintained 19th century industrial hamlet atmosphere including, the original Ball's family farmhouse, an operating flour mill, lime kiln, black smith shop, carriage shed, and of course the church!

Seeing as it is the central building of the episode and is located in the middle of the clearing, it was the main attraction for Star Trek lovers. Interestingly, they decided to add this small graveyard behind the church for the conversation between Pike, Burnham and Owosekem!

Unfortunately, despite being allowed to enter other buildings, the church was not one of them. I assume that most of the interior shots were shot at Pinewood in Toronto, but I couldn't confirm or deny that anywhere online. I did notice that the stain glass in the episode was much more detailed than the on-location church and that the on-location church was quite small and would have been difficult to film inside of.

Another really nice touch, albeit small, is that they removed the cross from the church steeple and replaced it with a spherical ornament, representing that the people had compiled the varied religions into one. All told the area that used for filming the episode is quite small in comparison to the tiny village that is there. When you see everything in the daytime especially, you get a real appreciation for the scenes that were filmed at night.

More specifically the way the church was lit, as well as the town itself during the establishing and subsequent night shots are very impressive giving what they had to work with. Johnathan Frakes did a really great job here giving the sense of an entire community centered around the church when in actuality, the church is really just a tiny church amongst a handful of farm buildings.

Ball's Falls is a really beautiful conservation area in the Niagara escarpment, more known for it's dual water falls (the lower falls can briefly seen in one of the establishing shots[see below]), is most definitely worth the trip for a little throwback to our history and more importantly Trek history!

As always, thanks so much for reading and listening!! If you are looking for more great Star Trek media from Matt and I, come listen to our most recent special BONUS 25th podcast when we discuss the movie Star Trek: Nemesis!
http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/07/rtr-25-naked-and-hungover.html

RTR 25: Naked and Hungover

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 09:21:00 -0700

In a very special episode 25 of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt do their first review of a randomly selected Star Trek movie, this time Star Trek: Nemesis! The conversation includes Picard's odd wedding speech, where the Reman slaves managed to find themselves a massive starship, Shinzon's fragile plan that could have gone wrong in any number of ways and much more!

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RTR B2: Drastic Measures

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 06:00:00 -0700

With summer in full swing, who doesn't love digging into a good book on the balcony, deck or dock? Will Drastic Measures scratch that Star Trek itch during the summer hiatus? Come listen to Andrew's in-depth review of the the second book in the Discovery book series on a special edition of Random Trek Book Review to find out!

RTR 24: On A Scale of Neelix to Tilly

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In episode 24 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew take a look at the risque Next Generation episode "Menage A Troi". They talk about inappropriate fruit, Dr. Farek's dentist chair of horrors, interstellar roads less travelled, the episode's prolific guest stars and more!

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RTR Blog: Matt's Favourite Doppelgangers

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 9 Jul 2019 05:00:00 -0700

Many years ago when I was in high school, I had a doppelganger. His name was Joel. He was two grades below me, looked like me and was on the wrestling team. Other than that, I knew nothing about him. Which of us was good and which was evil is certainly a matter of debate (and would probably depend on who you ask), but nonetheless, we existed.

As Andrew and I discussed in the opening of episode 21 of RTR, there have been many doppelgangers introduced in various ways over the course of Star Trek. "Mirror, Mirror" of the Original Series introduced us to an entire universe of doppelgangers, a universe explored (too) extensively in Deep Space Nine, featured wonderfully in Enterprise and most recently visited by the crew of the Discovery. There were also transporter accidents, clones and other shenanigans that resulted in alternate versions of our heroes. I mentioned a few off the top of my head that I liked and upon further thought, I give you my more thought out list of favourite Star Trek doppelgangers.

Thomas Riker ("Second Chances" TNG, "Defiant" DS9)

I start the list with a classic transporter accident which leaves a copy of Riker stranded on a research station for seven years. The older Riker encounters his double when the Enterprise returns to the research station to upload the stations data during a rare atmospheric window in which the surface is accessible. I really liked the conflict between the young raw and the older, more seasoned and mellow self. The younger Riker was daring and wanted to take all kinds of risks to complete the mission while the older wiser Riker insisted on taking precautions. The copy, known by the end of the episode as Thomas Riker, got a cool sequel in DS9 when he hijacked the Defiant and used it to expose a covert Cardassian ship building facility on behalf of the Maquis. I've always wondered what happened to goatee sporting Thomas.

Mirror Garak (various DS9)

Several episodes of DS9 (too many depending on who you ask) explore the mirror universe first seen in the TOS classic "Mirror, Mirror". The mirror universe counterparts of our heroes are all pretty interesting, but the one that stood out most to me was Garak (disclaimer: Garak is my favourite). At Garak's core is a self-interested individual who achieves his objectives through subtle manipulation and observation. His mirror universe counterpart is at his core the same self-interested individual, but achieves those objectives in a very different way. In the mirror universe, Garak is a flat out collaborator who sucks up to whomever is in power at any given time. Whether it be the Intendant, the Regent .. it doesn't matter. If it is in Garak's interest to ally himself with someone to save his skin, that's who he's pals with. I found the contrast between the two Garak's to be very interesting throughout the mirror universe episodes.

Evil Kirk ("The Enemy Within" TOS)

Another transporter malfunction leaves us with Kirk split into two halves, one good and one evil. The evil version provided for some great entertainment as he wandered the corridors drunk on Saurian brandy and looking for trouble. The attempted rape of Yeoman Rand was certainly a bit disturbing and a low point in this episode, but it led to evil Kirk running amok on the ship with only scratches on his face to distinguish him from the good Kirk. William Shatner's over the top acting was perfect for this episode with the evil Kirk yelling and insisting he is not the bad guy. It was a rare insance where Shatner going over the top was incredibly effective, especially the scene where the evil Kirk tries to frame the good Kirk by covering up the scratches with makeup. I'm not sure how I felt about the good and evil alien dog though.

Mirror Sulu ("Mirror, Mirror" TOS)

I take us back to the mirror universe to look at the murderous and scheming mirror universe Sulu. Most people like to talk about how great the mirror Spock is in this episode, but for me Sulu steals the show. There's the scar that makes him look pretty badass. There's the scene where he hits on Uhura when Kirk and Spock aren't on the bridge. The contrast between mirror Sulu and normal Sulu is pretty stark and I thought made the episode very interesting. Not only was Sulu the ruthless chief of security, he alos had grand schemes of becoming captain in true mirror universe fashion by eliminating Kirk and Spock in one fell swoop. Unfortunately his plans fell short when Marlena decided to help Kirk and the other away team members from the original universe escape. It was certainly a fun episode that explored the darker side of Sulu.

Singing Picard ("Allegiance" TNG)

This one was somewhat unique in that a band of aliens replaced Picard with a double who acted very differently than the real thing. This one was certainly a bit odd, but I imagine it was particularly fun for Patrick Stewart to act completely out of character in this episode. Although the reasoning for the aliens replacing Picard with a duplicate who was completely different was not quite made clear in the episode, it was nonetheless fun watching this bizarro Picard work his magic with Crusher, lead his men in song and lead the ship to the brink of destruction. Once the jig was up, Riker caps off the episode with a solid gold line when he tells an unwitting Picard "I didn't think you were that good a singer".

Shinzon ("Star Trek: Nemesis")

I mention Shinzon for two reasons: I love the idea of a Romulan plot to replace Picard with a clone and I love Tom Hardy (side note: a fun explanation of how the Romulans got a hold of Picard's DNA is offered in the Next Generation novel "Death in Winter"). I thought Tom Hardy was a pretty good choice and actually did a decent job portraying a younger, more evil version of Captain Picard. Yes, the plot was a bit dumb and yes the movie overall was not very good, but I didn't think the character Shinzon had a whole lot to do with it. I look at this one a very interesting idea that was executed incredibly poorly.

As always thanks for reading, and if you want to hear/see more great Star Trek goodness from RTR, check out our most recent review of the season 7 TNG episode "Homeward" here: http://randomtrekreview.blogspot.com/2019/07/rtr-23-brotherly-love.html

RTR 23: Brotherly Love

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 2 Jul 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In episode 23 of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt break down the Next Generation episode "Homeward". This discussion includes the cornucopia of TNG tropes, Picard's lack of enthusiasm for Nikolai's plan, Team Worf vs. Team Nikolai and more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to an Iconian Gateway

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0700

Congratulations to the 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors!! In honour of being the first Canadian basketball team to win the NBA title, I thought it only fitting to make a Star Trek connection to Toronto's Nathan Phillip Square, end point of the Raptors victory parade. If you are curious as to how the Toronto city hall relates to Star Trek, you have to go back to The Next Generation season two, eleventh episode "Contagion". It appears very briefly in the Iconian Gateway when a series of images/locations are flashing by; it is seen only briefly, but the two curved buildings are very identifiable.

Oddly enough, the first time Toronto city hall was used in a piece of Star Trek media, was actually from a comic strip, "The Ghost Planet" from 1969, when the Original Enterprise crew beamed down to a ruined city, with one standing structure. That structure was inspired by the recently constructed Toronto city hall! As always, I encourage all of you Star Trek fans out there that the next time you visit Canada's biggest city, check out Nathan Phillip Square and the Toronto city hall; if not for the iconic Toronto sign, or the Star Trek connection, than to see the Raptors 2019 NBA Championship banners!

For more great Star Trek content, check out our most recent review of the Voyager episode "Imperfection" here: https://bit.ly/2KZdD1D

RTR 22: A Very Pointless Three Minute Shoot-up

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In episode 22 of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt break down the Voyager episode "Imperfection". They talk about the kids going to Starfleet Academy, the expensive Delta Flyer set, Icheb's secret admiration of Dr. McCoy, Okudagrams and more!

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RTR B1: Desperate Hours

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0700

On a special bonus edition, Andrew takes a look at the first Star Trek: Discovery novel, Desperate Hours! Does this outing give some deep backstory to the characters we all know and love from the TV show, or is CBS All Access looking to make a cheap buck by pumping out generic Sci-Fi?? Listen and find out!!

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For more great Star Trek podcasts, check out our most recent edition of RTR here: https://bit.ly/2MGVA2N when Matt & Andrew take a deep dive look at TNG's The Dauphin!

RTR 21: He's Not Teenage Riker

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 4 Jun 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In episode 21 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew break down the Next Generation episode "The Dauphin". They talk about doppelgangers in Star Trek, Wesley's first love story, some intense banter between Riker and Guinan and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission To Boreth

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 28 May 2019 06:00:00 -0700

One of the more divided episodes this past season on Star Trek: Discovery was episode number twelve; "Through the Valley of Shadows". Captain Pike travels to Boreth, previously seen in the Next Generation episode "Rightful Heir", to bargain for a much needed time crystal. Although it wasn't one of my top five episodes in season two, I did think that the Klingon monastery and the digital renderings of the religious community were beautiful. My favourite part of Star Trek is the visiting of strange new worlds, and Discovery does it sparingly, so I was happy to see it!

When I discovered that it was filmed just a couple subway stops south of where I live, I made an afternoon of tracking it down and taking some pictures. It turns out that they filmed the Boreth scenes at Knox College on the University of Toronto St. George campus downtown. With lots of movies and TV being filmed in Toronto, the neo-gothic architecture of Knox College is used a lot; this is where Edward Norton's Bruce Banner infiltrates "Culver University", where Tom Cruise registers for school in Cocktail, and where Chris Farley flunks out in Tommy Boy just to name a few.

For Star Trek's time crystal temple, some low lighting and shoulder high candles gives the impression of an eerie desolate planet where Captain Pike learns and accepts his fate. One surprising thing that you realize when you there, is how camera placement, movement and angles can make a very small space feel really large.

In reality the areas where they filmed amounts to a 15-20 m hall way and a very small receiving area with a balcony. ST: Discovery's cinematographer and director Doug Aarniokoski did a really great job of making Boreth feel like a massive religious sect, with lots of members and hallways, when in reality it was filmed in a very tight space. Knox College is often used for large gatherings, parties and weddings, I happened to just miss one when I visited on a random Saturday in May, and wasn't surprised to see that the balcony where we meet the head monk is also where a lot of couples do wedding photos and ceremonies.

As always, I really can't recommend enough that fans of Star Trek check some of these locations out if they are ever in Toronto or California. Production teams on Star Trek do such a great job of blending real world spots with digital effects, mat paintings and props, they create strange alien worlds that capture the imagination of people from around the world. When you get to walk around in these filming locations, it gives you a glimpse into not just how things are filmed and shot, but also makes you feel at least a little bit like you're in those same strange locals you see on you're television!

For more great Star Trek analysis, check out RTR's most recent review of the Voyager episode "Tattoo" here: https://bit.ly/2YNfmuJ

RTR 20: Voyager By The Numbers

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 21 May 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In episode 20 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew break down the Voyager episode "Tattoo". The discussion includes fast pacing vs warp speed pacing, futuristic fire starters, all the convenient coincidences of the episode, Voyager's infinite number of shuttlecraft, the Doctor's great lines and more!

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RTR Blog: Matt's Favorite Starships

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 14 May 2019 05:00:00 -0700

One of the most alluring aspects of Star Trek, and science fiction in general, for me is the starships. The vehicles which transport our heroes and villains across the cosmos is one of the reasons Star Trek captured my imagination and one of the big reasons why I love to watch sci-fi. Something about the visuals we get from the ships as they cruise along a starfield or enter orbit around a strange planet or engage in battle on the edge of a spectacular nebula just does it for me.

Shortly after I got into Star Trek, my dad bought me my first model kit (a small 3-piece kit containing the Enterprise, a Romulan Bird-of-Prey and a Klingon battlecruiser) which gave me a chance to build the ships I loved watching and have them hanging from my bedroom ceiling. This hobby kept me very busy for many years as I built dozens of model starships from the Star Trek universe and beyond. Unfortunately pretty much all of those models have perished since my teenage years, the result of several moves. The good news is that most of them were not well built anyway, so it isn't a terrible loss. The thought has recently crossed my mind of getting back into it, so there may be future blogs about re-capturing my youth by building some of these ships.

But I digress.

In this blog, I'll run down my favorite ships from the Star Trek universe. This was actually a tough one for me because there are so many ships that I really like, but I was eventually able to whittle my list down to ten with a few honorable mentions.

Let's start with my favorite Federation ships:

Nebula-class

Two things: I really like the nacelle down design and I really like the Next Generation era starship designs. Knowing that, you can probably imagine why I would include the Nebula-class in my list. The smooth lines are the main reason I like the Next Generation era Stafleet vessels. The streamlined look is something I really liked and I thought looked really good on screen. The Nebula class was the 24th century equivalent of the Miranda-class which was introduced to differentiate it from the Enterprise in the Wrath of Khan. The Nebula class was introduced for essentially the same purpose, housing an adversary to the Enterprise in "The Wounded". It had the feeling of being large, but the design was also fairly compact. It has all the design elements I like which puts it pretty close to the top of my list. It was always a treat for me when it made appearances on screen.

Akira-class

Possibly my favorite ship in the entire Star Trek universe, the Akira-class just looked flat out badass to me. From its first appearance in First Contact fighting the Borg to its background appearances in Deep Space Nine fighting the Dominion, this is a class that has proven itself in battle. It features the downward pointed warp nacelle design that I really like. It was a ship that felt like it could fill a number of roles . It had a small profile view and the impressive weapons array of a warship, but also had the size and the upper module that looked like it could be modified for scientific missions. It's a cool design, that I believe largely inspired the NX-01, that showed really well on the screen.

Galaxy-class

Again, I love the Next Generation era ship designs. The Enterprise-D was the ship I grew up with. It's no surprise the Galaxy-class makes this list. I love the smooth lines and that the Galaxy-class was a very reasonable evolution of the Original Series and Movie Enterprise. It retains the basic saucer/secondary hull deisgn while giving it a nice updated look that one would expect roughly 100 years later. It was a large majestic starship that seemed larger than life and had some really cool details. I never got sick of watching the Galaxy class week after week on the Next Generation and anytime it appeared in the other series. It is a solid design that was a logical evolution of the original Enterprise that I don't think ever gets old.

Type-6 Shuttlecraft

There have been several different shuttles over the years. The small shuttlepod, the bulky Type 7, they just don't hold up when stacked against the Type 6 for me. It's simple, big enough, and incorporates 24th century design elements without looking like a mini Enterprise. It also hearkened back to the shuttles from the Original Series and the Movies with its design which I thought was pretty cool as well. It has definitely stood the test of time as it was seen several times in Voyager after the Next Generation run came to a close.

Next, my favorite alien ships:

Klingon D7/K't'inga-class

Being a Next Generation guy, I always found the Original Series ships to be a bit bland, but there has always been something about the Klingon D7 that I always loved. Something about the design just screams manacing and intimidating to me. The bulbous forward section with the torpedo launchers and the large aft section filled with Klingon warriors .. I definitely would not want to run into one of these ships in the 23rd century. I also really liked the updated look in the movies which added more texture and glowing sections that really brought the ship to life. The basic design elements have been used in every iteration of Klingon warship, but the original to me just can't be beat.

Cardassian Galor-class

I had a hard time putting my finger on exactly what it was about the Cardassian Galor-class that I liked so much. I think it is the simplicity in the design and that it is the ship that probably most reminds me of a contemporary naval vessel. The long main hull with a single set of wings (or blades as they are referred to in "Caretaker") and the forward bridge module is simple but still interesting to me to look at. There are also some cool details like the tail piece and the large glowing part at the front (that I assume is a weapons array). It was also one of the first ships we saw with the bright orange/tan color scheme that I also really liked.

Kazon Raider

I don't think I was ever more excited for a new TV show than I was for Star Trek: Voyager. New series in a new part of space meant new ships! We were introduced to the Kazon right off the bat and I loved the smaller raiders (the carriers were .. meh). I thought the design of the ship almost looked insectoid to me which was different and I thought they also matched up well with the Kazon's less developed technology. They were kind of patchwork looking utilitarian ships that weren't the prettiest but got the job done.

Romulan d'Deridex-class

Again, my Next Generation bias is showing here, but is there a more imposing intimidating ship than the famed Romulan Warbird? In all those season three episodes when two or three of these ships decloaked, the feeling was always of dread. Luckily Captain Picard had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to avoid getting into a full blown fire fight with the deadly vessels. I like the almost beaklike forward section and having a hollowed out main hull was very unique. I also really like the green glowing sections on the dark green ship. It was very distinctive and left no doubt who you were dealing with when they decloaked off your bow.

To finish off the list, a couple of one off ships:

Future USS Enterprise-D

I think the best moment for me in "All Good Things ..." is when the Enterprise decloaked in the future timeframe. I thought the Future Enterprise was just about perfect; retrofitted with a third warp nacelle, a phaser cannon powerful enough to roast a Klingon warship, some other smaller weapons and even a modified bridge. I thought it was great to include the ship in the future timeframe under the command of Admiral Riker. The additions to the ship were great and were subtle enough that they didn't completely take over the ship. It was definitely the Enterprise and it looked much like you might expect it to after 25 years of service. A great part of the Next Generation series finale.

Promellian Battlecruiser

This one is a bit off the board, but when I started thinking of my favorite ships this one came up very quickly. I love the premise of encountering an ancient starship from an extinct civilization and the Promellian battlecruiser that appeared in the Next Generation episode "Booby Trap" was really cool. I liked the simple design and I thought the model makers did a really great job of painting this model to look old and derelict but still spaceworthy. There were some great close ups of the ship in the episode and I thought it looked spectacular. There weren't a lot of lights which I thought fit perfectly with the premise of the ship. A very memorable one off ship that I really liked.

As always, here are a few honourable mentions:

Jem'Hadar Warship The Jem'Hadar changed everything when they first appeared on Deep Space Nine. Their ships inspired fear. They were small, fast, maneuverable and travelled in packs. I loved the design and the unique purple color scheme. They were so different from what we had seen and became a worthy staple on Deep Space Nine for the remainder of the series.

USS Defiant This was a tough one to leave off because I love Deep Space Nine and this tough little ship played such a huge part in the show. I had a poster of the Defiant on my bedroom wall for a long time. It was a totally different design and had a deadly array of weapons. Definitely a memorable ship that I loved to see in action.

USS Reliant I had to include the Reliant, partly because it is another of the downward facing nacelle starships, partly because it was the vehicle of Khan in my favorite Star Trek film. It had a cool design, a bit more compact than most Federation starships and was part of some really spectacular battle scenes in the film. It's demise was pretty cool too.

RTR 19: No One Can Touch the First Monarch

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 7 May 2019 05:00:00 -0700

It's episode 19 of Random Trek Review. Andrew and Matt break down the Enterprise episode "Precious Cargo". They talk about how well Enterprise has aged, aliens of the week, the overabundance of crowbars in this episode, riverbank catfights and much more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission To Griffith Observatory

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 05:48:00 -0700

With the finale of Star Trek Discovery season two under our belts, I was immediately brought back to one of my favourite two-part Star Trek Voyager episodes "Future's End". For those of you that don't remember this one, it involves the U.S.S Voyager being accidentally brought back to Los Angeles in the year 1996 by a 29th century time ship! It's a premise that seems like it may just be a rip off of The Voyage Home, but it is different enough with zany twists and turns and 90s fashion to make a great couple hours of television!

An added bonus of the Leonard Nimoy Theatre

In the episode a young Sarah Silverman working at the Griffith Observatory spots a UFO, which turns out to be the poorly hidden Voyager. Getting to use an actual on scene location in it's actual time period is something that really adds to this episode, and made the Griffith Observatory a must see location when I was in L.A last summer. Twenty two years later, it look exactly the same, and is a very cool location to check out regardless of your Star Trek fandom. As an added bonus, inside they have a theatre named in the memory of Leonard Nimoy, which is basically the cherry on top of an amazing location! Going back and revisiting Futures End today, with the excitement of Star Trek; Discovery season three being all the buzz on the internet right now
I am reminded that the most beautiful thing about Star Trek is that it works in any time period, on any ship, with any cast so long as the story is really good! I don't know if season three is going to tap into any of the temporal police like we see in this episode or not, but re-watching this give me renewed faith that an insane premise can be pulled off if done right, and I hope that we see more of that in season three, and ideally we get some more on location shooting for me to visit!!

For more great Star Trek discussion, check out RTR's most recent look at the Animated Series episode "The Infinite Vulcan" here https://bit.ly/2ZOIvXo

RTR Bonus: Discovery Season 2 Recap

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 08:00:00 -0700

In a special bonus edition of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt very unrandomly dissect the second season of Star Trek: Discovery. WARNING: This podcast is littered with Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 SPOILERS! They break down the major plot threads, talk about some behind the scenes things and much more! Plus for the first time, they add episodes to the hat!
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13 Fresh Episodes for Andrew & Matt to pick!

The actual moment they went into the hat! (hat not pictured)

RTR 18: Complete and Utter Chaos

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 05:00:00 -0700

We delve into the animated world in episode 18 of Random Trek Review. Matt and Andrew try to make sense of the Animated Series episode "The Infinite Vulcan". They discuss the pros and cons of an animated series, the high level of confusion, the vocal talents of James Doohan and more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to Starfleet Academy

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 15:31:00 -0700

Enlist Today!

Whenever I travel, I love to visit filming locations, studio tours and places that are seen in movies! Usually I pick a place based on interest and then if something was filmed there it's an added bonus to go and check out the filming locations! Back in the spring of 2016, I read that the Starfleet Academy Experience was coming to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. Seeing as it was only a five hour drive, I picked a weekend, loaded my family up in a van and headed for the nations capital! I didn't really know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was it a Star Trek "training" program, but also included tonnes of props from the shows and movies, and concluded by taking the Kobayashi Maru test on the bridge of the Enterprise -D! At the academy you were put through a variety of training exercises and your progress documented on a watch like device. At the end of your training, they would tell you if you were best suited for Command, Medical, Tactical, Communication, Science, Navigation or Engineering. Despite being way back in 2016, I took lots of pictures and remember all of the stations well enough, to describe them for you here:

A mock up of TOS Enterprise at the entrance!

In the first training section, you had to treat a recently injured Lt. Commander Worf using a tricorder as well as the sick bay biobed. Essentially you could use the tethered tricorder to scan various sections of the dummy Worf body and the biobed computer would tell you the extents of his injuries. If memory serves, he had several broken bones and a bad burn on the torso from a phaser blast. After checking over the body, you then went to the sickbay computer and decided on a diagnosis; I thought that it was relatively straight forward and was doing my best to save Worf, but at the end of the training, I only scored a 40 in the medical evaluation area!

In addition to the medical training area, they had Gates McFadden's costume from the Next Generation as well as tricorders from all of the series and lots of information comparing all of the Dr's that we know and love from all of the Star Trek shows and movies!

The next station, was the Tactical Training Simulator! It wasn't much more than a tethered phaser rail shooter that had a very similar visual look as the MACO training simulator in the Enterprise episode "Harbinger", just on a two dimensional screen.

In my memory, I remember being really good at this, it started with very simple targets that any body (including children) could get, and steadily got more difficult in increasingly more challenging rounds (I think there were five). I played a lot of duck hunt and rail shooters as a kid, so I scored pretty well in this section, scoring a 85% in shooting accuracy.

Throughout the training programs they had trivia from the show along with screen used costumes and props which were amazing to see up close! Knowing Star Trek history was an important part of the Academy experience, and you were given lots of opportunities to choose how you would react to different scenarios! Again each section had questions that related to that specific field and small games/challenges that you could try in addition to the show trivia. I scored really well on the Communications area (90%), where you had to translate Klingon and decode an incoming message that had been scrambled due to an ion storm or some other technobabbly reason.

For the navigational component, you sat at a com station and chose a path for your ship to take as different readings came across your screen. Stuff like asteroids and space debris was really easy to avoid, but as you got further and further into the simulation, things like mines and phaser fire made it very difficult to avoid. I still did fairly well (85%), again because of playing lots of video games!

Considering I have a Bachelor of Science, I didn't do nearly as well in the science section (75%) as I hoped, which was mostly just trivia questions from the show as well as some real world science trivia. Again they did a really good job of having lots of props, costumes and information from the shows.

Finally, the final test was just like in Wrath of Kahn, the Kobayashi Maru no win scenario test on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D! I obviously knew what the test was going to entail, and made a plan to save as many people as possible, hoping to capitalize on the humanitarian points or something. It had the same set up as you saw in STII, your ship gets a hail from the Kobayashi Maru, which is a drift just inside the Klingon boarder. If left alone, the warp core will explode, killing everyone on board; if you attempt to rescue them, the Klingons may see it as interference in their space and attack! I chose to enter Klingon space and immediately start transporting survivors over to my ship. Unfortunately in order to transport people from the damaged ship, I needed to lower my shields. Eventually the Klingons arrived, started firing and forced me to raise my shields. It is a frustrating test to take, because the Klingons are more powerful, faster, and they out number you which makes everything you try seem so fruitless; it really makes you feel like you can't win! As is the expected, the Klingons blew up my ship as well as the Kobayashi Maru, for what I guess you could argue was the worst possible scenario. In hind sight I wish I had abandoned the damaged ship in lieu of saving the crew members that were under my command. Ironically enough, when I finally went before the admiral (it was a quasi hologram), to get the final verdict he suggested the Starfeet Command Program. Just call me Ensign Tilly!

For more great Star Trek content, have a listen to RTR's most recent review of the TOS episode "Miri" at https://bit.ly/2v0z3SR

Thanks for listening!!

RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to Gauman's Chinese Theatre!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 05:45:00 -0700

Last summer I happened to find myself in L.A for an extended weekend in the city of angels. Of course I knew that Star Trek had a rich history in Los Angeles, and often location shooting on a distant far away planet was in reality within driving distance of CBS! With only a weekend to try and get to as many locations as possible, and seeing as I was staying in a hotel close to Hollywood; a good place to start was to see all of my favourite Star Trek heroes on the walk of fame and of course the Original Series names cast in cement at the Gauman's Chinese Theatre. Back in 1991, Star Trek was at an all time high, the Next Generation was settling nicely into it's third season, and was becoming the accepted successor to TOS, the original cast had it's final send off at the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and the series itself had reached it's 25th Anniversary. In order to celebrate the original series cast; William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, DeForest Kelly, Walter Koenig, George Takai and Nichelle Nichols had their names and legacy immortalized in concrete in front of the famous Gauman's Chinese Theatre in downtown Hollywood. Although many of the original series alum would show back up in other star trek series, Generations, and of course Spock in the Abrams movies, this 25th celebration marked the unofficial end of the Original Series Cast.

Now admittedly, a lot of people told me that the walk of fame and downtown Hollywood wasn't that great, and that I could find a lot better, less touristy things to do in southern California. They were partially right, the walk of fame and the area around the Chinese Theater, isn't as nice as it is portrayed on TV, everything is kind of expensive and it has a very "touristy" feeling. That being said, I was happy that I went, if for nothing else, to get a picture of me with the TOS signatures at the Chinese Theatre. Especially now with the passing of DeForest Kelly, James Doohan and Leonard Nimoy, when I was there I pondered how often if ever the entire Original Series cast was together after this moment. And as someone who grew up watching the movies and has found a love for the Original Series later in life, it left me with a sense of awe that's hard to describe. If you're ever in Hollywood, and you're contemplating whether or not it's worth it to check out the touristy part of Hollywood, my recommendation is to at least spend a morning and check out the TOS names at the Chinese Theatre, you'll be thankful you did. I sure was!

If you need more Star Trek in your life and you want to hear our latest TOS review of "Miri", have a listen at https://bit.ly/2v0z3SR

RTR 17: The Big Schoolhouse Showdown

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 9 Apr 2019 05:00:00 -0700

Bonk! Bonk! In episode 17 of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt break down the Original Series episode "Miri". The discussion includes duplicate Earths, awkward love triangles, the impressive quip level, Kirk's hunkiness and more!

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RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to the Smithsonian (TOS Enterprise Model)

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Thu, 4 Apr 2019 07:03:00 -0700

Sometimes in life, luck just shines down upon you! Back in 2014, I was on a short weekend trip to Washington D.C; I did all of the things that one would do on a weekend away in the US Capital. I went to the white house, saw the Nationals play and bounced around the National Mall attempting to see as many museums and galleries as I could.

On the last day, with only a few hours left to explore, I overheard a a person say they needed to check out the gift shop of the Smithsonian, because that's where the Enterprise display was. Originally I thought that they were talking about the NASA Orbiter Vehicle, which of course, was famously named "Enterprise" after hundreds of thousands of trekkers wrote in asking for it to be named after the famous ship from Star Trek. I immediately changed my plans and b-lined it to the Smithsonian.

When I got there, I headed down the escalator to the thrift shop and started thinking that it was far too small of a space to realistically fit a space shuttle (it turns out it was at the Smithsonian, but was moved to the the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum in NY city in 2011). That's because it wasn't the ship named after the TOS Enterprise, it WAS the TOS Enterprise!! Call is fate, call it luck, call it happenstance; regardless I have never been so happy to overhear a random guy talking and perk up when I heard a Star Trek related word. Now giddy with excitement, I took 15-20 minutes to just bask in all it's glory! It first and foremost was much larger than I would have guessed it would be (it's 2' x 5' and over 200lbs!), but at the same time looks exactly like it did on the TV show. Sometimes when you meet your hero's or visit filming locations of your favourite shows, it is a let down, this most certainly was not. I didn't grow up on the Original Series nor am I the biggest TOS fan, but it is hard not to feel a certain level of magic when you are standing next to such an iconic prop/ship! I found myself thinking of the engineers, electricians, astronauts etc, that were inspired to work on the Enterprise I was expecting to see, because of being wowed by the Enterprise I was standing in front of. As a star trek fan, this is a must see if you are in Washington D.C. It's a beautiful model of a bygone era, that for a lot of people is still the gold standard in ship design. If you're ever there, stop by the Smithsonian, the model is now located in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall now!

For MORE Star Trek goodness check out Matt and I's recent review of the Enterprise episode "North Star" at https://bit.ly/2HZrfJA

RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to Pahvo

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 06:55:00 -0700

Star Trek: Discovery is admittedly not my favourite star trek series. For a show that has the word discovery in it's title, there haven't yet been a tonne of episodes centered around seeking out new life or new civilizations. Although as I mentioned last time in "Andrew's Trip to....", when you live in the city where DISCO is filmed, if they do venture off of the ship, it's typically within driving distance!

In the season one episode "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum", an away team of Saru, Tyler and Michael Burnham beam down to the planet of Pahvo with the hopes of using the vibrations of the planet to find a cloaked Klingon ship (or something), and eventually find a giant crystal antennae.

It turns out that Pahvo is actually the Kelso Conservation Ara near Milton Ontario, about a forty minute drive east of Toronto (where Discovery is filmed). Even with out the "extraterrestrial" colour filter that they added in post production, the location where the antennae was located is easily recognizable after a 15-20 minute hike/walk from the visitor centre. Using the star shaped piece of grass, the bluffs and the circular alcove as guidance you get the same vista that Saru, Burnham and Tyler got when they stumbled upon it on the show. This wasn't my favourite episode of season one, but if you are in the Halton region and you want to take a pretty easy stroll, and spot some star trek filming locations, you'll find this one pretty satisfying!

RTR 16: Gang of Starfleet Cowboys

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In this wild episode 16 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew go full wild west as they discuss the Enterprise episode "North Star". The discussion includes Starfleet equestrian skills, a mediocre jailbreak, Lefty McLeft Archer and much more!

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RTR Blog: Matt's Crazy Red Angel Theory

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 10:40:00 -0700

***WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS STAR TREK: DISCOVERY SEASON TWO SPOILERS***

With the next Star Trek: Discovery episode entitled “The Red Angel” set to air Thursday, the internet is abuzz with numerous fan theories attempting to determine the identity of the mysterious figure that Captain Pike and crew have been investigating throughout the course of the season. I have one such theory, although it is far fetched and is so incredibly crazy that it just might be correct (but probably isn't).

Let me start with what we know about the Red Angel:
- it is human
- it is wearing a technologically advanced suit
- it has saved several large groups of people from certain death
- it seems to have knowledge of the future
- it seems to have a strong connection to Spock and Burnham

Ready for this ... okay here is the theory in its completely crazy and insane glory:

The Red Angel is Jean-Luc Picard.

Let's let that set in for a moment.

Okay are you ready? Here's the explanation:

I believe the Red Angel is the Jean-Luc Picard we will become re-acquainted with this fall when the new Picard series airs and I believe that he has traveled back in time to stop all sentient life in the galaxy from being wiped out. If you break down each of the items above, it does kind of make sense. He is human. He is from the future and would have access to technology that would appear highly advanced from the perspective of the characters on Discovery. Picard is altruistic and even if he has been changed in the 20 years since Star Trek Nemesis, I believe it would still be in his nature to save lives given the opportunity. If he is from the future, he would have knowledge of events that have not yet passed from the perspective of the Discovery characters.

Which brings us to the last item, the strong connection to Spock and Burnham. We know Picard has a connection to Spock after their interaction in the Next Generation episode “Unification”. Remember also that Picard and Sarek, Spock's father, shared a Vulcan mindmeld in the Next Generation episode “Sarek”. This resulted a strong connection between Picard and Sarek. With this in mind, it would not be too much of a stretch to suggest that Spock would be a person that Picard would choose to influence in the past in order to help him change the course of history and avert the destruction of all sentient life. While it true that Picard would have any number of individuals he could choose to carry out his mission, Spock would be a logical choice in this timeframe because of the connection Picard shares with Spock's father.

And what about Burnham? To our knowledge, Picard doesn't even know she exists. But wait, Picard knows everything Sarek knows because of their mindmeld, so even though Burnham is never mentioned once in the previous history of Star Trek lore, Picard would know that she is the adoptive daughter of Sarek and Spock's sister. If Picard needed others in this timeframe to help him alter history to stop the destruction of sentient life in the galaxy, it would stand to reason that he would chose people that he has a strong connection to, in this case via his mindmeld with Sarek. Even though Burnham and Spock are at odds, and evidently remain at odds for the future as far as we can tell, Picard would not have any sort of connection with anyone else in this timeframe, so it isn't a terrible stretch to believe he would choose Spock and Burnham to do his bidding.

There are also practical reasons for the Red Angel to be Picard. It sets up even more mystery and intrigue for his upcoming series if we know that at some point he turns into a time traveler bent on saving the galaxy. It could also provide an unlikely tie-in for a series set some 250 years after Star Trek: Discovery. I certainly wouldn't put it past the writers and showrunners to have an entire season of Discovery revolved around a plotline that will set up the new series. Of course, assuming this theory is true, it is nothing short of a miracle that in today's world they have been able to keep a surprise appearance on Discovery by Patrick Stewart secret. This alone is probably enough to prove this theory wrong.

I know it's crazy, but it does fit with what we currently know about the Red Angel. I'm sure I will be completely wrong about it, but I like to use my imagination once in a while. Perhaps we will find out in the next episode of Discovery!

RTR Blog: Andrew's Away Mission to Vulcan

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 10:24:00 -0700

Vulcan Science Academy (Vulcan)

One of the benefits of living in the city where they film Star Trek: Discovery, is that they often use local landmarks and locations to film! Recently I took a short drive to the Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Arts, or for fans of star trek, the Vulcan Science Academy!

Aga Khan Museum (Toronto, ON)

Star Trek: Discovery "Lethe

For those who don't remember this location, it was featured in the Star Trek: Discovery, first season episode entitled "Lethe". In the episode Michael Burnham gets pulled into her adoptive father Sareks memory of her being denied entrance into the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. Most of the scenes are filmed with quick cuts in a hazy dream like sequence with lots of reds, whites, and bizarre Vulcan statues!

Although only briefly seen in the episode, the outside of the museum looks exactly the same as in did in the scenes, without the red trees, Vulcans, and statues of course! When there, you can see why the producers/design team chose it, as it has a beautiful courtyard and the odd architecture has just enough of an alien feel to make you feel as if you're on Vulcan!

Freezing! Should have brought my blue jumpsuit!

Currently the museum is running a moon exhibit which was the main reason I decided to visit. Although after seeing the DISCO location, I definitely will come back in the summer time to get a better feel for the location when the pools are filled with water, the trees are filled with leaves and there isn't so much snow on the ground!! If you are in the Toronto area, and are a fan of Star Trek: Discovery, I definitely recommend checking out the Aga Khan Museum (or at least the outside courtyard!!!)

While you're there, check out the moon exhibit!

RTR 15: The Swingin' 60s

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 05:00:00 -0700

In Episode 15 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew swing into the 1960s as they review the Deep Space Nine episode "It's Only A Paper Moon". They discuss the smooth ways of Vic Fontaine, the holodeck safeties, Nog's humanity, Star Trek's ability to transcend entertainment and much more!

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RTR 14: Turn It Off, Turn It Back On

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 05:00:00 -0800

In Episode 14 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew break down the Next Generation episode "Evolution". The discussion includes the demise of baseball, high school shenanigans on the Enterprise, Picard's disdain for band music, Troi's questionable counselling technique and more!

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RTR 13: A Busy Day in Sickbay ...

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 05:00:00 -0800

It is the lucky 13th episode of Random Trek Review, in which Andrew and Matt discuss the Next Generation episode "Genesis". Topics of conversation include Barclay's cyberchondria, the best personnel to recover torpedoes, Data's suspect computer setup and much more!

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RTR 12: Gotta Get Your Zingers In

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 05:00:00 -0800

In Episode 12 of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew break down the Voyager episode "Demon". The discussion includes the comfort level of sickbay beds, Paris channelling his inner Roger Moore, Taurik vs. Vorik and many other great topics!

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RTR 11: It's a Ballroom Blitz!

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 08:00:00 -0800

In episode eleven of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt press on with their review of the Next Generation episode "Descent, Part II". They delve into Lore's tax evasion schemes, Data's emotion chip, the practicality of android buoyancy and much more!

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RTR 10: Such a Data Thing to Do

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 1 Jan 2019 08:00:00 -0800

Happy New Year! What better way to celebrate than with episode ten of Random Trek Review, featuring our first two part episode! Andrew and Matt break down the Next Generation episode "Descent, Part I". They talk about the puzzling title of the episode, android counselling sessions, evil admirals, excessive search parties and more!

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RTR 9: Punishment Protocols

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 05:02:00 -0800

In Episode 9 of Random Trek Review, it's back to the Delta Quadrant as Matt and Andrew break down the Voyager episode "Ashes to Ashes". The discussion includes Seven's struggles dealing with unruly children, past crew members who have met their untimely demise and Ensign Ballard's difficulty fitting in with the crew.

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RTR 8: Holographic Massages

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Wed, 5 Dec 2018 15:17:00 -0800

This is the eighth episode of Random Trek Review, in which Andrew and Matt discuss the Voyager episode "Scientific Method". It is a conversation covering a wide range of topics including old men on park benches, the deceptively charming Vidiians and the time required to achieve Janeway's old hairstyle.

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RTR 7: Spock Eye Candy

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 05:38:00 -0800

In the seventh episode of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew discuss the Original Series episode "All Our Yesterdays". They talk about one planet's decision to flee into the past to avoid destruction, Kirk's odd plotline, Spock's transformation into a primal Vulcan and more!

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RTR 6: Don't Go Near the Turbolift ...

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 05:44:00 -0800

It is the sixth episode of Random Trek Review, in which Andrew and Matt discuss the Deep Space Nine episode "Rapture". In the slightly longer than usual episode, they talk about Sisko's mission to get Bajor into the federation, Admiral Whatley's motivation for becoming an admiral, the new Starfleet uniforms and one Starfleet tailor's mistake and much more!

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RTR Blog: Matt's Halloween Favorites

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 18:14:00 -0700

While I do enjoy the occasional horror flick, I would not consider myself to be a horror movie aficionado. Star Trek has made a few forays into horror territory, many of which completely creeped me out as a kid. Growing older and more fond of the horror genre, these creepy and scary episodes have definitely grown on me. With today being Halloween, I thought it appropriate to go over a few of my favourite horror Trek episodes.

My criteria were simple: I'm looking for episodes that creep me out the most and that I would not want to watch alone in a dark room late at night. With that in mind, here are a few favourites in no particular order:

Impulse (Star Trek Enterprise)
I thought this episode was fairly early in the run, but it turns out it was in fact an early third season episode. In the episode, Enterprise discovers a lost Vulcan ship adrift in an asteroid field full of a rare substance called Trellium-D. When Archer and the gang board the Vulcan ship, they are attacked by zombie-like Vulcans who have gone completely berserk after being exposed to the Trellium-D. Further complicating things, T'Pol begins to act strangely, eventually devolving into a zombie-Vulcan herself until Dr. Phlox can treat her.

This is probably Star Trek's most blatant attempt at a classic horror film inspired episode which also capitalizes on the zombie craze at the time. The atmosphere on the Vulcan ship is not unlike the post-apocalyptic Earth you would see in a budget zombie flick. Everything was broken down and dark, strobe lights flashing everywhere. Then of course there were the zombie-Vulcans themselves, wild-eyed, mindless and impossible to reason with. I haven't seen this episode in a while, so I can't really comment too much about whether the plot was actually good, but what I can say is that this episode definitely had the feel of a quality zombie movie. The dark sets, and crazy camera angles really captured the atmosphere that they were going for. For me, this will forever be known as the zombie episode.

Schisms (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
A bit more of a psychological horror episode, this sixth season TNG episode really hits the mark in that respect. Various members of the crew begin demonstrating strange behaviour; Riker can't seem to make his duty shifts on time and Worf becomes fearful of a pair of scissors. They eventually gather together and piece together an eerie room on the holodeck that they all have recollections of visiting. Eventually they determine that they are being kidnapped in their sleep and having grotesque experiments performed on them by mysterious aliens. Riker eventually saves the day and sends the aliens packing before they can do any more permanent damage.

As a kid, I didn't fully appreciate this episode because I didn't totally understand what was going on, but the dark room did creep me out. Now that I'm older, I fully appreciate just how creepy this episode is. The aliens performing grotesque experiments on the crew members for seemingly no reason was really creepy and the fact that we never see them until the very end makes it that much more ominous. The premise for the episode is pretty sound and mystery in the cargo bay added to the suspenseful nature of the episode. I also loved that the aliens' motivations are never revealed leaving you in suspense after the episode is finished. All we know at the end is they were odd looking humanoids who did some pretty scary things to the crew.

Genesis (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Whenever I think of Genesis, all I can remember is how much this episode scared me when I was a kid. Picard and Data take off in a shuttle to retrieve a stray torpedo and when they return to the ship, they find the lights off and everything gone haywire. Upon further investigation, they discover that the crew members have de-evolved into primitive forms of life from their respective home planets as the result of some sort of disease. While they attempt to find a cure, they deal with various members of the crew, culminating in a de-evolved Worf chasing Picard through the Jeffries tubes. Data is able to save the day, but not before some classic horror scenes and great makeup effects.

Like I said, this episode scared the hell out of me as a kid. Most notably was the scene in engineering when spider-Barclay jumps against the window with a honourable mention going to the scene sickbay when proto-Klingon Worf spits venom in Dr. Crusher's face. The latter literally gave me nightmares. What I love about this episode is that it has a solid premise and plot, the only hole really being why Picard chose to go after the torpedo. It provided the audience the opportunity to see the initial clues that something strange was going on, then see the aftermath from Picard and Data's perspective when they return to the ship. The makeup was almost all really well done in this episode (Troi's aquatic makeup was the only exception). Barclay's half-spider looked amazing as did proto-Klingon Worf. Even RIker's more subtle makeup to make him look like a caveman was good. I also loved the way they made the Enterprise look and sound incredibly creepy, adding to the atmosphere of the episode. For me this is the height of scary, creepy Star Trek. If I were to watch one episode to get into the spirit of Halloween, this is the one.

Empok Nor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Bias Alert: This episode prominently features my favourite character (the one and only Garak), so this may seem a bit gushy, but I think many would agree that this episode warrants inclusion in any scary Star Trek episode list. Maybe not, but I'm going for it regardless. Chief O'Brien leads a crew to abandoned space station Empok Nor in order to gather equipment to repair DS9 which seems to be falling apart at the seams. Upon arrival, they soon discover two Cardassian soldiers were left behind, the result of an experiment to heighten Cardassians innate xenophobia. The drug begins to affect Garak; at first he takes out his aggression on the left behind Cardassians but soon after begins to prey on the members of the away team. Garak is incapacitated by Chief O'Brien, but not before killing everyone except Nog and O'Brien.

Everything about this episode screams scary episode. From the first appearance of Empok Nor, at an odd angle through the viewport of the runabout and the dark atmosphere to the brilliant music evoking unease throughout the episode. Garak's transformation from plain simple Garak to cold-blooded killer through the course of the episode was absolutely brilliant in its subtlety. The hints are there, but you don't really know until he stabs the no name Ensign with the engineering tool. There were also some classic horror elements in this one. To this day, I still jump when the Cardassian soldier comes crashing through the window to kill one of the other no name characters. There were some other nice touches as well. Stringing up the dead away team members before the final showdown was pretty creepy and Garak's capture of Nog left you wondering what he was going to do to him. It is very suspenseful and scary episode that ranks high not only on my scary episode list, but also my favourite DS9 episode list.

Macrocosm (Star Trek: Voyager)
I find this episode doesn't get its due when it comes to scary creepy Star Trek episodes, but I think it's worthy. Much like Genesis, Janeway and Neelix return from a diplomatic mission to find Voyager adrift and the crew incapacitated. Neelix is quickly rendered helpless by unseen lifeforms, leaving Janeway to get control of the ship and determine what is going on. She enlists the help of the Doctor who informs her that the ship has been taken over by a macroviral infection picked up on a planet. Janeway becomes infected and races against the clock to destroy the macroviruses and cure the crew. Eventually, after dodging numerous attacks by the macro viruses, Janeway is able to devise a plan to draw them into the holodeck where she is able to blow them up with an antogen bomb.

This episode for me really parallels Genesis in a lot of ways, most notably the great job of adjusting the lighting and the sets to create a really ominous and creepy atmosphere. I also thought the episode was built on a fascinating premise, a virus that has mutated and grown to near human size. It provided a worthy adversary to Janeway as she struggled to fight them off, save the crew and regain control of the ship. I also really liked having the Doctor recount the events leading to the ship becoming adrift in space even though it takes away some of the mystery and suspense. It was an effective way to bring the viewer up to speed. I thought the growths on the crew's necks where the mutated viruses would emerge from their bodies looked pretty good. The macrovirus special effects were good, but, like many of the early CGI effects in Star Trek, haven't aged the greatest. I thought the look of the macroviruses was pretty good though, although I'm a bit puzzled as to how the larger versions are able to fly around. The story was good in the episode and again, the changes to the sets and the lighting really established a creepy atmosphere, making for another great scary Star Trek episode.

So once the kids are done trick or treating and the Halloween festivities have died down, if you're looking for one last scare, any of these episodes should do the trick. Happy Halloween!

RTR 5: They Need a Better Union on Voyager

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 07:13:00 -0700

In the fifth episode of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew discuss the Voyager episode "Emanations". The discussion includes the fame of returning from the afterlife, hanging out in an alien funeral home .. or was it a hospital? and Harry Kim's daring all or nothing plan to return to Voyager.

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RTR 4: European Carry-All Dukat

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 9 Oct 2018 05:22:00 -0700

Andrew and Matt review the Deep Space Nine episode "Indiscretion" in the fourth episode of Random Trek Review. They talk about Dukat's nod to Seinfeld with his accessory choice, the mystique and coolness of the Breen and the best member of the DS9 crew to get relationship advice from.

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RTR Bonus: Short Treks Preview

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 2 Oct 2018 05:19:00 -0700

In some excellent BONUS content, Andrew and Matt share their thoughts on the upcoming Short Treks. They talk about the short medium then move on to discuss each of the shorts based on the short synopsis released by CBS which feature Ensign Tilly, a new character named Craft, Commander Saru and Harry Mudd.

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RTR 3: Where's Chief O'Brien?

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 20:57:00 -0700

Matt and Andrew discuss the Next Generation episode "The Next Phase" in episode three of Random Trek Review. The discussion includes the Bajoran death chant, the ever treacherous Romulans who can never pass up an opportunity to sabotage the Federation, even in the face of imminent peril and finally the conspicuous absence of the Enterprise's ace transporter chief.

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RTR 2: Alcohol and Klingon Nerve Gas

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 17:50:00 -0700

In episode two of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt review the Original Series episode "The Tholian Web", including a discussion about 23rd century space suits, Tholian punctuality and recommended treatment for exposure to phased space.

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RTR Blog: Matt's TNG Top Ten

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 4 Sep 2018 18:46:00 -0700

Star Trek: The Next Generation was the first Star Trek series I got into back in the mid-90s. I jumped on board during the original run late in season five, and was hooked ever since. For my first blog post, I am going to countdown my TNG Top 10. Here we go:

#10: Time's Arrow
I have to admit that this one is a bit of a nostalgia pick since it was among the first handful of Star Trek episodes I ever saw in addition to being the first cliffhanger that I experienced. I also enjoyed the time travel aspect to it and I really think this is one of the better time travel episodes because everything makes sense and it is relatively easy to follow. The interactions with Samuel Clemens and the other characters from the past was really well done. I also really liked the explanation for the alien's time travel being due to the cholera outbreak of the time, allowing them to drain the life energy from victims of the disease without rousing much suspicion.

#9: Deja Q
It's hard to do a list like this without including an episode featuring the ever mischevious Q and, well, this one is my favourite. John de Lancie is brilliant playing a frustrated and powerless Q in this episdoe. The quip level is high as usual and leads to some really great scenes and lines. The episode is not without substance either as the crew is faced with a very real dilemma on Bre'el IV and wouldn't you know an off hand remark from Q leads Geordi to a solution. The final scene puts this one over for me though after Q throws a huge party on the bridge after getting his powers back, culminating in Data's epic belly laugh.

#8: Chain of Command
This was an episode that I enjoyed for the action when I was younger, but as I've grown older I've understood just how powerful of an episode it is, particularly Part II in which Picard is tortured for information by the mercilous Gul Madred. I really believe this is one of Patrick Stewart's best performances in the series. The political back story is also very intriguing and lays some of the ground work for DS9, setting up the Cardassians as a very complex culture. The conflict between Riker and Captain Jellico ratcheted the drama up another notch as they butted heads over how to run the ship. It came to a head with Riker being relieved of duty, only for Jellico to go crawling back when he needed Riker's help. It's a great episode for so many reasons.

#7: Cause and Effect
This is another time travel episode, although it is one that has a unique twist: the crew is re-living the same period of time over and over again, each time resulting in the destruction of the Enterprise. Eventually the crew begins to experience deja vu and is able to solve the mystery, saving the ship. The beauty of this episode is that they run through the same act four times, and each time they get closer to escaping the time loop and saving the ship, but the episode doesn't get stale as they go through the same thing over and over. The model effects in this episode were really well done with the depiction of the Enterprise and Bozeman colliding and they were able to capture it from multiple angles so we didn't see the exact same thing over and over again. It's a good one that I can certainly watch more than once and still enjoy.

#6: Lower Decks
I've always loved this brilliantly titled episode which offers a glimpse into life for the junior officers, something we had never really seen on Star Trek before or since. The portrayal of the stress and feelings of insecurity by this episode's guest stars was well done and seems genuine. Imagine being in your 20s and serving on a starship, worrying about what your superiors think of you and how to make that next big step in your career. It's something we can all relate to. And it's not like the main cast was absent in this episode. The secondary plot in which the crew must deal with a Cardassian defector bringing crucial information to the Federation, then having to return him to Cardassia in a risky mission was very well done. There was a bit of a darker tone to this episode (for TNG anyway) that I really liked. Case in fact, Ensign Sito doesn't make it at the end which is a bit disappointing, but I thought made the ending that much more meaningful.

#5: The Pegasus
This is an episode about loyalty that also explores Commander Riker's past, and it guest stars Locke from Lost! The premise of this episode is very simple, but the execution is excellent. The chemistry between Jonathan Frakes and Terry O'Quinn is outstanding in this episode. They start as old friends and quickly turn into adversaries as the episode unfolds. There's some interesting history here as we learn of the Treaty of Algeron and why the Federation is forbidden from developing cloaking technology. There's a dark tone to this episode as well when we learn of some secret Federation plans to develop and test a new more advanced cloaking device. Riker's internal conflict between following orders and his loyalty to Captain Picard and what Starfleet stands for manifests itself well through the course of the episode. We find out later that Riker ultimately came to his senses and did the right thing after running a holodeck simulation of the NX-01 during the founding of the Federation, but we won't talk about that.

#4: The Inner Light
Andrew, and many sci-fi fans and critics, would rank The Inner Light at number one and I can understand why: this is science fiction at its greatest. It is a great episode. Picard lives another man's life on a dying planet after being zapped by an alien probe. This is another amazing performance by Patrick Stewart living the life of Kamin as he grows old on the doomed planet. The crew tries to revive Picard as he lies on the floor of the bridge, but are unable to do so. Meanwhile, Kamin starts a family and struggles to avert the drought that is plaguing the planet. Stewart shines throughout and the episode ends with a powerful scene in which characters from the early part of Kamin's life re-appear and explain that the probe is being launched in the hopes of finding someone in the future who can tell others about the now extinct civilization. It is an incredible story that could only be told in the sci-fi realm and is a great example of what sci-fi is all about. Watching Picard live out Kamin's life all the way into old age against the backdrop of a dying alien planet was a wonderful story, Stewart making it all the much better with his superb acting.

#3: The Best of Both Worlds
There would possibly be debate as to whether or not this is the best cliffhanger in Star Trek, or possibly television, history. For me this is without question the best, and the rest of the episode is great. The Borg are one of the great adversaries in Star Trek and with TNG only dipping into that well a handful of times adds to the mystique surrounding the Borg. The tension and suspense of this episode is really top notch as the Enterprise desperately tries to not only stop a Borg ship from reaching Earth, but also to rescue Captain Picard. There are some great scenes that also show us things from the Borg perspective during Picard's assimilation and a battle with the Enterprise. I also love the backstory with Riker battling with young ambitious Lt. Cmdr. Shelby. Riker turning down another command at the beginning of the episode was a brilliant setup of the battle between them and was a nice bit of subtle foreshadowing that Riker would soon become captain of the Enterprise. While the outcome of the episode was never really in doubt, you were still held in suspense until the very later stages of the episode as the Enterprise chases down the Borg ship, catching it in orbit around Earth. A truly classic TNG episode that has everything you could possibly want.

#2: Yesterday's Enterprise
Is Yesterday's Enterprise the best use of an alternate universe? Yes ... okay, maybe second best. Is Yesterday's Enterprise the best use of time travel? Probably not, but the combination of time travel and alternate universe make this an incredibly cool episode. This episode also gives us the first look at what life would be like aboard a Federation vessel during a time of war, something we don't really see again until the Dominion War breaks out on DS9. The changes to the Enterprise sets were great and immediately imparted the change to the timeline and the higher sense of tension that one would expect when at war with the Klingons. The other subtle touches like the strategy maps, ten forward, Picard recording a military log and referring to the Enterprise as a battleship were all very well done. It was also a nice way to bring back Tasha Yar two years after her death. This is all triggered by the Enterprise-C, geniusly refered to by Picard as a "ghost from its own past", passing through a temporal anomaly at a critical juncture of galactic history, changing the timeline. Like Time's Arrow, I think this is great use of time travel because it is easy to follow and makes sense.

#1: Unification
If you listened to Episode 0 of Random Trek Review, you would already know that this episode tops my TNG list; if you didn't listen to it, you should! Everyone remembers this episode for the appearance of Leonard Nimoy as Ambassador Spock, but this episode is also a great political thriller featuring the Romulans. I've always loved the TNG Romulans, and it truly is a shame that they went to that well a bit too often early in the series and shifted focus later, leaving the Romulans largely untouched until midway through DS9. This episode features a heaping serving of Romulan treachery at all turns which is what makes this episode so intriguing to me. I also thought the backstory in which Riker and the rest of the crew investigated a missing starship which tied into the main Romulan plot was good. It all came together in the end with a very tense standoff.

There are a few interesting guest stars in this episode in addition to Leonard Nimoy. If you listen and look carefully under some makeup you will discover False Face from the Adam West-era Batman series and Milton from Office Space!

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):

Genesis
This episode always creeped me out when I was younger, but as I've grown older I recognize this episode for being one of the best attempts at a horror Star Trek episode. The de-evolution of the crew was a clever premise for creating the creepy atmosphere on the ship. The action and plot were good, making this a really good creepy episode for the horror lovers among us.

The Defector
This is an early Romulan episode from the third season in which a defector crosses the Neutral Zone bringing critical information to the Federation. The Romulans are up to their old tricks, setting up Jarok to bring false information to the Federation leading them into a trap. This episode again establishes the Romulan's treacherous nature and their penchant for manipulating situations for their own gain. And of course, the end features a stand off with Tomalak. Classic Romulan episode.

Darmok
This is a brilliant episode that explores the language barrier and cleverly does so by introducing an alien race whose language is based on reference to mythological figures and events. In other words, it is out there. Picard was the perfect choice to be the main character in this episode with his interest in archaeology and mythology giving him the tools to learn the language and eventually save the day.

Disaster
I like this episode on the concept alone: the Enterprise has to survive a disaster which cripples the ship. There are some cheesy elements to this episode to be sure, but watching various members of the crew deal with being well out of their comfort zone as they get through the disaster and save the ship was a huge departure from the norm.

Face of the Enemy
Though not a direct sequel to Unification, this episode does offer a loose continuation of the dissident movement started by Spock on Romulus. This episode features an interesting plot we don't see often: a crew member being kidnapped and coerced by an adversary to complete a mission. This is another episode featuring the Romulans and as you would expect, there are lots of twists and turns, most of them of the fun and interesting variety. We also catch a glimpse of life on a Romulan warbird.

RTR 1: The Bob Sacamano of Star Trek

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 16:45:00 -0700

In the first episode of Random Trek Review, Matt and Andrew discuss the Next Generation episode "The Schizoid Man", covering everything from near warp transports and rousing funeral speeches to terrible stunts and the Bob Sacamano of Star Trek.

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RTR 0: Podcasting Where No Podcast Has Podcasted Before

randomtrekreview@gmail.com (Andrew and Matt) — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 11:54:00 -0700

In the very first installment of Random Trek Review, Andrew and Matt explain what the podcast will be about, discuss the origins of their Star Trek fandom and their thoughts on each of the Star Trek series. The podcast concludes with the reveal of the first episode to be reviewed!

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