LDS Geeks Podcast #31: Third Doctor Adventures

TJ and I finally managed to work through technical issues (at least for this time) and find time in our schedules to record again. Join us this time for our favorite adventures with the Third Doctor.

--Spencer

PS: I had an allergy attack literally an hour before recording. I tried to edit out most of the sniffles, but I apologize in advance for the unattractive noise. 

Friday Creature Feature - Tribbles

Back in the 1960s, Doctor Who and Star Trek had some of the funniest low-tech ideas for aliens (see also unicorn doggo). Because special effects were limited compared to today, it’s funny to look back and see some of the things that passed for dangerous extraterrestrials back in the day. Besides Star Trek’s unicorn doggo, one of my favorites while watching The Original Series was showcased in “The Trouble with Tribbles”. 

Stardate 4523.3: While the Enterprise’s crew was at Station K-7, a seemingly harmless tribble (literally a chittering furball) was sold to Uhura. Within a day it had multiplied. Meanwhile, Captain Kirk was trying to deal with Klingons. Tribbles, usually a calming creature while encountering other species, like humans and Vulcans, were agitated by Klingons. At least that discontent helped Captain Kirk find an undercover Klingon agent.

Since the days of Captain Kirk and the Enterprise, Tribbles have appeared periodically throughout Star Trek, usually as pets or referenced as a joke. In fact, on Big Bang Theory, Sheldon viewed Raj’s dog as an “attack tribble”. What better way to classify the yappy little dogs? 

Overall, the little creature is pretty harmless. A tribble will lull other species into this tranquilizing calmness. Call it pheromones or incredible cuteness (honestly, if it is something chemical, I could use a tribble at work sometimes) the exact mechanism of lulling creatures in is somewhat unknown. The danger in a tribble lies in their ability to reproduce faster than rabbits. In a matter of days, they’d deplete a ship’s food supply, given the chance.

But at least they’re cute, right?

Star Trek Workout

I'm just finishing up the original Star Trek series. After going where no man has gone before, there's plenty more Star Trek to enjoy after. But as I work my way through The Next Generation and "make it so", it's important to keep things moving and stay active. So here's my latest geek workout to get a little mobility out of your Star Trek episodes.

Disclaimer: While I am a licensed physical therapy provider, I am not a personal trainer or a medical practitioner. Partner as necessary with your doctor prior to engaging in any diet or excise programs. If any of these exercises cause increased pain, stop the exercise immediately.

• Opening Theme - Shoulder Circles
• Captain’s Log entry - Shoulder CARS 10 reps 
• Other Starfleet log - Calf Raises 10 reps 
• Sickbay scene begins - Towel Neck Extension 10 reps 
• Bridge scene begins - Supermans 10 reps 
• Someone uses communicator - 90/90 Get Up 10 reps 
• Someone uses tricorder - Prone Elbow Raise 10 reps 
• Someone uses transporter - Toe Raises 10 reps 
• Starfleet Captain enters - Push-Ups 15 reps
• Pseudo science explained - Bicep Curls 10 reps

***Exercises are based on what I've learned practicing physical therapy. This workout is intended to work without any equipment, but feel free to add small dumbbells or bands as you're safely able.

Don't forget to stretch!

Also check out this comical book for Trekkies Body by Star Fleet.

Captain Kirk's Enemy Within

Today’s blog post is brought to you by Paramount Plus and Unicorn Doggo.

Recently, after finishing the first season of Strange New Worlds, I started watching the Original Series (logical place to go). It’s cheesy and the effects suck compared to 21st Century special effects. But the storytelling is timeless (I’ve said the same thing about Classic Doctor Who). Working my way through the first season, “The Enemy Within” caught my attention.

If you need a refresher, “The Enemy Within” features Captain Kirk being split in two during a transporter malfunction. We end up with a “good” Kirk and a “bad” Kirk. But naturally as the story progresses, it would be too straightforward for it to be a matter of good and bad. I mean just look at this conversation between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy:

Captain Kirk: What's the matter with me? 

Spock: Judging from my observations, Captain, you're rapidly losing the power of decision.

Dr. McCoy: You have a point, Spock?

Spock: Yes. Always, Doctor. We have here an unusual opportunity to appraise the human mind, or to examine, in Earth terms, the roles of good and evil in a man: his negative side, which you call hostility, lust, violence, and his positive side, which Earth people express as compassion, love, tenderness.

Dr. McCoy: It's the captain's guts you're analyzing. Are you aware of that, Spock?

Spock: Yes, and what is it that makes one man an exceptional leader? We see indications that it is his negative side which makes him strong, that his "evil" side, if you will, properly controlled and disciplined, is vital to his strength. Your negative side removed from you, the power of command begins to elude you.

Captain Kirk: What is your point, Mr. Spock?

Spock: If your power of command continues to weaken, you'll soon be unable to function as captain.

I wrote before about there being “grace in our failings” (as Vision put it), but I want to expand on that and relate it to Captain Kirk’s experience. As Alma taught his son Shiblon, “bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love” (Alma 38:12). As noted by Spock, Kirk’s “evil” side was driven, powerful, and passionate. But by reigning these traits in with his “good” side, he’s able to be a stronger leader. In fact, without his “evil” side, he had lost his ability to make decisions and lead the Enterprise.

Similarly, in an Animorphs book, Rachel got split in two and ends up with a “mean” side and a “nice” side. Like Captain Kirk, we’re kind of meant to feel that her “mean” side was evil. However, as the story progresses, it turns out neither side was evil. The “mean” Rachel has unbridled rage, anger, and drive… but she has no ability to act on anything but impulse. On the flip side, “nice” Rachel was too scared and timid to do anything, but she had foresight and was able to plan a battle like a war general. In our biggest vices often lie our strongest virtues. Can't have one without the other.

You can’t have the good without the bad. To quote Father Lehi, “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass” (2 Nephi 2:11). So the drive we have to act, to take care of ourselves (even in unhealthy ways), and to live may feel in conflict with our divine potential. But to wish away our dark side, we just end up with more problems (just ask Regina after she split herself from the Evil Queen). Both sides are needed. By bridling the “dark side”, we’re able to use that drive and those passions (as Alma phrased it) to move forward the work of salvation, to serve our families, and change the world.

It's a good time for some self-compassion.

Killer Bunnies: A Must Have Board Game

Do you like games where you make alliances and betray them later like Risk? Do you like when you have a good strategy and then one card could give you terrible misfortune and ruin everything like Betrayal at the House on the Hill? Do you like games where everything relies on the role of the dice, like Dungeons and Dragons? Do you like games that doesn’t matter how well/bad you played because there is a random chance of winning like Yahtzee? Do you like games with puns, like Munchkin? Well, Killer Bunnies card game is that and more!

“Killer Bunnies is a fun, light-hearted game of social interaction which is great to share with both family and friends . . . Killer Bunnies is a comical journey through pop-culture” – Killerbunnies.com

The objective of the game is to play as many bunnies as possible to collect carrots (one of them being the winning carrot). While collecting carrots you can use your bunnies to kill your opponents bunnies; steal their money, bunnies, and saved treasure; have aliens abduct their bunnies; and gamble/auction your opponents bunnies---preventing them from getting carrots.This is crucial, because if the other players don't have a bunny then they are not be able to win. 

To play the game you receive 7 cards and place two cards face down in ascending order each time it is your turn you play the top card, meaning you must think two steps ahead. The goal of the game is to obtain as many carrots as possible. To get a carrot, you must have a bunny in play. In the base set there are 12 carrots each with their own personality like Arnie (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Presto (a magician), and so much more.

After the end of your turn, you draw until you have 5 cards in your hands. In my family we allow you to sneakily steal more cards from the draw pile and if you are caught with more than 5 cards, your opponents discard random cards from your hand until you are down to 5 cards and you skip your next turn. Sometimes when you draw a card you get a play immediately card that causes terrible misfortune killing off one of your bunnies. It’s always fun to read out loud how your bunny died by misfortune like “One of your bunnies is exposed to illegal buried Plutonium loses its fur, convulses for a bit and dies”, “One of your bunnies is smothered in barbecue sauce, bound to a stick, and slowly cooked for a Hillbilly Hoe Down!”, and “One of your bunnies’ experiments with flint stones while kneeling near a leaking gas main!”

  

The base game is fun, but when you buy the expansions then new game mechanics are presented. Usually, with expansions the games stay the same with more cards, but I really enjoy these games expansions because of the additional mechanics, like defense cards for when your enemy fires a weapon at one of your bunnies, Rank cards that always the highest-ranking player to play an additional card per turn, and yellow ball with red stripe that allows a player to take other players cards that contain that image. The expansions make the game more fun and there are a lot of them.

Also, the expansions include bunnies that reference your favorite shows/movies like Star Trek, Harry Potter, Sherlock, Star Wars, Dr. Who, Stranger Things, and so much more. Do you want to see the Harry Potter trio, your favorite doctor from Dr. Who, or Lord of the Rings characters as bunnies? Then this is the game for you.

Killer Bunnies is a game that should be a staple in every household. Growing up I played so many hours of this game every weekend with my friends for years. We had a man cave in my friend’s garage with a fold up table multiple stacks of cards, chips, soda, and laughter that will be remembered for eternity. Some of my best memories growing up are in this garage playing this game. We formed packs, betrayed them, auctioned bunnies, gained military rank, and received many terrible misfortunes.

I like this game for a couple of reasons. You can play this with two or more people. When the game is over there are never hard feelings because even though one player has most of the carrots, there is a chance that the other player has the winning carrot. All geeks who like this blog would appreciate this game. What games are staples in your household?

Strange New Worlds: My First Foray into Star Trek

I grew up the son of a Trekkie (my dad literally had dozens of VHS tapes with recorded Star Trek episodes) but I’d never watched a Star Trek series start to finish, only episodes here and there. But last month at a guys’ night, someone wanted to watch an episode of Strange New Worlds. We ended up watching two episodes that night and I was hooked.

One of my best friends described Strange New Worlds as a return to what traditional Star Trek felt like. Instead of lengthy plots and story arcs throughout the season, we got individual, one-episode stories. Sure, there are threads running through the season, but you could get by watching an episode here and there if you didn’t want to watch everything. 

That being said, we had several overarching plots throughout the season: Pike’s vision, Spock’s engagement, La’an’s past with the Gorn, Una’s homeworld, and M’Benga’s daughter, to name a few. As a father my heart broke for M’Benga and the misfit in me felt a tug toward Una’s discrimination. With only one season of Strange New Worlds so far, it’s a great place to start your adventure with the Federation. It’s short (for now) and it gives you a sampling of what to expect in other series.

If you’re like me, this only leaves you with one problem: Where do I go next now that I’m done with Strange New Worlds? 

Boldly Going - For My First Time

(Guest post by Brad)

Back in the Summer of 2012, I moved to Chicago (my first of three moves in total to the area). At that point in time I worked as an intern downtown in the Amtrak rail yard. Making an intern wage rate along with living in a city where I knew no one, I had a lot of free time on my hands, which is when I first really got into Star Trek. My college roommate was a huge Trek fan and at his urging I started watching TNG. At that point in time, The Next Generation was on Netflix and I devoured the first couple of seasons during that summer and fell in love with the Trek Universe. I had seen Star Trek 2009, and growing up had occasionally seen episodes of TNG and saw First Contact and Insurrection in theaters. But Summer 2012 was the first time I really immersed myself in Trekdom.

Since then I’ve continued to love Trek. It’s the perfect combination of quality storytelling, science fiction, and just plain good television. Even beyond that, the vision that Gene Roddenberry set is one that gives me hope.

It’s fitting that on the ten year anniversary of me really connecting with Star Trek, and in the city where I first discovered and immersed myself in the Trek universe, that I attend my first Star Trek Convention.

Hands down, an unforgettable experience that reminds me of the possibility of sustainability, equality, and opportunity in a future that highlights the best of our humanity. So this month, I decided to Boldly go where no Bradley has gone before and attend Star Trek: Mission Chicago.

The Good

I don’t know that I’ve ever been around so many people at one time that love Star Trek. Here’s what stood out to me in my experience as the best parts.

Kindness. Our world is experiencing such an intense drought of empathy and kindness. I can’t tell you the amount of times I was able to engage authentically with a stranger and have kindness returned back to me. Complimenting cosplay, talking about favorite episodes or characters, or cheering together as our favorite actors came on stage or came out to their autograph booth, the convention was overflowing with kindness for one another as we celebrated our mutual love of something good. It gave me hope for the future.

 

Actor Engagement. I’m still smiling like an idiot when I think of the incredible opportunities I had to meet with some of the actors who played my favorite characters on the series. SOOO many of the actors in Trek know what it means to the fans and they embraced us with open arms and open hearts. Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher, TNG) complimented my Trek Shirt. I had a lovely conversation with Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir, DS9) about Mitt Romney of all things. I got a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Doug Jones (Saru, DIS), lovely interactions with Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway, VOY), Nana Vistor (Kira Nerys, DS9), Michelle Hurd (Raffi, PIC), and Evan Evagora (Elnor, PIC). I also enjoyed Jack Quaid’s (Brad Boimler, LD) interaction once he discovered my name was also Brad. He signed his autograph for me “From one Brad to another.” Interacting with members of the original cast like Walter Koenig (Chekov, TOS) and William Shatner (Kirk, TOS) felt like sequences from a dream. I probably spent way too much money, but they are memories and interactions I’ll remember for the rest of my life. 

 

Vision of the Future. Now more than ever, our world needs Star Trek. Various times throughout the weekend we remembered across panels and other one on one interactions the importance of Gene’s vision of the future and how that now more than ever, humanity needs something to believe in. 

 

The Endorsement from and partnership with Paramount Plus. We got to see early scenes from Strange New Worlds Season 1 (the first bridge scene aboard the Enterprise in the new series), and a cold open for Lower Decks Season 3. We were the first people in the world to see this content and it was awesome to get a sneak peak.  

 

The Lower Decks Panel. Lower Decks is a love letter to the fans and the visiting cast members showed up in costume and were sooo much fun to listen to.

Here’s some constructive feedback of things I wish had gone differently.

The Bad

There was not a lot of merch or vendors. Far less than I was expecting. I was still able to burn a hole in my wallet, but I am disappointed that so much of the McCormick Place floor was relatively empty. 

 

The Lack of TNG Cast. Outside of Wil Wheaton, there were no major characters from The Next Generation at the panels. While the panels and majority of guests made it easy to celebrate “New Trek,” and we had rock stars from TOS, DS9, and VOY all attend, I do wish we would have had more representation from TNG. 

 

More food options. The food was good, but there was not a lot of variety and this was a bit lacking.

Verdict

Honestly, while a little expensive, the amount of positives I have coming from the weekend far outweigh the negative. One or two actors may have seem less than enthusiastic about being there, but the amount of hope, joy, vision, and sneak peeks we got to experience, as well as seeing the first ever live panel for Lower Decks made this three day experience unforgettable. 

I can’t wait to go again and get my Trek on. Thank you Gene for your vision and legacy. Thank you Lucille Ball for fighting to keep Star Trek on the air. Thank you to past and present cast and crew for giving we as fans something that moves us, changes us, and guides us.

Live long and prosper my fellow Trekkies.

Resistance is Futile!

(Guest post by Q)

Growing up one of my favorite shows was Star Trek Voyager. Which leads me to my favorite villain. The Borg!!!

I always found the Borg to be fascinating.

In Voyager we learned quite a bit about them. 7 of 9 was my favorite character, how she escaped and got her humanity back.

I always thought in a way even though we didn't care for their tactics and assimilating everyone were they really that bad?

Well recently with the new show Picard their story is expanding. At the end of Voyager the Borg were dealt some serious damage in the Delta Quadrant.

In season 1 a Borg cube is being salvaged for parts and technology and we later learn that many Federation star ships are retrofitted with some of these upgrades.

I just started watching Season 2 of Picard and I am fascinated by the prospect that the Borg having been beaten back may want to form an alliance with the Federation. Is this a ploy or can both the Borg and individuality co exist?

The Borg Queen fascinates me and I can't wait to see what follows this season.

D&D Class Breakdown: Cleric

 For new players, it can be hard to choose your first class. For veteran players, it can be hard to choose a class and not fall into stereotypes everyone's seen a thousand times. So now I'm going to deconstruct the 5E Player's Handbook classes (Sorry Artificer, you'll come later) and talk about what works, what doesn't, and some interesting ways to play the classes. 

I won't be going into game mechanics as much as I'll be going into roleplay. 

Let's talk about Clerics! 

(Hay look, it's a class that isn't automatically problematic!)

What is a Cleric?

The cleric class is based on the stories of saints, prophets and religious heroes. While not directly representing any one religion or philosophy, the cleric is the hero who has curried favor with the divine to heal the sick, see the future, and other miracles in the name of deity. 

In Dungeons and Dragons clerics are the main healers in the game. Equipped with a plethora of buff/debuff spells plus the ability to spontaneously heal allies makes them a need for any adventuring group. 

In the Game

Every deity in Dungeons and Dragons has clerics to worship them and teach others their ways. Technically more administrative than the paladin, the cleric's main role is to help others learn and live the tenants of their faith, like missionaries in full plate armor. The zealotry of the cleric differs based on the cleric and the religion. Some have more of a live-and-let-live vibe, while others will attack anything evil or unholy with a righteous zeal. 

The biggest issue with the cleric in game is differentiating their role from the paladin. While both are great in combat, both can heal and both have religious bends to them, the main difference is that paladins are more combat focused, whereas clerics are more utility. Paladin is a massive hammer where clerics are a pocket tool brimming with gadgets. 

While not immediately problematic, the cleric can have issues both in roleplay and in character design. The biggest problem is the same problem author Rick Riordan had when writing the Percy Jackson series. In his novels he wrote about a cult that worshipped Hera in modern day, not knowing that they're were groups that do worship Hera in the real world who took issue with their depiction.  Most deities and religions in Dungeons and Dragons are made up by writers for the game and their accompanying fictions but some players like to either make overt references to real religions or wholeheartedly use ancient gods and practices in game. This can be offensive to someone who truly does believe in Thor when a player is a Thor worshipper. Others can be offended if the evil cult the group is trying to stop is a thinly veiled euphemism for their own religion. Remember when in doubt, err on the side of sensitivity to others. 

As for in game I am going to break my own rules for a moment and talk about gameplay. Many players think of the healer in the group as the skinny kind in the back of the party casting healing spells and trying to stay out of combat. While, admittedly, this is a valid way to play the class it doesn't have to be the only way. Clerics can wear full armor with no penalty to their spellcasting and have several spells to enhance their own damage or armor at a moment's notice. It's not only possible, but almost game breaking to play a fully realized battle cleric, who wades into the thick of battle with the rest of the group and heals his fallen comrades as they fall next to him. 

Breaking the Trope

Besides the aforementioned tank/Cleric I mentioned, there's almost endless ways to be the party healer. Here's just a few ideas: 

The Missionary: The cleric can act as a missionary for their faith, traveling the world to spread the word. They'll stand in the middle of the town square and preach their teachings to the masses, sending them to temples and churches to join in the great work. For extra fun flavor, have two characters be missionaries and go straight up tracting through Baldur's Gate. 

The Crusader: Great for multiclassing into ranger, the cleric is on a holy quest to vanquish some evil from the land. Make it as general as destroying all undead or as specific to challenging an evil organization or kingdom. Just remember: Don't be a jerk if someone else at the table is going to be something you hunt. Either find a way to loophole that character to be fine or just play as something else. 

The Party Cleric: Most clerics choose either a righteous deity like Bahamut or some battle deity like Tempus, but why not choose something unusual? Why not Yondalla, goddess of halflings and have part of your duties be eating second breakfast? Or be a worshipper of Mielikki goddess of the forest and focus on the protection of nature? You could even ask the DM if you could have a homebrewed deity that resembles someone along the lines of Baccus the Greek god of wine and celebrations, or Loki the Norse trickster god? Mix it up and try something less holy by western standards and more wild. Then imagine what church is like for Baccus worshippers. 

Famous Clerics

Fiction has healers and it has religious characters but rarely do they meet. That being said, here's a few of them. 

Pike Trickfoot (Critical Role)

Starting off with once again Critical Role is the gnome cleric Pike. Despite her size she has demonstrated immense power in her service to the Everlight and is usually the one to patch up the heroes after a fight or if needs be drag them back from the dead. 

Shepard Book (Firefly)

While not a healer in the traditonal fantasy sense, Shepard Book is a man who does gain power from his faith, and knows how to patch up a wound when needs be. He helps heal the lost and broken River Tam as she recovers from her time being experimented on, and he keeps the crews spirits in line even if they don't all see his doctrinal point of view. 

Dr. Beverly Crusher (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

(Yes you can pretty much put any doctor from Star Trek in here but Beverly is my favorite so if you don't like it just insert Bones, Bashier, or The Doctor in here)

On the opposite side from Shepard Book is Dr. Crusher, a scientist who with the tools of the Star Trek universe can heal nearly any injury in the time it takes most people to tie their shoes. If you replace "I sense" with "My tricorder indicates" and "I cast Cure Wounds" with "Hand me the tissue regenerator" she could easily be any party's cleric. 

-JOE

Check out the other D&D Classes as well: Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Fighter

Before They Were Heroes (MCU)

You won’t typically see us with any shortage of Marvel content. But while we wait for the premiere of Moon Knight, we’re in a bit of an MCU drought. With how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come since Iron Man started the show (or Spider-Man if you want to count 2003 as the beginning). I wanted to take a step back and look at where our heroes were before they became the Avengers.

Chris Evans (Captain America) - Fantastic Four

Before he was Steve Rogers, Chris Evans was already a superhero. Back in the day, he played Johnny Storm in Fox’s first iteration of Fantastic Four. As the Human Torch, we saw him “flame on” in 2005 against Julian McMahon (before he played Jonah in Runaways). At the time, Chris Evan was also known for playing one of the exes in Scott Pilgrim.

Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner) - 13 Going on 30

He wasn’t the MCU’s first Hulk, but he is the one we’ve come to love. Before he first hulked out, he was the best friend/love interest in this 2004 romcom. As grown up Matt Flamhaff, it was his influence that showed Jennifer Garner she shouldn’t have wished to grow up so fast. A must see movie for anyone who thinks they grew up too fast and I shamelessly watched it for my 30th birthday last year.

Scarlett Johnansson (Black Widow) - The Prestige

Before Natasha stepped onto the scene in Iron Man 2, she was the lovely stage assistant Olivia in The Prestige. I remember going to see this movie with my brothers and it was trippy! Weird to look back now and see Black Widow in a magic act. She also voiced Princess Mindy in the Spongebob Squarepants movie, if you’re a Spongebob fan.

Chris Hemsworth (Thor) - Star Trek

Before he became the God of Thunder, Chris Hemsworth was a Starfleet captain (albeit for 5 minutes) caught in the middle of a battle against enemies from the future. During his short time as captain of the ship, his wife (played by Jennifer Morrison, Emma Swan) gave birth to the famous Captain Kirk.

Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) - Friends

There are so many wonderful shows and movies I could reference in talking about Paul Rudd. Supporting roles in Perk of Being a Wallflower and Night at the Museum and a recurring role in Parks and Rec. But as it’s me, I’m going to reference his character from Friends: Mike Hannigan. He came out of nowhere towards the tail end of the series. Literally came out of nowhere. Joey basically called out a random name and Paul Rudd responded. He eventually became Phoebe’s soulmate and they were married by the end of the series. Also, does he ever age?

Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) - The Hobbit

Depends on your social circle but I feel like our beloved Stephen Strange is best known as Sherlock, but Trekkies might remember that he played the rebooted Khan. But one of his biggest things before Doctor Strange was when he voiced the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy. You may have your opinions on how well the trilogy was done, but I think we can agree he was a great dragon.

Of course we could also address other heroes like Star-Lord or Gamora, but I figured we’d save their previous lives for another day. After writing this, now I just want to go watch the Star Trek movies again. And The Prestige.

Before They Were Cursed

My wife and I just finished rewatching Once Upon a Time again. Other than the last season or two we’ve seen it enough that we can have it on for 10 minutes at a time or in the background (which was nice when we were packing and moving last month). Created by the same people as LOST, I always take note of the actors and actresses that they brought back for this show. But even besides Anton the Giant and King George, there are plenty of other actors that my wife and I recognize all the time from their other appearances before they ended up in Storybrooke. So in honor of them, let’s take a look at their work.

Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) - Star Trek

She appeared as one of Ted’s many girlfriends in How I Met Your Mother. Though she appeared for thirteen episodes in that series, I want to spotlight her appearance with StarFleet. In the opening scenes of JJ Abrams’s Star Trek movies, she gave birth to James T. Kirk as her husband (the mighty Thor) saved them and hundreds of others, giving his own life. Gosh. I need to watch that movie again.

Lana Parilla (Regina Mills) - LOST

As I said before, lots of actors in Once Upon a Time were previously stars on LOST. However, Lana wasn’t a star on LOST. In fact, she only appeared in one season finale as one of the Others. But even with only one appearance in the supposedly flooded DHARMA station, she was an intriguing addition to LOST, later to return as the Evil Queen.

Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) - Ramona and Beezus

Before she was a princess or school teacher, Ginnifer Goodwin played the cool aunt in this Walden Media movie. When it showed up on Disney Plus, my wife wanted to watch it. It’s a nice feel-good movie about a young girl and her explosive imagination. So if you want to see Mary Margaret as a fun aunt, check this movie out on Disney Plus.

Josh Dallas (Prince Charming) - Thor

Before he was a shepherd or a prince, he was Asgardian by the name Fandral. As one of the Warriors Three, he traveled with Thor to fight the Frost Giants before the God of Thunder was banished to Earth. Along with the others, Fandral fought in New Mexico. Fortunately/unfortunately, due to his work on Once Upon a Time, Josh Dallas did not return in Dark World or Ragnarok, so the role was re-casted with Zachary Levi.

Rebecca Mader (Zelena) and Emilie de Ravin (Belle) - LOST

And of course since I brought LOST in, I couldn’t do this post without mentioning the Wicked Witch and Belle being Charlotte and Claire. They didn’t share a ton of scenes in LOST, but I’m sure they spent plenty of time together off camera. In contrast, they spent plenty of time on camera together in Storybrooke, often making themselves a tag-team th at I didn’t know I needed.

Dania Ramirez (Cinderella) - Heroes

She didn’t appear in Once Upon a Time until the final season, which I affectionately call the “spin-off season”. As we’ve been finishing that season of Once Upon a Time, I’ve also been watching Heroes on my own, where she appears as Maya Herrera in Season 2. Unfortunately, her storyline in Heroes was cut short due to the writers’ strike that year. She was supposed to play into the finale, instead of being written off in the next season. But I guess that’s just how it goes.

There are plenty of other actors and actresses I could reference from Storybrooke. For example, did you know Tinkerbell was a Power Ranger, the Snow Queen was Mrs. Claus, or that the White Rabbit was Lord Farquaad? But this list is good for now. So chime in with your favorite role that a Once actor or actress has played outside the Enchanted Forest.