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. 

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.

Janeway: Trek's Best Captain?

(Guest Post by Ken)

Among Trekkies, one of the most commonly debated questions is the classic Captain preference question: Kirk or Picard? While there is an ever-growing pantheon of additional captains in the Star Trek Universe, certainly not all deserve to be default options to the question and certainly Kirk and Picard, as the most famous of the club, have earned their place there. But I would contend that one additional captain at least deserves a place in the running alongside these two: Voyager’s stalwart Captain Kathryn Janeway. Hear me out on this.

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Janeway, expertly portrayed by Kate Mulgrew, is a great example of everything Starfleet looks for in a Captain. Above all, her defining trait is her commitment to her standards. While confronting captains with difficult moral dilemmas has always been the most consistent premise of Star Trek from the beginning, no show has challenged the integrity of its captain as much as Voyager did (okay, you can maybe argue that Discovery Season One challenges Captain Lorca more, but in that case he roundly failed the test!). Indeed, the entire premise of the show hinged on Janeway’s commitment to principle in the first episode when she makes a choice to protect an alien race, but in doing so strands her crew on the far side of the galaxy, along with a crew of Federation ex-patriot outlaws, who she mercifully decides to integrate into her crew as they face a daunting 70,000-light year journey back to Earth.

Along the way her principles are continually challenged. She has to grapple with the consequences for her crew of her initial choice, while along the way having to continue to apply civilized principles to a far more uncivilized area of the galaxy. Numerous times she faces the prospect of shortening her trip or ensuring her crew’s safety if she’ll just compromise in the smallest way, but she ultimately sticks to what she believes is right, even in some truly muddy lose-lose situations. And she isn’t motivated by rules-obsession. She acts the way she does not because Starfleet rules tell her to, but because she believes she’s doing what it right. Indeed, on several occasions she shows no hesitation breaking a Starfleet rule if it conflicts with doing what is right (her humorously consistent disregard for time-travel rules being a frequent example). 

One attribute that really sets her apart from other captains is her level of personal care for her crew. No doubt Janeway runs a tight ship, but she also cares deeply about the personal needs of each member, regardless of how they joined the crew, whether as original crew, the integrated renegades, random alien species who join along the way, a fully deputized medical hologram, or even a severed Borg drone. While Kirk often seems aloof in regards to crew members beyond his core officers, while Janeway goes out of her way in one episode to take her lowest ranking and worst-performing officers on an away mission so she can better know and help them. Picard often showed some individual concern for his crew, but also had a tendency to publicly rebuke even teen cadets in front of their mothers (“Shut up, Wesley!”). Janeway could certainly get angry with her crew, but she tried to correct in private first when possible, as demonstrated by one of her most common catchphrases, always delivered with a seething glare: “In my ready room.” That phrase meant you were in trouble, but Janeway wasn’t going to give you your lashings in front of your peers. 

The Janeway death-glare

Of course, at the time Voyager began, what really set her apart was simply that she was a woman. Some people at the time actually derided Voyager as only existing for Trek to wave a diversity flag by offering a female captain. Others have maligned her as a character clearly written as male but played by a woman. I disagree on both counts. 

To the first misconception, I’d argue that Voyager exists as great storytelling with a fully diverse ensemble cast beyond just Janeway. It has a very unique story, in many ways the franchises first trek (pun intended) into a more serial story-arc. There is a single continuing plot which carries the entire seven season show, which distinctly broke from the other three series before (okay, four if you count the Animated Series, which no one does). 

To the second point, one thing I love the most about Janeway, and especially her portrayal by Mulgrew is that she can be a bold, brave, hardened captain, but also is so distinctly allowed to be written as a woman who shows some distinctly feminine strengths and traits. Previous Captains were males written too tough to have committed love stories (the exception is Benjamin Sisko, but even he is already widowed by the time DS9’s story begins). Janeway, on the other hand, is engaged as Voyager begins, and gets separated 70,000 light years from her fiancé. She holds out faithful to him and doesn’t learn until the fifth season that he has moved on and married another woman. She shows great personal struggle in her desire for companionship, knowing it is inappropriate to have a romantic relationship with any of her crew members, but stranded away from any other people who could be otherwise permanent in her life. At one point she even falls in love with a hologram. These stories are shown not as weakness, but character fulness, and you never got to see the male captains this way. It was refreshing and made her so very human.

We also get to see her maternal instincts fully on display through her role as substitute mother to Kes in the first three seasons and to Trek’s most famous Borg, Seven of Nine, through the latter four seasons. We definitely got to see glimpses of paternal instinct from Picard on occasion, and Sisko was actually a dad in DS9, but Janeway brought an unprecedented feeling of nurturing to her role as Voyager’s commanding officer.

Janeway and Seven of Nine

And let’s also not forget: Janeway figured out how to seriously kick some Borg butt unlike any other hero in Starfleet history, and also defeated Species 8472, the only aliens even the Borg were terrified of. And she did it all with just her one ship and crew and no Federation armada to back her up.

So, what do you think? Does Janeway deserve to have her name alongside Kirk and Picard in consideration for greatest Trek captain? Apparently the creative staff at Paramount believes so, as she’s about to join those two hallowed names as the third captain (after the two aforementioned greats) to get incorporated into a new Trek property apart from her original series. Janeway will be joining the upcoming animated series, Star Trek: Prodigy later this year as a principal character.

Animated Janeway from the upcoming “Star Trek: Prodigy.”

Westerns, a Heist and More… 13 Obscure but Amazing Star Trek Episodes

(Guest Post by Jared)

Star Trek is one of the largest franchises in history, spinning off multiple movies and six – soon to be eight - television show. While it's best known for being futuristic political science fiction, through the years it has explored dozens of genres. We've had plenty of comedies, romantic comedies, even an episode where the Captain and crew rip off a casino! As a lifelong Trekkie here are some of the most obscure Star Trek episodes you've probably never seen!

Comedies

1. 'Qpid' (The Next Generation, 1991)

When Captain Picard is reunited with an old flame, Vash, the antihero Q sends the entire crew into a Robin Hood fantasy where they take up the roles of the heroes. Picard becomes Robin Hood and learns he has until the next day to rescue Maid Marian (Vash) or she'll be killed. We get to see the futuristic crew fight with swords and bows instead of phasers and it's exactly as hokey and fun as it sounds!

2. 'Trouble With Tribbles' (The Original Series, 1967)

AND

3. 'Trials And Tribble-ations' (Deep Space Nine, 1996)

One of the most iconic episodes from The Original Series was "The Trouble With Tribbles" a comedy about some pesky alien critters. Later the crew of Deep Space Nine were sent back in time to the events of this episode with Kirk, Spock and the original Enterprise. It's fun because they use green screen to put the new crew into scenes from the original episode. Both episodes have become iconic, and are incredibly fun to watch back-to-back.

4. 'Message in A Bottle' (Voyager, 1998)

Voyager is unique because on their first mission an alien kidnapped them and then died before he could return them home, and as a result the entire show is about the crew exploring new places and cultures as they begin their 75-year journey back to Earth. In the fourth season Voyager finally was able to make long distance contact with home, letting them know they were alive. Andy Dick guest stars as EMH-2 and his scenes and interaction with the Voyager EMH are some of the funniest in all of Trek.

5. 'Little Green Men' (Deep Space Nine, 1995)

The Ferengi characters were perfectly used as comedic breaks during the high war and religious drama that made Deep Space Nine great. In this episode Quark, his brother Rom, and nephew Nog accidentally travel back in time to 1947 Roswell and become the little green men that have been immortalized by conspiracy theorists around the world. Maybe instead of raiding Area 51 in September watch this episode to learn what Area 51 is all about!

6. 'Take Me Out To The Holosuite' (Deep Space Nine, 1998)

Captain Sisko was a lifelong fan of baseball, and throughout the series we occasionally saw references to his love of the game. In 'Take Me Out to the Holosuite,' he is challenged by a rival from his youth to a game of baseball, one Captain’s crew against the other. Sisko and his son teach their shipmates how to play, but they stand no match to the physically superior Vulcan crew. Watching these aliens and humans attempt to play baseball is one of the most funny and oddest things to ever happen in Star Trek.

Westerns

7.  'A Fistful Of Datas' (The Next Generation, 1992)

Holodecks often play a pivotal role on Trek, and in this episode Troi, Worf, and his son Alexander become trapped in an Old Western story because of some experiments Data is running in another part of the ship. In order to escape alive they must play out the Western. Fun fact: this episode was actually directed by Patrick Stewart!

8. 'North Star' (Enterprise, 2003)

Star Trek Enterprise was a prequel series that took place before the stories of Captain Kirk and his Enterprise; it took fans to the beginning of Starfleet and the Federation. In this episode Archer and his crew come across a human colony living far from Earth, still living out the Old West ways. These humans had been taken from Earth and brought to this planet as slaves hundreds of years earlier, but their ancestors had fought back and destroyed the alien oppressors

Casino Heist

9. 'Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang' (Deep Space Nine, 1999)

Another obscure holodeck episode involves Captain Sisko and his crew robbing a Vegas casino! This time there's no malfunction, but when the crew is visiting their favorite program (a recreation of 1950s Las Vegas) for some relaxation their favorite hangout is bought by gangsters and the entire vibe changes. They decide the best way to get rid of the gangsters is to steal from them before any money can be given to their investors and then leave the holographic gangsters to the mob.

War Dramas

10. 'The Killing Game: Parts 1 & 2' (Voyager, 1998)

You guessed it....another holodeck episode, although this time there's no malfunction. The ship has been taken over by aliens, and they've erased the crew's memory and forced them to run out holodeck programs so they can practice their "hunting" by chasing and murdering the crew in a WWII story where they play out the parts of the French Resistance and their American allies. This episode has a ton of action, some decent comedy, but best of all it has Klingons fighting Nazis.

11. 'Storm Front: Parts 1 & 2' (Enterprise, 2004)

An ongoing arc through Enterprise was the temporal cold war where aliens from the far future were manipulating the time stream and changing the past to suit their needs. At the end of the arc the Enterprise crew is thrown back in time to World War II, but find a very different world than what their history remembers. In a The Man In The High Castle-like twist, it's one where the Nazis are winning, have invaded New York, and all with alien technology!

12. ‘Memorial’ Voyager (2000)

The crew randomly starts to have memories resurface of a dark planet and an intense personal war.  As they begin to investigate how someone could have recruited them for a secret war and then wiped all their memories of it they find something even more surprising. This is a great episode that shows how dark war is for both sides and deep those wounds can go.

13. ‘The Seige of AR-558’ Deep Space Nine (1998)

Deep Space Nine already has the reputation for being the darkest of the franchise and there are so many episodes that feature the dark parts of the Federation’s war with the Dominion, but this episode is one of the very best because of Aron Eisenberg’s performance as Nog. Eisenberg has stated that because of Nog’s leg amputation storyline he has become a fan favorite among veterans at Trek Conventions.

Friday Creature Feature - The Borg

Political strife and war are no strangers to the Star Trek universe, with enemies like the Klingons and Romulans to give the Federation trouble, the phaser banks are constantly being used. The difference between them and the Borg though, is that where the Romulans can be reasoned with and the Klingons can become allied, there is no reasoning with the Borg. There is no real alliance with the Borg. There is no peace with the Borg.

The Borg are a species who melded their technological advancements with their own bodies, creating an entire race of cyborgs. They've also linked their individual collectiveness into a singular hive mind, making them all think and act exactly alike. Among the Borg there are no individuals, no families, no artists, no musicians, no heroes and no villains. They are just Borg. Their goal is to expand their galactic empire by capturing or killing every other sentient species in the universe and adding their technological advancements, as well as their populations, to their own. They can link any species and any person into their collective making that person Borg. They've been called the zombies of the Star Trek universe, but where zombies are mindless killing machines, the Borg are actually incredibly intelligent, using their vast stolen technology to disarm and defeat any enemy that crosses their path.
The species first showed up in Star Trek the Next Generation, being used by the Q to show Picard and the crew of the Enterprise that the galaxy was too dangerous for humans to continue to explore. Barely escaping with their lives, the Federation plowed on. Probably one of the most important encounters with the Borg happened when they abducted Picard and made him their "liaison" to humanity, Locutus. The Enterprise was able to rescue the captain and turn him back, but not before the Borg tore through the Federation like a hot knife through cheese.

The storyline carried over into the Star Trek film First Contact, where they actually encountered the Borg Queen, their collective leader. The Borg travel back in time to try and assimilate the Earth long before the Federation is in the picture, and if not for Picard and Data they would've succeeded. It's arguably the best Star Trek movie they've made thus far all because the villain is such a threat.

In Voyager they had to fly through Borg space to get home. During their trip, they picked up a Borg they named Seven of Nine. Formerly human, she was assimilated as a child and has spent most of her life as a Borg. Because of that, she had no idea how to be a human, and became an interesting perspective on humanity through the eyes of the outsider, much like Spock, Data and to a lesser degree Odo were. It didn't hurt that she could fill out a skin tight one piece like nobody else on Star Trek could.

If this post isn't as funny as some of my other Creature Features, it's because there really isn't anything that funny to say about the Borg. They're probably the darkest part of the entire Star Trek franchise, showing up covered in alien technology with that blank, robotic look on their faces and that cold Mr. Freeze voice. There a frightening and awesome addition to an already colorful and amazing universe.