Trek News And Views: A Star Trek Podcast

Good Ole Trip. In this week’s episode of Trek News & Views, Colin is joined by Brian Baker, Melissa Woinarowicz, and our own Mariel Keeran to discuss the NX-01’s chief engineer, Trip. He’s a man who got pregnant via an ice tray, loves pan-fried catfish, and who pulled off an unthinkable feat—he stole the heart of a Vulcan. Along the way we take some of our usual sideroads, which include Stargate, Archer, and of course Rocky Road ice cream.

Half a Life. Lwaxana returns as Colin brings you a commentary for TNG’s “Half a Life” in this week’s episode of Trek News & Views. Mrs. Troi does her best impression of a Bajoran, complete with wailing and gnashing of teeth, as she tries to stop Kaelon II’s leading scientist from carrying out his society’s customs. There’s lots of crying but no tears and speeches galore—although not from the Captain. Hell, even Riker keeps his leg down for this one.

Voyager Season 7 Favourites. It’s time to wrap up our look at Voyager as Colin is joined once again by Charlynn Schmiedt and Lorrie Sears of To The Journey to discuss their favourite episodes—this time from the final season. We also take a look back at the series as a whole, how Harry finally made Captain (sort of), delve into other characters, and examine how the show wrapped up with “Endgame” and why, though it differs from other Star Trek series, Voyager will always have its own special place in our hearts. 

Scifi Divergence: Man of Steel. This week we bring you a special episode of Trek News and Views, the second of a quarterly cast called “Scifi Divergence” in which Colin goes off tangent to talk about some non-Trek parts of the science fiction world. In this episode Colin is joined by Mariel Keeran, Thomas Marrone, and Dave Rossi to discuss Superman’s latest big screen adventure, Man of Steel. Along the way we visit the Christopher Reeve incarnation as well as Brandon Routh’s. We also take a look at Superman in comics, how he finally managed to start wearing his underwear underneath, as well as the casting choices and bringing the franchise up to date for a modern audience. 

Q Who. The Borg are best remembered on TNG for their appearance in “The Best of Both Worlds,” but it was “Q Who” that really set the legend in motion. In this episode of Trek News & Views, Colin is joined by Tristan Riddell, Rick Moyer, and David Taylor to discuss Q’s little wake-up call, the two incarnations of the Borg Queen, and Guinan’s Kung Fu pose. 

Voyager Season 5 and 6 Favourites. It’s time for Borg and Irishmen as Colin is joined once again by Charlynn Schmiedt and Lorrie Sears of To The Journey to discuss their favourite episodes from Voyager. This week it’s seasons 5 and 6 that up for grabs as we also talk about history, broccoli (the lieutenant variety), Reading Rainbow, and almost morph into an episode of Top Gear. 

Voyager Season 3 and 4 Favourites. It’s the time of transition from Kes to Seven, from Kazon to Borg. And in this episode of Trek News & Views Colin is joined by Charlynn Schmiedt and Lorrie Sears of To The Journey to discuss their favourite episodes from these middle seasons of Voyager. Along the way we explore why we love air conditioning, the Jetsons, and Harry being… well… Harry.

Who Mourns for Adonais? How many times has this happened to you? You drive past a town, find that it has a curious lack of residents, and then your car gets grabbed by a giant hand? Well, it happened to the Enterprise—only in space. Kirk never expected a trip to Pollux IV to result in a close encounter with Greek mythology, but when Apollo threw on his toga Jim knew he meant business. In this episode of Trek News & Views Colin is joined by Christopher Jones and Kate Walsh to discuss the classic TOS episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?” Along the way we learn how to chat someone up over coffee, how Starfleet missed the boat in uniform design, and of course the religious connotations of this episode. 

In a Mirror, Darkly. TOS and DS9 aren’t the only ones to have romped in the Mirror Universe. Enterprise did it, too, and in this week’s episode of Trek News & Views Colin dives into 22nd-Century evil with the help of Matthew Rushing, Max Hegel, and Mariel Keeran. We look at the TOS tie-ins, how the Temporal Cold War seems to have taken place in some fashion in the Mirror Universe, and why DS9 had no cloak while Archer did. Of course it wouldn’t be Trek News & Views without a bit of digression, and this week we discuss Phlox’s love of animals, how Porthos almost became soup, and how the Terrans resemble the Nazis.  

Countdown to Darkness. Last week we discussed the latest movie, Star Trek Into Darkness, and this week we look back at the comic prequel Countdown to Darkness. In this episode of Trek News & Views, Colin is joined by Michael, Bunny, and Jon of The Holodeck for a special crossover show to talk about how the four-part series from IDW plays into the film. 

Star Trek Into Darkness. The wait is finally over, and for some international fans it ended sooner than expected. In this episode of Trek News & Views, Colin is joined by Shervin Sabeghi, Kate Walsh, and Steve Roberts to discuss the latest J.J. Abrams film. The get-together took place just two days after the UK/Australian openings. We talk about the film, our thoughts on the plot, performances, and effects, how much of a “Trek” movie it was, and what we thought about the concept of the story. WARNING: This is, of course, very spoiler heavy so please make sure you’ve seen the movie before listening. 

Klingons. There’s no beating around the bush this week—we’re talking about the warriors of Star Trek. Joining Colin in this episode of Trek News & Views are Adrianne Grady, Michael J. Medeiros, Xander, and DeyviD of Trek Radio. We touch on Klingon culture and language, plus take a diversion into the world of fur and laser whips with some Ferengi cosplay talk. We even throw in a Gorn for good measure. 

Vanishing Point. As it turns out, Travis isn’t the only crew member who feels he’s invisible. In “Vanishing Point,” Hoshi had the same sensation. In this episode of Trek News and Views Colin is joined by Drew Stewart, Lorrie Sears, and Mariel Keeran to discuss this second-season Enterprise episode, with a dash of “Samaritan Snare,” a bit of “Fallen Hero,” and a possible appearance by Monty Python.

Battle Lines. Kai Opaka’s stint on DS9 was sadly shorted-lived, paving the way for the beloved Kai Winn to grace our screens. In this episode of Trek News and Views Colin is joined by Michael Clark, Adam Howse, and Thomas Baddeley to discuss the episode that marked Opaka’s farewall, “Battle Lines.” With a scoop of Kira’s temper, a dash of O’Brien’s observant nature, and a sprinkle of Doctor Who—yes, Doctor Who—we take you through one of DS9’s early episodes.

Body and Soul. The Doctor is known as the EMH, and has even pulled a stint as the ECH. But in this episode of Trek News and Views Colin is joined by Kate Walsh and Shervin Sabeghi to discuss the EAH—Emergency Arousal Hologram—as they dive into the Voyager episode “Body and Soul.” From the Doctor’s first experience with arousal and taste to Tuvok’s pon farr problems, this is a discussion that hits all the spots. And even the monkey may pop in for a bit.

Robert O’Reilly and J.G. Hertzler. They played two of the best known Klingons in Star Trek—Gowron and Martok. In this episode of Trek News and Views Colin is joined by Kate Walsh to bring you an interview with the Chancellors of the Klingon High Council old and new. The two actors recently sat down with Kate at Oz Comic Con Adelaide in Australia… and here’s what unfolded.

Scifi Divergence: Battlestar Galactica. This week we bring you a special episode of Trek News and Views, the first of a quarterly cast called “Scifi Divergence” in which Colin goes off tangent to talk about some non-Trek parts of the science fiction world. In this episode Colin is joined by Mike Schindler and Max Hegel of Commentary: Trek Stars along with Joe Myers to discuss Battlestar Galactica—with a bit of divergence into Stargate, Egyptian religion, and how big a difference 700 pounds is from 50 pounds when one is gaining a bit of weight. 

Sex and Relationships in Star Trek. Through 727 episodes and 11 movies, we’ve seen a wide range of relationships and—at least implied—sexual moments in Star Trek. After all, we are dealing with humanoids… and the occasional shapeshifter. In the episode of Trek News and Views, Colin takes the usual restraints off and is joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Lorrie Sears, and Kate Walsh for a wide-open discussion of sex and relationships from across all of Star Trek. Warning: This episode is filled with sexual themes, playful innuendo, and the occasional explicit moment.

Workforce. Somewhere in a vast industrial complex, on the planet Quarra, a shift supervisor named Colin, a worker named Lorrie, and an efficiency monitor named Charlynn gathered to fraternize and talk about the Voyager episode “Workforce”—despite it being against the rules. In this episode of Trek News & Views you’ll hear that conversation, as recorded by Chakotay in disguise. You’ll also find out why Harry Kim wasn’t quite so PDH in this episode, and why it’s coffee and hot chocolate that make the quadrant go round. 

Sacrifice of Angels. Deep Space Nine is rich in character development, and in this episode of Trek News & Views we look at several key players in “Sacrifice of Angels.” Colin is joined by Michael Clarke, Robin Harming, and just plain Tanya to discuss Garak, the breakdown of Dukat, the determination of Sisko, and of course Weyoun… because he’s everywhere.