A Star Trek Podcast
Fire everything we’ve got! Melissa brings the 2009 film Star Trek, written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman and directed by J.J. Abrams. Like “Crisis Point” and “Crisis Point 2,” this movie dives headlong into the action genre. We discuss vilification of labor, misogyny, and character motivations. We also chat about destiny, humor, set design, and lens flares. For images...
These graphics are mindblowing! Gregory brings “Crisis Point,” the ninth episode of season one of Lower Decks, written by Ben Rodgers and directed by Bob Suarez; and “Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus,” the eighth episode of season three, written by Ben Rodgers and directed by Michael Mullen. Like “Subspace Rhapsody,” these episodes engage in a specific genre: here, the action movie....
There’s no episode for July 2024, but we offer some recommendations for new listeners about some of our favorite pre-Star-Trek episodes. We’ll return in August with Lower Decks S01E09, “Crisis Point,” written by Ben Rodgers and directed by Bob Suarez, and S03E08, “Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus,” written by Ben Rodgers and directed by Michael Mullen.
READ MORE S01E06b. Programming Note and New Listener Recommendations
It might be time to change our paradigm. Lucy brings “Subspace Rhapsody,” the ninth episode of season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, written by Dana Horgan and Bill Wolkoff and directed by Dermott Downs. Like “Sarek,” this episode has the crew overwhelmed by their emotions and forced to express them in unproductive ways. We discuss connection, authenticity, and...
Bedlam! Melissa brings “Sarek,” the 23rd episode of season three of Star Trek: The Next Generation, written by Peter S. Beagle and directed by Les Landau. Like “The Sword of Kahless,” this episode features a recurring character coming to terms with the end of his career. We talk about illness, aging, dignity, honesty, gender, and violence. We also discuss everyday...
Let this moment be remembered! Gregory brings “The Sword of Kahless,” the ninth episode of the fourth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, written by Hans Beimler and Richard Danus and directed by LeVar Burton. Like the Discovery premiere, this episode is concerned with the legacy of the Klingon cultural figure Kahless. We discuss ancient fallen societies, philosophical skepticism,...
Content Warnings: discussion of war and war crimes, cannibalism, traumatic brain injury resulting in disorientation, untreated PTSD, desecration of corpses Spoiler Warning: From 1:18:30 to 1:23:34, we discuss a plot point that is revealed in Discovery S01E11, “The Wolf Inside.” We come in peace! Lucy brings “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars,” the two-part premiere of Star...
READ MORE S01E03. The Vulcan Hello and Battle at the Binary Stars
Content Warnings: discussion of mental health, incarceration, and sexual harassment; excessive use of mild profanity It’s time! Melissa brings “Relativity,” the 24th episode of the fifth season of Star Trek: Voyager, written by Bryan Fuller, Nick Sagan, and Michael Taylor and directed by Allen Eastman. Like First Contact, this episode features time travel and the Pogo Paradox. We talk about...
Content Warnings: body horror and self-injury; alcohol; frank discussions of sex, caste oppression, misogyny, and misogynoir. In honor of our first episode, Gregory brings Star Trek: First Contact, written by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore and directed by Jonathan Frakes. We discuss Star Trek’s views on exceptionalism vs. collectivism, the idea of destiny and the “right timeline,” and the...
Welcome to Before the Future Came, a Star Trek podcast! Now that Hollywood producers have come to their senses regarding labor negotiations with writers and actors, we’re returning to Star Trek! If you’re just joining us, you can start with episode S00E01: “First Contact.” If you’re interested in hearing us talk about other utopian science fiction, you can go back...
