One New Message celebrates the four weeks leading up to Halloween. This week: zombies!

Hey, the fictional corporation from episode 13 just became our fictional sponsor! First ad: Lasers!

Since a lot of us finalists couldn't be at the Parsec Awards Ceremony, they asked if we could send a 15-30 second audio or video acceptance speech in case we won. I sent in this.

(And just to repeat: if you're looking for some cool podcasts to listen to, both fiction and talk, I encourage you to check out the Parsec Awards Finalist list. You'll find some great stuff there.)

The corporation is instituting a cost-saving measure you've got to see to believe...

A starship captain uncovers a grievous injustice.

Director's Commentary:

• STOS Kirk would probably just seeth internally about this, but I'm pretty sure that the new Kirk would drag the cook over the counter by the lapels and get those waffles now.
• "Frakking?" "Gorram?" "Tanj?" I finally settled on "Frigging" as a way of keeping this relatively universe-neutral.
• In related news, if you haven't seen this classic by Eddie Izzard, please do so now.

It's been a long time since I read Moby Dick, but I'm pretty sure this is exactly how it happened.

(Featuring “Whale” iconby Joao Santos from thenounproject.com, and in-episode music “A New Beginning" by Bensound.com.)

A brief briefing about (what will probably be) a brief mission.

Director's Commentary:

• [1] New Message welcomes guest star Sean Mitchell (Sean and I are currently hosting the arts interview podcast The Artist Rolls).
• I'd like to take credit for the punchline, but that's all Sean.

The phone call you hope you'll never have to make--or receive. The alien invasion is an unexpected bonus.

Director's Commentary:

• This was actually the first [1] New Message script I ever wrote, back before I even had a title. I liked the idea of an alien invasion that was embarrassing.

[1] New Message goes for the cheap laugh.

This week's message is my little tribute to The Core.

Director's Commentary:

• True story: I saw The Core in the theater. At the end, our heroes are rescued from the ocean floor off Hawaii by attracting the attention of a pod of Orcas (I am not making this up). At this point I leaned over to my buddy and said "It wouldn't be Orcas--they're cold water." We both though about this for a second, then busted up laughing at the thought that, after all the pseudo-science and absurdist hand-waving of the previous ninety minutes, I was finally roused from my popcorn-infused stupor by a perceived cetacean inconsistency(1).
• And for the record: The Core used the term "unobtanium" way before Avatar.

(1) As it turns out, Orcas are found around the Hawaiian islands, so who's laughing now, eh?