Brace yourself for the earliest possible "Trek" nostalgia as we return to Talos IV to check in with some oddly beefy Talosians and a somewhat less messed-up Vina in "If Memory Serves"! The first ever "Trek" antagonists return to help unscramble Spock's eggs, but at a price! Will the big reveal of the source of Michael and Spock's rift feel worth the buildup?! Meanwhile, back on the ship, Culber continues to deal with being alive again, and sharing a ship with his killer.

Also this week: big ratings, big beard opinions, and big melding!

[Timetamps: If Memory Serves: 00:43; Mind Melds, pt 1: 45:43]

[My tumbl to your tumbl: https://sshbpodcast.tumblr.com/post/782902385389584384/ill-spock-the-world-and-meld-with-you-part-1]

Bit of a double-filler show this week, as Michael drops in on the folks and Pike decides to chill with Tyler in "Light and Shadows". Just kind of spinning our wheels here until we FINALLY see Spock, tho he's not really in a state to do much more than be there. Back with the ship, we're laying some groundwork for later payoff, maybe? Also we remember Stamets has a weird relationship with time.

Also this week: time prefixing, evil tech squids, and familiar faces!

[Timestamps: Light and Shadows: 01:29; It's Full of Guest Stars: 48:19]

[Hey, it's you!: https://sshbpodcast.tumblr.com/post/782279174919454720/hes-from-that-other-star-trek]

Slight change of plans this week! The latest season of "Black Mirror" recently dropped, bringing with it the new "USS Callister: Into Infinity". Since we loved and covered the original a surprisingly long time ago we knew we had to check out the new one. The crew may be free of Daly but the stakes are higher, as prohibitive monetization makes survival almost impossible. And they don't have infinite lives anymore...

Also this week: strike-scrapped plans, whale or Smurf, and the comedy stylings of Charlie Brooker!

[note: spoilers for "Being John Malkovich" from 1:19:56 - 1:20:28]

The Prime Directive is about as strong as wet tissue paper as usual, as Starfleet's need to dig into the Red Signals outweighs their morals. Then again, how moral was sitting by watching what was happening on Kaminar? No one except now-fearless Saru really cares about that, though, but luckily everything spirals out of control as usual and civilization is turned upside-down in "The Sound of Thunder"!

Also this week: teasing 400, space dramatics, and the final recast!

[Timestamps: Thunder: 02:43; "Enterprise" recasting: 57:15]

[blog it good: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/781012879923101697/fantasy-casting-enterprise?source=share ]

We're bouncing hard and fast between plots this week, and they don't quite gel. In "Saints of Imperfection" Section 31 is in everyone's face, which is weird for a supposedly-secret organization, and Stamets continues the search for Tilly...and finds someone very unexpected. Well, unexpected in-universe. In the real world we all knew it was coming.

Also this week: Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, and recasting "Voyager"!

[timestamps: Spacedock Saints: 00:34; Voyager casting: 49:58]

[d'blog: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/780387436607029248/fantasy-casting-voyager?source=share]

"Star Trek" has always loved its various probes, from Nomad to V'Ger to the "Inner Light" time capsule, and now "Discovery" is getting in on it with their mystery info sphere in "An Obol for Charon". Unfortunately it ends up wreaking havoc on ship systems AND Saru's biology, threatening both! And I guess everyone, at least based on the former. Also the Tilly Mushroom Friend (?) plot continues.

Also this week: odd song, odd chest, and recasting the DS9 guests!

[Timestamps: Obol: 01:27; Blog: 1:03:24]

[A funny array of folks: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/779751603440893952/fantasy-casting-ds9-recurring-characters?source=share]

Hope you like "General Hospital", because "Discovery" is going full "Eastenders" this week with "Point of Light". There's a secret baby and a sort-of-love triangle on the Klingon side of things, and while Tilly might not have an evil twin, she has a weird imaginary friend/infection! Oh, and Section 31 shows up. Ugh.

Also this week: middle naming, running lights, and recasting DS9 - part one!

[Timestamps: Point of Light: 01:22; DS9 fantasy casting: 54:43]

[blog it: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/779115931211366400/fantasy-casting-ds9-the-regulars?source=share]

The "Discovery" crew is jumping farther than they've ever gone before in "New Eden". A new Red Signal from the far end of the Beta Quadrant leads them to a colony somehow descended from WW3-era humans. Meanwhile, Tilly makes bad choices with a rock and Owo gets convenient-but-pointless background!

Also this week: up yours, Phlox; empathy, in this economy?; and recasting TNG!

[Timestamps: New Eden: 02:13; Fantasy TNG Actors: 1:00:17]

[Check the picks: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/778476642669625344/fantasy-casting-tng?source=share]

The second season of "Discovery" is underway, and it's bringing Captain Pike along for the ride! In "Brother", mysterious signals have appeared simultaneously throughout the galaxy and it's up to the "Disco" crew and her new commander to figure out what's going on. The trail leads to an unnecessarily action-packed asteroid field and a much more stoic engineer.

Also this week: tons of setup, unsubtle stand-in, and recasting TOS!

[timestamps: Brother: 01:40; fantasy casts: 1:03:28]

[TOS recast: https://www.tumblr.com/sshbpodcast/777846688575602688/fantasy-casting-tos]

Back in the day, streaming "Trek" tried a fun little experiment that actually worked out pretty well! So of course they only did it twice. This week we're looking at the first four "Short Treks", bite-sized bits that go a bit outside the usual realms of the show. This time around we've got a stowaway, two different kinds of rescue, and a rascally con-man!

Also this week: kids shows, cartoons, and title cards!

[Timestamps: Runaway: 04:01; Calypso: 21:49; The Brightest Star: 38:31; The Escape Artist: 56:50; The Blog: 1:06:14]

[Intros: https://sshbpodcast.tumblr.com/post/777202555238449152/short-intros-for-short-treks ]

NOTE: we get into some, we'll say, "heavy foreshadowing" for S.2 of "Discovery" in our discussion of "Calypso". We never go full spoiler but if you really want to go into it TOTALLY clean, maybe skip that one.