Tony is busy this week headed to the ST-SF convention in San Francisco so we are bringing back an interview we did last summer when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was waiting to start production on season 3 due to the strikes. The show is now half way through production and so we thought it was a good time to hear what Chris had to say… ORIGINAL EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Laurie and Tony have a lengthy, engaging conversation with Chris Fisher, producing director and co-executive producer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. His enthusiasm for the job and the show is infectious as he talks about hiring and working with directors, working with Paul Wesley, collaborating with the creative teams, using the AR wall, combining practical with virtual effects for the Gorn, what he knows (and doesn’t) about the Section 31 movie, and much more. He also gives his take on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (and how long it would take to get production rolling again once they’re over) and talks about being mentored by Star Trek behind-the-scenes vets Merri Howard and Marvin Rush.  

Anthony and Laurie start by remembering Discovery actor Ken Mitchell who passed away earlier this week. The podcasters then go over the latest news, including a Paramount business update, a deep dive into the new Discovery season 5 trailer, and Aaron Bossig’s Star Trek: The Cruise logs. Then it’s an extended interview with writer, producer, and podcaster Mark Altman, starting with the Inglorious Treksperts podcast celebrating its 300th episode this week where the Treksperts talk Star Trek III with special guests Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, Fox president Steve Asbell, and Marvel president Kevin Feige. We also cover Mark’s upcoming Star Trek locations documentary (To Boldly Go), his excitement about working with Jonathan Frakes on the new sci-fi show Deathlands, and his thoughts on the future of the Trek franchise. Things wrap up with our bits of the week: Trekkies saving democracy and an analysis of Trek’s horniest episodes. Here is a breakdown of this week’s pod: 00:36 Remembering Ken Mitchell 03:19 Star Trek news of the week 21:04 Mark Altman interview 1:28:34 Trek bits of the week visit HTTP://TREKMOVIE.COM for more details and links and to comment on this week’s episode

Anthony and Laurie do a news roundup this week, starting with the potential for a streaming partnership with Paramount+ and Peacock and what that could mean for the Star Trek franchise. They go through the latest on Star Trek: Discovery (including its premiere date announcement and the potential for cast crossover on the new Starfleet Academy show), Terry Matalas’ Writers Guild nomination for Picard, Patrick Stewart’s Showperson of the Year award, what to expect in the new season of Lower Decks, production updates from Strange New Worlds, books and comics coming our way, and the Star Trek Cruise. They wrap up with an article asking if we’ve become too cynical for Star Trek, and the highlights of Virtual Trek Con 5.

Anthony and Laurie start with the news about Picard’s big night at the Saturn Awards. We dig new revelations about recent shelved Star Trek movies including Noah Hawley revealing his Trek film would have starred Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek. And Tony talked to Danai Gurira about almost being in the Star Trek 4 movie with Chris Hemsworth. The podcasters catch up on the upcoming release of season 4 of Lower Decks and the Star Trek spatial experience on Apple Vision Pro, and William Shatner’s thoughts on an AI version of Captain Kirk. Then they dig into Tony’s interviews at the recent Saturn Awards. We have audio with Doug Jones about season 5 of Discovery, Paul Wesley about Kirk’s evolution into season 3 of Strange New Worlds, Tawny Newsome on season 5 of Lower Decks and season 1 of Starfleet Academy. Jeri Ryan, Terry Matalas, and Michelle Hurd talk about season 3 of Picard and the chances of returning in Star Trek: Legacy, as do TNG stars Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Wil Wheaton. Tony also talked to Nicolas Cage about his desire to be in Star Trek and Gremlins star Zach Galligan about guest starring in Voyager.  

Anthony and Laurie go through the latest news: Byron Allen’s company is interested in buying Paramount, Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 co-stars have finally been announced, Dave Blass says the Picard spin-off is still not in the works, the TNG cast is set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Saturns, Patrick Stewart stars in a new Super Bowl ad for Paramount Plus, Zoe Saldana thinks the Kelvin crew might get one last film together, and William Shatner’s new biographical documentary has a trailer. [18:22] After that, they chat with actor John de Lancie about FanFair, the company he and his son have to get digitally signed unique artwork to fans who can’t make it to conventions. He also talks about some of his early choices as he played Q in the Next Gen series premiere and beyond, his conversations with Gene Roddenberry about how often Q would be on the show, his surprise at finding out Q would die in Picard season 2, and that post-credits finale scene in Picard season 3. [68:48] They wrap up with John Larroquette playing a Klingon again on Night Court, and a fun thread about “Threshold” salamander sex from The Vagina Museum.

Anthony and Laurie catch up on Star Trek news this week, starting with the latest acquisition offer for Paramount Global from Skydance. They talk about a new interview with Elias Toufexis, one of the main villains of the upcoming final season of Discovery as well as Doug Jones’ comments about the finale. They check in on the latest Picard spin-off talk from its showrunner and stars, hear from the Prodigy producers about the upcoming Janeway-Chakotay reunion, and round up the other tidbits from Trek Talks 3, including a “Tuvix” debate and some behind-the-scenes insights about the Lower Decks/Strange New Worlds crossover. They wrap up with Paul Giamatti as a Klingon and a quiz about which Star Trek actor should give you a hug.

Anthony and Laurie start with the biggest news of the week: A new Star Trek movie is in development! They go through the tidbits of information available and talk about director Toby Haynes, who directed the Trek-themed Black Mirror episode “USS Callister.” They also discuss Patrick Stewart’s comment that a Picard movie is possibly in the works, William Shatner’s thoughts on his Kirk being “erased,” and the departure of the TOS and TNG movies from Paramount+ to Max. They also talk about Jeri Ryan and Terry Matalas’ Astra TV Award wins for Picard, episode titles and a premiere event for Star Trek: Discovery‘s final season, comments from Prodigy producers about the Janeway-Chakotay reunion coming in season 2, and the arrival of Ezri Dax in Star Trek Online. They wrap up with a final preview of Trek Talks 3 before the big event on Saturday.

Anthony and Laurie are joined by TrekMovie’s Aaron Bossig, Dénes House, and Joe Andosca plus Ann Marie Segal of Virtual Trek Con and The 7th Rule to talk about everyone’s Star Trek favorites of 2023 and what they’re expecting in Trek in 2024. Categories include best episodes of the three shows that had new seasons last year, best merch, best return of a legacy character, best podcast, and more. As for 2024, topics include new seasons of current shows, the final season of Discovery, the arrival of the Section 31 movie event, books, comics, cons, and more, as well as some speculation on possible new shows and what might happen with a Star Trek feature film.

Anthony and Laurie start their last podcast of 2023 with the latest on the possible merger between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery and how that could affect the Star Trek franchise, and some insight into the shelved Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie, based on a new interview with its writer. They also discuss Michelle Yeoh’s update on prepping for the Section 31 TV movie event, the early success of Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix, and what the producers have said they’d like to do if the show gets additional seasons. [23:35] Then it’s their interview with Enterprise‘s John Billingsley, who has come by to talk about the upcoming benefit for the Hollywood Food Coalition: an all-day marathon of Star Trek panels on YouTube on January 13th. He also talks about the legacy of Enterprise, speculates on ways Phlox could return to the franchise, and discusses his career as a character actor and why being on the board of the Hollywood Food Coalition is so important to him.

Anthony and Laurie are joined by Shuttle Pod‘s Brian to round up all the latest Star Trek news. They start with a production update: With the strikes over, Strange New Worlds is already back in action and Section 31 has start date set, plus Prodigy has wrapped post-production on season 2 and Discovery has set its premiere for April. They talk about the latest awards nominations for Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Picard,, then talk about the latest merch (DVDs and starships!) and what to expect at Trek Talks 3 in January. The big topic this week is Shari Redstone’s interest in selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global, how that could affect Paramount+, and how that in turn could affect Star Trek. They wrap up with a 1960s RCA ad featuring TOS, the Delta Flyers watching DS9 with Terry Farrell and Armin Shimerman, and William Shatner on a comic book cover with Batman and Superman.