Enterprising Individuals

We're hitting the old familiar places this week as we revisit "It's Only a Paper Moon"!

New York Times bestselling author David Mack returns to the show this week to discuss an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that explores one man's struggle to come to terms with loss and fear. Nog has survived the Siege of Ar-558 but at the cost of his leg and his self-confidence. When he turns to the holodeck for escape, he'll find that Vic Fontaine is more than just a singing hologram and that the key to life isn't winning or losing but choosing to continue playing the game.

When Aron Eisenberg passed away in 2019, the world didn't just lose a husband and father and friend to many Star Trek fans; it also lost a performer of surprising depth and passion. Aron was a man who had experienced tragedy in his own life and when called upon to portray Nog's suffering, he imbued the role with an honest emotion that makes this one of DS9's finest hours. Not to be outdone, veteran performer James Darren brings his charm and musical talents to a role that is so much more than a holodeck subroutine. "Moon" is an episode that showcases two of the series's "supporting cast" but is an episode vital to Deep Space Nine's themes of the cost of war and the healing that comes after. On this episode, we talk about the conception and creation of "Moon" from Dave's perspective as co-writer, the original "Everybody Comes to Quark's" pitch, the episode's rarified status as one of Trek's few "sequels", the bravery of Aron Eisenberg as a performer, the toll that combat takes on servicemen and women, the multi-talented James Darren, the sometimes convoluted way in which TV writers collaborate, and the lack of individual ego in the writing staff that elevated the show's material.

We also discuss having Ron Moore leave you hanging, "'Touched By An Angel' meets 'The Equalizer'", having your sub-plot take over the story, the apparently forgettable films of the '30s, the aesthetic of orthopedia devices in the Federation, Hitler walking out of your Axis and Allies hologame, "Commando Geordi", holodeck doggie bags, Dave talks about the things he tries to avoid when writing Trek, his work on "Lower Decks", and he shares a life-threatening experience that helped inspire the episode!

There's no magic left in this steak!

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This week, Mikanhana of the Just Enough Trope podcast is back on board to round up the latest Trek news! We've got stories about engagements, birth announcements, casting news, corporate sales, financial turmoil, and tropical cruises! Plus, we talk about SETI@Home shutting down, throwing up coffee, coronavirus cancellations, Picard, rolling an "Elnor", backup Doctors, crazy Canadian confidence, Badmiral Jon Hamm, ripped Simon Pegg, and being all about the Benjamin (Sisko)!

What does God need with a knuckle sandwich?

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Grab your remote control and get ready for pain and delight as we go looking for "Spock's Brain"!

Novelist William Leisner returns to the show this week to discuss an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series that has become emblematic of the low points of TOS. When a lady in go-go boots puts the whammy on the Enterprise, the crew wakes up to find Spock's cranium empty. Now, Kirk must take a cave elevator ride to the center of a cold world ruled by even colder women to rescue the cerebrum of his first officer and friend!

The third season of TOS was met with budget cuts, a creative brain drain, and the defection to greener pastures of the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry. But it's perhaps the absence of former showrunner and head writer Gene L. Coon that was the biggest blow to Star Trek's credibility. Coon was a gifted and versatile writer and he knew that Star Trek needed the occasional comedic touch to counteract its often leaden didacticism. Unfortunately, Coon had left the show by the start of Trek's wobbly third season, and his pitch for "Spock's Brain" was developed into an uneven hour of Trek that lacked Coon's gift for both plotting and comedy. On this episode, we talk about the evolution of TV writing and viewership since the '60s, the thin line between pathos and parody, the speed bumps affecting Trek's 3rd year, the shortsightedness of NBC, Trek's most successful comedic entries, a hypothetical (and possibly depressing) 4th season of TOS, and the feat of delivering essential Trek stories even when your hands are tied.

We also discuss the Council of the Valley of the Dolls, Maximum Shatner, a gritty Mannix reboot, a lost-and-found box for face parts, not going "full camp", the 10 pm "death slot", a planet of Nixons, the Scottish Faint, "who throws a club?", Spock casual, the De Kelley sweat lip, and "Riker's Brain"!

If you can't handle me at my "Spock's Brain", you don't deserve me at my "City on the Edge of Forever"!

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We're taking a different path this week as we feature a special episode of the BackTrekking podcast, hosted by Ka1iban and Gooey Fame! BackTrekking examines the real-world inspirations behind classic Trek episodes and this week we're putting the 1992 classic film "The Crying Game" up against the Voyager two-parter "Scorpion, Pts. 1 & 2"!

You already know the story. There's a scorpion that needs a ride and a frog willing to oblige. Halfway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog and they both start to drown, but they also have enough time for one last exchange:

Frog: Why would you sting me? You've killed us both!

Scorpion: I can't help it; it's in my nature.

Are we all slaves to our nature? Or does that only apply to arachnids who need to bum a lift somewhere? That's the question debated by the two pieces of media we're looking at today. "The Crying Game" is a 1992 film about LGBTQ culture in '90s London that was directed by a straight man and features a nominally straight male protagonist. "Scorpion" is about a peaceful exploration ship that is making its way home by facilitating a war between two of the galaxy's greatest foes. Being "true to yourself" is difficult when you're not sure who you really are, and none of us can ever be sure that we're actually the frog and not the scorpion.

On this episode, we talk about the ethics of interventionism, the necessity of writing "bad" characters, collectivism vs. individuality, making the tough decisions, subverting expectations, fluid space, Leo da V, we confess our professional shortcomings, another Pop-In(tm) about Sonic the Hedgehog, Kal tells his Crying Game story, and DAVE!

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE FOR GROWN-UPS ON THIS EPISODE

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We are talking LIVE about the #Picard episode "Stardust City Rag”! Tweet at @eistpod with the hashtag #discoverage to join our conversation currently in progress!

Prepare to remodulate your phaser frequencies as we go for a ride with "Scorpion, Pts. 1 & 2"!

Author, teacher, and community activist Kelli Fitzpatrick joins the show this week to discuss a pair of Star Trek: Voyager episodes that see Captain Janeway contemplating a deal with a devil she knows in order to defeat a much more terrifying enemy. Voyager's journey back to the Alpha Quadrant has finally crossed into Borg space and the crew must decide whether to press forward or give up their quest to return home. But the Borg have their appendages full with an invasion from another dimension, and Species 8472 could spell the end for Voyager, the Borg, and the entire galaxy!

The fourth season of every Star Trek show starts with a bang, and Voyager is no exception. Janeway and crew are faced with a near-undefeatable enemy in Species 8472, not to mention thousands of Borg or the intractable moral quandary of restoring Seven of Nine's humanity. "Scorpion" has our characters fighting tooth-and-nail with enemies and allies alike and struggling to remain human and humane in the face of disaster. On this episode, we talk about Voyager's "Best of Both Worlds", fighting against your nature, following the chain of command, the debate of collectivism vs. individuality, Janeway's skills as a mentor, giving aid to the enemy, the limits of consent, exploring the right to die, and making the "anti-Tuvix decision."

We also discuss recycling TNG plots, the lost art of the teaser, the unrealized 4th season of TOS, Chakotay channeling McCoy vibes, the coronavirus moving into your apartment, "Janekotway", the vagaries of the universal translator, "Borgager", the pastimes of powerful people, Sliders, Mom and Dad are fighting, "outer fluid", some slight Picard premiere spoilers, and Aaron has a few notes for Alex Kurtzman!

"Excuse me . . . what do the Borg need with a planet?"

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We are talking LIVE about the #StarTrekPicard episode "Absolute Candor”! Tweet at @eistpod with the hashtag #discoverage to join our conversation currently in progress! w/@dave_galanter