Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

For Starfleet officers, saving lives is perhaps the most important part of the job, even more so than exploring the galaxy and making contact with new civilizations. So when a character such as Quinn, the Q in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Death Wish,” chooses to end their own life, it invariably comes as a shock—just as, in our own lives, the death of a loved one by suicide can be a particularly disturbing loss.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Clara Cook for a look at Star Trek’s depictions of suicide and parasuicidal behavior. We consider how the presentation of such desperate acts—and the impact on those left behind—has shifted in the half-century between The Original Series and Star Trek: Picard. We also dig into the tricky business of the “psychological autopsy,” trying to establish exactly why a person would choose to bring their own life to and end. Can 13—or 47—reasons why ever truly help us make sense of suicide? And what can those of us left behind learn about ourselves from those who’ve made such an irrevocable decision?

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Clara Cook Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)

Episode titles from “The Search” to *Star Trek: First Contact*. As we continue our voyage through Star Trek’s episode titles, host Duncan Barrett is joined in this episode of Primitive Culture by Lee Hutchison for a look at some more episode titles from Deep Space Nine and Voyager. What exactly is the way of a warrior? How hard is it to fit through the eye of a needle? And where’s the right place to go looking for par’Mach, after all?

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Lee Hutchison Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)

McCarthy, The Crucible, and “The Drumhead”

In 1953, Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible used the Salem witch trials of 1692–93 as an allegory for the contemporary persecution of alleged communists by US Senator Joseph McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee. Four decades later, the Star Trek: Next Generation episode “The Drumhead” drew on both the legacy of McCarthyism—as the senator’s search for communists in the US government came to be dubbed—and Miller’s play to craft a cautionary tale of an investigation into alleged Romulan spies on the Federation flagship.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Amy Nelson for a look at this classic TNG episode along with its historical and literary influences. Is retired Admiral Norah Satie more witchfinder or witch? Is it ever acceptable to trade freedom for security? And what is the price that must be paid to maintain a utopian society?

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Any Nelson Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer)

Episode titles from “Emissary” to “All Good Things … “

As we continue our voyage through Star Trek’s episode titles, host Duncan Barrett is joined in this episode of Primitive Culture by Lee Hutchison for a look at the tail end of The Next Generation and the early years of Deep Space Nine. What happens when wishes become horses? To whose own self must we be true? And do all good things really have to come to an end?

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Undiscovered Countries (00:08:10) Emissary (00:17:30) Tapestry (00:49:35) Descent (01:15:10) Lower Decks (01:33:04) All Good Things … (01:54:45)

Host Duncan Barrett

Guest Lee Hutchison

Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)

Frankenstein and the Star Trek universe.

Originally published in 1818, Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking gothic novel Frankenstein has been a major influence on many works of dystopian science fiction—so much so that many critics argue she invented the genre. Star Trek itself has borrowed from the literary masterpiece—as well as it’s most famous film adaptation—on numerous occasions, from Guinan joking that the eponymous scientist was an old friend in “Evolution” to the crew of the NX-01 bickering over the 1931 movie in “Horizon.”

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Brandi Jackola for a look at the pervasive influence of Shelley’s novel on the Star Trek universe, from The Original Series through to Picard. We discuss Trek’s various mad scientists—among them the three Soongs, played by Brent Spiner, all of whom owe a major debt to Shelley’s protagonist—as well as look at how the author’s deep empathy for the hideous, ungodly “creature” at the heart of her novel chimes perfectly with Trek’s own approach to humanizing the most alien of antagonists.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) From Prometheus to Picard (00:06:45) “Prototype,” “Drone,” and “Life Support” (00:19:29) Cheating Death (00:43:00) Mad Soongs (00:56:37) Slippery Slopes (01:08:28)

Host Duncan Barrett

Guest Brandi Jackola

Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer)

Episode titles in The Animated Series and The Next Generation.

As we continue our look at Star Trek episode titles, host Duncan Barrett is joined in this episode of Primitive Culture by Tony Black for a look at the naming strategies of The Animated Series and The Next Generation. Did Michael Piller really put an end to the era of the poetic, evocative title, or did TNG simply find other ways to play with the weekly nomenclature? What is sharper than a serpent’s tooth? Just who does watch the watchers? And which man was being measured when Data found himself on trial?

Guest Tony Black Production Tony Black (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

Talking Horror with Brannon Braga.

In space, no one can hear you scream. And while the well-lit corridors of a Federation starship may seem worlds away from the grimy darkness of the Nostromo, even Starfleet’s best and brightest are sometimes caught in the grip of a full on horrorfest. Perhaps no one in Star Trek’s history has penned more chilling and gruesome tales than Brannon Braga, whose hundred-odd franchise installments run the gamut from spine-tinglers such as “Schisms” and “Frame of Mind” to the full-on body horror of “Genesis” and “Phage.”

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Braga for a look at some of his creepiest episodes of Star Trek. Along the way we discuss the thrill of turning the Enterprise into a haunted house, how Star Trek: First Contact narrowly escaped an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, and whether or not Star Trek, in the post-network-TV age, should be looking to embrace even more nightmarish imagery.

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Brannon Braga

Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

Episode Titles in The Original Series.

“What’s in a name?” Juliet demands of Romeo. “That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.” In 1968, the Star Trek episode “By Any Other Name” took more than just its title from Shakespeare—it used Juliet’s words as a jumping-off point to consider what makes us human. But it was also characteristic of the Original Series scriptwriters to lean on such rich literary source material when it came time to name this particular episode. In fact, throughout Trek’s 50-plus-year history, the names given to individual episodes have often revealed a lot about their content—sometimes providing additional context to what is depicted on screen.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, the first in a series looking at episode titles throughout Star Trek, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Tony Black to consider some of the more interesting among Trek’s original 80 installments as we ponder the difference between a cage and a menagerie, work out exactly who does mourn for Adonais, and try to remember just what little girls are supposed to be made of.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Season One (00:21:40) Season Two (01:00:25) Season Three (01:30:25) Host Duncan Barrett Guest Tony Black Production Tony Black (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

Trekonomics, with Manu Saadia.

“The economics of the future are somewhat different,” Captain Jean-Luc Picard tells Lily Sloane in Star Trek: First Contact. “You see, money doesn’t exist in the 24th century.” But the “primitive” 21st-century human is instinctively appalled: “No money? You mean you don’t get paid?” To some viewers, the post-scarcity economic system that underpins the Star Trek universe—what author Manu Saadia calls “Trekonomics”—can seem equally baffling. But is the utopian future of the Federation really as improbable as the creation of warp drive or the transporter? Or is Star Trek, as a cultural product of American capitalism, produced by relatively well-paid entertainment professionals, just fundamentally ambivalent when it comes to some of its most sacred ideals?

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Saadia for a look at both the imaginary economics of Star Trek and the real-world economics of getting the show on the air—and turning a profit from it. We also discuss the link between economic conditions and “evolved” human behavior, the thorny question of human nature, and the extent to which—in attempting to predict the future—all economic theories are really little more than science fiction.

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Manu Saadia Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer), C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

DS9’s “Meridian” and the 1954 Hollywood musical that inspired it.

Perhaps more so than any other Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine leaned heavily for inspiration on the world of 20th-century film. But not every futuristic retooling of a classic movie could reach the heights of “Badda-Bing Badda-Bang,” which we discussed in our previous episode. Perhaps the least-successful of DS9’s cinematic adaptations was the third-season episode “Meridian,” which took its central conceit from the 1954 MGM musical Brigadoon, about a magical Scottish village that appears only once a century.

So what exactly was lost in translation between the Scottish Highlands and the Gamma Quadrant, and how could the DS9 writers have approached this particular challenge differently? Or was the whole enterprise simply a fool’s errand—Brigadoomed from the start?

In this episode of Primitive Culture, Duncan Barrett and Tony Black answer these questions and more. Join us as we strap on our kilts, ready our cabers, and pay a rare visit to this little-loved Star Trek episode and the ersatz Scottish movie that inspired it.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Brigadoon (00:02:50) To B-Plot or Not to B-Plot (00:22:43) Space Soap Opera (00:39:55) Brigadoomed? (00:55:25)

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Tony Black Production Tony Black (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)