All the captains were written uniquely and all the actors had input

The captain has always been the main focus of the story, until recently. In Star Trek, they command the crew as well as the show. But the beauty of it is there is no one set mold for what is a captain. Kirk is different from Picard. Picard is different from Sisko. Sisko is different from Janeway and so on and so forth. 

How were they written differently to make them unique? How much input did the actors who portrayed them have in their development? Listen to hear us analysis this and a whole lot more.

Punch It continues its writing analysis of Gilmore Girls with season 6?

When Punch It changed formats to being a Star Trek podcast, we promised that we wouldn't abandon certain themes we've been working on. Our Gilmore Girls series review was one of those and we are keeping our promise. 

This week we tackle season 6 and all its divisiveness. Love it or hate it, it drastically changed the story for all those involved; especially our girls. What did you think of season 6? Sherman-Palladino right on the money or a complete waste of a season?

 

Depression, Mental Illness, and Trauma in Star Trek


The above realities have been dealt with more than you think in Star Trek. Sometimes better than others but at least they've been given a face in our favorite franchise. Every single iteration of live action Trek have dealt with these concepts in some form or another. This week, we discuss what has worked and what hasn't from a writing standpoint. 


Discovery is what sparked this conversation and you will hear us discuss the above as well as sexual assault in a respectful manner. 


At the top of the show, Charlynn opens up about her most recent Trek like treatment for depression. Click here for more information on TMS. 

Go here for more information on mental health services. 

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Star Trek story-on-the-fly about the Defiant?

Finding the gaps in Star Trek and creating stories in-between is one of the many great things about being a fan. Char and Tristan love being able to ask "What if?" and develop interesting stories around that question. This week we talk about the summer break between seasons 2 and 3 of Deep Space Nine. What did Benajmin Sisko have to go through in order to get the Defiant? Did he even want it in the first place?

A Star Trek story written on-the-fly about Cartwright and Valeris 

Star Trek fans love a good continuation. We live for stories of the minutia and that are around the corners from the characters we know and love. That is where we are with Admiral Cartwright and Valeris. What happened to them the moment Undiscovered Country ended? We explore that in this week's episode.

John Mills joins Tristan Riddell this week while Charlynn Schmiedt takes a brief sabbatical.

The many different types of story arcs in Star Trek


Star Trek is known to be heavily episodic by nature. TOS, TNG, VOY and even early DS9 and ENT were all episodic. DS9 and ENT both slowly turned into a serialized show but they definitely didn’t pioneer it within the realm of Trek.


This week Punch It looks at all of the major story arcs of all of the iterations of Trek. With a focus on feature-length episodes, two-parters, and even three-parters.

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What are some of your favorites?

The Writing Styles of Star Trek's Bottle Shows 

Whether you know the technical term or not, you are aware of the concept as a Star Trek fan: Bottle Shows. It's where the production team tries to save some money and has their intrepid crew stay put on the ship. They don't go to a new planet, they don't meet a new alien race (for the most part), and the special effects are minimal.

Some people consider these episodes boring but Char and Tristan think that with constraint comes creativity. Due to this outlook, they examine how you can get a more intimate character driven story without the pew pew.

Rewriting Star Trek: Voyager's "Threshold"

This is the first episode of the rebranded Punch It! We are now Punch It: Writing in Star Trek. We hope you join us as we take this trek through the stars have more of a focus on the final frontier. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of "Away Missions" to other galaxies. This rebrand just gives us more of a license to talk about what we love and hold dear: Star Trek.

As our opener, we tackle one of the most infamous episodes in all of Trek. You guessed it, "Threshold". Do we keep the lizard babies? Does Tom rip out his own tongue? Listen and find out.

Star Trek: Discovery Writing Style

We're four episodes into Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access and boy do people have differing opinions. Regardless of opinion, CBS brought in some heavy hitters when it comes to the writers room. But is the talent that they brought in enough to tell a 2017 paid for story and have it brought to life? 

Char and Tristan start the show with a discussion about a possible format change on Punch It. Listen and let your opinion be heard in the comments below or at our website.

Gilmore Girls Season 5 Writing Analysis

We've done this 4 times before and we still have more to do and we couldn't be happier. Char is continuing her first-time watch of Gilmore Girls and she is knee deep in Stars Hallow. A lot happened this season with the Gilmore girls. Rory ditched Dean and found Logan, Lorelai found Luke, lost Luke, then found him again. Emily lost Richard, then found him again. 

Is the writing getting repetitive or are we just experiencing the normal ups and downs of the lives of a college student, an inn owner, and a socialite?

Listen and let us know what you think.