By thebickspod
A bickering husband and wife duo discuss their faves.
Note: We will be taking a summer break for the next 4-5 weeks to coincide with some vacation plans, but will be returning in the second half of summer with Season 5. For this week, join us as we revisit the...
Season 4 -- the first full 90s season, as Lindsay says -- doesn't feature a whole bunch of changes on screen or behind the camera, but did bring a lot of depth to the characters and the world they inhabit....
Another season, another watchalong of TNG, this time the season 3's classic exploration of Star Trek's greatest philosophical topics, the Prime Directive. Join us as we chat and joke our way through "Who Watches the Watchers".
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 is widely considered the start of "good Trek" in the TNG era. Whether you agree with that or not, this season definitely ups the ante in terms of storytelling, characterization, thematic links, and...
Join us for another watchalong episode of TNG, this time the season 2 dark horse favourite "The Royale". One note: Fermat's Last Theorem had a first proof published in 1995, only a few years after this episode.
The arrival of Riker's Beard heralded the start of the shift towards a more updated, distinct Star Trek, ready for the Next Generation of fans. While many will tell new explorers of Trek to skip over season 2, we love...
Watchalong episodes are back baby! Today we're watching Season 1 Episode 15 of Star Trek: The Next Generation "11001001" (the one with the Bynars).
Boldly going where no one in 1987 was really sure they wanted to go - 100 years into the future - Paramount greenlit Star Trek: The Next Generation. And a seed was planted. Join us as we talk about the...
As we say goodbye to Star Trek: Picard after three seasons, lit in the warm glow of nostalgia, we'll take a look at the entirety of the series, our likes and dislikes, what's next for these characters and what we might...
You hear that? The voices of those we've come to know and those we've missed for years now, coming back to shepherd us towards the endgame for Star Trek Picard. Join us as we talk a lot about that one moment...
Surrender with us as we mentally prepare for the final voyage of The Next Generation crew, finally re-united in this week's episode. While we found this episode repeated a few of the foibles from previous Picard that have turned up...
As we continue on into the back half of Season 3 of Picard, we are starting to see the outlines of an endgame, and, well, we have thoughts. Less about the endgame itself than about how we're getting there, as...
For a show that we all knew was going to be (at least partially) about getting the gang back together, this week's episode of Star Trek: Picard did a lot of work getting the gang back together. Join us for...
Season Three of Picard reaches its midpoint with a compelling mystery amping up to new heights of tension as a familiar face returns to confront an old mentor about new threats to the entire Federation. Aidan and Lindsay take a flyby of...
Is "No Win Scenario" a winner? Join us to find out! We talk about the exploration of new characters like Captain Shaw and Vadic, as well as the (sometimes strained) characterization of old favourites like Picard and Riker. We also...
Is the sophomore slump over for Picard Season 3? Join us to find out! We talk about the highs and lows of the third episode, start delving into some of the fan theories, and dive head first into that conversation...
Star Trek: Picard is off to rip-roaring start, introducing us to new villainy and adventures and reintroducing us to fan fave characters we haven't seen in decades. It doesn't mean there hasn't been any controversy with the various plot points...
After a brief 5 year hiatus, we're returning to our roots with a weekly, episodic podcast devoted to covering a media in media res - in this case, Star Trek: Picard, Season 3. Join us for a look at this early hint...
Modern fanfiction may very well have had its start with the original trio of Kirk, McCoy, and Spock. So today we're joining the numerous fans before us who decided to tell stories about the crew of the USS Enterprise (no...
The final farewell of The Original Series crew is a great summation of all the threads that we've touched on in our previous episodes and which have constituted some of the best parts of the series. The conclusion of the...
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is widely derided as the worst (or one of the worst) films in the Star Trek canon. Despite this, Lindsay still has fond memories of watching this film as a child and she'll be damned if she...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, collectively known in The Bicks home as "The One with the Whales." A classic 80s film, a classic Trek film, and a unique entry in the series all at once. We loved chatting about...
By the time The Search for Spock was announced, it was fairly clear that the Star Trek brand was more than strong enough to justify its continued return to box offices; within a few years, it would return to TV screens, as...
The second film entry for our original cast -- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan -- reinvigorated the franchise after The Motion Picture drew big bucks but tepid critical reviews. A lesser version of Khan might have put the nail in...
Star Trek's first foray onto the big screen has experienced a recent reevaluation by fans, but what we wanted to know is how was it seen by original fans at the time of its release? Lucky for us we have...
After one of the most competitive polls in our short lived Twitter campaign (which, if you don't follow us there, we're likely abandoning soon), this watchalong came down to a coin toss, followed by a unilateral decision to negate the...
This episode is about one of the least known shows in Star Trek, but one we thoroughly enjoyed. The Animated Series holds a special place in Star Trek history, as a bridge between TOS and the films, and also as...
This time our lovely Twitter voters (follow us on there if you want to decide future watchalongs!) chose one of Aidan's all-time favourite Trek episodes "The Tholian Web" to enjoy alongside you, dear listeners! In one of the few high...
If you've ever wondered what frustration sounds like - congratulations, you've found it in this episode of The Bicks Do Star Trek! Season 3 of The Original Series is one of the more frustrating seasons in Star Trek history -...
In which we sit down and watch through the classic Season 2 episode "The Trouble With Tribbles" with you, dear listeners! So cue it up and boldly go with us as we learn about just why, in fact, the Klingons...
In this foray into pretty well known, we're examining the second season of The Original Series in all its didactic glory. Whether your joy is faraway trips to places that feel very much like home, or a few light-hearted romps...
Friends of the podcast, welcome to something new from The Bicks. A watch along episode! Join us for a viewing of one of the most acclaimed Star Trek episodes of all time: The City on the Edge of Forever. As...
...in which your stalwart Ensigns Aidan and Lindsay take you on a tour of Star Trek's very first blockbuster season. The one that started it all! Join us for a retrospective look at the origin of the series, the ups...
Earth date September 8, 2022. Happy Star Trek Day to one and all! To commemorate this once-a-year occasion, we'd like to welcome listeners both new and old to this podcast with a (re)introduction to The Bicks. After plumbing the depths...
We've always appreciated the saying, "Save the Best for Last" and we followed it for this Shakespeare podcast. Nothing may draw more interest in the popular imagination of Shakespeare than whether or not he was actually the author of the...
“Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples,...
The incomparably funny and poignant comedian Hannah Gadsby said it best: “This adoration of the artist as a lone genius is quite misled, I think, because they are very much a part of their time and their community.” Sometimes we all...
Another problem/romance play, Cymbeline is noteworthy most of all for its intricate, multi-layered plot, and one of the bard's most noteworthy heroines in Imogen. Unlike the famous tragedies or better known comedies (but very much like his other later plays),...
Much like many of our modern stories, Shakespeare used the family as the core of many of his tales, so we dove into the many vagaries of families in Shakespeare's plays to see what made them tick. What was the...
If you ever travel to England (or live there), you'll know there's a lot of Shakespeare places to go and see, in particular around his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. As far as tourist sites go, they're basically what you'd expect. But...
What do you get when you combine three acts of a tragedy, two acts of a pastoral romantic comedy, and a sprinkle of the supernatural on top for good measure? A problem play for the ages: The Winter's Tale. If it feels...
Religion is always a touchy subject, but for most of the world today it's not nearly as dangerous a point of discussion as it was during Shakespeare's lifetime. Protestant and Catholic debates hadn't just destroyed previously unassailable assumptions on articles...
For a place almost synonymous with class distinctions, England was only occasionally the site of class confrontations in Shakespeare's plays. He saved the really juicy bits for his final Roman play - Coriolanus. Join us for a chat about the...
We are not Shakespeare scholars. We have neither the education, resources, or frankly the intelligence to engage with Shakespeare’s work the way anyone who’s actually published a paper about Shakespeare does. We are amateurs. But none of the names we’re talking about...
Getting into the late romances -- starting here with Pericles -- means we're nearing the end of our sojourn through William Shakespeare's career. But these are a fascinating quartet of plays, and Pericles is a fantastic introduction to the complicated morality and...
It's something we've talked about relentlessly on this podcast: teaching Shakespeare is hard. Between the dense language, historical context, and cultural weight of the name "Shakespeare" there are a ton of barriers to getting students invested in the words of...
It's a play all about dualities that don't duel quite as much as we might think. Antony and Cleopatra - man and woman - Rome and Egypt - Love and War - every way you look at this play there...
There were lots of ways we could have looked at the topic of Shakespeare's most famous plays. A deeply analytical examination of what makes some plays rise above others. A detailed case study of a single play, like Romeo & Juliet...
Macbeth may be Shakespeare's second most famous play after Hamlet, and for good measure. The speeches and quotes have been seared into English-speaking culture, the phrase "Lady Macbeth" denotes all sorts of things (depending on your point of view), and...
It is natural to wonder what Shakespeare was trying to tell us about money. He was, after all, the owner of his own theatre company, a man who made several wise financial decisions involving his land holdings in his later...