The Bicks Pod

The Bicks are back! Nearly 8 years after we started our podcast, and ten since the gum we liked was clearly coming back in style, we've returned from our year-long hiatus to revisit an old favourite: Twin Peaks. We talk about the fandom of the show itself, its lasting impressions on us, and whether or not it has impacted television the way the original Twin Peaks did way back in 1990.

Our new approach is focused primarily on discussing whatever topics we feel like, whenever we feel like it, so fair warning that episodes are not likely to be regular, on any specific topic, or with any coherent structure. Thank you in advance to anyone who has stuck with us over the last 8 years!

We have new social media @s as well, having left the hellsite that is Twitter and the stupid that is Facebook. We're currently on Tumblr, because we are really just internet children of the 2010s, as well as Instagram and Threads. Feel free to drop us a line there whenever you want!

Notes:

• Here is that Drew Gooden episode about how annoying media production is these days.

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 episode that had the largest divergence of opinions in our Season 4 breakdown, "First Contact" complete with Riker sex innuendo and reactionary martyrs. It may not be the perfect episode, but it did provide some fodder for banter with The Bicks.

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. Join us as we talk about family, friends, drama, and First Contact, one of the greatest episodes of the show! (Yes, Aidan wrote this intro...)

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Bicks Log: What does it say about genetic families in Star Trek that they're so secondary to the one found on board the Enterprise?

Notes:

• Once again, it was time for a tier ranking of Season 4 episodes, so be prepared for Aidan to defend how great (almost) every episode is, while Lindsay tries to knock them all down a few pegs.

Recognitions:

• Intro Music: Chasing Stars by AG Music

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 philosophical import. This week, Aidan and Lindsay deep dive into the production history, some of the changes behind and in front of the camera, and explore the larger story arcs that are going to take us into the second half of the series' run.

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Bicks Log: How useful is the Prime Directive?

Notes and Recognitions:

• The intro music is different between Season 1 (strings high in the mix) and Season 2 (strings lower) and again to Season 3 (strings seem to not be there at all in some places) so Lindsay is kinda right but also kinda full of shit...

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 it for its inconsistency and the truly high highs that you only get by introducing the Borg, or debating the nature of sentience (should be sapience but we'll let it slide) on behalf of our beloved Data. Join us as we discuss those highs (and some of the lows), as well as give a bit of a history of what was going on behind the scenes.

Episode Sponsor: SudVPN! Keep your data safe in these trying times!

Bicks Log: Does artificial intelligence require sentience to be considered intelligent? Do AIs as we understand them now deserve rights? What will happen when computer systems are given – or acquire – consciousness?

Notes:

• As a reminder, this was recorded before Picard Season 3 aired, so there may be some odd references.

• S-Tier: Measure of a Man (9), Q Who (16)

• S-Tier: Measure of a Man (9), Q Who (16), Elementary Dear Data (3)

• David L. Lander

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 behind the scenes work that eventually led to one of the most iconic of Star Trek series' and heralded the rebirth of Gene Rodenberry's vision of the future - ready to go for a new generation (your hosts' generation, as it turned out). We also discuss the characters, episodes, and issues that cropped up repeatedly in the first season, as well as the bones of the show that we grew to love and idolize.

Episode Sponsor: CubeSpace - it's time to build your online presence!

Bicks Log: What are the things in Season 1 that the show messed up the worst, but was corrected over the course of the show?

Notes:

• As a reminder, this was recorded before Picard Season 3, so there may be some odd references

• Sadly "Crusher is a mom" has remained extremely true

• Rowan J. Coleman's Retrospective Part 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB08m-d1hhc&ab_channel=RowanJColeman 

• Brenda Strong

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 have done differently to address the shortcomings we felt took away from our experience of these stories.

Episode Sponsor: PokerGalaxy.net

Bicks Log Double-Header: Question #1 - If you could make one change to Picard Season 3 to better reflect what you wanted out of the series, what would it be? Question #2 - If you had to pick your "Engage" one-liner, what would it be?

Notes and Recognitions:

• Intro Music: Chasing Stars by AG Music