Kira has been sent back to Bajor, and Li Nalas is the new Bajoran liaison aboard DS9. Meanwhile, Odo tries to solve the mystery of who is arming The Circle. In the second episode of the Bajoran Coup arc, things slow down and start to unfold. Can it match the heights of the previous episode? Clay joins me to discuss Bashir not following orders, the charm of wet cardboard, and the vague nature of the Bajoran religion.

In "The Homecoming", Kira rescues a legendary Bajoran freedom fighter, and an extremist group known as The Circle begins to terrorize Bajor and DS9. The first of a three episode arc, The Homecoming certainly feels like a new show: the rejuvenated budget has worked wonders. But is it the same old stuff we saw in season one? Clay joins me to discuss abandoning TNG, the ease of breaking into a prison camp, and becoming The Bajoran Batman.

We've finished the first season of Deep Space 9! In this episode, Wes gives his final thoughts about the premiere season of the series, discussing both the stories and characters that inhabited the up and down year. Was it 19 episodes of C-grade TNG, or did the series manage to create something unique? Wes also hands out some goofy awards and lays out the start of season two.

To wrap up season one, DS9 looks all the way back to Emissary! After the Bajoran religious leader Vedek Winn discovers that Keiko O'Brien is teaching secular values to her students, the entire Federation-Bajoran relationship looks like it may crumble. Commander Sisko is hesitant to push his values on anyone, but he may need to take a stand before people end up dead. In the Hands of the Prophets finishes the first season of DS9 and moves us into the second season with an examination of the dark side of the Bajoran religious movement. Clay joins me to discuss meeting new characters, O'Brien's temper, and the confused ethics of Roddenberry's universe.

After a Cardassian arrives on DS9, suffering from a rare disease that could only have been contracted at a Bajoran labor camp during the Occupation, Kira tries to determine if the man is a notorious war criminal.

After a Klingon ship explodes and beams a single survivor aboard DS9, the crew start acting in peculiar ways. Kira, in particular, seems to have developed a mutinous streak! Dramatis Personae features telepathic alien orbs, and those always lead to the best episodes of Star Trek, so buckle up! Wes discusses the episode and reads patron thoughts, and tries to figure out why you'd build a clock, why Odo doesn't melt when he's unconscious, and why explosive decompression isn't so bad.

Ambassadors visit the station, O'Brien gets a digital puppy, and Odo melts in the loving hands of Lwaxana Troi! The Forsaken brings back the beloved(?) character of Mrs. Troi and sticks her with the gruff character of Odo, and DS9 continues its first season trend of using TNG story structure: this time it's a character piece with a sci-fi B plot in the background. Wes reads some patron thoughts and gives his own take, which includes breaking down the character of Odo, Mrs. Troi without her daughter, and the cleverness of Dr. Bashir.

Discovery has taken a break after nine episodes of middling television, but Clay and I will keep the fire stoked (as Torchbearers) with a podcast episode where we discuss our final thoughts about this new half a season of Star Trek. We also talk about cancelling CBS All Access (for a month), the desire to be able to purchase the show on Amazon, and how we might handle discussing the show when it returns in January of 2018.

When a trio of imaginary characters (Rumpelstiltskin, Buck Bokai, and a horny Dax) appear on DS9, the station suddenly finds itself in danger of being destroyed by a subspace anomaly! Featuring a mysterious alien race of unknown powers, "If Wishes Were Horses" continues the DS9 trend of repackaging TNG episodes with a new cast. Modi joins me to discuss the downfall of baseball, having your sexual fantasies out in the open, and sacrificing your firstborn!

Lorca decides to use the USS Discovery as bait to lure the Klingons into a trap, Burnham fights a Klingon, and Tyler suffers from PTSD! Discovery is taking a mid season break, so "Into the Forest I Go" functions something like a season finale. But does it work? Do the storylines we've been pondering for weeks come together in the end? Or are we left with more questions than answers? Clay joins me to discuss looking ahead to what comes next, finding out that people aren't dead, and trying to figure out where we end up!