Transporter Lock - A Star Trek podcast

In the sequel nobody expected, La’An and crew return to the magical Elysian Kingdom in an homage to The Princess Bride. Has La’An gotten too many episodes this season? Was it worth it to see our nerd dreams realized as two flying behemoths finally have a genre-breaking encounter?

We then witness Uhura growing into the hero we know her to be. Jarrod may hate time travel, but we both love the cinematography and character development of this season finale.

Ken and Jarrod recap the season, which gimmicks worked, and why some plots may have felt rushed.

This is Transporter Lock‘s final episode of the year. We’ll be back for the final seasons of Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds in 2027!

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

It’s a little-known fact that Chief Engineer Ken Gagne grew up watching Days of Our Lives — a very specific overlap with Star Trek fandom that Strange New Worlds targeted. With Deidre Hall (DooL‘s Dr. Marlena Evans) playing ship’s counselor Dr. Eleanor Chivers, “Like Chronitons through the Hourglass” nailed the tropes and cinematic techniques common to daytime drama, with both Ken and Jarrod appreciating the Trelaine-inspired payoff at the episode’s end.

We then see the return of Paul Wesley as Jim Kirk, who puts his career on the line to save innocent civilians. Meanwhile, Uhura schemes against her Andorian captors. The two plots may not seem connected, but Jarrod deftly ties the themes together.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop collaborates to turn the Enterprise crew into puppets, followed by a Strange New Worlds take on the TNG classic episode “Hollow Pursuits” in which very competent crew members trust each other to prevent imminent disaster.

In this installment of the Transporter Lock podcast, Commander Jarrod Kailef and Chief Engineer Ken Gagne debate what a “gimmick” is, the degree to which this season of Strange New Worlds has relied on them, and whether they support or overshadow the narrative.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

See also a behind-the-scenes look at Star Trek puppetry and why Scots shouldn’t use voice-activated elevators.

Why did anyone think getting the entire command crew drunk simultaneously was a good idea? Ken and Jarrod review this cross between The Hangover and Dude, Where’s My Shuttlecraft?, followed by a monochromatic look at a noir mystery.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

Pike’s crew is back in action with the fourth season of Strange New Worlds. The first two episodes take the team to unexpected places, from Jurassic Park to a ghost ship. The first episode features a stunning performance by Saffron Burrows as Battle Commander Cassell, a tragic, empathetic wartime character; while the second episode makes it hard to see the character analysis of Spock, Kirk, and La’An, through all the body horror. We appreciate the different genres that Star Trek can encompass, but maybe some are best left in the writing room.

Commander Jarrod Kailef marks his maiden voyage on Transporter Lock, bringing decades of Star Trek insights to the bridge and helping to spot potential crossovers with the Transformers, Doctor Who, and Land of the Lost.

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And so concludes Starfleet Academy‘s freshman season. Every good Star Trek needs a courtroom legal drama, and this two-parter serves it up, putting Starfleet on trial for the sins of the past and pitting Paul Giamatti’s Nus Braka against Holly Hunter’s Nahla Ake. Our young cadets bring to bear all the strengths they’ve learned and demonstrated throughout the season, working better together than they ever have apart.

Staci and Ken reflect on this satisfying conclusion which nonetheless had some outsized writing gaps and plot holes — a recurring trend throughout the season. But we felt the show had far more hits than misses while also serving as a strong entry point for newcomers to the franchise, leaving us eager for more.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

As we near the end of Starfleet Academy‘s inaugural season, we see real character growth in our young cadets — as well as in returning characters, including Voyager‘s Doctor.

Ken and Staci empathize with Darem and Genesys trying to live up to their parents’ expectations, even if we wonder what makes a pebble identifiably Khionian.

And the parallels between Sam, Tarima, and Our Town‘s Emily Gibbs hit us in all the feels, as a returning character from Discovery gives a nuanced and gracious approach to facing trauma and living in the moment.

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Photonic protagonist Sam becomes the vehicle for an unexpected and emotional coda to Deep Space Nine and the Sisko family, with familiar actors and characters once again gracing canon, leading Ken and Staci to reflect on connecting with and losing their own fathers. We then get the return of Paul Giamatti as Nus Braka in a chilling battle of wits and deception with Chancellor Ake, pairing with the previous episode to heal old wounds and reopen others.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

Starfleet Academy‘s youthful cast engage in petty campus squabbles in the third episode, showcasing some poignant character moments amidst some bizarre rounds of laser tag. A week later, they again demonstrate their ability to influence the entire Federation. Be the scale local or galactic, Ken and Staci enjoy seeing these saplings grow, likening their starting points to other fictional characters such as Reggie Mantle (Archie Comics) and Tahani Al-Jamil (The Good Place), and watching them come together as a class, team, and family.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

Cadet Staci Lee joins the crew to review the debut of Starfleet Academy. Set in the 32nd century, the show follows the next generation of Starfleet officers against the backdrop of the Federation rebuilding itself after the Burn. The star of the show is Cadet Caleb Mir, who has a double agenda of finding his long-lost mother, torn from him by the very admiral who is now the school’s chancellor.

Ken and Staci love the new, young characters who are complemented by Discovery and Voyager veterans, as well as the new and familiar species, from Lanthanite, Exocomp, Jem’Hadar, Betazed, and Brikar to Khionian, Klingerite, Photonics, and Dar-Sha. It’s an exciting time for two Trek fans, one with a long connection to the series’ 60-year history, and one who is seeing it with fresh eyes.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.