Uncanny Treks

Quality of Mercy S1E19 (17 Aug 94) vs. Crossover S2E23 (15 May 94) -Matt maybe coins a phrase for a common sf trope: hardluck telepathy, examples from the X-Men include: Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Betsy Braddock, Kwannon, David Haller, Xi’an Coy Manh, Dani Moonstar, Quentin Quire, David Alleyne, & Stepford Cuckoos -Matt educates Bob on ‘Cult of Personality’-All the talk of spacing puts Bob in mind of the famous hard sf tale ’Cold Equations’, although it’s arguably a bit ridiculous & pretty sexist-Magneto gets mindwiped in the climax of Fatal Attractions (1993)-Bob was foolishly misremembering the concept of Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton as being introduced in Weapon X (1991), but it was much earlier in Proteus Saga (1979), although Wolverine’s unbreakable bones were alluded to before-June Lockhart played Dr. Maureen Robinson in the original Lost in Space (1965-8) & Dr. Rosen in this episode; sadly, there’s no reunion with Bill Mumy-The best popular book on M4A is Tim Faust Health Justice Now: Single Payer & What Comes Next (2019)-Bob references Sigmund Freud's very short essay “Medusa’s Head” (1922). The best & funnest popular introduction to psychoanalysis is Slavoj Žižek Looking Awry: An Introduction to Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture (1991) -Bob & Matt compare the many episodes, comics, & novels set in the Mirror Universe-Bob again waxes nostalgic about Diane Duane Star Trek novels-Bob praises the Star Trek comics crossovers w/ Planet of the Apes (2015) & Legion of Super-Heroes (2012) & condemns the Dr. Who crossover (2012)-Matt references an Odo retcon in the David Mack Section 31 novel Disavowed (2014)-Great if controversial movies involving slavery include Burn! (1969), Mandingo (1975), Drum (1976), Django Unchained (2012), 12 Yrs a Slave (2013), Aferim! (2015), & Free State of Jones (2016)

Bob and Matt discuss the season 2 premiere of Lower Decks.

Babylon² S1E18(10 Aug 94) vs. The Wire S2E22 (8 May 94)-3 interesting superhero examples of the unstuck in time trope in Captain America: Reborn (2009-10), Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne (2010), & Infinite Avengers (2014)-Matt gets Yaphet Kotto in Alien (1979) vibes from Garibaldi-Matt gets Labyrinth (1986) vibes from Zathras -Bob gets Tom Waits “What’s He Building?” (1999) vibes off Delenn-Bob’s favorite Flying Dutchman narrative is the William Hope Hodgson weird novel Ghost Pirates (1909), available on Librivox -Bob is very discontent w/ the climax of Fantastic 4: Grand Design (2019)-Matt & Bob are relieved we didn’t get the Kira equivalent of Batman: Venom (1991)

A Voice in the Wilderness- Part 2 S1E17 (3 Aug 94) vs. Maquis p1-2 S2E20-1 (24 Apr & 1 May 94)-Bob gets annoyed at Matt’s spurious Star Wars Death Star references-Ron Canada played the crooked chief of LA police in The Shield (2002-8)-There’s a very good 2017 episode of The Dig interviewing Aziz Rana’ about his book 2 Faces of American Freedom (2014) on US settler colonialism-Bob’s about to start watching the short-lived, Thomas Pynchon-esque dramedy Lodge 49 (2018-9) that also features Bertila Damas

A Voice in the Wilderness p1 S1E16 (20 Jul 94) vs. Blood Oath S2E19 (27 Mar 94)-Kor, Koloth, Kang, Curzon, & Sulu’s backstory w/ the Albino is explored in the Michael Martin & Andy Mangels Excelsior novel Forged in Fire (2007)-Before TNG, in the Star Trek paracanon, Klingons were more like TNG Romulans, careful strategists, & Romulans were more like TNG Klingons, honor-bound warriors. For the essential Klingon TOS novel, see John Ford Final Reflection (1984), &, for the essential Romulan TOS novels, see the 5 Diane Duane novels from the 80s & 00s-The failed Uncle Ruckus film kickstarter campaign was in 2013. A revival of the Boondocks is supposed to premiere on HBO MAX in 2022.-The Psi Corps novel Bob intends to eventually read is Gregory Keyes Fate of Bester (1999) -Matt & Bob reference Twin Peaks S3 The Return (2017), Catholic Twin Peaks aka Mare of Easttown (2021), Dexter (2006-13), & The Killing (2011-4)-Matt & Bob ponder the 2-part storytelling in a variety of cartoons-Bob connects the tropes of Halloween (2018), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), & Terminator Dark Fate (2019)

Eyes S1E15 (13 Jul 94) vs. Profit & Loss S2E18 (20 Mar 94)-Bob misspoke & references the great Hong Kong film trilogy Infernal Affairs (2002-3) remade into Marty Scorsese’s The Departed (2006)-There have been 236 Friends episodes (1994-2004) & 154 It’s always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-) episodes so far. Bob stupidly misremembers Always Sunny episode title formats-Matt dubs Jeffrey Combs the Stan Lee of tv sf-Matt & Bob long for a rematch between The Rock & 7 of 9 in Picard S2-Bob hates on Star Trek & Babylon 5 prequel novels, Matt hates on Arthurian parallels-Pavlovian conditioning is not to be mistaken with Pavel Chekov-Bob’s favorite book on climate change is Christian Parenti Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change & the New Geography of Violence (2011)-The Time for My Stories (2021) podcast did an interesting episode on Dallas (1978-91)-Ivanova has a dream with a Twin Peaks vibe

Grail S1E14 (6 Jul 94) vs. Playing God S2E17 (27 Feb 94)-Matt commences his ritual of torturing Bob by reminding him of Friends: The Reunion (2021)-Bob has been reading the Thanos v2 (2017-8) series, which has story arcs by Jeff Lemire/Mike Deodato & Donny Cates/Geoff Shaw & includes the conceit that Thanos tortures random people on earth, confident the Avengers won’t notice -Blowback S2 (2021) about US-Cuba relations is the best podcast of the year-Richard Poe did the audiobook for one of the great US novels, Cormac McCarthy Blood Meridian (1985)-Diane Duane’s excellent Star Trek novels include Wounded Sky (1983), My Enemy, My Ally (1984), Spock’s World (1988), & Dark Mirror (1993)--For a recent critique of meritocracy, see Daniel Markovits Meritocracy Trap: How America's Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, & Devours the Elite (2019) & a critical interview with the author on The Genn [Loury] Show-Christy Marx, creator of Jem & the Holograms (1985-8), wrote this B5 episode-For some reason Bob goes to The Practice (19997-2004) as the pinnacle of 90s network tv drama, probably because he finds lawyers more interesting than doctors -Bob feels like Tolkein is a bigger influence on B5 than Arthurian legend, but there are many overt Arthurian references in B5 & the spin-off Crusade (1999) -Matt & Bob rhapsodize about David Warner’s long career in & out of Trek-William Sanderson plays the hotelier Farnum on the great Deadwood (2004-6) -The B5 novel Kathryn Drennan To Dream in the City of Sorrows (1997) is set on Minbar

Signs & Portents S1E13 (18 May 94) vs. Necessary Evil S2E8 (14 Nov 93)-The opening of ‘Necessary Evil’ has big film noir or gothic melodrama vibes like Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), The Letter (1940), Casablanca (1942), Jane Eyre (1943), Mildred Pierce (1945), or Secret beyond the Door (1947)-Bob retells a maybe apocryphal story of confusion on the set of the film noir The Big Sleep (1946) between 3 of 20th century US’s great artists: Howard Hawks, William Faulkner, & Raymond Chandler-An amazing loose depiction of a drunk Faulkner in Hollywood is the Coen brothers’ film Barton Fink (1991) -Odo apes some lines from the great detective show Columbo (1971-8, 89-2003) -The best book on femmes fatales is Mary Ann Doane Femmes Fatales: Feminism, Film Theory, Psychoanalysis (1991)

By Any Means Necessary S1E12 (11 May 94) vs. Rules of Acquisition S2E7 (6 Nov 93)-The best contemporary US & UK books on labor strategy from organizers are Jane McAlevey Raising Expectations & Raising Hell (2012), No Shortcuts (2016), A Collective Bargain (2020), Shaun Richman Tell the Bosses We’re Coming (2020), & Len McCluskey Why You Should Be a Trade Unionist (2020)-For an an account of the recent wave of red state teachers’ strikes, see Eric Blanc Red State Revolt (2019)-Other interesting labor union episodes or seasons of tv include Deep Space 9 S4 ‘Bar Association’ (1996), The Wire S2 (2003), Battlestar Galactica S3 ‘Dirty Hands’ (2007), & Snowpiercer S1 (2020) -For some interesting books on cross-dressing in different historical narratives, see Marjorie Garber Vested Interests: Cross-dressing & Cultural Anxiety (1991), The Female Marine & Related Works: Narratives of Cross-Dressing & Urban Vice in US Early Republic (1998) ed. Daniel Cohen, & Heather Humann Gender Bending in Detective Fiction (2017)-Fascinating works of cross-dressing on stage & screen include William Shakespeare 12th Night (1601), Thomases Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girl (1611), Billy Wilder Some Like It Hot (1959), & Tim Burton Ed Wood (1994)

Survivors S1E11 (4 May 94) vs. Cardassians S2E5 (24 Oct 93)-Garibaldi’s, Sinclair’s, & the Shadows’ backstory are further explored in a very bad arc of the Babylon 5 DC comic, Shadows Past & Present (1996)-The classic contemporary critique of NAFTA is the Ralph Nader edited collection Case against Free Trade: GATT, NAFTA, & the Globalization of Corporate Power (1993) that includes contributions from Jerry Brown, Wendell Berry, & occasional sf writer Margret Atwood-On FDR’s selectively vague & historic 1932 campaign, see Donald Ritchie Electing FDR: New Deal Campaign of 1932 (2007)-Matt & Bob talk again about Andrew Robinson’s backstory novel for Garak, Stitch in Time (2000)-For the further adventures of Rugal, see Una McCormack Never-ending Sacrifice (2009)-Garibaldi’s & Kemmer’s emotional incest energy reminded Bob of the much better Arthur Miller tragedy View from the Bridge (1955)