To Baldly Go

022 - Movie Review and Season 3 Kickoff

In this week’s episode, we discuss:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Spock’s Brain, and The Enterprise Incident
The movie worked a lot better on a big TV than The Original Series
Strong opening to the movie
Klingons look and seem very different
Enterprise porn
Remastered version of the movie – probably looked better on my TV at home than it would have in the theater
Characters felt different
What somebody who doesn’t know anything about Star Trek might think Star Trek is like
William Shatner doing a Captain Kirk impersonation
Differences between the series and the movie
For all the criticism of the movie, it was stunning
Is human consciousness just a physics and chemistry question?
Some timely Oscars talk – debating Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker
Absurd moments for a Star Trek episode
Future technological understanding
Was Gene Roddenberry holding up a mirror to society?
Star Trek and Black Mirror
Star Trek as a Trojan horse
Mutual respect with the Romulans?
Lies of omission
Space pirates
The Vulcan Death Grip
Genetic similarities between Vulcans and Romulans
Self-destructing Enterprise
A pleasant surprise for early season 3

021 - Season 2 Finale and Recap

Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.
As usual, I am joined by my wife, Abbie, and our friend Nate, as we discuss:
The final two episodes of Season 2: Bread and Circuses and Assignment: Earth
Abbie is over The Original Series
More episodes we feel like we’ve seen before
Prime Directive
Kirk’s character judging abilities
Parallel development vs Earth influence
Religious references
Dropping the things that worked in Season 1
South Park: Cartoon Wars and Star Trek Mad Libs
Will Abbie still enjoy other Star Trek series after this?
Will I become a bigger Trekkie than Abbie?
Our scoring system is like Who’s Line is it Anyway?
Would Kirk risk his crew to save Spock and Bones?
Another Gene Roddenberry episode
Are fun character traits a crutch? Lazy?
Do Star Trek characters make something a Star Trek story?
Spinoffs!
Do Star Trek and Doctor Who take place in the same universe?
How shows are influenced by the time in which they are made
Top shows from the late 1960s
Fewer “timeless” stories in Season 2
More discussion about technological evolution faster than biological evolution
Bioshock spoilers
The choice of character names can tell a lot
Overall ratings of season 2
Different ways to experience TV
Our next plans

020 - Team America, Galactic Police

Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.
As usual, I am joined by my wife, Abbie, and our friend Nate, as we discuss:
The next 3 episodes of season 2 of Star Trek: The Original Series – By Any Other Name, The Omega Glory, and The Ultimate Computer
Interstellar from the perspective of the other planets
Callbacks to earlier episodes
What I’ve come to expect from Star Trek, but does that mean they’re running out of ideas?
Kirk, the man-whore
What does it mean to be human?
What does it mean to be living?
Life is more than just elements, but without the elements, there is no life
Some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu analysis
Episodes starting a lot stronger than they finish
Was this propaganda?
Subtlety vs heavy-handedness
A successful letter-writing campaign
A brief history lesson about The Scorpions
Seeing more recurring story lines and trends
Negative views on technology?
Saying “Thank you” to Alexa
In real life we make the same mistakes and tell the same stories over and over again
Different experience between binge watching and watching weekly over the course of many years
Similar shows, books, and movies released around the same time
Will the AI conversation actually change?  Has the conversation surrounding AI changed in the past 60 years?

019 - Space Nazis

Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.
As usual, I am joined by my wife, Abbie, and our friend, Nate, as we discuss:
The next 3 episodes of season 2 of Star Trek: The Original Series – A Private Little War, Return to Tomorrow, and Patterns of Force
What was the message of this episode? Do they even know?
TV makeup and High Definition
We don’t like Gene Roddenberry episodes?
Understanding why TOS was cancelled
Was TOS running out of ideas?
A Next Generation actress
Characters acting out of character
Star Trek and the Apollo missions
Other shows calling their shots
Command structure on the Enterprise
Risk vs. reward
Scotty’s voice and linguistic talents
Biblical connections?
Plot devices vs. realism
Fermi paradox
Aliens and Mexican parliament
A relative lack of surprise that Kirk and Spock dressed as Nazis
Blues Brothers discussion
Nazi imagery in the episode
An episode we wanted to dislike
Is there always a silver lining?
Moral ambiguity and how shows are received

018 - Bean sucks at poker

Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.
I am joined again this week by my wife, Abbie, and our friend, Nate as we discuss:
The next 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series – The Gamesters of Triskelion, A Piece of the Action, and The Immunity Syndrome
First – my homework to rewatch The Trouble with Tribbles
I can see why The Trouble with Tribbles is a favorite episode for many
Does “more fun” mean “better”?
Parks and Rec The Sopranos
Have we seen this episode before?
Aaron can rate something a 10
Fair terms?
Would Kirk have acted the same if only saving himself and crew?
Downgrading my rating and things that took me out of the episode
No blondes on Vulcan
A good-enough episode
Application of the Prime Directive?
Let’s play Cups!
Kirk’s ‘20s talk
Radios and rotary phones
Nate hates Scotty
Abbie didn’t finish the final episode
The death of one vs the deaths of many
Kirk’s understanding of their mission
Spock shit-talking McCoy
Spock and McCoy truly care for each other
Nate’s 13-year-old humor
Instinct and intuition vs logic
Did the Vulcans logic themselves to death?

017 - Aaron can be stubborn. And wrong

Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.
I am joined again this week by my wife Abbie and our friend Nate as we discuss:
The next 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series – Obsession, Wolf in the Fold, and The Trouble with Tribbles
Drinking Minnesota beer in Northeast Florida
A good, forgettable episode
PTSD in Star Trek
Personal log vs Captain’s log
Kirk is quite the dynamic character
The Farragut
Moby Dick
Logic vs Intuition
Star Trek and religion
A Newsradio segue
Hedonism Bot from Futurama
An episode that could have been stronger if it was shorter
Piglet the Ripper
Deep space murder mystery – of course we’ll jump to an unsolved series of murders from London 400 years prior
Stunt doubles and watching Star Trek on our phones (like they did when this first came out)
“Abbie will hate this episode”
Was Hengist innocent?
Anchor points and being underwhelmed
Undercover Klingon
A perfect episode???
Physical altercations over disrespectful words
I agree to rewatch The Trouble with Tribbles

016 - Halfway

Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.
I am joined again by my wife Abbie and our friend Nate as we discuss:
The next 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series – Journey to Babel, Friday’s Child, and The Deadly Years
Starting with the last episode
Aging the characters, compared to reality
Are we aging differently now? Or is it a social construct?
A good leader surrounds himself with good people
Don’t embarrass the boss
Budgetary constraints and command
Trying to do the right thing, but not knowing how to do it
Stockton or Stocker?
The Beginning of Infinity
How does the Neutral Zone work?
The return of Corbomite
Watching on a phone instead of a TV making the series more palatable?
A better episode if made today?
Earliest-born Star Trek actor – born in 1882!!
A murder mystery on the Enterprise
Sarek – a character with depth that I don’t realize
Additional episode context and how these episodes are received
Orions? Or Gorn?
Lack of recurring characters
Genetic espionage
Strange episode titles
A strong start and a slow, weak finish
We’ve seen this episode before
Good music
The Godmother of Star Trek
Who punched first?
Reactions to Chekov’s Russia claims
Computing in the 1960s, Teletype, and how technologically forward-looking we can be
Technological inspiration from Star Trek
Chick Fil-a vs Raisin’ Canes
Thumbnails for next week’s episodes
Thinkgeek.com

015 - Harcourt! And the Intergalactic Trash Panda

Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.
I am joined again this week by my wife, Abbie, and our friend, Nate, as we discuss:
The next 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series – Catspaw, I Mudd, and Metamorphosis
Probably the weakest set of episodes yet
Going over Abbie’s low bar for this series
Nate almost didn’t finish the episode
A Star Trek episode? Or a Halloween special with Star Trek characters?
Not the “most philosophically rich” episode of Star Trek
Chekov’s hair
Enterprise props today
The sum of its parts are greater than the whole
Seeing something we’ve seen before
Binge watching affecting the viewing experience?
Recurring themes – a life without limit is meaningless
Recurring themes – the ethics of AI
Technological advancements to allow intergalactic travel?
Nearing halfway through The Original Series
More problematical moments
Which Einstein?
I’ve heard that name before!
Another rare consensus
The importance of human contact to humans
Captain Kirk. Diplomat
Nate gets distracted with DS9 talk again
Yesterday’s progressivism, tomorrow’s conservatism
Judas goats
Nate’s growing fondness for Kirk
Limitations providing meaning and value – recurrent themes
TOS episodes as a basis for future series episodes and movies
The first people to make certain Star Trek connections
Space rabies!
Nate already has a rating for Trouble with Tribbles
Seeing why the series was cancelled after season 2
Ricky Gervais and Arena

014 - Well, there goes Paradise

An evil crew, paradise, and a destructive intergalactic space worm.  All this and more in this week’s episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast!
I am joined, as usual, this week by my wife, Abbie, and our friend, Nate, as we discuss:
The next 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series – Mirror Mirror, The Apple, and The Doomsday Machine
Is this the “darkest timeline”?
Another parallel universe episode
Gene Roddenberry’s vision (hope?) for the future
Star Trek has always been progressive for its time – it’s not something new today
Under the progressive veneer, there are still traditional values throughout the episodes
Theory of parallel universes
What are you?  DNA?  Experiences?
Was Kirk trying to change the mirror universe for the better?  Or was he just trying to get back to his universe and his ship?
“Evil” Kirk is a formidable foe
For a savage society, they are really bad at fighting
Uniform colors
Nature vs. Nurture and morality
A piecemeal episode
A Spock and Bones role reversal?
What is the definition of “Paradise”?
An anti-religion episode?
Spock like Satan
No ramifications?
Can freedom be imposed?  Or is it necessarily a choice?
Lurr – Ruler of Omicron Persei VIII
The parable of the banker and the fisherman from Jimmy John’s
Can a society be thriving but also stagnant?
Exploration of other command styles
Other ships
A rare consensus
Cold War commentary
How often to officers lose their ships?
Decisions and results
Major transporter issues.  Is Scotty bad at his job?
Security shortcomings
Planetary system discussion
Motion Picture and other movie discussion
It all comes back to Independence Day

013 - This one is problematical

Vulcan biology.  The worst episode yet.  And some Irish folklore.
Thank you for joining us for all this and more on this week’s episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast.  As usual, I am joined this week by my wife Abbie and our friend Nate as we discuss the next 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series - 
Amok Time
Who Mourns for Adonais?
The Changeling