To Baldly Go

Star Trek TNG S02E13-15: Time Squared, The Icarus Factor, Pen Pals – “Podunk Bunnyville” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 045)
First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episodes 13–15
Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast, where I – a first-time Star Trek viewer – watch through the series in release order and discuss it with long-time Trekkie friends.
This week, we get:• Thoughts of Interstellar• Family reunions• Violations of the Prime Directive
We covered:• Time Squared• The Icarus Factor• Pen Pals
“Time Squared” – Would you like to meet your future self?The Enterprise encounters a shuttle containing Captain Picard from six hours in the future. As a strange spatial distortion pulls them in, the crew must unravel a temporal paradox before it’s too late.
“The Icarus Factor” – Character over careerRiker is offered command of his own ship and must confront unresolved tension with his father, while Worf explores his Klingon heritage in a parallel story of identity.
“Pen Pals” – One does not simply walk into Mordor!Data forms a secret friendship with a young girl on a doomed pre-warp planet, forcing the crew to confront the ethical boundaries of the Prime Directive.
Things we discussed:• Patrick Stewart playing two Picards• Picard, Riker, and leadership dynamics• Riker’s father and family tension• Worf’s background and Klingon culture• Violating the Prime Directive• Wesley’s growth and leadership• Defining “interference”• When and why we break the rules• Is Data an existential threat?• Philosophy as a people-centered exercise• Lord of the Rings trivia and randomness
Additional discussion:• Remembering 9/11• Bottle-feeding kittens• Studying the moon
Final thoughts:• It’s hard to solve problems we can’t clearly define• Icarus wasn’t just warned about flying too high—but also too low• Somehow, a pre-warp civilization has tech the Federation lacks
As always—Never give up! Never surrender!

Star Trek TNG S02E10-12 The Dauphin, Contagion, The Royale – “Junk Food Episodes” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 044)
First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episodes 10–12
Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast, where I — a newcomer to the Star Trek universe — am watching through the entire franchise from the beginning, in release order, alongside my long-time Trekkie friends.
This week we discuss:
• Shape-shifters, first love, and growing up• A Starfleet-level phishing test gone wrong• Ancient Iconian technology and looming threats• Romulans + Neutral Zone tension• A story trapped inside a story• “Junk Food Episodes” — not great, but still fun• Worf constantly ready for a fight
Episodes covered:
• The Dauphin – Wesley’s first romance comes with unexpected complications when his love interest isn’t what she seems.• Contagion – A deadly computer virus spreads through starships as the Enterprise uncovers ancient Iconian technology near the Neutral Zone.• The Royale – The away team gets trapped inside a badly written novel and must play along to escape.
We also talk about:
• Worf getting humbled (and wanting revenge)• Riker and Guinan moments• Star Trek logic vs. “dumb decisions”• Acceptable ambiguity in storytelling• Deep dive tea discussion• How many idioms we’re still using from centuries ago
This week introduced a new category: “Junk Food Episodes” — episodes that may not be great, but are still enjoyable for what they are. Even when TNG stumbles a bit, it continues carving out its own identity separate from The Original Series.
As always — Never give up. Never surrender.

Star Trek TNG S02E07-09 Unnatural Selection, A Matter of Honor, The Measure of a Man – “If You Don’t Give this Episode at Least a Six…” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 043)
First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episodes 7–9
Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast, where I — a newcomer to the Star Trek universe — am watching through the entire franchise from the beginning, in release order, alongside my long-time Trekkie friends.
This week we discuss:
• The ethics of genetic engineering• Riker serving aboard a Klingon Bird-of-Prey• Whether Data is truly a person• Picard surrendering the Enterprise… again• Klingon culture and honor• Transporters as video-game checkpoints• One of the greatest episodes in Star Trek history?
Episodes covered:
• Unnatural Selection – Genetic research leads to a rapidly aging disease that infects the Enterprise crew, forcing them to find a cure before it’s too late.• A Matter of Honor – Riker joins a Klingon crew in a rare officer exchange program and must prove he belongs among the warriors of the Empire.• The Measure of a Man – A courtroom battle determines whether Data is Starfleet property… or a sentient individual with rights.
We also talk about:
• Klingon worldbuilding• Pulaski’s evolving relationship with Data• Star Trek courtroom drama• Nate threatening to quit the podcast• Why some actors are forever tied to the first role we saw them in
This week gave us a solid episode followed by two of the best episodes we’ve seen yet. Season 2 is definitely starting to find its stride.
As always — Never give up. Never surrender.

First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episodes 4–6.
Welcome to the To Baldly Go Podcast, where I experience Star Trek for the first time by watching the entire franchise in release order with some long-time Trekkie friends.
This week we discuss:
Picard joking about surrendering… or is he?
When a disability becomes an advantage
Where does our humanity really lie?
Data trying to learn stand-up comedy
Geordi’s choice and Troi’s abilities
Nepotism in Starfleet?
Transporter capabilities
Consciousness and identity
The disturbing origin story of the Tin Woodsman
Episodes covered:
The Outrageous Okona
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Some episodes swing for the fences and miss. Others ask deeper questions about communication, identity, and what it means to be human. This week gives us a mix of both.
What we learned this week:
Worf is already more effective than Tasha ever was
Prompting people is a lot like prompting AI
The Tin Woodsman story from the original Wizard of Oz is deeply unsettling
TNG still feels like it’s discovering its identity, but it’s getting closer.
As always: Never give up. Never surrender.

Star Trek TNG S2E01-03 – The Child, Where Silence Has Lease, Elementary, Dear Data“Not Very Effective” | First-Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 041)
Season 2 begins… and Riker grows the beard.
This week, I continue my first-ever watch of Star Trek in release order, joined by my long-time Trekkie friends. We’re covering:
The Child – Space curiosity, questionable execution, and character shifts
Where Silence Has Lease – A void, a godlike entity, and questions about reality
Elementary, Dear Data – Sherlock Holmes, self-aware holodecks, and AI vs. humanity
We discuss:
Whether The Child is truly that bad
Primitive humanity in the face of cosmic beings
Another version of Q?
AI debates in the 1980s… that sound exactly like today
Data, originality, and what it really means to understand
Plus: Star Trek vs. Star Wars trivia, Abbie officially loving the crew, and why “effective” became the word of the day.
A generally strong start to Season 2 — The Child notwithstanding.

Star Trek TNG S1E24–26 – “The Biggest Trekkie” | First-Time Reaction | To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 040)
We’ve reached the end of Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation — and apparently… I’m now the biggest Trekkie on the podcast.
In Episode 040 of The To Baldly Go Podcast, we break down:
“We’ll Always Have Paris”
“Conspiracy”
“The Neutral Zone”
This week’s highlights include:
Exceptional mediocrity
Practical effects worthy of a Michael Scott production
Alien parasites and exploding heads
A Romulan setup that could have been great
Cryogenically frozen 20th-century humans
Writers’ strike fallout all over the place
“We’ll Always Have Paris”
So mediocre… we barely had notes.We discuss Picard’s backstory, time paradox implications, and why this episode somehow left all of us shrugging.
“Conspiracy”
Federation intrigue. Paranoia. Callbacks.And special effects that feel like they wandered in from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — with just a touch of Threat Level Midnight.Is there still an existential threat lurking in the shadows?
“The Neutral Zone”
The Romulans return… sort of.What could have been a massive episode instead feels crammed with side stories that dilute the tension. Missed opportunity? Writers’ strike casualty? Both?
TNG Season 1 Wrap-Up
We close out the season with:
Season 1 trivia & quiz
Robin Williams discussion (including why you should not watch Whose Line Is It Anyway? post-appendectomy)
Full Season 1 retrospective
And the shocking revelation that I may now be the most committed Star Trek fan on our little away team
Having now completed:
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Four original films
And Season 1 of TNG
…it feels less like the end of something and more like the beginning.
Unlike TOS Season 1, which felt like it peaked, TNG feels like it’s just getting started.
Season 2 begins next week.
Never give up. Never surrender.

This week on the To Baldly Go Podcast:
Smart devices try to kill us.
Star Trek does an after-school special about drugs.
And a main character dies… suddenly.
We’re discussing:
TNG S1E21 – Arsenal of Freedom
TNG S1E22 – Symbiosis
TNG S1E23 – Skin of Evil
Topics include:
Thanking Alexa
Nate hating Geordi
The Prime Directive vs. addiction
Evil space pharmaceutical reps
Stoicism and sudden loss
Armus vs. Jigsaw
The 24-treatment for shocking deaths
These and more as first-time reactions meet veteran Trek opinions

This week:
Home Soil, Coming of Age, Heart of Glory
Devil in the Dark, redux?
Ugly bags of mostly water
What is life?
Is Data alive? Is Data human?
Is Data just ChatGPT in a synthetic skin suit?
I step away while Abbie and Nate continue the conversation, looking ahead to things I haven’t seen
The love of being wrong
Observations of ADR and television production
Picard’s maturity
Distinct storylines that don’t come together
Series continuity
Worf the Stoic
A Gentleman in Moscow
I relate to the bad guy – sort of
Sometimes life isn’t fair
Only competing against yourself
Starfleet entrance exams. What is the test?
Worf isn’t yet who Abbie remembers
The challenge of Tasha Yar
Geordi-vision
Nate is the biggest nerd on the podcast
Death in the Federation
Is TNG better than TOS at this point?
Picard, the hot head

This week:
11001001, Too Short a Season, When the Bough Breaks
Nate concedes a point
Season 1 has been underwhelming, but we have the best episode yet
More commentary on the medium of network or syndicated TV
The holodeck
Abbie’s anesthesia dream
Deliberate scientific inaccuracies in Star Trek
An unrelated story in the Star Trek universe
21st century ozone hole
An appropriate use for Wesley
What is a society?
Stories that would work for other series
Nate really hates Code of Honor
Looking ahead

This week:
Ferengi less cartoonish
Still difficult to take them seriously as adversaries
Lore and worldbuilding
Nate sees Picard giving up early
A/B storylines and storytelling in Star Trek
Improvements in the medium over the 1960s
Suspension of disbelief and faster than light travel
Solar system versus other star systems
Nostalgia
Music in Next Gen
Returning characters
Q is kind of weird
Using Q to explore human nature
Assuming Q isn’t gone
More solar system discussion
We’re nerds
Personal anecdotes about mutual friends
Reusing footage from other episodes and movies
Season 1 released immediately in syndication
“Bill” Riker?
Security lapses
Character actors
Thoughts on Lwaxana
More worldbuilding and lore
Filming order
Things we miss from The Original Series
Conflict in Star Trek