Antimatter Pod

We are brushing up on our Rules of Aquisition and speedreading General Order One ... it's time for Prodigy! Did we NEED to bring the Ferengi into the 21st century?  Seriously, lots of things about Nandi left a bad taste in our mouths "The prime directive quandary was the most interesting part of the episode" -- words which we have NEVER said before now! Can Murf consent to being a transporter expe...

Anika and Liz are AWAKE and SOBER and delighted to talk about a new episode of Star Trek: Prodigy! OUR CHILDREN ARE BACK We are still talking about the unconscious racism in people's attitudes to Dal (and Michael, and Raffi, and Becket…) Understanding versus interpretation Gwyn finding her identity Things are getting a bit timey wimey up in here There probably isn't a secret plot to keep DS9 out o...

It's New Year's Eve. Liz has the fan running and is two drinks in. Anika has just woken up. What a perfect set-up to talk about "...But To Connect"! We speculate wildly about filming multi-storeyed crowd scenes in covid Should, uhhh, Book have been allowed at this meeting?  Earth is a bit genocide-happy and it's worrying Never trust anyone whose solution to their problems is moving to another univ...

Anika and Liz take time out from seasonal festivities to catch up and talk about Discovery 4.06, "Stormy Weather". And along the way, we discuss… This episode was great, yet it's not our favourite … and that is very much an us problem not a Discovery problem Must a Star Trek podcast be full of meaningful insights? Is it not enough that we have some Voyager comparisons and a whole digression about...

'Twas a few days before Christmas, and here on Discord, Anika and Liz got together to talk about Star Trek and politely overlook Liz's total and absolute inability to use rhyme or meter. It turns out we were onto something thematically relevant with our calls for prison abolition! "The Examples" feels like TNG or Voyager, and this time we mean it as a compliment (It feels so much like a Voyager ep...

Liz and Anika put on their dress uniforms and turn up to sit quietly and look official at a diplomatic event.  …but we're not very good at that, so instead we talk about:  The departing character, our feelings and our hopes This is an episode about Michael using her middle child powers Vulcans love drama almost as much as they love logic, and we are HERE for it Anika is delighted to see Hugh in ac...

It's a Qowat Milat road trip! Pack your sword, moisturise your hands and join Anika and Liz as we talk about "Choose to Live"! Actually we did not love this episode and feel slightly bad about it (but maybe the writers should feel worse?) PRESIDENT RILLAK DID NOTHING WRONG, Liz has a powerpoint presentation and an interpretive dance to persuade you if you disagree We are once again calling for the...

Paramount is an extremely clever and foresighted institution, which is why now part of the world has Discovery (sort of), while Americans get to squeeze it in alongside Thanksgiving. But Anika and Liz overcame the logistical challenges! And we are here to talk about... The anomaly's name is Greg now We talk a lot about grief in this ep, but also how Liz thinks Michael and Book should have a baby,...

Anika and Liz are UNDEFEATED by Paramount's shenanigans! We are HERE to talk about the fifth episode of Prodigy and the season 4 premiere of Discovery, and no one can stop us! Discovery has left Paramount Plus and basically Paramount has squiddled so much good will in one move, we are confused It's possible that two new Star Treks in 24 hours is too much There was not enough kissing in any of thes...

Liz and Anika execute a flawless landing and hang out talking about episode 4 of Star Trek: Prodigy! Along the way, we talk about how: We're glad we don't have to cover two Star Treks at once, but we're gonna miss these characters when Prodigy goes on hiatus Janeway is a week old and also a single mother and we love her Every single character is an orphan with a tragic backstory (or a hologram) an...

Anika and Liz are here to drink holographic coffee and talk about episode 3 of Star Trek: Prodigy ... and they're all out of coffee. Long Janeway is Clippy, and we're sort of into it The kids who choose their roles and the kids whose roles are given to them It's wild that (adult) viewers are criticising Dal for mistrusting authority and not being a perfect Starfleet cadet, and there are also some...

It's time … for brand new Star Trek! Anika and Liz sit down to talk about Star Trek: Prodigy, and discuss:  It's a little bit Star Warsy … but we think that's a good thing Star Trek has a reputation for being extremely serious, and its fandom for being utterly humourless, and Prodigy is taking Star Wars and MCU fans and showing them that's not true Save the cat (no, please, save that poor kitten!)...

Anika and Liz catch up on New York Comic-Con and the second half of Lower Decks season 2. Which … we loved!  We talk about:  Anika's NYCC experience A new Discovery trailer! Gosh, people have awfully strong opinions about the Ferengi make-up… Serenading the cast Liz loves the Federation president and has pre-forgiven her for any war crimes she might do. Prodigy's goal is to welcome new people to S...

Liz and Anika talk about Kes, a character we loved more than Voyager's writers did. Kes did not even get an entry in her own right in the Voyager character bible We swore we weren't going to use Kes's episode to talk about Neelix, but seriously: why is Neelix? In fact, why are all Kes's stories about men?  Anika's home for wayward narratives How Soji is Kes 2.0 Everyone is wrong about Elogium exce...

Liz and Anika get together to discuss the news, trailers and outfits from Star Trek Day, 8 September 2021, including... We have concerns about the sidelining of female characters in Prodigy How will Long Janeway be changed by her time with the kids? The all-male Prodigy panel was followed by the Discovery panel, which featured no heterosexuals whatsoever An ugly incident of homophobic abuse at the...

Anika and Liz check in on season 2 of Star Trek: Lower Decks. And ... maybe it isn't for us? And that's okay! Along the way, we talk about: Walking the line between responding to fans versus pandering We have feelings about the depiction of Orion women in Lower Decks … and, in fairness, most of Trek We have even stronger feelings about the Ferengi here. "Why???" is a feeling, right? We're also not...

Anika and Liz sit down to discuss DS9's "Past Tense". It's one of those episodes where we go, "This is really good!" and then talk about its problems for an hour. Everyone knows "Past Tense" is a great two-parter, but what our theory presupposes is … maybe it's deeply flawed? But seriously, "This is a great episode" is the beginning, not the end, of the conversation The great man theory of fake hi...

Anika once said she had no interest in watching The Animated Series ... yet here we are, discussing "Yesteryear"! We may be a Star Trek podcast, but we're a Star Trek podcast with a lot of Loki feels (Seriously, this episode includes big spoilers for Loki and a big-ish spoiler for WandaVision) Children's media before stranger-danger was invented Abolish the time police  Ethical time travel We made...

Liz and Anika discuss shipping in Star Trek: The Next Generation -- at least until Liz suddenly realises she's messed up her calendar and has to flee to an appointment. We are very good at this whole podcasting business. Social media: it's good, actually "I stayed to watch, and there was something very important that she had to tell Jean-Luc, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, she loves him!' And 30 yea...

Anika and Liz watch the TOS episode "Is There In Truth No Beauty". And wow, we have a LOT to discuss: Liz attempts to summarise the episode and we learn an important lesson about taking notes A Medusan character in Prodigy As a story about disability, this is … interesting. There's a lot to unpack. Including Kollos, because he lives in a box We only want the best for Miranda Jones "Both the Spock...

Anika and Liz take a trip back to 1995 and the first three stories in the Talking Stick/Circle fic series by Macedon and Peg Robinson, and discuss:  Usenet memories Decolonising Star Trek Chakotay, the significance of a Native American writer handling a Native American character, and the … notable lack thereof in the show itself Another round of religion in Star Trek “People need to understand tha...

Liz and Anika watch an episode of Star Trek: Continues, and just because it's not canon doesn't mean we aren't going to waaaaaay overthink it! we are maybe the wrong audience for a loving tribute to The Original Series… a loving recreation of a ‘60s aesthetic … that ends when women sit in the hair and make-up chair no one needed an explanation for “Turnabout Intruder” imagine a metaphor for Hillar...

We follow up our mothers-in-Trek episode by looking at ... dads! And, guys, there are so many terrible fathers in Star Trek. So. Many. Bonus points to the Hansens, where BOTH parents are terriblel Digressions: that careful balance where you don’t want to give up your whole life because you have a child, but also maybe you shouldn’t take that child into Borg space?????? Sisko, single fatherhood and...

Pour a shot of tequila and carve up the salmon, Liz and Anika are here to discuss the news and trailers coming out of First Contact Day -- along with the whole idea of fannish "holidays". The official Star Trek con will be held next year in Chicago, Liz's favourite city in the US. She still can't go, but… Star Trek: Prodigy and Long Janeway The Christine Baranski Cinematic Universe A new Star Trek...

We're joined by friend of the podcast Tim, who tells us about the IMDB ratings system and how it reflects fandom's biases. Sounds dry? No, it's fascinating! At least to us… [Note: we had some audio challenges with this episode, and Tim is not always as audible as we'd like -- apologies.] What is the IMDB ratings systems and why should Anika, specifically, care? The short answer: sexism  That is, c...