Ship Full of Jerks

Trelane is back, forcing Pike and crew to deal with emotional issues they should really be discussing with a therapist! Then we team up with Anika and Liz of Antimatter Pod to proffer our own armchair theories on what makes Christopher Pike tick. Find Anika's newsletter at: https://www.manicpixiedust.com And Liz's BSky is at: https://bsky.app/profile/lizbarr.bsky.social

This week, the Jerks break a leg or a fingertip as we ride along as the Starship Enterprise slips into a lethal space corridor. Then, in brightest day, blackest night... we review LANTERNS to see if it lives up to the hype!

It's STAR TREK's turn at the "puppet episode" bat. But is it a swing outta the park or a foul ball? As Pelia might say, "Declan would hit a homer, but not Scotty." Then, the Jerks delve into when comedy works on TREK and when it dies on stage. Either way, hijinks ensue. The New York Times just dropped its Top 100 TV shows of the 21st Century... so far. We each give our...

Mistaken Identity. Dime-store detectives. Femme Fatales. Cheap Whiskey. We're on the case. A Case of Chiaroscuro, that is, as the Jerks review STRANGE NEW WORLD's swing into noir. Then, we explore the ways OG STAR TREK had a norish sensibility with our favorite Trek Noir Tales!

Do you have a human best friend? What's it like to have one? The Jerks, who are besties, find out in the latest STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. Then, does the Mando and Baby Yoda movie live up to muster, or does it peter out like SECTION 31?

Infinite horror as STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS ventures across the event horizon into terror! What haunts will Kirk, Spock, and La'An find aboard a long-lost starship? We find out in our review of "The Griffin Incident." Then, we watch as a young man makes a wish for "true love" that he'll soon regret. Trigger warning: our review of OBSESSION deals with sexual assault...

The Jerks have spared no expense this week as we venture 64 million years into the past with the Starship Enterprise. But will the Jerks also punch a dinosaur in "Valles Marineris"? Then, Edge of Midnight and Tranquility Press's John Concagh joins us to dissect Starfleet General Order One, also known as the Prime Directive. Does it hold up as space law? Follow John, The Edge of Midnight, and Tranq...

How much did STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION change in seven seasons? Find out as we compare its start with its ending, "All Good Things." Then, hold "aloft your magic sword" because the Jerks have the power as they review MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.

Our most epic episode yet! We review all the STAR TREK pilots from 1964 to 2000. Which will we greenlight and which will we send to development hell?

Caleb's two moms face off as Nus Braka puts the Federation on trial. Meanwhile, "Captain" Reno and the cadets must disable the Omega Genesis Narada 47 weapon. Will they recover the rest of the Athena and save the day? What the Jerks think of it all will surprise you! The verdict is in. Can William Shatner act? We render our judgment with our review of GROOM LAKE. Trigger Warning: We...

Ms. Caleb's Mom is found. Caleb and company steal a shuttle to rescue her from the clutches of the baddies. More glitter vomit and a treacherous night market. All in the penultimate episode of STARFLEET ACADEMY before the finale. Then, William Shanter makes strange bedfellows with Cybil Shepard and Michelle Philipps in SECRETS OF A MARRIED MAN. Does this made-for-tv movie Shat the bed? Find ou...

The USS Athena and it's Starfleet Academy atrium become Grover's Corners, as we finally confirm cadets are all musical theater kids. But between Thorton Wilder's words, another drama brews between Caleb and a now sanctioned Tarima after her actions on the Miyazaki. And then William Shanter returns to the small screen of the 80s, but he trades his Starfleet Uniform for LACPD blues. He&#...

Can Jay Den rescue Darem from matrimony? Or is this an "Amok Time" redux? The Jerks find out with our review of STARFLEET ACADEMY's "Ko'Zeine." Then, William Shatner wrestles with whether he is the tormentor in a psychological experiment in THE TENTH LEVEL. Our Shat-tastic filmography continues!

The Starfleet Academy cadets go on a field trip to a starship graveyard for a joint war game with the War College. But it turns into a real Kobayashi Maru when Nus Braga shows up. Then, cattle are dying, and William Shatner is the vet on the case as we visit THE KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS. Note: We had to re-upload this episode due to technical difficulties.

Series Acclimation Mil goes on a journey to figure out what happened to Captain Benjamin Sisko. The Jerks go along for the ride. Then, our examination of William Shatner's acting chops continues with a spooky flight at 37,000 feet. We find out why Shatner and planes don't mix.

The Jerks debate whether STARFLEET ACADEMY delivered the best Klingon story in Trek ever. It's a battle of words for Cadet Jay'Den as he argues for the preservation of his people. Then, we tackle Roger Corman's THE INTRUDER, starring a Pre-Trek William Shatner as a white supremacist agitator. Trigger Warning: our discussion of the film includes racial violence and sexual assault.

The Jerks shenan and shenan again as the Starfleet Academy cadets get into a prank war with the War College. It's a Laser Tag battle to see who rules the campus! Then, we leave San Francisco for New Mexico to check in on Vince Gilligan's latest opus, PLURIBIS, which some say is the modern age THE PRISONER.

The Jerks return to their alma mater, Starfleet Academy, to usher in the next generations of cadets with the two-episode premier of STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY. Does the latest from Alex Kurtzman's franchise stewardship pass muster? Find out on this episode of the Jerks.

STRANGE NEW WORLDS' third season comes to a close with "New Life and New Civilizations" and Batal's transcendence into a fountain. The Jerks discuss how Pike and Batal went to "It's Even More Complicated" on their Spacebook relationship status. Plus, more queerbaiting with Kirk and Spock's "first date." Then, we dive deep into how BABYLON 5 handles des...

Can two bitter enemies become star-crossed lovers? You betcha when they're trapped on a desolate and dangerous alien world. Human and Drac. Human and Gorn. Either way, it's a queer subtext-filled fest in our double-feature, back-to-back confab on STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS' "Terrarium" and its antecedent, ENEMY MINE.

The magic hypo strikes again and transforms four of the Enterprise crew into full Vulcans, ousting Spock as the 0.5 Vulcan on the crew. But is it culture or genetic determinism at work here? The Jerks get into it. Then, they contrast that with how Clark Kent, aka Kal-El and Superman, is allowed to be a child of two worlds, more so than Spock ever gets to be.

What exactly is Starfleet? Is its charter peaceful or imperialistic? We dive deep with STRANGE NEW WORLDS's entry into the mockumentary genre. Then, we investigate what happened to the children in Ms. Gandy's classroom by reviewing WEAPONS.

What happens when a sehlat catches its own tail? Welp, the Jerks find out as Kirk takes the conn in "The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail." Then it's off to Space Scotland to save Beverly from a creeper living in an heirloom candle. "Dinna light that candle!"

Roger Korby plays intergalactic Indiana Jones, while Ensign Gamble loses his eyes in a bet against an ancient evil. Yep, the Jerks jump "Through the Lens of Time" and go off topic. We also investigate how STRANGE NEW WORLDS fares this season with STAR TREK's flexible format.

The Jerks step into the holodeck for another STAR TREK whodunnit. This time, who murdered a studio exec over a canceled 1960s science-fiction TV show? Was it Spock with the candlestick? Speaking of pointy-eared science officers, we ask, "What does Spock need with a girlfriend?" TV Guide writer Gavia Baker-Whitelaw beams aboard to help us answer it.