A Star to Steer Her By

It's a whopper this week, as for the first time ever SSHB covers both proper "Star Trek" episodes AND a related-but-not-proper-"Trek" thing outside of a Ten Forward! First up, we're wrapping season 4 and starting 5 with the two-part "Redemption"! Seeds have been laid for ages now and they're all sprouting schemes to maneuver the Duras family and their Romulan allies into positions of power! After...

We miscalculate in the episode and posit this might be a Halloween show. Too bad we were wrong, because horror lurks within! First, the existential nightmare that is brainwashing in "The Mind's Eye". After that, and even more terrifying, the TNG writers try to write a relationship episode in "In Theory"! Also this week: a deadly introduction, Gargoyles, and sitcom stereotypes. Timestamps: synopses...

No one's love is lasting very long this week on SSHB. In a (believe it or not!) GOOD Lwaxana Troi episode, everyone's least favorite Daughter of the Fifth House falls for a man whose time is running out in "Half a Life". After that, Bev Crusher finds herself in love with a man who can survive death with a fairly major caveat in "The Host". Also this week: doing it live, humanitarian crises, and mi...

Let's talk about Mr. Worf. In "Qpid", his dignity is put to the test when the eponymous Q tries to fix Picard's love life with Vash via a Robin Hood fantasy. After that, he gets to lead an investigation in "The Drumhead", but the thrill turns sour as the motives and methods of the Admiral leading the task are called into question. Also this week: a cloudy opening, Robin Hood variants, and the Prim...

This week, the crew is brought to the adventure instead of finding it! First up, the call of the wild is too strong to resist in "Identity Crisis"! Then, Reg Barclay is given great knowledge by lazy aliens in "The Nth Degree"! Also this week: apologies to Guam, cat hate, and Troi AND Caitlin's types! Timestamps: synopses: 0:35; Identity Crisis: 4:50; The Nth Degree: 33:58

It's our 100th Episode Spectacular, and to celebrate we're doing what we always do! And so is TNG. Yes, they seem to have gone back to the well of familiar tropes for both offerings this week. First up, the real Leah Brahms shows up to be annoyed at Geordi even as the ship is drained of power by some funky alien stuff in "Galaxy's Child". After that, the ship is...well, getting drained of energy....

The hunt is on this week in A Star to Steer Her By! First up, something seems suspicious after the crew is unconscious for supposedly only thirty seconds and Picard goes looking for answers in "Clues". After that, Riker's gone missing on a world on the brink of its first warp flight and he has to be found before local Doctors get all autopsy-happy in "First Contact". Also this week: a premature op...

And here they are! The Ferengi arrived with a whimper and the Borg, while terrific, are a bit too big to be a regular nemesis. But now the Cardassians have come onto the scene in "The Wounded" to become one of the most consequential races of late 24th century "Trek"! O'Brien gets a past and we get a story of war, revenge, and insisting the right thing be done the right way. And then there's "Devil...

It's a roller coaster of emotions in this week's SSHB! First up: Troi goes through all five stages of grief at warp 9 when her empathic abilities go kaput in "The Loss". Next, there's all the myriad emotions of relationships, weddings, birth, and getting duped by the GD Romulans in "Data's Day". Also this week: what has Ames seen, Caitlin puts thoughts in your head, and the "Picard" series. Note:...

It's SSHB's 2nd anniversary, more-or-less, and in celebration we're bringing you our 2nd fanfic episode featuring figures from 2 major sci-fi franchises! (Harvey Dent would be ALL OVER THIS if he was real). What happens when your stalwarts are forced to bring "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" together into a big, meaty lump of ludicrous? Probably much what you'd expect from us, really... Spoiler Warning...

Time is creeping up on our heroes in this week's SSHB. First up, Riker apparently loses 16 years and has to cope with all the changes and his own future legend in "Future Imperfect." After that, Wesley Crusher's chance to join all the young dudes and ladies at the Academy has finally arrived in "Final Mission", but the titular jaunt is no game and goes sour when Picard is grievously injured by a p...

Secret relatives pop up in both episodes this week on SSHB! First up, the "Enterprise" is visiting the late Tasha Yar's garbage home world and discover she has a garbage sister in "Legacy". After that, Worf finds out he has crappy son but luckily the episode is mostly about awesome Klingon skullduggery in "Reunion". Also this week: Rob Liefeld, Gowron and his eyes, and childhood scientists. Timest...

There are existential crises a-plenty in SSHB this week! First up, a human raised by aliens tries to understand who he is and wants to be in "Suddenly Human". After that, Beverly Crusher questions her understanding of reality itself in "Remember Me"! Also this week: the Livingston question, more information about a middling 90s sitcom than anyone needed or wanted, and John Candy movies. Timestamps...

It's a big week for siblings on SSHB. and they really can be a pain. First up, Picard goes home to the most British village in France to visit his Luddite brother in "Family". Then it's a Soong family reunion as Data and Lore drop in to meet their maker in "Brothers". Also this week: Caitlin gives us her thoughts on "Best of Both Worlds", varying name pronunciation, and password security. Timestam...

We're joined by a very special guest this week to cover one of the most famous TV cliffhangers of all time, and certainly the most famous of the "Trek" 2-parters, "The Best of Both Worlds"! Michael Fisher, themrmobile himself, joins us as we chat all things Borg, assimilation, and decades-old candy! Also this week: don't wake daddy, the deflector dish is magic, and mild "First Contact" spoilers. T...

For the first time since TAS we're hitting three episodes of "Star Trek"! This time, an old face returns to remind us that no one is immune from the ravages of time in "Sarek". After that, a Ferengi has eyes only for Lwaxana Troi but kidnaps her, Deanna, AND Riker for some reason in "Menage a Troi". Lastly, in an episode so bad we barely discuss it, that's not how evolution works but it does in "T...

TNG is introducing us to two different men who are bad with people and compensate in different ways! First up, meet Reginald Barclay, a man with social anxiety so severe he mostly hides in the holodeck in "Hollow Pursuits". After that, Data is kidnapped by Kivas Fajo, a crooked collector of rare items who uses them to make up for his lack of any redeeming qualities in "The Most Toys"! Also this we...

Love is in the air in this week's episodes! First up, Picard is compelled to take a vacation and falls for first-draft River Song in "Captain's Holiday". After that, a Federation First Contact specialist becomes the heart of the one being he can feel good around in "Tin Man"! Also this week: Picard's bulge interrupts the intro, figuring out what the rest of the fleet does, and some light World Cup...

Loyalties are tested this week in TNG. First up, Worf holds fast to Klingon tradition as he faces its legal system as a true Klingon should in "Sins of the Father". After that, Picard wakes up in a mysterious prison and gains the trust of his cellmates, even as his doppelgänger tests the faith of the "Enterprise" crew in "Allegiance". Also this week: Klingon record-keeping, a fish in a hat, and Ch...

Everything is familiar but a bit...OFF in this week's SSHB! First up, the "Enterprise"-C drops in from the past to say hello, changing the timeline and everything we know about the "Enterprise"-D crew in "Yesterday's Enterprise"! After that, it's Data 2.0 as the ship's second officer makes a better him in "The Offspring." Also this week: rocky ships, naked molerats, and taking responsibility for t...

It's visits going wrong this week on SSHB! First up, a depowered Q tries to make himself useful to Picard and company during a crisis in "Deja Q". After that, Riker is accused of murder most foul following a trip to a science station that ended just about as poorly as it possibly could in "A Matter of Perspective". Also this week: white people trying to understand appropriation, everyone's favorit...

Internal strife and allegories abound this week on SSHB! First up, “Star Trek” does its own take on “Rambo” in “The Hunted”. After that, an attempt to do “The Troubles” but in space falls short when one side is made obviously far more sympathetic than the other in "The High Ground". Also this week: anti-mustache bias, Margaret Thatcher, and a long rant on real-world politics. Timestamps: synopses:...

No one is quite who they seem in this week’s SSHB. First up: a seemingly-normal servant girl has a secret grudge and secret powers in “The Vengeance Factor”. After that, can a Romulan offering the Federation information to avert war be trusted in “The Defector”? Also this week: bad ergonomics, the incredibly lengthy reign of Elizabeth II, and Vulcan Data. Warning: “Discovery” spoilers from 44:22 t...

Here we go again! The House of Mouse has churned out their fourth “Star Wars” outing since buying the franchise from George “Darth Plaid” Lucas, and it seems to have been a fairly bad speedbump in their stewardship. With a well-covered change of directors, extensive reshoots, and VERY delayed marketing campaign, your stalwarts were going into this one very wary. What did we think of the origins –...

It’s all about what people want in this week’s TNG episodes. First up: Geordi just wants a Romulan to work with him so they both can survive while Crusher wants Worf to help a different Romulan survive in “The Enemy”. After that, everyone (ok, four governments) wants rights to a recently-discovered wormhole even as a negotiator tries to worm his whole self into Deanna’s affections in “The Price”....