A Star to Steer Her By

This week we have constructed phantasms haunting the “Enterprise”. First up, a mysterious force conjures the spectre of a lost crewmember and haunts her son in “The Bonding”. After that, the computer creates a facsimile of one of the “Galaxy” class’s designers in “Booby Trap”. Also this week: so many ancient wars, how Jake met Ames, and how to bang a computer. (note: original “Mass Effect” trilogy...

This week on SSHB, it’s all lost spouses and kidnapping via the transporter! First up: the mystery of how a single house and small square of grass remains on an otherwise-decimated world in “The Survivors”. After that: your stalwarts are seriously divided for the first time in a while over the quality of an episode with “Who Watches the Watchers”! Also this week: Jim Carrey movies, “Alien” vs. “Al...

Season 3 begins! First up, two experiments collide and it almost spells disaster for one of them - and the "Enterprise" - in "Evolution"! After that, Data and Picard each have to try negotiating with different brands of stubborn nitwits in "The Ensigns of Command". Also this week: shades of TOS, new uniform chat, and Wil Wheaton movies. Note: audio from "Evolution" cut scenes used under fair use -...

It's a farewell to season 2, spandex, and Doctor Pulaski in this week's SSHB! First up: war games go awry and Data has ennui in "Peak Performance"! Then executive jackassery forced a clip show in the infamous "Shades of Gray". Also this week: the quality of extras, a better alternate title, and s.1 vs s.2! Timestamps: synopses: 1:14; Peak Performance: 7:44; Shades of Gray: 37:08; Season 2 wrap up:...

Sometimes finding a common thread between episodes is a challenge, but not this week! Be it Betazoid matriarch in "Manhunt" or Klingon warrior in "The Emissary", everyone is looking for the same thing this week, and the results can’t be shown on network TV. But then everyone has to start talking marriage and ruining the mood. Also this week: Klingon genitals, using Data, and the mystery of the com...

Due to real life mucking up our scheduling, we were short a stalwart. Rather than press on with the project, we conned a guest into dropping by and taking a look at the "Black Mirror" episode "USS Callister" with us. Also this week: debating dystopia, Sims cruelty, and the madness of Harlan Ellison [note: spoilers for "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" from 58:23 to 59:04]

It’s kind of ableist and pretty anti-Irish, it’s this week’s episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”! First up: the Pakleds are technology thieves that stymie Riker and kidnap Geordie while Picard is off getting his ticker serviced in “Samaritan Snare”. After that, come play Irish stereotype bingo and revel in a horrible conclusion in “Up the Long Ladder.” Also this week: shuttle design gripi...

There’s first contacts all around this week, but neither of them happen in a good way! In “Pen Pals” it only happens because Data blatantly violates the Prime Directive, and in “Q Who” the “Enterprise” is brought face-to-face with the deadly Borg thanks to a certain omnipotent being’s machinations! Also this week: ham radio in space, the mystery of Guinan, and your pets’ favorite podcast! Timestam...

It's a doppelganger and a counterpart this week on SSHB! First up, executive meddling makes a time-loop tale incomprehensible in "Time Squared", and the spare Picard it has produced seems as confused as the audience about it. After that, Riker's father shows up to reveal that he gets along better with pretty much all of Starfleet than he does his boy in "The Icarus Factor". Also this week: Riker d...

Remember when “Measure of a Man” happened last week and things were looking up? Yeah, forget that. This week we’ve got two clunkers in a row, starting with malware and middling Romulans in “Contagion”. After that we’ve got what feels kind of like “A Piece of the Action” with all the joy sucked out of it in “The Royale.” Also this week: old-timey Tonic, schoolyard insults, and Jake has an announcem...

The ship’s bartender is proving herself more useful than the ship’s counselor in this week’s episodes. First up, she helps Picard weave through thorny legal matters when Data’s sentience is called into question in “The Measure of a Man”. Then she’s the only one giving Wes good relationship advice in “The Dauphin”. Also this week: a lot of TOS references, scary Roddenberry, and everyone almost gets...

Your hosts were almost all under the weather this week; we’ve cut out as much of the wheezing, coughing, and assorted death as possible, but some artifacts unfortunately remain. But what’s up with the episodes we struggled to bring you? First up: genetic experimentation has caused a rapid-aging disease in “Unnatural Selection”. After that, it’s bring your human to work day in “A Matter of Honor”....

The facial hair is everywhere this week, and we're not just talking Riker. First up, a peacemaker with a Kenny Loggins vibe has to end an ages-old civil war in "Loud as a Whisper", and then Data meets his "grandpa", who has the beard and overconfidence of an old-timey King, in "The Schizoid Man". Also this week: pistol shrimp, Vulcan acting, and continuity of consciousness. Note: some "The Prestig...

Data's trying out some things this week on SSHB. First up, he tries his hand at being Sherlock Holmes in "Elementary, Dear Data" before getting both his hands involved in comedy in "The Outrageous Okona". This is technically the B-plot, tho, to a story about the least charismatic Han Solo cosplayer in the galaxy. Also this week: sentience is a snap, Okona and "Okona" try too hard, and Ames's great...

This week is all about alien life-forms trying to understand humanity, and neither of them go about it in a way that isn’t terrible! First up, Troi gets impregnated by a mysterious light-being in “The Child”, an episode so bad we mostly talk about how we learned where babies come from. After that, an extraterrestrial face uses the “Enterprise” crew as lab rats in “Where Silence Has Lease”. Also th...

It’s the end of the infamous first season of TNG, and it sure goes out on a poor note! First up, the B plot of “Coming of Age” comes to its buggy conclusion in “Conspiracy”. Then the Romulans are back but we’re mostly talking to some 20th century dingbats in “The Neutral Zone”! Also this week: traumatizing children, that’s not how adrenaline works, and top/bottom lists! Timestamps: synopses: 2:08;...

It’s all goodbyes in this week’s TNG offerings. First up, we say farewell to a major character in “Skin of Evil”, before Picard parts with past regrets in “We’ll Always Have Paris”. Also this week: the Death Industry, very responsible flirting, and our third guest! Timestamps: synopses: 2:19; Skin of Evil: 10:53; We'll Always Have Paris: 43:24

There are skeevy salesmen everywhere this week on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”! First up, an automated pitchman is putting the crew in danger in “The Arsenal of Freedom”. After that, drug dealers posing as physicians have an entire planet in their thrall in “Symbiosis”. Also this week: Grandma Root, a “Wrath of Khan” reunion, and ranting about Reagan. Content warning: brief mention of Tasha’s...

We are learning all sorts of things this week on TNG! First up: we find out that getting into the academy is utterly insane in “Coming of Age.” After that, we get lessons on Klingon culture and more of Worf’s backstory in “Heart of Glory.” But most importantly, we learn that, almost a century and several iterations later, people still don’t lock any doors on the blasted “Enterprise”! Also this wee...

SPOILERS AHEAD! We take a break from our usual franchise to jump on the “Star Wars” bandwagon and talk “The Last Jedi”! It’s about as divisive amongst your stalwarts as it is general audiences, and we’ve another guest along for the ride to offer their opinion, as well! Also this week: subverting expectations; 15 ½ people, a toothpick, and a canoe; and where the hell is Lando? Seriously, tho, spoil...

Hopefully you weren't looking for in-depth "Star Trek" chat from this "Star Trek" podcast, since this week the episodes become jumping-off points for just about anything else. First up, the opening of "When the Bough Breaks" has us talking schooling and old computers, followed by a treatise on farming brought on by "Home Soil". Also this week: cursive and Rick Berman are both pointless, the "Enter...

’Twas the cast before Christmas, and I’m not gonna lie: we’d not considered when this was coming out, so there’s nothing holiday themed in it and the meter just fell to pieces. What we do have is a bunch of people playing their cards close to their chest. First up, the Binars are supposedly aboard the “Enterprise” to do some software updates, but have other plans churning in their weird little hea...

There is entirely too much sneezing in this week's batch of episodes, with Data playing at humanity and Worf reminding us of failed sitcoms long past. First up: TNG goes full evil twin as Data meets some of the family in "Datalore". After that...well, there's about 17 plots going on, but the main one is looking for some lost spacemen on a world where women are ostensibly in charge in "Angel One"....

It's all about fantasies this week on SSHB. First up: it turns out Troi has an arranged marriage, but her husband-to-be is disappointed she's not the literal woman of his dreams in "Haven." After that, Picard is really enthusiastic about his new video game in "The Big Goodbye." Also this week: Picard is the anti-empath, bad Peter Lorre impressions, and rating systems. Timestamps: synopses: 1:13; H...

TNG is wasting no time trying its new villains on for size again this week. First up, they take another crack at making the Ferengi seem like a threat when a DaiMon with a score to settle seeks out Picard in "The Battle." After that, Q drops by to harass the "Enterprise" crew again by granting Riker cosmic power in "Hide and Q". Also this week: Argyle's letter scheme, Picard's not there yet, and j...