A Star to Steer Her By

It's Thanksgiving here in the States, and you know what that means: gathering with friends, family, and loved ones and praying that no one brings up politics, PLEASE, for pity's sake! Well we here at SSHB got in on the action and have brought along our first ever GUEST! We're joined this week by Justus of the MrMobile YouTube channel, who wanted to discuss "Justice," which is a real turkey of an e...

It's a "first appearances" week on SSHB! First up, the Ferengi step out of the foreshadows in "The Last Outpost," and oh boy they are NOT exactly the cool new enemies they were made out to be. After that, we first meet The Traveler in the guise of the assistant to warp propulsion "expert" Kosinski, who claims his incomprehensible equations can upgrade the warp efficiency of the "Enterprise" in "Wh...

After "Encounter at Farpoint" established the new world of TNG, things take a decidedly unoriginal step backwards this week. "The Naked Now" is a sequel/rehash of the TOS classic "The Naked Time," only without any of the fun and lazier writing. After that, Tasha Yar is kidnapped by a man who would make her his bride in the deeply uncomfortable "Code of Honor," which also has shades of "Amok Time"...

And so we come to the next phase of the program, as we hit TNG and its first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint"! The groundwork for what will become, for many, the most beloved "Trek" series is laid here, as Captain Picard assembles his staff and has his first encounter with the enigmatic Q! The powerful alien has decided to put humanity on trial via a mysterious test, which has something to do with...

By Grabthar's hammer...what a movie! It's time for us to talk "Galaxy Quest," the definitive love letter to/paraody of "Star Trek"! Jason Nesmith, the washed-up, Shatner-esque lead of sci-fi series "Galaxy Quest" is unwittingly tasked by actual aliens who have based their entire society on his series to save their species from a genocidal alien warlord. He ropes his former castmates in, but they s...

It's the end of an era, as "Trek" wraps the last collective outing of the TOS crew and the Klingon/Cold War metaphor all at once in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." The Klingon Empire is about to collapse, and a hasty peace summit is arranged. But old habits die hard, and folks on both sides of the aisle are terrified of what peace may mean... Also this week: Chancellor Gherkin, racism ev...

Gather 'round the campfire and settle in for what has become the most infamous of the TOS "Trek" films: "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." It's a series of idiotic events as Starfleet decides that a barely-functional "Enterprise"-A should be sent to save hostages from Spock's previously-secret half-brother who eventually reveals he just really wants to meet God. Also this week: marshmellons, tryin...

Hello, computer! Order a Michelob and settle in, it's time for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"! In a plot that would seem heavy-handed if it weren't so darn fun, Kirk and Co. have to bop back in time to bring some humpback whales to the future to get a mysterious alien probe to stop having a tantrum that could destroy the Earth! Also this week: paradoxes, pigeon murder, and horses becoming tornado...

"Star Trek" is back! Well, maybe it is, depending on your definition. While we won't be covering the whole thing live, we're taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming this week to give our first impressions on "The Vulcan Hello" and "Battle at the Binary Stars"! Spoilers everywhere, as we're assuming you've watched them. If not, please come back as soon as you have! Also this week: n...

Brain and brain what is brain?! Well, this time it's gone from physical media to digital downloads, as Spock has made Bones into an unwitting Johnny Mnemonic so Paramount can undo the end of "Khan" in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Also this week: headcannons, proving Caitlin's fic, and unearned pathos.

After a bit of a rough start with "TMP," everything came together for "The Wrath of Khan"! Forget the hopeful ending of "Space Seed," everything's gone wrong and Khan is out for Kirk's blood! Oh, and since this is a movie and that wouldn't be enough he happened to find out about the existence of a terraforming device that can also be a doomsday weapon so he figured, okay, I'll take that, as well....

"The Animated Series" is finally over, time to dive into the films! Unfortunately we have to start with "The Motion Picture," which was brought to you by confused Paramount executives desperate for their own "Star Wars," but turns out more like a dumbed-down "2001" that really, REALLY needed another go in the editing bay. Also this week: terrible uniforms, changing hair, and what could have been....

We've been talking about it since day one, and here it finally is: the TOS Love Letter episode of "Futurama," featuring almost all the then-surviving members of the cast reprising their roles and more references than you can shake a fing-longer at! Also this week: Frakes' directing, Worf's dandruff, and Ames' reasons.

It's over. Oh, thank goodness, TAS is OVER! Unfortunately we ran out of gas for this blasted show last week, and we can't really muster up any enthusiasm for talk about the racist (but HOW racist?) "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" nor the backwards-universe shenanigans of "The Counter-Clock Incident" (in the backwards universe, is TAS good?)We've also got another top and bottom 5! Well..."top"...

We're so close to the end, but TAS isn't making it easy to get through. First up, the title character of "Bem" is the worst, after which the Romulans are jerks in "The Practical Joker" before the Dramians wrap things up by going full d-bag in "Albatross." Also this week: Catilin discovers Neelix, Ames loves homicidal holodecks, and we're all out of patience for TAS. Timestamps: synopses: 0:38; Bem...

Let's start off with a fun fact: you should be able to narrow down when we recorded this episode to a specific window if you listen carefully to our conversation! Meanwhile, things are feeling kind of familiar as telepathic aliens make a space zoo in "The Eye of the Beholder," after which a bird-brained plan to spark holy war is revealed in "The Jihad." And then we wrap this week with "The Pirates...

It's nothing but hard questions this time around from TAS. "The Time Trap" makes us wonder what the devil is up with the "Bonaventure" since we know the first warp ship was Zephram Cochran's. If the elders in "The Ambergris Element" hate land-dwellers, why did the younger citizens try to help Kirk and Spock by making them seapeople as well? And why did "The Slaver Weapon" bother including a psychi...

It's double familiarity followed by a mediocre original idea from TAS this week. Kirk and Co. find things are more dangerous than ever on the Shore Leave world in "Once Upon a Planet," before Harry Mudd's latest scam threatens the safety of the "Enterprise" crew yet again in "Mudd's Passion." Then "The Terratin Incident" happens and everyone starts shrinking. No, really. Also this week: cat visits...

After things began looking up last week, we take another turn for (mostly) awful again. "The Survivor" is a highlight which your stalwarts generally enjoyed, while "The Infinite Vulcan" was a brave attempt by Walter Koenig himself to write an episode, but that Roddenberry meddling turned into a weird story of hop-heads that we find mostly uninspiring. And then there's "The Magicks of Megas-tu." We...

Things are looking up this week, as at least one of your stalwarts likes EVERY episode this week! Alright, we're not exactly raving about any of them, but this is a vast improvement. We've got what feels like a subtle rehash in "One of Our Planets Is Missing" and an outright sequel in "More Trouble, More Tribbles," bookending "Trek" dipping its toes lightly into a bit of feminism with "The Lorelei...

And so the next phase of SSHB begins! Unfortunately we're off to an inauspicious start, as The Animated Series presents us with animation that might actually be WORSE than we were expecting, a plot that was stale by the time TOS ended with "Beyond the Farthest Star," and a time-travel story that makes no sense even by "Trek" standards in "Yesteryear." Also this week: the debut of our CLOSING theme...

In our second Ten Forward, your stalwarts are engaging in the time-honored nerd tradition of fanfiction! We've broken into the House That Gene Built and we're pinching the best stuff inside to bring you tales of murder, mayhem, lust, and clouds! Content warning: implied domestic abuse, very sexually explicit imagery, questionable accents. Timestamps: "Sentient Life" by Ames: 2:48; "The Heir" by Ch...

It's the end of the series that started it all! So how does "Turnabout Intruder" do as a series finale? How does it stack up against its predecessors? And what on Earth happened to Chapel's hair?! Also this week: Ames' book club, the "Futurama" count, and Gene & George. Timestamps: synopsis: 1:20; Turnabout Intruder: 7:52; TOS series wrap up: 39:05

It's one of the most bogus journeys the "Enterprise" crew has ever gone on as space Lincoln allows Kirk to glance behind "The Savage Curtain," followed by a trip though time that is an excellent adventure for the audience but heartbreak for Spock in "All Our Yesterdays." Also this week: Lincoln makes us cringe, hot Spock on Doc action, and Jake pens a letter. synopses: 0:49; The Savage Curtain: 16...

We're seeing familiar faces throughout the cosmos this week, though while one was likely intentional, the other only works in hindsight. First up, it's like the "Miri" kids grew up and got more annoying before deciding to follow an interstellar Charles Manson in the form of Dr. Sevrin in "The Way to Eden." After that, we can't help but find some parallels between Plasus, the High Advisor of Strato...