A Star to Steer Her By

It's that time again! Our little ship that could has hit its six-year anniversary, and we're celebrating with "Voyager"-themed fanfics! What do we have up our sleeves THIS time? Two prose pieces, two scripts, and the usual shenanigans you've come to expect from your stalwarts after all this time! This week: Revenge! Origins! Intrigues! Introspection! [Timestamps: Caitlin's story: 02:34; Ames's pie...

Up front: MAJOR content warning. Our first episode, "Mortal Coil", has a character attempting to end their own life. We discuss it and other topics related to it AT LENGTH. Please use the timestamps to jump ahead to "Waking Moments" if this discussion could cause discomfort. In this week's episodes, can dreams solve an existential crisis? Can they be used to conquer enemies? And how does Chakotay...

Shopping can be dangerous in space. You never know if you'll wind up with a lobotomy or having to overpay for your own, stolen merchandise. First up, in "Random Thoughts", B'elanna's temper puts her at odds with the strict morals of a telepathic alien race with boundary issues. After that, a lot of important things get stolen in "Concerning Flight" including, apparently, any sense of a good story....

The long-forewarned but completely forgotten "Year of Hell" has arrived! In this epic two-parter some dumb*ss jams his foot up time's backside so hard he simultaneously saves his empire and murders his family, and then decides it's the fault of "Voyager" and her crew! Janeway must contend with the world's most brilliant idiot trying to kill them all even as her ship and crew crumble around her! Wi...

This franchise has given us so many examples of horrible, horrible societies over the years. And "Voyager" is giving us two this week! First up, negotiations with the wildly arrogant B'omar are thrown into disarray when Seven hears the call of the Borg in "The Raven". After that, the "Voyager" crew is being used by sadistic aliens who treat other lives as playthings for their experiments in "Scien...

What's real this week? Not much! First up: Chakotay is dragged into an alien war and shown the depravity of the enemy…or is he? Find out in "Nemesis"! After that, is the holo-man's truth hollow? How did his crew really die? The EMH tries to make a friend in "Revulsion"! Also this week: talkin' strange, Chekhov's latest weapon, and more ship stuff! [Timestamps: Nemesis: 01:55; Revulsion: 26:16; Shi...

So many ships, so little time! We're losing shuttles like whoa this week on "Voyager" when Kes evolves to a higher form and needs a ride in "The Gift". After that. Torres has the worst Klingon Yom Kippur ever when she and Tom get stranded in the middle of nowhere when their shuttle goes kablooey in "Day of Honor"! After that, Ames already has regrets as she brings us to her own personal Utopia Pla...

It's the latest entry from the new era of "Star Trek", the Pike-led "Strange New Worlds"! The Enterprise (no bloody A, B, C or D) is back in what is either a new spinoff or the most delayed pickup in television history as episodic storytelling makes its live-action franchise return. We have thoughts, but what kind?! Spoilers abound as we discuss the season in a fairly general way, and also some ma...

It's finally happened...the "Voyager" has made it to Borg Space! But in a twist they didn't see coming, the intrepid crew finds a species possibly more lethal than their cybernetic foes, prompting Janeway to make a potentially-deadly bargain! Buckle in for "Scorpion", parts one and two! Also this week: the Brannigan Gambit, wrapping season 3, and preparing for fics! [Timestamps: Scorpion: 01:15; s...

The locations are fake but the danger is real this week on "Voyager"! First up: faux-nice invaders start switching places with the "Voyager" crew in "Displaced". After that, fanfic goes horribly wrong when Tuvok finds out an old enemy has tampered with a holodeck program in "Worst Case Scenario"! Also this week: comedy bee violence, good comedy, and Cardassians! [timestamps: Displaced: 01:07; "Wor...

You've already got the theme playing in your head, don't deny it! This week, inspired by the dino-people of "Voyager", we've taken a bit of a break to talk the Jurassic film series; we focus mainly on "Jurassic Park" but we can't help but bring up its many sequels, especially the recent "Jurassic World: Dominion". So grab your wide-brimmed hat, silver medallion, and 90s mom-jeans and get ready to...

Get ready to be depressed after this week's episodes of "Voyager"! First up: can a saurian scientist get his society to admit they may be wrong about their place in the Galaxy in "Distant Origin"? Can The Doctor make a holo-family work after B'Elanna de-Stepfords it in "Real Life"? No. No in either case. And it ends pretty poorly for a lot of folks involved. Also this week: saying titles, playing...

Origins are tricky things, sometimes. First up, Harry Kim might be more than we assumed when salmon-like instincts kick in for him in "Favorite Son". After that, Kes gets to examine her entire life backwards and really see her starting point in the most unsettling ways in "Before and After"! Also this week: Sir Galaharry, strong candle opinions, and Klingons! [Timestamps: "Favorite Son": 00:55; "B...

We love Tuvok here on "A Star to Steer Her By", but even we can admit he's occasionally a bit of a pill. And this week he gets to show that off! First up, he and a bunch of the other men of "Voyager" think they know better than Kes what she wants to do with her life, and the results almost turn deadly in "Darkling"! After that, Neelix just wants to help and ultimately calls his colleague on some o...

"Voyager" continues the unsettling tradition of "Trek" being bad at being sexy this week. First up, things go too pon farr when a crewman hits the disturbing Vulcan mating season and sets his sights on B'Elanna in "Blood Fever". After that, some ex-Borg have decided they want to be pseudo-Borg but need Chakotay's help to pull it off in "Unity"! Will his attraction to one of their number be enough...

Nothing super standout this week in "Voyager". First up, it's a not-quite love triangle when Tuvok gets chummy with Harry's holodeck crush in "Alter Ego". After that, several episodes happen at once in the very confused "Coda". Also this week: space yarn, Chakotay's talent, and favorite Ferengi! [timestamps: "Alter Ego": 01:04; "Coda": 21:59; Ferengi: 42:45] [tumbl along home: https://sshbpodcast....

It's annoying bugs and annoying old friends this week on "Voyager"! First up: the ship has fallen prey to a swarm of bad CGI super-viruses in "Macrocosm"! After that, Neelix's knowledge runs out just as he runs into a shady old friend who claims he can help in "Fair Trade"! Also this week: kitbashed aliens, leftover episode, and artificial life forms! SPOILER WARNING: major "Picard" season detail...

Civil wars are breaking out all over the cosmos in "Voyager" this week! First up, a long-deposed ruler has found the key to immortality, and it involves stealing bodies! And now he's using Kes as his vehicle to foment rebellion on his old homeworld in "Warlord"! After that, we actually see consequences in an episodic series when we find out that the Q Continuum is tearing itself apart over Quinn's...

"Voyager" is going both rad AND tubular as they time travel back to the radical 1990s in the two-part "Future's End"! When a Future Federation Time Cop shows up to explode the "Voyager" and her crew because they allegedly kill billions, things go awry and everyone is back in time and back on Earth. Get ready for "Trek 4" references and a bunch of other obvious time travel gags, an evil Ed Begley,...

This week starts off strong and then plunges right into a cave full of garbage! First up: what seem like very pleasant dreams for Torres soon turn to a tale of monumental evil in "Remember". After that, Kes is almost killed and our interest in this episode is definitely offed by the end of "Sacred Ground". Also this week: the worst home renovation, needing Betazoids, and TOS aliens! [timestamps: "...

We've got visitors from the Alpha Quadrant dropping in this week, albeit one of them holographically. First up: when The Doctor's memory begins fragmenting, only his holographic Papa can help...but can they save him without wiping his last two years of experience? Find out in "The Swarm". After that, it's a sequel to TNG's "The Price" when the "Voyager" crew come across Ferengi in the Delta Quadra...

Feeling a bit "Undiscovered Country" up in "Voyager" today. Most of all because we take a look at Tuvok's memories from when he was an Ensign under Captain Sulu during that very time in "Flashback". But there's also some real Rura Penthe vibes at the prison Harry and Tom find themselves unjustly tossed into in "The Chute". Also this week: pon farr again, General Order 24, and TOS guests! [timestam...

Time to spend some time on crappy planets! First up, in "Resolutions", Janeway and Chakotay are stranded on a world that gave them a disease they can only survive there. Will they find a cure...and maybe more? After that, Season 2 ends with a Kazon/Cardassian scheme-bang and 3 begins SUPER underwhelmingly as the crew fights cavemen and gets eaten by lizards in "Basics", parts 1 and 2! Also this we...

Everybody wants to live this week on "Voyager", but who deserves to? First up, Michael McKean plays a psychotic digital clown in a pre-"The Matrix" virtual world and he needs brains to keep him going in "The Thaw". After that: a transporter accident creates new life but at the cost of two crew members in "Tuvix". Also this week: Lurches, Curzodo, and Taco Turquoise! [timestamps: "Thaw": 02:10; "Tu...

Death! Existential crises! Vidiians! And, worst of all, children! Dear God how will the "Voyager" crew cope after this week?! First up: two Voyagers, two problems! In "Deadlock" Voyager has 99 problems and they're all...their own fault? After that: a recycled "Mork & Mindy" plot is meant to be a shocking twist in the ultimately awful "Innocence". Also this week: Janeway needs to listen to Janeway,...