Ceti Alpha 3: A Star Trek Podcast

Today's Trek and Animation With the "Strange News Worlds" crossover with the animated "Lower Decks", the history of "two-dimensional" Trek took the next step. The trio re-visit the most significant recent moments from the many shows, as well as what's to come. Several trailers and teasers dropped featuring season four of "Lower Decks," upcoming SNW episodes, and a taste of the final season of "Dis...

Star Trek: Writers and Actors on Strike With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA on strike, there are both immediate and potential future effects on the Star Trek franchise and fandom. With the caveat that these are minor matters compared to the larger issues labor-management issues involved, the trio looks at how current, completed (but unaired), and planned Trek series will be changed. Adding these issues to...

DS9/TNG Crossover - Creating an Episode In the late 90s, we had our first instance of two Star Trek television series airing at the same time. As "Star Trek: The Next Generation" began to end, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" took its first few steps into the franchise. There were some small crossovers of major characters - with Dr. Bashir and Quark making small appearances with the Enterprise-D, and...

The Past, Present, and Future of Star Trek Streaming The Great Trek War begins. Or so it seems. Fans were shook when it was announced that not only was "Star Trek: Prodigy" seemingly canceled (with a season two still hanging in post-production), but that it would be almost instantly removed from Paramount+. Only a few days later, episodes 11-20 of "Star Trek: Prodigy" no longer existed in any form...

Previously on ... "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" It's new Star Trek time! Season two of "Strange New Worlds" begins, as we ended on a cliffhanger last year, and we all await the new adventures of Captain Pike and the Enterprise. The trio revists season one (some of us watching it for the first time!) and go through all the characters and storylines. What made this new live action series such a hi...

Creating a New Trek Series: Gamma Station One In the wake of "Star Trek: Picard," and fan hopes for a "Star Trek: Legacy" series with the Enterprise-G, the trio create the next 25th Century live action Trek series. They begin with the initial premise of a "Star Trek: Janeway" but quickly find themselves in the Gamma Quadrant, as a new Bajoran space station is completed. This quadrant, formerly dom...

Best of ... Star Trek! With the arrival of 300 episodes, stranded here on Ceti Alpha 3, the trio opens up about their favorite scenes from almost 60 years of Star Trek. They span the centuries of the franchise for moments that continue to echo throughout the years. Join us in this retrospective of the Best of Star Trek!

The Next Generation Season One - Trivia Time! With the closing(?) of The Next Generation story with season three of "Star Trek: Picard," let us go back to the beginning - how well do we know how it all started! The trio is split up for some trivia questions involving pre-production of TNG, as well as the going-ons of the 1987-1988 premiere season of Next Gen. How well do you know about origins of...

Mothers in Trek WIth Mothers' Day being celebrated in many countries this past week, the trio looks at the many mothers in Trek. The definition can be narrow or liberal (is the Borg Queen a mother???), but many characters have raised offspring of various sorts throughout the franchise. No matter what century you find yourself, you'll find a mother for our favorite Trek characters.

Recreation in Trek Space exploration is great but everyone onboard a starship (or space station) needs a chance to relax. The trio asks - where can you get away from it all in space? They look at the countless facilities we've been shown on Federation starships, from holodecks to anbo-jyutsu and from gyms to springball. Which would you choose during your time off? And then there's the vacation spo...

Star Trek Picard, S03E10 And so it ends, a Generation's Final Journey. Wait ... that may have been the tagline for "Star Trek: Nemesis." In any case, "The Last Generation" marks the series finale for the third season of "Picard," as well as the last (??) voyage of The Next Generation crew. Did it wrap up the season long arc of Jack Crusher and the Federation-wide conspiracy? Where does this leave...

Star Trek: Picard, S03E08-09 We begin the ending of "Star Trek: Picard" as we approach the last episode of season three, and the series overall. The trio jumps into some familiar looking bridge stations as we discuss the episodes "Surrender" and "Võx". From grisly enemy victories to heroic last minute saves, we look at how the story elements of Jack Crusher, the anatagonist (or secret, new/old ant...

Star Trek: Picard, S03E07 Our "Star Trek: Picard: coverage continues as we examine "Dominion," an episode the reveals more about the backstory of series antagonist Vadic. What happened to other changelings in the Alpha Quadrant? We also see what fool-proof plan Picard can hatch to save the day ... unless it doesn't work??

Star Trek: Picard, S03E06 You want Star Trek? This episode gives you Star Trek! The adventures continue on the USS Titan-A as they arrive at the Fleet Museum, led by a familiar Next Gen face and his (other) daughter, as well as the top super secret vault at the Daystrom Station, filled to the gills with all the leftover Trek props. The trio looks at the Picard episode "The Bounty", where the secon...

Picard - Season 3, Episode 5 The trio returns to their weekly reflections on season three of "Star Trek: Picard." The latest entry, "Imposters", continues the adventures of Picard and Riker on the USS Titan-A. The mystery of the changeling threat continues, as a Next Gen favorite returns - but not with a friendly face. A swirling of storyline between the Crushers (Beverly and Jack), Picard, Riker,...

Star Trek: Picard, Season three, episodes 2-4. The trio is back after sometime in sickbay, and they're happy to continue their voyage aboard the USS Titan-A. Season three of "Picard" has gotten more positive buzz than its prior two seasons, from both fans and critics. What is that enthusiasm based on? What new treatment of characters, plot, effects, etc. have made the past three episodes an improv...

Picard 0301 - "The Next Generation" It's finally here! "Star Trek: Picard" kicks off its last season, and promised TNG reunion, with lots to chew on in this first episode. The trio boards the U.S.S. Titan-A and shares their opinions about its captain and first officer. Picard and Riker begin their buddy adventure with the mysterious reapperance of Dr. Crusher - what does this new journey promise?...

Writing the next TNG Film "Star Trek: Nemesis" marked that last big-screen outing for the TNG crew. As "Picard" season three reunites the crew for another (last?) adventure, the trio creates an alternative universe where we say goodbye to the Next Gen crew in a fifth movie. Where would we catch up with the crew? Who would be getting promoted? What new characters would be introduced? Join us for a...

The (Movie) TNG Goodbye: Star Trek: Nemesis As we look forward to "Star Trek: Picard" season three, with the final (?) journey of the TNG crew, the trio looks back to the original goodbye for that crew. There's conflicting stories about whether the fourth Next Gen film was meant to be a cinematic farewell - but considering Data's sacrifice, Riker's promotion and marraige to Troi, and deleted scene...

The "Gaps" in Star Trek The Trek franchise continues to expand, and with more and more series and movies, fans learn more about this fantastic universe. But even after all this time, there are still stories that feel like they are "missing." The real-world reasons are obvious: Writers don't want to get into how Spock spent his time from post-Star Trek VI to the events of "Unification" (TNG) becaus...

What if ... Starfleet Didn't Have Shields? In the ever popular game of comparing sci-fi franchises to each other, one unique aspect of Star Trek compared to others, like "Battlestar Galactica" and, to an extent, "Star Wars," is the presence of shields on starships during combat. The trio imagines a Trek universe where shields don't exist (or are not as effective), and ships show a little more wear...

Hologram Rights Star Trek is often at its best when exploring philosophical debates about the very nature of existance. Holograms, especially the Doctor from "Voyager", litter the franchise - but what rights should they have? Are they "people" (whatever the means)? Are they more than they appear? Or does their very appearance make us believe they are more than these computer programs are? The trio...

Season 7 - Voyager "Star Trek: Voyager" was the third (and, to date, last) Trek series to enter its seventh and final season. The previous series had taken different approaches to "wrapping up" their time on television screens -"The Next Generation" continued its more episodic approach, with a finale that left our cast still exploring the final frontier; "Deep Space Nine" continued its more serial...

Trek Celebrity Autographs/Picture/Etc. If you've been to a Trek/sci-fi convention, you know the options: You can wait in a long line for a quick photo with your favourite actor/director/writer/etc., you can attend a panel, or you can get an autograph, along with a few seconds of interaction. The trio discusses their past encouters with Trek (and other franchise) celebrities in the autograph line....

Trek Time Travel Star Trek, like most sci-fi franchises, has been known to dip into the well of time travels stories, on occasion. It's almost expected for every television series to travel back to the viewers' "present day" at least once in its life. But, on the whole, how successful have time travel stories been? Do they "make sense"? Do they need to? Does introducing the knowledge of time trave...