Ceti Alpha 3: A Star Trek Podcast

Reconciling the Star Trek Past With Our History As "Star Trek: Picard" travels to our future of 2024 as their past in season two, it serves as an opportunity to look at what is recorded as history in Trek that doesn't exactly match our experiences in the past 50 years. Of course, as someone once said, "repeat yourself, it's just a show, I should really just relax." That said - the trio attempts to...

"Rios v. Commander Toby: The Stargazer." The new Sagan-class USS Stargazer was introduced in season two of "Star Trek: Picard," and it already has us wanting more. The trio pitch their idea for a "Star Trek: Stargazer" series, with Captain Rios leading his 25th C. crew throughout the Federation worlds on a mission of goodwill and rebuilding. In our idea for the series, we populate the Stargazer wi...

Picard Season Two Star Trek: Picard is back ... with a bang! And a Borg! And a Q! Season two began with a soft reboot, briefly introducing all the season one characters and their current places in the universe - but we still follow Jean-Luc Picard, his struggles on Earth, and a mysterious mission that places him on a U.S.S. Stargazer, for the second time in his life. So much happens, that the trio...

Darren, Daniel and Phillip bring on Tristan Riddell and Mike Schindler to talk about how to prepare for Star Trek Mission Chicago. Listen along to hear their tips and plans.

252 - Thomas Riker Season 7 - Part 2 - ...and now the conclusion. The trio completes their Thomas trilogy covering the first appearance of transporter double Lieutenant Riker, and his subsequent adventures on the Enterprise-D (if he had replaced Commander Riker). We continue our journey into season seven with the Riker-focused episode, "Pegasus." How does a mid-career Riker deal with his former ca...

Thomas Riker, Season 7 - Part 1 In the second part of our trilogy on the transporter-created character of Lieutenant Thomas Riker, we continue to explore how Thomas could have changed the course of The Next Generation. In the creation of the "Second Chances" story, some writers raised the possibility of killing off Commander William Riker, and - in essence - replacing him with Thomas Riker, allowi...

"Second Chances" - There are a few guest characters in the Trek franchise who get a "sequel" in a later episode. One is Thomas Riker, a transporter double of Commander William T. Riker, who pops up later in the "Deep Space Nine" episode - "Defiant." The trio revisits his first appearance in "The Next Generation" - "Second Chances." Trek has done many "double" episodes; "The Enemy Within" (TOS), "D...

Pitches for Star Trek Merchandise Star Trek fans love "merch." Whether it's uniforms, toys, comm badges, figures, and other "collectables," we all love it. But it's not a stretch to say that the franchise's merchandising has not been overwhelming in the 21st Century. The trio takes turn pitching ideas for new items for sale focused on the series of "Enterprise," "Discovery," "Prodigy," "Picard", a...

Picard Predictions. Fans got a new teaser trailer for the second season of "Star Trek: Picard" - what do we think is next for the La Sirena crew? From time travel, alternate timelines, Q, Guinan, and more, there were flashes and hints but Picard's journey remains unclear. Join the trio as we look into our crystal ball and, with the Borg Queen's help, see what the future holds for this Trek series.

Star Trek: Prodigy Catch-up The trio take stock of the second quarter of season one of "Star Trek: Prodigy." This new series has broken barriers in a few ways - including teasing the return of Voyager's former first officer. Which characters are starting to ease into their positions? Which characters are maybe misplaced? What lingering questions do we have? What predictions do we have for the rest...

Darren, Daniel and Phillip discuss what they would like in a Star Trek: Enterprise video game. Developing a civilizations like strategy game where you form the Federation with your choices.

Ships of the Line You Want in a Museum There have been fascinating and captivating space-faring vessels in the Star Trek franchise. The trio creates a dream "space-sonian" museum where they can choose any ship to add to their collection to walk around in and have schools trips learn from. Which starships would you choose? We go through the years of ships to explore which would be the best to featu...

Trek - Past, Present, and Yet to Come: The end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 is a great time to take stock of the Star Trek franchise. It's healthier and thriving than it has ever been. With the arrival of "Star Trek: Discovery" seasons 3 and 4, "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 2, and the introduction of "Star Trek: Prodigy", there's a lot to look back on. Next year promises more of Discovery a...

Trek Trivia It's the holiday season - so it's time to settle down for a round of Trek trivia. Grab a pen and paper, and get ready to answer 8 rounds of Star Trek quiz questions, along with a special "pre-" and "post-" round to rack up extra points. Can you beat Daniel and Darren? Were the questions too easy or too hard? Let us know your score as you play along with Trek trivia.

Star Trek: First Contact It's hard to believe (for some of us) that it's been a generation since "Star Trek: First Contact" hit the big screen. The first TNG-only cast feature film with new uniforms and a new Enterprise (along with an old enemy) ranks high on many fans' list of best Trek films. Was it the story? The guest characters? The design? The Jonathan Frakes direction? Let us know what make...

Star Trek: Discovery Updates. New Star Trek continues with season four of "Star Trek: Discovery." The trio looks at the scale (both story-wise and astronomically) of the current threat facing Captain Burnham and her crew. One of the co-hosts has missed the latest episodes - so join as the other two "pitch" the newest stories and offer a multiple-choice test about the latest story developments - ca...

Discovery/Prodigy Predictions There's been a taste of both season one of "Star Trek: Prodigy" and season four of "Star Trek: Discovery" so far. Is it enough to guess how both series will unfold in their entirety? Probably not - but the trio tries to speculate anyway! Join us as we try to lay out the stories for our Delta Quadrant and 33rd Century-based crews. What further adventures await the intr...

Title Card Game. The trio takes a break from "new Trek episodes reviews" to play a game. Can Phillip and Daniel guess the title of a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" story merely be looking at the episode's first image? Darren blurs the title cards from several episodes as his co-hosts try to name the right episode -- will they get it right? Will they guess every episode from an entire season? How...

"Star Trek: Prodigy" - Episodes 1-3 Welcome to the franchise! The newest Trek series began this month, introducing new characters, new ships, new villains, and a familiar looking hologram. The trio joins in the kid adventure with the accidental crew of the starship Protostar. This prototype vessel with a middle school crew offers comedy, adventure, and an unexpected dark beginning. Let us know wha...

Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season Two Wrap-Up. With a flash of “To Be Continued…” on the screen, the sophomore season of “Lower Decks” comes to an end. The trio take a look back at the animated journey of the Cerritos this year. From new characters, new pairings, new stories, and new running gags, it seems like this Star Trek show just keeps improving. Join the discussion of what we liked, what we gr...

Lower Decks" - I, Excretus. Listening to this podcast may not get you to 100%, but it will give you a chance to laugh at this "Lower Decks" episode featuring references to "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," the Mirror universe, the TNG episode "Ethics," and much more. This story also brings back a species from the original animated series, as both the bridge crew and our lovable ensigns switch pla...

"Lower Decks" - Where Pleasant Fountains Lie The Cerritos crew encounters a Ren Faire-class ship that happens to be the home race of the ship's chief engineer - and Jeffrey Combs guest stars as an evil computer. What more could you ask from an episode of "Lower Decks"? Season two continues providing adventures with Boimler/Mariner and Rutherford/Tendi pair-ups, along with misadventures from the br...

"Lower Decks" - The Spy Humongous ​ Boimler teams up with a sharp group of red shirts while down on Pakled Planet the captain tries to determine what a Pakled spy would want. This crazy episode shifts around the group pairings and creates fun moments with a recurring foe. Your helmet may not be big enough to listen but we sure you, you're still welcome.

"Lower Decks" - An Embarrassment of Dooplers There's a lot of duplication going on with the Cerritos - and maybe it's the plot lines? A crazy occurrence with the bridge crew provides the background to this episode featuring a Boimler/Mariner misadventure and a Tendi/Rutherford team-up. We get car chases, model-building, and a chance to catch up on some familiar characters and their Number Ones. Ar...

“Lower Decks” - Mugato, Gumato. It’s time to bring back a TOS-era “monster,” the Mugato! The trio look at his Boimler, Rutherford, and Mariner tackle some “Last Outpost”-type Ferengi and … really earn that “SV” rating. They also chat about Tendi’s sidequest adventure … and the C story we almost forgot about. Is Captain Freeman on course for a promotion? Let us know your favorite parts!