Kickers of Elves

Obrien. Must. Suffer. The Hardest.   Star Trek tackled some serious issues, in an era before we were all forced to learn the term PTSD. But, first don’t you want to hear us argue the difference between implanted memories and a simulation on a scifi future show?  Have you missed Nerd Corner? It’s hard to make jokes about such a serious well done episode! How bout them healthcare plans in the future...

Worf, No! These leftovers taste great with a little O’bay on them! Is this a run of the mill episode? Have we seen this before? It’s another episode where we get to explore a character by putting them on trial!  And another episode about Worf’s conflict with his Klingon and Federation background.  Featuring Ron Canada, the voice of Gold Peak Ice Tea, as Evil Klingon Lawyer. And a great final Sisko...

Bajoran religion, everyone’s favorite type of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode. BUT… is this the most consequential episode yet for the arc of the series? Faith (or lack thereof) is discussed!   Fletch's boss comes out of the the wormhole and does Sisko a favor by taking over as the emissary.  Kira is surprisingly ok and doesn't question this, til not-quite-Borat starts bringing back the Bajoran...

Power in a Rom!   Rom starts a union! Lefty Propaganda!  We spend a bit at the top knocking out Worf's B plot before diving into Marx, Sean O'Brien, and Rom's tranformation from exploited worker to strong union leader. Putting politics aside, this is also a pretty good story about Rom finding himself when not under the shadow of his brother.  The episode that really sets Rom's story in motion, and...

Woo! Worfs brother! Tony Todd! ...Oh wait this one is a bit of a downer Worf and Jadzia are busy with some foreplay when Worf's brother Kurn shows up destitute and wanting some Mauk-to'Vor.  Being the loving brother that he is, Worf readily agrees to do some murder.  Yep this one gets heavy!  Relations familial and professional are strained as Worf once again has to decide where his Klingon-ness e...

Another episode of Everybody Loves Kira! This time the advances are unwanted.  Kira has to go to some conference that her boyfriend convinced her to go to, but a shamed and fallen Dukat shows up to take her aboard his junky spaceship.  He gets a taste of the terrorist lifestyle, and Kira has to decide if she's left that all behind her or not (spoilers: she mostly has).   But also! We get the first...

We talk ships, but not starships! Odo has to confront his feelings when Kira's old friend Shakaar shows up and tries something new.  No one goes anywhere, no new aliens are confronted, but we have a lot to say about this one.  Is it, as Hugh says, "A pretty great episode of television, but not necessarily the best Star Trek"? Just how great is René Auberjonois? Pretty great.   Just what does one d...

We start off with a big announcement! But in the episode? Red squad did a bad thing.  It's not the enemy we have to fear... but ourselves? In which we learn that, actually, that admiral wasn't to be trusted. An admiral?! In Starfleet? We learn a lot about maybe how to deal with terrorists and not to let go of our freedoms in exchange for security. Or do we?   Voicemail (56:00)  Kate has some great...

Welcome to Earth!   After a terrorist attack, Benjamin, Jake, and Odo get recalled to run Earth Security and hang out in a New Orleans restaurant. That's right, Brock Peters as grandpa Joe Sisko!   Changelings have infiltrated the Federation, Starfleet is perhaps comprimised, and President Joe Camel needs convincing.   An episode that is strangely prescient for a tv show before the modern War on T...

Bashir, Julian Bashir. Definitely not James Bond, if it pleases the court, Your Honor.   It's the Bashir episode you've either been waiting for or dreading! Transporter mishaps and holodeck episodes: Star Trek standbys. The Ops crew has their bodies stuck in Quark's holodeck and their minds bit torrented throught the station.  It's up to cheesy superspy Julian and his legit-spy companion Garak to...

Treasure of the Klingon Sierra Madre. We love Kor! Do we love this episode as much as we were expecting to? Maybe not, but there is stuff to like [again, Kor]. Worf gets to go on an adventure with a Dahar master, because we all know how big a deal that is, right? Like the stories Kor tells in Quarks, maybe the story doesn't quite match up to how we remember it later. Klingon lore explored! Kinda....

Roswell explained! It's all Ferengi, and very little Sisko in this episode where Quark, Rom, and Nog leave Deep Space Nine and go to Earth where they time travel back to the television tropes of the mid to late 20th century. Nog has a reverse bar mitzvah, giving away old Star Trek costumes, and Quark recieves a ship from his shifty cousin.  Shenanigans ensue and we get to hear some Ferengi as it i...

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Submarine fight! Farmer Hogget! -er Hanok.   It's a "routine trip" to the gamma quadrant, and we get reminded that it's a dangerous place when the warned of Jem'Hadar finally shows up.  James Cromwell guest stars in a bunch of makeup! It's a pretty good by the books Star Trek episode. The Defiant is under attack, and everybody from DS9 gets paired with a buddy to work on his or her character beats...

Love isn't confusing, but Trill are.  Dax's ex life's ex-wife shows up and things get heated.   But first some Magnolia subtweeting and a little more business up front. Other topics discussed: Quark doesn’t understand magic tricks. Is this gay, or just aliens being complicated (hint: it's both) Trill worldbuilding and rules. Why does the Reassociation taboo make sense?  And suddenly we have an ide...

Bajorans, love, and Breen! Kira gets a phone call, Worf is suspicious, and then Dukat and Kira go off to look for a crashed ship and get to know one another better.  OH and Dukat needs to find someone... A sidebar for our millenial viewers explaining Victor French, Michael Landon, and Highway to Heaven Tumblr Takedown: Cardies don’t have tails Dukat’s uncomfortable justification for how the Cardas...

Jem'Hadar Junkies! Hugh watched Hippocratic Oath. You won’t believe what happened next! Hugh crawford gives a 10/10 to Julian Bashir! (Enough with the clickbait) What happens when couples fight? Julian and Miles crash on a planet and their relationship is tested. Meanwhile, Worf has some moral questioning and learning of his own to do regarding "shades of gray" on DS9. 55:20- Voicemails and Emails...

The One Where Everyone Cries. Or: Catcher in the Wormhole. What can we say? Season 4 is pretty good so far. It's Benjamin Sisko's turn to come unstuck from time, but not unstuck from Jake.  This one is all about fathers and sons.  And Tony Todd, who is amazing as old Jake. 55:20 Time for voicemail We talk more Worf from Way of the Warrior

Did your podcast feed freak out? Here's a quick note and a call with some potential Becker spoilers...

Worf!   Season 4 starts off right.   Is the show about to get Urkel-ed? [nope]   When a bunch of Klingons show up on DS9, shenanigans are afoot. On screen and off. What's going on with Cardassia and all the characters in this "soft reboot" of the series. James Doohan is still awesome.   What 4 rules does Sisko break or bend for the Federation? Is Picard the worst captain?   The Root Beer Scene. It...

Greetings from Season 4! There's a lot of Tetryon emmisions in subspace causing temporal disruptions. Technobabble technobabble. Here's some of your voicemails about Season 3, yet we're recording from a later point in the timeline in which we've watched a few episodes of Season 4. But don't worry, we've gone out our way to follow the temporal prime directive and avoid major spoilers. We receive a...

Happiness is a Warm Phaser. It's that time when we cut out all the filler, and devise our perfect contemporary season of Deep Space Nine from the extended "double album" of classic American Television. No voicemails this week, we're on vacation!

CAPTAIN SISKO! Deep Space Nine has a captain, FINALLY! Celebrate with us the greatest captain in Star Trek. Oh, plus: Fun with changelings; Book corner history with Larry Nevin; and commander Red Herring, the worst reality show contestant ever, Michael Eddington shows up again(he’s here to make friends). Hunt for Red October and The Thing are both referenced. Things are happening in the alpha and...

Before Peak TV there was... Come to hear your opinions on B5, stay for James' opinion on Suicide Squad. Twin Peaks and Farscape are also discussed. Instead of a deep dive into Deep Space Nine, we dip into the shallow end and ask ourselves: Babylon 5... Should we watch this? All the content from this episode was generated by... you! Give us a call and maybe we'll feature you in a later episode 917...

Everybody Dax! Jadzia undergoes a Trill ritual and all her friends on Deep Space Nine get to try out their best funny voices. Even Leeta, who of course has been a close friend for a long time, is a top choice to take on the memories of past slug hosts. OH, and Curzon Odo is a Humbert Humbert. We're still very confused by Trill logistics. It's like they're just made up as needed or something. But h...