Set Phasers

When a rogue Qowat Milat sister goes, well, rogue and starts knocking over Starfleet ships delivering dilithium to planets in need (and, incidentally, kills a Starfleet officer in the process), Ni'Var, the Federation, and the Qowat Milat have to team up to hunt her down.   Yes, Michael's mother is the Killer-Romulan-Warrior-Nun representing the order and, yes, Michael's representing the Federation...

So. There's a space anomaly about five light-years in diameter that is chewing up solar systems like a swarm of piranha. No worries! Discover jumps in to take some measurements and can't get close enough to get good readings. Pas de problem! Booker, who is definitely somewhat out of sorts because his entire planet was the last victim of the anomaly, wants to take his ship in. Stamets, with whom he...

It's a beautiful day in the galactic neighborhood of the 32nd century. The Federation is back, Starfleet no longer needs to hide behind a cloak, and there's *plenty* of dilithium to go around. Michael and the crew of Discovery are just humming along with the pace of progress. So the new Federation President and Michael aren't getting along so well; and so Saru is still on the planet Kaminar taking...

In the season finale of Lower Decks, the Cerritos is headed to the Laaperian system to assist the USS Archimedes in a first contact mission. Things go awry when a solar flare causes an unstable planetoid to blow and completely knocks out power on the Archimedes. The Cerritos must devise a miraculous plan to save them, all hands on deck!   But, also, just before the mission started Mariner overhear...

It's a long warp for the crew of the Cerritos, 12 hours. So Captain Freeman is giving folks the day off. To chill and hang. Boimler is excited to spend time with the gang but they're all hanging out with various "bridge buddies." He wonders if life is as dull on lower decks of other ships.   Well, we get a look at life on the lower decks of other ships: Klingon, Vulcan, Pakled... And also, somethi...

Mariner's feeling a bit sour because she and the lower decks gang go left out in space for six hours when the Cerritos has to warp away to help another ship in trouble. Also, a Starfleet drill instructor is showing up to run the entire crew through performance reviews and Captain Freeman wants everybody to be at their best. When the drills involve the lower decks folks assuming senior staff positi...

First, there's this evil supercomputer that caused a hundred years of war on a nameless planet. Boimler and Mariner are tasked with bringing it to the Daystrom Institute to be put on ice, but when they get stranded on a deserted planet. AGIMUS, the aforementioned, does his best to put them at each other's throats   Meanwhile, Chief Billups is apparently descended from royalty. and, also, is a virg...

There is, indeed, a spy humongous on the USS Cerritos. Capt. Freeman and Shaxs have gone down to the Pakled planet (which they called "Pakled Planet") to try and negotiate a peace. But then a "prisoner" from the planet "escapes" to the Cerritos and asks for "asylum" – and also schematics for the ships defensive capabilities. Meanwhile, Mariner, Tendi, and Rutherford are on Anomaly Consolidation Du...

The Cerritos is headed to Starbase 25 for the annual Command Conference (which is purported to have one of the most outrageous after-parties in the quadrant!) and it will be the only California-class ship attending. Captain Freeman is rather chuffed.    There's just the problem of the Doopler Ambassador who gets to "dooplercating" himself when he gets insulted and results in the ship having to be...

So there's this big scary mugato creature on on Frylong IV, precisely where it shouldn't be. Cerritos is dispatched to get to the bottom of it. So what if they're poisonous, carnivorous, and incredibly strong? Shaxs leads the away mission and turns out there are Ferengi (like old school electro-whip Ferengi!) behind it. Chaos promptly ensues.   Meanwhile, Boimler and Rutherford have heard a rumor...

Lieutenant Paris is visiting the Cerritos! You know, Janeway’s hand-selected, to-be-redeemed, ace pilot. He’s visiting! Also, Tendi is sent on a mission by Dr. T’Ana and decides to bring Mariner along for a “Girl’s Trip.” Hijinks ensue. Rutherford wants to know how Shax is back from the dead but knows it is a taboo to ask; Boimler is stuck in the bowels of the ship the whole time.   For our patron...

Season two of Lower Decks rapidly picks up speed. First we meet the new head of security (a Tanarian named Kayson) and then we see Boimler hard at work trying to fit in with the pugilistic types on his new ship. Lt. Kayshon leads the Cerritos gang (along with Jet, who has been transferred) on to a deceased collector's ship, a security protocol is engaged, he gets turned into a doll and the team mu...

It's strange energy indeed, as we return to life aboard the Cerritos with Ensign Mariner and her mother Captain Freeman. Things are going great – and they both secretly hate it! You would think they could talk about it, but it seems like they can't. It takes Ransom heading down to a planet and getting blasted with "strange energies" and become a young, narcissistic godling for them to admit it to ...

Star Trek: Nemesis. The final TNG-movie watch-along! Released in 2002, the last of the four TNG movies is an uncharacteristically dark affair. It has very little of light-hearted hijinks of the previous three and ends *pretty* sadly. That said, it starts with the wedding of Troi and Riker; Data has been promoted to new first officer; everything is peachy-keen.   Then the Romulan senate is attacked...

Another Watch-Along! This time, well, we decided to do all the TNG movies and we will not be thwarted! Even if this one is somewhat hard to watch it is still full of the wonder and joy and space (and unasked for group singing) that are the hallmarks of a rollicking Star Trek film. There is the obligatory crooked admiral, Data malfunctioning and beating a bunch of people up, a scenery chewing bad g...

Strap in as we watch through 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact directed by none other than TNG’s own Jonathan Frakes. It’s got everything you could want — space fights, ship fights, the Borg, time travel. And poor Captain Picard must battle not only the Borg but also his own internal demons. Thankfully, he gets help from a very drunk James Cromwell.  Also, Data gets real skin for a while (it’s creep...

Are you ready for a watch along?! Your intrepid hosts, Akie & Stevie, get together to watch the all the TNG movies adding our own... uh... incisive commentary.    First up is 1994's Generations – replete with cameos by Scotty, Chekov, and James T. Kirk himself. There is funky time stuff (of course), as well as obligatory big-budget film exploding things. A fight on a cat-walk on top of a mountain?...

Season Finale?!?!  ALREADY?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... ok. So, Boimler let's slip that Mariner is the daughter of Captain Freeman. Everyone starts coming to Mariner to curry favor and so she considered applying for a promotion to the USS Sacramento – the same one Boimler is gunning for. That would be drama enough, but then a group of extremely advanced Pakled's destroys a federation ship and takes a...

Mariner and Captain Freeman's constant arguing comes to a head but instead of throwing Mariner in the brig for subordination, Freeman makes her take mandatory therapy. Mariner thinks it's worthless, but decides she can *really* work through some stuff when Boimler reveals a holodeck program with complete personality work ups for the whole crew.   Only... Mariner may not realize quite how much work...

Mariner, Tendi, Rutherford and Boimler are thrown in a jail cell and then brought before a tribunal to testify as to the actions of senior crew on a particular stardate in question. Mariner remembers nothing important, Boimler remember nothing other than his embarrassment, Tendi remembers waaaay too much, and Rutherford's implant was jacked up so he remembers... some strange things.   But why was...

Captain Freeman, Ransom, and Shaxs are called away on an urgent, covert, seed-planting mission, so there will be a visiting captain on board the Cerritos. At first, Mariner is upset by this, but then she discovers it is her old friend from the academy, Amina Ramsey. Ramsey selects Mariner to be her first officer and help her not be just a "babysitter" for the crew, but Mariner is having a hard tim...

This week the Cerritos is locked in a pitched and literal tug-o-war with a ship of Drookmani over some ancient Starfleet wreckage and Captain Freeman is doing her best to resolve the issue without violence. In response, the Drookmani start throwing debris at the Cerritos with their tractor beams to provoke a fight.   Meanwhile, on the lower decks, Mariner and Boimler have to work together to fight...

Brad Boimler has a girlfriend! Her name is Barbara Brinson. Try saying that fast. Akie does a bunch this episode and it pretty much broke him. Mariner thinks Brinson is too good to be true and is on a mission to prove that she is some sort of man-eating alien. Meanwhile, Rutherford and Tendi are exploring the bowels of the Vancouver doing diagnostics in a competition to win a new T88 tricorder......

The Cerritos is hauling an ancient generation ship across space with the USS Merced. The ship has some kind of super biology juice inside of it that turns anything it touches into trees and rocks and water. So, careful, everyone!   Meanwhile, Captain Freeman is sick of Mariner's disrespect and immaturity and wants her off the ship. She hatches a plan to make life unbearable for her daughter in the...

What do you know about "buffer time?" You know, like, the crew of ship says it takes four hours to fix the dilithium mix, but it really on takes two hours? I mean, we *all* kind of know that, right?!  Captain Freeman didn't and when she cracks down on buffer time everything goes all to hell. Morale drops and things stop working. And then, also, the ship is attacked and boarded.  Meanwhile, Mariner...