The Ready Room: A Star Trek Podcast

Devil’s Due. We’ve all heard the expression “selling your soul to the Devil.” The people of Ventax II took this perhaps a bit too literally when nature started getting restless and a con-artist with a claim to the planet showed up. Who can save the day? Well, Kirk, of course. We mean Picard. This is a TNG episode, after all. Only it isn’t. In this episode of The Ready Room, we’re joined by Daniel...

The Trouble with Tribbles. They’re the cutest, most prolific aliens in the Star Trek universe—and also the furriest. They are, of course, Tribbles. And at six credits a head—or a body—they also make for good business. At least that’s what Cyrano Jones thought … until the critters got hankerin’ for some wheat. “The Trouble with Tribbles” remains one of the most beloved Star Trek episodes nearly 50...

Bounty. Along with the Andorians, the Tellarites are one of the most memorable races from Star Trek that got almost no love after The Original Series went off the air. Even the TOS films merely gave them blink-of-an-eye-cameo attention (in The Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Country). But never fear! As with their fellow, antennae-donning Federation-founders, Enterprise came to the rescue. Sort o...

Eye of the Needle. When Voyager first started making its way home from the Delta Quadrant, the crew were full of hope that they would find a way home that was as quick as the one that stranded them. In “Eye of the Needle,” such a thing almost happened, and the helping hand came from a familiar foe: the Romulans. In this episode of The Ready Room, we’re joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Will Nguyen, and...

Axanar. There’s a movement that is taking Star Trek fandom by storm. It’s on a screen near you, but it isn’t coming from the studios you’d expect. The movement is Axanar, and it’s Star Trek that fans at conventions—seeing it on screen in the booth—have mistaken for the next TV series. After the success of Prelude, it’s time for the final push to film the full Axanar. In this episode of The Ready R...

His Way. When you can start a show with a lengthy cold-open featuring a tuxedo-clad James Darren crooning a jazz standard—and do it on a Cardassian-built space station in the 24th century—you know you’ve got something special. And that’s just what the Deep Space Nine writers did near the end of the show’s sixth season with “His Way.” It was the culmination of a game a romantic cat-and-mouse betwee...

Adam Nimoy Talks Star Trek, Documentary, and Dad. Perhaps no one better symbolizes Star Trek—and the message behind  it—than Leonard Nimoy. Just as fathers influence their children, Leonard Nimoy did this for millions around the world. And in this episode of The Ready Room, recorded on Father’s Day, hosts Christopher Jones and Larry Nemecek are joined by someone who knows this better than anyone:...

Déjà Q. After three appearances as a thorn in Picard’s side, Q has been kicked out of the omnipotence club. With only a split second to decide his own fate, Q chose to be made human and sent to the ship of his only friend in the universe: Jean Luc Picard. But was this really a good idea? In this episode of The Ready Room, we’re joined by Will Nguyen, Andi VanderKolk, and Daniel Handlin to discuss...

The City On the Edge of Forever. Nearly 50 years after it was written, “City” remains one of the most beloved of all Star Trek episodes. It’s the first time travel story that most fans remember (sorry “Naked Time” and “Tomorrow Is Yesterday”) and made screwing with the past cool long before it became Star Trek’s go-to trope. But, as a story that really lacks most of what makes TOS what it is, why...

Judgment. After a number of run-ins with the Klingons during Enterprise’s first two seasons, Captain Archer finally found himself in a place familiar to Star Trek fans: a Klingon courtroom. “Judgment” takes us back to the ice caves of Rura Penthe, but it also does more than simply repeat the events of The Undiscovered Country. It also attempts to add some depth to Klingon society. In this episode...

Persistence of Vision. Someone didn’t have their coffee this morning. And when you’re a starship captain with little faith in your first officer, you gotta have your joe. There’s never enough time to do everything that needs to be done, and keeping the ship running smoothly has left Janeway with little time to eat (but apparently time to go goth—not in the way you think). In this episode of The Re...

Looking for par’Mach In All the Wrong Places. Sometimes love is staring you right in the face, and other times you have to search for it. Both were the case when Grilka, Quark’s ex-wife, came aboard the Station. Smitten with the unattainable and “glorious” Klingon Lady, Worf decided to win her heart by proxy when he concocted a plan to help Quark reconnect with his lost love. To pull it off, Worf...

Remembering Harve Bennett. Right off the heels of Leonard Nimoy’s death came the news that another Star Trek great, Harve Bennett, had passed on as well. Bennett was the man behind Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a film without which the majority of Star Trek would not exist. Following the mixed reception of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the future of the franchise seemed in doubt. But thanks to...

Lessons. They say music brings us all together, and that was certainly the case when Captain Picard met Lt. Commander Nella Darren. “Lessons” is perhaps the best glimpse we got into Picard’s emotional side—at least where relationships are concerned—during The Next Generation’s seven-year TV run. It was an attempt by the writers to tackle the subject of workplace romance, as well as the challenges...

He inspired generations. As Spock, Leonard Nimoy became one of the most recognizable figures in the world, changing the lives of countless fans, the nature of pop culture, and bringing a rare creative vision and kindness to the world. In his final public statement he said “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.” Just three days later, on Feb...

The Tholian Web. The third season of TOS is a divisive one for many Star Trek fans. The fight for survival behind the scenes led to shoestring budgets, sparse sets, unbalanced scripts, and—in eyes of many—questionable directions for Spock. But before this feeling really set in, Judy Burns and Chet Richards delivered a bottle show that put Spock in the command chair, at odds with Bones, and in sear...

Horizon. Fans often cite Travis Mayweather as the most underdeveloped character on Enterprise, but the episode “Horizon” sets out to change that perception with a story focusing exclusively on the Ensign, his family, and his past. It’s a good look into the character, though surprisingly comes near the end of Season Two.  In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Tommy Kraft and Will Nguyen...

Live Fast and Prosper. How much would you pay for Federation membership? Apparently in the Delta Quadrant you can get quick approval if you’ve got enough money—or ten kilotons of bolomite. Given that Voyager was constantly leaving her influence behind as she made her way back to Earth, it’s surprising that more aliens didn’t try impersonating the crew for their own gain. We know that at least one...

Destiny. When Sisko first arrives at Bajor in “Emissary,” he learns that he is viewed by the Bajorans as a religious icon. It’s an identity he struggles with through much of the series, but eventually comes to terms with. By “Rapture” at the midpoint of Season Five, Sisko has fully embrace prophecy and matters of Bajoran faith are guiding many of his actions. The road to “Rapture” was a long one,...

The Naked Now. When The Next Generation launched, Gene Roddenberry and the writers wanted to make sure it had its own identity and wasn’t perceived as a rehash of The Original Series. So for the second episode, they pulled out a script written in 1967 as a planned sequel to "The Naked Time" and reworked it a bit to feature the crew of this new Galaxy Class starship. More fancy water molecules mean...

The Naked Time.   The Next Generation went out of its way to avoid connections with The Original Series, but one thing they have in common is crew members getting drunk on water. TNG fans know it as the Psi-2000 virus, but in Kirk’s day it was just good ole polywater. Thanks to highly questionable environmental suit design and procedures that would make the CDC cringe, the crew of the Enterprise f...

Cogenitor. When we see injustices, it's natural for us to want to change them. But when those injustices involve an alien culture, is it really fair for us to impose our human views on others? This was one of the biggest challenges for early explorers and comes into play when Trip encounters a situation that seems very wrong to him, but is perfectly normal, accepted, and in fact critical to the Vi...

Macrocosm. Have you ever felt that Star Trek episodes are a bit too talky? A bit too “high and mighty”? Ever wish you could have a dash of Rambo with your Star Trek? Well, Brannon Braga thought so and thus sent Janeway—ripped biceps, tank top, and all—to save the crew from a giant bug infestation in the third-season episode “Macrocosm.” In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Phillip Gil...

In the Pale Moonlight. Star Trek fans often question Sisko’s methods. As Starfleet captains go—at least those we saw as leads—Sisko is perhaps the least likely to do things “by the book.” One act that is cited most often is Sisko’s decision to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War, the deceptions he concocted together with Garak, and the fact that, in the end, he was okay with it. “In the Pale...

Sarek. First introduced in “Journey to Babel,” Sarek of Vulcan is one of the best known characters from  The Original Series , perhaps due primarily to his role in  The Search for Spock  and subsequent TOS films. Following McCoy’s cameo in “Encounter at Farpoint,” it took a while for familiar faces from Star Trek's past to return to the screen. Finally, in the TNG's third season, the wall between...