To The Journey: A Star Trek Voyager Podcast

Message in a Bottle Commentary. With Char gone in the Delta Flyer, Tristan brings in his friend and Nerd Party Co-Host, Matt Hansen!  This week they riff on Season 4's "Message in a Bottle" with a joyous commentary track. Andy Dick made his mark in Star Trek by being the comedic counter to our beloved Doctor. The two seemed perfect for each other as they galavanted across the beautiful and new U.S...

BridgeMates Rematch. In Earl Grey 82, "When in Doubt Choose Data," Char and Tristan emerged victorious in BridgeMates, the "how well do you know your cohost" game show. In this To The Journey/Earl Grey ​crossover, Phillip Gilfus reprises his role as game show host as once again Char and Tristan face off against Darren Moser and Daniel Proulx in a Voyager-style rematch. Listen on and find out if Te...

Top Five Season Three Moments. Season Three of Voyager was filled to the brim with notable moments. A second appearance by Q, the solidification of Tom and Harry's bromance, The Doctor's holofamily, and eyebrow-raising dialogue between Kathy and Coco were just a few of the highlights of Voyager's third year. So, what's the cream of the crop? In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan cata...

A Voyager Prequel/Sequel. When a franchise is successful, it's only natural that fans and producers alike want more of it. Sometimes a spinoff show is a raging success, like Better Call Saul, the prequel to Breaking Bad. Then there are those other times when the expansion of a popular fandom doesn't measure up to what came before. The Star Trek spinoffs that came after TOS aren't immune from such...

Voyager in the Mirror Universe. The closest Voyager ever got to a Mirror Universe episode was "Living Witness," which portrayed the crew as ruthless toward those it encountered, and with quicker tendencies toward violence. Despite these similarities, this depiction was actually a historically inaccurate portrayal of Voyager's actions in the Delta Quadrant. This episode whet the appetites of many V...

What if Janeway Died? When it came to her crew, Captain Janeway would do anything to protect their safety...including sacrificing her own life. What if, on one of the many occasions where her life was in imminent danger, she really died and the Magic Reset Button was broken? Char and Tristan consider the numerous developments that would have happened to Voyager — both onboard the ship and in the s...

"Collective" Rewrite.  Children on Star Trek has always been a mixed bag. The Borg kids, whom we first meet in Voyager's sixth season episode "Collective," are no different. In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan attempt an assimilation of "Collective" in hopes of bringing it closer to perfection...or a rewrite, at least. They debate the usefulness of the Borg kids on Voyager, rave ab...

The Afterlife. Star Trek has never shied away from topics with no definitive answer, and therefore neither does To The Journey. In this episode, Char and Tristan undertake the episodes of Voyager that dealt with the possible afterlife. They examine several interpretations of where we might go after death, from The Great Forest to Gre'Thor — but be wary, for aliens living in another dimension could...

Missing Voyager Flashbacks.  The recipe for Star Trek success has a few key ingredients: thought-provoking sci-fi stories, social commentary embedded in said stories, epic space battles, and memorable characters. And when it comes to characters, we as fans don't ever get enough of our favorites. In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Earl Grey co-host Phillip Gilfus talk about missing charact...

Favorite Season Two Moments. Don a fresh uniform and brush up on your pool game, because you're invited to a party at Sandrine's on holodeck two at 1900 hours. What's the occasion, you ask? Char and Tristan are revisiting their "favorite moments" series in this episode of To The Journey. This time, it's Season Two on deck. So grab a drink from Sandrine, a slice of Jimbalian fudge cake from Neelix,...

The Killing Game, Part II Commentary. Star Trek two-part episodes tend to be known for a strong first half and weak conclusion. That is not the case when it comes to "The Killing Game," the second two-parter of Voyager Season Four. Despite starting with only a quarter of an hour of material for the second half, the writers pulled this one together with a nice mix of drama, humor, social commentary...

The Killing Game, Part I Commentary. After the cast and crew poured their hearts into the epic "Year of Hell" in Voyager's fourth season, it wouldn't have surprised anyone had Voyager steered clear of two-parters for the remainder of the season. However, the exhausted cast and crew went for it and gave us "The Killing Game," and pulled it off with gusto. Join Tristan and Char as they discuss World...

"Cold Fire" rewrite. The time has come again when Char and Tristan pick an episode of Voyager and give it a little TLC. This time, it's Season Two's "Cold Fire," where Voyager encounters the Caretaker's mate, Susperia, and a group of Ocampans who have embraced and honed their telekinetic abilities. Let us not forget the bonus of Kes accidentally boiling Tuvok. Listen on and find out what Char and...

"Tuvix" and "Similitude" Comparison. There are times when an idea is so good that you can't use it just once...right? Intentionally or not, the Trek writers have used similar plots for episodes of different series. Case in point: Enterprise's "Similitude" and Voyager's "Tuvix." Both spawn controversy about one's right to live, even if it means sacrificing another. The captains — Janeway and Archer...

The Voyager Reunion. It's deplorable that we did not see what happened to the Voyager crew after they returned home. Yes, we got a glimpse of a reunion in "Endgame," but Admiral Janeway eradicated that future. So, what would the intrepid crew be up to in the canon universe we know and love? In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan share their speculations on what each member of the crew...

Merry Prixin! Untangle the twinkle lights and hang some tinsel from the nacelles, it's that time of year where just about everyone is engaging in festivities of some sort. Since Char and Tristan are aboard the USS Voyager, naturally they are celebrating Prixin with Janeway, Chakotay, and  the crew. In this special installment of To The Journey, they discover what Prixin is really about.   Hosts Tr...

Trek Through the Tough Times. All of our lives are full of ups and downs. Though our minds gravitate towards looking back at the good times, the tougher times often equally affect who we become. In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan share how Voyager — and Star Trek in general — has been a constant and uplifting means of support through the more difficult periods in their lives, and...

Top Five Season One Moments. There are moments so remarkable that they instantly become what we think about when we recall the episode in which they occur. In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan take a look at Voyager Season One and narrow their favorite moments down to a list of five each. Even with a limited season of only 16 episodes, the task was challenging, so what made the fina...

Timeless Commentary.  Throw some confetti because it's party time, To The Journey is 100 episodes old! Char and Tristan celebrate this milestone by breaking a bottle of champagne over the warp core and watching Voyager's 100th episode, "Timeless." Listen in as they ponder Robert Beltran's true hair color; Borg skeletal structure; Janeway and Chakotay's after-dinner "dessert"; who named Captain LaF...

Let's Write a Story! Char and Tristan are both smart people capable of thinking creatively on the spot. The question is, how well? Find out in this episode of To The Journey, where Char and Tristan write an episode of Star Trek: Voyager together. With no preparation prior to recording, they develop a story from start to finish in their own "Voyager writer's room." Listen on and find out who starre...

Remember Rewrite. Episode quality varies greatly in Voyager's body of work, ranging from exceptional to downright pitiful. Most episodes fall somewhere in between these extremes, and they are the best candidates for a TTJ-style facelift. In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan share their ideas for how they would bring more life to Voyager's "Remember," a Season-Three story where the r...

The Borg Queen. She is the beginning, the end, the one who is many. After she was unveiled in Star Trek: First Contact, it seemed inevitable that the Borg Queen would make an appearance on an episode, or several, of Voyager. And make an appearance she did. In this episode of To The Journey, Charlynn and Tristan dig beyond the Borg Queen's presence on Voyager and ponder her origin, discuss the elem...

Author, Author and The Measure of a Man Comparison. With hundreds of hours of Trek under the writers' belts by the time Voyager arrived, it was no wonder that some stories brought about a feeling of deja vu. "Recycled plots" aren't necessarily a bad thing when they're given a new spin, and that's exactly what the writers did with Voyager's "Author, Author"—they took the insightful and compelling m...

The Raven Commentary. It's a bird! Check. It's a shuttlecraft! Check. It's a… Borg? Also check. When Seven of Nine find the wreckage of small science vessel she and her parents called home before being assimilated, she begins having hallucinations that seem to be calling her back to the Collective. "The Raven" began as the story of Seven's reactivation as a drone but became one that shed light on...

Trek Actors Directing Voyager.  Most Trek actors gained their notoriety in pop culture from their roles on their respective series. However, for some, their involvement in Star Trek didn't end in front of the camera. Several Trek actors from TNG, DS9 and VOY went to "Trek Directing School," did their homework, and eventually made their directorial debut on a Star Trek TV series. For Jonathan Frake...