Trek Marry Kill

BAJOR IS OVER. At least, that's what Quark wants us to believe after a wave of Bajoran nationalism threatens the lives of every of non-Bajoran on the station. This week, Bryan and Kristen take a look at part two of Star Trek's first ever three-parter which sees the introduction of the 90s version of Hot Priest, Vedek Bereil, Major Kira's soon-to-be boyfriend. Is he as interesting now as he was the...

IT'S THE NINETIES. The Star Trek franchise has never been more popular and striking while the iron's hot is the Deep Space Nine writing staff determined to chart their own course away from the Next Gen juggernaut. But is this show's specificity and sometimes uncomfortable parallels with modern history a bridge too far for the audience of the time? How about today's audience? Bryan and Kristen expl...

BRAIN AND BRAIN! For a very long time, the third season premiere of The Original Series was considered one of the dumbest episodes of TELEVISION to have ever aired. Part of the reason Bryan wanted to do a Star Trek podcast was to see if time + examining episodes from a somewhat different perspective -- like the series of questions we ask about every episode before arriving at our judgment -- would...

PLAY IT AGAIN? Captain Picard comes to the rescue of a woman he ghosted! Will it be awkward? Chill? A chance to do it all over again? Bryan and Kristen relive some of the worst that eighties TV had to offer as Patrick Stewart and Michelle Phillips act out trite melodrama in a story that deals with some cultural detritus that has been (seemingly) left behind in the 20th century -- you don't see too...

POOR ROMULAN COMMANDER. She thinks she's got a chance with Mr. Spock, but his loyalty is to the Federation and Captain Kirk. This week, Bryan is joined by Mark & Ryan from the Ship Full of Jerks podcast to judge what many consider to be the best episode of The Original Series' third season. Mark & Ryan delve into the slashfic aspect of Kirk & Spock and how their dynamic plays into the events of th...

KIRK, SPOCK & McCOY just play their behavioral hits in a classic episode of The Original Series that includes everything great and everything 1960s about the show. This being the 55th anniversary year of the episode, it's worth wondering how much of it holds up and how much of it is of its time. Will Bryan and Kristen delight in the character-specific dialogue along with the Roddenberry-driven "sc...

STEALING THE ENTERPRISE has never looked so easy! In the second season premiere of the hit Strange New Worlds, the writers needed to write around Anson Mount's limited availability and did so by coming up with a prequel to "The Menagarie" -- Spock's first effort to hijack the ship! Is Spock's first time as impressive as his next time? And, does getting new backstory on M'Benga and Chapel give enou...

THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY of the September 11th attacks becomes a Star Trek turning point, as a vision of a hopeful future gets put on pause so that it can explore the deep grief of the American psyche in the "War on Terror." Our season premiere dealt with the episode that might've saved Star Trek as we knew it, but Enterprise's second season finale might've changed the franchise once and for all.  An...

CAPTAIN JAHEEL SUCKS. Bryan and Kristen are joined by special guest Katelyn Hempstead from the podcast Lizard People to talk about the fourth episode of Deep Space Nine ever which featured a virus that gave the infected aphasia. But more importantly, this episode includes a character so annoying, so worthy of derision, that Bryan has remembered him ever since this episode aired and after rewatchin...

GROW THE BEARD. Season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation fundamentally altered the course of the franchise's popularity and all of that started right here in the season two premiere. Based on a script recycled from the aborted Star Trek: Phase II series, this episode about Counselor Troi having a miracle child causes Bryan and Kristen to discuss abortion, yo momma jokes, and HIPAA laws. Will t...

BRYAN AND KRISTEN kick off the second season of Trek Marry Kill with a review of season one. What worked? What didn't work? What was the biggest complaint and how did we decide to address it? Season two will feature some minor tweaks to the format, including theme months, the animated shows, a new question to ask before TREK, MARRY, OR KILL? and a list of Wild Card episodes that Kristen drew from...

GOODBYE, SPACE DAD. Bryan and Kristen get together to say goodbye to Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D in the series finale of Star Trek: Picard. Is it a fitting end to the longest parasocial relationship of Bryan's life? Does Kristen dig the backdoor Star Trek: Legacy pilot season 3 Executive Producer Terry Matalas snuck in there?  Picard fights to rescue Jack from the clutches of...

ENTER THE ENTERPRISE. The last cast member of this Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion finally enters the story as Picard & co. seek refuge aboard their old ship after the season's main enemy reveals themselves during Frontier Day: the Borg, humanity's most lethal enemy, has a doozy of a plan that might be unstoppable.  This week, Bryan is joined by an old friend, Stu, now a movie producer, but...

THE FINAL ROUND between Data and Lore forms the center of a critical episode in sorting out the season arc of #StarTrekPicard season three. Bryan is joined by actor-improvisor-podcaster Katie Hampton (@ElSassyPants on Twitter) from the Napping Through Happy Hour podcast to talk about the challenges of playing two roles that involves acting against yourself and, wouldn't you know it, Brent Spiner i...

A BRIDGE EPISODE raises a lot of questions from Bryan, Kristen, and this week's special guest, Emmy Award-winning writer Joshua Pruett (@zombietardis on Twitter & Instagram). Does Jean-Luc's plan to turn the tables on Vadic in hopes of figuring out her master plan make sense or is it all just a bunch of nonsense? Check out The Last Comics on Earth, released April 25, 2023 by Viking Books and follo...

SUCH BEAUTIFUL STARSHIPS! That's all Bryan wants to talk about with special guest co-hosts Matt from Star Trek: Prodigy and Rian from QCODE Media, but there's a whole other storyline in there that makes this episode one of the stranger ones in Star Trek history. Just how much fan service is *too* much fan service, and does Picard-Season Three showrunner Terry Matalas body slam Bryan and his compla...

RO LAREN RETURNS and Bryan might still be tingling. Does this week's special guest co-host, Kat Spada of Feminist Frequency Radio, share his love for Picard's wayward protege? They also get into Todd Stashwick's continued excellence as Captain Shaw, talk about the pairing of Michelle Hurd & Michael Dorn, and other famous Star Trek things like wonky ADR and wigs.  The Changelings can now pass blood...

EMMY FOR FRAKES! At some point during the past 36 years, Star Trek: The Next Generation's Number One, Jonathan Frakes, became Star Trek's ambassador and a cultural meme in his own right. Bryan and Kristen weigh all that against his incredible work in this episode and quickly decide that this one is a lifetime achievement, one deserving of an Emmy Award! Succession? Who cares! Jonathan Frakes is wh...

WORF AND RAFFI become a classic Star Trek duo by the end of this episode that's mostly about Jean-Luc and Beverly's relationship reckoning. How could she keep a secret son from him for all these years? How does Ed Speleers pull off playing a 20-year old human male? How will the Titan evade the Shrike in this weird-ass nebula? What sort of celebrity gossip do Bryan and Kristen peddle about midway t...

WHO'S JACK CRUSHER? It's the question with an easy answer, only, Jean-Luc Picard's in denial. This week, we're joined by Joel, who runs Trek Against ALS, a special fundraiser to help in the fight against ALS by raising support funds for Margot, who was Jeri Ryan's stand in on the ABC series "Body of Proof" and in the last two seasons of Star Trek: Picard.  Come aboard and listen to Joel talk about...

ALL GOOD THINGS... get one more story in the 21st century and Star Trek: The Next Generation proves to be no exception. Will this reunion be like an eighth season of TNG or the best season of Star Trek: Picard ever or the best TNG movie we never got? You'll just have to log on and listen! Jean-Luc Picard receives a message from Dr. Beverly Crusher who needs his help on the edge of Federation space...

REMIX OF TERROR? Strange New Worlds concludes its first season with a bookend to Captain Pike's dilemma setup in the series premiere: dude knows he's gonna suffer a terrible fate. Does this episode help him see that he shouldn't try to wiggle out of it? Bryan and Kristen examine an episode that serves as a "What If?" story to one of the stone cold classic episodes from The Original Series. Is the...

THE VOYAGE HOMAGE. Captain Pike leads a rescue team to an icey planet after the USS Peregrine crash lands there, only to discover that Gorn invaders caused the crash and are not on the planet with them!  Joining Bryan this week is the hilarious Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub on Twitter) from the best college football podcast ever made: Shutdown Fullcast. He's here because one of his New Year's resol...

CHILDCARE CRISIS RESOLVED! For most of the first season, Dr. M'Benga has been stuck caring for his daughter who's stuck in Sickbay's medical transporter buffer. That changes after the Enterprise's chance encounter with a living nebula! Does the nebula's ability to transform the crew into characters from his daughter's favorite book wind up being a great story twist or merely a lot of fun for the c...

ANGEL OR DEVIL? This week, Bryan is joined by special guest co-host Jen (writer at Baseball Prospectus) to discuss one of the most interesting episodes of Star Trek we've ever seen. The legacy of Spock has featured the culture clash of his human side vs. his Vulcan side, and in this episode of Strange New Worlds that dynamic faces a direct challenge from one of the most compelling characters ever...