Twin Cities Trekkies

The yearly Year in New Trek panel live from CONvergence. For the third straight year, Twin Cities Trekkies attended CONvergence, the annual sci-fi and fantasy convention in downtown Minneapolis. This year's theme was Geek in the Machine , which celebrated robots, cyborgs and androids. Of course, what sci-fi and fantasy convention wouldn't be complete without some Star Trek thrown in? In th...

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. After the relative failure of The Final Frontier , Paramount likely did not want to do another Star Trek feature film. A prequel was bandied about, but the looming 25th anniversary in 1991 convinced the studio to make one more adventure with the Original Series cast. Produced in time for the 1991 25th anniversary, the film...

Spaceballs. In 1987, legendary filmmaker Mel Brooks wanted to create a Star Wars- like spoof film. He got permission from Star Wars creator George Lucas to create such a film. Spaceballs was a modest box office hit, but in the nearly four decades since its release, the film has become an instant cult classic. The cult classic status of the original film has led to a sequel, Spaceballs: The New One...

Celebrating 40 years of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Shortly after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock came out, Paramount wanted to lock down Leonard Nimoy to direct its sequel. They wanted his vision this time unlike the last film, and after an original script that included Eddie Murphy and the Klingon bird-of-prey decloaking at the Super Bowl was scrapped, the film was finally ready to go to...

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - a discussion about Season Three and predictions for Season Four and beyond. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will premiere its fourth season on July 23rd on Paramount+, and as such we have another ten episodes to explore. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes talks about seasons three and four of the series. Any feedback you have can be submitted to the Facebook...

Jonathan Archer and James T. Kirk. Two legendary captains of the Starship Enterprise. Two legends who made names for themselves in the earliest parts of Humanity's trek through the stars with early Starfleet and Federation history. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies - which is a partial rebroadcast of episodes 21 and 39 - Wes and Kenzie analyze both Jonathan Archer and James Kirk. PROGRAM...

The cancellation of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Wes' speculation about the future of Star Trek. On March 23, 2026, shortly after the season finale of the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy , news came that Paramount+ is cancelling the series after the recently-shot second season. To many who were against the series from the beginning, the news came as a relief. To many who enjoy...

The season finale of Starfleet Academy. In the season finale, we pick up right after the cliffhanger of “300th Night.” The Federation is trapped behind a massive barrier of Omega‑47 mines , a catastrophic technology capable of destroying subspace if detonated. The U.S.S. Athena , with the cadets aboard, is stranded on the wrong side of the minefield. Meanwhile, Nus Braka —the season’s main antagon...

The ninth episode of Starfleet Academy. In this episode, Caleb Mir , who finally uncovers the truth behind the mysterious messages he has been receiving. After decrypting a hidden trail of communications, he learns that his mother—long believed dead—is actually alive but stranded on Ukeck, a planet under invasion by the Venari Ral. This revelation propels the episode into a rescue narrative with h...

Wes' favorite episodes from both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Enterprise. Across seven combined seasons of television—three from The Original Series and four from Enterprise —Wes has spent years revisiting, re‑evaluating, and rediscovering the episodes that shaped his love of Star Trek. With so many classics, deep cuts, and character-driven gems to choose from, narrowing down...

The eighth episode of the first season of Starfleet Academy. In this episode of Starfleet Academy, we finally get trauma addressed. With the help of Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly, the cadets finally have a chance to deal with it. For S.A.M., it is a little different, and we find out a very old pain awaits The Doctor. You can share your feedback with us on our Facebook page at facebook.com/TCTrekkiesPod...

The seventh episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy . In the seventh episode of Starfleet Academy, we get a reflective, character‑driven episode that slows the pace after the traumatic events aboard the U.S.S. Miyazaki . With the Academy closing for its first holiday break, the cadets return home—and the story shifts to themes of identity, duty, family expectations, and the weight of destiny. In t...

Episode six of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The sixth episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a training exercise... one which has been done over a hundred years and using an ancient starship. However, there are twists and turns that makes you cringe. In today's livestream audio of Sunday's live broadcast, Wes talks about the episode and other things on his mind. You can share your fee...

Celebrating five years of Twin Cities Trekkies, as well as reviewing the fifth episode of season one of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. In the fifth episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, we attempt to solve the ending of Benjamin Sisko. Do S.A.M. solve it? Also, February 17 marks the fifth anniversary of the podcast, so how does Wes celebrate it? In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes revie...

The fourth episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy . In the fourth episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy , we learn the Klingon Empire's fate since the Burn, and we learn very much about Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diane). In the livestream audio of Sunday's livestream episode, Wes talks about the episode, podcast news, etc. Any feedback you have can be submitted to the Facebook page (facebook....

"Let He Who is Without Sin" and the weather in Star Trek . In six decades of Star Trek , there have been instances where weather plays a factor in an episode. Be it from hostile alien environments with storms, or an ion storm that sends people to an alternate, evil dimension, it has seen everything imaginable and more. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes welcomes Star Trek super...

In the third episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy , we learn of a new laser-tag game called Calica, but there was a missed opportunity to showcase a game mentioned numerous times in Star Trek: The Next Generation but for now, it is still hidden. In this livestream audio of Sunday (1/25)'s broadcast of Twin Cities Trekkies LIVE, Wes reviews the episode, gives podcast updates, shouts out a po...

Star Trek: Khan. Released from September to November 2025, Star Trek delved into the realm of a podcast audio drama with Star Trek: Khan . Originally developed as a miniseries by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer, the audio drama spans the gap between the Original Series episode "Space Seed" and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes re...

The first two episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Starfleet Academy premiered Jan. 15th on Paramount+, so what does Wes think about the episodes? In this livestream audio version of the tenth YouTube livestream of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes gives his reaction to the episodes, and other things on his mind. Any feedback you have can be submitted to the Facebook page (facebook.com/TCTrekkiesPod)...

Random Star Trek discussions. In 60 years of Star Trek, people have been having discussions about random Star Trek topics. Has that ever been put into podcast form? We're not sure, but on today's episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes welcomes the first guest of the new year, Linda Paiges , the co-host of both Treknopod and The Transporter Room and the two of them have random Star Trek discu...

Remembering those in the Star Trek family who passed away in 2025. In 2025, the Star Trek family lost several actors, behind-the-scenes artists, and prominent authors. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes reads obituaries for 49 people in the greater Star Trek family who have passed away in 2025. Any feedback you have can be submitted to the Facebook page (facebook.com/TCTrekkiesPod), or b...

The Borg. Retroactively foreshadowed in the first season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation, fully realized one season later, The Borg is easily identified as the biggest nemesis associated with the franchise, and is considered among the top three non-Human alien races along with the Romulans and the Klingons. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, the penultimate - and thirteenth - part o...

"Parturition." This early second-season episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the second of three episodes directed by Jonathan Frakes, the episode was designed to end the simmering feud between Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) which appeared to not be popular and not working for the viewing audience. Plus, the burgeoning love triangle between them and Kes (Jennifer...

Harry Kim. Everyone's favorite Ensign. Introduced in the first episode of Star Trek: Voyager , Harry Kim is a bright, shy and nervous Operations officer, but then throughout the course of the series, he "dies" twice, transformed into an alien and even defies Starfleet rules and regulations regarding sexual contact with an alien species. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, which this episode i...

Tuvok. Introduced in the first episode of Star Trek: Voyager , and played by Tim Russ, the character becomes an integral part of the Voyager crew, the "wise old Vulcan" who other characters seek for logic. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, which is the podcast's tenth part celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager , Wes sits down with Greg Vorob, formerly the...