Ken Gagne is joined by new co-host Em Maginnis to review the first two episodes of Strange New Worlds‘ third season!

After a two-year wait, we get a resolution to the season cliffhanger “Hegemony” — but with so many loose threads to tie up, everything felt a bit rushed and convenient. The action slows down for its more light-hearted successor, “Wedding Bell Blues”, which features some deep cuts to The Original Series and The Next Generation, satisfying these two long-time fans.

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Michelle Yeoh reprises her role as Philippa Georgiou in Section 31, a feature-length, made-for-TV movie spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery. While not without some fun moments and characters (especially Sam Richardson as Quasi and Kacey Rohl as as a young Rachel Garrett), this heist-movie-without-a-heist fell flat for Ken and guest (and show artist) Allison Holt.

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It doesn’t get more Star Trek than Tribbles and parallel universes! The combination of TNG‘s “Parallels” with Voyager‘s “Shattered” and “Living Witness” finally gives Ken the crossover he’s been waiting for since 1998. We also ponder what Klingon-Federation relations are like under Chancellor Martok, whether using retroviruses on invasive species is biological warfare, and the representation of those who live with degenerative diseases. Finally, we pay our respects to actor Patti Yasutake, TNG‘s Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, who passed away on August 5 at the age of 70.

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Even those whom Jean-Luc Picard has wronged recognize a worthy, if lost, cause when they see it. Our beloved captain continues to assemble his party as Ken, Bri, and Amanda — appearing together for the first time! — admire Romulan warrior nuns, roll their eyes at ancient Borg rituals, and get hyped for a reunion of liberated Borg, old and new.

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Captain Sabriel returns, as does Chief Archivist Amanda, to review the third-ever episode of Picard. As things heat up at the château, Jean-Luc assembles a crew to help him track down Soji and Maddox. Engage!

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The second episode of Picard introduces new characters and intrigue, rapidly advancing the plot while still not putting Jean-Luc on a starship. Ken and guest co-host Amanda are okay with this as we pull apart the threads of the Romulan’s Tal Shiar and Zhat Vash, our empathy (or lack thereof) for synthetic lifeforms, the integration of non-canon characters, and colorful metaphors in Trek.

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Patrick Stewart returns as Jean-Luc Picard in “Remembrance”, the pilot episode of Star Trek: Picard. Bri and Ken react to the return of this iconic character, how he’s changed over the last twenty years, and his ability to be the action star of this new series. We also puzzle over the connection between synthetics, Borg, and Romulan, and we spot the many tie-ins to the universe of The Next Generation as well as the 2009 movie.

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The second season of Short Treks ends with “Children of Mars”, giving Ken and Bri plenty to talk about! We examine the Starfleet educational system; the prevalence of shuttlecraft, bullying, and physical books; how labor laws and vacation time work; and how First Contact Day is observed.

More important, we piece together how this episode leads into next week’s debut of the Picard series. What involvement did Admiral Picard have in the attack of the rogue synths? What role do Section 31 and the Borg play, if any? There are many fine details hiding in “Children of Mars”; if you missed them, fear not, as we didn’t!

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For the first time in 45 years, Star Trek ventures into the frontier of animation! “Ephraim and Dot” is a comedic documentary about a tardigrade’s reproductive cycle, and “The Girl Who Made the Stars” is a tale of conquering one’s fear of the unknown. Ken and Bri review these two animated Short Treks, their place in Star Trek canon, and the promise they hold for future Star Trek series.

Finally, we look back at the cast and crew we lost in 2019: D.C. Fontana, Robert Walker, Michael Lamper, Aron Eisenberg, and René Auberjonois. We encourage all listeners who are able to make a donation to Doctors Without Borders in René’s memory.

Rene Auberjonois—Odo from DS9—has passed away.

When he autographed a photo for me, he asked if I would make a donation to Doctors Without Borders in return. I did.

Let's all make a donation to @MSF_USA in Rene's memory. https://t.co/3wBQyC7ShL #RIPReneAuberjonois #StarTrek

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When a decorated but dishonored Starfleet captain puts Cadet Thira Sidhu in an impossible situation, she must choose a side with lives on the line. To be or not to be? That is the question Sabriel and Ken pose to our guest, Dori Robinson, Boston theatre director and co-host of Shakespearean podcast The Mousetrap. Was Cadet Sidhu’s test calculating or cruel? How would we have responded in that same situation? Is any internship worth psychological torture? And what does it say about Number One? From Hamlet to Alexander Dumas’ man in the iron mask, the shortest Short Trek to date spawns the most literary episode of Transporter Lock!

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What would Star Trek look like if it were a comedy series? We don’t need to wait for the debut of Lower Decks, as the Short Treks episode “The Trouble with Edward” features both tribbles and the comedic talents of H. Jon Benjamin (Archer) and Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel). Ken and Bri ponder the consequences of this tale on Star Trek canon, from tribbles’ rate of breeding to the VCR-style post-credits commercial for breakfast cereal.

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New York Comic-Con featured the surprise debut of “Q&A”, the first in a new season of Short Treks. The premiere episode does not in fact feature the return of John de Lancie’s recurring villain; instead, it’s a blast from the past as Ensign Spock arrives for his first day of duty aboard the USS Enterprise. As Number One escorts him to the bridge, Spock takes the opportunity to barrage her with questions, just as Ken and Sabriel barrage the listener with their take on this mysterious commanding officer, the morality and defensibility of the Prime Directive, and the Gilbert & Sullivan musical The Pirate of Penzance.

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On the cusp of the new Picard series and a third season of Discovery, Ken and Sabriel pause to reflect on the best Star Trek series ever, as seen in Ira Steven Behr’s documentary, What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This new film was released on home video this month, and seeing it both in theaters and on Blu Ray brought back a lot of memories for Bri and Ken. We review our favorite moments of both the documentary and the series it celebrates.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
  • Available from Amazon & Apple (affiliate links)
• Indiegogo campaign for the documentary (full disclosure: Ken was a backer)
• Trailer

A grumpy old Chakotay learns to love again, while Dal learns an important lesson about being where he’s needed.

Tiffany and Ken pontificate the meaning of a Shakespearean quote, contemplate the significance of actors being in the opening credits when they’re not in the episode, question the lack of instruction these kids got on how to sail a ship, look forward to Gen Con, and and draw comparisons to everything from Frank Herbert’s Dune to Sunsoft’s Blaster Master.

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Susan Arendt of the Continue podcast joins us to review the second season of Star Trek: Discovery! We swoon over Anson Mount, relate to the Spock/Burnham dynamic, consider Tilly’s character development, grow nostalgic for the Enterprise, lament the inevitable malice of Control, theorize the future of the show, review the Spider-Man musical, and smash the patriarchy.

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The second season finale of Discovery has finally landed, offering plenty of space battles and fisticuffs that didn’t live up to their potential. The episode also tied up plenty of loose threads, but it left few hanging for us to get an idea of what to expect in the next season.

But we loved the dialogue and the characters, as always, with questions raised and answered in director Olatunde Osunsanmi’s behind-the-scenes diary, an interview with season three co-showrunner Michelle Paradise, and even the non-canon TNG novel Dark Mirror.

Ken and Bri bring you this wealth of lore in our season finale recap!

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The second season’s penultimate episode is a long, drawn-out affair with many ponderous, redundant speeches and reflections — making it one of Ken’s favorite of the season! Bri was less receptive, perhaps due to time travel giving her a headache. We swoon over the Enterprise and reflect on the characters’ inner monologues and heartfelt goodbyes while looking forward to a trip to the future.

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Ken & Bri are joined by Jessica Janiuk to discuss the antepenultimate episode of Discovery’s second season. Anson Mount elevates himself to “Best Star Trek Captain Ever” with his performance after learning Captain Pike’s future. We ponder the warm yet complex family dynamics of Spock, Amanda, Michael, Georgiou, Dr. Burnham, and even Saru, and we have more theories about how time travel and “Calypso” will tie into the season finale. Check out The Ready Room for more insight right from Pike himself!

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Dr. Burnham is alive! The possibility of having back a lost parent struck Ken, making this a difficult episode for not just Michael. But can Georgiou stand the competition for Michael’s affection? Meanwhile, the possibility of CONTROL being precursor to the Borg seems plausible but unlikely. Will the Sphere data fall into the wrong hands — or will Discovery use it to create a benevolent A.I. 950 years in the future? There’s a bonus time-travel reference to Chrono Trigger in this week’s special episode of Transporter Lock that, for the first time ever, eliminates the physical distance between its two hosts!

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Before finally learning the identity of the Red Angel, we have some difficult scenes to get through. Burnham’s decision reminds Ken of his own life-and-death ordeal, and the temporal mechanics give both of us a headache. On the bright side, Airiam’s funeral gives us hope that Doug Jones’ singing will be on the Discovery Season 2 soundtrack; we love Georgiou encouraging us to escape binary thinking; and we totally caught this tie-in to Voyager. Stay tuned for a post-credit sequence where we theorize the return of a classic Trek villain!

Deep cut #StarTrek canon connection in “The Red Angel” out of nowhere!

(Best watched after you see the episode.) #StarTrekDiscovery pic.twitter.com/xEog2oqTXn

— TrekCore ???? (@TrekCore) March 22, 2019

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Does anyone else need a hug? Michael and Spock fight over chess, and though he doesn’t finish his stratagem, the argument hit close to home with Ken but missed the mark with only-child Bri. The minefield brought back memories of Star Trek Beyond and how susceptible starships are to physical warfare. And Airiam, whom we came to know too late in the season, nonetheless bid a desperate farewell that left us breathless. We were nonetheless left with a general sense of confusion: has nobody in Starfleet ever seen the Terminator movies?!

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Burnham is caged in the menagerie of Spock’s mind! The Talosians stand in for us viewers, conveniently wanting to learn how these two siblings became estranged. Airiam and Section 31 are pitted against Discovery and the Red Angel in a temporal game of chess. Meanwhile, Captain Georgiou ports over some Terran tech while Discovery relies on outdated SQL databases. (Are they MySQL? MongoDB? Redis?! We need to know!!). Ken and Bri ponder these points while empathizing with Burnham’s shame and Culber’s pain. ????

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A probe from the future that threatens humanity? That’s V’ger. A temporal visitor changing the past? That’s the Temporal Cold War. Burnham knocking out Georgiou to get her way? That’s the Discovery pilot. Big-brained aliens? That’s the Star Trek pilot. But how do they all tie together?! Every answer raises new questions, and Ken and Bri do their best to puzzle their way through.

Later this month, come meet us at PAX East (March 28–31 in Boston, Mass.)! Ken will be moderating the panels “The Art of Craft: Inspiring Game Creations” and “The Return of Couch Play“, while Bri will be on the panel “A Discussion of Women in Esports“. She also hosts the show Pulse Bomb Ready on the new Overwatch website Blink and Recall!

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The USS Discovery violates an alien homeworld, circumvents the ruling government, and conducts an unauthorized medical experiment on a pre-warp civilization. But it’s cool, because Saru can fire needles out of his head now! We debate the ethics and legality of this gross violation of General Order One, aka The Prime Directive. Sabriel also has a theory about the identity of the Red Angel that absolutely blows Ken’s mind. All this and more on this week’s Transporter Lock!

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The midway point of Star Trek: Prodigy‘s second season sees the return of a franchise fan favorite while giving Admiral Janeway some killer action scenes. Our forecast was right that Prodigy would borrow heavily from another sci-fi series, The Flash — but maybe also Superman?? Ken and Tiffany also pontificate about the relationships between the multiverses, Voyager and The Next Generation, Travelers and Supervisors, and Zero and Maj’el.

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Tilly is kidnapped into the mycelial network, where a crewman thought lost is very much alive. But how does it all work?! This episode’s pacing issues left us with questions, but we’ve conjectured some pretty solid answers! And while Section 31’s communicators and tractor beams are pretty cool and all, we wonder how they’re going to put the cat back in the bag in time for this intelligence agency to be forgotten by the time of Deep Space Nine.

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A living sphere ensnares Discovery and forces its dying memories on it, causing Saru to enter his own death throes and Tilly to become possessed by a malevolent fungus. It’s just another day on Discovery! Bri and Ken fawn over Jett Reno and Number One, ponder the nature of the Kelpian life cycle, and wonder what James T. Kirk would look like in a Discovery uniform — all on this week’s Transporter Lock.

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It’s three — three — three plots in one! The third episode of the season has Michael and Lady Amanda on the search for Spock; Ensign Tilly is tripping on mushrooms; and L’Rell and Ash Tyler’s rule of the Klingon Empire is threatened. What did Burnham do to hurt Spock so badly? What tropes are the writers borrowing from Days of Our Lives? And was all this thrown together just to set up a Section 31 spin-off? We raise these burning questions and more before taking a side trek to Carpool Karaoke — all on this week’s Transporter Lock!

If you love musical theater AND @startrekcbs you better stop reading and just smash that play button.

FULL EPISODE: https://t.co/UT1co5zjmk
cc:@SonequaMG @may_wise @albinokid @actordougjones @appletv pic.twitter.com/FGrOoYBOhM

— Carpool Karaoke (@CarpoolKaraoke) February 2, 2019

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Discovery is trapped in a giant video game, where they must acquire an item at one red pulse to solve the puzzle at the next! Can they recruit Kratos to defeat Ares, who helped World War III survivors start a new religion on a distant planet? Director Jonathan Frakes directs this latest iteration of a classic Star Trek trope that leaves us curious about Earth’s religions, what’s on Tilly’s to-do list, and her connection to the mycelium network. All this and more in this week’s Transporter Lock!

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Season 2 of Discovery debuts! Captain Pike assumes control of the ship to investigate a new interstellar threat — but where’s his damn red thing? And where is Spock, who was a terrible foster brother to Burnham? Can Tilly convince Stamets to stay aboard the ship? Will we see comedian Tig Notaro again? And will the red shirt die?? The most humorous and action-packed season premiere of Star Trek ever sets us up for a new adventure, and Captain Sabriel and Chief Engineer Ken are here are your guides!

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After escaping Discovery in Season 1, Harry Mudd is back! While en route to be handed over to Starfleet authorities by a Tellarite bounty hunter, Mudd tries every con in the book and experiences a few flashbacks that give us insight into this devious miscreant. It’s the funniest Short Treks of them all — but is that what we wanted? And being the final Short Treks, how well has this experiment in short-form storytelling worked? Bri and Ken reflect on and rank the four vignettes in anticipation of Discovery‘s second season later this month!

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A young Saru makes his way off his pre-warp home planet in this uneventful, nondescript Short Treks. It’s not that it left us wanting more so much as it felt incomplete. But Captain Sabriel and Chief Engineer Ken have plenty of news of the Picard series, and we fondly revisit Patrick Stewart’s appearance on Frasier and Kelsey Grammer’s appearance on Star Trek.

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Star Trek Discovery offers a 33rd-century retelling of the Greek myth of Odysseus and Calypso in this serving of Short Treks. In this week’s podcast, Ken and Sabriel confuse Funny Face with Funny Girl, discuss the history of science-fiction popcorn, question whether the V’Draysh are human, and ponder the ultimate fate of the starship Discovery.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Is CBS All Access worth it?
• “Michelle Yeoh to Star in Georgiou Spinoff” (Dave Nemetz for TVLine)
• Michelle Yeoh on Instagram
• Star Trek: Lower Decks announcement
• Mike McMahan’s TNG Season 8 on Twitter
• “Review: It’s easy to fall in love with Her” (Ken Gagne for Computerworld)
• Our co-hosts with “DISCO” t-shirts
• The Streisand effect

Tilly and Po are runaways in the debut of Short Treks! This episode features the Discovery‘s ensign encountering a teenage alien from the planet Xahea. They meet, bond, and part as efficiently as the 15-minute episode will allow. Transporter Lock co-host Sabriel warmed up to the story after a second viewing, while it left Ken cold. Was this episode a bridge to season 2, or a prequel to season 1? Will we see more Xaheans in the future? And what does it mean to recrystalize dilithium? Find out in this week’s podcast!

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Star Trek: Discovery returns to CBS All Access this week with Short Treks, a series of four monthly mini-episodes! What characters will star in these short films, with what new writers making their scripting debuts? Sabriel and Ken anticipate the return of familiar characters while also catching up on the news of Jean-Luc Picard’s return and reminiscing about their favorite TNG episodes and commiserating the cancellation of the Stage 9 virtual re-creation of the NCC-1701-D. Why can’t we have nice things??

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Daystrom Research Institute on reddit
• Random Trek #91: “Tuvix”
• Star Trek Discovery on DVD & Blu Ray
• Joy of Tech: Bad script ideas for the return of Jean-Luc Picard
• Stage 9 virtual reality re-creation of the NCC-1701-D
• “I want to live in a world where they exist.“
• BostonFIG
• Polygamer Side Quest #1: Star Trek Beyond podcast review
• Random Trek #42: “Clues”
• Random Trek #20: “First Contact”
• The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers by Phil Farrand
• Star Trek: Voyager with the Frasier cast
• Star Wars Minute podcast

Two episodes of Prodigy reintroduce us to two classic Star Trek themes: the Medusan species; and the filler episode. Ken and Tiffany welcome the opportunity for character-centered storytelling, especially when it happens to lean into the trappings of Voyager. And Zero’s opportunity to experience the senses, as Data did in Generations, is an opportunity for us to reexamine what makes us who we are.

Plus a bonus review of the TOS episode “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”, as well as a round of the game “If you were a Discovery character, who would you be?” All this and more!

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We got our first look at season 2 of Discovery at last month’s San Diego Comic Con, and we can’t wait for more! With four short episodes coming out this fall, followed by the return of Christopher Pike and Number One, as well as a Discovery-themed Star Trek Online expansion and the Star Trek Las Vegas convention, it’s a good time to be a Trekkie. Ken and Bri share their hope for the future of Trek, reflect back on season 1 of Discovery and season 4 of Enterprise, review the movie Sunshine, and excitedly look forward to having breakfast cereal and doing our taxes.

Stream the audio edition of Transporter Lock above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Podchaser, or the Internet Archive.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Star Trek: Discovery — Season 2 trailer
• “Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 trailer will resonate with TOS fans” (Cyrus Farivar for Ars Technica)
• “Star Trek: Discovery Spinoff Short Treks Set at CBS All Access” (Lesley Goldberg for Hollywood Reporter)
• Rebecca Romijn confirmed as Number One
• Star Trek Online: Age of Discovery teaser
• Sunshine: “Adagio in D Minor”
  • Star Trek Into Darkness trailer
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer
• Star Trek Las Vegas

Al Rivera, aka Captain Geko, is the Principal Lead Designer at Cryptic Studios, developer of Star Trek Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. The debut of Star Trek: Discovery marks the first time in the MMO’s eight-year history that it has a current television show to work off, and we chatted with Al about all the opportunities and challenges that presents. Does Rivera get to see the show’s script in advance, or work with the show’s actors for original voice acting? How do characters and ships from the year 2255 show up in a game set in 2409? What unique gameplay mechanics do the spore drive and Crossfire-class ships present? Will next month’s DS9-themed expansion, Victory Is Life, include any Discovery content?

Rivera has been in the games industry since the Sega Dreamcast and a Star Trek fan longer than that; it was great to chat with him about this dream merging of his two worlds!

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The first season of Star Trek: Discovery has concluded. Having already reviewed the season finale, this week we take a step back and consider the entire 15-episode season as a whole. What was our favorite episode? Why isn’t Discovery set post-Voyager? Why couldn’t Sarek have been just another Vulcan, and what will his role be in Season 2? Do we wish the Klingon War had gone on longer? Is Discovery “Star Trek” enough? And how long-lasting will the consequences of the Enterprise‘s appearance be? All these theories and more in this week’s Transporter Lock!

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It’s the season one finale of Discovery, featuring an anticlimactic takedown of Terran Emperor Georgiou, a welcome end to the Burnham/Tyler/Voq love triangle, and a surprise cliffhanger appearance that left us in tears. Did you spot all the callbacks to Trek lore in the Orion outpost? Or on the Qo’noS map? We have the details you missed! We also welcome the feedback of all the volcanologists in our audience — we need to hear from you!

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The Discovery, back in the Prime Universe, finds itself at war with the Klingons and with a veritable rogues gallery aboard: Voq, L’rell, and Emperor Georgiou. A broken Admiral Cornwell makes some terrible decisions, while nobody gives a crap about the feelings of Burnham, recently out of an abusive relationship. Why is everyone such a jerk?? Everyone except Saru, whom we love in our bonus review of The Shape of Water!

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Things come to a head in the Mirror Universe as Michael Burnham must choose between two evil, racist, xenophobic, tyrannical despots, each of whom has been her captain. Bri and Ken suspect we haven’t seen the last of this dynamic trio, and we ponder how they’ll be reunited, what reactions they’ll have to living in the Prime Universe, and what roles they’ll play in reversing the Klingon victory over the Federation. Also: Is Mirror Kirk somewhere out there… and is he saner than we saw him in TOS? We answer a reader’s question!

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In the Mirror Universe, not everyone is what they appear to be… just like back home in the Prime Universe! Burnham discovers that Saru is delicious and that Emperor Georgiou is a cold-hearted murderer — but may be the Discovery‘s only way home. Stamets finds himself in the Mushroom Kingdom, where he gets one last chance to say goodbye to Hugh. And Ash Tyler is Voq, except when he’s Ash. These big surprises have small payoffs, but we’re still hoping for more in the season’s remaining three episodes.

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As captain of the ISS Shenzhou, Michael Burnham discovers what a small cast of characters the Mirror Universe has, every goateed rebel or sadistic ruler being someone she’s loved or killed back in the Prime Universe. Did some not-so-shocking revelations warrant a season-long buildup? Sabriel and Ken still question Lorca’s motives, Tyler’s future, what role Paul Stamets (either of them!) played in arranging this switcheroo, and just how far Burnham will go to hide — or reclaim — her own humanity.

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Susan Arendt of the Continue podcast and Genii Online fills in for Sabriel as Discovery returns to the airwaves. Are we surprised that our heroes have found themselves in the Mirror Universe, or that hot tortured guy may be a Klingon? We gush over Captain Killy and Jonathan Frakes’ directing, puzzle over Lorca’s origin and his relationship to Burnham, and ponder what’s next for the crew of the I.S.S. Shenzhou.

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Set 90 years after Enterprise and 10 years before The Original Series, Star Trek: Discovery has the potential to cross over with familiar characters new and old. Who would we like to see appear as guests on Discovery? Sabriel and Ken brainstorm everything from specific Klingons to Mirror Universe doppelgängers to Kelvin Universe cast members to T.J. Hooker. Come for Sabriel’s William Shatner impression — stay for our bonus review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi!

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After an action-packed opening to Star Trek: Prodigy‘s second season, Ken and Tiffany enjoy a breather as our heroes regroup before their next adventure. We debate the originality of an in media res opening, appreciate Rok’s dedication to the team, and contemplate the energy between Zero and Maj’el.

We also love the tie-ins to Star Trek IV (the one with the whales!), TNG (why is it always Jellico?), and even Lower Decks (is there a Voyager crossover in the works?!).

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Humanity may have evolved beyond materialistic needs by the 24th century… but here in 2017, all we want are Star Trek books, toys, and DVDs! For the Trekkie or Trekker in your life, or maybe just for yourself, Sabriel and Ken share their wish lists of the best Star Trek merchandise available this Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa / Yule / solstice / holiday season — whether it’s celebrating the 51st anniversary of The Original Series or boldly exploring the frontiers of the franchise’s newest show, Discovery.

Our gift recommendations:

• DVDs
  • Star Trek TOS 50th anniversary TV & movie collection
  • Star Trek Trilogy (2009–2016) collection
• Apparel
  • Star Trek Discovery Disco T-Shirt (women’s cut)
  • LGBT Pride shirts
• Accessories
  • Star Trek Discovery Insignia Badges
  • Star Trek Starfleet Command Insignia Logo Earrings
• Kitchen
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation Science Apron
  • Starship Enterprise Pizza Cutter
• Books
  • Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack
  • Star Trek: Discovery: Drastic Measures by Dayton Ward
  • The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard by David A. Goodman
  • Star Trek: TNG: Mirror Broken
• Toys & Travel
  • Star Trek Vulcan Travel Poster
  • 1701 LED Blueprint Lamp
  • Star Trek The Cruise II

All Amazon.com links are affiliate links that we’ve pledged to donate to the ACLU.

Featured image courtesy wintersoul1

Harcourt Fenton Mudd: scoundrel, con-man, forger, misogynist, thief, sociopath. When Captain Kirk’s recurring villain was reinvented for Discovery, his list of crimes expanded to include murder. Previously a harmless ne’er-do-well, Harry Mudd, portrayed on The Original Series and The Animated Series by Roger C. Carmel, became more than a thorn in Captain Lorca’s side when played by Rainn Wilson. Is he even still the same man?

In this episode of Transporter Lock, Bri and Ken offer their character analyses of Harry Mudd. What are his motivations, his morals, and his redeeming qualities, if any? If Star Trek was addressing social issues of the 1960s, was Mudd meant to represent gender inequality? And if Mudd’s a misogynist, does that make Captain Kirk a feminist? Has Mudd appeared too often on Discovery, and will we see him again? All this and more in this week’s show!

Who else would you like us to dedicate an episode of Transporter Lock to? Let us know!

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Star Trek: Discovery is off the air for the next two months, and its mid-season finale has left us with many questions. In this episode of Transporter Lock, Bri and Ken offer answers and fan theories to listener questions, submitted via email and reddit:

• How does Discovery align with Gene Roddenberry’s vision for humanity’s future?
• Who is the bigger threat to the Discovery‘s crew: Lorca, or L’Rell?
• Who are Michael Burnham’s parents?
• Where are the Andorians?
• How does Lorca keep his Tribble population under control?
• Are Ash Tyler’s memories of sexual assault his own — or is he misremembering Voq’s life?
• Would Anthony Rapp come out about his sexual assault by Kevin Spacey had Star Trek not given him a voice?
• How come we see no evidence of the spore drive in future iterations of Star Trek?
• Where has the starship Discovery warped to?

Thank you to everyone who shared their questions! Did we not answer yours? Hit us up on Twitter!

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