All Access Star Trek – A TrekMovie.com Podcast

One year ago last August, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds made history with “Subspace Rhapsody,” the franchise’s first musical episode. To celebrate the milestone Anthony and Laurie are joined by musicians Tom Polce and Kay Hanley, who wrote all the songs for the episode (and Laurie can hardly contain herself). They talk about what the songwriters were asked to do, how it changed along the way, and get into the details on each of the individual songs. Kay and Tom also talk about working with the actors, squeezing technobabble into song lyrics, and play a bit of an early demo. They answer burning questions like “Is Akiva serious when he says he wants to bring ‘Subspace Rhapsody’ to Broadway?” and “Who was the most nervous about doing a musical episode?”

Brian Drew from the Shuttle Pod podcast joins Anthony and Laurie this week. They talk about the latest twist in the Paramount merger (now that another bidder has emerged), round up the news on Starfleet Academy, Section 31, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, that Star Trek workplace comedy Tawny Newsome and Justin Simien are developing, and the Nicholas Meyer audio drama about Khan we haven’t heard about in a while. They touch briefly on the upcoming Blu-ray & DVD releases of Prodigy season 2 and all of Discovery, and then it’s time to dig in to all things Star Trek Las Vegas. The trio discusses the changes this year and goes over the highlights of the convention from panels, to events, to the hotel and much more. They wrap up with some bits of interesting and fun moments from STLV.

Laurie and Tony couldn’t record this week but we still wanted you to have something fun to listen to, so here is Laurie’s recent interview with Kate Mulgrew and Tony’s with Wil Wheaton. Both talk about their roles in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 and what it would take for them to return to live-action Star Trek as Admiral Janeway and Traveler Wesley. Enjoy!

This is a live recording of the TrekMovie.com “Star Trek Status Report: 2024 And Beyond” panel held on Saturday, August 3rd at Creation Entertainment’s STLV event in Las Vegas. This is the biggest Star Trek convention of the year and Tony and Laurie from the All Access Star Trek podcast were joined by Matt and Brian from the Shuttle Pod podcast to talk about the current status of the Star Trek franchise, focusing on TV and film, as well as where things are headed with announced, potential, and rumored projects. They also discuss how the changing media and business landscape is impacting the franchise, and what the pending Paramount/Skydance merger could mean for Star Trek.

Anthony and Laurie pull together all the news and reveals from SDCC, covering Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, the Section 31 streaming movie, a new Trek sitcom in development, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, a Doctor Who/Star Trek crossover, IDW’s plans for Lower Decks comics, and Prodigy. They talk about the trailers, the clips, the conversations, and more, and play clips from Laurie’s brand-new interview with Kate Mulgrew. They wrap up with a reminder to come say hi if you’re at Star Trek Las Vegas!

[Review starts at 18:05] Anthony and Laurie kick off this week’s podcast with Chris Pine’s thoughts on the next Kelvin Universe movie and an update on the Voyager documentary. the hype around San Diego Comic-Con, and what to expect at Star Trek Las Vegas next week. They give an update on the availability of Prodigy season 2 in other countries, play a little more of Tony’s interview with Wil Wheaton, then dive into their review of the final five episodes of season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy, talking about the main story, character arcs, relationships, time travel conundrums, and how satisfying it was as a possible series finale. They wrap up with recommendations for a Twitter follow and some great Star Trek books.

[Review starts at  21:13] Matt from The Shuttle Pod fills in for Laurie this week to cover the news with Tony. We cover the latest award news, and speculate about the announced Star Trek collaborations, including the one with Doctor Who. There’s also a little casting update for Starfleet Academy and a story tidbit from the “Star Trek Origin Movie.” Turning to Prodigy the guys discuss our latest interview with the Hageman brothers and roll a preview clip of Tony’s brand-new interview with Wil Wheaton. We then run Tony and Laurie’s previously recorded review of Prodigy season 2 episodes 11-15, discussing how the show takes a bit of a pivot in tone, and takes deeper dives into the characters, with some fun diversions along the way. But we still can’t figure out where the show stands on the whole J/C thing. The podcast wraps up with a brief preview of STLV coming in the first week of August, which will include a TrekMovie.com panel.

[Review starts at 21:14] Anthony and Laurie kick off the podcast with the news that Paramount Global and Skydance have officially agreed to a merger, discussing the next steps and potential implications for Star trek. They also preview what to expect at the Star Trek Universe and other official panels announced for San Diego Comic-Con later this month. In addition, there is a new casting announcement for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and the international chart success of Star Trek: Prodigy. Then they review the next batch of five Prodigy season 2 episodes, covering episodes 6 through 10, taking them to the halfway point of the new season which dropped on Netflix on July 1.   They wrap up with a quick bit about Leonard Nimoy, Katey Sagal and Norman Lear.

[Review starts at  15:48] Anthony and Laurie start with the surprising news that the Skydance/Paramount talks are back on and heating up. They also discuss the latest on Trek movies on the big screen (including Chris Pine’s comments about playing an older Kirk) as well as the small one, Celia Rose Gooding’s thoughts on Uhura in season 3 of Strange New Worlds, Mike McMahan’s tidbits about season 5 of Lower Decks, and Rosario Dawson’s revelation that she had to turn down a Star Trek role to be in Ahsoka. Then it’s time to dig into the very long-awaited season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy. Tony and Laurie review the first five episodes, looking at them individually and as an arc and celebrating that the show is finally back. They wrap up with Neil DeGrasse Tyson on if scientists have discovered Dyson Spheres (like from TNG “Relics”), and Laurie’s guest appearance on the Deep Space Love podcast to talk “Rejoined.”

Tony is off this week but we present the full audio (minus a couple of bigger spoilers) of his new interview with Kevin and Dan Hagemans, co-creators and showrunners for Star Trek: Prodigy. The brothers talk about what’s new in season 2, how it connects to other Star Trek shows, and how they assess what could happen next for the series. All 20 episodes of Prodigy season 2 land on Netflix on Monday, July 1. Check TrekMovie.com next week for discussion from Dan and Kevin of some of those bigger spoilers. Starting next week the All Access Star Trek podcast will begin our “Summer of Prodigy,” reviewing the 2-part premiere of season 2.  

Fresh off the release of the first trailer and more details for season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy, coming to Netflix on July 1, Tony and Laurie are joined by co-executive producer Aaron Waltke. He breaks down the trailer and gives us more insight into how the new season was crafted, what we can expect for our familiar characters and new characters (including the USS Voyager-A), and more. We wrap up the pod pointing fans to some great YouTube vids with Star Trek model mashups and DS9 transformed into the sitcom 30 Rock. We also reveal who won the Master Replicas golden Enterprise-D giveaway.

[Laurence Luckinbill interview starts at 22:07 ] Anthony and Laurie are celebrating the 35th anniversary of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier by chatting with Laurence Luckinbill, who played Spock’s half-brother Sybok. But first, they cover the news: the latest on who may or may not be buying Paramount, the addition of Paul Giamatti to the Starfleet Academy cast, Alex Kurtzman’s thoughts on the future of the franchise, the upcoming release of Prodigy on Netflix, the Discovery box sets coming our way, Star Trek at the Peabody Awards, and the new podcast coming from Enterprise‘s Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating. Then they settle in to talk with Laurence Luckinbill about the making of the movie, his feelings about it now, and more. They wrap up with a closeout sale on Eaglemoss ships from Master Replicas—with a chance to win one!—and a poetry book from the Delta Flyers.

Tony has the week off so we are presenting the full audio of his latest interview with Doug Jones talking about Saru and the Star Trek: Discovery season 5 finale and how it was turned into a series finale with the extra “epilogue.” Laurie introduces the interview and points listeners to TrekMovie.com for updates on Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 and the potential Skydance/Paramount merger.

After a brief production update on Strange New Worlds and the latest from Alex Kurtzman on the Starfleet Academy show, Anthony and Laurie are ready to do their final review of Star Trek: Discovery. They play some clips from Tony’s new interview with Doug Jones, then dig into the series finale, “Life, Itself,” to determine how satisfying it was as a season and series finale and discuss character arcs, visuals, performances, connection to the Short Treks “Calypso,” and more. They wrap up with the good news that Gates McFadden’s podcast is getting a season 3 and some great interviews with Kay Hanley and Tom Polce, the songwriters behind Strange New Worlds‘ “Subspace Rhapsody.”

[Discovery 509 review with Lisa Klink starts at 25:59] There’s big news this week! Anthony and Laurie talk about the announcement that Oscar winner Holly Hunter will lead the Starfleet Academy series and reports that Simon Kinberg is in talks to oversee a new era of Star Trek feature films. They discuss the news that Picard’s Terry Matalas is showrunning for Marvel, note that Strange New Worlds season 3 is about to wrap, and try to be patient like the Hageman brothers about when to expect Prodigy on Netflix. After listening to some of Tony’s interview with Discovery’s Blu del Barrio (Adira), Tony and Laurie are joined by Voyager/Deep Space Nine writer Lisa Klink to review the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery, “Lagrange Point.” They wrap up with a fan-led stream-a-thon to save Lower Decks and a lovely article from Discovery’s Patrick Kwok-Choon about becoming a dad and captaining the USS Discovery on the same day.

[Discovery 508 review starts at 15:17] Laurie’s back from vacation, just in time for Anthony to fill her in on the latest about Paramount’s attempts to find the right buyer. Not a lot of other news this week but they catch up on a comic book milestone and some nominations for IDW. They talk about Star Trek: Discovery‘s first appearances on the Nielsen charts and play some audio from Tony’s recent interview with Doug Jones (Saru), then launch into their review of episode 508, “Labyrinths” with bonus commentary from co-writer Eric J. Robbins. Tony and Laurie agree it was an excellent episode weaving in Burnham’s character deep dive with the Breen plot action. They wrap up with updates on some local Star Trek conventions.

[Discovery 507 review starts at 24:00] Laurie is still away on vacation, so once again Shuttle Pod’s Matt Wright joins Anthony to talk about the Trek news of the week, and again we start with the chaos at Paramount Global as they continue talks with Skydance and Sony/Apollo, with our analysis of what this all could mean for Star Trek’s future. In better news, the Star Trek franchise just won a Peabody Award. We then catch up with the latest from some Kirks: Chris Pine wondering why Star Trek 4 needs yet another screenwriter, and William Shatner pondering the possibility of returning to Trek through the magic of CGI de-aging. Turning to Star Trek: Discovery, they get an update from Doug Jones explaining his mid-season absence (he took time off to promote Hocus Pocus 2) before rolling in some audio from Tony’s new interview with actor Elias Toufexis, including what it was like for him to perform as L’ak in “Erigah” in full makeup in a bed for the whole episode. The avowed Star Trek fan also took on a nitpicky question about the Breen from “Erigah” as well. NOTE: The full interview with Elias will be going up on TrekMovie.com this weekend.  We then rolled in our previously recorded review with Laurie for “Erigah” where she and Tony agreed it was a strong fast-paced episode that got a lot done for the season plot and the characters, with a lot of fun from Reno and more. Matt sticks around for bits of the week, where we take a look at Michelle Yeoh’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a recently unearthed film from one of the fist Star Trek conventions in the 1970s.

[Discovery 506 review starts at 21:39] With Laurie away on vacation, Shuttle Pod’s Matt Wright joins Anthony to talk about the Trek news of the week, starting with the chaos at Paramount Global with the CEO leaving and competing bids to buy the company. They also catch up on Toronto’s new “Star Trek Stage,” get an update on TeakTrek from PanCAN PurpleStride, and consider the value of Star Trek teaming up with World of Tanks. Matt and Tony also take a look at fan efforts to support (and maybe even save) Star Trek: Lower Decks. Turning to Star Trek: Discovery, they play some audio from Tony’s new interview with Mary Wiseman talking about Tilly’s adventure in this episode and her potential future. The podcast then rolls in Tony and Laurie’s previously recorded review of “Whistlespeak” where they agree it is a rich episode that is a bit of a throwback to classic Trek. Matt sticks around for bits of the week, where we take a look at Laurie’s European adventure with Little Riker and wish veteran Star Trek director Ralph Senesky a very happy 101st birthday.

[Discovery 505 review starts at 17:00] Anthony and Laurie start with a Star Trek: Strange New Worlds production update, then round up the latest on the William Shatner documentary, a new Discovery coffee table book, and IDW’s “Star Trek: Celebrations” comic. Then they play some audio from Tony’s recent interview with Carlos Cisco, co-writer of this week’s Star Trek: Discovery episode, “Mirrors.” After that, they give “Mirrors” a full review; Tony liked it more than Laurie, but they both enjoyed the Moll and L’ak backstory. We also have a quick reminder about the PanCAN Purple Stride walk happening this weekend, which you can hear all about in our supplemental interview released on Monday. They wrap up with two podcast recommendations: first a deep dive into the competing Paramount bids on The Town, and a recent interview with makeup legend Michael Westmore on The 7th Rule.

In this supplemental edition of All Access Star Trek, Anthony and Laurie are joined by Armin Shimerman, Kitty Swink, Jonathan Frakes, and Juan Carlos Coto (Manny Coto’s brother) to talk about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the Purple Stride walk on April 27th, the importance of early detection and family support, the improvements in detection and symptoms to watch out for, why there’s hope for the future, and the power of Star Trek fans to do good in the world as a group. They also talk Trek, covering topics like Ferengi makeup new and old, the cancellation of Lower Decks, the definition of “filler episodes,” the differences on set between Star Trek in the ’80s and ’90s vs. now, and more. John Billingsley was going to join the group, but was unable to make it at the last minute. He will be at the Purple Stride walk! If you can, please join Purple Stride, donate to the cause, or both. If you can’t, please spread the word via social media and word of mouth. purplestride.org/TeamTrek

[Discovery 504 review starts at  26:00] Anthony and Laurie start with the good news that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been renewed for another season and the bad news that Lower Decks will end after its fifth. The Trek on TV talk continues with Alex Kurtzman’s description of the challenges of making Trek for streaming networks and the benefit of shorter seasons, plus Martin Quinn’s comments about being the first actually Scottish actor to play Scotty. Then they start talking movies: the announcement that the origin movie has been officially added to Paramount’s production slate and a cryptic conversation on The View about Whoopi’s potential involvement in a Trek film. Next up, the return of the original Enterprise model to the Roddenberry family and the latest on Star Trek: Discovery—and then it’s time for a full review of Discovery episode 504, “Face the Strange,” which Tony and Laurie consider the highlight of the season so far. They wrap up with the invoking of Star Trek at a White House State Dinner and the Trek-adjacent series The Librarians.

[Discovery 503 review starts at 23:00] Anthony gives an update on the Star Trek prequel movie, then he and Laurie dig in to the latest on the Paramount/Skydance talks, talking about why shareholders aren’t thrilled about Shari Redstone’s plans and what that could mean. They discuss the new offerings from the Roddenberry Archive and new Star Trek-branded coffee, then turn their attention to Star Trek: Discovery. They talk about showrunner Michelle Paradise’s reasons for using TNG’s “The Chase” as an inspiration for the season, plus Mary Wiseman’s (not-so) cryptic comments about the Starfleet Academy show, and play some audio from Laurie’s recent interview with Wilson Cruz on the same topic. They briefly chat about the “This season on…” trailer and then dive into their review of Discovery episode 503, “Jinaal,” talking about Wilson Cruz’s strong performance, Trill mythology, the challenges of juggling multiple stories where some are less compelling than others, and more. Then it’s time for their bits of the week: Ernie Hudson’s description of auditioning to play Deep Space Nine‘s Ben Sisko and a podcast about Leonard Nimoy and the early days of Star Trek fandom with Bonnie Moss.

[Discovery 501 review starts at 24:32; 502 starts at 57:35] Anthony and Laurie are joined by Matt from the Shuttle Pod this week! They start with the latest news on a potential Paramount sale to Skydance, Alex Kurtzman’s hopeful statements about Trek “surprises,” the addition of a Deep Space Nine channel to Pluto TV, and Hugo nominations for Strange New Worlds. They also speculate on new info about the Section 31 movie and talk about the “First Contact” score heard at a NATO ceremony last week. After that, they take a deep dive into the first two episodes of season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery (“Red Directive” and “Under the Twin Moons”), discussing the refreshing pace of the show, character arcs, best moments, nitpicks, and play a clip from Sonequa Martin-Green’s interview at the NYC premiere about the Burnham/Rayner relationship and what it means to her.

Anthony and Laurie have a lot of news to go through from the recent Star Trek cover story in Variety! They give updates on the Section 31 streaming movie, Starfleet Academy, and the Star Trek movies that are still moving forward (or in development), as well as the latest on season 3 of Strange New Worlds. They discuss the release of Prodigy season 2 on French TV. The bulk of the pod is devoted to clips from their Star Trek: Discovery season 5 junket interviews. Co-showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman and actors Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, David Ajala, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, and Blu del Barrio all talk about what to expect in season 5, which arrives next week. They wrap up with 3 Body Problem interview with Rosalind Chao and one of Laurie’s birthday presents: a USS Enterprise-D Bluetooth speaker.

Anthony and Laurie are joined by Brian Drew from the Shuttle Pod podcast this week. They start by looking at the latest competing offers to buy Paramount Global, what else is on the table, and how all these high-level business dealings might impact the Star Trek franchise on TV and the big screen. And in other business news, we hear what some executives had to say about the future of Trek on the big screen and why Star Trek: Legacy has not been greenlit for the small screen. There is also some production news to catch up on for the Section 31 movie and Strange New Worlds and a few Discovery season 5 tidbits. The trio then moves on to talk about the new William Shatner documentary You Call Call Me Bill and the NYC premiere event (that Brian and Laurie attended) where Shatner and his director, Alexandre O. Philippe, did a Q&A with Neil deGrasse Tyson. All three offer their thoughts on the doc and how it fits its subject perfectly. They wrap up with a Star Trek prediction update from the BBC, a look forward to Adam Nimoy’s new memoir about his father, and a look back at Gene Roddenberry’s The Lieutenant.

Anthony and Laurie start with the latest intel on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. They talk about the Critics Choice Super Awards nominations for Strange New Worlds and Picard, then dive into Terry Matalas’ comments about choices made, ideas abandoned, and production challenges on seasons 2 and 3 of Picard. Then it’s time to get into the latest live events: Tony talks about his experience at Star Trek San Francisco and the podcasters talk about panels with Melissa Navia, Robert Picardo (about Prodigy), and Lower Decks cast members. Then it’s Discovery time! Laurie and Tony play clips from TrekMovie’s red carpet interviews with Sonequa Martin-Green, Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, Wilson Cruz, Doug Jones, and Blu del Barrio, who talk about what to expect in season 5 as well as the legacy of the show itself and what might come in the future. They wrap up with their own spoiler-free thoughts on the first four episodes of the new season.

Tony is busy this week headed to the ST-SF convention in San Francisco so we are bringing back an interview we did last summer when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was waiting to start production on season 3 due to the strikes. The show is now half way through production and so we thought it was a good time to hear what Chris had to say… ORIGINAL EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Laurie and Tony have a lengthy, engaging conversation with Chris Fisher, producing director and co-executive producer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. His enthusiasm for the job and the show is infectious as he talks about hiring and working with directors, working with Paul Wesley, collaborating with the creative teams, using the AR wall, combining practical with virtual effects for the Gorn, what he knows (and doesn’t) about the Section 31 movie, and much more. He also gives his take on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (and how long it would take to get production rolling again once they’re over) and talks about being mentored by Star Trek behind-the-scenes vets Merri Howard and Marvin Rush.  

Anthony and Laurie start by remembering Discovery actor Ken Mitchell who passed away earlier this week. The podcasters then go over the latest news, including a Paramount business update, a deep dive into the new Discovery season 5 trailer, and Aaron Bossig’s Star Trek: The Cruise logs. Then it’s an extended interview with writer, producer, and podcaster Mark Altman, starting with the Inglorious Treksperts podcast celebrating its 300th episode this week where the Treksperts talk Star Trek III with special guests Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, Fox president Steve Asbell, and Marvel president Kevin Feige. We also cover Mark’s upcoming Star Trek locations documentary (To Boldly Go), his excitement about working with Jonathan Frakes on the new sci-fi show Deathlands, and his thoughts on the future of the Trek franchise. Things wrap up with our bits of the week: Trekkies saving democracy and an analysis of Trek’s horniest episodes. Here is a breakdown of this week’s pod: 00:36 Remembering Ken Mitchell 03:19 Star Trek news of the week 21:04 Mark Altman interview 1:28:34 Trek bits of the week visit HTTP://TREKMOVIE.COM for more details and links and to comment on this week’s episode

Anthony and Laurie do a news roundup this week, starting with the potential for a streaming partnership with Paramount+ and Peacock and what that could mean for the Star Trek franchise. They go through the latest on Star Trek: Discovery (including its premiere date announcement and the potential for cast crossover on the new Starfleet Academy show), Terry Matalas’ Writers Guild nomination for Picard, Patrick Stewart’s Showperson of the Year award, what to expect in the new season of Lower Decks, production updates from Strange New Worlds, books and comics coming our way, and the Star Trek Cruise. They wrap up with an article asking if we’ve become too cynical for Star Trek, and the highlights of Virtual Trek Con 5.

Anthony and Laurie start with the news about Picard’s big night at the Saturn Awards. We dig new revelations about recent shelved Star Trek movies including Noah Hawley revealing his Trek film would have starred Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek. And Tony talked to Danai Gurira about almost being in the Star Trek 4 movie with Chris Hemsworth. The podcasters catch up on the upcoming release of season 4 of Lower Decks and the Star Trek spatial experience on Apple Vision Pro, and William Shatner’s thoughts on an AI version of Captain Kirk. Then they dig into Tony’s interviews at the recent Saturn Awards. We have audio with Doug Jones about season 5 of Discovery, Paul Wesley about Kirk’s evolution into season 3 of Strange New Worlds, Tawny Newsome on season 5 of Lower Decks and season 1 of Starfleet Academy. Jeri Ryan, Terry Matalas, and Michelle Hurd talk about season 3 of Picard and the chances of returning in Star Trek: Legacy, as do TNG stars Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Wil Wheaton. Tony also talked to Nicolas Cage about his desire to be in Star Trek and Gremlins star Zach Galligan about guest starring in Voyager.  

Anthony and Laurie go through the latest news: Byron Allen’s company is interested in buying Paramount, Michelle Yeoh’s Section 31 co-stars have finally been announced, Dave Blass says the Picard spin-off is still not in the works, the TNG cast is set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Saturns, Patrick Stewart stars in a new Super Bowl ad for Paramount Plus, Zoe Saldana thinks the Kelvin crew might get one last film together, and William Shatner’s new biographical documentary has a trailer. [18:22] After that, they chat with actor John de Lancie about FanFair, the company he and his son have to get digitally signed unique artwork to fans who can’t make it to conventions. He also talks about some of his early choices as he played Q in the Next Gen series premiere and beyond, his conversations with Gene Roddenberry about how often Q would be on the show, his surprise at finding out Q would die in Picard season 2, and that post-credits finale scene in Picard season 3. [68:48] They wrap up with John Larroquette playing a Klingon again on Night Court, and a fun thread about “Threshold” salamander sex from The Vagina Museum.

Anthony and Laurie catch up on Star Trek news this week, starting with the latest acquisition offer for Paramount Global from Skydance. They talk about a new interview with Elias Toufexis, one of the main villains of the upcoming final season of Discovery as well as Doug Jones’ comments about the finale. They check in on the latest Picard spin-off talk from its showrunner and stars, hear from the Prodigy producers about the upcoming Janeway-Chakotay reunion, and round up the other tidbits from Trek Talks 3, including a “Tuvix” debate and some behind-the-scenes insights about the Lower Decks/Strange New Worlds crossover. They wrap up with Paul Giamatti as a Klingon and a quiz about which Star Trek actor should give you a hug.

Anthony and Laurie start with the biggest news of the week: A new Star Trek movie is in development! They go through the tidbits of information available and talk about director Toby Haynes, who directed the Trek-themed Black Mirror episode “USS Callister.” They also discuss Patrick Stewart’s comment that a Picard movie is possibly in the works, William Shatner’s thoughts on his Kirk being “erased,” and the departure of the TOS and TNG movies from Paramount+ to Max. They also talk about Jeri Ryan and Terry Matalas’ Astra TV Award wins for Picard, episode titles and a premiere event for Star Trek: Discovery‘s final season, comments from Prodigy producers about the Janeway-Chakotay reunion coming in season 2, and the arrival of Ezri Dax in Star Trek Online. They wrap up with a final preview of Trek Talks 3 before the big event on Saturday.

Anthony and Laurie are joined by TrekMovie’s Aaron Bossig, Dénes House, and Joe Andosca plus Ann Marie Segal of Virtual Trek Con and The 7th Rule to talk about everyone’s Star Trek favorites of 2023 and what they’re expecting in Trek in 2024. Categories include best episodes of the three shows that had new seasons last year, best merch, best return of a legacy character, best podcast, and more. As for 2024, topics include new seasons of current shows, the final season of Discovery, the arrival of the Section 31 movie event, books, comics, cons, and more, as well as some speculation on possible new shows and what might happen with a Star Trek feature film.

Anthony and Laurie start their last podcast of 2023 with the latest on the possible merger between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery and how that could affect the Star Trek franchise, and some insight into the shelved Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie, based on a new interview with its writer. They also discuss Michelle Yeoh’s update on prepping for the Section 31 TV movie event, the early success of Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix, and what the producers have said they’d like to do if the show gets additional seasons. [23:35] Then it’s their interview with Enterprise‘s John Billingsley, who has come by to talk about the upcoming benefit for the Hollywood Food Coalition: an all-day marathon of Star Trek panels on YouTube on January 13th. He also talks about the legacy of Enterprise, speculates on ways Phlox could return to the franchise, and discusses his career as a character actor and why being on the board of the Hollywood Food Coalition is so important to him.

Anthony and Laurie are joined by Shuttle Pod‘s Brian to round up all the latest Star Trek news. They start with a production update: With the strikes over, Strange New Worlds is already back in action and Section 31 has start date set, plus Prodigy has wrapped post-production on season 2 and Discovery has set its premiere for April. They talk about the latest awards nominations for Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Picard,, then talk about the latest merch (DVDs and starships!) and what to expect at Trek Talks 3 in January. The big topic this week is Shari Redstone’s interest in selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global, how that could affect Paramount+, and how that in turn could affect Star Trek. They wrap up with a 1960s RCA ad featuring TOS, the Delta Flyers watching DS9 with Terry Farrell and Armin Shimerman, and William Shatner on a comic book cover with Batman and Superman.

Anthony and Laurie discuss the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery panel at CCXP, the latest on Nicholas Meyer’s Khan audio drama, Michelle Hurd’s interest in a Worf/Raffi spin-off, Chris Pine’s lack of Star Trek 4 news, and some new Trek merch. They then turn to Laurie’s interview with Tawny Newsome, who talks about Lower Decks season 4 and season 5 as well as being in the writers’ room of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Newsome also talks passionately about her love of Deep Space Nine and more. They wrap up with a fun video from Red Letter Media featuring the Enterprise-D and the announcement of TREKTalks 3, a day of streamed Star Trek panels for the Hollywood Food Coalition.

[PODCAST REPOSTED TO FIX AUDIO ISSUE] Tony and Laurie start with a news round-up now that the strikes are over and everyone can talk Trek again: Strange New Worlds is gearing up for production again (and Jonathan Frakes will be doing some directing) as is the Section 31 movie event, guest star Elias Toufexis is excited about Discovery season 5, and Mike McMahan’s talking about the next season of Lover Decks. There’s also news about the missing 3-foot Enterprise model that used to sit on Gene Roddenberry’s desk, which may have just resurfaced after 46 years. Today’s big interview is with Star Trek: The Original Series‘ Walter Koenig, who talks about life on the set back in the 1960s, the emotional Chekov scene he filmed but never saw in Generations, his take on people who say William Shatner overacts, and his uncomfortable moment on the set of The Wrath of Khan. They wrap up with a quick plug for each other’s recent appearances on other podcasts—The 7th Rule‘s news show and Trek, Marry, Kill.

Tony and Laurie start with a news round-up now that the strikes are over and everyone can talk Trek again: Strange New Worlds is gearing up for production again (and Jonathan Frakes will be doing some directing) as is the Section 31 movie event, guest star Elias Toufexis is excited about Discovery season 5, and Mike McMahan’s talking about the next season of Lover Decks. There’s also news about the  missing 3-foot Enterprise model that used to sit on Gene Roddenberry’s desk, which may have just resurfaced after 46 years. Today’s big interview is with Star Trek: The Original Series‘ Walter Koenig, who talks about life on the set back in the 1960s, the emotional Chekov scene he filmed but never saw in Generations, his take on people who say William Shatner overacts, and his uncomfortable moment on the set of The Wrath of Khan. They wrap up with a quick plug for each other’s recent appearances on other podcasts—The 7th Rule‘s news show and Trek, Marry, Kill.

Anthony and Laurie are very happy the SAG-AFTRA strike is over! They briefly cover what this could mean for the various Star Trek productions, then keep celebrating good news as Prodigy season 1 has a launch date on Netflix and scored an Emmy nomination. They talk about Walter Koenig joining The 7th Rule podcast, then play interviews they both did with Star Trek: Picard production designer Dave Blass and makeup artist James MacKinnon, done to help promote the new Picard Legacy Blu-ray box set.

Anthony and Laurie quickly cover the latest on the SAG-AFTRA strike, then chat about their recent interview with makeup artist James MacKinnon, who talks about being hired to work on the next Star Trek movie… for a week. They talk about some new Trek books coming next year, new Lower Decks merchandise, and an update on recording for season 5 of Lower Decks. The podcasters then launch into their review of the Star Trek: Lower Decks season finale, “Old Friends, New Planets,” talking about how the slow build all season paid off so well. There was a bit of debate over the merits of this season’s villain and how well the plan and motivation was crafted. But both agree that season 4 was the best so far and this episode brought back plenty of surprising callbacks along with some exciting cameos from The Next Generation. They wrap up with some Lower Decks deep-cut costumes from Halloween and a fun podcast with Sir Patrick Stewart.

Anthony and Laurie give a quick recap on what’s happening with the SAG-AFTRA strike, then [starting at 4:51] review the penultimate episode of Lower Decks season 4, “The Inner Flight,” talking about the episode as a standalone and as a reflection of the show itself and all the surprising connections to franchise lore. The podcasters end with some thoughts on what to expect for Star Trek in the coming year after next week’s season finale of Lower Decks.

[Lower Decks review starts at  34:41] Tony and Laurie dig into all the news from New York Comic Con! Alex Kurtzman thanked the fans for their successful efforts to save Star Trek: Prodigy and gave updates on all of the Trek shows still on the Paramount+ roster, including the ones in development like Starfleet Academy and the Section 31 movie event. Kid Cudi talked about his collaboration with Trek and Mike McMahan talked about what’s to come on Lower Decks. They do a quick recap of upcoming comics from IDW and books on the way, then talk about Mike McMahan’s post-panel interview, where he talked about the future of Lower Decks and what he has planned for season 5. They wrap up with a chat about the season 4 trailer for For All Mankind and a 7th Rule episode with TNG writer Melinda Snodgrass.

Anthony and Laurie start with the joyful news that Star Trek: Prodigy has been saved by Netflix (which they go into more detail about with the Shuttle Pod‘s Kayla on Thursday’s crossover podcast). They talk about some buried-in-a-press-release fine print about the Section 31 movie and the Starfleet Academy show, what to expect at New York Comic Con this weekend, the “making-of” video about very Short Treks with Casper Kelly, new info about Quentin Tarantino’s writers room for his scrapped Star Trek movie, an auction of the collection of legendary Hollywood model maker Greg Jein, and some Star Trek games you should know about. Then it’s time to talk Star Trek: Lower Decks. They review “A Few Badgeys More”—while they both miss T’Lyn, they loved this week’s guest stars, particularly Jeffrey Combs and Jack McBrayer, and are very much enjoying this season of the show. They wrap up with some real-life space stuff—asteroid samples!—and LeVar Burton’s appearance on Marc Maron’s podcast.

Following up on our emergency podcast in June about Star Trek: Prodigy being removed from Paramount+, Kayla from Shuttle Pod and Tony and Laurie from All Access Star Trek reunite to talk about the great news that the show has been saved. Season 1 and Season 2 are coming to Netflix. The trio talks about the news, speculates about season 2, and offers hope that the move to Netflix could lead to a third season.

[Lower Decks review starts at 33:58] Anthony and Laurie start by talking about Paramount’s interest in “fine-tuning” scripts for the next Star Trek movie and getting it into pre-production. There is also a lot to cover from Patrick Stewart’s new memoir Making It So and media tour including his hopes to do another TNG movie with some interesting ideas for Picard himself. Stewart is also taking about how he had an alternate ending he’d suggested for Star Trek: Picard, his experiences with Tom Hardy on Nemesis, and more. Laurie also talks about seeing Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg kick off his book tour. Jonathan Frakes also has ideas for Riker’s role in a potential Star Trek: Legacy series. After highlighting some new Trek comics and DVD sets, they review the last of the very Short Treks episodes, “Watch, Don’t Run,” which they agree was a nice way to end this mixed series of animated promotional shorts. Then it’s time to talk Star Trek: Lower Decks, starting with Mike McMahan’s comments that fans shouldn’t take a sixth season for granted as priorities and plans are constantly shifting. That launches them into a review of the latest Lower Decks episode, “Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place,” which takes us to Ferenginar for the first time. Laurie and Tony both liked it, but felt it wasn’t as strong as the rest of the season has been. They wrap up with a nice detail on LA’s new Leonard Nimoy Theater and a flashback to a Captain’s Summit with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and Whoopi Goldberg.

[Lower Decks review starts at  26:53] Anthony and Laurie start with the great news that the WGA strike is over. Although the SAG-AFTRA strike continues, there can still be work done on Star Trek, so the podcasters break down what this could mean for each show, or even the next movie, which has bubbled to the surface once again as “still on the tracks.” They give an update about the swapped-out visual FX shot on the Star Trek: Picard DVD sets, then segue into their recent interview with Picard production designer Dave Blass, who has strong opinions about the urgency of booking Terry Matalas to develop a new Trek show with the Picard cast. They wrap up the news with a reminder about the new Prodigy DVD set. It’s then time to do the reviews, starting with the latest very Short Treks episode (“It’s Holograms All The Way Down”) written by Prodigy co-EP Aaron Waltke. Both Tony and Laurie loved this one and hope fans give it a watch for all the layers of lore and cameos Aaron crammed into 90 seconds. After that, it’s time for their review of the newest episode of Lower Decks, “Empathalogical Fallacies.” And once again the All Access team loved the episode, especially giving T’Lyn her own storyline with high praise of the guest stars and how jammed-packed the episode is with little moments, fun nods, and heart. They wrap up with a recommendation for a fun Lower Decks artist as a Twitter follow and an early TV appearance by a then-unknown Brent Spiner.

Anthony and Laurie start with the news about what to expect at New York Comic Con this year and the expansion of Paramount+ into Japan and Switzerland. They pivot to Jonathan Frakes’ comments about Star Trek: Discovery‘s final season having “new energy” and talk about how polarizing the show is for fans. Then it’s on to Ed Speleers’ description of filming that Picard closing scene with John de Lancie, the upcoming Strange New Worlds season 2 DVD sets, Roxann Dawson’s decision not to direct more Star Trek, and some new fine art posters coming from Vice Press. Review time! They start with the very Short Treks episode “Worst Contact,” discussing the short itself as well as the fan reaction, then happily dig into Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ “Something Borrowed Something Green” and the fun of Trek’s very first visit to the Orion homeworld. They wrap things up with a deep exploration of the Dauntless from author David Mack and new spider species named after the TOS crew.

Anthony and Laurie give an update on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and talk about their day on the picket lines in Los Angeles and New York on Star Trek Day. They discuss Prodigy‘s recent award win, how to find a cool Easter egg on the Star Trek: Picard – The Final Season DVD, some new Star Trek games, and review the newest very Short Treks, “Holiday Party.” After a couple of Lower Decks updates, they review this week’s episode “In the Cradle of Vexilon,” with both agreeing it was funny and very Star Trek-y. They wrap up with Star Trek connections in the new game Starfield and a Star Trek lesson in high school about persuasion.

Anthony and Laurie start with an overview of Very Short Treks, the new animated shorts coming this fall, and do a quick review of the first one, “Skin a Cat.” They talk about the new disc set for Star Trek: Picard season 3 and a new book about Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Then they turn their attention to Lower Decks, reviewing the first two episodes of season 4, “Twovix” and “I Have No Bones But I Must Flee.” Moopsie!

This is a special supplemental episode of All Access Star Trek with Laurie’s interview about ‘United We Trek.’ John Billingsley (Dr. Phox, Enterprise), Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard), and actress Natalia Castellanos visit All Access to talk about United We Trek, their planned “counterprogramming” on Star Trek Day: picketing events in Los Angeles and New York on September 8. They’re inviting anyone who has ever worked on Star Trek—as well as fans, who they say are an essential part of what Star Trek is all about—to join them on the picket lines. They talked to us about why they planned the event for Star Trek Day and covered some of the major issues behind the SAG-AFTRA strike, especially why it’s so important to fight for the future. They also give details on how fans who can’t make it to the picket lines can pitch in. The All Access Star Trek podcast will be back on Friday, September 8 with our reviews of the first two episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4.

Anthony and Laurie catch up on all the news from August including Paramount’s plans from Star Trek Day and some Trek celebrity plans for some picket line counterprogramming. Much of the news covers updates on Star Trek: Prodigy including Aaron Waltke’s update on season 2 (and hopes for season 3) and the latest fan campaign efforts including the aerial banner. The podcasters also pick up on Strange New Worlds ratings, comments from showrunners on season 3, and discussion talk about the Gorn, of course. The featured topic for the podcast is previewing the upcoming fourth season of Lower Decks, premiering next week. We get an update with Tony’s interview with supervising director Barry Kelly talking about what’s new for season 4 including how T’Lyn makes the show “10% funnier.” The podcasters go over all the trailers and previews to offer thoughts on what has them most excited about the upcoming season with the general consensus that it looks to be one of the best yet. They close things out with their bits of the week with Tony hoping an effort to get Leonard Nimoy on a US postal stamp pays off and Laurie reporting on her odd discussions with ChatGPT about Jewish characters in Star Trek.

Laurie and Tony have a lengthy, engaging conversation with Chris Fisher, producing director and co-executive producer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. His enthusiasm for the job and the show is infectious as he talks about hiring and working with directors, working with Paul Wesley, collaborating with the creative teams, using the AR wall, combining practical with virtual effects for the Gorn, what he knows (and doesn’t) about the Section 31 movie, and much more. He also gives his take on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (and how long it would take to get production rolling again once they’re over) and talks about being mentored by Star Trek behind-the-scenes vets Merri Howard and Marvin Rush. No news or bits this week, due to the length of the interview. Enjoy!

The Shuttle Pod‘s Matt Wright fills in for Tony this week to round up the news and give all the highlights from The 57-Year Mission convention in Las Vegas, covering the overall vibe, the challenge of not being able to talk Trek because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, the latest on Prodigy, the panels and more. [ 22:52] They then turn to the Strange New Worlds season 2 finale to discuss the Gorn, the arrival of Scotty, Pike’s indecision, and some of the twists along the way in the surprise cliffhanger.

This is a special live joint podcast from the 57-Year Mission convention, recorded on Thursday, August 3rd. At Star Trek Las Vegas the two TrekMovie podcasting teams got together for a “State of Star Trek” panel to discuss what’s going on with the franchise and where things are going, especially in light of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes along with changes in content strategy at Paramount+. The panel was comprised of the All Access Star Trek duo of Anthony Pascale and Laurie Ulster joined by The Shuttle Pod‘s Kayla Iacovino, Brian Drew, and Matt Wright. the panelists offered their thoughts on Star Trek in 2023 and also took questions and comments from the Las Vegas crowd.

With the TrekMovie gang all at the STLV 57-Year Mission Convention, this week’s pod doesn’t include a news wrapup and focuses solely on reviewing the new musical episode of Strange New Worlds. TrekMovie editor and Shuttle Pod co-host Matt Wright joins Tony and Laurie to talk about “Subspace Rhapsody.” As is certainly the case with fans in general, this “big swing” of an episode garnered differing opinions among the group, but all the podcasters were impressed with the artistry that went into crafting the singing and dancing and how the songs were tied into the character arcs from the season.

[Review starts at 26:55] Tony and Laurie have updates from San Diego Comic-Con about Star Trek: Discovery, Prodigy, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and some new animated shorts. They talk about the new clips and trailers as well as some new merchandise coming our way. After the news, they dig into their review of Strange New Worlds‘ “Under the Cloak of War,” which they agree was ambitious and hit the mark more for Tony than for Laurie, although both felt it had impressive performances, raised important questions, and touched on some key Star Trek themes. They wrap up with a new tidbit from the Delta Flyers podcast and a new crowdfunded documentary about Star Trek locations, plus a reminder to come see the TrekMovie team’s panel at The 57-Year Mission in Las Vegas next week.

With the early drop of “Those Old Scientists,” the long-awaited Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks crossover, Tony and Laurie decided to squeeze in an extra podcast to talk about it. No news, no bits, just a straight-up review. Spoiler alert: They loved it.

Tony and Laurie sort through the latest updates on the SAG-AFTRA strike and how it will affect the production of upcoming Star Trek shows as well as what its impact might be on San Diego Comic-Con and The 57-Year Mission in Las Vegas. They also talk about the Star Trek events coming up at SDCC, including the screening of the long-awaited Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks crossover episode. After the news, they dig into their review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ “Lost in Translation,” which they both liked. They’re both happy to see Hemmer again as well as Pelia, loved Celia Rose Gooding’s performance, and despite some quibbles, enjoyed the episode thoroughly. They wrap up the podcast with an Enterprise-themed (TOS era) hotel room in Oregon and an astronomy talk with Tim Russ and TrekMovie’s Kayla Iacovino.

[Review starts at 20:51] Tony and Laurie start off discussing the SAG-AFTRA strike and how that can impact Star Trek production and promotion, especially San Diego Comic-Con and the 57-Year Mission convention in Las Vegas. . They then round up the latest news on awards, including an Emmy snub for Picard and Strange New Worlds making it into the streaming top 10. There’s also a new book offering some clues on Lower Decks season 4. Finally, the podcasters talk about the passing of Enterprise executive producer Manny Coto. For Strange New Worlds the podcast first looks over the latest TrekMovie exclusive interviews including listening to what Jess Bush (Christine Chapel) had to say about Roger Corby. Tony and Laurie then turn to the week’s main topic, reviewing “Charades,” where they mostly agree, but also had different takes on this “big swing” towards another rom-com style episode. They wrap things up with talking about a special Treksperts podcast about Manny Coto and a special moment between William Shatner and Picard production designer Dave Blass at Star Trek: The Tour.

[Review starts at 12:42] Tony and Laurie round up the latest news: Star Trek: Prodigy‘s TCA nomination, the upcoming exit of most Star Trek content from Canada’s streaming network Crave, an exclusive clip from the docuseries Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982, and Akiva Goldman’s explanation for moving the timeline of the Eugenics Wars. Then it’s time for this week’s main topic: a review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ “Among the Lotus Eaters.” Tony and Laurie talk about the story’s premise, the connections to canon (and whether or not they’re needed), and have completely different takes on the punchy conclusion as well as Captain Pike’s burgeoning romance, although they both enjoyed Ortegas’ scenes as well as the episode’s main guest star, Reed Birney. They wrap things up with a look at an incredible fan-written book recapping the oral history of the Battle of Wolf 359 and a review of Rainn Wilson’s new book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution.

[Review starts at 05:35] Tony and Laurie give an update on the removal of Star Trek: Prodigy from Paramount+ including talk about efforts to save the show and the fan petition. They also talk about their hopes it will find a new home and where you can buy the show while we wait for more news. For merchandise news, they discuss the new Halloween-themed comic mini-series coming from IDW. After the quick news update, the focus of the podcast is their review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” diving deep into what it means for La’an’s character, who this version of James Kirk is, and where the show tries to both explain and tweak canon. They also talk about how the new episode celebrates Canadian culture and specifically the city of Toronto, where new Star Trek shows are filmed. Finally, we wrap up with a book co-written by Laurie that comes out next month and a T-shirt design inspired by their All Access Star Trek interview with Prodigy co-EP Aaron Waltke.

After the big news broke on Friday that Paramount Global is canceling and removing a number of shows including Star Trek: Prodigy, the TrekMovie podcasting teams assembled for an emergency pod to talk about it. Kayla and Brian from the Shuttle Pod join Tony and Laurie from All Access Star Trek to break down the news and put it into context with what is going on with Paramount and the streaming business. The podcasters also express their sadness to see such a great show get canceled but are hopeful it will find a new home, as Paramount has said they plan to license both season 1 and the upcoming second season to another network. They also have a frank discussion about the state of Star Trek merchandise and about what all of this could mean for the future of Star Trek on television.

[Episode review begins at 20:48] Tony and Laurie start the podcast with Akiva’s comments about the “undeniable” appetite for a Star Trek: Legacy show as well as Patrick Stewart’s wish for a Picard movie. They give some details on the upcoming Picard Blu-ray and DVD set and the “Picard Legacy” limited edition set, the upcoming Star Trek: Infinite game, and IDW’s new Star Trek: Picard’s Academy series, along with a long-awaited audiobook from DS9’s Andrew J. Robinson. They cover the latest news on Strange New Worlds (including fan reaction to Akiva’s canon comments and new info on Carol Kane’s Pelia). The rest of the pod is their review of the newest episode, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” comparing it to other Trek courtroom episodes as well as seeing how it fits into SNW lore. They both liked the episode a lot, but still have their nitpicks. They wrap things up with a look at two different podcasts: Trek Politics with Mary L. Trump and Bob Cesca and the SyFy Sistas with Ira Steven Behr.

[SNW showrunners interview starts at 11:46 | SNW review starts at 26:13] Tony and Laurie start with an exclusive update on how the WGA Strike is affecting season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (with an update from the SNW showrunners), then take a look at new and incoming Trek merch: a Seven of Nine pre-Picard novel from David Mack, a one-off Shaxs comic book from IDW, an interview with the writers of the Star Trek: Resurgence game, and the Star Trek: Infinite strategy game. Then they shift into Strange New Worlds mode, checking out the Ready Room preview and newly released photos. Audio from Tony’s brand-new interviews with SNW showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers is rolled in, covering Spock’s arc in season 2, the return of the Klingons, and the thinking behind choosing the Gorn as such a prominent villain. Then, Tony and Laurie review the season 2 premiere, “The Broken Circle,” which they both liked—with some caveats. They wrap things up with a message from William Shatner to Pedro Pascal and a YA novel written by John Cho.

Tony and Laurie are joined by Star Trek: Voyager‘s Garrett Wang this week! Before his arrival, they cover the news: The Directors Guild has made a deal and averted a strike as the Actors Guild is gearing up to start negotiations, and there’s another new Star Trek game coming out. Then they get into the interview with Garrett, who clears up some rumors about Harry Kim appearing on Picard and Prodigy, talks about his love for Strange New Worlds (and how he’d like to appear on it), what he’s learned about Voyager from doing the Delta Flyers podcast (which is almost at the end of the series), does some impressions of his former shipmates, and takes our Star Trek questionnaire. Tony and Laurie wrap things up with a unique new Star Trek comedy podcast and Marc Maron’s amazing interview with William Shatner.  Only one week until the season 2 premiere of Strange New Worlds!

Tony and Laurie give an update on the WGA strike, look at the Emmy buzz around Star Trek: Picard, and celebrate Prodigy‘s Tell-Tale TV win for Favorite Animated Series. Then they take a deep dive into season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, covering interviews from MCM Comic Con in London and then playing clips from Tony’s brand-new interviews with cast members Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Paul Wesley, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun, and Jess Bush. They also give their spoiler-free thoughts about the season premiere, which they both had a chance to watch. They wrap things up with a Star Trek-themed intersection in Sacramento and a podcast interview with Doug Drexler.

Tony and Laurie talk about the WGA strike, including the impact on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. They then take a look at the brand-new trailer for Strange New Worlds season 2, which has the first clip from the show’s crossover with Lower Decks and the first bit of dialogue from Carol Kane. They discuss Star Trek: Picard‘s success on the Neilson streaming top 10 chart, Laurie’s interview with Cirroc Lofton and Denise Crosby, and Tony’s review of the Star Trek: Resurgence game. The podcasters then bring in this week’s guest, Prodigy co-EP Aaron Waltke. Aaron talks about the writers’ strike, the epic day when Star Trek creatives from across the franchise united on the picketing pavement, and what’s heading our way in season 2 of Prodigy. Then Tony and Laurie help him channel his own fandom by taking our new Star Trek questionnaire, getting his thoughts on everything from underrated Star Trek episodes to what position he’d have if he served on a starship and who his Trek crush is. The podcast wraps up with a look at a new book about composer Jerry Goldsmith and some Trek celebs playing D&D in Todd Stashwick’s game room.

After a check-in on the ongoing WGA strike, Tony and Laurie take a look at what’s coming our way in Star Trek on TV, starting with the arrival of Strange New Worlds season 2 next month, continuing through new seasons of Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Discovery‘s final season and then the new Starfleet Academy series and Section 31 TV-movie. They talk about what they know about each show, discuss their hopes and predictions, and speculate on what each show’s role is within the greater Star Trek universe, as well as the changes in the streaming industry business and how that might affect the future plans of Paramount+.  They wrap up with a look at KHAN!!!: The Musical and a great discussion with Nicholas Meyer on the Hollywood & Levine podcast.

[Terry Matalas interview starts at 14:48] Tony and Laurie talk about how the WGA strike could affect Star Trek, especially if it keeps going, and do a quick round-up of new merchandise (including Prodigy toys, Patrick Stewart’s memoir, and Jonathan Frakes’ return to Riker in the Star Trek: Resurgence game). The rest of the podcast is spent with Terry Matalas, showrunner on Star Trek: Picard season 3. With the series now complete, Terry talks to us about roads taken and not taken, scenes he wished he’d been able to include, gratifying moments, backstories, and more.

[Picard episode review starts at 22:03] Tony and Laurie can’t wait to talk about the Star Trek: Picard season finale, but there’s a lot of big news to get to first! They cover the announced return of Michelle Yeah to Star Trek with a Section 31 TV-movie, the Strange New Worlds season 2 teaser trailer, SNW’s upcoming arrival on Pluto TV, and plans from Paramount+ to develop a Galaxy Quest series. They discuss the popularity of Picard, including its arrival on the list of top ten streaming shows as ranked by Nielsen, the Enterprise-D in Times Square, and the details on the rebuild of that famous bridge. Then it’s time to talk about “The Last Generation,” the final episode of Star Trek: Picard. Tony and Laurie talk about those emotional moments and exchanges, the action-packed rescue, surprising guest stars, and the multiple, very satisfying ending scenes, as well as the way the show is set up for a follow-up series even if nothing is in development yet. They podcasters are sad to see the season end, but happy it went out so beautifully.

[Picard episode review starts at 22:55] Tony and Laurie are joined by Jonathan Frakes for part of the podcast this week! He talks about the PanCAN PurpleStride walk taking place on April 29 and how important it is to keep funding research to fight pancreatic cancer, how he and his TNG co-stars didn’t “dare hope” that they’d get to do what they’ve been doing on Star Trek: Picard, and what it was like filming THAT scene in episode 309. He also raves about the Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks crossover episode he directed and describes a new project he’s hoping will come to fruition with Brent Spiner. News-wise, Laurie and Tony talk about the upcoming IMAX screenings for episodes 9  and 10 of Picard (and the accompanying kerfuffle), and review Picard episode 9, “Võx,” discussing the revelations about Jack, the Frontier Day plans to take over Starfleet, the surprise guest star, the surprise death, and that classic ship. They wrap up with a new Star Trek event from the folks at The 7th Rule and a particularly fun episode of the Trek, Marry, Kill podcast.

Tony and Laurie talk about new character posters for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and new Trek merch (including the TNG movies on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray), then dig into the latest on Picard, from Terry Matalas’ assurance that Kirk will not be making an appearance on the show (beyond the remains we saw at Daystrom) to his description of the show as a proper send-off for the TNG crew. After playing some of the audio from Tony’s interview with Brent Spiner—who talks about Data’s evolution as well as his feline colleague—it’s time to review the latest Picard episode, “Surrender.” Laurie and Tony enjoyed it thoroughly, especially the way it moved the story forward and gave us great character moments along the way, although they’re both impatiently waiting to learn the full story about Jack. They wrap things up with an April Fools’ Day joke from Prodigy EP Aaron Waltke and fun Voyager guest star trivia.

Tony and Laurie have fresh news! There’s been an official series order for the new show Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, plus new seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Prodigy, and Lower Decks, and even an airdate for season 2 of SNW. They round up the latest comments on possible new projects and spin-offs from Alex Kurtzman as well as the Picard cast, plus point listeners towards an Easter egg round-up and an interview with the Picard composers. The rest of the podcast is dedicated to their review of the newest Picard episode, “Dominion.” They discuss the great, emotional performances from LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner, Beverly and Jean-Luc’s moral compass failure, Vadic’s motives, Jack and Sidney’s budding romance, and more. Then they wrap up the pod with a retro game and a wise tweet from Prodigy EP Aaron Waltke.

Tony and Laurie talk about an official-but-unofficial update on the status of Strange New Worlds season 3 and speculate about what else Paramount+ may be about to announce. They discuss Seth MacFarlane’s comment about being “cautiously optimistic” for an Orville renewal and have some good news for fans of Eaglemoss Hero Collector ships going back on sale. Pivoting to Picard, they take a look at recent posts and comments from Michelle Forbes and Terry Matalas about bringing Ro Laren back in last week’s show, then dive into their review of episode 6, “The Bounty,” where they relished all the reunions, especially from LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner,  who make their first appearances  of the season, and try to put together where all the story points are headed next. They wrap up with a fun moment courtesy of the German Defense Minister’s TNG ringtone, and Laurie plays us off with a tune from Brent Spiner’s album Ol’ Yellow Eyes is Back featuring backup vocals from his TNG costars.

Tony and Laurie celebrate Michelle Yeoh’s Best Actress win at the Academy Awards and speculate about what this might mean for the future of the Section 31 show. They discuss Chris Pine’s enthusiasm for more Star Trek movies, Tony’s interview with Strange New Worlds‘ Celia Rose Gooding and Melissa Navia, the launch of a new comic series from IDW, and the latest from the Star Trek: Picard production team on villains, sets, and technology (including Odo’s bucket). Then they review “Imposters,” the newest episode of Picard, particularly enjoying Ro Laren’s return to the franchise. They wrap up with a look at a new blog covering legal issues in Star Trek (beginning with the ever-controversial “Tuvix”) and a friendly group of Star Trek fans and professionals on Facebook worth joining.

Laurie and Anthony keep the news brief this week. They cover Jonathan Frakes’ thoughts on Star Trek: Discovery ending after season 5 (as well as his guess about what might or might not come next), the prominence of Strange New Worlds in the latest Paramount + brand campaign plus its recent win at the Canadian Costume Awards, and an exclusive from Terry Matalas about Robert Beltran’s comment that he turned down a role on Picard. Then it’s time for a brand-new interview with Gates McFadden, who called in to talk about the second season of her podcast, InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are. (The podcasters manage to squeeze in a few Picard questions, too.) Then they dive into their review of “No Win Scenario” (Laurie’s adding the hyphen in her mind), both loving the episode each finding personal connection to a different storyline. They wrap up with a look at the midcentury design fusion on Strange New Worlds and the brand-new episode of The Pod Directive (the official Star Trek podcast) after a too-long hiatus.

Laurie and Anthony start the podcast with the breaking news that Star Trek: Discovery is ending with season 5 and an overview of what might be next for the Star Trek Universe on TV. They talk about the addition of Star Trek: Voyager to the Pluto line-up, new comments from both Chris Pine and J.J. Abrams about the stalled follow-up to Star Trek Beyond, and the upcoming arrival of Lower Decks season 3 on DVD. They pivot to a round-up of Picard news and interviews from Ed Speleers, Jonathan Frakes, and Michael Dorn, then talk over some of the fan theories about who might be conspiring with Vadic. Then they review Picard 303, “Seventeen Seconds,” which includes some debate about the scene that inspired the episode’s title. They wrap things up with a fun comment from James Worthy and a great resource for finding Star Trek events.

[Picard news (with episode 1 spoilers) starts at  06:46 / Episode 2 review starts at 28:50] Anthony and Laurie kick off the podcast with an update on the timing of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 and the latest award nominations for Strange New Worlds. They discuss some of the new comics coming out, the arrival of season 2 of Gates McFadden’s podcast, and all the latest Picard news, rounding up the latest from The New York Times, Tony’s purple carpet interviews, and social media. After that, they dig in to their review of Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode 2, “Disengage.” They wrap things up with a funny (doctored) Picard trailer and a rousing endorsement of the SyFy Sistas podcast.

Anthony and Laurie start with updates on season premiere scheduling for Discovery and Prodigy, then talk about the upcoming release of Strange New Worlds on 4K Blu-ray, Star Trek’s inclusion in Paramount Plus’ big Super Bowl ad, comments from Matt Shakman on the status of the next Star Trek movie, a new Star Trek: The Motion Picture-themed comic miniseries from IDW, and how to watch the Star Trek shows internationally. They dig into a round-up of all the latest hints, news, and interviews about Star Trek: Picard season 3, then launch into their review of the season premiere, “The Next Generation,” with enthusiasm. The podcast wraps up with info about Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer and Laurie’s upcoming appearance at Virtual Trek Con 4.