Rob: Hello and welcome back to Strange New Worlds.
I'm Rob and joining me as always is
Kevin: Kevin.
How's it going, Rob?
Rob: Oh, very, very good.
I'm doing so well 'cause I'm here talking Star Trek with you.
We are screaming into the void and hopefully people are listing back.
Kevin: With our giant ship maw, that's what's screaming.
Rob.
Rob: With a ship with a mouth.
Kevin: ship with a mouth.
Rob: did it a menacing mouth with teeth?
Did it
Kevin: start with the lows before we get to the highs, Rob.
And the low of this episode was definitely the design of that ship.
Rob: Yeah, so it did, it did seem that it would be coming out of a
different type of, uh, franchise.
I could definitely see it in like a Guardians of the Galaxy or any
of the Avengers type of space adventure, uh, comic book movies.
Kevin: I can just imagine the creative meeting, the production meeting
where the designer went, Look, I did something a little wild here.
Uh, I'm, I'm not wedded to it, but what do you think of this?
And everyone kind of went Ship it.
We're outta time, just do it.
Rob: Just do it.
Just do it.
We've got, you know, we've got so many episodes to film in a year,
we can't stop and deliberate.
So yes, we are up to episode six of season three of Strange New Worlds,
The Sehlat That Ate Its Tail.
What a title!
Um, and this is a, I would say I'd be bold as to say it's a
little cheeky backdoor pilot.
What do you reckon?
Kevin: Yep.
I think so too.
This is, uh, this is leaning into that origin story stuff that, that tickles all
of our nostalgia brain cells and gives the fans exactly what they're asking for.
Rob: So, yes, this is an episode that solely focuses on the crew
that will become, uh, the, you know, TOS crew of the Enterprise.
Kevin: Yes.
Every member that is, that was available at this point in our, uh, casting process
was, uh, arranged to be on the one ship.
Rob: And the one person who is not leaves straight away, taking who they
can with them and at that particular moment, as, as soon as they arrive on
the Enterprise, uh, the ability to, you know, transport back there is gone.
So we open on Kirk, uh, as first officer on the Farragut.
Kevin: Satisfying by itself because we've talked before about how Kirk's
Farragut is like this, this ghost ship.
It gets mentioned, but it's never seen.
Kirk talks about how the Farragut is there, but.
We're not sure we quite believe him because it's, you know, it's kind
of like the imaginary girlfriend from the internet sort of thing.
Do you really have a ship, James Kirk, or are you just like hanging out?
Uh, are you just crashing our party here on the Enterprise?
Rob: I believe the Farragut is in Canada.
Kevin: Yes.
So good to see the actual Farragut in the flesh, the bridge, the
crew, the Captain a Vulcan.
Amazing.
Rob: Now is, you know, you, you know, the original series more than I do.
Um, there's quite a traumatic past with the Farragut.
Like, uh, Kirk in the original series has talked about like taking risks,
or not taking risks because it, like he lost half his crew and his captain.
Kevin: I, I have to go back and look that one up, Rob, because I, I think it is
lost to the mists of time in my memory.
I get it confused with Picard's origin story and the Stargazer.
Because the Stargazer was definitely a case of, of cap, like in a
crisis, Picard had to take command.
The ship was lost, they had to abandon ship.
And, and that formative experience carries forward in Picard's future.
And I don't know, it sounds right to me that Kirk has a
parallel story with the Farragut.
It sounds like something I've been told, but I can't tell you exactly where I
heard it, and so I'm not a hundred percent
Rob: Well, we can come back to that at a later date.
So we have, the Farragut is attacked, uh, by a planet destroying
ship that they witness firsthand.
Uh, the Farragut is disabled.
Coming into the rescue is the Enterprise with some gorgeous shots sh you know,
warping in putting on the bubble shields, using the phasers to knock away
Kevin: I sense that they had a choice between doing a quantity of effects
shots that were called for in the script or putting it into quality
of a smaller number of effects shots and doing without the number.
And they definitely leaned into quality, so that later in the episode there were
things happening and conspicuously, the camera just stayed on our character's
faces as they were like, wow.
And we got to see none of it.
Rob: Yeah.
Yeah.
They put all their money into the opening shot and bless 'em for it.
Kevin: But yeah, great.
The, the, yeah, the Enterprise warping in with the shield bubble and the, the, the
tumbling debris, the, the, the Enterprise being grabbed by the, the, the feelers
of the ship and pulled into it, and it all felt, it all felt weighty and, and
tangible and in, in a very satisfying way.
I loved it.
One of the things I wrote in my notes about this episode is it felt like a TV
episode size story with movie quality production values, which I feel like has
always been the promise of these, these modern Star Trek shows, but they rarely
quite get there to the extent that I feel like they succeeded this episode.
Rob: Yeah, I, I, um, just to right off the bat, I love this episode.
I thought it another really good one.
So that's two for two for me.
Two really good quality, uh, episodes that, um, and had some,
and had some really dark stuff at the end that you're going, right.
Some really powerful
Kevin: Actual original lore for the Star Trek universe.
I, I didn't, I forgot what that felt like, Rob.
Rob: Well, you've got it now.
Um, so yes, we, uh, end up on the Farragut with Kirk and, uh, the
away team that, uh, boards us.
Yeah, like you said, conspicuously, the ones that will be on the Enterprise.
So it was Spock, it was Chapel, it was Uhura.
Kevin: I caught it right away, La'an beamed off, and then the, the, the
all hell broke loose and I just said, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, Chapel and Kirk.
That's all I said.
Uh, because it was, it was so clear to me what we were doing all of a sudden.
Rob: So, yeah, in the, um, in the previously on, we got a little
taste of, um, how Kirk has helped Uhura in the previous episodes.
So that's, it establishes that connection there and that plays into it here
because this is a Kirk who is not fully at the place where we have seen him.
Kevin: None of them are.
Uh, so fun to see all of them in that not quite there yet, uh, mode.
And it was like the, the differences were emphasized, sometimes literally
in lines of dialogue that were, were like cutoff versions of
famous lines they would say later.
Uh, Kirk, Kirk says, Risk is why we're here, isn't it?
Not Risk is our business, to cite the, uh, our, the, the, the
soliloquy I mentioned last episode.
Rob: It does sound a little bit like, uh, when they did the Amazing Spider-Man
with Andrew Garfield, they could, they didn't want to use the phrase, with
great power comes great responsibility.
So they rewrote it to be, you know, when you have a lot of power, then you
have to think about what you're gonna do with that power in a particular way.
So there going, just say it.
Just say the thing.
Just say, just say it, Bart, say the line.
Kevin: Yeah.
Later on Spock says To keep them waiting longer would be not good.
Rob: That was great.
I really love that.
Um, and like those proto development, 'cause we've had little tastes of it.
Like there was a moment where like Uhura, Spock and, um, Kirk had like a, a drink at
the bar at I think the end of season one.
Kevin: No Scotty yet, but yeah, that, that was
Rob: No Scotty, but this is like the development.
This episode in particular, you see that dynamic of the counseling that Spock
gives to Kirk, and Kirk listens to that.
That would become a captain number one relationship, uh,
developing, starting to develop.
You see that relationship, that abrasive, almost borderline insubordinate,
uh, Scotty behavior to Kirk, but how they develop that trust and
Kevin: Oh yeah.
Rob: yeah.
Kevin: It's so good.
Both of them are completely ineffective on their own, but you put them in that
ready room together and they make magic, and that is exactly what we wanna see.
Rob: The actor again, who playing plays Scotty is outstanding.
Is absolutely, and because of him, because of him, and because of that episode
I've had in my head for the last week, I've just had in my head running around.
Um, I know it's got no connected, but Jimmy Doohan in Star Trek VI, I think
when Spock asked for something, he goes, there's nothing wrong with a bloody thing.
And he, yeah.
So that insubordinate type of, you know, following
Kevin: Insubordinate, sarcastic Scotty is very Simon Pegg from the and I
feel like our actor here whose name I definitely need to learn is, uh, is a
beautiful like halfway point between Simon Pegg and um, and Jimmy Doohan.
It, you can see both of them through the one person and it's so delightful.
Rob: Scotty in the movies is definitely, well, Scotty, like in the original movies,
and Simon Pegg is a lot more insubordinate with his, like he's easier to swear,
Kevin: Yes.
Here he's insubordinate out of like, because he's green and then he's like
at peak performance in the original series and then the movies, he's like,
I'm too old for this shit insubordinate.
Rob: Yes.
Martin Quinn.
Martin Quinn is the, uh, Scottish native who is actually
Kevin: I think we both said we liked him right away when he appeared
last season, and I feel like he's getting stronger with every episode.
Rob: Yeah.
And like, and him working off, uh, Paul Wesley is amazing and he, we, he's
already established a great relationship with Uhura and um, and Ethan Peck.
Um, so yeah, all that stuff was just there.
And it's a case of, I'm going more along the lines of, this is, I'm in
my head, it's, it's an alternative timeline, so it's not gonna be
perfectly the original series.
This is their version.
Kevin: it is a new retelling of the same story.
Rob: That's a good way to put it.
Yeah.
Um, and so, and Chapel there as well and how that balances out.
And so him not dealing, Kirk, not dealing well with the pressure, snapping at a
Uhura, having to come back and gain their trust again, and he has to trust himself.
That type of stuff is really good.
But on the same level, you've got back on the Enterprise, you've got that crew
working at the top of their game as well.
Kevin: Yeah, I, I was surprised at how much they fit into this one episode.
They had two ships and two crews worth of scenes, and, uh, it worked despite that.
We talked about last episode, feeling a, a little overstuffed with ideas
and there wasn't enough room to really explain everything that was going on.
This one feel felt like a better balance.
There were definitely those effects shots missing to to fully paint the
picture, but the story felt coherent, well contained and, and did justice
to every one of that very large cast.
The stuff going on on the Enterprise was great.
I was, as soon as I, it started on the Farragut with Kirk and then we
stranded that crew together, I was kind of like, oh, I'm gonna like this,
but I feel a little guilty for liking it because it is pandering to me.
I don't wanna sell out the crew of this Enterprise.
Pike and his, his crew members, because I really like those
characters and I feel like they deserve their stories being told.
So anytime we're spending with the future crew of the Enterprise is
time we're not getting with the current crew of the Enterprise.
But they proved me wrong here.
We struck a beautiful balance.
think the, the Pelia fixes the communication problems with, uh,
eighties phone technology is a definitely a lighter hearted story.
Rob: And a reference to a pleasure device?
Kevin: Yes.
Well, look, you know what?
I thought it was very well handled.
Rob: Hey, if you know what I mean.
Um, and I loved M'Benga's line, when he walks, he goes, Nope.
This is how I exactly see your room.
Kevin: I pictured it.
Yeah.
Rob: Um, yeah.
And great stuff.
Yeah.
We had, like, we talked about it last episode, about filling the crew more with
random crew members, and we literally had the very definition of a red
shirt show up and get killed and then,
Kevin: Yeah.
We saw her face in like two shots,
Rob: Yep, yep, yep, yep.
And then she was there to this, this situation's real.
We can't kill any of our guys yet.
They're, you know, they're, they're time locked by canon.
Kevin: Uh, fun to see La'an and, and Pike.
That's like, I feel like every single episode is giving us these characters
in new configurations so that we get to see new pairings of people working
together, and it's really satisfying.
Rob: Great clever stuff as well.
Uh, like, you know, using the alcohol to and phasering the alcohol.
Kevin: Apparently phasers and alcohol go boom.
Rob: Go boom.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, alcohol can be used, uh, as an explosive device,
but with a phaser chika-boom.
And that moment of, that moment of, you know, let's set our, you
know, set our, our phasers to kill.
You're there going, all right, this is real.
And talking about projectiles, so there's hints all the way through
about what the, the actual identity of these scavengers, uh, are, is
filtered throughout and makes it even more, you know, horrifying at the end.
Kevin: Yeah, it, it was, um.
I think judging it as a completed story, it is really satisfying.
Rewatching the episode, knowing what the reveal is gonna be is really satisfying.
Um, but the on first watching, like when they, when Pike takes off the mask and
it's just some dude with a mustache, I'm like, are we meant to recognize that guy?
Who is that?
Who's it supposed to be?
Yeah, exactly.
I, I did have that thought.
And then they're like, oh no, we, the whole, the point was they
were human and I'm like, oh, okay.
That's less satisfying than I was expecting.
Rob: I was kind of, I was kind of picking that up when that moment
where it sees, uh, Pike as a human and doesn't attack, doesn't kill.
Kevin: Yes.
Uh, I, yeah, I didn't catch that until the rewatch, myself.
And like I said, like on the rewatch, it's very satisfying to see those me mechanics.
Um, but in the, in the first time, like then, then they backfill the lore,
uh, a little clumsily in the last like seven, eight minutes of the episode.
And I was such a balance of, on the one hand, I'm like, why are
we only finding this out later?
It's like, here's the story.
Now let us explain to you what it was about.
Uh,
Rob: It is very much a, it's a very much a Sherlock Holmes type of thing.
Sherlock, you know, Arthur Conan Doyle was never really good at writing mysteries.
That was an Agatha Christie thing.
He was more, more focused on adventures.
So he'd, um, he, all his, uh, stories were top heavy at the, at the back end.
Because then, then
Kevin: I'll justify everything that just happened with information you didn't have.
Rob: Exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
So the clues aren't really there.
It's just a case of, let me just explain everything.
Kevin: That's what it felt like here as well, is the clues
were not there for us to see.
And that's the second time this season I have complained about a mystery
not having the facts on the table.
Uh, but, uh, nevertheless, I, I liked it at the same time for the world building.
This new story of the best of us leaving, fleeing the planet to, to try to, uh,
preserve the future of humanity, uh,
Rob: Before Warp dr before, before Zephram Cochrane.
Kevin: Yeah.
Before Zephram Cochrane, before warp drive because of, uh, the climate crisis.
And we watch this now and we go were they the best of humanity
or were they the Elon Musks and, and, and Mr. Amazons of the world?
Were they the billionaires fleeing the sinking ship?
We don't know.
Like the history obviously remembers them well, but uh, what were they at the time?
It's like left for us to, to, to interpret.
Rob: Not just history.
We had Pelia there as well.
Kevin: Yeah.
Rob: Um, but yes, I was hoping, hoping to God they weren't the
Bezos or, or Musk of our generation.
Kevin: No, she, she did say she remembered like the call going out for
the best and brightest and yeah, that is a, a cool, inspiring story that,
Rob: That, that flip, that flip, which I loved so much, they had flips like that
in, uh, season one, which I really loved.
You going yep, yep, yep, and then that flip of horror and
that realization, that hardcore sci-fi type, uh, concept explored.
To have that moment of celebration of escaping and saving, saving the
Enterprise, saving, uh, this planet that's gonna be devoured, saving themselves.
And then, then that representation of 7,000 life forms, and
they're dwindling fast.
And you're going, oh.
And then, and then the reveal.
They take a time.
So there's the hint of it.
Then they cut to the reveal on the Enterprise.
I think there's, they realize it on the Farragut, but they don't reveal
it to us until on the Enterprise.
Kevin: The two money scenes in this episode for me were the, the breakdown
on the bridge of the Farragut, where Kirk goes, I don't need more ideas.
I don't need this chattering.
And he, he runs off into the ready room.
So good watching those characters that we love, we invest in, we are
invested in their future relationship, watching them fall apart before us.
Very satisfying, beautifully written and beautifully played.
And then the one-on-one between Kirk and Pike at the end of the episode
where Pike just wants to congratulate Kirk for the job he did, and Kirk
can't take the compliment because he's beating himself up about what he
sees as his first failure in command.
Rob: You know, and wonderful work of not being sort of like a father
figure or a mentor, just a captain who's had more experience at it.
Just going, you gotta, you know.
Kevin: Yeah.
You take the wins with the
Rob: You take the win, you're gonna have more wins and more losses coming.
And um, um, incredible stuff.
Beautifully written and beautiful realization of the characters.
Not this sense of, you know, no patronizing tone, no sense of,
it was just a case of two people
Kevin: Very different captains as well.
Like you can feel the, the, when, when the Enterprise shows
up and Pike's on the screen.
He is like, tell me what you do know.
Okay, we gotta get you out of there.
Like he's so business efficient, matter of fact, and Kirk is
so warm and and emotional.
And you're like, they are both right.
They're both good captains and they're different from each other.
It's amazing.
Rob: Great line, he goes, I know how you feel.
You're the captain.
You wanna stay with your ship, you wanna go?
Yeah, but we gotta get you out.
Kevin: It's the right call.
It's the right call.
He says, ah, so good.
This is my favorite episode of the season so far.
It is a highlight of the series overall.
This is a, a, a, like this one goes down in my rewatch list for sure.
It's, uh, and I love it for being a serious situation with a serious
crew taking the situation seriously.
Like this professional workplace drama in the future is what I
show up for at in Star Trek and it, they gave it to us this week.
Rob: And elements of comedy that didn't, you know, that were balanced well.
Kevin: Yeah, the pink phone on the bridge.
Absurd, hilarious.
But it's a sight gag with all the characters playing it completely straight.
It is amazing.
Rob: And you've got what M'Benga and, and, uh, Number One operating joysticks
to control the, yeah, just and the line you are scrapping on the inside
Kevin: So good.
Rob: Very Galaxy Quest.
Kevin: Yes, indeed.
Uh, but we didn't get the, we did get the, the shot in Galaxy Quest.
We didn't get to see it here
Rob: Too much.
Too much money was spent on that opening bubble warp, uh, bubble uh shield.
Kevin: Yeah, so this was so good that I, I basically, I, I already assume this is
the best this season is gonna give us.
Rob: Most probably, most probably.
Kevin: Yeah, like I'm looking forward to the rest of the season, but if
anything even approaches this standard, I will be pleasantly surprised.
Not because I, I, I dislike the show, but just I feel like what it's going
for is less this and more everything else we've, we've gotten this season.
So I, I ex, I think next week is the too many Vulcans episode and so it's
gonna be back to Vulcan Hijinks.
Rob: Next week is, uh, do you wanna know the title?
Kevin: Sure.
Rob: What is Starfleet?
Kevin: Oh, you know what?
That does sound serious, doesn't it?
Rob: Or it does sound like a documentary that might be shown.
Kevin: Oh my gosh, it does.
Okay.
It's gonna be the meta, uh, interview episode.
I wonder how they will separate it from our Lower Decks, uh, uh, documentary.
Rob: right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We wait and see.
So, uh, what is our topic that we have, uh, based our, uh,
Kevin: We've got a topic we've been talking about this episode so long.
I completely forgot we had a topic.
Our
Rob: It was a good one.
It
Kevin: yeah, it was.
Worthy.
Uh, the use of ancient technology, which is, uh, the contents of
Pelia's quarters in this episode.
Rob: Yes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I, I, I like the, uh, the, the loose, the loose strings that we
attach to have our con conversations.
Where did, where, where did you go for your, uh, episode?
Kevin: I went to the original series, again.
I'm on an original series kick at the moment.
I'm challenging myself to think of the earliest example of these things
that I can come up with at the moment.
Rob: Excellent.
What have we got to, uh, talk about?
Kevin: We are in season three of the original series, six, Spectre
of the Gun, which fans will remember as the showdown at the OK Corral.
Rob: Hey.
Well it is season three, so we are always a bit tentative when we go into
this caution of, of what is to come.
Kevin: I think this is a strong one for season three, definitely.
But you can, you can also see the, the formula starting to fray.
This is played on a Paramount western backlot, largely with, uh,
because they, the, the Enterprise is ordered to make contact with this
race whether they like it or not.
And as they approach this planet, the, a buoy comes out and says, Turn
back, this will be your only warning.
Uh, and Kirk goes, well, we have our orders.
Let's go.
Rob: Classic Kirk.
Classic.
Kevin: Um, and they, uh, for their disobedience, they get transported down
onto the planet and the alien, uh, you know, which is a puppet bathe in colored
lights, uh, tells them off for their transgression and tells Captain Kirk
that as the one responsible, the pattern of their punishment will be, uh, his.
And they don't know what that means.
But suddenly, uh, they are teleported into what seems at first glance to be the
main street of a western frontier town.
But as they take in the scenery, they realize that the fronts of
the buildings are really just facades held up by plywood.
And so, so there, there's a line of, it's, it's just snippets and,
and someone goes probably just all they needed to ensure our execution.
They learn pretty quickly that they are standing in as the Clanton gang, uh, who
will meet the Earps at the OK Corral at 5:00 PM for the historical, uh, gunfight
in which the Clantons are killed.
Rob: Going full Western mythology.
Kevin: Full Western mythology.
Yeah.
They, each of the characters is, is like given their, their equivalent.
And we get to meet these guest actors who are playing Wyatt Earp
and Doc Holiday and, and all of, uh, the, the rest of the, uh, the Earp
gang in Tombstone, Arizona, 1881.
Rob: Year was this?
This is the third season, so this is.
Kevin: 69, I
Rob: 69 because, um, Dr. Who bring it back to Dr. Who, they did an episode
in season three, which would be 66, um, called the Gunfighters, where The Doctor,
Steven and Dodo go to Tombstone and meet Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp and go to.
Yeah.
Couple of years before, uh, Star Trek did it.
Kevin: Sometimes, yeah.
These old stories come back into the, the collective consciousness
all at the same time, and then we get these, these sci-fi stories picking
up on them all at the same moment.
It's very interesting.
Anyway, Captain Kirk, obviously, and crew set about trying to
convince the the townsfolk that they are actually astronauts from
the future and no one is having it.
Uh, except for Chekov, whose eye as usual is on the girl.
There is, uh,
Rob: Of course.
Kevin: is a young lady who is in love with his, uh, Billy Claiborne.
And Chekov is goaded into a premature showdown on the street
in which he is shot and killed.
Uh, and so Kirk and the remaining crew, which is McCoy and Spock
and Scotty, they're like, oh, well, I guess we can die here.
And so they start hatching a plan for how they are going to
survive this eventual gunfight.
They continue to, to try to talk their way out of it, and the scenes are really
fun for that, like McCoy visits Doc Holiday and the the barber slash dentist
to, to try and talk some sense into Doc Holiday as a physician, but Doc Holiday's,
like, I'll see you at 5:00 PM Well, I'll put some lead in your head with
this gun, like completely implacable.
And uh, Kirk goes to the authorities, he goes and tries to, to plead his
case to the sheriff and the sheriff's like, What are you talking about?
You've been looking for this opportunity to take out the Earps forever.
It's too late to get yellow bellied now.
The law will completely look the other way.
You have my assurance.
So it, it is lots of fun to watch these lay like, um, idealistic Star Trek
characters try to talk their way out of the carnage that inevitably awaits them.
Rob: And it's amazing to think, you know, because the, you know,
urban legend is this was, you know, pushed as wagon train in space.
So it's a western in space to make it go.
So to have our Venn diagram is pretty much overlapping completely
Kevin: Yeah.
All of these actors would've starred in numerous Westerns
around this time, especially, uh, uh, Deforest Kelly as McCoy.
He was known for his career in the Westerns.
Rob: And that was pretty much, that's what kept the, uh, the engine
running on television and in the cinemas in America at the moment.
It was, uh, Western's a hoy hoy.
Kevin: Yeah, so playing a faux western here, like the fish out of water, the
fish in a Western, uh, is an amazing kind of like, layering of, of stuff
here that is really satisfying to watch.
Uh, they are, they're all equipped with guns with, with six shooters
that they admire as amazing specimens.
And, uh, and Scotty of course wants to shoot his way out of the situation.
He's like, well, we'll, we'll just have to take them on.
Kirk goes, their, their expert gunsmen.
We'll be dead in a moment.
And, and it's, it played very realistically.
Kirk also makes the point that the guns were given to them by the aliens.
So they're obviously meant as, you know, instruments of their demise.
So they set aside the idea of shooting their way out of the situation right
away, and start to use their brains.
The first thing they try to do is leave town.
But there's a force field at the edge of town, so you're not leaving town.
The next thing they try to do is make a tranquilizer grenade.
Doc Holiday is happy to lend them some supplies.
He's like, doesn't matter, I'm shooting you at 5:00 PM anyway.
Take whatever you want.
And uh, they McCoy cooks up a a, uh, tranquilizer gas that Spock creates a
grenade for using instruments available to them at the time, the ancient
technology we are here to discuss.
Rob: done.
Well done.
Kevin: Then there's 10 minutes to go and Kirk goes, so how do you know it'll work?
Uh, how is it tested?
And McCoy and Spock go you don't need to test it.
It's physics.
It can't fail.
And Kirk goes, everything else we've tried has failed.
We're testing it.
And Scotty volunteers as on one condition that I am awake and alert
at 5:00 PM to to be there with you.
And it's so heroic.
Scotty puts his face over the, uh, the grenade and breathes
deeply and nothing happens.
And this, this is the solution that Spock was looking for, that if this
gas that could not possibly fail, failed, then nothing here is real.
And nothing, nothing is there to kill them.
Uh, Spock is like, well, now I know the bullets aren't
real, so they can't hurt me.
And the humans are like, we'd have to be as sure as you.
And Spock goes, if there is the slightest doubt, it'll be enough to kill you.
So of course, the solution is mind melds for everyone.
S,
Spock hypnotizes everyone into being absolutely certain the bullets aren't
real and they stand in front of the Earps who shoot guns, and we see a, a, a shot
from behind as our heroic crew stand there in front of a wooden fence, and
the wooden fence is pelted with bullets and bullet holes are riddled in it, and
they stand there completely unaffected.
The end.
Uh, the, uh, the Melkotians, who are the aliens in question, are so impressed by
the restraint of the humans to not, to not fight for their lives, to not try and
take their take lives in order to preserve their own, that they go, you know what?
Come on down.
Let's be friends.
Rob: Oh, amazing.
Look at that.
A happy ending
Kevin: Yeah.
Uh, but yes, I always remember Scotty like breathing the fumes and
going, something meant to happen?
Uh, it it fun little scene of the grenade not working.
Rob: Amazing, amazing wagon train in space, actually going western.
Love it.
Kevin: Mm-hmm.
Rob: Well, I went ahead to Voyager, back to Voyager.
I seem to be going back to Voyager quite a lot.
Um, season four, episode 20, Vis à Vis.
Kevin: Vis à Vis, you'll have to refresh my memory.
Rob: Now this is a, this is a, uh, well, I, the only way I could get to, I really
wanted to get to that ancient technology that's connected within our time zone.
And one of the characters who I knew was obsessed with this our time period or a
little bit before obviously was Tom Paris.
Kevin: We've talked about this recently with his black and
white TV at the end of the bed.
Rob: Yeah, black and white TV at the end of the bed.
And he like creates the hologram of, um, the Irish village.
He does, you know, um, uh,
Kevin: Dr. Chaotica.
Rob: Dr. Chaotica.
So this is the one that I remember vividly.
I remember him working on a car, working on a car, working on a roadster.
He wants to, you know, he wants to be a grease monkey as
they talk about, I remember.
You know him walking around on the, on, on the deck in full overalls with gr
with oil on his face, even though it's hologram oil, so it should go off, but
maybe it's done by the same liquid as the
Kevin: Yeah.
Yeah.
The liquids are permanent
Rob: Yes, exactly.
Um, so, so yeah, had a bit of a deep dive and a search, and I found, uh, Vis à Vis.
So it's not the main focus of the episode, it's sort of like used to solve a problem.
So it opens with Paris working in a garage on his car.
Um, this is of the era where he's, um, assistant to the Doctor because since, um,
Kevin: Wow.
Yeah, early stuff.
So this is pre Delta Flyer.
This is before he gets a real space hot rod.
Rob: Fly is mentioned, so it's in the early stages of it.
But yeah, he's sort of like, what, he's got commitments with the
Doctor in, um, in, in the hospital.
So I think he's, he's on, he's on probation for something he's done.
Um, and so he comes onto the deck.
He's spending a lot of time in, because he's with B'Elanna at this point as well.
So he comes on and they come across a ship that can warp in and out of
time, and they're using a coaxial device, which was mentioned.
He the only class he paid attention to at the academy, that means
you can travel instantly from one part of the galaxy to the next.
Uh, and, but
Kevin: This is sounding very Threshold, Rob.
Rob: Do we dare see a grease monkey slug of Paris again?
Um, and so the uh, crew member is a test pilot, using this
from travel to place to place.
They have to find a solution so that the coaxial energy is, um, can stabilize
and, um, Paris thinks outside the box and takes him, takes this passenger Steth
to, um, his garage and he uses 1950s, sixties, seventies, carbureted engine,
um, uh, technology and the theory of that and incorporates it to filter it and
how a, an engine in a car works, use it to, um, to make this, uh, device work.
And so that's really clever, using stuff from ancient, uh, uh,
you know, uh, combustion engine cars, um, to solve a problem in
the, you know, in the far future.
Um, then of course, this test pilot isn't a test pilot.
He steals people's bodies, he steals Tom's body and, and, and puts Tom body
in the, in the ship as it flies off, and then the people whose original body is
Kevin: Bit of a body snatcher episode as well.
This one
Rob: snare, a little bit, little bit switch.
It's like kind of possession, but sort of like the, the thief touches someone
and takes their body and then the body he's taken takes the original body.
So it's a case of this has been going on for
Kevin: Not possession.
It's body swap.
It's
Rob: Its.
It, it's, yeah, body transfer.
So the, so the person who was in the original body has come to get his,
their body back, but then that body has to be returned to the original body.
So this, this thief who's stealing bodies, his or his original body
is like, could be a hundred.
Yeah.
So anyway, that, that all sorts itself out.
And Tom is possessed or taken over and so he's acting very strangely and like hits
on uh, Seven of Nine and like threatens, uh, but then threatens Seven of Nine
and like almost chokes, B'Elanna um.
Uh, but yeah, the main focus of why I foc picked this episode was, um,
Paris's obsession with, uh, our modern era technology is used to, uh, save
the day in, uh, in the far future.
Kevin: The Memory Alpha article I'm reading of this episode sums it up
in one line, which is Paris decides to hit the shuttlecraft's polaric
modulator with a chromoelectric pulse to disable its carburetor, in quotes.
And, uh, that, you know, on the page in black and white, sounds like
a bunch of Treknobabble nonsense.
Is it, is it satisfying?
Does it work in the episode?
Rob: Um, yeah, I find it quite cool, especially 'cause they ingrain it
so much into Tom's DNA and that's one of the only few things I find
fascinating about him as a character.
Like there's a scene earlier on where he misses a date with B'Elanna and B'Elanna's
clearly annoyed as, as she has every right to be, and he starts getting emotional and
angry and starts saying she's emotional.
And as a half Klingon, she's being very restrained and being very reasonable
and just wanting to talk about something that she's annoyed by, and he's being
incredibly unreasonable and saying, oh look, you're getting all emotional.
I'm there going, I don't really like this character.
Um,
Kevin: Paris, that happens with Paris a lot.
He, they, they keep, oh, they keep just like crossing that
line, un unintentionally.
Rob: Yeah.
And it's very much a case of, it's more of.
It's very telling of the time that I'm there going is are we meant to
Kevin: B'Elanna can do so much better.
Rob: B'Elanna could do so much better.
We there going, is this, are we meant to sympathize with Tom Paris here?
Because then he's possessed and taken over by uh, uh Steth and
he's even worse and you're going, so we want the good Tom Paris.
Is that good?
Um, and shout out the actor playing, uh, Steth is, uh, Dan Butler,
who is uh, Bulldog on Frasier.
Great actor.
Great actor, wonderful actor.
Um, so yeah, it's a, that little moment was quite, um,
remarkable in a standard episode.
It's one that focuses on Tom Paris, so I wasn't really that invested.
Kevin: Yeah, no.
Fun one though.
It's, it is nice to pull these, these, for me, like this is a
forgotten episode of Voyager.
And uh, yeah, I think, I think I said last week that Return to Tomorrow in Star
Trek was one that is often forgotten.
These, these not so splashy episodes that are still like, you know, a solid
week at the office at Star of Star Trek, uh, they're fun to be reminded of.
Rob: Yeah, because I was kind of looking at, uh, one in the later seasons, which is
Alice, where it's about the, they go to a junkyard and they find a, a, a ship there.
no,
Kevin: Yeah.
The, the sentient ship that, uh, yeah, it gets all of its, uh, plugs into Paris.
Yeah.
Rob: Delta Flyer is mentioned in that episode, so not in season four.
Season four is before the Delta Flyer, you're right.
Um, and so that one I'm there going, yeah, there's mention of like the, the working
he does on mechanics in the holodeck, but we don't actually see it here.
We see him working on this, uh, ship and how it takes over his body and
creates this persona of Alice that he, you know, is taken over by, but
it isn't really ancient technology.
So I stopped watching that and moved on to, uh, to Vis à Vis.
Kevin: Hmm.
Well thank you for the trip down memory lane.
Rob: Well, and thank you very much for a very wholehearted, uh,
and hearty discussion about, yes, clearly the strongest episode of,
uh, Strange New Worlds this season.
Kevin: Well, we'll see.
We're about to learn What is Starfleet, Rob.
Rob: That is, we are about to learn what is Starfleet, and we still have
four Vulcans, uh, four Vulcans, no waiting, uh, around the corner as well.
So, um, we can only hope that it goes up and up and up with a little detour
into, uh, superficial silliness.
Kevin: Yeah.
Alright, well uh, until next time, Rob, see you around the galaxy.
Rob: So you then.