We’re back after a long hiatus to … enjoy the worst Star Trek movie ever made! Join us as we take the trek into darkness and come out the other side confused as to why you’d even build a warp core like that, why Khan is even a bad guy in this universe, and what anyone’s motivation actually is. Also, we talk about the trailers for both Discovery season 3 and Picard! Thank you everyone who has ever said you enjoyed this show. We will always be out there, ready to return when the time is right.

The Movie
Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Discovery is finished (for now), and so are we (for now). Of all the souls we have met in our journeys, this was the most television.

In the penultimate episode of Discovery season 2, Tilly’s girlfriend returns, everyone gets a goodbye, everyone gets another goodbye, and nothing really happens. Sorry for a downer one, it will be over soon.

The article about the design of the Enterprise Em mentions: Design Secrets of Discovery’s New USS Enterprise Bridge

We’re so very, very tired in this, the prepenultimate episode of Discovery season 2. Live long and prosper.

Finally Discovery rights itself and we have what we both consider to just be a good episode of Star Trek. Given that it involves forgetting major character motivations and making one of the characters a literal terminator, are we perhaps just forced to lower our standards? Or is it true that the only thing that we like more than good Trek is bad Trek? Time will tell as we have until the 32nd century to find the answer in this, the latest Discovery episode.

The Discovery solves several mysteries as another giant one opens before them in this episode that splits us in two on what exactly we want or are willing to accept from modern Star Trek. One thing’s for sure, Georgiou would NEVER sleep with Stammets in any universe. The intensity of nonsense ramps up … now!

Wasted potential and piss poor writing does not a good episode make, but we do our best to talk through exactly why this episode of Discovery set a new low for this show. Sorry for the downer one, folks, hopefully next week picks back up!

We’re back to the very beginning as Spock and Burnham go to Talos IV, Christopher Pike actually gets a character arc 50 years later, and Saru reveals that he might never actually be fit for command now that he’s evolved. All this and more as we come into the back half of season 2 and try hard not to just talk about Enterprise again.

We finally spend most of the episode talking about the actual episode of Star Trek, which means Sarek must be involved! But don’t worry, we get a little bit of time to yell about Enterprise, as is our wont. Also, a shocking revelation about the mirror universe that changes everything forever.

The only thing better than good Star Trek is bad Star Trek.

- Gene Roddenberry, 1961

Light spoilers for a bunch of DS9 and Enterprise in this episode.

What happens when Discovery has its most dramatic story yet? We find time to talk about everything but the actual events of this episode. Combadges, tachyon particles, hair choices, prime Lorca, and many other things besides dominate this especially tangential episode. Don’t worry, everything is saved with a kiss. It’s good, actually.

Saru gets sick, Number One gets a burg, and Stamets gets high af in our fourth episode of Discovery season 2! We cover the ups and downs of this episode, and finally get around to disagreeing on Discovery for maybe the first time? Please enjoy the adventure with us!

It’s time for the Klingons! What does it mean for Star Trek to be bad when there’s so much interesting stuff to talk about? We find out in this amazing mess of an episode!

Discovery gets down and dirty with discussions of religion and the prime dir-oh, excuse me, General Order One, as we delve into the true joys of episodic Star Trek television. This episode isn’t our longest, but it might be our happiest. Please come along with us to the stars, to a new earth, and to the surprising reveal of the ghost parade.

Discovery is back, and so are we! With the Enterprise out of commission, King Cop himself Christopher Pike is here to usher in a new era of fun space adventure. Does he succeed? Well, it’s only the pilot, but so far we’ve definitely ruffled a few feathers. Please enjoy the return of our weekly Discovery recaps!

Short Treks are back! This is the week Discovery season 2 starts! The train never stops and we’re climbing on and not letting go. Please enjoy as we talk about the best and worst of Star Trek short films this week, and prep for the weeks ahead.

This Week's Episodes
DIS S00E03 - “The Brightest Star”
DIS S00E04 - “The Escape Artist”

Next Week's Episodes
DIS S02E01 - “Brother”

The ramp up to Discovery season 2 continues as we take on the third Discovery book and discover that the boy is all right as we spend a very bad day with everyone’s scared anxiety friend Saru! Tholians, imperialism, racial dynamics of the Federation and more define what might be the best Discovery book yet! Please sit back and enjoy the lost adventures of Georgiou and the Shenzhou with us!

This Month's Book
Fear Itself by James Swallow

This Month's Episodes
TOS S1E21 - “Tomorrow Is Yesterday”
TOS S2E06 - “The Doomsday Machine”

We’re back at the end of the year with one short episode about two short episodes of Star Trek trying to sell you on keeping your CBS All Access account going during the lean months where there is no Star Trek. They did not succeed, but we’re going to talk about the shorts anyway, giving them the good old Star Trek critique like anything else. Please join us in this short, silly episode!

This Month's Episodes
DIS S00E01 - “Runaway”
DIS S00E02 - “Calypso”

It’s all been building to this! The final chapter of this first ten book arc of the DS9 relaunch crashes home as all the threads of story collide in this … ending? Will Bajor enter the Federation? Will the Parasite threat destroy all our heroes have built? Will Quark and Ro Laren ever actually communicate? And most importantly, will Ben Sisko return? All this and more as we close this chapter and open the door to many more ahead.

This Month's Book
Unity by SD Perry

This Month's Episodes
DS9 S5E10 - “Rapture”
DS9 S6E21 - “The Reckoning”

We’re back again for the second adventure into the world of Klingons as Martok rebuffs an attempted coup and we get deep into Worf’s efforts to properly educate the youths of space.

This Month's Book
The Left Hand of Destiny Book Two by J.G. Hertzler and Jeffrey Lang

This Month's Episodes
TNG S6E16 - “Birthright, part i”
TNG S6E17 - “Birthright, part ii”

The Dominion War is over, but the rhythms of war will never be purged from the Klingon heart! Join us as we return to the decade of Klingon politics as we watch the rise of Gowron, the challenge of the Duras, and the arrival of Martok onto the stage of history. Bat’leth will bleed as we toast to all those who cross Worf and find themselves in Sto-Vo-Kor for their troubles. Join us in a song for the ages, a song of the alien culture that refuses to ever play nice with the rest of Star Trek. It’s time … for Klingons!

This Month's Book
The Left Hand of Destiny Book One by J.G. Hertzler and Jeffrey Lang

This Month's Episodes
TNG S4E26 - "Redemption, part i"
TNG S5E01 - "Redemption, part ii"

We take a break from Star Trek for a duo of media inspired by Trek and taking it on as a sort of meta-parody with one of the best Star Trek movies and a well-regarded Trek-adjacent book! What happens when people comment on Star Trek? Does anyone actually try to critique the world of Star Trek or does it just become about television production? We will never give up and never surrender as we tackle these two views on our favorite sci-fi show, for good or ill. Pleeeeeease, joooooin uuuusssssss.

This episode was brought to you by our friend Crass via their pledge on Patreon. If you want to support this show, all of our shows, and get extra bonus content please visit patreon.com/abnormalmapping to find out how!

This Month's Book
Redshirts by John Scalzi

This Month's Movie
Galaxy Quest

It's been six months of DS9 relaunch. New friends have been made, tragedies have struck, and through it all Ezri and Bashir are still together. Let's put all of that aside for today as we follow one confused boy and his misadventures as Jake Sisko heads into the wormhole in search to the prophecy of B'Hala and maybe something more!

This Month's Book
Rising Son by SD Perry

This Month's Episodes
DS9 S1E13 - "Battle Lines"
DS9 S4E21 - "The Muse"

After a long, long absence we have returned to the world of the Deep Space Nine relaunch, but before we can tackle the final stretch of the first arc, we must step back and read a little book called: The Lives of Dax. Nine short stories for every Dax host, we talk a lot this episode about the weird mess that is The Trill. It's good to be back with Star Trek.

This Month's Book
The Lives of Dax by Various

This Month's Episodes
DS9 S4E06 - "Rejoined"
DS9 S7E13 - "Field of Fire

The Second Officers (that's us, we're workshopping it) return for a new episode of your favourite Star Trek podcast! The stresses on our schedule are starting to clear, and so we've read the latest Discovery book for you all. It was, tragically, not a great note to come back on. But between that and Jackson's first exposure to the animated series, we spun it into an excellent 1 hour and 15 minutes of hashtag content. So please, enjoy.

There's a mistake in the timeline! We ditch our book and episodes for a month due to scheduling and instead turn our eyes to a little, forgotten corner of Star Trek lore. Once upon a time, a man named J J Abrams was given the keys to make a new vision of Star Trek. What we got wasn't exactly fresh, nor was it particilarly visionary, which means we get to enjoy tearing it apart! Join us, as we boldly go back to where it all began, but maybe worse than it's ever been. 

This Month's Comic Books
Star Trek Countdown
Star Trek Nero

This Month's Movie
Star Trek (2009)

James Kirk is dead (again), until he isn't. He's wishing he could see Spock (again), until he does. He's at cross purposes with Picard (again), until they aren't. The more things change, the more they stay the same was we wrap up the third book in the first Shatnerverse trilogy. We return to Chal, talk about the failures of the Federation, and reflect on just how arrogant Vulcans are as we wrap up this journey in this side universe with perhaps the best of the three books. Join us, for the first time, for the hundredth. 

This Month's Book
Avenger by William Shatner, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens

This Month's Episodes
TOS S1E26 - "Errand of Mercy"
TOS S3E04 - "The Enterprise Incident"

James Kirk is dead. Once, on the Enterprise-B, sacrificing himself to save a ship of strangers. Twice, on Veridian III, giving his life to save a planet of unknown aliens. And now? Well ... there are always possibilities, especially when the actor playing you is both wildly infamously egotistical and knows how to write books. Thus, The Return, William Shatner's second foray into writing the further adventures of James T Kirk. Because why would Kirk ever let a little thing like dying twice stop him? It didn't stop Spock to die, did it?

This Month's Book
The Return by William Shatner, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Next Month's Book
Avenger by William Shatner, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens

This Month's Episodes
TOS S1E26 - "The Devil in The Dark"
TOS S2E05 - "Amok Time"

Next Month's Episodes
TOS S1E26 - "Errand of Mercy"
TOS S3E04 - "The Enterprise Incident"

The finale of Discovery is here! We talk about the very final episode of Star Trek's return to television (on the internet), and after a season of ups and downs it all comes down to one question: will they stick the landing?

Yes. Yes they absolutely do. Spoilers.

The USS Discovery is back in the Prime universe, and the war has gone very badly. What beacon of hope can we turn to in these moments of peril? Surely not the leader of the evil space fascists. That wouldn't make sense. No sir. But here, in the penultimate episode, all sorts of bullshit will go down as we scream into the ending of this, the first season of Star Trek in over a decade.