Episode 636-Star Wars Andor part 3 review

0:06 Kingway stocks By look is acting very weird. Captain Pike's because wife king ons and me after like Boimer, Tendi Starboransom is very hard, sport drive black Alert, Torgillo has gone perserved, Teacher bad laugh, Edward is any Pakistan warfs were Checkov's wearing red Teeter's cat Kim back sat you has had enough for that. Pemi up make it so everybody, lets go about the series. Going up the phone. Now about the series.

0:48 I'm coming to you dree services now. Lead about the series. How foks me harshone loud. Hey, good evening, Trekies and Trekers around the globe. It's Thursday, May fifteenth, twenty twenty five. Welcome to episode six hundred and thirty six. If you guys kind of like that theme song, huh, it's kind of catchy, kind of kind of catchy. You know, you can't quite get enough of it. But alas it's about to get an upgrade. That's right, you'll have to wait and come back when it's ready and hear the new theme song. And I'm also we're also gonna have a video to go along with that theme song that we're gonna play prior to the podcast instead of just the picture of my awesome Trukxperts and myself.

1:44 So stay tuned. I'm your most excellent host, Uncle Jim, and with me as usual are my Trukxperts. Will start out in Las Vegas for a change, where we have swinging palm trees, and of course we're talking to Charles. How you doing, Charles? I'm doing good, Uncle Jim. Enjoying our roller coaster weather again. It's going on the warm streak, but I think we're supposed to hit up to nineties and go back down to seventies for a bit and then go back up to the nineties. Here snow up in Vermont, but I love it. All right. Now we're gonna swing over to Portland, where we have my trifecta, my triple play, my hat trick, if you will.

2:28 We'll start off with David. He's obviously the miracle worker. How you doing tonight, David? I'm doing pretty good. It's it's been kind of a rough end this week. I had an infection and everything it was like I had to clean. I was like I didn't think I was gonna make it, and now here I am. You didn't eat any moldy cheese, did you I avoided that, that's always a good thing. And also from Portland, we have the toy guy himself, Paul. How you doing tonight, Paul? I'm good, Uncle Jim. You know, I was able to avoid getting trapped in the Gorman Plaza this week, so that's a good thing. Mark, That's a very good thing. But nobody offered me a four hundred billion dollar jet that needs a lifetime amount of, like you know, intravenous maintenance.

3:12 So I don't know. I guess I'm sort of right in the middle. They're doing something right there you go production last, but definitely not least. Also from Portland, it must be something in the water. We have Eric Kaya doing tonight. Eric doing pretty good. Man. Yeah, feeling a little rushed due to other obligations just prior to the podcast, but I am here now. I am wearing my Jackie Daytona T shirt from what we do in the Shadows, and I am feeling good and. We are going out currently live on Facebook, my screen tells me so, so if you guys are following me on Facebook, you should see a link there and be watching the show right now. So I hope that's working.

3:53 My computer says it is, so anybody else I'm assuming that it is. Before we go to though, you guys need to mark your calendars for Thursday July twelfth, because Alex Dial is going to be here, that's right right here, right now, talking with us live. He played a synth unit F eight F three three five and Star Trek p cards first season episodes Maps and Legends, and he also played Harvey in the second season episodes The Stargazer and Penance. And he's going to be here chatting with us live, so you don't want to miss that. And that's June twelfth, Jim, June. Twelfth, June July twelfth, June twelfth. Jan twelfth, There you go. J Yeah. So we're also looking for some female advice around here. We're looking for Princess Leia to join all these guys here. So if you're listening to the podcast and you'd like to join us, just go over to trek Talking dot com, click on the green talkback Mike and send us a message and hopefully we'll pick you and you can be right here on the podcast with us.

4:56 You can also support Trek Talking by heading over to Patreon and becoming a member. It's only two dollars a month. It's a great bargain. What else is? What else is there? Okay? On tonight's show, we're going to be covering Indoor Part two, episodes seven, eight and nine. Three. Oh go, I better change my notes here. I thought I was the worst person at math on Planet Earth. I have now learned that it's not true, So worth it all?

5:38 Right there? I just changed my notes because I've watched the whole series already, so I gotta I gotta step backwards here. So we're gonna be talking about and or tonight. We also have our fans shout outs, and that's where we say thank you to fans just like you all around the globe. And as usual, we have our Star Trek polls, and you know, is Picard was responsible for his actions as the cutest I wonder hm? And did the makey make the right choice in abandoning the Federation another interesting question you'll have to hang around to find out. We also have our Star Trek Birthdays, where we can find out what Star Trek actors you share a birthday with, and what's going on around the Star Trek universe this week. Actually, we have quite a few stories left over from last week.

6:29 We'll start Trek five. Get a director's cut, God, I hope, so I'm only praying we have a pike in one twelfth scale and enterprise what outward a whimper? And of course Shatner says what. And that's our stories for this week. All right, guys, if you'd like to be featured on a fan shout out, all I have to do is head over to our Facebook page Trek Talking and beyond. You'll see a pinpost at the top of the page, Live Long and prosper. Just click on that, tell us where you're from and leave lots of little emojis because that gets my attention. And then if there's a heart next to your name from yours, truly you want to tune into the next show because you're going to hear your name on a fan shout out. So, Eric, would you like to get us started with our fan shout outs this week?

7:11 I absolutely do. I'm going to spin this globe over to Western Europe and say hello this week to Jantinecke van Helden, who is saying hello to us from the Netherlands also known as Holland. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We always appreciate all of our European support and Jantineke we see you on our Facebook page and we hope you're listening right now. Also saying hello this week to Uriel Robert el Delacort, who's saying hello to us from Belgium. So would that be de la croi something I don't know. I'm terrible at Belgian names, but URIEO, what's up? Oh? There we go, there we go? Well, thank you so much for listening to our podcast, Uriel. We really appreciate your support in that amazing country that is, that country between all countries that seems to contain multitudes in and of itself. Thank you so much. Also saying hello this week to Sue elgar Nawide, who's saying hello to us from Johannesburg in South Africa. Lots of South African stuff in the news these days in the US, Sue elger Noide, thank you so much for saying hello to us. And last but not least, I want to spin that globe over to Bulgaria and say hello and welcome this week to Giorgi Liumboy, who sang hello to us from that capital city of Sofia in Bulgaria. Thank you so much for listening to all our podcast and livelong and prosper to you, Giorgi Charles. Who would you like to say hello to?

8:38 Oh? Thank you Eric. Let's start off in Connecticut. Let's say welcome to Martin Rolo from Waterbury, Connecticut. Welcome Martin. Welcome to Via Ali from Williamsburg, Virginia. I wonder if you're near historical Williamsburg top fans and Mary Stefan from Pennsylvania. Oh, chocolate, Sorry man, Another top fan, Brandon Kallis from Kentucky. Welcome Brandon and Mary and chocolate. David, who's on your list?

9:21 Yeah? I would like to say. Welcome and thank you for listening to Scott Montgomery Sr. From Panama City Beach in Florida, and just probably somewhere northeast southwest, I'm not sure, but somewhere in Florida. I want to say welcome to Joey Dean who's listening in and I got another Florida. Oh. I want to say thank you for listening to low Wayland Williams, who's coming in from Florida, USA, And I have a top fan, Joey Ralph from Indiana, USA. Thank you all for listening, and I'm going to pass it over to Paul.

10:15 Thank David, hoping you can hear me. Okay, this switch device is on the fly? Is that worgan sounds good? Buddy all it's sweet. Let's get on the other side of the planet here and say hello to our good friend Helena Sarronova from Czech Republic originally but currently living in Poland. So not a gigantic moving truck necessary to make that move, but still rather a substantial relocation. But great, Helena. Great to know that you're out there. I love knowing that in different regions of the world we have Star Trek fans that are everywhere, like our friend Wayne Till who's in England. It doesn't say where in England that Wayne is at, but he's got both flags flying the Union Jack and of course the Old Standby as well.

10:58 So fantastic knowing you're out there. I am feeling a lot of kinship for my fellow British citizens lately, so great to know that you are one of them. Wayne, And thanks for being a fan of Star Trek all the way on the hind quarters of the planet, and if you will, you go down to New Zealand and say hi to our friend Vanessa Madson who's living down there, and be sure on which island you reside, Virginia. But Vanessa, excuse me for God, was thinking of Virginia Madson for a while. There be a little Freudian slim. This is Vanessa Madson, not the same person. Do you think people in New Zealand think of us as the hind quarters of the planet?

11:39 I you know, space is relative, but you know, I am sort of programmed generationally to make like bad jokes whenever I can, right, So it's just you know, I mean, if you know how many times I've seen blazing saddles and get what it's explaining a lot. So I'm a big Melbrooks fan. I can't help it. Anything that's remotely related to one's back side must be. That is like a rule. So there you go. You know, I'm so sorry I got lost between contents there. And also we're going to go to Italy, where I just would I need to get there and I need to get there bad Italy to our friend Alice. Alice, I don't know which province of Italy you live. In, but I can guarantee you you are surrounded one of the best food and wine on the planet. So why would you go anywhere else? I mean, especially if you're the proximity to have to so many other great places.

12:34 You have got it made in the shade Alice, So good for you, and thanks for being a fan of this podcast and the enlightened positive future that is always depicted by Star Trek. Let's see who Uncle Jim has in his Eastern Seaboard nexus. Well, thank you so much, Paul. First, we're going to visit New York City and we're going to say thank you so much to Marco Gurra. He's in New York City, the Big Apple, the City that Never sleeps. Thank you for being a fan, Marco. We also want to say hello and thank you to Ronnie bog Daddy. He's a top contributor, which means he's on our Facebook page quite frequently, and he's also from New York. Another New Yorker. What a shock, huh. We want to say thank you to Michael Bardy, who's in Upstate New York in the Webster area right where Susan's Give Me grew up. At last, but not least. We want to send a hearty thank you to Keith Jordan, who's listening to us in Georgia.

13:31 And now it's time for our Star Trek poll, which means I gotta find the poll sun. You know me like no win what you thought about the show. Then we try your opinions with all of our minions out there because they listen worldwide. So tell us just what you think. Get together, we will altering Canara and romulin al.

14:19 All right, we're gonna go into our pull section, but first David has to roll the tape. Resistance is futile. You will disarm your weapons and escort us to sector zero zero one. If you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you. Hold sir, help me to get up freak. She's gone. There's nothing we can do. We have to me. What damage to work corn containment failure in two minutes, say good boy.

15:04 Sir, gone to go now, sir, damn it. You just can't leave her here? Oh come on, yes, please come in. Welcome to Bajow.

15:45 Spent a long time captain before Yes, sir, you met in battle. I was on the Saratoga at three five nine. I have been. Made aware by Starfleet of your objections to this assignment. I would have thought that after three years spendidly utopia perniciar yards, that you will be ready for a change. I have a son that I am raising, a lone Captain, this is not the ideal environment.

16:26 Unfortunately, as Starfleet officers, we do not always have the luxury to serve. In an ideal environment. I realize that, Sir, and I am investigating the possibility of returning to Earth for civilian service, and perhaps Starfleet Command should be considering a replacement for you. That's probably a good idea, and look into it in the meantime. However, in the meantime, I will do the job I've been ordered to do to the best of my ability. Sir rich.

17:13 Oh Man, that okay, we saw the clip, So Eric, what's the question. I'm just gonna say that I think that episode, the first episode of d Space nine just hits so hard. You know, we had only seen the next generation's first episode, which is honestly cheesy by comparison, and you know, Avery Brooks performance in this thing is unbelievable. In the Deep Space nine episode, Emissary Cisco blames Picard for the destruction of the USS Saratoga and the death of his wife. Do you agree with him? And eight percent of our pole respondents say yes, they agree with him blaming Picard, and ninety two percent of our respondents do not agree with ciscol Picard. Sure, here's what I'm gonna say about this one, Okay. An argument could be made that Picard is not in charge of his own faculties as locutas right, He's been taken over by the Borg. He's got Borg intentions and Borg things that he needs to do based on his connection to the collective. In my opinion, it is one hundred percent reasonable for Cisco to totally blame Picard right now. I mean, you know, was it Picard's fault?

18:36 No? Is it reasonable for Cisco to blame Picard? Absolutely? Man, dude just lost his wife, almost lost his son. A whole bunch of stuff is going on in his head right now. So yeah, this provides the opportunity for Cisco to grow, for Picard to you know, sort of take responsibility. I think there are other episodes that sort of explore that Picard taking responsibility for his locutest acts a little bit more than this one does. But that scene where the two of them are facing off just hits so hard. I love it so much. So yeah, I don't know. I think I would tend to be about fifty to fifty on this one. It's really hard for me to go one way or the other. But it looks like our respondents feel pretty strongly about not agreeing with Cisco's blaming of Picards. So I don't know, what do you guys think, Paul, we lost you, buddy, I can't. We can't hear you, man, Sorry, there.

19:38 We go there. Yeah. I think our respondents are on crack. Yeah, yeah, we do. I think they have drank the frequency viewing syndicated rerun kool aid here. It's just oh well, it's of course, Captain Pricard, we can't watch it. Fine, guilty of anything. I'm like, yeah you can, you know, And if you're a man, you would, you'd be like in his face, like, you know, Avery Brooks is going in the meantime, motherfucker. I mean, he just like basically just throws down it. Does you know, he just gets totally ill. Samuel l on him, man, I love that, of course he does. Of course he's gonna feel that way unless you're like, you know, a you know, automaton, right, I mean, he's reacting to it like a human being, you know, an emotional person. It's just it's such a great opening scene.

20:27 It's a great performance. It sets the stage and like you're saying, it says basically told them, well, this is gonna be a little different show than next generation. Right, everyone's not quite so you know, harmonious and conflict this king, right, it's really amazing. So yeah, I mean I get the whole idea that you know, basically, you know, Picard was under the thrall of the puppet masters as Locutus, right, I mean, he really wasn't in charge of himself, right, But still, mano amano, the guy who pulled the train here that got your wife killed. What are you gonna do? You're gonna lend him? N think maybe you'll forgive it at some point, maybe he'll move past it. I think he does, all right, I mean, but but at first, your emotions, you know, are gonna take over. Yeah they Yeah, but what an incredible you know what an incredible scene. Silly turned best at both worlds on its ass, which is great.

21:22 You know, Yeah, I actually kind of agree with Ominians here. And the reason being is I understand that Cisco is need to be showing his emotions and everything like that, but I honestly think that, yes, if you're under the puppet master, you have no Ah actions. Uh, you can't control your action basically, And so to be honest, in that scene, I can only imagine what Picard was going through when he was killing hundreds of federationships, you know, trying to get out of that situation because he was in trap. So to be honest, I actually agreed that it wasn't the Card's fault in this situation. And so, but whether or not if he were blamed and yeah, I mean, yeah, you know, we all human. But then again that was also in the movie or the TV series from the beginning that battle took place, and then it said three years later. I was trying to find that, but I couldn't for some reason get it into the clip, but it said three years later. And so, you know, having a holding a grud for that long, can you imagine how angry you must be when you're facing somebody who pulled the trigger. So to me, I can't imagine what Cisco was going through. And but yeah. I don't think the Card's that fault though, to be honest, but you know, he is human, so he had to blame somebody.

22:54 So yeah, next, all right. Go ahead, Charles, Okay, we're saying, oh, we're blamed Ricard because Ricard fired the weapon. Was Ricard in charge of any weapons on that board ship? Or is that the job of other people on that ship? I think other people in the ship was doing the firing. Picard was just a figure in control that was communicating to Earth. I think the Borg was the one doing the major of the fighting to it. I don't think, Charles, I'm going to take exception to what you're saying, because the Queen specifically says stuff about how Locutus is supposed to be there to kind of be in charge of what the border doing at this point.

23:46 And I think all of the all of the fire commands, all of the tractor beams, I believe all of that stuff was flowing through the Locutas at that point. Well they are collective, yeah, but collect. Hierarchy. Yeah, lot, this isn't just the mouth of Sorrow though. He's not just the messenger, he's not. He's like, he's basically he's the you know doing it. Yeah, he's the prince essentially, right, he's the responsible face. And with responsibility comes a blame. Well, look at great power comes great responsibility. Okay, we're talking about three years. How long of a grudge did Kirk with the Klingons over the death of his son? They blame He blamed the entire Klingon society for the loss of for the one Klingon killing his son. Yeah, sometimes some grudges go a little too long, a little too far, And especially being part of the collective and a puppet of the Queen, I'm not sure Picard was was working his own, was the central cause of it, and the board kind of controlling the situation. So I'm

25:17 with the minions on this one. I don't think it's Picard really was worthy of having it all that blame for the loss of his wife. And I'm with the minions on this one too. And as far as grudges go, we saw the dip ship from Chicago, Captain William Captain Shock, Captain William shot on Star Trek Picard And how many years after Wolf three five nine did that happen? Very last, and he still held a grudge so I think a lot of people that were involved in that never really got the memo that the board were in control. And it wasn't Picard.

26:01 So I understand why he was pissed, and I understand why Captain Shaw was still sore about it. But yeah, I gotta go with dominions here on this one. Uh, it wasn't Picard. It was the Borg that we're pulling the strings. They were, you know, making him do those things against his will, which is why, if I remember correctly, wasn't there a little tear came out the side of his eye? Wasn't there a little tear that ran down his face as all that was going on? I think, so Eric, wasn't there a little tear? I think I don't remember that, But that doesn't in Data's lab when they're trying to like.

26:42 The thing right before he gets this the where Picard suggested saying the. Little tear means that he's aware of what he's doing. Huh, Well, he's trying, he he he doesn't want to do it and he can't stop it, and the Borg aren't big on emotions obviously, And I think. The root of the manna though, is just like you know, we're off in these sort of ethereal abstractions. Right, is Cisco justified to be pissed off, to have human emotions? I'd say, yeah, yeah, he's like whether or not they're valid, right, you know, it's just like, you know, I don't think if you're in that situation, you know, and somebody's you know, your wife or immediate person has been killed, I don't think you'd give two shits about the abstraction of well, it wasn't really his fault. I don't think anyone's you know, I think that doesn't fly in real real life academically when you detached from it, talking like a pole question, sure, but in reality I think he would be pissed and you would hold a grudge for a long ass time.

27:37 Yeah, and he would be justified in that grudge. Yep, he would be justified in that grudge. All right, David, So that's our first poll question. Roll the tape for part two. You should have seen the look on your face when you saw me standing there been I hardly recognized you without the uniform. Well, it's been feeling a little type. They just like that. It's just a uniform, Ben, Is that all it is? I remember when you first put it on yes graduation day at the academy. We both swore that we'd be starship captains by the time of the thirty and I don't know it's by forty. Yes, I think we've both done pretty well for ourselves. Yes we have haven'ed r But now I've got something better. These settlers been. If you saw all they have accomplished without any help from the Federation, then you fight along with them.

28:47 I don't think so. They've traveled out here to the back of the beyond and their homes out of the wilderness. Now, maybe the Federation can turn their backs them, but I can. I'm not asking you to. But you're joining the marquis. Isn't helping anyone. Your actions have only endangered the treaty and put millions of lives at risk. The Federation believes that it can solve every problem with a treaty, but out here on the frontier, without the power of the Federation to back them up, a treaty is only a piece of paper. Do you have evidence that the Central Command is violated the treaty? Not yet, but we will. If you're depending on gold the cut for proof you're going to be disappointed.

29:30 We'll find out, won't. I want him back, Tom, he's not here, then where is he? I never thought i'd see the day when you'd side with a Kodassian against me. Damn it, Cal, I'm on your side. You've got a funny way of showing it. Then, I'm trying to stop you from making one of the biggest mistakes of your life. The Federation believes in the treaty. If you destroy it, starve me can come after you, and they won't be satisfied until you're behind bars. If we work together to. End the Vibans, the violence will never end as long as Central Command continues to smuggle weapons to their colonies. I wish there were a better way to handle this thing, I really do. Nobody wants peace any more than a ma quy, and you're willing to blow up Cardassian ships to get it. The bak No will never smuggle weapons again.

30:18 Its crew members won't be returning home to their families either. Look, you say the Central Command is behind the smuggling pine that's proven. How We'll go to Cardassia find the evidence you need your back up your claim, and when we do, we'll take it. To the Federation. No, the Federation abandoned us, told us to take care of ourselves. Well, that's what we intend to do, Ben, But you you could be invaluable to us. Let's use your station for what a maintenance facility for our ship. I count allow that every week innocent people are murdered by the Cardassians. I will not allow those deaths to go unpunished.

31:00 You don't want piece co you want revenge. I prefer to call it retaliation. I am sorry. We won't be working together, Benjamin. It would have been nice like old times. All right, there's the clip, Eric, What is the question? What a great example of the complexities the DS nine weaves. In the DS nine two part episode The Maquis, several Starfleet officers and civilians, after the Federation gave control of several Federation colonies to the Cardassians, started a resistance movement and left the Federation. Do you agree with this decision?

31:56 And fifty six percent of our responders agreed that the Maquis were a good idea, and forty four percent of our responders said no, the Maquis were not a great idea. So I kind of like this one it's sort of split down the middle with our responders. And you know, I think this scene does a great job of showing how Calvin Hudson feel and the Maquis. You know, the people who have become part of the Maquis feel that the Federation has let them down. Every once in a while, big big governmental entities let the people down, and it's actually the responsibility of the people, in my opinion, to tell the government what they think should be going on instead.

32:40 And so, you know, in this case, some people could see the Maquis as a rogue element, illegal doing things that they aren't supposed to be doing. But I actually think that they're totally justified in saying what they're saying, doing what they're doing. I wish there was a little bit more proof here. I think in this intons it kind of looks like Cisco's coming out on top of this argument a little bit. But theoretically speaking, anybody who doesn't think that their government is doing them justice has the right to do what they need to do to make things happen. So I'm I'm I'm thinking that the Maquis absolutely were justified in forming and so I'm on the yes side.

33:22 Of this. What do you guys think, I'm going to have to move to Canada with GM Chris. You know, I'm out of here later, you know. So you guys don't remember. But Eddington also took off and joined the Maquis and. They were using Michael Edgington. Yeah, yeah, he was Krawl in that Krawl movie. A lot of people don't know that with that five fingered blade thing that would I forget it anyways. I mean Michael Eddington wasn't, but the actor was. The actor was. Yeah. The Maquis were using illegal weapons as well. They were using aolytic weapon or something like that, and Cisco was sent to apprehend them, and Cisco was a badass and he didn't take any shit from them.

34:10 But where they justified? I mean, yes, they're justified in doing whatever they think they need to do to protect their homes. And unfortunately they don't have a crystal ball so they can't see that in the future, the Dominion is going to come along and the gem Adar are going to wipe them all off, so they don't know that, but we do. So yeah, I think they're justified. Absolutely, I think they're justified. So I'm with dominions on this one. What about you, David, Oh, nobody likes to have anybody coming to their property and say I'm going to give your property over to somebody else. That to me, I think is a call for any kind of in this case of rebellion in a sense, because once your people start to uh get a lot of their stuff taken away, I can imagine people reacting to the oppotion and getting mad to the point where it's just like, of course, if you have family in those situations, you're gonna probably join them eventually, right, So to me, I think, yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with the minions on this one as well, that the resistance, the decision that they made to split from the Federation probably was the right thing to do, and a human, ah, what's the emotions?

35:42 So to me, yeah, I think that I would probably join them too if the Federation just gave all my property away, and that would be horrible. So yeah, I'm agreeing with the minions. So how about you, Charles, Are you with the minions or against dominions. I'm gonna go sort of an Eric on this one with that fifty to fifty. Okay, Another Marquis Thomas Reiker, but it's like, Okay, Eric reminded me, did we have a similar theme in this in one of the novels about probably being transferred or given given up for the Federation.

36:25 I remember which one is, but I think I remember this themed before. But it's yeah, but it's I understand kind of losing your home and not let's say, oh, I'm gonna not give up my home. Okay, you don't give up your home, then you give up the Righteous Federation's citizens. Yes, I could see you fighting against the Cardassians, but do you battle an arm for an arm? Do you sacrifice because the Guardassians killed off one or injured or killed off one group, so you have to go I guess tit for Tat's the phrase of going back and oh, yeah, well we have to kill this ship.

37:20 Is it really. Being a big success when you're killing off both forces? That sounds like kind of the gang situation towards like I understand them want to protect their homeland, but. They really need to kill off. Yes, some of the officers might have been sacrificeable, but to kill off a whole ship for and all but its crew to sacrifice for your cause? As we ruse the phrase war as well. So I agree with some of the stuff they did, but I think some of their mannerisms was a poor choice. And later on, of course, we realize that Mosamaki do not make it through the war because of it.

38:23 I'm caught in the. Middle, right in the middle. Well, how about you, Paul, Well, the. Question is all not about the stuff that happened later. The question is about did they did these civilians and officers? Do you agree that they had the right idea in terms of starting a resistance movement and leaving the federation right? And this is going to be a really interesting question to reflect back on because it really segues incredibly well into what we're going to be talking about tonight in the three episodes of and Or that we're going to be covering. Because when you have a government that starts to act for its own best interests over the best interests of his citizens, rebellion tends to happen sooner or later.

39:09 And so I think, you know, I don't necessarily I think there's a segment default in terms of the key. I would say the writers in the writers' rooms at Paramount at the time, who I think kind of bungled the my key concept quite a bit, had good intentions, but they didn't know what to do with it once they had it, right, I think it kind of you know, yeah, twittered out ultimately in not you know, very cohesive way. But yeah, I think that they were basically responding, not unlike the people of Gorman that we're going to talk about in a bit, right, they saw that there the great, big, lugubrious organization of their government was you know, starting to behave inappropriately and just taking things that they wanted and using the law to enforce their own needs, not their citizens' needs. And yeah, I think that pisses people off, and very often they decide to leave or fight back.

40:05 So I think you're going to see a lot more of that. I mean, I think I think the Marquis didn't stand a chance. I think they should have thought it through a little bit because it was what eight planets, was it, six colonies or something against the entire mt of the Federation and the Cardassian order. So it was a losing cause from the get go. If the Federation didn't crush them, the Cardassians definitely would. So I don't know what they hoped to gain. That sounds kind of like a like a one planet base rebellion against an entire empire. That's so weird. Yeah, it doesn't, you know, it just does.

40:45 What I'm hearing is might makes right? Is that what I'm hearing. That's it sounds like what I'm hearing might makes right. And so it's why bothered rebelling if you know, it's even if it's the right, I should just go ahead and let them open camps and do whatever I want to do. You know, it was a lost cause from the get go. They should have just taken off and gone back to the Federation and lived happily ever after, is what they should have done. Okay, but anyway, very interesting, Yeah. Hmm, I wonder. All right, So that's our minions and our polls, and now we're going to turn the microphone over to Paul and he's going to jump into Star Wars.

41:29 And or take that time again. Okay, all right, for the benefit of our friends at home who may not have been with us for the last couple of weeks, here's what we've been doing on this show. Of course, as a lot of people know and or has become a real sensation, it has just wrapped up its second season on Disney Plus, and the way they've done this show in terms of its releasing structure has been really unusual. What they've done is they've broken up a twelve episode season into four, our each arc being three episodes one, two, three, four, five, six, and then tonight we're focusing on the third of those four arcs seven, eight, and nine. Next week we'll be back here to cover the finale arc of the entire series ten, eleven, and twelve. So we're kind of at the number three of four juncture here at tonight, and what we do before we get into it is we just do a quick overview of each of the three episodes just to kind of put everyone on a level playing field here today. So we're just going to do a quick summary, just two or three minutes each of each of these episodes. Sound good? Has this been working? Fellas?

42:39 One hundred percent? All right, sir, Thank you, Eric, appreciate it all right. Number seven is an episode entitled Messenger. So some time has passed and we are now in the year two bby so two years before the Battle of Yavin. For those who are not quite as Star Wars geeked out as the rest of us. So we're a couple of years away from the Battle of where Luke attacks the Death Stars. We're leading up to that. All these events of this series basically serve as a prequel to the movie Rogue One. I think most folks know that, but it's always nice to level set for the audience. Anyhow, year has passed since the last three episodes and this new arc begins. Wilman is now with the Yavin Cell.

43:20 He's left Saugerera right, and so he is on that planet where everybody launches their X Wings from for the final battle at the end of the first Star Wars movie, right the Ubble base on Yavin, which is now in its infancy. It's really just being built, right, but there are X Wings there and they've taken over the old temples, and Wilman is now with those Cassian. Cassian and Or is recovering from a blaster burn that won't quite heal, and he has really stepped into this mode where he's you see a lot of him resisting commitment. At this point. He has feels he's lost a lot of trust and loss of truck is a huge theme in Dispatch of episodes.

44:03 He's shielding his girlfriend Bix from Luthan at this point, and you're seeing a lot more of an imperial presence going on. Now. You're seeing the media the Coroscant news network, right, the Fox News of the Empire, if you will. They're delivering fabricated propaganda stories about the Gorman aggression on the planet Gorman that we visited in the previous three episode arcs. Right, Dedra Miro is instructed to create a situation that allows the Empire to declare martial law as soon as possible because the Empire wants the planet's calkite. It's basically a substitute for the crystals that they can use to help power the Death Star. Right, so calkite they want to basically strip mind the whole planet, which is kind of connected to Cassian's origin story of what happened to his planet if you go back to the first season. They want calkite, and there's a sense of impending dread in this first of the three episodes, right, Dedra is kind of losing some of her control and her agency, and she's got this new kind of field boss who's been assigned to work for her. Ostensibly Captain Kaido right. Cyril meanwhile, is starting to see how the differences between how the two different sides are being motivated, what motivates the Empire versus what motivates the freedom fighters and the rebellious factions of the Gorman Front right, And he's really starting to have some awakenings happen there. You're wondering where he's gonna go.

45:38 The Empire we are seeing very clearly at this point for those of you who are paying attention to the last poll that we did, the Empire uses the law to break the law, right, That's what they do, and the Gorman Front of the rebellions on Gorman is trying to figure out basically how much can we take? You know, it becomes an emerging theme here, is it I aim to stand and fight? When is the time to fainally stop taking it and resort to violence. That's the question that they're faced with. And we'll talk a little bit more about how that theme emerges in these next couple of episodes after this. Because of that blasterburn that won't heal, Bicks takes Cassian to a force healer, and this is really the first tangible we don't get a lot of things like Jedi on this show. So this is kind of a big moment right where we see somebody who's not a Jedi, but it's somebody who's a practitioner of providing healing an insight using the Force, and she really sees that it's not just Jedi Nights or chosen ones like Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker who are the chosen ones, but the Force will also identify particular individuals and use them as a vessel to achieve particular aims, and that's where she's coming from. Okay, this Force healer, she sees Cashian right away. She sees that he is being shaped for something, for some purpose. He has been gathering all of these experiences that have happened through Feryx and everything else in the first season, through everything else that's happened

47:10 in this initial season here with the stealing of the Thai prototype, all these things that are experiences and people that he's been gathering his life experience. He's being shaped for something. And the way she explains it to him, it's like a sense of destiny and responsibility that she evokes, and it kind of is scary for Cassie and and he's not quite sure he's up for that. At this point, he is still shirking the idea of commitment, he is shirking the idea of responsibility. He's not sure who he can trust, and so he makes the decision to head back to Gorman. As this first of the three episodes ends scene okay, So there's that all right now that basically, like I said, okay, a sense of impending dread going on in this first episode. We're about to take the burners on the stove and turn them all the way up to eleven. The second episode, number eight, is one called who Are You Okay? And this is an intense episode.

48:10 This is the episode that features the Gorman massacre itself, so a large amount of the action is on Gorman here, and the Imperials have opened to the Gorman Plaza back up, making it so all of the Gormans can come back inside. Dedra and Cyril, who have been a couple, are starting to lose their rose colored glasses here and they're both starting to see things as they actually are, you know, Dedra in terms of what the how the Empire is actually using her and taking her ideas and manipulating them for their own ends. Cyril in terms of his exposure at the Gorman Front and contrasting what they're fighting for, which versus what the Empire is fighting for. Right, he confronts Dedra rather violently to get to the truth because he's finally seeing the Empire for what it is. He's been an imperial operative this whole time, and what he's starting to come away from is not pleasant. What he's starting to see is not good. Lazine and the other members of the Gorman Front who are out there, they try to turn the crowd away from violence, right, say, don't use the molotov cocktails, don't succumb to taking the first acts of violence in this situation, because that's just what the Empire wants at this point. But the tension level is as high as you can go here. So the Empire sends out a squad to incite violence, and the Gorman are too noble essentially to fall for it.

49:42 They're basically saying, let's not forget who we are. Let's, you know, sing the songs of ourselves. We are Gorman, and they're very much in tune with their history. They refuse to submit to it. They initially don't take de bait, they don't succumb to an act of violence. So Captain Kaido orders his sniper to open fire on their own men, to open fire on the Imperial officers that are their own people. Right, and after that happens, all hell breaks loose in the plaza on Gorman, and it's incredible violence. He sends out a whole squad of k X droids, which are incredibly scary, to go ahead and reach Havoc. Cyril understands at this point that he's been part of the lies, but he can't get past it, and he finds Cassian and gets into a huge fight with Cassian.

50:31 It is one of the bloodiest knockdown dragouts you will see. It's just brutal and graphic, and they are just going after each other. Right. He has been obsessively pursuing Cassian in all of season one, right because he believes that Cassian is the one who's responsible for his downfall. Yet Cassian is absolutely oblivious to Cyril's years of obsession. He doesn't even recognize him, asking him who are you? And it's the very questioned Cyril has been asking himself as he tries to decide where his real moral compass is what does he believe it? And I had high hopes for Cyril that he was going to turn over and move into the light and join the front, join the Alliance, and join the rebels on there and decide that that's who he is, because that's the question he's been grappling with.

51:22 But he was just into deep and that last bit of his reality shatters there in that moment with Cassie and where he realizes that he just doesn't even matter to him, He doesn't even know who he is. He has this moment of existential dread, and then he is shot down dead by Carl Rylands, the Gorman Resistance leader, which was really a shocking moment. I did not see that coming. That was not what I expected for Cyril at all, And we can talk about that in a little bit find out if anyone else was shocked by that as I was. I really had hopes that Cyril would find some redemption and maybe go up against Dedra Moore, but that didn't happen. So a big theme on this show, Friends is characters and groups coming to realizations when it's too late. I think that's a lot of what's being conveyed here. I think that's a lot of the messaging that we see. Stop distrusting and start cooperating each other, because the clock is ticking and you need to come together and find trust before it's too late. Cassian is outside of the plaza and he's pursued by a KX droid, but he gets saved by one of the members of the Front, Sam Willmond, helps Cassian load the remains of the broken down droid that Sam shot into a transport before he goes off to find Drina. And then we hear Drina, who is another member of the Gorman Front.

52:46 She's broadcasting the truth about what happened on her radio right She's saying, pass the message on that this is an insurrection, that this was murder. And meanwhile we hear the imperial propagandist Morning the Laws of Imperial Heroes that we just saw killing thousands of people, using their deaths to soak fear of further rebel activity. And we even see Cyril's mom at home learning of his death, watching the news and learning of her son's death Fox news style. So it's a really powerful, incredibly harsh episode. Its relevance to the times we live in cannot possibly be overstated.

53:28 I just think it's an incredibly rough episode, absolutely riveting. They cannot possibly recommend this enough. The way this is shot, the way it's cut together, the sense of they use music very effectively when they're ratcheting up to tension on this show, a lot of different sequences have done it very effectively, and this one did as well. And just showing that the Empire is willing to shoot its own his own guys to get away with creating a justification for wreaking, it's just chilling, absolutely chilling. So one should watch this, this particular episode and then look around would be what I would encourage you. So that's my wrap up for episode eight. We got one more to do, episode nine, and it's a doozy Welcome to the Rebellion.

54:18 Balk On Corussan, the Gorman senator who's there, is all of a sudden just arrested for no reason because he's Gorman, and it's very it's very plaintive, it's very thirties Germany. Will no one help me? He cries out, as it's my people today and yours tomorrow. Senator man Mathma goes up to Senator Baiale Organa and says that she intends to speak out. And we've been waiting for this speech forever. We know this is in canon. We've heard about this all the way back through like Star Wars Rebels. We know that man Mathma, who we originally saw as leader of the in Turn of the Jeddah. We know that she makes a speech to this that basically brands her a revolutionary and if she makes this speech the way she intends to, it's going to make her a fugitive.

55:08 And so she's preparing for this in a very realistic fashion. They find a listening device in her office, which is not a good thing, right because she's being Every movie is being watched, everything she says is being listened to. So she goes outside of the building and she ends up locking antlers with Luthan. Okay, and there is an incredible amount of distrust between them, again this disturbing trend of can I trust people? I don't have enough trust. My trust has been broken. Luthan tells her that Bail's evacuation team basically who is going to be responsible for whisking her to safety after she makes the speech that that evacuation team has been infiltrated and that she should instead leave with his agent instead. Now we know that his agent is Cassian, and that's the right thing to do, but Mon isn't sure at all. She doesn't know who to trust. How can she know that Cassian isn't the assassin and that Luthan is setting her up because she knows how ruthless Luthan is capable of being. So it is incredibly tense. It is incredibly high stakes because if she's captured, it is the end of everything. Meanwhile, on the Senate, before she's getting ready to come up, the senators are spitting out lies that it was Gorman who massacred imperials. Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda. Then bail Organa uses his imperial speaking protocols basically to create an opening that grants Mon Mathma time to speak using the rules and protocols

56:42 that the Empire themselves have established against them, which is really amazing. And she comes up to speak and Genevieve O'Reilly kills it in this sequence. She absolutely just can just nukes it. She condemns the Emperor for the Gorman massacre and for the death of truth. So many people have been positioned for this moment to make it successful. We see that there are IT crews that have been set up there so that they can't turn off the audio feed, so that as much as the Empire is trying to disconnect and pull the plug, it gets out anyway. It is absolutely remarkable speech. It is superbly performed by her. It is absolutely amazing, and it is written like it was written in response to things going on in our world.

57:24 Right effing now, I mean, it is the most timely thing. I just cannot even really believe it's on television, let alone Star Wars, but it's the most timely thing you're likely to see on television. That's the work of fiction this year. And I wish it wasn't so timely, but there you have it. So it is just remarkable. Cassie and finds mon Mathma after her speech. It's incredibly exciting because he has to get her out of there while all of the ISB is circling throughout the Senate building trying to find her there, including all of these you know agents who have infiltrated Baals Team, all ib Assassins. Essentially, right, Cassiano has absolutely no hesitation about killing agents who get in the way of their escape, including Mon Mathma's chauffeur, and the look of shock on her face when he blows away those people to get in the way. It is just shocking because he is no compunction. It's like when he needs to be an assassin. Cassian is an assassin and he does not hesitate. He just shoots them right in front of her, and she's stunned by that.

58:24 She is trading the weapons of the Senate for the weapons of violence, and it's a shock. It's like, welcome to the real world, Welcome to the rebellion. And the loss of mon chauffeur, who's been eavesdropping on their conversations without her knowledge for the entire show is just amazing. They escape to Coruscant safehouse where we've seen him and Bicks hanging out for the last three episodes, where Mon will be taken away by a different ship and a Javin escort. They're going to head out to Dantuein where she can make another speech that will unite all the rebel selves into the alliance that we know about formally. Watching Star Wars right now. If you're really curious to see this, you can go watch the excellent animated series Star Wars Rebels, season three, episode eighteen, and it basically depicts exactly all of the events that happened after that Javi and escort group picks her up so she can make that second speech, and you can see it. It's almost like a sequel the way it's done. Star Wars Rebels is some of the best Star Wars content you'll ever see. It has helped shape all of the good stuff that has come since the original trilogy, and it's extremely well written. I highly recommend it. So season three, episode eighteen, it's a nice little kapper. After watching this particular episode, Cassie in after he's done rescuing mon he tells Bicks that he intends to stay with her again loyalty.

59:51 He doesn't want to commit fully to the full Rebel alliance at this point, but there's a sense you have from her that she knows that he has a greater destiny left to perform and that she can't stay. And then we have a closing scene it shows that they have basically got K two SOO rewired, reprogrammed and is reactivated, and that is the end of that episode. That wraps up our summary. Recap of the third arc, episode seven, eight, and nine. What did we think of this group of episodes? Friends, Well, who wants to be the engine in this one?

1:00:34 Who wants to take lead? Well? I can I feel comfortable doing that? So Paul first and foremost, Buddy, that summary was unbelievable, Like it really brought me back into every single one of those episodes. I think that you pointed out many of the very salient points in them, and I just want to amend you for not only doing that, but for having the tie into Rebels at the ready. That was amazing. I need to go back and rewatch that episode. So so episode seven, eight, nine, each one has such a different tone to them, and I think that that's what I found most interesting about this arc. I remember watching episode seven and kind of thinking to myself, Gosh, this this is kind of boring. There's not really much going on, you know, some of the the the pacing of the show, which is naturally kind of had a real intent to it, just felt a little even slower to me. And I just wasn't I wasn't really kind of feeling it in episode seven, and then episode eight hit and I was like, holy crap, Okay, not only is this episode amazing, but now I see why they did all of the stuff that they did in seven, because they really needed that to be able to launch into this story that they were going to tell about the Gorman massacre.

1:01:56 In episode slow burn. Right, it's a slow burn, and you have to have the precursor because if you don't, the Gorman massacre feels like it goes on too long. Where it doesn't, it just doesn't have the same kind of effect to me. So I really appreciated episode seven much more after I saw episode eight, and then of course episode nine kind of shows that aftermath and I agree with one hundred percent of what you said about manmathaus speech and all of the kind of like political interplay going on there. So let me see, let me come out on a few specific things. So I got to mention one thing for you, yeah, personally if I can, just because I think you're like this, like this episode, right, that incredible depiction of the city of Arts of the Imperial Center, right, I mean, and you're an architect, right, So I got to point this out to you, right, because you look at this and it's so tempting to go, oh wow, it's just you know, digital effects whatnot. That is a real building, yeah, I mean I.

1:03:00 Building. Yeah, it's the City of Arts and Sciences in Blencia, Spain. It's huge, it's absolutely massive, and it's just it looks like it it looks Is that a Cala Trava building. It looks like a Santiago Cola Trava building. It is it is absolutely yeah, yeah, it's just what an epic, epic location and it just fits so perfectly. I just wanted to make sure I didn't mention that before. But it's just the the use of real, tangible locations instead of just digital effects is so replete throughout this series. So done. Absolutely, no, no, no, that's that's great, dude. And in Santiago Collage. Trava's whole thing as an architect is to depict organic forms in these kind of like most amazing past concrete ways. We actually have a couple of buildings of his in the United States if you if you ever are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Art Museum is an amazing example of his architecture that you can actually go and see without leaving the country. But yeah, I really really appreciate the sets and I'm so glad that you brought that up. So episode I'm going to kind of like skip over episode seven just because it was kind of a lead up, and I don't really have any specific stuff that I want to talk about about that episode, but episode eight, okay, man, First of all, this whole arc is a master class in government manipulation and propaganda. And I think what you said about just it feeling particularly salient these days, how people are constantly trying to rewrite history, how people are constantly trying to

1:04:32 like steer the conversation, and it really doesn't matter how many ways they lie or how many stories they tell that have absolutely no truth to them. It's what's going out to the masses. And it just feels really, really current. And I'm assuming this was made like a year ago, so the fact that it's hitting right now. He wrote just like five years ago. It's five years ago, okay, And it's just hitting so hard right now. I'm like flabbergasted by the feeling that this is just the exact right television show to be on the air right now, in particular for people who are interested in this kind of stuff and see correlation between television shows and what's going on in real life.

1:05:20 So that first and foremost second of all the Gorman massacre, and in particular the length of time that they spend just with the group of people and seeing how the mood of the group of people moves from Like I can't remember what they're shouting at the beginning, but it's like, we are Gorman, this and that, and it has kind of this aggressive nature. And then the one guy starts singing, and then the entire crowd starts singing. That had such a like nineteen sixties kind of Martin Luther King feel to it to me, and then of course the massacre happens, and it just, I don't know, it touched my heart, I think in a lot of ways. I think the writing of that and the amount of time, the amount of screen time that they allowed for that entire thing to evolve was really amazing. I did not expect Cyril's death, and the fight between him and Cassian was I think the most violent fight that I've ever seen in Star Wars.

1:06:22 I mean, these guys were beating that absolute shit out of each other, and you could feel that Cassian was just trying to survive, whereas Cyril had years of aggression built up that he was letting go on Cassian. The performance of that fight I thought was outstanding, Like literally one of the best fights I've ever seen. I mean, it was hard to watch for me because I'm not a guy who loves violence in general, but like you could feel what the two people were feeling who were fighting one another, and that to me is just not only great writing and great choreography and stuff, but like just the acting, the facial expressions, you know whatever.

1:07:04 It was. It was crazy. Okay, uh, let me talk about Jed dra Well, actually I'll talk about Dedriff for the next episode. I feel like that episode of nine is kinda where her things sort of all comes together, but more about government and manipulation, the shooting their own officer in the head. Not only that, but they sent these these these very green officers into the crowd, right, Like I think it was definitely yeah, they were literally like, these these kids have no idea what they're doing. They just showed up, you know, however long ago, and now we're sending them into the crowd to literally be slaughtered. That just kind of shows you that that this government is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve its own goals, and they're going to try and spin the store, but they don't really have to write because they have so much power, they don't really have to spin the story in too many ways, so that kind of like propaganda thing just really bleeds to the entire episode. Cyril's mom crying was kind of cool because she's been kind of an interesting I mean, you sort of see her as like a comedic character almost because she's so over the top, but then she actually like sheds a tear when she realizes that her kid might have died during this massacre, So yeah, I loved that. Lastly, that final episode, you know, Dedra

1:08:37 finally understands what's happening, and you see her kind of have that freak out moment where she's putting her finger in her collar and like she's shaking and stuff. And I have to believe that at some point there were Nazi officers that felt the same way, where they like suddenly have this realization of what's actually happening and that by just following orders, they have allowed these absolute atrocities to happen. And it was amazing to see that depicted on screen because we don't have film of that from the nineteen thirties, Right, we kind of like understand it in our heads, but we haven't visually seen it. In As Americans, we love to have that kind of visual input of television showing us how things actually go down.

1:09:23 So I just thought that scene where she kind of finally loses it was endearing in a lot of ways. There's a consequence to making these terrible, terrible decisions, and she is on the leading edge of I mean you even see it was that there was it that episode? No, it was a previous episode right before the massacre where she takes the phone call and she hesitates before she gives the order to proceed, and that's all she says is proceed. Man, just so good. I all remember what do you remember what major partigas how he describes what the end always function is. No, it's it's it's like from season one. Basically, he looks upon them as a healthcare provider, right, and he sees that the rebellion is like a virus, right, and it's our job to benevolently cleanse that virus from society for the benefit of its citizens. Yeah, that's how we justifies it.

1:10:20 For himself. I mean, I think most fascists would say the same thing, right, I mean, we talked about like arians and ethnic cleansing during World War Two. We talk about ways of life that people in power now think are correct, uh, And so they're willing to do things to make their ways of life come to fruition, regardless of like what what it leaves behind. I do think that death of Cyril is really what kind of unanchored Dedra in a lot of ways, Like I'm not sure she would have freaked out in the same way had Cyril not been killed, and had they had this kind of dream realization of them going away to some place, right, she was like, we're gonna be fine. We're gonna like get out of here and we're gonna be a couple and things are gonna be great. Well, that's the like ostrich head in the sand kind of defense. Right, as long as I don't see what's happening, as long as I don't understand what's happening, then it's all fine and it's all okay.

1:11:20 So I think Cyril dying was a at least fifty percent of the reason of why uh Dedra finally kind of like comes to this realization and starts freaking out about things. I'm taking a lot of time. I also just want to, like finally say, Monmouth as speech unbelievable. The way that they used the Senate's own rules against them, like unbelievable. I just thought that was fantastic. So I almost wondered to myself if, like, if certain elements in the world get a more entrenched hold than they already have. I almost wonder if and or Or will be like forgotten, you know, because this stuff is so salient to what's going on right now. So I'm just gonna say I love this argum. This is probably my favorite arc of the whole series. And I think this series has been hitting pretty hard so far. But I love a good political drama. I love dou Space nine, and this, to me was just really really on points. So I give this whole thing. If we're giving it numbers, this is a nine point five to me. This is right up there with some of the best television I've ever seen in my life.

1:12:31 You watched ten, eleven, twelve, yet I have not? Okay, Yeah, I can't wait to get back here next Thursday. Awesome. Yeah, that's all I'm gonna say, Okay, yeah, a lot of time, a lot of time. So that's me. Well, I did watch I did watch ten, eleven and twelve, but I'm not going to talk about it. I do have a question, though, why does storm troopers bothering wearing armor? What is the purpose of it? It doesn't protect them from anything. They a pigeon flies over, craps on their head and dead. I mean, what does this armor do? What is their purpose? Well, you know, Jim, Jim, here's what I'll say. It does the same thing that masks on ice agents does, which is fight their identity. And at this point, they're no longer clones, right, at this point, they have individual identities.

1:13:19 So it may not do anything to actually protect them, but it sure does keep them from having any sort of identity that people can I mean, you. Know, I think we can't really talk about this too much until next week. But one of the things this show has done that's really cool is it has made stormtroopers frightening again, right, And we need to talk a little bit more about this next week. But you used to be kind of almost like stormtroopers are like a joke, right, how they could never shoot anything and hit anything or the broad side of a barn. And they were just kind of goofy and the clay pigeons right that there were not threatening and easy to outwit. And I think that this show has really changed that a lot. To be continued next week.

1:13:59 Yeah, that you walked kicked their butt with sticks and with sticks and stones. Yeah. I thought this this arc was definitely the best. I really it was a slow burn in my opinion, too slow to get to these three episodes. I still think they could have condensed those first three down quite a bit, just my opinion, but this arc, these three, oh my god, Stormtroopers were murderers. I mean, they were just marching down the street, killing unarmed people left and right. They didn't care. You know, here we are, We're going to kill you and they did.

1:14:43 And uh K two s O what were they an extroids? What were they called? K X My god were those were those dudes? They were like the incredible hup. They were throwing people across the rooms, they were picking up barricades, and I mean, my god, these these droids are terrifying because it's. Funny after like the Clone Wars, right, there's like actually a rule that the Empire put in place that you could not have robots as you know, soldiers anymore, right, And so the Empire got around it because they instead of calling them combat droids or you know, you know, tactical droids or whatever, they call them security droids, right, and just gave them a little bit more benevolent name. But it's like they're breaking their own rules to do what they want again.

1:15:26 Again, and they were terrifying and awesome. I thought it was so cool to see where Ka Twuso came from when he comes to life at the end of the episode. Alan Tudic is just phenomenal. I met him and talked to him and he was so cool. So you see him back in Star Wars again was awesome. Mon moth of a speech when Cassie and says, I have friends everywhere and that's how she knew to go with him, And then he pulls out his blaster, kills the driver, then kills the guard and she's just because you know, this type of violence isn't something that she's used to seeing. He storms her away and he says to her, welcome to the Rebellion. It was a great ending for that episode.

1:16:12 So yeah, overall, I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed these three episodes. They were incredible. I mean, the Empire killing their own troops, come on, I mean kind of reminiscent of what happened in Germany when they burned down the library, huh, and then blamed it on someone else. You know, we've seen that happen before. But Eric was right. These soldiers, they just show up, they're green, they're right out of the academy, and they sent them out there to die. They've sacrificed these these young soldiers knowing they were going to kill them. I mean, so just oh and zero to what Paul said earlier, I got the feeling I thought anyways that he did find redemption because I mean, he strangles Dietra there, you know, to find out what's going on, and then he goes and he tells the I can't remember their names.

1:17:10 He tells the one resistance fighter that there's still a chance to save save you guys by blaming it on somebody else. And he went and tried to save them so that they wouldn't go to the square during the massacre. So you know, I I and as he's walking through the crowd, The look on his face is just total shock and devastation at what he is witnessing going on around him. So I think that he did have a redemption of arc per se. And can someone please tell me when did he meet Cassie? Oh? In the first season? Okay, So that's why. Because I hated the first season.

1:17:50 I thought that was the worst thing ever. I think if you were to go back and watch it now, you would have a very different take on it. I think, yeah, you really really would. I didn't know where he where he met Cassian, but because I didn't particularly like the first season, so in my mind, I was thinking to myself, well, he's really pissed off and he doesn't know what to do about what's going on, and he's got so much pent up aggression that here is Cassie and he's going to take it all out on him and try to, you know, lay the blame on Cassie is the way I you know, kind of took it until. He was specific he knew exactly who he was. You know, he's had a vendetta out for Cassian for months, I mean for you, well, for years. He blames him for his fall from you know, from power from position, from everything that happened to him. That means Menty had to climb his way back up, and he's just he's he's had it out for him the whole time, and Cassie doesn't have the slightest idea who he is. It's just like it's like if you were, you know, obsessing on some girl that like you just for years were stalking her and then when you finally found her, she was like, who are you? It's just you know, it's emasculating, and it's just it's you know, not the best metaphor ever, but you know, it's like it's like an existential moment, right, It's just like basically he just built up this Nemesis relationship, right, and it's like if you know, uh, you know doc Oc finally went up against spider Man, and spider Man's doc one, you're who you know, It's just it's just all of a sudden, it's just that you don't feel like you're ass mean, your your quest of vengeance doesn't

1:19:24 hold as much you know, vitriol as you thought I did. So yeah, but you know, there was a line in the episode where they said that the Empire was landing their mining equipment on different parts of the planet, and at that point they're going to completely devastate the entire ecosystem of the planet. Right, They're going to when they get done, there will be no life left on Gormt. Is that is that the way I that's the way I had. The implication, Yeah, because when we go back to the very first season, you see that when h Cassian was like kind of like almost like living this feral existence with these other virus in the jungle of this planet, right, and all of their infrastructure had been taken away. It was basically just like an orphan street kid, right, living out in the jungle, and these you know, abandoned you know, shells of spacecraft had been left as like derelicts. Right.

1:20:14 That planet had been had the same thing done to it. Right. Basically it was a planet that had been strip mined and just completely gutted for its resources by the Empire, and everybody that was left alive was just like, oh, good luck, good luck. Yeah. So I really enjoyed this one and see K two s O. Krenick. The whole thing. I enjoyed. I would give this these three and nine definitely, I thoroughly enjoyed them, so that leaves, That leaves David and I will be right back guys. Okay, Yeah, So Star Wars is very famous for having these interesting tourists, I think, and I really enjoyed episode three when Palpataine was talking with Anakin. Whole weird dancing thing that they're watching anyways, that whole situation where he was trying to convence him to join him. You know, there's little subtle things here in there that caused the emperor to just try to get everybody on his side, and in this case, you know, him using the whole idea of propaganda in his empire, you know, the scheming behind the scene. So to me, I think this idea of Star Wars reputation for the plot twist of like certain things. I mean, I believe this situation on Gore actually took place as well on the Rebel Hue if

1:21:47 I'm remembering correctly. One of the episodes. I can't remember exactly, but there was a lot of different twists, even in the Rebels or the Clone Wars that took place, And especially in the Clone Wars, I really liked that one episode where that Stormtrooper micro trip malfunctioned and he ended up killing a Jedi, and then that whole conspiracy theory took place where that tech guy I forgot his name, but that one stor Clone trooper who just apparently became part of the bad Batch series. You know, it's interesting how all these different characters unfold when certain story elements take place, and I really enjoy watching those type of things.

1:22:29 When I watched Doll Wars, and I do like the scene that you see here this whole area which I thought I was gonna end up seeing ET at one point in the background. But you know, but yeah, over all, I enjoyed this series. I really believe that there's a lot more gonna happen in the last three which I haven't seen yet, so I'm really looking forward to it. And so there's a couple of points I wanted to make is that when they brought those young black troopers, the guy direction Black to Gore and they were going to I guess, try to calm down the crowd, I honestly thought those were the Black Stormtroopers from Rogue One who eventually became them, because a year later or so, they got twined up to the point where it's just like it could be the personal guardge of critics or something.

1:23:25 I don't know, but it's an interesting thought to think because of the way that they were distressed and the equipment they brought with them, because I don't think all of them died well. I mean, what's interesting is that from the second they brought them on screen, they were absolutely treated like dirt and every single scene you see with them, they're being yelled at and that sort of stuff, and they never made a personal connection with any of them, Like I still have no idea what any of their faces looked like. And I think that was intent. There was intent to that. Yeah, I just thought it something interesting. I mean, World one was interesting to see the Black Stormtroopers come in.

1:24:06 I was like, Okay, that's interesting. And of course apparently they were. You think they're death troopers, right, we say the troopers. That's what they're called, thank you. Yeah, I mean they they they apparently had better training than the Stormtroopers apparently, so they had something going on. Maybe they would put robotic I don't know, but yeah. It had like late saber resistant armor or something or is that I think that was an episode. Uh yeah, But other than that, yeah, the idea of the the droid. I remember we were talking on a personal chat here about you know what, why couldn't the k to show Droid drop with the weapons? And I actually had a theory on why they couldn't drop now when they could in Rogue one. And I as a reminder, the Droid in Rogue one didn't drop right away. He didn't die. How much single Flaster who apparently got shot by strong Trooper, I mean, he took lots of hits before he went down. But the thing is that if you look at this series, the weapons they're carrying are not military grade, or at least they probably were, but not all of them are, and a lot of them were handmade. A lot of them were you know, distributed from different types of factions that are going throughout all of this and or series. And to me, the way

1:25:37 I feel it is that these guns that the rebels are carried to gore people are carrying are not as powerful as the grom troopered weapons or anything. So I can imagine that they have to shoot a whole bunch more time just to even get a dent in them. And we also remembered that in I believe it was the Clone War or no, it was uh yeah, colin Wardsuld Rebel, one of those two. Remember when that beast that came out and they ended up taking it to a course on and it was like the whole god Zullo scene where that three armed monster was like going all over the place. Beast, the Zellow beasts there you go. That particular armor that Palpatine was trying to get was a plan that he had in mind to weaponize all of his stormtroopers outfit. You know, that that type of plate that they were going to be using. So maybe the Zillow Beast didn't quite get the funding that they needed, I guess. But either way, uh, the armor that the k X units that were there, I would imagine that's probably where some of that strong plate mail came from.

1:26:52 And so to me, yeah, that whole situation I don't know it. To me, I just described that who has the most firepower virtues how much armor they. Can be blocked. But other than that, I really enjoyed the series. I'm I'm really looking forward to the next three and then watching Orgue one again because we're watching Worgue one now and knowing that what happened in this yearies, it's going to make a completely different shut up. It's going to be completely new almost, and it's going to make sense to a lot of the different reasons, like why did I'm leaving my my my train thought?

1:27:32 Here? Uh, the the guy, the main guide, the hero what's his name again? And he apparently shot somebody out of cold Blood in Rogue one at the very beginning. That explains why he's having a lot of trust issues as you go through uh the series here, and you can I agree with you, guys, you can really share it. And there's a lot of trust issues going on with Cashi and at the moment and so yeah, and the fact that he found his buddy Wookie, I guess you could say at the end of the episode nine where he's just like, you know, I don't know. It's just a lot of things that are just coming together that I point in and I actually enjoy it and it's really fun. So if the number coming in, I would give this a nine point nine I think would be my gush guy. But my take on the whole three episodes, So.

1:28:33 Can you guys answer a question for me? The Imperial officer that was that was there who said I'm the gun and you're the trigger to Dietra and he had that scar on his face. Is that the same officer that tried the rape bix when she hit him in the face with the hammer. No, no, no, no no. The officer that she hit with the hammer is a different character. And she killed that guy with the hammer. Yeah he's dead, you know, he's his dead as Julius Caesar. So I got a question, who's the guy that raised his hand after that woman who held up the blaster on you have and saying, who's blaster was this? It's a it's super complicated, man. I can send you some stuff on it. But it's just like that blaster has had like a journey of like eight definitions all the way through the show since the early parts of season one, right, and it has literally traveled like like it's been like a virus passing through like ten different sets of hands. And so it's just like it's when she sees it, she remembers it because of a distinctive thing that happens. I'll stick in the chat so you can take a look at it. But yeah, it's it's crazy, it's crazy. It's kind of a little bit. Yeah, it's kind of basically it's a way of introducing that character again, to bring him back because we've seen him he was He kept showing up with Cassie in all these different environments, from like the very first job that they did for Luth then and then when they were in the Narcina prison.

1:30:03 I don't remember the prison episode, which was like the genius that stuff in season one, it was amazing, but he was in prison with Cassie and he looked different because he had a little bit longer hair than he had shaved now almost, but yeah, i'll send you a it's too complicated for me to break down on the air, but we have like thirty minutes. But it's just yeah, it's just it's just kind of this interesting moment, right, It's just like, well, who's been in It's kind of like her way of seeing that weapon, going how did you get this? And I think this means that you've kind of been with us for this whole struggle since the beginning. It was kind of like acknowledging, you know, street cred. I think by identifying whose weapon that was and if it was something that didn't have that she had the bad feeling. I think she would have blown their brains out.

1:30:47 I just thought, like some sort of character that we've heard from like four or five or six or something like you're supposed to be a young or something. No, it's just it's it's kind of a thing. There's more stuff like that I want to talk about, but I can't till next week because because it's secret. But I think we can have a really interesting next week. It's like all the you know, all the quirks come out of all the bottles. We don't have to worry about anything. But I think if you have not watched the last three episodes yet, no kind of freaking envy, you you know, because I was all, maybe I'll be able to get to it, all right, I thought, oh, maybe I'll be able to get to it, because you know, we kind of three three episodes is a lot from one night, and I had to watch all three of them.

1:31:29 I was just like, just the one question so far. I didn't want to stop because I ended up past midnight. I was like, oh my god, I think they've I think they've really created a classic that I think transcends science fiction. And it's just so freaking timely, and so I mean I've been talking a lot about content and you know, the acting and writing, what they chosen to do, but just the physicality, the production and the way it's shot, the composition of this, there's a lot of cinema technique in terms of like the way the shots are designed and convey meaning. It's just amazing. I mean, it's just it's a really Tony Gilroy's Dinner's remarkable shepherding the show, it existence, It's not like anything we have seen in I think since shows like The Wire is the closest thing I can think of as far as like or show like Showgun. I don't know if you want Showgun recently that I really want to. It's really worth your time.

1:32:29 It's excellent, complicated and again just really you know, broke over many many episodes. But that's the closest to those two kinds of shows that I could say in terms of you know, what we've had before, and I think this kind of surpasses it just because it's so compellent and I just think it's just it's just timeless. So really well done, guys. So I asked you a question about your did I see the forecoming of that guy dying, which did a surprised for me. I think it was I did not see she will die, oh Cyril, Yeah, his death and coming like I thought he was going to join the light side too, folks, and then all of a sudden, yeah, but. Yeah, because it's like he's in a relationship with Debra, right, and you're like, oh, of course he's he's gonna do something really terrible or he's gonna like, you know, have to leave Dedra and say I'm sorry, I've changed. I've had a you know, ethical enlightenment or something right, you know, like you had to change your heart. But so the show does not conveniently follow those tropes or expectations that we have, right, It really swims upstream against what you would normally expect to see happen in the television show.

1:33:35 So just amazing. So we'll talk more next week. I'm sorry, all right, you're very excited. Well you got to jump in here, Charles and uh get your get your thoughts in before we move on to our birthdays. No, I don't have any thoughts on the show, but I know Jim's wondering about numbers. First three seven point nine three, second three eight point eight three, this week nine point six. So unless you guys are given perfect scores, I'm not sure we're gonna raise this week up to beat this week?

1:34:18 All right? Not not too shabby at all, guys. And now it's time for our Star Trek birthdays. That was not a clean song, alright, guys. This is the part of the show where we remember those members of our Star Trek family who, sadly enough, are no longer with us, and for that we turn to Eric Jim. This week we will remember five people who have gone before us. The first is actor Benjamin Lum, the actor who portrayed Assistant Chief Engineer Jim Shimoda in the Next Generation first season episode The Naked Now. Benjamin was an educator and then became known for stage and screen before headed to Los Angeles to continue his acting career. He was an active member of the East West Players in LA He was a character actor, best known for roles like the Mailman in Seinfeld. He was known as well for two movies Another Forty eight Hours from nineteen ninety and The Wizard of Speed and Time from nineteen eighty eight.

1:35:38 Benjamin Lumb lost in two thousand and two at the age of forty eight years old. Happy Birthday to Benjamin, Happy Birthday, as well to Joanes Swift, the actress who played Aurellian Kirk in the COS first season episode Operation Annihilate. She made several appearances on television series such as The Lucy Show, of Course, starring Lucille Ball, as well as the Jack Benny Program. She also made guest appearances on I Spy, Bewitched an Ironside, and appeared in the television movie Lucy Gets Lucky with Lucille Ball. Swift was featured in Jerry Lewis's The Patsy and the Family Jewels from nineteen sixty five. Happy Birthday to Joanes Swift, Happy Birthday, as well to Michael G. Haggerty, the actor who appeared as the Klingon log in the Next Generation fifth season episode Redemption two and as scho Ran the Barconian Blacksmith in the seven season episode Thine Own Self. Haggerty also appeared as the bartender Meska in the video game Star Trek Klingon, but he's probably best known for his frequent appearances as the building superintendent Mister Trieger on Friends. Other appearances in films included Dick Tracy, Brewsters, Millions, Red Heat One, Good Cop, Wayne's World, Speed to Austin Powers, and Inspector Gadget.

1:37:05 That's quite a resume. Haggerty also had dozens of appearances on various television dramas and sitcoms throughout the early two thousands. We lost him back in twenty twenty two at the age of sixty seven years old. Happy birthday to Michael G. Haggerty. Happy birthday as well to Kevin Peter Hall, the actor who portrayed the Kelodean diplomat and negotiator Layer in the Next Generation third season episode The Price. Earlier, Hall had actually been considered for the roles of two regular TG characters, Data and Jordie LaForge, and at seven feet two inches tall, he was one of the tallest actors to ever perform in any Star Trek movie or television series. His enormous stature landed him numerous roles in film as monsters or aliens, such as Harry the Sasquatch in nineteen eighty seven's Harry and the Hendersons. But the thing for which he is probably best known is playing the Predator in nineteen eighty seven's original science fiction action movie and also in Predator to the nineteen ninety sequel. Unfortunately, we lost him back in nineteen ninety one at the young young age of thirty five years old. He actually contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion he had received as a result of a major car accident a few months before his appearance as

1:38:37 in Predator too, and he just back in nineteen ninety one. We didn't have good treatments for AIDS, so he was lost way too young. Can you imagine thirty five years old? So happy birthday to Kevin Peter Hall. We miss you, buddy. And last but not least, in our remembrance list, we have actress Kay Elliott. She was the one who played the android replicas of Stella Mud in the original series second season episode I Mud har Co What. Born on May fourteenth, nineteen twenty one in my home state of Illinois, she appeared in episodes of The Man from Uncle Gomer Pyle USMC. She was later seen in multiple episodes of the classic sitcom Bewitched. Her only known film credits are in the nineteen seventy three horror movie The Severed Arm, along Paul Carr and the nineteen seventy nine comedy Gas Pumps Girl, Gas Pump Girls, which I have not seen. Unfortunately, we lost her back in nineteen eighty two. Her last television appearance was in a nineteen eighty episode of The Righteous Apples, which actually also featured Renee Abergennois. So Kay Elliott lost all the way back in nineteen eighty two at the age of fifty three years old. Happy Birthday to Kay and that does it for our remembrances, guys.

1:40:08 So I'm gonna pass this flaming birthday candle over to Charles. Oh, thank you, Eric. Let's start out with a very happy birthday. Gregory B. Kroft, actress had played Mickey d in TG's second season episode The Royal Very Unique episode. Happy Birthday. Gina Phillips, actress from Mimi Beach, Florida, who played Varisol in DS nine's first season episode The Storyteller. Happy Birthday to Richard for Hell. Prolific character actress who appeared as Bettilla and TG's fifth season episode in Her Light, Seamos and Voyager, six season episode fair Haven and Spiritfolk in Jeremy Lucas and Enterprises fourth season episode Colad Station twelve and augments. Very happy birthday to Amy Wheaton, sister of Will and Jeremy. Wheaton, betrayed Tara in ch and g's first season episode When the Bow Breaks. Not a good family relationship going on there with the Wheatons. And last on my list, a very happy birthday to Robin Groves, actress had played Benori Ariya Garren in Star Trek Voyagers

1:41:44 first season episode, and matthiasen at Manciations. And that's it for my list. And I'm gonna toss the candle over to Paul. It's getting a little short there, Paul, so watch your fingertio. My best man. I'm like Lawrence of Arabia holding the match right, Hey, is not minding that it hurts, right, So there you go. I still got more birthdays for you crazy may celebrants here. First of all, let's say happy birthday to Bohio Watson, Canadian actress who played the adult version of may Ahearn in the second season of Star Trek Discovery. What a season that was, too Love that second season Happy Birthday. Sam Anderson played the assistant manager of the hotel in the Star Trek Next Generation.

1:42:32 The second season episode The Royale. Happy birthday, Sam Anderson, Happy birthday to Sonya Son, American actress who played Gabriel Burnham in the second, third, and fourth seasons of Star Trek Discovery. There we go, and so exciting this next person, because I'm a big fan. Okay, you forget sometimes that people have been in Star Trek because sometimes they're just so huge, right, But I would wish a humongous happy birthday to the magnificent, incandescent Shore aghdashlou Iranian actress who appeared in Star Trek Beyond as Commodore Paris. But oh my god, is she a phenomenal actress who does a ton of work. Yes, she was in Star Trek Beyond.

1:43:22 I think the first thing I saw her in It was a movie called House of Sand and Fog back in like two thousand and three. Remarkable picture. I think she even got nominated for that. I don't remember that she won, but I can't. It's you know, those of us are memories or challenge these days. But it's a certainly an Oscar worthy performance. She was on twenty four for quite a while in two thousand and five, and then she will live forever in the annals of science fiction. For her work on the brilliant television series The Expanse Oh My God, where she plays Secretary General Chris of Ocerella, Right, and what a performance she does. And it's just it's a striking character. It's one of the greatest depictions of an ethical woman in power who takes no ship that I've ever seen.

1:44:13 She is. I mean, for one thing, it's just like the every single episode she's in the most just striking wardrobe you've ever seen. She's like part of her character is she shows up dressed to kill and written just amazingly. So it's just part of who she is. And if you watch The Expanse, if it was a drinking game, then every time sha Ashlu says yeah, you would be on the floor, you would never get up. She is so refreshingly fouled out. It is just astonishing. I mean, she's just what and she's got that husky you know, six pounds a day. What the fuck is wrong with you?

1:44:54 I mean, she's just she's just wonderful. Right, But she's just like she's a treasure. I more work for her whenever please, in any way, shape or form. I just am a massive fan of hers makes me want to go back and watch Star Trek. Right now up on the clock there, and I'm like, oh, maybe I need to start watching that. What a great show. You know. There's another book that's come out that I hear they're trying to see it, and that has found a way to continue stories with maybe some new characters. But I've heard good things about it. I haven't picked it up to read yet, though, but I'll send you the link. Yeah, yeah, pretty cool. I got one more here and then we'll jump out, all right. Going into a Deep Space nine's fourth season here an episode called The Muse. I would I wish a very happy birthday to what I would say officially would be genre legend Meg Foster. Right, I would say absolutely. Meg Foster has done a ton of stuff.

1:45:51 I can't even begin to list at all. The first two things that come from mind for me, though, is she was really like an eighties luminary, right. She was in a ton of stuff in the eighties. She was in Masters of the Universe movie as Evil in I'm sure Jim's seen that one, absolutely love it, and a great role in John Carpenter's classic Timelier Than Ever picture They Live from nineteen eighty eight as the character of Holly. But she's just really really cool has done. She was in Twin Peaks. She's just you know, check her out on the IMBB. But if you watched a lot of horror movies or thrillers, right, the Lords of Salem, Xena Warrior, Princess Sliders, I could go on and on and on, right, I mean, she's just done a ton of cool stuff.

1:46:37 She's super striking eyes like nobody else, really really a cool character. So happy birthday to all of you may cats and kittens, and I hope you live long, prosper and more work for sure. Sloop please if we could, please, and now, Uncle Jim, what the talks do you have to wish? A happy birthday for this one? Thank you so much, Paul, I only have two. First, we'd like to say Happy birthday to Brian Jay Cousins. He appeared in two episodes of TNG. He played Krisis, the Borg and Dissent part one and two and Pair them a Romulan in the next phase. He also appeared in Star Trek Enterprise episode Katwalk as Peltani. Happy Birthday to Brian Cousins and areas up there on the screen.

1:47:24 And last on my list is a guy we talked about last week and our poll questions. Happy birthday to David Clennan. He's the American actor who played doctor Krell must set the medical Consultant program Beta on the Voyager episode Nothing Human, And if you guys listened to last week's podcast, we had a rather lengthy discussion about him. Happy Birthday to David Clennan. And with that it wraps up our birthdays, and that means it's time to go into our Star Trek news and we do have a aquip for that, which is right here. Priority one message from Starfleet coming in on secured channel, incoming transmission enter authorization code, command codes verified, Define parameters of program level nine, authorization required, specifying parameters. Transfer updata is complete.

1:48:25 A blank alert, A blank alert. All right, Eric, you get to start us off this week with one of our most popular segments, Jim. One of my favorite things about Shatner says, what is it? Literally is completely unpredictable and you never know exactly what he's going to say. This week, I'm with the shat TV legend. William Shatner fires back at Trump's insulting offer. William Shatner slammed Donald Trump earlier this week after the US President continued to entertain Canada becoming the fifty first state despite getting a hard no from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. This is acidine. Moments after Carney emphasized that Canada was not for sale during the meeting, Trump responded, never say never, William Shatner said, make a counteroffer. Let's offer to the United States to be the eleventh province.

1:49:23 Think of the joy and it's the best thing. He continued. Here you have a friendly group of people saying come on over, it's cleaner, there's plenty of power. There's some lovely people who want to work with you. Be our eleventh province. Shatton had declared Americans have so much to gain from taking the proposed deal, including greater access to poutine, patch of flavored potatoes nips. I'm scoring free healthcare. If you are angry about my post in the US becoming a Canadian province, imagine how Canadians felt when an actual leader of a friendly neighboring country floated that idea across the border. Doesn't feel good? Does it learn a lesson from it? Oh? My gosh, that was on point with this one man.

1:50:15 That Daddy strikes again. So that I love the whole like greater access to boutine and catch up flavored potato Jens. Now, when you were when you were reading that, did you read it in Shatner? Well? I thought I thought it in in Shatner's voice. But what is kind of fun is to like remember that he's Canadian, right, and that he has this like Canadian identity despite the fact that he's the most popular guy in a you know, American television series. So I would if I was to meet Shatner, I would say, sir, do you like eat more candy bars? And unless you're familiar with Canadian candy you may not get that.

1:51:01 H check Daddy. I love it all right, Charles, You've got our next one, buddy, Okay. How Star Trek Enterprise creators feel about the controversial series finale. The final episode of Enterprise was rather disappointing. The show's creators, Rick Berman and Breman Brega had intended for the show to last several more years before climenting with a format federation in twenty one sixty one. A final episode called The Years of Voyages may thirteen, two thousand and five, rushed the intended finale via a time shift forward to the days of Star Trek Next Generation and presented its events as a mere Holidays simulation. Fourth season of Enterprise took roughly around twenty one fifty five. Season finale, however, skipped ahead to twenty three seventy concurrently with the seventh season of Star Trek Next Generation, which aired in nineteen ninety four. Jonathan Franks and Marina Series, who played Commander Reiker and Counselor Troying Next Generation, were recent were seen recreating the Enterprises characters in the Holidack of the us IS Enterprise. D Braga has heard the criticisms, but was still somewhat defensive, feeling that he and his co writer

1:52:34 Rick Berman had begun the finale with a true, truly fun conceit. I thought it was the coolest thing ever that we were writing it the idea of doing the losts episode of Next Generation, but they're going to have a Holidack that looks back at the Enterprise freaking, and I thought it was a great send up to Star Trek. And it didn't work out so well. It kind of was a flap in the face of Enterprise actors. I heard from everybody. It was the only time Scott Bacula was. Ever mean to me. I regret it. Star Trek Enterprises isn't wholly beloved, isn't wholly beloved by all Trekkies. But it's better. It's better than the credit got for it's more. It deserved more, And yes, I think it deserved a lot more. That episode just kind of fell flat and really did not give the show its ending for only being four seasons. I always look at the one time I saw the episode and it's like.

1:53:43 I wanted to hear the speech. I wanted to hear the speech that he would say, and we got a little piece of the speech and nothing else, and we've never gotten details of what he ever did say in that speech. Well, I think that that EPISODS would have been more well received by fans if it was not the final episode. If they had done it earlier and it was just a Holod Deck adventure, it would have been cool. But to end it that way and have Trip die off screen like that, I think that's what upset a lot of the fans. Yeah, so all right, guys, Well I have the next story and it's near and dear to my heart. We're talking about William Shatner again, and this is not quite Shatner says, but it's pretty close. William Shatner and his decision not to go back and re edit Star Trek five, which breaks my heart truly, because I love Star Trek five. Over the past few years, we've seen Francis Ford Coppola go back over a number of his films to give them a few nips and tucks and oversee their remasters. Really, Scott is no stranger to extended versions of his movies. Sylvester's Thlown meanwhile, managed to suck virtually all the fun out of Rocky four.

1:54:55 William Shatner had a contract on Star Trek that allowed him to basically do whatever Leonard Nimoy got to do. Nimoy directed Star Trek three, The Search for Spock and Star Trek four The Voyage Home. As such, Shantner was able to activate the contract clause and make his debut directing Star Trek five. The final front twer quote. My thought was, Star Trek goes in search of God. As a result, we find the devil. And what a great sentence. Right, Everyone's got a different God, and we're going to alienate people. Finally, somebody said, what happens if we use an alien who thinks he's God? And I agreed to that in order to get the film made. Reflecting on The Final Frontier, Shatner was quite segouine when asked, why not go in and re edit it and maybe put out another cut of the film. He's not going to do it. I think I'd be too sad about Star Trek five, he conceded.

1:55:51 In my mind, it had great promise, the ultimate Star Trek film. We had all these magnificent ideas and it failed. Essentially, it's a U who's disappointment to me, I thought, because I've got a good sense of vision and what I want to do with the camera, that sort of thing. I didn't achieve what I wanted to do for a variety of reasons, many of which were not up to me. Shatner has thus decided to let Start Trek five the Final Frontier be and long ago moved on. There's never even been a hint of a recut on the cards, and it strikes me that the reason for this is William Shatner himself. The movie remains a little bit of an open wound, albeit one i'd suggest that now looks slightly kinder to older eyes. And Paul Paul, I got this one specifically for you, Buddy Hell.

1:56:41 Thank chuckle, Jim Well, let's wrestle up Atto our action figure of ficionados here and talk about this new revelation that Captain Pike returns to higher toys from Star Trek Strange New Worlds. Hey toys, Captain Christopher Pike, We're trained by Anson Mount in Star Trek Strange New Worlds become a fan favorite with the iconic Starfleet. Captain introduced the original nineteen sixty Star Trek Pilot and later revisited the Star Trek Discovery. Pike was given renewed life in Strange New Worlds as Captain of the USS Enterprise before James T. Kirk. Captain Pike is now joining Hyatoy's growing Star Trek collection as the latest one twelve scale figure, standing six point three inches tall. This Captain faithfully captures this design from Strange New Worlds with a fabric outfit and two swappable head sculps. Other accessories include a phaser, a communicator, a data pad, a variety of entertainable hands in a display base.

1:57:37 We are proud to announce the exquisite super series product of the Star Trek line a scene in the TV series Star Trek Strange New Worlds. The one twelve scale Christopher Pike action figure Take Your Star Trek to New Worlds for eighty nine to ninety nine and pre orders are alive with a Q one twenty twenty six release. Wow, that is now one twelve scale. Friends, is about six inch scale. It's like the type of thing that you were seeing like Nassel put out for what is it, thirty dollars? Thirty five dollars, I believe right with a fist full of accessories. This is a rather extravagant price point.

1:58:19 And you know, I'll tell you what I love. Star Trek action figures. I collect tons of them. I have all these different ones over the years, right, quite a few. And I am no stranger to toy store, department store, toy departments, toy aisles, comic book shops. I frequent often. I have still never seen a single highest Star Trek figure in the wild. Ever. I've seen a lot of other things I makes, but I don't know how they distributing these things. I know you can order them one big bad toy store and maybe Amazon, but I've never seen him distributed anywhere brick and mortar, so thankfully to me, I'd love to see him so I could check them out. But you know, I kind of like to see before I buy, so we'll see where that goes. But anyhow, it from.

1:59:03 It's ninety bucks and it's made in China, so it's a pair of. Time well still but still, like I think that's a point, man. I buy a lot. I buy actually figures from like companies, but no like from Mafex right that does the Star Wars license and s H figures it does a Star Wars license, relatively same scale and real premium product, right, and you they average amount seventy to ninety bucks depending on what you get, Like they got general grievous coming out in the fall. It's like, you know, that's a ninety five dollars figure pre tariff. Right. These these are high end you know, die cast collectibles that are you know, have been around for like ten years and more. Right, they have a reputation. They really deliver the goods. You get what you pay for. I mean you really do. This on paper looks good, but I don't know. I've only seen the little higher figures.

1:59:56 The Exquisite minis this quote unquote exquisite super series. I've never seen them to this day and age, right, so I know they're out there, supposedly, assuming there's no production delays. You know, maybe get on our good side, high and send us some samples here talking and beyond, and maybe we could be a little bit more enthusiastic. But I need to see what you guys are up to, and they're not making it very easy. So I'm intrigued from a theoretical sense. But you know, also I'm not getting real good since that likeness and these like pictures taken from like one hundred yards away, right, It's like, get up there and show me what that likeness looks like. I want to see if it looks like Ansen. I want to see if it's you know, isn't worth the dough here. I mean, I don't know that it's worth thirty dollars to rank so.

2:00:45 Well. I can see in the picture right here they got Pike's point Pike's peak wrong because his hair isn't sticking up high enough. So Pike's peak. All right, Yeah, I mean I'm super curious, super cerious, but you know, to be continued, Yeah, Quo in the chat. He doesn't have enough hair. Yep, Pike's peak, Pike's Peak, buddy. You guys want to mark your calendars because we're going to be having Alex Deal on the show on June twelfth, So mark your calendars for that is going to be a lot of fun. And please head over to chruck Talking dot com and you can check out all of our previous podcast. I'm your most excellent host, Uncle Jim, and I want to take a moment to say thank you to Paul for hanging out and trek talking with us tonight.

2:01:31 Thank you Paul, so much fun. I cannot wait for next week to wrap up our and or coverage. It's going to be nuts. I mean, we're gonna want to get right in there. So love to say, but this has been really fun branching out from beyond the Star Trek and enjoying it very much. Thank you absolutely, and thank you so much to Eric for hanging out and truck talking with us. Thank you Eric absolutely, Thanks guys. And thank you to Charles Swinging Palm trees and all for hanging out with us tonight. Thank you enjoyed the show, and thank you, of course to our very own miracle worker David for hanging out with us. Thank you so much, David. It's been really fun and I'm your most excellent host saying, everybody please stay safe, be good to each other. Star Trek fans are the best fans, Live long and prosper.

2:02:18 Good night, everybody, good. Night, Live long, prosper. Hello humans, All. Stations ready for departure, Sir, some problem, Ryker, just hoping this isn't the usual way our missions will go, sir, Oh no, no, but what I'm sure most will be much more interesting. Let's see what's out there. Engage