All Access Star Trek - A TrekMovie.com Podcast

[Discovery508 review starts at 15:17] Laurie’s back from vacation, just in time for Anthony to fill her in on the latest about Paramount’s attempts to find the right buyer. Not a lot of other news this week but they catch up on a comic book milestone and some nominations for IDW.They talk aboutStar Trek: Discovery‘s first appearances on the Nielsen charts and play some audio from Tony’s recent interview with Doug Jones (Saru), then launch into their review of episode 508, “Labyrinths” with bonus commentary from co-writer Eric J. Robbins. Tony and Laurie agree it was an excellent episode weaving in Burnham’s character deep dive with the Breen plot action. They wrap up with updates on some local Star Trek conventions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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