Trek Geeks: A Star Trek Podcast

This week, we give 2016 one last look and talk about the biggest Star Trek stories of 2016! Several weeks ago, we asked the members of our official Facebook group, Camp Khitomer, to vote on what they thought the biggest news items were over the last year. They've spoken, and we run down their list in this week's show! Plus, we'll catch up on some of the things that happened during our Holiday Break, including huge casting news for Star Trek: Discovery and, if you stay through the end theme, you just might hear what happened when Dan and Bill exchanged Christmas presents this past weekend! It's all in Episode 88 of the Trek Geeks Podcast--start your New Year of Trek off with us, won't you? SPECIAL THANKS We are incredibly grateful to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in our podcast each and every week. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Plus, we absolutely want to see them back as the House Band for this year's Star Trek convention in Las Vegas! Don't forget to let Creation Entertainment know you'd like to see them, too! Tweet them, Facebook them, email them...and be sure to use the hashtag #5YMSTLV2017!

As 2016 winds down, we thought we'd put together some special bonus content in the form of outtakes before we return with an all-new episode on January 3, 2017! Many of you know that following the end theme of every podcast episode, there is an outtake--something that we talked about either immediately before or after recording that week's show. Some of you have heard them, and some of you haven't, so we assembled a collection of all our clips from 2016 in not one, but TWO Supplemental Episodes of Trek Geeks! We had such great response to last year's Outtakes Special, that we doubled up on it this year, and we hope you enjoy it--and this second part is SUPER SIZED! We hope that you all have the happiest of holidays and a safe and Happy New Year! We'll be back next week with our 2016 Year in Review episode! SPECIAL THANKS Music for the Trek Geeks Podcast is provided by Five Year Mission and we truly cannot thank them enough for allowing us to use their amazing music each and every episode! Please head on over to FiveYearMission.net and check out their music. Seriously, if you listen to them, your Awesomocity Factor will increase like ten times what it is right now. We're big fans of theirs, and we want you to be fans, too. All your friends are doing it...you'll be cool...everyone will like you. Plus, we really want them back as the House Band at Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas in 2017. Please send a message to Creation and to CBS to let them know you would, too! #5YMSTLV2017

As 2016 winds down, we thought we'd put together some special bonus content in the form of outtakes before we return with an all-new episode on January 3, 2017! Many of you know that following the end theme of every podcast episode, there is an outtake--something that we talked about either immediately before or after recording that week's show. Some of you have heard them, and some of you haven't, so we assembled a collection of all our clips from 2016 in not one, but TWO Supplemental Episodes of Trek Geeks! We had such great response to last year's Outtakes Special, that we doubled up on it this year, and we hope you enjoy it. We hope that you all have the happiest of holidays and a safe and Happy New Year! SPECIAL THANKS! Music for the Trek Geeks Podcast is provided by Five Year Mission and we truly cannot thank them enough for allowing us to use their amazing music each and every episode! Please head on over to FiveYearMission.net and check out their music. Seriously, if you listen to them, your Awesomocity Factor will increase like ten times what it is right now. We're big fans of theirs, and we want you to be fans, too. All your friends are doing it...you'll be cool...everyone will like you. Plus, we really want them back as the House Band at Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas in 2017. Please send a message to Creation and to CBS to let them know you would, too! #5YMSTLV2017

With Star Trek's 50th Anniversary Year coming to an end, what better way to close it out than to look at the career of one of Trek's central figures? It's undeniable that William Shatner has had an amazing career and done so many amazing things that we think he deserves his own holiday! Back in 2009, Bill declared the first-ever Shatnermas on his Facebook page and now, he and Dan have turned this celebration into an eight day affair and reintroducing it on the podcast! They've each selected one clip for each day of Shatnermas. Which ones did they pick? Listen in to find out! There are so many great clips to celebrate the long career of The Shat--which ones are your favorites?? Plus, we'll talk some news and we'll have a special message for Terry Farrell all in Episode 87 of the Trek Geeks Podcast! SPECIAL THANKS We are incredibly grateful to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in our podcast each and every week. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Plus, we absolutely want to see them back as the House Band for this year's Star Trek convention in Las Vegas! Don't forget to let Creation Entertainment know you'd like to see them, too! Tweet them, Facebook them, email them...and be sure to use the hashtag #5YMSTLV2017! Here's a rundown of the Five Year Mission songs you'll hear in this episode! Themes The Cage – [Track 1] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 – [Track 6] – The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Arena – [Track 3] – Year 2 The Man Trap – [Track 2] – Year 1 "Dear Terry Farrell" Segment Silent Night John Vallis (johnvallis.co.uk) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

This week, we continue with our wind down of the celebration Star Treks 50th anniversary with one of the very best episodes of them all - "The Doomsday Machine!" As you may recall from our last episode, this one ranks #4 in Bill's all time favorite TOS episodes, while Dan had it ranked as his 3rd favorite. Any way you slice it, it is a PHENOMENAL episode and we will discuss all aspects of this classic as well as discuss the amazing remastering of the episode by Mike and Denise Okuda. We will also talk about the incredible performance by William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker, and what makes this episode so special for both of us. But that's not all! In addition to the discussion about the giant, planet killing cornucopia, we have a lot of news to cover, including some awesome casting announcements for Star Trek Discovery! Three incredible actors have been announced as we are so excited with who they are! Plus, we are feeling pretty old with the two Star Trek Anniversaries that occurred recently, and did you know that Star Trek Timelines is making it even harder for Dan to be productive at work? How, you ask? Well you will just have to tune in to find out! SPECIAL THANKS We are incredibly grateful to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in our podcast each and every week. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Plus, we absolutely want to see them back as the House Band for this year's Star Trek convention in Las Vegas! Don't forget to let Creation Entertainment know you'd like to see them, too! Tweet them, Facebook them, email them...and be sure to use the hashtag #5YMSTLV2017! Here's a rundown of the Five Year Mission songs you'll hear in this episode! Themes The Cage – [Track 1] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 – [Track 6] – The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music The Trouble With Tribbles 4 – [Track 4] – The Trouble With Tribbles The Doomsday Machine – [Track 4] – Year Three

Well, as the 50th anniversary of the phenomenon known as Star Trek starts to wind down, we thought it would be a great idea to jump onto the "which is the best of the best" bandwagon. So, as our special tribute to the series that started it all, this week we rank our top 10 Original Series episodes! But that's not all. Here to help us with this special episode, is Mr. TrekRanks himself - the man who actually fired the torpedoes on the good ole NX-01, Mr EnterpriseExtra, Jim Moorhouse! You can see his awesome rankings of all the Star Trek series at www.trekranks.com, and we are thrilled he is joining us for this TOS spectacular. For this special discussion, we have followed Jim's lead from his website and listed our episode, followed by a short 5 word description, and then an ultimate hashtag comment for each choice. You can see our individual lists on the Trek Geeks website! 5YM! We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Here's a rundown of the Five Year Mission songs you'll hear in this episode! Themes The Cage – [Track 1] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 – [Track 6] – The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Errand of Mercy – [Track 11] – Year Two Catspaw – [Track 5] – Year Three

This week, we decided to tackle our all time favorite Star Trek series, Deep Space 9 with our signature "See-It or Skip-It" extravaganza! You would think that we love every aspect of every episode, but we think you will be surprised on what we say about the first season of this completely "not Gene's vision" series. From the Battle of Wolf 359 all the way through the season ending tension with the Bajorans, we hit every episode and give you our take on whether you should "See-It or Skip-It". WIN STAR TREK BEYOND! We're giving away a copy of the Star Trek Beyond Ultimate Blu-Ray Gift Set which is available only at Walmart! To be eligible, all you have to do is share the episode pinned to our Facebook and Twitter with your friends, telling them why you like Trek Geeks! For more details and official rules, go to http://trekgeeks.com/beyond RIGHT NOW! We'll announce the winner in the episode of the Trek Geeks Podcast dropping on November 29th, 2016! SPECIAL THANKS We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Here's a rundown of the Five Year Mission songs you'll hear in this episode! Themes The Cage – [Track 1] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 – [Track 6] – The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Catspaw – [Track 5] – Year Three Colder in Russia – [Track 6] – Spock's Brain Return of the Archons – [Track 6] – Year Two

This week we focus on the greatest adversary Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise ever faced! We speak, of course, of Khan Noonien Singh! We'll examine the backstory of this genetically-engineered super human, look at his appearances in Star Trek and talk about the character's evolution from Space Seed all the way to Into Darkness! Plus, we'll also discuss some of Khan's other appearances in books and comics. Plus, we'll give our picks for the actors we would have cast as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness--and some of our picks just might surprise you! All that and news--and did we mention we're giving away a thing--all in Episode 83 of the Trek Geeks Podcast! You'll want to chase us around the moons of Nibia and around the Antares Malestrom and around Perdition's Flame before you give this one up! WIN STAR TREK BEYOND! We're giving away a copy of the Star Trek Beyond Ultimate Blu-Ray Gift Set which is available only at Walmart! To be eligible, all you have to do is share the episode pinned to our Facebook and Twitter with your friends, telling them why you like Trek Geeks! For more details and official rules, go to http://trekgeeks.com/beyond RIGHT NOW! We'll announce the winner in the episode of the Trek Geeks Podcast dropping on November 29th, 2016! SPECIAL THANKS Music for the Trek Geeks Podcast is graciously provided by FIVE YEAR MISSION and we can't thank them enough! You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! Here's a rundown of the Five Year Mission songs you'll hear in this episode! Themes The Cage – [Track 1] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 – [Track 6] – The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Amok Time – [Track 15] – Year Two Catspaw – [Track 5] – Year Three Return of the Archons – [Track 6] – Year Two

They're the second in command on their respective ships, carrying out the orders of the Captain---they're the First Officers and they play a critical role in Star Trek. In this week's episode, we'll take a look at the five First Officers to date and talk about several key areas where these individuals excel and, in the end, only one will be left standing! Plus, we'll talk about the latest news in the Star Trek universe from our good friends at TrekNews.net, and we'll also tell you how "The Trial of the Century" went during the 24 hour fundraiser by the amazing folks at The G&T Show! Five officers enter--ONE OFFICER LEAVES! Who will be left standing in Episode 82 of the Trek Geeks Podcast? Find out and LISTEN NOW! SPECIAL THANKS We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Here's a rundown of the Five Year Mission songs you'll hear in this episode! Themes The Cage – [Track 1] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 – [Track 6] – The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Mudd's Women – [Track 7] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 4 – [Track 4] – The Trouble With Tribbles

This week, Dan and Bill deep dive into arguably one of the very best episodes of TNG, "The Pegasus!" Riker's past comes back to haunt him in the form of his former Captain, Admiral Eric Pressman. What is the secret they are both hiding from Captain Picard? Terry O'Quinn shows us why he is one of our favorite actors with his portrayal of the admiral with questionable intentions. Was he simply a "badmiral" or was he just "Lost" with his twisted sense of devotion to the Federation? Either way, you can see the beginnings of John Locke himself start to form with this unique character. Also, this is a very Riker-centric episode and they discuss why it may be one of the best for the development of this character. Many relationships for Riker are put to the test due to the secret he is hiding and as a result he seems very unsure about the choices he is making! Plus we will discuss if using this episode as the reference point for the series finale of Enterprise was a smart move by the studio, or just an attempt to pull in some hard core fans for what would be the last episode of Trek for more than a decade! In addition, it was a quiet week for Star Trek news, but there are always little tidbits floating around in the quadrant, such as the first guest confirmation for STLV51! So sit back, grab a glass of Romulan Ale and get comfortable next to your little phasing cloaking device because it's all here in Episode 81 of the Trek Geeks Podcast! SPECIAL THANKS! We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage – [Track 1] – Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 – [Track 6] – The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Errand of Mercy – [Track 11] – Year Two Colder Than Russia – [Track 5] – Spock's Brain

One of the coolest ideas in Star Trek Timelines is the ability to have any single member of the Star Trek Universe as part of your crew. We are talking ANY character from any series, ship, timeline, universe, etc. That got us thinking. Who would WE pick for our ULTIMATE Crew? We break down all the main crew assignments in this "infinite possibilities episode". Heck, even waste extraction is discussed because Bill thinks that would be perfect for Dan! In Star Trek news, perhaps one of the most EPIC and awkward pics in history was taken recently at Star Trek Destination Europe as almost two dozen Star Trek alums got together on the bridge of the Enterprise! Also, time to fork over some quatloos or gold pressed latinum because the revised and expanded Star Trek Encyclopedia is now available and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive! Finally, both Bill and Dan received some swag in the mail over the weekend. What did they get and who is more excited? It's Episode 80 of Trek Geeks--beam aboard, won't you? STAR TREK TIMELINES Special thanks to our friends at Disruptor Beam--the creators of the Star Trek Timelines game--for letting us use their artwork in our album cover this week! SPECIAL THANKS We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Warp on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Plus, here is a little secret...they are working on Year 4 right now! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Dagger of the Mind - [Track 10] - Year One Metamorphosis - [Track 7] - Year Three

The year was 1998. Dan and Bill were working in telephone support jobs supporting stock trading software and 56k dial-up modems ruled the day. One day at work, they got the bright idea to download the brand-new trailer for the third movie featuring the cast of The Next Generation--Star Trek: Insurrection! It took hours for the trailer to download and these two future Geeks looked forward to December. Then they saw the movie. The follow-up to First Contact didn't exactly overwhelm. It's been a long time since they've watched Insurrection, but the Trek Geeks will take a long look at this often maligned movie--and maybe even explain why it's really not as bad as people make it out to be. In addition to elements of the movie that they liked (and didn't), they'll answer the central question that this movie raises: would it have been better served as an episode of NextGen? It's a skin-stretchingly good time in Episode 79 of Trek Geeks--beam aboard, won't you? SPECIAL THANKS We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Mudd's Women - [Track 7] - Year One A Taste of Amageddon - [Track 8] - Year Two Within the Mainframe - [Track 5] - Spock's Brain =/\=

This past Spring, we asked the members of our Camp Khitomer group on Facebook to send us their questions for an "Ask Us Anything" episode! Their questions were fantastic, but there was one we thought could truly be its own episode--we were asked to pick a series and recast the characters with different actors. Challenge accepted! This week we'll recast our favorite series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with an all new set of actors--and some of the selections may just surprise you! Plus, we'll update you on the latest Blu-Ray release in the Star Trek universe and discuss a wonderful essay that highlighted our Trek50 episode! We hope you'll join us for an entertaining discussion this week on the Trek Geeks Podcast! TREKKING THROUGH PODCASTS Read Brian Donlon's LinkedIn essay here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trekking-through-podcasts-brian-donlon SPECIAL THANKS We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music The Galileo Seven - [Track 1] - Year Two The Doomsday Machine - [Track 3] - Year Three =/\=

This Episode of Trek Geeks is Dedicated to the Memory of Eric Cone It quite possibly was the television event that forever changed history! On September 8, 1966 the very first episode of Star Trek was shown on NBC. It was "The Man Trap" and this week the Trek Geeks are ready to discuss the great Salt Vampire of M-113! Bill and Dan will discuss all the interesting and quirky things about this episode. After watching it countless times over the last 40+ years, they certainly have a lot to say about this unique premier episode! Was that REALLY red blood on Spock's forehead? Why does McCoy have a virtual pharmacy in his bedroom? And how does Ole Salty know to speak Swahili to Uhura? And what's with that hand-plant in the Botany Lab? In addition, they ask and discuss if hunting down the creature made this debut episode of Star Trek seem like every other space-themed tv show in the 1960's where we kill what we don't understand? Also, in the news, get your microwave popcorn ready because Star Trek Beyond is coming to digital download and DVD soon, past guest Manu Intiraymi's project "The Circuit" has started their Kickstarter fund raising, and Adam Nimoy's "For The Love of Spock" is now available! All this and more on what certainly is NOT the last of it's kind - it's Episode 77 of the Trek Geeks Podcast! THANKS AND GRATITUDE! We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music (Gotta Save) Spock's Brain - [Track 7] - Spock's Brain Within the Mainframe - [Track 5] - Spock's Brain

After a one week hiatus, the Trek Geeks are back in their podcast chairs and ready to discuss the latest amazing episode from Star Trek Continues. Episode 7 of this highly acclaimed fan production tackles a very interesting and controversial topic that began almost 50 years ago with the final episode of TOS, "Turnabout Intruder." In "Embracing the Winds," we finally find out why female officers have never been in command of a constitution class starship! Additionally, we see yet another ship--the U.S.S. Hood--fall prey to a mysterious anomaly. We think you will agree that STC has once again given us an amazing episode filled with drama and awesome guest stars! In addition to a spoiler-filled rundown of the plot, Dan and Bill discuss the myriad of Star Trek themed easter eggs in this episode and as always discuss whether or not it IS Star Trek! Plus, there are lots of interesting news topics to discuss including the pushed back premier date of Star Trek Discovery to May 2017, the debut of Star Trek Online to Xbox One and PS4 consoles and we may even get to hear our beloved Majel Barrett as the computer voice in DSC and maybe even your mobile phone someday! All this and more as Dan returns from Walt Disney World! "Happiest Place on Earth?" No way! That's right here, rejoining Bill in Episode 76 of the Trek Geeks Podcast! SPECIAL THANKS Music for the Trek Geeks Podcast is graciously provided by our friends, the band FIVE YEAR MISSION! We can't begin to thank Noah, Fark, Patrick, Mike, and Chris enough for allowing us to use all of their amazing music for the podcast every week. Please, do yourself a favor and check all of their albums: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, Spock's Brain! Get yourself on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it. Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Errand of Mercy - [Track 11] - Year 2 Awful Lot of Trouble - [Track 3] - Spock's Brain Colder Than Russia - [Track 5] - Spock's Brain

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, STAR TREK! A year in the making... Last year, we began to ask listeners for their stories of the first time they ever watched Star Trek. Since then, we've been compiling stories from voice mails, SpeakPipe messages, emails, and live recordings at STLV50. Today, we present them to you as our love letter and tribute to the adventures we all love so much. We hope you'll all enjoy this tribute to Star Trek's 50th Anniversary. We truly can't thank those who participated enough. Your recollections have helped to make this episode a true love letter to Trek and certainly one to remember. Happy 50th Anniversary to all of us! SPECIAL THANKS! Music for the Trek Geeks Podcast is graciously provided by our friends, the band FIVE YEAR MISSION! We can't begin to thank Noah, Fark, Patrick, Mike, and Chris enough for allowing us to use all of their amazing music for the podcast every week. Please, do yourself a favor and check all of their albums: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, Spock's Brain! Get yourself on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it. Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles =/\=

MAKE IT SO...OR DON'T! It's been a long time since we delved into a season of Star Trek and gave our thoughts as to whether you should See It or Skip It, so we are back with the next round of SIoSI and TNG Season 1! Will we appreciate failed Holodeck programs? Will we ridicule giant jellyfish space creatures? Tune in and find out! We are joined by our good friend and third or fourth best admin (out of 3) from our Official Facebook Group Camp Khitomer, Mr. Daniel Garcia. Dan is going to do his best to keep us in check and stay on target with our thoughts on all 26 episodes of Season 1! You may actually be surprised at the results as we tally up the scores of which episodes to watch, and which episodes to send out of an airlock! Plus we will let you know about our good friends over at FanSets and their special pin which will only be available at Mission:NY this coming weekend!! SPECIAL THANKS We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Amok Time - [Track 15] - Year Two I, Mudd - [Track 6] - Year Three =/\=

It seems like forever since we've sat down and recorded a standard Trek Geeks episode, and we're back with our wrap-up of the amazing 2016 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention! We met so many amazing people during the convention, one of whom was one of our favorite podcasters: Norman Lao from Trek.FM and also the Fandom Podcast Network, where he hosts Blood of Kings: A Highlander Podcast! Norm sits down to talk to us about his first-ever STLV and some of his cosplay! We'll talk about some of our favorite experiences, convention going, dressing the part, and even throw in a healthy dose of pop-culture references for good measure! Plus, we'll play catch up on some of the things that have happened since our last pre-Vegas episode, we'll run through the latest Star Trek news from TrekNews.net, and we'll make a special announcement regarding a new podcast for you to enjoy in January 2017!! We had a lot of fun recording this episode and we hope you'll enjoy it! SPECIAL THANKS We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Awful Lot of Trouble - [Track 4] - Spock's Brain Errand of Mercy - [Track 11] - Year Two Return of the Archons - [Track 6] - Year Two

This will be an episode of Trek Geeks unlike any other! Why is that you ask? Well, that's because it's largely hosted by two amazing podcasters! (Well, OK...ONE amazing podcaster and also John Champion.) Return with us now to the Sunday of STLV50! Dan was off getting his DS9-themed tattoo and Bill was one of the invited panelists on the Roddenberry Stage for the Podcasting Summit, hosted by Mission Log! Eight Star Trek podcasts were represented to talk about the focus of their respective shows, the challenges and rewards of podcasting, and how they determine success among other topics. We can't thank the folks at Roddenberry Entertainment enough for allowing us to share the stage with so many amazing people and for making this audio available. It was a true honor to be included with such amazing talent. We definitely encourage you to check out the podcasts of the assembled panel at their links below: HOSTS John Champion & Ken Ray Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast http://missionlogpodcast.com PANELISTS Andi Women at Warp http://womenatwarp.com Aaron Harvey Saturday Morning Trek http://trek.fm/saturday-morning-trek-home Elijah Priority One Podcast http://priorityonepodcast.com Terry Lynn Shull The G & T Show http://gandtshow.com Bill Smith Trek Geeks http://trekgeeks.com Lisa Guetzkow TrekRadio.net http://trekradio.net Kayla Iacovino Trek Movie Shuttlepod http://trekmovie.com =/\=

It's been a long time coming, but this day was inevitable. We're on our way back to New England from Las Vegas, and we figured what better time to feature the return of listener favorite, "Stump the Geek!" The rules are simple: Bill has created five trivia questions for Dan to answer and each one is worth a random point value. Dan is not allowed to use any reference material at all--no internet, no books, no notes--nothing! He can only rely on his memory and the information trapped in his wee brain! If Dan makes it through all five questions, he proceeds to the "Double or Nothing Bonus Round!" Plus, in this special post-Vegas edition, there may be an added level of complexity. Will Bill stump Dan? Find out in our fourth Supplemental Episode!

The second of our mini-episodes from the Official 2016 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino! We'll catch you up on what's been going on during our trip and talk a little bit about today's events!

It's the first of our Vegas Mini-Episodes! In today's update, we talk about our disappointment in the Leonard Nimoy panel, Dan's first ever cosplay as Guy Fieri, and the chaos of the Whoopi Goldberg appearance! Plus, don't forget to check out our Facebook page tomorrow morning for another STLV Briefing!

Our countdown has finally ticked down to zero and we're on our way to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada for Creation Entertainment's 2016 Official Star Trek Convention to celebrate the 5oth Anniversary of the franchise we all love so dearly. We're joined in this episode by our great friend, Adam Drosin, who we met at last year's STLV! We'll talk to Adam about his fandom, what made him decide to start going to conventions, and his plans for this year. Then, we'll all take a look at this year's STLV schedule and highlight the things we're really excited about--and the things you shouldn't miss! In addition, we'll discuss our plans for social media on the days of the convention! You may not be albe to make it to Las Vegas this year, but we'll do our best to keep you all informed! Our plane touches down in Las Vegas shortly, but you can listen to our STLV Preview in Episode 70 RIGHT NOW! FIVE YEAR MISSION! We're here in Vegas and so is 5YM to play for five straight days as the house band for Creation's 2016 Las Vegas Official Star Trek Convention! We're excited to see them again and we are truly grateful to them for letting us use their amazing music for the podcast. Please support them and buy their albums! Plot a course over to FiveYearMission.net and check out all their tunes--and get yourself some cool Five Year Mission gear! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Beam Down Take a Ride

The long wait is finally over! Star Trek Beyond debuted in theaters this past weekend and both Dan and Bill attended Thursday night IMAX 3D showings in their towns. This week's episode contains nothing but spoilers, so if you haven't seen Star Trek Beyond yet, you should skip this episode for now. After a discussion on the plot, we'll take a look at the aspects of Beyond that we really enjoyed, and those we didn't. We'll also examine whether this film reflects The Original Series, as well as where it falls in an impromptu stack ranking of all the Star Trek movies. Plus, there's news out of San Diego Comic Con about the new Star Trek series coming to CBS All Access in January! There's LOTS of new Star Trek in Episode 69, and we hope you'll join us! FIVE STRAIGHT DAYS OF FIVE YEAR MISSION! We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! If you're headed to Creation Entertainment's 15th Annual Las Vegas Official STAR TREK Convention 2016, don't forget to check out their space in the Vendor's Room where they'll have some special STLV merch! Please show them some love and support them! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Awful Lot of Trouble - [Track 4] - Spock's Brain SPECIAL THANKS Additional music for this episode was performed by Giancarlo C. Please check out his YouTube channel and see his full performance of the Star Trek movie theme below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gxhmdw1GOA

Last week, Paramount held a screening of Star Trek Beyond for the media and hosted a press event the following day. TrekNews.net was there, and thanks to Laura Sirikul, we have the audio! You'll hear Scott Mantz from Access Hollywood moderate two panels: one with the cast of Star Trek Beyond featuring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban and others, and one with the production team including producer J.J. Abrams, director Justin Lin, as well as writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. It goes without saying that this audio contains spoilers of some nature, so if you haven't seen Star Trek Beyond yet, GO NOW! It opens today! SPECIAL THANKS Music for this Supplemental Episode was performed by Giancarlo C. Check out his YouTube channel and see his full performance of the Star Trek movie theme below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gxhmdw1GOA

It is certainly no secret how much we love the folks over at Tricorder Transmissions, and specifically Shore Leave! Heather, Jeff and the whole team are amazing and bring listeners awesome information about conventions each and every week! As STLV gets closer and closer and the excitement continues to build, we felt this would be the perfect time to welcome Heather Barker and Jeff Hulit to the podcast to talk about Vegas and what we can expect in just TWO SHORT WEEKS! We will discuss all kind of interesting details, from pre-registration to the "Cosplay Is Not Consent" movement! Additionally, there has been some amazing Star Trek news this week including Star Trek 4 already in the works, the new Trek Series to be on Netflix (for some people), and Dan will be geeking out very soon as he starts to build his Mega Bloks Enterprise! YOUR HOUSE BAND FOR STLV! We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year One, Year Two, Year Three, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! If you're headed to Creation Entertainment's 15th Annual Las Vegas Official STAR TREK Convention 2016, don't forget to check out their space in the Vendor's Room where they'll have some special STLV merch! Please show them some love and support them! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Metamorphosis - [Track 7] - Year Three The Galileo Seven - [Track 1] - Year Two Within the Mainframe - [Track 5] - Spock's Brain =/\=

One mistake can change everything. That's the lesson learned by Ensign Harry Kim in the 100th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. This week, Dan and Bill dive in on the episode, "Timeless," and discuss some of it's finer points. Make no mistake: this is some of the best material the writers ever gave Garrett Wang, and we'll talk about why. Plus, we'll find out why this episode means so much to Dan, and why he almost selected it for his "one episode" in the Ask Us Anything we did in Episode 62. We'll also talk about the latest news from our friends at TrekNews.net, including a brand new roller coaster, the Star Trek takeover of SDCC, and an update on the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan BluRay Replacement program. We promise not to crash land on a barren ice planet, so join us for Episode 67, won't you? YOUR HOUSE BAND FOR STLV! We can't thank FIVE YEAR MISSION enough. We are truly grateful to them for allowing us to use their music for every episode of Trek Geeks. You really should check them out--they're writing and recording one original song for each episode of the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. Beam on over to their website at FiveYearMission.net and check out all of their fantastic albums! You can hear them all: Year One, Year Two, Year Three, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, the amazing Spock's Brain! If you're headed to Creation Entertainment's 15th Annual Las Vegas Official STAR TREK Convention 2016, don't forget to check out their space in the Vendor's Room where they'll have some special STLV merch! Please show them some love and support them! Here's a rundown of the 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Amok Time - [Track 15] - Year Two Colder in Russia - [Track 6] - Spock's Brain The Naked Time - [Track 5] - Year One =/\=

As we in the United States celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, we thought this would be PERFECT time to discuss The Original Series episode "The Omega Glory." Bill and Dan will give a run down of the episode, discuss what works and what doesn't work, as well as what they like and don't like. Also, no discussion about TOS can go without Dan attempting to portray Captain Kirk, and this episode may have the most "Shatneriffic" speech in Trek history! Will Dan be up for the challenge? Plus, in Star Trek news, an old friend returns to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C for permanent display - and she looks BEAUTIFUL, Bryan Fuller has some interesting tidbits on the new Star Trek series, the Bluetooth device of the ages is now available, Mega Bloks releases the HUGE Starship Enterprise model on July 22nd, and Van Citters speaks (and we love what he says)! We may even sneak in a couple of surprises! It is all here in Episode 66: The Omega Glory! SPECIAL THANKS Vegas and STLV50 are fast approaching and, before you know it, we'll be treated to five straight days of Your House Band for the Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek Convention--FIVE YEAR MISSION! We can't begin to thank Noah, Fark, Patrick, Mike, and Chris enough for allowing us to use all of their amazing music for the podcast every week. Please, do yourself a favor and check all of their albums: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, The Trouble with Tribbles, and of course, Spock's Brain! Get yourself on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it. Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Obsession - [Track 11] - Year 3 Return of the Archons - [Track 6] - Year 2 =/\=

In this week's episode, we'll take an in-depth look at the new Fan Film Guidelines released by CBS last week! These guidelines seem to change fan films as we know them--and they're all the result of one production's actions. For months, Axanar Productions has complained that there were no guidelines. Their constant complaining has prompted CBS to give them exactly what they wanted--and now all fan films will have to pay the price. Be careful what you wish for, right? There are still a lot of unknowns in this process, but we'll examine the new rules as fans and what we believe they translate to. Plus, there is a LOT of huge news in this episode: Blu-Ray returns, a new Star Trek Beyond trailer, RIHANNA...it's all in Episode 65: The Axanar Rules! SPECIAL THANKS There just aren't enough words to convey our gratitude to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in every episode of our podcast! They are a fantastic group of guys and we're excited to see them on stage at Creation Entertainment's 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas this August! Five straight days of Five Year Mission--we feel spoiled! Prepare yourself, though--head on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it. Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Colder in Russia - [Track 6] - Spock's Brain Errand of Mercy - [Track 11] - Year 2

Dan and Bill pay tribute to Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin who was killed in a freak accident at his home on Sunday, June 19, 2016.

TRICORDER TRANSMISSIONS CROSS-OVER! We're back with another episode of See-It or Skip-It this week, but this time we're taking on an entire series--but this time, it's something very different! Star Trek: The Animated Series ran for 22 episodes between 1973 and 1974 on Saturday mornings, and it's one of the most debated and contested entries in the Star Trek universe. Jeff Hulit from The Tricorder Transmissions moderates the discussion as Dan and Bill give their vote on each episode from Star Trek: The Animated Series. Plus, they'll each answer the question on whether or not TAS is part of Star Trek canon! It's an...wait for it...ANIMATED discussion this week on Trek Geeks and we hope you'll join us! Many thanks to Kail Tescar from StarTrekAnimated.com for his cover art for the podcast this week! SPECIAL THANKS There just aren't enough words to convey our gratitude to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in every episode of our podcast! They are a fantastic group of guys and we're excited to see them on stage at Creation Entertainment's 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas this August! Five straight days of Five Year Mission--we feel spoiled! Prepare yourself, though--head on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it. Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Colder in Russia - [Track 6] - Spock's Brain An Awful Lot of Trouble - [Track 4] - Spock's Brain Errand of Mercy - [Track 11] - Year 2

Dan and I have just submitted our sample episode for the Parsec Awards! We decided to feature two clips: one with Vic Mignogna from Star Trek Continues discussing how Star Trek has actually saved lives--including Dan's--and one where Dan surprised me last year and announced he was going to STLV. Finalists will be announced in late July or early August! This is the clip we submitted. It could contain one thirty second intro and two clips totaling no more than ten minutes with no edits to the content other than fade-ins and fade-outs.

You heard us right! It's time that you all learned a little bit about your gracious co-hosts, Bill Smith and Dan Davidson! Last week we asked our followers in Camp Khitomer (our fun-filled Facebook group) to ask us anything they wanted to know about us. All questions were allowed as long as they were PG rated. Well, we had a bunch of questions come our way and we are going to share our answers with you on this weeks podcast! Plus as an added bonus, Bill and Dan each have a question for one another that NEITHER has any idea about! Talk about being put on the spot! Plus all the latest Star Trek news from our good friends over at Treknews.net including a really great giveaway of 2 copies of the new Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Director's Cut Blu-Ray! SPECIAL THANKS There just aren't enough words to convey our gratitude to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in every episode of our podcast! They are a fantastic group of guys and we're excited to see them on stage at Creation Entertainment's 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas this August! Five straight days of Five Year Mission--we feel spoiled! Prepare yourself, though--head on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it. Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Colder in Russia - [Track 6] - Spock's Brain Amok Time - [Track 15] - Year 2

SPOILER ALERT! This week we take a super-sized look at the highly anticipated sixth episode from Star Trek Continues--Come Not Between the Dragons! BE WARNED, THOUGH: This episode of our podcast is FILLED with spoilers! If you don't want to know what happens in "Come Not Between the Dragons," then stop now! We absolutely recommend watching this Star Trek Continues episode first before you listen to our analysis! Then, come on back and listen to our analysis of the show and we'll even give you the ultimate verdict: "Is this Star Trek?" Then, we'll be joined by our great friend and our first-ever guest on Trek Geeks, Michele Specht! We'll chat about this episode, talk some behind-the-scenes, and even discuss how everything that happens in the world is pretty much Dan's fault. (It's true.) SPECIAL THANKS There just aren't enough words to convey our gratitude to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in every episode of our podcast! They are a fantastic group of guys and we're excited to see them on stage at Creation Entertainment's 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas this August! Five straight days of Five Year Mission--we feel spoiled! Prepare yourself, though--head on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it. Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music Catspaw - [Track 5] - Year Three Errand of Mercy - [Track 11] - Year 2 Journey to Babel - [Track 8] - Year 3 Shore Leave - [Track 16] - Year 1

It's our first-ever Supplemental Episode and we examine the first full-length trailer for Star Trek Beyond! We'll share our thoughts on the trailer and analyze some of the scenes, discuss our hopes for the film, and decide whether or not we think Beyond is starting to look like a Star Trek movie--especially after the first trailer didn't receive a warm reception from some fans.

They were the first adversary introduced in Star Trek and probably the alien race that's changed the most! We mean the Klingons, of course! From their beginnings in TOS' "Errand of Mercy," they have changed so much--not only in appearance, but also in their society and lore. We'll break down some of the early history, talk about the changes, and even some of our favorite Klingons of all time! Plus, Bill finally relents on one Klingon. It's all in Episode 60! [0:00] Show Open/Intro: Prelude to Axanar's Richard Hatch [1:30] Bill Intros Dan [7:09] THE KLINGONS! [51:11] iTunes Subscribe & Review Info [52:16] Five Year Mission Thanks [53:27] Preview of Episode 61! [55:41] COCONUT! SPECIAL THANKS There just aren't enough words to convey our gratitude to FIVE YEAR MISSION for allowing us to use their music in every episode of our podcast! They are a fantastic group of guys and we're excited to see them on stage at Creation Entertainment's 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas this August! Five straight days of Five Year Mission--we feel spoiled! Prepare yourself, though--head on over to FiveYearMission.net and get ALL of their music. We promise, you'll love it! Here's a rundown of which 5YM tracks we used in this episode! Themes The Cage - [Track 1] - Year One The Trouble With Tribbles 6 - [Track 6] - The Trouble With Tribbles Bumper Music The Trouble With Tribbles 5 - [Track 5] - The Trouble With Tribbles

Ever since the reboot of Star Trek took place in 2009, there have been polarizing opinions on the so called "JJ-verse" This week, Dan and Bill tackle this controversial topic and give their insights into what they like and what they don't like about this alternate timeline. It seems that the majority of people that don't like this timeline are extremely vocal in how JJ Abrams "destroyed Star Trek". The Trek Geeks discuss those topics and bring up several facts about how these stories actually honor the original series on a variety of different levels! Is everything in this universe perfect? Heck no, and they discuss the things that rub them the wrong way, too. [0:00] Show Open/Intro: Star Trek Continues' Cat Roberts [1:30] Bill Intros Dan [4:17] Listener eMail: Trey Womack disagrees with Bill on Trek III [8:34] Listener eMail: HubcapDave asks us to clarify our comments on Axanar [14:56] The News from TrekNews.net! [25:58] iTunes Subscribe & Review Info [27:22] The JJ-verse [60:04] Trek50 Information [62:05] Five Year Mission Thanks [63:34] Preview of Episode 60! [65:01] COCONUT!

This week, we take a look at the first season of Star Trek: Voyager! It's no secret that Bill hasn't been the biggest fan of Voyager, and he's even attempted his own "Voyager Challenge" to finally get through the series. We thought it might be easier to discuss each season and decide which episodes that you should watch and which ones you can safely avoid in a new feature called, "See-It or Skip-It" and we'll take on the freshman season of Voyager first! Debuting January 16, 1995, Voyager held great promise as the first Star Trek series to launch a television network. Its first season had sixteen episodes and we'll take a look at each one telling you if you should See-It (because it truly matters in the overall arc, there is important character development, or it's just a phenomenal episode) or whether you should Skip-It (because it doesn't impact the overall story, it's a weak stand-alone episode, or it's just flat out bad). Which Season 1 episodes will we love? Which ones will we agree on, and WHY? Eventually, we'll do this for every season of every series, but we start today in the Delta Quadrant where we'll be keeping a strict accounting of the photon torpedoes and paying close attention to the level of suffering endured by Ensign Harry Kim. (We're willing to bet it's more than Miles O'Brien, but time will tell!) Plus, we'll talk about the latest news in the Star Trek universe from our friends at TrekNews.net, and don't forget about our iTunes Review Giveaway where you could win a $25 gift card to Amazon.com just for writing a review! It's Episode 58 and you most definitely should NOT "Skip-It!"

This week on Trek Geeks, we take a look at what could possibly be the greatest adversary the Federation has ever faced--The Dominion! More menacing than the Borg. More dangerous than the Klingon or Romulan Empires. More evil than the dreaded Aquatic or Arboreal Xindi. From the introduction of the Jem'Hadar in Season 2 of Deep Space Nine, they would play a major role in the series through the finale, we'll discuss the far-reaching hand of the Founders and the Dominion! We'll talk about the aspects of the Founders, the Vorta, and the Jem'Hadar we appreciated the most--as well as some pretty big inconsistencies that we've always wondered about. In addition, we'll take a look at some of our favorite moments through out the Dominion story arc--plus, you'll learn what Dan thought the name of "The Great Link" was when he first heard it! Plus, we'll discuss The News from TrekNews.net, and we'll announce some great news for Android phone users regarding Google Play! We can vouch for the loyalty of these Geeks--receive this reward from them, may it keep you entertained!

Note: On Saturday, 4/23/16, this week's episode was made available at 11:00AM EDT. Shortly after the release, we pulled the episode due to additional information we received that not ALL fan film productions had received calls from CBS. We felt that as a result of this information we did not want the post to be misleading, and so a rewrite of the podcast post information was needed. There is no change to the actual interview with Tommy Kraft. The problem isn't with what Tommy said, it's in what we wrote and we didn't consider possible negative effects. We sincerely apologize to all of the other productions. To reiterate: As of now, all of the other fan film productions have NOT received calls from CBS strongly suggesting they shut down and we didn't want to cause a problem for any production out there with what we said. Last week we setup an interview with today’s guest to discuss what would have been the launch of the crowdfunding campaign for the sequel to the immensely popular online film, "Star Trek - Horizon". At just shy of 1 million views since late February, Horizon took the world by storm and as a result got the creative juices flowing for a sequel. Federation Rising was going to be the title for the project and Tommy Kraft was going to once again take Star Trek Fan Productions to a new level with an amazing story and amazing guest stars, while respecting the rules of the beloved franchise. We say that all in the past tense because Tommy received a call from CBS, strongly advising him to halt those plans. Bill Burke, Senior Vice President of Marketing at CBS Consumer Products even went so far as to specifically state that this "request" was a direct result of the legal issues going on with Axanar – that once "professional film production" that now is curiously being touted only as a "fan film" once the heat was turned up. Even with the whirlwind of disappointing events, Tommy was gracious enough to join us and discuss what happened and what this could possibly mean for fan made Star Trek productions. But even with all the bad news, Tommy is already moving forward with an ambitious new project that he is very excited to discuss. And we think you will love it! Additionally, we cannot thank Tommy enough for his professionalism and his demeanor while dealing with a situation such as this. He is a true class act and other productions could learn alot from how to handle situations like this! After the conversation with Tommy, Dan and Bill will discuss the fallout and their reactions – and its safe to say that Dan is mad as hell and he isn’t going to take it anymore! #ThanksAxanar

"IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES... ...it was the worst of times. Message, Spock?" "None that I am conscious of, except of course, these movies sucked. Surely, the worst of times." This week on Trek Geeks, Dan and Bill tackle what they think are the worst of the Star Trek movies! It isn't always rainbows and unicorns and eternal happiness when it comes to good Trek stories and today's discussion focuses on the the ones that they would both like to flush down the Trek toilet! Once their lists have been revealed and discussed, it is THUNDERDOME time as they go head to head for the ultimate Star Trek Toilet Trophy for Worst Trek Film EVER! Plus, from our friends at TrekNews.net, we can look forward to a new BluRay of ST:TWOK, a new ST:BEYOND trailer, and some rumors about the new CBS ALL ACCESS Star Trek series, set for launch in January 2017. Also, we have a special favor to ask of the listeners of our podcast--and you could win $25 as a result! And what's this? A special message from Balok? Well then, sit! Be comfortable! The conversation may be about the worst, but you will have the BEST time tuning into this week's episode!

Introducing Lido Deck: A Love Boat Podcast! The definitive podcast for the classic television series! With every episode, we'll look at every guest star, every port of call, and every delicious cocktail that Isaac can serve! Join your hosts John Champion, Bill Smith, and Dan Davidson for an examination of the messages, morals, and meanings of the voyages of the Pacific Princess! Welcome aboard, it's LOVE! Episode 1: "The Captain & the Lady/One if by Land/Centerfold"Original Airdate: September 24, 1977Podcast Release Date: April 1, 2016 SPECIAL THANKSThank you to Heather Bishop for being our Cruise Director for Lido Deck! You can hear her middays on WZID.com and Coast931.com! MUSIC CREDITS"Stringed Disco," "Aurea Carmina," and "Who Likes to Party" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

As Bill was gallivanting on an awe inspiring Tattoo Trek to Las Vegas, Dan decided that this week would be a great time to discuss one of the best episodes in Star Trek History: Deep Space Nine's "Far Beyond the Stars", and when Bill returned, he wholeheartedly agreed! Star Trek has always been about facing "issues of the day" head on, and this episode is the PERFECT example of just that. From the incredible acting, to Avery Brooks' amazing directing, to the ugly truth about racism and bigotry, this episode is considered by fans and cast alike as one of the greatest. We discuss all the things that we loved about the episode as well as a couple of things that we actually didn't like. This kind of episode can really cause some intense discussion because of the subject matter, and our discussion is no exception! In addition, we announce the winners of our Star Trek Timelines Poster contest, discuss or trip to Boston to see Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage and what we think of the announcement that Star Trek The Animated Series is coming to Blu-Ray. Wait...what? So sit back, relax and enjoy Episode 53 of Trek Geeks - A Star Trek Podcast! It isn't a dream! It is REAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL! It's REAAAALLLLLLLLL! It is REALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

It is amazing that Star Trek: Horizon has been viewed on YouTube over 500,000 times since its debut less than four weeks ago! What is even more amazing is that Captain Harrison Hawke himself, Paul Lang and Horizon mastermind, Tommy Kraft both join us on this week's podcast for another great Horizon discussion. It is truly amazing to Bill and Dan that this film has such amazing "Hollywood" quality knowing that 95% of the film was "green-screened." Paul discusses what is was like to have the Captain's Chair be the ONLY physical piece of the bridge, what it was like to do walking scenes--literally using a treadmill--as well as many other interesting filming tidbits for this online phenomenon. Later in the show, when Tommy joins us, we get an idea of why he chose the Enterprise time frame for this epic story, and what it was like trying to pull together all the cast to get filming during a cold Michigan winter. Hearing from the man himself on his vision and idea for this story is something you do not want to miss.

...it's a Dyson Sphere! This week, the Trek Geeks take on an episode considered beloved by Star Trek fans all over the globe--"Relics," from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Starship Enterprise discovers a Federation ship that crashed on a Dyson sphere more than seventy-five years ago. On board, there's a single survivor suspended in the transporter buffer--none other than Captain Montgomery Scott. Scotty became the third series regular from The Original Series to cross paths with the Next Generation crew and it was a welcome sight when this episode debuted in 1992. Since that time, the Trek Geeks have taken a more critical view of this story. They'll talk about the things they liked, but they'll also examine the areas where they feel this episode did a disservice to the character of Montgomery Scott. It's a potentially unpopular view on an incredibly popular story in this, the 50th episode of Trek Geeks! PLUS--Mike Rittenhouse and Andy F ark from FIVE YEAR MISSION beam down with a very special announcement!

SPOILER ALERT! The wait is finally over--the long-awaited fan film, Star Trek - Horizon, has been released to the Internet a full two days earlier than announced! Created by a single filmmaker as a personal passion project and love letter to Star Trek: Enterprise, Horizon had a budget of only $50,000. Pre-production on the movie began in December of 2012 and this three-year-long odyssey concluded this past week. It's been a long road, getting from there to here, and the response has been amazing. Dan and Bill will examine this potentially game-changing fan film and give their review Then, they'll answer the ultimate question: "Is it Star Trek?" BE WARNED: This episode is filled with spoilers! If you haven't watched Star Trek - Horizon yet, you risk having plot points revealed! Plus, they'll talk about the Star Trek news of the day, including some casting news for Jonathan Frakes, the new Consulting Producer on the forthcoming Star Trek series for CBS All Access, and they'll observe the first anniversary of the death of Leonard Nimoy-something which still is emotional for a great many of us. SCHEDULING NOTE: Originally, we were supposed to have Horizon's writer/producer/director, Tommy Kraft, as part of this podcast episode. Unfortunately, he was forced to reschedule due to a last-minute conflict and we definitely look forward to chatting with him soon!

It isn't everyday that a guest responds to an invitation to come on our show in Klingon! How could we not be excited? In this weeks episode of Trek Geeks - A Star Trek Podcast, Dan and Bill welcome the very funny and very talented Kipleigh Brown to the show! As Lt. Barbara Smith, she has helped navigate Kirk and crew to new worlds and new civilizations in several episodes of Star Trek Continues, and we are thrilled to have her discuss her experiences on set! Additionally we talk about other projects Kipleigh has been seen in, such as "R.U.R.: Genesis" and "Yesterday was a Lie", both directed by our good friend James Kerwin, as well as Season 3's "The Forgotten" on Star Trek: Enterprise. Whether it is stand up comedy, drama, science fiction or sounding like a robot, Kipleigh is always full of energy and ready to share some great stories! In addition, the guys discuss Bills recent guest appearance on the Tricorder Transmissions Podcast as we finally "cross the podcast streams" with our good friends Jeff and Heather. Also, Tony Todd in the new Star Trek Series on CBS All Access? Your face in Star Trek: Wrath of Gems? The Trek Geeks Trek50 Project? All this and more on Episode 48 of Trek Geeks!

In this week's episode of Trek Geeks - A Star Trek Podcast, Dan and Bill embark on an Away Team mission to the offices of Disruptor Beam--the game company producing the brand new Star Trek Timelines game! We sit down with Disruptor Beam CEO Jon Radoff and Marketing Director Elicia Basoli to talk about the reaction to the game's release and the feedback from Star Trek fans. We'll also discuss game play, changes made on the game from beta feedback, and what the future may hold! Plus, we'll talk a little Star Trek news: The new Star Trek series has a showrunner and the fan film, "Star Trek: Horizon" will leave Spacedock at the end of February! We'll have our reactions to both items. Dan also found a way to take over the show again, which means that Bill is subjected to yet another round of "Geek the Stump!" That's right, Dan is bringing trivia to the table, and what's left of Bill's honor is on the line. Will he be victorious?? It's all in Episode 47 of Trek Geeks! ENTER TO WIN A LIMITED EDITION TIMELINES POSTER! Disruptor Beam has given us two copies of the original limited-edition poster created exclusively for Star Trek Timelines by Cat Staggs, the talented artist who has created memorable covers for Star Trek comics and much more. Conceived as an homage to legendary illustrator Bob Peak – best known to fans for his work on the first five Star Trek movie posters--this piece brings together five iconic captains and a mysterious space-time anomaly under the all-seeing gaze of Q himself. This theatrical “one sheet” is 27” wide x 40” tall and it's guaranteed to look amazing on your wall--all you have to do is enter the drawing! Head over to our Facebook page for more details! http://facebook.com/trekgeeks

This week, the Trek Geeks sit down to review the new episode from the folks over at Star Trek: New Voyages! "The Holiest Thing" was originally supposed to be released nearly two years ago, but it was plagued by audio and lighting problems. There was a giant post-production effort to correct many of those issues, and the result has finally been released for Trek fans everywhere to view! Bill and Dan will recap the episode and give their thoughts on everything from the story, to the visual effects, and what it means in the Star Trek universe overall. Also in today's episode, we'll chat about a huge announcement regarding products tied to Star Trek's 50th anniversary, a huge update from our good friends at Star Trek Continues regarding the release of their next episode, "Come Not Between the Dragons," and a troublesome revelation from William Shatner as reported by the Washington Post. Plus--birthday songs! Dan put out the call for birthday songs last week, and we were so lucky to receive two from a couple of our amazing listeners! So, settle in for this deep dive but, be forewarned: THIS PODCAST EPISODE IS FILLED WITH SPOILERS. If you haven't seen "The Holiest Thing" yet, stop now and watch the video first!

After an impromptu week off because of ailing parents, Dan and Bill are back--and it's time to celebrate Trek Geeks' First Birthday! Last year at this time, we had no idea what to expect and it's been nothing short of amazing. We'll take a look back at the last year and some of our favorite moments, as well as what we've learned in the process of launching this show. In addition, we'll also reveal our favorite episodes of the podcast so far as we look to the future! Then, it's time for some role playing: imagine you're the only person stationed at an outpost in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. What Star Trek episodes would you select to bring with you to watch until the end of time? Some of the answers may surprise you! We'll start the show with some current news developments including news about Star Trek Timelines, the latest developments in the lawsuit between CBS/Paramount and Axanar Productions, and an update on tickets for this year's Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas! It's all in Episode 45 and, well, it's our birthday...so check it out!