Bride of Chaotica! (Star Trek: Voyager, S5 E12) was recommended by Tonks (they/them) , who said: Mwahahaha! Intrepid crew of the USS JOYager and your Chief! You have finally met your match, for I, Tonks, present you with this truly magnificent episode to end your Voyager related woes!

*cough* *cough* *cough*

Where was I?

This episode is a beautiful homage to a piece of media that inspired so many properties from Star Wars to Power Rangers to Doctor Who and a legacy that Star Trek is but one of many proud torchbearer of... That is of course the original Flash Gordon serials & its contemporaries.

Just like your podcast, there's no hedging of bets, as this episode spends an impressive amount of time in glorious black & white. It revels in every single moment while injecting that vibrant Voyager charm & giving us a great Trek episode to boot!

Fantastic (often over the top) acting, amazing whit, excellent one liners. It gave me an appreciation of older scifi like Flash Gordon, Asimov's Foundation, and 60s Who. Here's to Captain Proton! Here's to the Bride of Chaotica!

Bride of Chaotica! first aired on January 27, 1999, written by story by Bryan Fuller, teleplay by Bryan Fuller and Michael Taylor, and directed by Allan Kroeker

Paris' latest holodeck adventure The Adventures of Captain Proton takes an unexpected turn.

The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)

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"Not ready" by TFALokiwriter, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/33361315

"Q fights for Picard not to be forcibly ascended by doing it the best way that he knows."

The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)

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Relics (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S6 E4) was recommended by Kyyanno (Kyy for short, rhymes with Sky), he/him, who said: I've always loved the engineering side of Trek, from the designs of the ships to the entirely fictional but awesome systems that make them tick. I've read "Mr Scott's guide to the Enterprise" and the TNG "Technical Manual" from cover to cover many a time. Scotty was my favourite character from TOS, and Geordi from TNG, both making me want to pursue a career in engineering while growing up (which indeed I did!). To have both characters appearing *and* working together in the same episode of TNG was an absolute dream for me when it originally aired!

Now that I'm older though, I watch the episode with more experienced eyes. Scotty's just trying to help and feel useful as he would have been, and yet just gets in the way, at least that's the impression he gets from Geordi, who is genuinely just trying to get his job done but doesn't quite realise his impact on Captain Scott's feelings. It's Picard's words to Scott in the holodeck, and then to Geordi later on that all a person wants is to be useful and feel wanted that *REALLY* hit home, 3 decades on.

Sure, this episode pushes the fanboy buttons, but deep down it also makes us take a look at how we treat those around us who we feel might be past their prime (or how those of us approaching that age might feel). I did always find the "oh no, we're falling into the sun" part of the episode.... hang on.... *I SAY WE EJECT THE WARP CORE*.... don't they miraculously seem to fix everything amazingly in time to turn around and then get out of there once the doors open? Regardless, both Geordi and Scotty save the day, and the engineer in me squees with glee at it.

Relics first aired on October 12, 1992, written by Ronald D. Moore, and directed by Alexander Singer

The Enterprise investigates a vessel that crashed on the surface of a Dyson sphere 75 years ago. A pattern is found in the transporter buffer that turns out to be Montgomery Scott. He is released from the buffer and later agrees to return to the vessel with Geordi to help restore the logs. They become the only hope when the Enterprise is accidentally pulled inside the sphere. Guest Star: James Doohan as Montgomery Scott

The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)

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