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PODCAST

The Joy of Trek

Kay, Khaki and Greg

Two lifelong besties (and their trusty engineer) adventure through the vast constellations of Star Trek"s decades on TV, especially the lesser-loved stories. But instead of bitching about why they’re bad, we’re going to find the joy in each of them, because everybody loves the great episodes, but it takes dedication, insight, and hard-working fools to love the clunkers too. And by Jove, we are those fools! Positive, inclusive and optimistic (though not uncritical!) we try to find the brilliance

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

01:18:17

The Forsaken (DS9 S1 E17)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/10/08

The Forsaken (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S1 E17) was recommended by Rugger (They/them), who said: The Forsaken has its problems as an episode, including that Troi's advances are uncomfortable to watch. But in all of Trek, there is no more emotionally raw, powerful, and moving scene than in The Forsaken. Odo and Lwaxwana are stuck in the elevator, and Odo has to revert into his natural liquid state—and he has to trust Lwaxana to do it.This is Trek at its best: taking something fundamentally

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01:30:31

Stormy Weather (DSC S4 E06)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/10/01

Stormy Weather (Star Trek: Discovery, S4 E06) was recommended by Tonks (they/them), who said: I consider “Stormy Weather” to be peak Trek. It’s one of many “void episodes” of franchise, and uses that basis to tell an engaging story that demonstrates the best of Trek.From the cohesion & enthusiasm of the crew, the excellent leadership, the exploration of self & identity, to the dealing with new experiences & old wounds; all of this create a package that also homages some memorable moments

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01:11:13

The Alternative Factor (TOS S1 E20)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/09/24

The Alternative Factor (Star Trek: The Original Series, S1 E20) was recommended by Kaleb, he/him, who said: Listen….listen I'm aware this episode is definitely a strangely paced, scatterbrained mess. Though I'll say it's worst and best sin of it is Lazarus’s facial hair; really Lazarus as a whole sums up my feelings about this episode: meandering, accidentally comical, and strangely poignant. The first five minutes I'm always waiting in suspense for the appearance of Lazarus's awful beard and

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01:17:04

Macrocosm (VOY S3 E12)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/09/17

Macrocosm (Star Trek: Voyager, S3 E12) was recommended by Alex Russet (He/Him), who said: I have a soft spot for this episode. It's a wonderfully bonkers off the wall concept pulled off in a fun way. Flying viruses as big as you head? Why not? Trek's done crazier. And plus it features Janeway going full Ellen Ripley. What's not to love?Macrocosm first aired on December 11, 1996, written by Brannon Braga, and directed by Alexander SingerGreg's Charity Stream information.

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01:08:14

The Naked Now (TNG S1 E03)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/09/10

The Naked Now (Star Trek: The Next Generation, S1 E03) was recommended by Traci Meek-Reid (she/her) (your accents are delightful- go for your life!), who said: When I was 7, one night the TV just "stopped". We all went "huh" and went off to do other things. And then 5 years later the VCR landed in our home, TV was restored, and I discovered this bright, technicolor world that came on after the Saturday morning cartoons. Star Trek! I was hooked. 2 years later, Star Trek: The Next Generation launched

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01:13:43

Take Me Out to the Holosuite (DS9 S7 E04)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/09/03

Take Me Out to the Holosuite (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S7 E04) was recommended by Denise, who said: I love all of DS9 but this one is my favorite. I think because it's such an "Earth" game and they are in space and because baseball can be fun to watch and play. It's such a a fun episode and that why it's my favorite.Take Me Out to the Holosuite first aired on October 21, 1998, written by Ronald D. Moore, and directed by Chip ChalmersThe Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing &

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01:22:54

Observer Effect (ENT S4 E11)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/08/27

Observer Effect (Star Trek: Enterprise, S4 E11) was recommended by Nazzy (she/her), who said: I've recommended some sillier episodes of Enterprise to you boys, now I want to share one that's just genuinely *good*. Season 4 is when ENT finally, truly started playing to its strengths, even if it was ultimately too late to save it from cancellation. The problem with recommending Season 4 episodes for the purposes of the podcast is that much of the season is broken up into mini-arcs of 2 or 3 episodes,

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01:17:55

Crisis Point (LDS S1 E09)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/08/20

Crisis Point (Star Trek: Lower Decks, S1 E09) was recommended by Hauke [ˈhɔukə] (he/his), who said: Not really an under appreciated episode of Lower Decks, it is the first one to truly show what this series is capable of.Format breaking ideas, incredible love letters to how crazy a Star Trek movie can be (or a “Starfleet Movie” as they like to say in-universe), super smart and incisive humor such as comments on old Trek shows’ problems with monocultures and centered on Mariner’s character arc

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01:12:59

Little Green Men (DS9 S4 E08)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/08/13

Little Green Men (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S4 E08) was recommended by Blackrain, who said: When you ask for an episode, I thought hard about for one. Thinking over all the past Star Trek series I have watched and this was the first episode that popped to my mind. I've always found it fun when Sci-fi TV shows would try to put their twist on the Roswell alien crash conspiracy theory. Whether you believe it's true or not each take on it is wonderful to see. Star Trek was just another one to jump on

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01:30:21

The Enemy (TNG S3 E07)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/08/06

The Enemy (Star Trek: The Next Generation, S3 E07) was recommended by Leah (Lee-uh) she/her , who said: In lists of both favorite and underrated star trek episodes this one seems to get lost in the shuffle! I rarely see anybody talk about it which is baffling as its one of my all favorites.As someone playing an engineer in a Star Trek Adventures campaign I adore Geordi’s creativity in this episode! He makes it work even at such a horrible disadvantage (imo, an engineer’s best trait). The chemistry

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57:24

The Practical Joker (TAS S2 E03)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/07/30

The Practical Joker (Star Trek: The Animated Series, S2 E03) was recommended by FoxSan, He/Him, who said: "This desk is covered with ice! And it was almost covered with us!", romulans are knee-deep in desserts and KIRK IS A JERK!The Practical Joker first aired on September 21, 1974, written by Chuck Menville, and directed by Bill ReedThe Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)Send us your

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01:24:56

Extreme Risk (VOY S5 E03)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/07/23

Extreme Risk (Star Trek: Voyager, S5 E03) was recommended by James (he/him), who said: I also ‘like’ Extreme Risk. I think Roxann Dawson’s acting is super subtle and she does grief really well. Really resonated with me with my own personal grief. As you probably know it’s after the news all the Marquis are dead and she is grieving. She isn’t her typical angry self (which for her is odd) she’s just numb. She does things like taking silly risks to ‘feel’ something. And she gets riskier and riskier. I

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01:21:45

The Elysian Kingdom (SNW S1 E08)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/07/16

The Elysian Kingdom (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, S1 E08) was recommended by Chief Engineer GregThe Elysian Kingdom first aired on June 23, 2022, written by Akela Cooper & Onitra Johnson, and directed by Amanda RowThe Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon.Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

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57:36

Kobayashi (PRO S1 E06)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/07/09

Kobayashi (Star Trek: Prodigy, S1 E6) was recommended by Lauren Rivers she/her, who said: When Prodigy first began I did not like Dal. I thought he was arrogant and full of himself, appointing himself captain without having earned the privilege. But this was the first episode that opinion started to shift, with him attempting the famous Kobiyashi Maru. For the first time I found Dal likeable and even a bit hilarious as he gives one of the best renditions of the test in Star Trek history. As a fellow

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01:25:38

Our Man Bashir (DS9 S4 E10)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/07/02

Our Man Bashir (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S4 E10) was recommended by he/him Crimson like the color, who said: This one is probably pretty well liked already but...man it's just a blast so why not love on it too? Bashir's 60s Action Spy Holonovel is interrupted by a transporter emergency and all the major characters are replaced by runabout crew. We get the utter delight of the crew getting to ham it up in absurd Bond-style roles, all the while Garak snarks on the whole mess as a 'real spy.' The

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01:01:12

Starship Mine (TNG S6 E18)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/06/25

Starship Mine (Star Trek: The Next Generation, S6 E18) was recommended by Royce Day (pronouced like Rolls Royce) he/him, who said: While this episode is safely in the "filler" category, lacking any connection to past episodes and never being mentioned again in the series, I'm fond of it because it's just FUN. It makes no bones (or McCoys) about being straight up "What if Die Hard, but on a Starship?" with Picard alone and rapidly losing his uniform tunic to crawl around in the Jefferies tubes and

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01:23:35

Unexpected (ENT S1 E05)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/06/18

Unexpected (Star Trek: Enterprise, S1 E05) was recommended by Hoofburd, he/him, who said:I would really like to hear from the writer/s if they knew that mpreg was an actual thing on certain password-protected tumblrs before they wrote this episode.This one goes in the pot because I *didn’t* see it, at least not at first. I was watching on original broadcast, I was 10, and were only a few episodes in before one of the Cub Scout dads (very conservative bunch, my family/scout troop) mentions something

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01:13:05

Plato's Stepchildren (TOS S3 E12)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/06/11

Plato's Stepchildren (Star Trek: The Original Series, S3 E10) was recommended by Kaleb, he/him (pronounced 'Kay-lub'), who said: When thinking of which episode to recommend, this one didn't even cross my mind; I was sure it must be universally beloved! However, I found that it seems to be rather divisive, so I'm taking that as an excuse to recommend one of my all-time favorite episodes.It has some really great Spock character moments- especially in the scene after he and Kirk are humiliated by

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01:30:40

Night (VOY S5 E01)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/06/04

Night (Star Trek: Voyager, S5 E01) was recommended by Greg (He/him), who said: Night is the first appearance of Captain Proton which gets a lot of points for me right there. But more importantly, seeing the Captain's depression and her struggling with that has been very powerful to me when I've struggled with depression. I thought about this episode a lot during Covid where we were all trapped and feeling alone and isolated, but I knew there was a lively cluster of stars and planets at the end

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01:08:43

Profit and Lace (DS9 S6 E23)

The Joy of Trek ·

2024/05/28

Profit and Lace (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S6 E23) was recommended by Lauren Alexis Rivers She/Her, who said: While I saw this episode long before I knew I was trans, I always love this episode because the Ferengi centric episodes are never afraid to have fun. Exploring the Ferengi culture and the slow march towards equality, we see Quark forced to step in as a Ferengi female after his arguments with his mother reach a boiling point. But not only is it a brilliant performance by Armin Shimerman

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113 results

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