The Joy of Trek

By Any Other Name (Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), S2 E22) was recommended by Toledo (toe-LEE-dough), he/him, who said: I first encountered this episode, as I did many TOS episodes, in elementary school while I read collections of James Blish's novelizations from the 70s. Even in text, there were elements I found to be genuinely horrifying: super-powerful aliens that apparently are normally giant, tentacled Lovecraftian creatures; they're coming to conquer the galaxy; machines give them the power to immobilize people and to transform them into helpless, easily- and callously-destroyed polyhedra.

It give us a rare...

"Nyota’s Wish" by Daxs10thHost, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/49312207

"“Okay,” Mariner says, slamming her glass down so hard its contents slosh onto the bar. “I think we should have a slumber party. Like now.”"

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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The Wounded (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S4 E12) was recommended by Crimson (he/him), who said:

This is another watershed episode: We get Cardassians for the first time! Furthermore, we have Marc Alaimo playing a Cardassian, though not the one we're used to (he still chews it up nicely here...though those mutton chops, woof). It's also a great episode for giving Colm Meany a chance to stretch his legs, especially as he and Rosalind Chao carry the B plot. I love that this episode digs into war trauma and the prejudices it can breed...

"Distant Origin - Painful Truth" by GrayRainbow173, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/40365432

"The Captain and her First Officer are being debriefed about their encounter with the Voth.

Takes place several years after the episode "Distant Origin" (S03E23)."

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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That Hope Is You, Part 1 (Star Trek: Discovery, S3 E1) was recommended by Lauren Alexis Rivers She/Her, who said:

The first episode when Discovery arrives in the future, it introduces one of Discovery's most complex characters, Cleveland Booker, aka Book. A courier, he is our guide to one of the furthest points in the future we have ever seen. The episode largely features Burnham alone in a strange land, much like the Alice in Wonderland she had once quoted. It introduces the new world and a galaxy very different from the one we know.

...

"The missing 5 hours" by Miss_Inquisitive_Sci_fi, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/40112271

"A missing scene where the crew catchup for dinner at the Captain's and discuss strange anomalies after the missing 5 hours."

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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Critical Care (Star Trek: Voyager, S7 E5) was recommended by Marky See He/Him, who said: Hi Folks,

I am loving the show. Growing up, my Dad and I weren't very close, he was much more inclined to sports where I am cut from a much nerdier cloth. We do however share a love of Sci Fi and I remember vividly sitting down together to watch Voyager when it came out.

Inspired by the Joy of Trek, I set out to rewatch Voyager as I haven't watched an episode since the early 00s.

...

"When on Risa..." by SeemaG, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/19760191

"Worf and Dax discover one of the hidden delights of Risa."

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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Masks (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S7 E17) was recommended by He/him, who said: Although many find the episodes "incomprehensible" or "incoherent," I find it a joy.

First, Brent Spiner gets to really through himself into an array of personality types. He gets to show off his acting chops in ways that he rarely gets to, and almost never gets to on Star Trek.

Second, I truly enjoy this quick peek at a mythology where we can recognize all the parts as familiar to Earth mythologies, but they fit together in ways that...

"The Adventures of Proton Junior" by stardustinthesky, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/3717790

"It was supposed to be a quiet Saturday. Tom, Harry and Miral have a different kind of day planned for B'Elanna."

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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Empok Nor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S5 E24) was recommended by Nerdimus Prime, who said: Empok Nor, like The Omega Directive, is an unusual episode

We have tough characters in Star Trek. We have brave ones. We have smart and sassy characters as well. And we had evil characters (looking at you Gul Ducat).

But Garrak, as it turns out, is the only Terrifying character in Star Trek.

And we put him against the most competent. Oh. My.

Empok Nor first aired on May 19, 1997, written by story by Bryan...

"Life, When It Gives You Lemons" by theladygeneral, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/58070146

"When another workplace accident on the Cerritos leaves the hydroponics bay and Kayshon's garden in shambles, it's Ransom to the rescue."

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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Cease Fire (Star Trek: Enterprise, S2 E15) was recommended by nazzy (she/her), who said: For being a founding member of the Federation, the Andorians have gotten seriously short shrift over the years by various Trek series. Enterprise made that up to us, giving us more Andorians per capita than any Trek before or since! And best of all, it gave us Shran, quite possibly Jeffrey Combs's best role in a career full of them.

And Cease Fire is a great showcase for the Andorians, and for Shran. We learn more about the long, ugly war between...

"Wearing Your Colours" by apolesen, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/19244734

"Many years after the castellanship of Elim Garak, a young man finds the courage to wear a pin of his hero in an unusual colour scheme."

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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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...

"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...

"T'Ana Takes Command" by Wooster, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/25284367

"The USS Cerritos is under fire. With Captain Freeman and Commander Ransom out of commission, that leaves Dr. T'Ana in command of the California class ship… even if she has other things to do."

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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Darmok (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S5 E2) was recommended by Toledo (he), who said: Yes, this is one of the most famous episodes of The Next Generation. That's because it's darn good. There's so many wonderful moments: the rarity of the depiction of aliens initiating a first contact with the Federation, the humor of the Enterprise crew's incomprehension, the exploration of cultural misunderstandings beyond the linguistic (Dathon casts lots, what's the knife for), Picard telling the 4,000-year-old story of Gilgamesh right as Dathon dies, and the centrality of the term "Darmok," leading us to wonder: who in...

"The Debriefing Incident" by Veri_II, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/52588381

"When he got back to the Cerritos, they’d say, hey, Boimler, what kind of kickass stuff did you get to do when you visited the golden age of exploration? And he’d have to respond, I stripped Mr. Spock!"

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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The Wire (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S2 E22) was recommended by Obiwanjabroni (he/him) pronounced like obi wan kenobi from star wars but the last part is..ja-BRO-nee? I guess lol just listen to the ROCK when he was a wrestler , who said: I know most people would choose this episode as a favorite because it supposedly gives us Garak's "origin story" but to someone who is in recovery and falls off the wagon every other weekend, it's actually kind of a beautiful display of what we go through. The self loathing.. the hatred of those who...

"Musical Alert" by AxeMeAboutAxinomancy, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/57099433

""This is the Captain speaking. Musical Alert. I repeat: Musical Alert. This is not a rehearsal.""

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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Those Old Scientists (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, S2 E7) was recommended by Bryan Love(Blackrain), who said: Time travel, cross over, animate, live action, fan boying or girling over your historical idols. What more can you ask for in a Star Trek episode? When on routine away mission to scan an ancient time portal, Ensign Boimier is sucked in into the portal and sent to the past just at the right time when Enterprise was making it's first discovery of that strange portal. Boimier tries his best not to contaminate the time line, but it's Boimier we're talking...

"Our Man Paris (Of Troy)" by SocialPermaDeath, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/41789019

"A holodeck malfunction leaves Tom Paris in an "Our Man Bashir" of his own playing the part of Paris of Troy in the 3rd Book of the Iliad and visions of his crew mates as various parts of the Greek epic."

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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Tuvix (Star Trek: Voyager, S2 E24) was recommended by Alex Russet , who said: I'm honestly shocked that this hasn't shown up in the podcast yet. It's the perfect fit for what you're doing.

This Episode is fascinating to me. At It's very core is a trolly problem. Save the lives of two for the cost of one, or preserve the one at the cost of two. Both sides have valid points, but equally are both flawed responses to a situation with no truly correct response. But respond Janeway must. And while it was fairly obvious which option...

"Hunting Hound" by Leah [archived by Warp5Complex_Archivist], can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/8080225

"Tucker and Reed hunt for a hound."

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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Devil's Due (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S4 E13) was recommended by IronBoomer, and he/him, who said: This episode is pure Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner at their best, and our guest actress of Marta Dubois is so much fun. While it ends up just being a legal drama and half-bottle episode, everyone is bringing their A-Game to this episode.

Devil's Due first aired on February 4, 1991, written by story by Philip LaZebnik & William Douglas Lansford, teleplay by Philip LaZebnik, and directed by Tom Benko

A powerful mythic figure from a millennium ago returns...

"Faith and Begorrah" by Bruce (PKSP), can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/34170499

"Tom Paris and Harry Kim try to repair the Fair Haven holoprogram in time for St. Patrick's Day."

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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Move Along Home (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S1 E10) was recommended by nazzy (she/her), who said: I cannot believe nobody has asked for this one yet!

One of the earliest criticisms of DS9 was that it didn't "boldly go", and in its first two seasons in particular, there were a lot of episodes whose basic synopses read "Weird alien(s) come to the station, hijinks occur." And being a DS9 fan as always meant knowing that criticism is always just around the corner, which meant that for episodes like "Move Along Home", the standard...

"I Just Might Say it Tonight" by orcamermaid, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/30425253

"Five times Garak and Julian didn't voice their feelings, and one time they finally did."

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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The Cloud Minders (Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), S3 E19) was recommended by Kaleb, he/him, who said: No war but class war baby! I love this episode for being that classic campy trek, while also being a rather good simplification of how environment- particularly an environment caused by oppression in the first place- shapes the way that oppression is justified and continued. Not specifically class related, but that's the medium this episode evokes, and many marginalized identities can be viewed through class structures as well.

I can't deny a good “I won't be the bigger ma...

Spock explores human romantic traditions, and works on a surprise for Kirk. Meanwhile, Kirk gets back at him for overuse of a title they now share.

First published on February 15th, 2023 on Archive of our Own by VallesMarineris.

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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Repentance (Star Trek: Voyager, S7 E13) was recommended by Rugger (They/them), who said: A lot of Voyager's preachy episodes fall flat, but this one always makes me pause. When I first watched this episode as a child, it shaped how I see justice. And, plot-wise, Repentance does a great job of combining a dialogue-heavy, philosophical discussion with real pathos for the murderer, Iko, and linking that pathos to an ongoing character arc with Seven.

While Trek is expectedly against the death penalty, this episode keeps from being one-sided by the sub-plot with Neelix and Joleg.

Dr Katherine Pulaski is set to leave the Enterprise, and a farewell party is being held in her honour. All of her closest friends have been invited, but she notices a big absence; a certain yellow-eyed android who inexplicitly has not shown up. When she goes to confront him about it, however, she finds out something quite horrible:

Data believes that Kate does not consider him a friend of hers.

First published July 30th, 2022 on Archive of our Own by Superfloxes.

The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production...

Peak Performance (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S2 E21) was recommended by Kayodé Lycaon / Kay·o·deh Lie·kay·on, who said: I picked this episode for one line from Picard to Wesley: “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”

That quote was life changing for me. I had spent my entire life struggling with being bipolar. Parts of my brain just do not work. I was one of the brilliant kids in school but my grades never showed that. I couldn’t focus on homework no...

The events of the episode The Naked Time from the perspective of the one department guaranteed to have been the busiest during the chaos. When the entire ship is going mad around them, it is up to the Redshirts to keep their crewmates safe. POV of Security Chief Giotto. Some implied slash for Kirk and Spock.

First Published on October 3rd, 2021 on Archive of our Own by queenofroses12.

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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Assimilation (Star Trek: Picard, S2 E3) was recommended by Hauke he/him, who said: While it’s very hard to pull out individual episodes of Picard (especially the first two seasons) on my current rewatch this one stood out to me.

Having narrowly escaped the horrible Confederation of the alternate 2400, the crew travels back to 2024 to correct the timeline. “Let’s see what has been lost in the wake of your fear” Q whispers to Picard again as they jump to the past.

Assimilation sets up the character arcs for the rest of the season.

Raf...

The Ascent (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S5 E9) was recommended by Matt Kennedy he/him, who said:

Hi guys! This is my first recommendation - I've been listening for a while now and I adore the show, and it's taken me a long time to decide which episode I want to recommend.

And it's got to be The Ascent. This is a wonderful showcase for the "enemies with benefits" Quark and Odo. And the reason I love this episode is because, as someone who is firmly on Team Space Goblin, this is one...

Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus (Star Trek: Lower Decks, S3 E8) was recommended by Alex Russet, he/him , who said:

This is one of my favorite episodes of this series alongside the finale for that season (Shax's finest hour was amazing.) The central conflict of Boimler trying to find meaning to life was fascinating to watch. Fun action scenes, a couple pokes at us fanfic writers not understanding story flow or proper exposition (I like to think I improved in that department... I hope...) and of course, Captain Sulu cameos is always a plus. Overall, a fun episode with...

Tapestry (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S6 E15) was recommended by Bill Ricardi - he/him, who said: Tapestry is all about regrets, and the mistakes that become part of who we are, for better or for worse. As an older fan, I often look back on my own life and curse the moments when I handled something badly or missed an apparent opportunity. But this episode reminds all of us that the wisdom of age is sometimes just hindsight seen through rainbow tinted lenses. Tapestry teaches us that we are who we are partly BECAUSE of our...