#ds9 really said 'first ep is gonna go hard'

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. oops, i'm behind! thursday we did ds9's "the quickening" and voy's "basics part i" and last night we did ds9's "body parts" and "broken link."

the quickening (ds9):

this episode was good, LOVE a good julian ep, i am SO TIRED of assisted suicide plots. can we all CALM DOWN. what happened to terri schiavo was absolutely horrific can we PLEASE stop making star trek episodes about it

okay. that aside. julian and his teddy bear!!! enraged we did not get to see it. love the backstory for him. love this whole thing examining his arrogance but i think there's also a little bit of like. almost like religious faith in the power of modern medicine too there. like he just believes so much that science and medicine can fix these people, fix the jem'hadar. he doesn't want to accept that there are things he can't do and it's not JUST arrogance, like some of it is, but some of it is just pure stubborn refusal to accept suffering at face value. he's a good person. i love him

i was really shocked the episode didn't end with him going back down to the planet after his first failure...like, that would have been an open ending and a sad note to end on (like at no point do you believe he's just gonna fix everything and it'll be fine) but then he totally did cure the babies only. which, good for him. and mister assisted suicide has a new job now

basics part i (voy):

CHAKOTAY'S BABY!!!!!!!!!! god i was hoping it really was chakotay's and sometimes DREAMS DO COME TRUE

furthermore, chakotay held janeway's arm once when they were being jostled. i rewound and watched it twice

i liked chakotay's little...look, i know pretty much everything about his heritage is obviously bullshit, but it's NOT bullshit that the baby was made without consent, even if there was no actual sex involved. there absolutely was a huge violation which happened under traumatic circumstances (getting tortured by his future baby mama). plus, the baby is half cardassian, and the cardassians have done their level fucking best to make life miserable for him & his for YEARS. so i liked his little crisis about it. he so rarely gets depth that isn't just about the absolute criminal portrayal of indigenous culture, so this was nice. i don't know if comparing it to real life rapes done by colonizers was unnecessary bordering on exploitative or accidentally a bold move towards calling colonization what it is (i'm sure there's a huge array of opinions on that one) but the crisis itself was a valid one and i really liked where he came down

THE RETURN OF SUDER! man, tuvok is so cool. i don't think i could hang out with that guy even if i HADN'T turned into a serial killer temporarily after melding with him, but tuvok put his money where his mouth is. he's fucking rehabilitating him

i like also that suder is reformed but not totally changed. it would have been too hard to buy if he wasn't still a little murdery, deep down. and BECAUSE he's still a little murdery, deep down, he and the doc (unmurderable) make perfect companions to retake the ship on their lonesome

speaking of the doc, him randomly getting beamed out into space made absolutely NO sense but it was really funny

anyway, ship landed, which is always bonkers, but i loved the cliffhanger, absolutely cannot WAIT for the rest

body parts (ds9):

was led to believe ahead of time this episode involved a pregnancy...the summary said it was a quark episode...i was like damn, quark gets pregnant?

but actually what happened was so much weirder. i'm not talking about kira and the baby, we'll get to that, i'm talking about QUARK! for the first time in 4 seasons....................quark compelled me. huge HUGE day in the me community

firstly, it was fun that we highlighted his family as being a bunch of kooks - every single relative of his we've ever met has bucked ferengi tradition in one way or another. secondly, it was fun when he threatened to kill that guy. and finally...the scene at the end. wah. he didn't want to take their charity but he DID because they LOVE HIM? what the hell. you'd never get this shit on tng. ever

that said, i did Not like that dream sequence and the grand nagus jumpscare. they really got me for a minute there

also, girl, what was going on with quark and garak...very absolutely heterosexual murder, ig

KEIKO AND KIRA.........first of all, that marriage is so solid, there is room. she could joint heir marriage. julian could move in just like o'brien said in the next episode. there's so much room in there. let them in

great way to let this woman continue to work while pregnant also. good for them

i do wonder if kira is like. nervous that after she has the baby she wont be staying with them anymore?? i was surprised she'd want to agree at all, but she not only agreed but seemed sad it was temporary?

also, WAH, keiko being sad bc she misses her baby..............god. and then they held hands!!!! women.

broken link (ds9):

NOOOO odo my best friend...

:') that quark came to tell him goodbye when he left btw. MAD that kira couldnt go w him :( she did bring him that little crime report though i love that

i was worrie dta first it would just be an episode about him failing to date this blonde lady...please...she's horny for him but she's no lwaxana troi and she is NO kira nerys. i hope thats the last of her

GOWRON MY BELOVED..................him being a changeling explains so much about his behavior. that changeling got his huge eyes down perfectly also

kira's sneezing. please. that's so charming. bajorans are so lucky they only have to do 5 months of pregnancy that baby will be born in no time

getting garak to taunt odo with his mysterious past as a means of comforting him was SO fucking funny. truly, genuinely, what would he do with sympathy? fuck nothing. but interrogating garak for three days and getting a little mystery to work on? might as well be his birthday. they are always in one way or another having breakfast together

julian almost skipping a stone across the changeling lake. sir what the hell

turning odo into a real human person is FUCKED UP! i can't believe they left his face like that too although i am pleased to have called it (WHY they did that) ahead of time. odo's never been naked before this is so horrible :(

garak trying to do a little genocide was absolutely INSPIRED. he heard "no survivors" and just Snapped. he was willing to kill himself and everyone on that ship, too. he does not do it by halves. i'm sad we keep getting garak episodes with no bashir and garak content, though

odo at the end almost crying about his job :( i don't think he's ever cried before either!!!!!!!! horrible.

TONIGHT: voy's "basics part ii" and "flashback"

[caitlinsfandomthoughts]

Watching Star Trek TOS For the First Time! Season 1 Reaction

I’ve been a TNG, DS9 and Voyager fan for maybe 10 years but had never watched TOS until I decided that I would. And then I realised I couldn’t live with the possibility of the internet not being able to know my incoherent rambling reactions if it so desired. Most of these were written the day after I saw them but with the early ones it was later so sorry if I don’t remember your favourite.

Season 1:

The Cage: Be still my beating heart why must number 1 leave the show? Why?! Imagine a world in which Majel Barrett got to continue to be her in the Star Trek universe instead of Lwuxana (sorry I don’t love her) and Nurse Chapel. She’s so beautiful I love her. And she gets to where pants and be the second in command. While the episode for sure has sexist moments it does seem like there was more of an actual effort to present to future as having gender equality. When you compare this to the ultra mini skirted version of the actual show, it does feel like executives went through it to make it more marketable. It’s been noted by others that she is quite similar to what Spock’s character became: the cold, logical one, while Spock smiles in this episode. While I ended up loving Spock I still would’ve loved to see a woman in that kind of role, especially in the 60s. Although I’m not sure she would’ve been treated that well.

So Vina can’t like, get medical treatment from Starfleet doctors who know how to put a human body together? No? We’re just gonna leave her there? She’s too ugly? She’s better off living in a fantasy world where she’s pretty? Ok then…

The Man Trap: I don’t even really remember this one so I’d have to rewatch it.

Charlie X: Charlie sees women and becomes an incel, Kirk has to try and teach him not to be. This is a decent goal that somehow culminates in a space boxing match. Kirk loses his shirt. Sexual tension is presumably resolved. Uhura sings.

Where No Man Has Gone Before: The pants are back. Man becomes some kind of god and Kirk beats him up if I remember correctly.

The Naked Time: This is where The Naked Now comes from. This one was less sexual, which is probably a good thing, and less drunk, which is too bad cause I love drunk Crusher and Picard trying to focus on work while their brains won’t brain. Highly relatable mood. This one is where the immortal line “sorry, neither” comes from, spoken by Uhura in response to Sulu calling her a “fair maiden.” According to the internet that was an ad lib and I so hope that’s true cause it’s amazing. Also according to Spock Sulu is a “swashbuckler at heart” which is cool and all but I wish we got to find that out by him actually being a character that we know the personality of rather than a background diversity guy who gets to say a couple of lines sometimes. Also each to their own but shirtless Sulu is infinitely more attractive than shirtless Kirk.

The Enemy Within: Bad. Women at Warp podcast said it best, it’s bad because they say the evil Kirk is still Kirk and is needed for him to be a good captain/person. This could’ve been ok if he didn’t do something so irredeemable, or they could’ve not had him be defined as a true and necessary part of Kirk, but you can’t have both and sell it as an ok message. Rand not being able to look at ‘good’ Kirk after really makes it feel real, her acting in general makes it feel too real.

Mudd’s Women: Women take beauty pills that make them have makeup on and men find them too ugly to marry without them even though they are still beautiful. Also said women were kinda slaves but don’t worry about it! *hand waves*

What Are Little Girls Made Off: I don’t know what the title has to do with the episode. This is the episode where Nurse Chapel is introduced even though she was in a previous episode. And she’s taken more seriously than I thought she would be. Kirk gets an android version of himself made by a guy who he already doesn’t trust and doesn’t predict that maybe that’s not a good idea. Apparently to make an android all you need to do is put one person and one dummy on a giant plate and spin them around real fast. If only the guy who wanted to take apart Data in Measure of a Man knew.

Miri: Problematic. I think the crush angle could’ve worked if it was one sided, but Kirk played into it and it was creepy, and you know, also manipulative, assuming Kirk doesn’t actually feel the same way and is using it to get her to help them. That’s my more charitable interpretation anyway. Also McCoy doesn’t know how vaccines work. Also this episode doesn’t know what puberty is, or rather when it starts. If the virus is supposed to get to you then, that starts round the preteen age. Miri is older than that even though she’s not an adult.

Dagger of the Mind: This was the first one where I was starting to quite like it and it was feeling a little more like Star Trek to me (I know this is the first Star Trek but there’s a certain way 80s/90s era Star Trek feels to me). I really liked the beginning where it was setting up this whole maybe prisoners become violent because of how the prison treats them thing and that it was challenging the viewpoints of some of the main characters, although McCoy was already team prisons are bad and I love him for that. It then went more into the lobotomising asylum type story which was still ok. The guy turned out to be a doctor rather than a prisoner which I didn’t like cause I wanted the prisoners to be humanised. Although you could’ve done a “see anyone, even ‘innocent’ non criminals can be turned violent with this treatment” but they didn’t really emphasise that.

The Corbomite Maneuver: I don’t remember this. Kirk playing poker with some alien I think. Edit: I’m been informed this is the one where the alien turns out to be a lollypop guild kid lip-syncing to an adult’s voice, which I do remember, and probably thought it was some kind of sleep-deprived fever dream.

The Menagerie Part 1 & 2:  I laughed so much when they wheeled Pike out and I finally got the Futurama reference in Where No Fan Has Gone Before. I mean I obviously knew the whole thing was a Star Trek Reference, but I had never seen that specific imagery before and now the joke makes sense! Also Pike wanting to go back there seems kinda wrong. I mean they say he’s a vegetable mentally I think but he doesn’t seem to be? I can kinda get that he’s got more incentive to be there than Vina who could probably be helped by Federation doctors but also, he hated that place and spent the whole episode trying to get out of it and it doesn’t feel like a fitting ending for him.

The Conscious of the King: And here begins Star Trek’s love affair with Shakespeare. The only thing I have to say really is, if I didn’t mishear something… a father and daughter played Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? A married couple. And no-one thought that was weird? She was the daughter of a dictator though so there was an Ivanka Trump vibe.

Balance of Terror: Romulans. Spock wasn’t sure that they were related to Vulcans till this ep, though he suspected it. How far back did they split for it to be unknown? I like that the Romulans were sympathetic and we had scenes with them just in their ship from their perspective, and they had some conflicting views with each other. And I really like how Spock was suspected as a spy cause racism and of course he wasn’t and saved that guy cause he’s the better person. That said I found this episode pretty boring and I don’t know why. I kinda wish it turned into a witchhunt situation and was more about the racism on the Enterprise, kinda like The Drumhead from TNG.

Shore leave: Wtf was this episode?! And I don’t ask that because the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland showed up, or that it was a random holodeck planet episode, that’s fine. When the White Rabbit appeared I was just like, ok it’s going to be one of those episodes, that’s fine. Holodeck episodes are fun, I don’t even mind a random magic alien or two appearing for no reason to wreak havoc, say by making everyone larp as Robin Hood, that’s all Star Trek, that’s Star Trek doing a Star Trek, what I didn’t like is this episode goes nowhere! McCoy sees the White Rabbit, we’re off to a good start, Sulu “Swashbuckler at Heart” sees an old gun that he geeks out on, cool. Kirk sees some woman of course. Also there’s some guy fending off a tiger. Random female guest star of the week rather than letting Uhura be part of the story gets her uniform torn by some guy. Then she imagines a princess dress and if that were me as soon as I realised I could think things into existence I would just imagine all my dream clothes. Kirk imagines an old student friend who is attempting very hard to be Irish (thank you Colm Meany for saving us from this).

Anyway so the planets a holodeck cool. And I’m like, Spock should beam down, I wanna know what he’ll see, this is where the episode could get interesting. And then it happens, but nothing happens, they don’t even make much of a deal of him not seeing anything. But then I thought what if! What if Spock didn’t beam down and this was another imagination?! What if he was some alien with some ulterior motive OR better than that we get to see Spock as imagined by whoever was thinking of him. You could go down a very fanfic road if it were Kirk’s imagined or desired view of him, or maybe you could show different people’s perceptions and then they still suspect he’s not acting like himself even though it’s how they see him, but its not quite right, cause it’s not actually how he is. Or at least I thought they were going to find out what was going on. But NOPE none of that happens. Instead leprechaun guy shows up again and Kirk just wonders off to fight him for the next fucking millennium! The uniforms they wore at the academy seem like they were made out of better quality material than that of a Starfleet captain’s. Poor Kirk must be having to replicate new uniforms every other day. Then they laugh I think, and sexual tension is presumably resolved. Then the aliens show up and are like yeah this planet is a holodeck we thought you’d like it also McCoy died but he didn’t and I’m like THEY DIDN’T CONSENT TO THIS. But then they decide to party.

It reminded me of a Red Dwarf episode called Better Than Life where they knowingly go into a virtual reality game which is basically the same as this planet. But over time Rimmer keeps sabotaging what he imagines cause he hates himself so much his brain won’t let him have nice things. And it’s still a comedy, but there’s an opportunity for exploring the character’s psyche with this setup that wasn’t done here and that made it boring.

The Galileo Seven: This episode was good!! In contrast to the last one it delivered on promises it made, it had a satisfying ending, it’s probably my favourite so far. The whole time I was like this should be about how Spock can be wrong and logic isn’t everything to be a good commander. But given the quality of the previous episodes wasn’t that great and Spock was always right about everything I didn’t trust them to do that. BUT I WAS WRONG. I thought it would be about how just because you don’t have emotions doesn’t mean you can disregard those of the crew. But instead it was about how he couldn’t predict their enemy wouldn’t act based on emotion rather than logic. And then he admitted he was wrong and helped the guy bury the other guy, and then they were about to die and McCoy was like at least I’ve lived to hear Spock say he fucked up. And then Spock jettisoned the fuel so that it might act like a flare but it gave them less time and I was like no you’ve learned nothing! Don’t just do things that severe without asking your crew. But then after they were saved it was described as an act of desperation rather than anything logical and Kirk was like that’s an emotion isn’t it? You acted on emotion? And Spock was like well yes but I’m not gonna say it like that.

I like that emotion was good actually. I think it’s a fine balance between the message of its ok to be different and using Spock as an analogy for racism, and inadvertently neurodiversity, but also not buying into the idea that emotions = weakness and lack of emotion, or emotional repression = objectivity. Even if you don’t factor emotion into your decisions (which would be impossible unless you don’t experience emotions at all) it doesn’t mean that you don’t have personal biases in your perspective. So I’m glad Spock was wrong for once.

The Squire of Gothos: This is Q this is Proto-Q. He does all the same things that Q does; he shows up in clothes that are way out of date (and he thinks they’re from 900 years ago when they’re clearly early 19th century) and he flirts with the captain. Oh and he has powers, maybe they were computer powers, but not all? And he goes on about humans being brutal, warmongering people but he’s kinda into it. He fights Kirk but there was actual tension so it wasn’t annoying like the one with the Irish guy. And then it turns out he was just a kid exactly like the Futurama episode, except he is a kid not 35. I think him being a kid makes the flirting seem weird though.

Arena: Kirk and the Gorn at Tanagra. Kirk fights a lizard because aliens wanted to encourage them to not fight by telling them to fight. I thought maybe these lizards could be proto Cardassians but then I thought they can’t be they don’t talk, but then he spoke so I thought they could be, but then he was the one who was invaded and was only defending his people so I thought they couldn’t be, unless that was actually just lies and justifications in which case they definitely would be, but then that would undermine the message of the episode so I guess not. I wonder how many leaders have killed each other before these alien’s negotiation tactic actually worked.

Tomorrow is Yesterday: This was fun. There were a lot of twists and turns. I wonder if it was before or after the moonlanding. Every plan just makes it worse and more and more people keep getting exposed to the future. Kirk could’ve easily just closed the door and beamed back at the end but instead opts to punch like six people. (I think this is where “a woman?” “Crewman.” Comes from).

Court Martial: What if Kirk actually did it though? Would that be more interesting? Maybe. At least here he has an age appropriate love interest. She’s prosecuting against him which is surely a conflict of interest. AND she has a uniform with a longer skirt! And it actually looks good, like it looks like an actual dress that she can sit down in and it still looks like a dress and not a crumpled up shirt. It’s elegant but it’s still short. I could see this being an option (for any gender) as a dress uniform but it would still make no sense when they’re serving on a ship.

Return of the Archons: I am LIVING for Spock in a medieval style hood. It’s giving me Peter Cook in a Mother Superior’s wimple in Bedazzled vibe, it’s not quite on that level of beauty, but it’s close. For some reason Sulu returned from the planet in 18th century gear but then everyone else is dressed like it’s the 19th century, with some medieval robes thrown in, and this annoys me more than it should. Maybe it’s because he’s a swashbuckler at heart. Apparently they had a completely peaceful society except for the nightly purge they seemed to have going on that is never mentioned again.

Space Seed: KHHANN! I liked this a lot until the end. I want to know the lore behind Data’s Dad having his middle and last name. Edit: Actually only the middle name is the same and the last name is just similar. I still think there’s lore there (excuse the pun), probably he’s a descendent of his cult followers or something. The story seemed to be eugenics bad and also the type of guy to basically be a eugenics cult leader would be super manipulative and abusive but just charming enough in a relationship. It does a pretty good job of showing the abuse in his relationship with the historian woman, how he switches between being loving and I guess charming, and flattering to being abusive and degrading. I wish that the historian woman could find someone that she can explore domination and submission with consensually cause that seems like it would be what she really wants. Anyway but in the end they just let him go? Like he tried to take over the ship but they were like here have a colony. They compared the place to Australia when the colonists arrived at Botany Bay and that it could be... I forget what the word was but basically ‘civilised’ and No NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO STOP RIGHT THERE NO Australia was already populated and didn’t need eugenicist cult leaders who were demonstrably bad to show up make it ‘better.’ AND THEN the historian is given the choice to go with them and she does and its framed like it’s good? Or at least ok? When they just did a pretty decent job of showing how abusive and manipulative he was and she had redeemed herself by turning against him? So I get that they probably wanted to bring him back although they’re probably not gonna bring her back, but they could’ve easily had him escape instead.

A Taste of Armageddon: Suicide machines. I forget the rest.

This Side of Paradise: SEX POLLEN! Well it’s more fall in love pollen, I guess, for one character. There’s a woman and there’s the music and the soft focus and BUT WAIT then the camera cuts to Spock not Kirk! Because she has taste. It’s about this point that I think the ‘Spock’s the most popular but Shatner wants to remain the star so we’ll emphasise their character’s relationship thus inadvertently inventing slash fic’ might’ve started. It’s time for a love triangle! She makes Spock get the sex pollen, which is not getting consent, and then he falls in love with her and is climbing trees and is all happy. Kirk can’t get a text back from Spock. Then Kirk and two others get the pollen except Kirk didn’t, but he did, but anyway I thought everyone would be horny but they weren’t they were just brainwashed. Soon Kirk is all alone on the bridge, then he gets the pollen and is happy to live as a poly triad but then he gets angry and it’s gone. Then he calls Spock to the ship and approaches the situation in the only way Kirk knows how: Homoerotic punching! So they fight for not long enough and then Spock is cured but he’s a little sad, there’s sadness in his voice, it’s not quite so matter of fact. Then Spock’s gf gets sad and the sex pollen is gone too, Spock might still have feelings for her but he has responsibilities to the ship and “to that man on the bridge” which if he was saying to just mean once again the whole ship, and its mission and the captain in a professional sense, seems a little redundant, which would surely be illogical.

The colonists get sad that they haven’t done anything for years because the sex pollen made them unambitious but I would argue maybe the sex pollen was right and you were better off just vibing. This episode was more interesting and less silly than I thought the creator of sex pollen would be. At the end Spock says that for the first time in his life he was happy. While every other character could still easily become addicted to a thing like that they could at least know they would experience happiness or any feelings again in their life, for Spock it was going back to nothingness.

Devil in the Dark: Spock calls Kirk Jim which I don’t think he has before, when he’s talking over the communicator and he’s worried he’s in danger, there’s some actual fear or urgency in his voice. Also the moment that got me was when Kirk wanted to send Spock back the ship cause he didn’t trust him to kill the creature and Spock was like “but… I’m not really as useful there I am here… so…” If I was writing it I would’ve played that up more but anyway, I like that they didn’t kill the creature. I like that McCoy said the thing. And also said “I’m starting to think I can cure a rainy day.” He’s my favourite.

Errand of Mercy: It’s kinda becoming the Kirk Spock show now, I like the ship but I miss McCoy. I like that the passive pacifists who Kirk was so angry with were actually more powerful. And KLINGONS! Oh yeah the orientalism, the yellow peril, it’s… it’s there all right. They were played a lot colder here, a little Cardassian maybe, still bloodthirsty but I don’t believe this guy has to do it himself to feel honourable, he can kill for sure but he’s fine ordering someone else to do it and being a chessmaster too.

The Alternative Factor: God this one was boring. But it does have a man with the worst beard wig I’ve ever seen. Now he’s stuck fighting the bad version of himself or something to save the universe. So remember that when you’re watching later Trek series, all of this could suddenly be destroyed if one of them gets tired.

The City on the Edge of Forever: UHURA GETS TO GO ON AN AWAY MISSION! Aaaand she doesn’t get to do anything :/ The usual three go back in time! To the 60s again! Oh wait… that’s meant to be the 30s? Oh. That’s some tall hair that lady has for the 30s. But at least said lady is a character, she’s a little perfect but she does things, she has strong beliefs, she might be written a little idealised, but she is still written like a person compared to almost every other Kirk love interest. “He says it (captain) even when he doesn’t say it” is an interesting line. So she has to die, I still think they could’ve just convinced her that you don’t make friends with fascists but ok. They never say what the Clark Gable movie is.

Operation Annihilate! Kirk’s brother dies, and so does his sister in law, leaving his nephew without parents. This is never resolved and the episode ends with them laughing about how Spock got his eyesight back.

[setyourphaserstoslutty]

top 5 star trek episodes (either from each show you've watch or just in general depending how much writing you want to do lol)

Oooooh this is very fun let’s go with five from each

(These are not gonna be in order because it fluctuates like every day lol)

Also I take Foooorever to finish series’ so usually I’m stuck on season 1 or 2 or maybe even 3 so that’s why most of them are from those seasons

TNG

The icarus factor s2 e 14 god I love episodes that have wonderful character development which this one is definitely a poster child for it

Datalore s1 e12- it’s such a fun ep like Lore is seriously the worst and I love it

Symbiosis s1 e21 I’m aware it’s basically an after school special on drug abuse but it gives Tasha some really good character development

Unnatural selection s2 e7 I ADORE HOW WE GET TO SEE HOW PULASKI AND PICARD ARE ACTUALLY FOILS plus she and data have a good interaction this times

The measure of a man s2 e9 fuck Bruce Maddox but again a wonderful episode for my boy data

DS9 (the first Star Trek show i watched I love this one the most )

Dramatis personae s1 e17 I literally based a fic off this ep it’s one of my favorites (also because I enjoy Miles showing emotion and I feel this ep shows a side we don’t see often also it’s a O’Brien/Sisko and it’s my fave rare ship

Duet s1 e18 it’s a Rough Fucking ep because it has a lot of heavy themes but personally I enjoy those when done well

Armageddon game s2 e13 yes it’s the foot ep but miles obrien in pain is again my favorite trope

Blood oath s2 e19 I really wish that they had kept the character development they gave Jadzia but meh. I’ve watched this one like 20 times lol

The wire s2 e22 the wonderful garshir ep I love how Elims secrets come together

Voyager (this was so hard because I love so many of them)

Emanations s1 e8 Harry gets kidnapped (which is also something I have used in a fic) it also has soft lesbians which I appreciate

Learning curve s1 e15 wonderful character development for characters we never seen which is tragic also has an obvious autistic character (gerron)

Initiations s2 e2 i talked at length about this ep last night because it’s got a great character they did nothing with (an unfortunate trend in voyager)

Threshold s2 e15 enough said

The thaw s2 e23 it’s a fever dream of an episode and that’s what appeals to me

Enterprise (god this is awful but a few eps that are okay)

Strange new world s1 e3 it’s fine like I enjoy the Travis/Trip vibes and that’s really it

Dear doctor s1 e12 I like the moral questions it gives and I’m also a huge ass fan of Phlox

Sleeping dogs s1 e13 it’s really only because of the scene that T’Pol and Hoshi have Hand sex

Desert crossing s1 e23 trip whump is the best whump

Cold front s1 e10 again it’s really just the characterization and the fact we get some more story

[plaidshirtjimkirk]

gots tagged by the extremely fab @theonlyredcar!!!!

Rules: Without naming them (im gonna talk because im annoying), list your ten favourite TV shows using gifs. Then, tag ten people to do the same!

1. shinsengumi! is the epitome of everything. their story has been told over and over through countless shows, moves, and other media. however, in modern times, the best telling of it is this one. the writer, mitani kouki, literally wrote a 49 ep fanfiction plus a full length movie about his otp and got it on the air. what a fucking legend. i aspire to be him.

2. macross. remember the show you watched when you were really young that had you finally saying, “..............wow, girls????” because yeah.

3. i’ve always said my heart belongs to tos. it’s my fave trek because of my emotional connection to the characters and fandom

4. ...however, my fave trek for plot and character development and story-telling is hands-down ds9. i love love love LOVE it SO much. it deserves so much more than the initial reception when it aired, and im so frickin glad that more and more people are appreciating it today. it aged well imo and while the writers certainly could’ve done better in gender/orientation rep, i think they did pretty damn well with a lot of other topics. AAAAA SO GOOD

5. bitch, im cryin. little me’s first hero is still my fave vg character of all time. fandoms and series may come and go, but my love for this series is eternal through good games and shows and bad. lmao

6. honorable mention goes to s3 and some of the ova of this series because of how hard it went for the sword husband otp...which is the same otp from fave show 1 on this wild list. this series isn’t my fave but it’s given me hours of countless elation as i scream about 2 married mans from the 1960s. frick

and besides this, i like documentaries about science, nature, and war history. i literally don’t have any other shows to add. i just rewatch all the things i love over and over. lmao

tagging @suitablyaggrieved @eheartangel @nanashi1869 @spirkian @victorian-sexstache @rebelqueero and everyone who’d like to do the thing <3

[alarajrogers]

The original series has no continuity; it was created for syndication and the episodes can be watched in any order. However, if you have never seen it before, it’s incredibly cheesy, the special effects are garbage, the fight scenes are laughable, and there is occasionally some absolute cringe (like, there really is an episode where an evil version of Kirk attacks and attempts to sexually assault a crewwoman, and Spock really does ask her if maybe she liked it. That is a thing that happened. I’m sorry.) On the other hand, a lot of it stands up even today.

TNG has minimal continuity; most of the episodes can happen in any order. The problem with it is that the first season Sucks. Balls. It’s pretty uniformly horrible. But you sort of have to watch the first episode, which introduces Q, even though it’s, um, very bad. It’s a total rehash of TOS stuff and Q himself has very little of his trademark humor (although he is very, very queer. De Lancie is proud of this, by the way; at a con I attended, he read us an article from the Advocate that said that the Q stands for Queer and he was very happy about it.) The second episode is also a total rehash but features Data saying “Not sucked, sir. Blown.”, and also has him saying he is fully functional and programmed with multiple techniques of pleasuring. I’d advise watching the first ep, the second ep, the second one with Q, and the one where Tasha dies, to get established with the continuity, what little there is; every other episode can go die in a fire, unless you feel like watching something really stupid. Starting with the second season, most episodes are decent and relatively uncringey (relatively.)

DS9 is actually really good. Its first season is a little stiff, but much better than TNG’s first season, and its second season starts with a bang and is pretty excellent.

Voyager: I am sad to say this because I love Voyager, but don’t watch Voyager. All the characters are potentially wonderful and very few of them live up to that potential. In particular, Chakotay is just a massive missed opportunity in almost every regard. Also I am not sure any Native Americans were consulted on developing his culture. If you get hooked on Star Trek, then you can watch Voyager because by then you know to go read the fanfic if the series is being really stupid.

Enterprise: Don’t watch Enterprise. It didn’t start out great and then 9/11 came along and the series, like every other television show back then, turned into rah rah let’s kill the terrorists, because frankly that’s what almost every American turned into, even the progressive ones. (A lot of us woke up before the Iraq war, but I’m not gonna lie and say the rah rah kill the terrorists part didn’t happen.) Notable for the most appalling and evil applications of the Prime Directive possible in a series that does not yet have the Prime Directive. Like, Berman, Pillar and Braga had such massive hard-ons for “moral ambiguity around the Prime Directive” that they set a series before the Prime Directive was a thing and then had Enterprise doom a race to a genocidal disease and turn away an asylum seeker (two different episodes) for the sake of a Prime Directive that hadn’t happened yet. Also, an attempt to be all “girl power” with the Orions turned super cringe with “Orion ‘slave girls’ are actually all powerful manipulators using their feminine wiles to control their supposed ‘owners’!” Gag me with a spoon.

Discovery: Not everyone agrees with me on this but I love Discovery. It does have a piece of incredibly amazingly stupid pseudo-science that huge amounts of the plot depend on. A lot of people were butt-hurt over “Spock has an adopted foster sister” because why did she never get mentioned in TOS, then? Apparently they failed to remember that Spock has a half-brother he never mentioned until like 20 years after TOS, claimed he had human “ancestors” rather than admitting his mother was human, and would not admit that ambassador Sarek and his wife were his parents until Kirk tried to insist on him taking shore leave on Vulcan while they were picking up the ambassador to go see his parents. The man is weirdly and obsessively secretive about his family, in other words. Discovery does not follow the formula of the other series completely in that the main character is not the captain and there is a different captain every season, and each series has an overarching story arc and a fairly tight continuity. If you’re gonna watch Discovery you gotta start at the start, and I recommend that it not be your first foray into Star Trek.

Picard: Is not anything whatsoever like any other Star Trek series. Much darker -- Starfleet has done some unforgiveable shit that led Picard to resign. Tight continuity and series story arcs, without any filler episodes. I am extremely butthurt about the ending of the second season but that’s personal. Don’t watch until you’ve seen TNG. Probably don’t watch until you’ve seen a lot of the more normal Treks. Especially DS9. You won’t recognize Starfleet unless you see some of the shit they pulled on DS9.

Prodigy: I haven’t seen this one yet. It’s a cartoon for kids. I do really want to see it; I love cartoons for kids. But from what I hear it’s also really, really different from other Treks.

Lower Decks: This is not a good place to start. It is a hilarious parody of pretty much all the Trek series from TOS - Enterprise, and you won’t get it if you haven’t seen a lot of Trek. Is a cartoon, but for adults.

Strange New Worlds: Is only 5 episodes in so hard to say much about it. It’s trying to be a faithful recreation of the type of show TOS/TNG was, and so far, it’s succeeding pretty well. Nothing yet has been awful. But you’d get a lot more out of it if you saw TOS already because it is a prequel to TOS and some of the stuff, like the fate of Christopher Pike and what’s gonna happen with Spock and T’Pring, would feel entirely different if you hadn’t seen TOS and thus known what was going to happen. On the other hand, Nurse Chapel bears no resemblance to the character she was in TOS, so she’d probably be more fun if you weren’t thinking all the time “but, but, Chapel never acted like this...”

The movies: Don’t watch any of the movies. Either they are bad, or they depend on knowing TOS or TNG continuity. You can watch them when you’re an established Star Trek fan.

For anyone interested in getting into Star Trek but doesn't know the right place to start: There isn't one. Every place you could potentially start is the wrong place. That is the Star Trek experience. The only way to get into Star Trek is the wrong way. There is no right way. Wherever you start, you will find yourself lost, confused, disturbed, unsettled, baffled, and perhaps a bit turned on. This is normal. Congratulations, you are one of us now. I'm so sorry.

[verdigrisprowl]

Jan 6 Bevel’s Movie Night - Star Trek: Discovery Ep. 3 & 4

This is actually the second time Bevel has screened Star Trek: Discovery. The first time, tragically, the chat log was lost. But Not This Time.

All I remember about the first stream is that there was a discussion about making ships out of dead bodies (fun fact: corpses make sub-par ship construction materials), and after the movie Bevel and Ratchet hung out a while talking.

I don’t remember much about this stream either, but that’s okay, because I don’t have to remember it, because I have the log!

Today Bevel 8:45 pm *this building is now officially her movie place, same set up as last time. it's no Dancitron, but enjoy the vaguely drive-in movie feel but with couches and stuff. treats and energon are on the table to the side* Ratchet 8:47 pm *pops in* Ratchet 8:48 pm *is this the first multiversal thing Ratchet has been to since Christmas, or the second? regardless, he's got a different frame than the last time he was HERE, specifically* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:48 pm *Soundwave follows almost on Ratchet's heels, ready to find out more about this timeline's history.* Bevel 8:49 pm Hiya! *waves to them both, yay the invitations went through* Ratchet 8:49 pm Evening! Bevel 8:51 pm You made it! I was hoping you would be able to. Ratchet 8:51 pm *Ratchet will scout out the snack table before taking a seat* Ratchet 8:52 pm Yep! Things have been settling down a little bit at home. I can take a bit of a break now and then. Bevel 8:54 pm Awesome. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:55 pm *Soundwave nods to them both and parks himself in a spot, minding not to knock his arm into anything as he does.*

[[Fewer casualties?]] Ratchet 8:55 pm For the time being, knock on.... uh. Bevel 8:56 pm ((gonna start in 5m, warnings for violence and some resident evil-esque grossness Ratchet 8:56 pm *is there any wood around, Bevel?* Bevel 8:56 pm *probably, she's basically brought any bits and pieces she thought anyone might want to either eat or fiddle with* *because she will probably fiddle with pieces of metal at random* Ratchet 8:57 pm *well if there's wood to be found, Ratchet will find it, and finish his thought* Knock on wood. Bevel 8:58 pm *giggles* Bevel 8:59 pm Fewer is good. Do you think it might mean the war could end? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:59 pm *Oh boy, what a lovely floor he's looking at.* Ratchet 8:59 pm Pfeh. No. Just means the 'cons are busy planning something. FakeProwl 9:00 pm *appears; immediately finds a corner seat to huddle in* Bevel 9:00 pm *frowns* *not at Prowl, Prowl gets a wave* FakeProwl 9:01 pm ((did we skip an episode?)) Ratchet 9:01 pm [[ quick question are captions possible ]] Bevel 9:01 pm ((yep, hit the wrong episode hold on ((they are i will put them on Bevel 9:03 pm ((there we go FakeProwl 9:04 pm *heard the word piezoelectric; he knows that word.* Ratchet 9:07 pm Lucky save. *also, belatedly, a wave to prowl* FakeProwl 9:08 pm *nods* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm *Greeting ping to Prowl, though he doesn't push anything beyond that. If Prowl sought out his own seat, Soundwave will obey that - and not bother Ratchet or Bevel either.* Bevel 9:08 pm We dealt with spores like that once. They were really annoying. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm [[When was that?]] [[...Did she call the prisoners animals.]] Bevel 9:10 pm She also called them garbage. FakeProwl 9:11 pm *there's a bit of a delay before he pings Soundwave back.* Bevel 9:11 pm It was about three decades ago by my time. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm *Already does not like the ones calling names and being rude about Vulcan martial arts. The Michael human had the others beat, didn't she?* [[What happened when you ran into them?]] *THAT IS A TRIBBLE. WHY IS IT THERE.* Bevel 9:15 pm They killed one of us before we were able to figure out how to get rid of them. Bevel 9:17 pm Water? Ratchet 9:18 pm He's tall. I didn't notice last time. He must've been sitting the whole time. Bevel 9:19 pm I like his feet. He was standing on his toes. FakeProwl 9:21 pm *At least they're all very civil about their hard feelings.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:22 pm [[Ha.]] FakeProwl 9:23 pm *Well. MOST of them are very civil.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm [[The Tilly should not have chosen an easily disprovable lie, if she couldn't handle the Michael human's presence.]] Bevel 9:23 pm That was mean of her to lie. Bevel 9:25 pm Ooo pretty Ratchet 9:25 pm Wow. FakeProwl 9:27 pm She's been there a day and she's already violating curfew and breaking into places where she's been banned. Because, apparently, she's curious. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm *He likes her already.* FakeProwl 9:27 pm *His approval of her significantly dropped.* Bevel 9:28 pm *likes everyone but the human that called Michael garbage, that was mean* Ratchet 9:30 pm [[ i learned the word panspermia today watching bill nye and suddenly it is here ]] Bevel 9:30 pm ((it was meant to be ItsyBitsySpyers 9:32 pm *Leeeean.* FakeProwl 9:32 pm ... I'm missing something, why do they blame /her/ for starting the war. The Klingons showed up ready and eager to start the war. Her mutiny lasted for thirty seconds and consisted of giving an order, which the crew didn't carry out. Ratchet 9:33 pm Scapegoat? *those injuries are.... fascinating* *Ratchet would kind of like to get a better look at them* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:33 pm [[She is also the one who terminated the...]] *Repeats the Klingon word back to himself. He's slightly rustier with it than he is Vulcan.* [[Torchbearer?]] FakeProwl 9:34 pm Ah. Yes. That makes more sense. Ratchet 9:34 pm [[ is anyone having flashbacks to tfcon and dnd ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm ((MEEEEEE)) Bevel 9:34 pm ((lol FakeProwl 9:34 pm ((YEP)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm ((the giant poop!)) Ratchet 9:34 pm [[ omfg i forgot about the giant poop ]] FakeProwl 9:35 pm ((how could you forget about the giant poop)) ((im still proud of how we got rid of it)) Bevel 9:35 pm ((that we totally avoided 😀 Ratchet 9:35 pm [[ my memories of the night are more focussed on ratchet and skywarp's illicit affair ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm ((i mostly remember murderbeak, soundwave refusing prowl's request with an I NEEDED THAT, and the soap and towels on the floor)) FakeProwl 9:35 pm Of course, the torchbearer was before the mutiny, killed in self-defense, and almost undoubtedly left there as bait to deliberately start the war. Bevel 9:36 pm *laughs* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:37 pm [[It is easier to assign blame than to think rationally. Especially when Vulcans are discriminated against for their focus on logic to begin with.]] Bevel 9:38 pm *likes Michael a lot more now because that was awesome* FakeProwl 9:39 pm I know. Believe me, I know. I'm still going to relentlessly criticize it. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm [[Feel free. He doesn't mind.]] Bevel 9:39 pm *wonders if that ship is gonna get taken over by tribbles at some point* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:41 pm [[.........One moment. The Klingons later suffered from Tribble overpopulation, to the point of wiping their species out in 'wars'. Why do they not put the Tribble aboard the Klingon base?]] [[Then their enemies will be forced to turn their focus elsewhere.]] Ratchet 9:42 pm Perhaps the Tribble IS the biological weapon. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:42 pm *Yeeeaaah, no, he wouldn't enter a lockable room on the command of someone like this.* FakeProwl 9:42 pm *Oh, hey. Prisoner locked up for treason, gets offered a job that looks like a twisted version of her old position, turns it down on moral grounds. Is that familiar.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:43 pm *...Quietly taking notes, just on the off-chance this has some future use.* Ratchet 9:45 pm What happened to his eye injury? Bevel 9:45 pm I think he said he needs to adjust to light? Ratchet 9:46 pm There's been no indication of his having the lights adjusted for his comfort since his first introduction. Bevel 9:47 pm I do not know. FakeProwl 9:47 pm The lights haven't gone up and down around him. No need to adjust them if they're consistent. Ratchet 9:47 pm Hmm. Bevel 9:48 pm *kind of likes this Amanda person* Ratchet 9:48 pm Oh, he.... oh no. Bevel 9:48 pm Kitty. Ratchet 9:49 pm [[ it looks like a very large tardigrade ]] FakeProwl 9:49 pm If he did indeed lure her on board by disabling her shuttle—which he didn't deny—then that means he killed the pilot to do it. Something caused that pilot to become untethered. That's something she should have taken into consideration before agreeing to join him. Did she even remember that? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:51 pm [[Apparently not.]] Bevel 9:52 pm I hope not. Ratchet 9:52 pm [[ i get where people are saying this show isn't very, like....... star trek, tho ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:52 pm ((they said that about ds9 too back in the day)) FakeProwl 9:52 pm ((the most star trek part of the show is the name)) Bevel 9:52 pm ((I like to think it's focusing even further on the grey underbelly of the mythos ItsyBitsySpyers 9:53 pm *...Part of him wants to fly through wherever that was. Part of him knows it would be a terrible id--- oh. It's not land at all.* FakeProwl 9:53 pm ((once they have befriended Four (4) Brand New Alien Species i will accept this as star trek)) Bevel 9:53 pm ((lol FakeProwl 9:53 pm ((catching a xenomorph puma doesn't count)) Bevel 9:54 pm ...is that box going to keep chiming the whole time? FakeProwl 9:55 pm synthesize a pillow to put over it. Bevel 9:55 pm *giggles* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm [[Ultra Magnus.]] Bevel 9:56 pm ((my favorite ensign with the amazing hair ahhhhhhlovehersomuch FakeProwl 9:56 pm ... Mm. One of them. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:57 pm [[One of what?]] Bevel 9:57 pm That is a really cool tactic being able to teleport anywhere. FakeProwl 9:57 pm Ultra Magnus. Bevel 9:57 pm Kitty. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:58 pm [[Oh. Yes. The statement reminded him of ours.]] [][][]I remain unconvinced.[][][] *Lean again.* *What is this thing?* FakeProwl 9:59 pm Ah. I thought you were referring to his overall personality. Ratchet 9:59 pm Didn't he tell her she WASN'T here to create weapons that went against the Starfleet code? FakeProwl 10:00 pm Do we have any evidence that better knives and shields are against Starfleet code? Bevel 10:00 pm Better shields is good. Ratchet 10:01 pm Mm. I suppose. But I'd like to see her not have to do anything that goes against her convictions. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:01 pm *What is this, now...?* Ratchet 10:04 pm [[ it's a tardigrade ]] Bevel 10:04 pm Ripper haaa Ratchet 10:08 pm Why not make several jumps? Bevel 10:09 pm Maybe too many jumps is just as bad? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:09 pm [[Navigational stability problems, as he said. The time it would take between jumps might be too much.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm [[Or that might happen.]] Bevel 10:12 pm Oh no. That did not go well at all. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm [[Anyone who thinks knowing how something feels is unnecessary when trying to get it to fight has no business doing such work.]] FakeProwl 10:14 pm Indeed. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm *Nods to Prowl. Thank you.* [[She is nowhere near ready.]] [[She is having an emotional reaction to the -- there, you see.]] Ratchet 10:17 pm Her death was unnecessary. She caused it herself. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm [[Agreed.]] Ratchet 10:17 pm That wasn't a sacrifice, it was willful stupidity. Bevel 10:18 pm She should have made sure it was sedated. 😔 She should not have been trying to mutilate it either though. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm [[She /should/ have waited until her head was clear and /investigated/ the creature instead of throwing open the doors in an uncontrolled environment with no idea how to handle it.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:19 pm *He likes her, too.* Ratchet 10:20 pm [[ i like these two klingons and i ship them ]] FakeProwl 10:20 pm *Ah, a professional second-in-command.* Bevel 10:24 pm Yay she made a friend. FakeProwl 10:24 pm ((okay, they need to make friends with 3 more alien species and it'll be star trek)) Bevel 10:24 pm *cheers* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm [[It killed everyone aboard. He would not recommend its use as such.]] [[Evidently it did not enjoy it.]] Ratchet 10:28 pm Didn't they run into something after exiting the... myto-something plane? Bevel 10:29 pm She is not a very good second-in-command is she? Ratchet 10:29 pm [[ 😧 it looks sad ]] FakeProwl 10:29 pm The accident killed almost everyone on board. The creature escaped onto a ship of people that didn't know what it was—including Klingons, who enjoy killing things. The people it killed, it likely killed in self-defense. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm [[Perhaps. But it does not look happy now, in that cube.]] Bevel 10:30 pm Poor Ripper. FakeProwl 10:30 pm ... Perhaps that's another thing it was defending itself from. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm *Nods.* Bevel 10:31 pm I think Michael realized it is in pain. FakeProwl 10:31 pm Why does he want to "send the Klingons a message"? Wouldn't it be better if they DON'T get a message and don't know that Starfleet has a new threat? Bevel 10:32 pm Maybe he is not as good at war as he thinks. FakeProwl 10:33 pm Clearly. Bevel 10:38 pm *welp she's sad now* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *Kind of the Captain to have left her that. Though he supposes there wasn't time to change her will.* Bevel 10:41 pm I think that is enough tonight. There are still more files though so I can invite everyone again soon. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:41 pm *Light stretch.* [[Very well. Thank you again.]] Bevel 10:41 pm *nods and grins* Ratchet 10:42 pm Thanks, kiddo. See ya again next time, I hope. Bevel 10:42 pm It is fun. Is that why you do it all the time, Soundwave? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:42 pm [[One of many reasons.]] *Soundwave rises, offers everyone a nod and Prowl an extra ping goodnight, and gets ready to head home.* FakeProwl 10:43 pm ((another reason is sitting in the corner.)) Bevel 10:43 pm Definitely, Ratchet! FakeProwl 10:43 pm *returns the farewell ping* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:44 pm *Faster than before. That's promising. He'll be on his way now.* Bevel 10:45 pm ((I remembered not to close the room without saying anything \o/

[dimensionalspades]

I think of the first episode of DS9 and I go absolutely feral. The use of aliens that don't experience linear time as part of an allegory for grief and how we experience it repeatedly throughout our lives and the Prophets using both locations and people as tone indicators and a way of using Sisko's own memories to understand humanity and Sisko being essentially kidnapped by these aliens but immediately responding with kindness and care in attempting to explain a nebulous concept, even sharing about things that he's passionate about or have caused him great pain in an effort to get through to them, with the simple phrase "I exist here" as an acknowledgement of the grief he still carries and how it still affects him to the present day OH MY GOD