Peak Viewing

Star Trek: Nemesis

(CW: Brief discussion of the sexual assault scene from 1:18:00 to 1:21:00.) Y’all are wrong about Star Trek: Nemesis. We get disliking the CGI, and the silly off-road vehicle action, but everything related to Picard’s clone works. Tom Hardy gives a performance full of emotion that is achingly sincere, and the bittersweet mood for the main cast is just right. We discuss the confusing reaction critics and fans have continued to have to this film, along with a long-winded tangent on CineNerdle strategies [https://www.cinenerdle.app/battle], and our (redacted) peak viewing experiences!

Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek: Insurrection is a film of peaks and valleys. On the one hand, the villain isn’t particularly memorable and the drone special effects suck. On the other hand, it provides some pretty damning commentary on the perils of forced relocation. But then back on the other hand, it muddies the forced relocation message with a bunch of twists out of nowhere! All of this left us very mixed. Does this movie feel like TV? Should Data have died? Is Picard correct in his choices? All that and more!

Star Trek: First Contact

The most well-regarded Next Gen movie is First Contact, but does it deserve that recognition? Yes! This time travel romp is an exciting adventure that pretty expertly weaves together all the things that make Star Trek so special. We get into all that plus the historic week we had that made this movie even more special, our touching personal history with this film, browser-based movie games, more donut talk than you could ever imagine, and a potential lucrative laser tag sponsorship.

Star Trek Generations

It’s time to enter a new era of Star Trek films. Last week we said goodbye to (most of) the original cast, today we say hello to the Next Generation! This film is a classic example of the “passing the baton” sequel we see attempted often nowadays, and on that front it mostly succeeds. Where it struggles is with the writing, as most of the dialogue is egregious and forgettable technobabble. We discuss all that as well as why this feels like television, how underserved this cast is, and how fun this Enterprise would be to explore.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

This week we make it to the end of the Star Trek movies with the original series cast. The final swan song for this crew somehow features a murder mystery, courtroom drama, a prison escape, and lots of touching moments of finality for this original cast. Topics discussed include Samuel’s less-than-ideal peak viewing experience, Klingons learning all the wrong lessons from Shakespeare, the Jetsons, and the best drinking buddy in Star Trek.