#antimatter pod

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Our video editor called this file "Antimatter Pod Roasts Captain Pike For Two And A Half Minutes.mov", and it has made some men on TikTok rather cross.

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Caleb and Nahla are completely different and also the same person. From our latest episode on the two episode series premiere of Starfleet Academy!

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Anika and Liz hang out with a cactus. Is it a tribute to the Doctor Who serial “Meglos”? No, we’re talking about episode 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ fourth season, “Human Best Friend”!

Strange New Worlds has become a show dedicated to pastiches of better media

How many episodes inspired by Star Trek Las Vegas are too many episodes inspired by Star Trek Las Vegas

They did it — they finally found a planet even worse than Risa

Are the gimmicks getting in the way of storytelling?

On the other hand, it feels like the story is setting La’an up to be the big bad before she is written out of the series

Kirk, you have a baby. Why are you at a resort? Alone? 

“If you look hard enough, you’ll always find something to be angry about.” Which is a longer way of saying, “Don’t overthink it.”

Liz is still formulating her thoughts on the depiction of alcohol in SNW

Congratulations to SNW for discovering queerbaiting

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Anika and Liz beam over to a long-abandoned and extremely haunted space ship. And instead of talking about what we experienced over there in the shadows, we’re going to discuss episode 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ fourth season, “The Griffin Institute”. 

This episode is a huge step up from the premiere! And also still super-duper into the eugenics of it all! The away team’s biggest fear is … their genes!

This whole subplot with La’an is really leaning into racist stereotypes about Chinese women

“I am continuously horrified by how this series portrays Spock’s internal conflicts.” 

The episode wants us to think that Carol Marcus is the bad guy in the relationship, not James T “actually I’m gonna go to this conference instead of seeing my infant son” Kirk

We are obsessed with the conference. What could possibly be relevant to Spock, La’an and Jim? Was there only one bed? 

We are a Pro T’Pring Podcast

Does SNW actually want us to be engaged with Spock/La’an? 

Liz has a pitch for a Division 12 comic (spoilers: it involves Lorca)

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Anika and Liz are not sports people, but they’re willing to watch from the sidelines as we discuss Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s “Vitus Reflux”, including…

No stakes! Only shenanigans! It’s a Gen Z “Take Me Out To The Holosuite”!

The War College kids are facing obsolescence and acting out, but their strategy, with overtones of hazing and sexuality, is also evidence of why the War College is being phased out

This episode understands that growing up with access to sports is a privilege

Starfleet Academy is not Euphoria, thank goodness

Darem is queer! Lura and Jett are dating! Kyle is totally into Jay-Den! 

If any Star Trek is gonna give us polycule drama…

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Anika and Liz take off for a cheeky little diplomatic meeting with some Klingons. What could go wrong? 

We are discussing Star Trek: Discovery‘s “Lethe”, an episode which inspired our friendship, a whole lot of fic and a conversation about whether it is a flawless piece of Star Trek, or if it has merely a single flaw. 

We are not here to be cool or reasonable about Admiral Kat

Normal Human Guy Ash Tyler and Normal Federation Captain Lorca

At any time, it is reasonable to assume that Sarek is disappointed in at least one of his children

Ash Tyler could never appear in SNW because his whole existence is a rebuke to that series’ biological determinism

Anika’s Wonderland Corner: the Vulcans at Michael’s graduation are dressed as chess pieces (Michael, like L’Rell, is a white pawn)

We have. A lot. Of feelings. About Katrina Cornwell

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https://antimatterpod.com/231-parallrels-dsc-1-04/

Anika and Liz are petsitting a tardigrade while we discuss the fourth episode of Star Trek: Discovery‘s first season, “The Butcher’s Knife Care’s Not For The Lamb’s Cry”. This episode introduces Admiral Cornwell, and we are gonna be so cool about that. You wouldn’t believe how cool and chill we are. 

This is decidedly not one of Discovery‘s stronger scripts

“Lorca is so clearly flagged as evil,” we said back in 2017, “that there absolutely has to be more to it than that.” Anyway…

Michael’s skills and flaws are all on full display here

“I also do not respect Saru.” 

Okay, but why is Saru the first officer? He frankly does not seem up to the job. Is Lorca keeping him around as a snack? 

“Let’s talk about Elon Musk.”

Michael and L’Rell: parallels (parall’rells)

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Remember 2017? Taylor Swift released Reputation. Kendall Jenner fixed racism with a Pepsi ad. And Star Trek returned to the small screen with the launch of Discovery. 

Anika and Liz go back in time to revisit the series which led us to become friends and launch a podcast … and we are excited! We’re starting with “The Vulcan Hello” and “The Battle at the Binary Stars”, in which Michael Burnham has a very bad day. 

“I am one of the first 500 people to sign up for CBS All Access. Which is a dubious claim.”

These episodes are not bad, but they are a terrible introduction to the series, both in terms of its ongoing tone and themes, and in terms of making people want to see more

“Can I just say? T’Kuvma could get it.”

We are not opposed to subtitles, but the specific “Klingon” font used by CBS All Access was straight up hard to read

Does the premiere ask too much of the audience? Both in terms of asking them to empathise with complex characters they’ve just met, and also in having basic media literacy?

(Michael Burnham Did Not Start The War.)

Saru’s relentless negativity makes him a difficult character to like

Returning to our roots as The Sarek Podcast

The Klingons are MAGA, but they’re also very Brexit-era Britain

We are once again criticising the Federation’s carceral state