3.02 - The Ensigns of Command

TNG: SEASON 3, EPISODE 3 The Enterprise arrives at a distress to discover a planet completely decimated except for one small patch of land, a house, and a mysterious pair of survivors who say their planet was destroyed by a species of "hideous intelligence". Ruthie and Matthew discuss aging in the Star Trek future vs in our own present society, and the excuses that are made to justify genocide.

TNG: SEASON 3, EPISODE 2 Data is sent to facilitate the relocation of a human community that the Enterprise is shocked to discover resides outside of Federation territory. When Data arrives, he is met with resistance from the community's leadership - but an also an admiring ally. Ruthie and Matthew talk about the importance of place, home, land, and tradition as this episodes themes of forced displacement reminds us of the current conflict in the Middle East.

It's SEASON 3 of TNG and the series seems to have gotten a bit of a revamp with new uniforms, new opening sequence, and new lighting on the sets! Did our 80's Star Trek just become 90's Star Trek!? We think so! Also Dr. Crusher is back! Join us as Wesley Crusher accidentally creates a new microscopic civilization, Doctor Paul Stubbs is willing to sacrifice the Enterprise just to make the history books, and Ruthie and Matthew talk about the darker side of success obsession.

It's the finale of Season 2 of Star Trek the Next Generation - where, during a real life writer's strike (not the one that just happened but back in '89) - we're left with a somewhat anticlimactic finale that is nevertheless a semi-charming flashback of the first two seasons of this legendary series. We thought plants could get you high but wow, wait until you see the fever dream that Riker has as he beams down to an alien planet with absolutely zero PPE and is stabbed by an alien vine. Ruthie and Matthew reflect on the episode as well as completing the first two seasons of their podcast! Thank you all for being along for this ride across the light years. Season 3 inbound!

Did Yoda get it wrong when he said "Do or Do Not, There is No Try?" Picard has an answer to that when this episode features one of his most quoted lines "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." In this episode, Ruthie and Matthew talk about failure, the difficulty in being bad at something before getting good at something, and how we handle the burden of perfectionism - especially as an android! It's Peak Performance!

When on a mission to intercept a Klingon Battlecruiser, the Enterprise rendezvous with a probe carrying, K'Ehleyr, a Federation Ambassador who is half-Klingon and seems to have a place in Worf's past. Will Worf and K'Ehleyr be able to heal a rift between them and can they work together to stop a potentially violent encounter with the Klingon ship!? Ruthie and Matthew talk about how you would help somebody acclimatize to a new decade (or century), Klingon foreplay, and the meanings of physical intimacy.

While ferrying the fish-like Antedeans to a diplomatic conference, the Enterprise is intercepted by a shuttle transporting Lwaxana Troi! Not seen since season 1, Lwaxana has returned and is experiencing "The Phase", a time in the mid-life of a Betazed woman where her libido has quadrupled - she's on the hunt for a new husband! Also, Dixon Hill comes back this episode! Ruthie and Matthew talk about consent in dating culture, trigonometry, and how they actually enjoy Data's anecdotes.

When the Enterprise receives an automated distress signal, two human societies on the verge of collapse are discovered. One steeped in stereotype and the other experiencing replicative fade, a dangerous secret leads to the abduction of Enterprise crew members. This week Ruthie and Matthew are joined by Ruthie's sister Jake Szamosi, a biologist who weighs in on the ethics of cloning, spinning wheels, and if we indeed own our own genetic material.

LaForge is placed in grave danger when the Enterprise responds to distress call from the Pakleds who need things to make them go...like our chief engineer! On a shuttlecraft road-trip with Wesley, Picard shares details of his "cocky" youth which led to a (literally) broken heart requiring surgery. But the surgeons can't stop the "heterocyclic declination"!! Matthew and Ruthie talk about being awkward in social situations, the soul of exploration, and geometry in SPAAAAACE!

Q is back! This time he wants to join the crew on their adventures through the galaxy. But when Picard refuses Q's request, the omnipotent entity hurls the Enterprise thousands of light years to face a new deadly threat to the Federation. Confronted by an overwhelming adversary, will Picard acquiesce to Q's demands? A brash starry-eyed ensign faces a loss of innocence, Picard needs dry cleaning services, we see shield VFX for the first time, and Ruthie and Matthew catch up with each other after a long recording hiatus.