Antimatter Pod

Saru goes home again. We start out agreeing we don't have much to say about this episode, then ... talk even more than usual, covering such ground as:

• Can we come up with a different Jeff Goldblum gif for every episode this season? 
• This whole episode is exactly why we need the Prime Directive.
• Kelpien worldbuilding.
• Who is the Red Angel? What does it want? Who is it working for? 
• Our weekly semi-related digression into other media takes us into video game territory.
• Anika has very strong opinions about predestination paradoxes. We both have a lot of feelings about sickbay design and best practices when it comes to mental health care in space. 
• For the benefit of our many listeners who are entomologists, Liz would like to emphasise that she does actually know that spiders are not insects. 
• The jury is still out re: Lorca and whales, though. 

See antimatterpod.tumblr.com for more detailed show notes. 

Once again, Discovery brought us an episode packed with twists, turns and no half-Vulcans whatsoever, and we are here to talk about it. 

Our discussion includes...

• We love Sylvia Tilly the way Philippa Georgiou loves trolling Michael
• Soooooooooooo is Hugh a mushroom now? 
• Leland and Pike are old frenemies, and we are into it
• Kat Cornwell is back! 
• Anika's La Femme Nikita AU
• ...we also talk Star Wars a bit, because why not?
• Wild speculation about the Picard series
• The mycelial dating network

And more!

This is a slightly shorter episode, though, because we both had colds -- Anika in particular -- and once you edit out the nose blowing, there's not a lot left. Also, Liz is even more nasal than usual. 

See antimatterpod.tumblr.com for more detailed show notes, and follow us on twitter.com/antimatterpod for more shenanigans.

This week, we discuss season 2, episode four of Star Trek: Discovery, and, along the way...

• wanky titles (and why we love them)
• serialised versus episodic storytelling
• the endless Search for Spock
• the Prime Directive
• the Neville Longbottom of Discovery
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Saru's quarters
• and we seriously question Captain Pike's priorities

Also, an apology from Liz: I had a mild cold when we recorded, and though I've edited out all the nose-blowing, I just had a lot of trouble ... expressing ... words. Also, "Eurydice" is a verb now. 

See antimatterpod.tumblr.com for more shownotes and this week's pod sketches.

Disco crammed a lot of episode into its running time! And so have we!

Covered: 

• Disco's crack is back! Questionable decisions! Doubtful pacing! We're so happy!
• Secret [spoilers]!
• Okay, if you haven't watched "Point of Light" yet, you should know that we spoil its biggest surprise less than thirty seconds into our chat. 
• Social expectations for women, especially mothers
• What Vulcans and Jedi have in common
• We also talk costumes! The Princess Diaries! Game of Thrones! The Favourite! And even more! 
• (And we cut Liz's two-minute rant about Lorca as the embodiment of misogynistic criticisms of Janeway; aside from being completely off-topic, that almost needs an episode in its own right.)

See https://antimatterpod.tumblr.com/post/182589139579/06-disco-203-klingon-botox for more detailed show notes and also the return of the podsketch! 

Fans are calling "New Eden" 'the Trekkiest episode of Discovery so far' -- but is that a good thing? Anika and Liz talk tropes, religion, and that weird feeling you get when you're only feeling lukewarm about something everyone else loves.

Also covered: 

• Worldbuilding
• Spock: the most dramatic (he gets it from his parents)
• When do we cut off Tilly's coffee supply?
• Things we totally called: Saru mentoring Tilly!
• Pike, Spock, Michael, and relationships of trust
• Anika has extremely strong opinions about Starfleet hospital gowns through the years

See antimatterpod.tumblr.com for more detailed show notes. 

Anika and Liz are talking about "Brother", the season 2 premiere of Star Trek: Discovery.

This episode contains spoilers for "Brother", obviously, along with the whole of season one, and also the Short Trek "The Brightest Star". 

Discussed:

• Amanda Grayson's around-the-house tiara
• Sarek's take on human children: adopt, don't shop
• Sylvia "All Too Relatable" Tilly (and The Way to the Stars, the just-released tie-in novel by Una McCormack which explores her teenage years)
• Is Chris Pike too charming?
• We know we can't keep Tig Notaro on as a regular, but what if we did anyway? 

And more!

This week’s audio notes: Liz recorded her end on a very old laptop at her sister’s place. There’s some traffic noise, and general background noise, but also some birds really wanted to have their say. Listen out for the parrots. (Also listen for the bit where Liz accidentally refers to Paul Stamets as “Hugh”.)

See antimatterpod.tumblr.com for more detailed show notes. 

We're joined by Sam to discuss Tasha Yar and Ellen Landry: two very different women who share the same job, whose potential as characters was never quite realised. 

Discussed along the way: 

• "Yesterday's Enterprise", Sela and more missed opportunities
• What if "Parallels" but with a million different versions of Landry?
• Star Trek's discarded women
• Sam's Landry OTP

We also share some of our hopes and fears for season 2 of Discovery.

Check out antimatterpod.tumblr.com for more detailed show notes!

Wing woman (n) - A female friend who accompanies one to social events, acts as facilitator of encounters with potential romantic or sexual partners and wards off unwanted attention. 

Anika and Liz ask the big questions: who, among Star Trek's many female characters, would be the best wing women? And who would be the worst? It's something light and frothy for the final days of 2018. 

Highlights: 

• at least three women are described as "the ultimate wing woman" because what even are words?
• the Borg Queen will need all the help she can get
• maybe we just want more women interacting in Star Trek

This episode's audio issues: variations in volume, and there's a leaf blower in the background around the 20 minute mark. Also some birds. Turns out there are downsides to recording on a beautiful, sunny summer morning. 

You'll find more show notes at https://antimatterpod.tumblr.com/post/181443121924/02-the-ultimate-wing-woman

Anika and Liz go back to the beginning of it all: "The Cage", the unaired Star Trek pilot starring Jeffrey Hunter, Majel Barrett, and Leonard Nimoy as a cheery guy named Spock.

We're joined by guest Ellie, who watched "The Cage" for the first time, and is here to say what everyone's thinking: the Talosians' heads look like butts. 

We also cover important issues, such as: 

• wigs
• shorts in space
• Number One, Michael Burnham and stoic female characters
• wild speculation about Discovery's approach to Chris Pike, Number One and Spock
• how does "The Cage" manage to get more sexist with every passing decade?
• they may have giant brains, but maybe the Talosians aren't actually that bright
• AND MORE

Further show notes can be found on Tumblr.