Welcome back to The Nerd Blitz Typecast!
As we continue to celebrate the launch of The Nerd Blitz Conversations: The First 10 Years, I welcome SpiderScooby back again to talk Trek for a late 60th anniversary celebration!
Doom: As we start this, we’re about a week out from the 60th anniversary of Star Trek.
Where did you first run up against it?
SpiderScooby: I’ve been a Trekkie all my life. TNG premiered two months after I was born, and my parents were really into Trek. So I was watching TNG pretty much from the start.
Doom: Oh, no shit?
Were they into it from TOS?
And was TOS part of your life at the same time or did it come later?
SpiderScooby: I’m not sure if they were or not. But we had all the original crew movies on VHS. Voyage Home was a favorite in our house.
What about you, what was your first encounter with Trek?
Doom: One of the best of the movies, no doubt.
So, it’s fair to say, at the very least, you grew up familiar with that crew? Can you remember when you actually did a deep dive into TOS?
It’s murky. I know we had a neighbor that was obsessed with it in the 90s. But my parents were never into Sci-Fi, at all. So it wasn’t really something I was familiar with growing up.
I remember channel surfing at some point and coming across some weird looking fucker and being freaked out by him. That weird fucker was, of course, Neelix.
SpiderScooby: I must’ve seen TOS at some point as a kid because I knew what the bridge looked like. Maybe I’m just thinking of Relics? But the first time I really dived into TOS was the late 90s/early 2000s. Our local library had the VHS tapes, two of them being Mirror, Mirror and Balance of Terror. Two of the best episodes of the Original Series.
I’m so sorry. That must’ve been horrifying for you.
Doom: I’m guessing, especially based on those eps, you locked in with it immediately? And did it immediately make you appreciate the few TOS cameos in TNG more?
I mean, I’ve joked about it in the past, and I know you are now, but I really was like “fuck Star Trek, that’s that thing with that creepy guy!
SpiderScooby: I think it made me appreciate Sarek more. That and Unification are two of TNG’s best.
Neelix is a fuckin’ weirdo, so I don’t blame blame you. lol.
Doom: True dat.
You started really becoming cognizant of the world around you around the time that “TNG started getting good”, that must have cool to experience live, huh?
SpiderScooby: I remember when Trek exploded in popularity, around ‘91 or so. The internet was barely a thing, but even my tiny little mind could tell it was massive. There was so much merchandise. We had all the Playmate figures including the bridge and transporter playsets. One of my core memories is this live stage show Universal Studios did where members of the audience could participate in a mini-episode, and you would get a recording of it at the end. I was disappointed because I was too young to do it. I don’t have our tape anymore, but you can find it on YouTube.
Doom: Holy shit, did they do different “episodes” or was it the same one over and over again? But slightly different due to the audience interaction?
Did you ever make it to The Star Trek Experience in Vegas?
SpiderScooby: No, it was the same thing every time. That would have been cool though if they did a TNG themed one too.
Oh man, I would have LOVED to go to that. But my parents were out of Trek by that time that opened, so I never got to go.
Doom: Oh wow, your Trek love outstretched theirs?
Were they out by the time DS9 started? And do you remember when it hit the scene?
SpiderScooby: Yeah, they didn’t like the shows that came after TNG. First Contact was the last thing we saw together.
It’s funny. I didn’t really watch the spin-offs at the time either. I certainly didn’t give Enterprise a chance like a lot of people did. It wasn’t until Netflix had them that I finally sat down and watched them in their entirety.
I probably could’ve checked them out on DVD, but those things were crazy expensive back then.
Doom: How come? What made you, as futile as it is, resistance the other shows at the time?
They ain’t cheap now, though they do occasionally go on sale.
SpiderScooby: I just moved onto other things. I kept my head in the game, but I wasn’t really paying attention at the time.
Back when they first came out, the season sets were going for $100 each. Now you can buy an entire series or 2 for that price.
Doom: So when abouts did you come back? You said when they hit Netflix, but when exactly was that?
SpiderScooby: Oh, that must’ve been 2010 or 2011. It was the early days of streaming when Netflix was the only game in town. I also got the 20th Anniversary TNG set Around that time.
And of course there was the 2009 movie, which I absolutely loved.
Doom: That’s crazy, I feel like as long as I’ve known you you we’re balls deep into all of it.
What did you think of DS9 when you first watched it tip to tail?
Funny you should bring that up, that’s really what started lighting the fuse for me.
SpiderScooby: I’ve come to appreciate it more over the years. With my tastes I tend to lean more towards Voyager when rewatching, but I appreciate that they tried to do something more mature with Trek. The show gets really good when Worf shows up.
Did you see it in the theater? Had you seen any TOS up to that point?
Doom: No, I didn’t see it in theaters. But those early teaser trailers caught my attention in a big bad way. That was a hotly anticipated Blu-ray for me.
At that point, I don’t think I had seen a full ep of TOS. I’d definitely seen clips, but just the weird lighting and the overall 60s style wasn’t appealing to me…yet. Now, I crave that older style of TV.
By the time that movie came out I had seen a few eps of TNG though, and maybe a few minutes of a couple of the TNG movies.
SpiderScooby: So when did it finally click with you!
Doom: It was kind of a four prong process.
You sent me S1 of TNG. I rewatched that first season like three times before I saw any other eps on order.
We started the pod. Listening to Fitz talk it up so much definitely grabbed my interest.
The Orville started. That show is Trek without the name.
I found Star Trek: The Next Conversation. I was just lookin’ for another Matt Mira podcast after running through FEaB for the hundredth time and stumbled across that. And then, in a great bonus, I’ve gotten to interview and include his co-host, Andy Secunda, a few times on our show. Pretty damn cool dude.
It was a strange confluence of those four things that roped my ass in, hard.
SpiderScooby: How do you feel about those first two TNG seasons compared to the rest of the series? I have a lot of nostalgia for those early episodes.
I remember you wanted to go see The Motion Picture for the pod, and we had to talk you out of it.
Doom: Star Trek is one of those things where, once I buy in on the characters, the great episodes are fuckin’ AMAZING! and the bad episodes are still pretty fuckin’ good. I hear the way people talk about some of those S1 episodes and I’m confused as fuck, man. Sure, they’re goofier, but they aren’t complete and utter shit like some would have you believe.
I should note, I watched a handful of eps on G4 back in the day too, when they ran them with the pop-up trivia.
Wait, what? Lol I don’t remember that.
SpiderScooby: I’m with you on that. There’s definitely some hokey shit in there. But we had the first two seasons on VHS so I’ve seen those episodes dozens and dozens of times.
Yeah. It was when they did the 4K remaster I think. You hadn’t seen any of the movies at that point. I don’t think TMP is a terrible movie, but it’s not a good jumping on point. It’s too slow for its own good. I like to call it The Motionless Picture.
Doom: I think I’ve seen that first season like five times at this point, so much so that I really don’t need to rewatch it anymore for a while. I love it, but I’m good for a bit. Haha
Yeah, I don’t member that at all. Lol
So, you mentioned leaning more toward Voyager, why is that?
Is it because it feels like TOS & TNG, just in a vastly different region?
SpiderScooby: Definitely. Voyager has its issues, but I find it more rewatchable.
Doom: The first time I attempted to watch it, I didn’t really like it. But I have definitely come around on it.
And what about Enterprise? What do you feel about it now that the dust has settled?
SpiderScooby: What’s your opinion on DS9?
Enterprise is so underrated. At the time I wasn’t interested in a prequel. But once I gave it a chance I was hooked. Even the first two seasons are good.
Doom: DS9 is great. Is it the greatest? Not from the 30 episodes or so I’ve seen. But honestly, it’s just more of the same when it comes to 2nd wave Trek, which is to say it fuckin’ rocks hard.
Enterprise is one I hold in incredibly high regard. I love that it got to play with all the shit that was set up in the 24 or so seasons of the other four shows, and really start laying the tracks for all of it.
Dear Doctor and Carbon Creek are in the first two seasons, no way you can discount those seasons.
SpiderScooby: I like that they we’re able to tie into First Contact (the best Trek movie) with Regeneration. And then we get another callback in In A Mirror Darkly. I said it before but I was always disappointed we never got a TNG episode set in the Mirror Universe. Think Riker is beardless in that universe?
Doom: Exactly. Shit like that is so cool and shows a lot of thought was put into it.
Has there ever been a reason given for them not doing a Mirror Universe episode?
I know DS9 did a few, I’m guessing Voyager did a couple too?
If you take comics into account, we know the answer to your Riker question! Or is S1 Mirror Verse!? Whoa!
SpiderScooby: I don’t know. My guess would be they just didn’t want to repeat TOS. I don’t think Voyager got any either.
Doom: That makes sense.
Oh, really? That’s fucked up. Crazy DS9 did a few and the other two didn’t go near it.
Did you ever really get into the books and comics side of the franchise?
SpiderScooby: I read many of the books as a kid, but it’s been a long time. Speaking of TNG and the Mirror Universe, there was a novel called Dark Mirror. I should probably check that out again.
Doom: Other than that, were there any stand outs for you?
I’ve only read a couple TOS and ENT books, the TOS ones have been an incredibly mixed bag in my experience. I also read that TNG/X-Men novel almost 20 years ago.
SpiderScooby: It’s been so long, I don’t remember most of them. Other than Dark Mirror, there’s Imzadi, the book that goes over Riker and Troi’s past. The novelization of All Good Things was a favorite of mine. I remember there was a Voyager one that picked up right after the finale. And then the 2009 movie.
I know Peter David also wrote many of the TNG novels.
Doom: I’ve heard of Imzadi, that one sounds lore heavy and worth it.
How is the 09 novelization? And how disappointed were you that Beyond didn’t get a novel?
And what did you think of the Kelvin trilogy in general?
RIP to that legend. I know his work is beloved by Trek fans.
SpiderScooby: It sucks because every movie up to that point had novelizations. I wish movie novels in general would make a comeback. I miss them.
A lot of people give the Kelvinverse crap for not feeling like Trek, but I think it’s a wonderful jumping on point for new fans who wouldn’t have watched it otherwise. Beyond feels the most like Trek. Into Darkness was a hot mess. They totally butchered Khan.
Doom: You and me both. There are quite a few flicks the last few years that I would have loved to dig into more in a novel. Particularly the Marvel flicks.
You’re definitely talking to one. Beyond is a top tier flick, no doubt about it.
So, it sounds like you weren’t super plugged in at the time, but what was it like for you when Trek, like a lot of the big franchises, went dormant?
SpiderScooby: I still remember when Enterprise was cancelled. It was weird not having Trek on TV, because it had been there all my life. Thankfully it wouldn’t stay dormant for long (unlike that other Star franchise Amazon refuses to take advantage of).
Doom: Did those four years between Enterprise ending and 09 feel like an eternity?
I was gonna ask, did Trek lead you to other Sci-Fi shows/franchises?
SpiderScooby: It was during that time I got into Stargate. And I mean REALLY got into it. Like I bought the entire series in the span of a couple months. I think it eclipsed my Trekdom at some point, lol.
Doom: Is that still the case?
Did you ever dabble in Babylon 5, Andromeda, or Farscape?
SpiderScooby: I would say so. SG1 and TNG are my two comfort shows.
Babylon 5 is on my watch list. Haven’t seen Andromeda. And I’ve seen a few episodes of Farscape. My favorite sci-fi series that’s not Star related is probably The X-Files. That was mom’s favorite show, so I have a lot of nostalgia for it.
Doom: That’s cool you have that connection, man.
Something I don’t think we’ve talked much about is New Trek.
Have you kept up with this latest crop of shows.
SpiderScooby: Modern Trek hasn’t clicked with me. I tapped out of Discovery after Season 2. I couldn’t get into Lower Decks. Starfleet Academy is ok. Strange New Worlds is probably the best thing to come out of it.
Picard is probably the worst show. It was such a disappointment that by the time they brought the cast back for Season 3, I just didn’t care anymore.
Doom: Oh wow, really? I mean, I see where you’re coming from, but I didn’t think it was all that bad. Lol
What about the shorts or Prodigy? Did you ever check any of that out?
SpiderScooby: Prodigy’s fine. I lost interest a few episodes in, but it wasn’t bad.
Doom: Yeah, it didn’t look amazing to me, but I like the idea of having some Trek to interest kids.
What would you like out of a Trek show? You can pitch your ideal show, what is it?
SpiderScooby: Captain Worf obviously. He is the best character /s
He’s probably too old now but I would have loved a show following Riker on The Titan. Maybe its time to focus on a new Enterprise? It’s time to get back to Boldy Going.
Or we can forget all that and just bring back The Orville.
Doom: A Titan show would have fuckin’ rocked, man. Riker and Troi, out exploring and shit? Gimme!
Yeah, I’d like something with a more classic feel too. Even if it’s completely unrelated to any other show, a wholly new ship and crew.
Rumor has it Orville is clearing the decks for a ramp up!
SpiderScooby: One can only hope!
Doom: Last two questions.
Why do you think Trek has lasted 60 years?
And what do you see the future of the franchise looking like?
SpiderScooby: The idealistic future where mankind has overcome its problems and work towards a better tomorrow.
What does the future hold? Hopefully whatever the next iteration of Trek is, the franchise goes forward, not keep going back to the time of Kirk and Spock.
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