To Baldly Go

Aaron Emery
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TV & Film
  • Updated Weekly

Join me as I watch through Star Trek for the first time and discuss with my Trekkie friends

  1. 3d ago

    Star Trek TNG S3E19-21 Captain’s Holiday, Tin Man, Hollow Pursuits - “Science Words” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 055)

    Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episodes 19-21: Captain’s Holiday | Tin Man | Hollow Pursuits This week on To Baldly Go, we continue our first-time watchthrough of Star Trek: The Next Generation with Captain’s Holiday, Tin Man, and Hollow Pursuits. This week we get: - An archaeological adventure looking for artifacts from the future - All the elements to make a great episode, but just missing the mark - Impostor syndrome In Captain’s Holiday, Picard takes some much-needed time away from the Enterprise, only to end up pulled into a time-travel archaeological adventure. We discuss the difficulties of time-travel stories, whether Picard is too trusting, unexpected chemistry between actors and characters, Star Trek shovels, Parks and Rec, and the real-life ramifications from this episode. In Tin Man, we talk about an episode that seems to have so many of the right ingredients, but never quite comes together the way it should. We get into The Story of the Tin Woodsman, fairy tales, the lack of tension, the music, strange sound-effect techniques, the number 47, and Starship Farragut. Finally, in Hollow Pursuits, we meet Barclay and discuss impostor syndrome, holodeck fantasies, unclear messaging, the fact that the holodeck apparently doesn’t lock, and whether the ending was inevitable. Join us as we discuss Captain’s Holiday, Tin Man, and Hollow Pursuits. Find us on X @BaldlyGoPodcast, on Facebook at To Baldly Go Podcast, and at tobaldlygopodcast.com.

    1h 18m

  2. Jun 2

    Star Trek TNG S03E16-18 The Offspring, Sins of the Father, Allegiance “The Scarlet K” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 054)

    This week on To Baldly Go, Aaron and Nate continue Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 with The Offspring, Sins of the Father, and Allegiance. We get a major Data episode that leads to a surprising split in ratings, a huge leap forward in Klingon lore, and a Picard mystery that feels a little like Star Trek: Among Us. This week we get: - Humanity and parenting - The Scarlet K - Do intentions matter? In The Offspring, Data creates a child, leading us into questions about humanity, parenting, knowledge, understanding, and whether this is one of the better “is Data alive?” stories. In Sins of the Father, Worf is pulled into Klingon politics, family history, and a major cultural reckoning that could fundamentally change his future. And in Allegiance, Picard is placed in a strange test of identity, authority, and intention, while an imperfect copy of him causes problems back on the Enterprise. Join us for another first-time reaction discussion as we continue our release-order watchthrough of Star Trek.

    1h 12m

  3. May 26

    Star Trek TNG S3E13-15 Deja Q, A Matter of Perspective, Yesterday’s Enterprise "Masterpiece Theater" | First Time Reaction - To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 053)

    This week on To Baldly Go, we continue our first-time watch of Star Trek: The Next Generation with Season 3, Episodes 13-15: Deja Q, A Matter of Perspective, and Yesterday’s Enterprise. This week we get: Q becomes human and mortal Judicial standards in the 24th century A masterpiece? In Deja Q, Q returns to the Enterprise stripped of his powers and forced to experience life as a human. We talk about Q growing on Aaron, the relationship between Q and Picard, Data explaining the human experience to Q, and Q explaining experiencing the human experience to Data. In A Matter of Perspective, Riker finds himself accused of murder, and the Enterprise crew must work through competing versions of the same events. We discuss whether anyone really wants to be in court in the 24th century, burden of proof, hearsay, and how being wrong does not necessarily mean someone is lying. And then we arrive at Yesterday’s Enterprise, widely considered one of the best episodes in all of Star Trek. We discuss the return of Tasha Yar, the alternate version of the Enterprise-D, Picard refusing to surrender, and why this episode shows exactly what this medium can do when Star Trek is firing on all cylinders.

    1h 32m

  4. May 21

    Star Trek TNG S1E12-14 The Big Goodbye | Datalore | Angel One - “Another Lost Episode” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 036.5)

    In this lost episode of To Baldly Go, we return to early Star Trek: The Next Generation with Season 1’s “The Big Goodbye,” “Datalore,” and “Angel One.” This week we get a decent episode with a weak close, a possible “Enemy Within” redux, and an episode that may be a bit too clever for its own good. We discuss Crusher’s strong showing in “The Big Goodbye,” the limits and missed potential of the holodeck, Brent Spiner’s excellent work in “Datalore,” Lore’s tell, Wesley’s role, and the strange execution of “Angel One.” We also wander into fake mystery novels, Sons of Anarchy, original-series movie lighting, Parks and Recollection, Romulan references, and Gates McFadden trivia.

    1h 42m

  5. May 19

    Star Trek TNG S3E10–12: The Defector | The Hunted | The High Ground - "Hard to make better episodes than this" | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 052)

    In this episode of To Baldly Go, we continue Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 with “The Defector,” “The Hunted,” and “The High Ground.” This week, we get: One hell of an episode to come back to Have we seen this before? An interesting concept, poorly executed We start with “The Defector,” a tense Romulan story featuring the return of Tomalak, a powerful ending, Data performing Shakespeare, and a big step forward in Star Trek storytelling. Then, in “The Hunted,” we discuss what happens when soldiers are created for war and then abandoned afterward, with side trips into MKULTRA, The Original Series, James Cromwell, and Enterprise security procedures. Finally, “The High Ground” gives us an episode with a provocative concept that we wanted to like more than we did, raising questions about terrorism, perspective, historical references, and whether the execution lives up to the idea. Join us as we discuss the next three episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation on To Baldly Go Podcast.

    1h 26m

  6. May 12

    Star Trek TNG S03E07-09 The Enemy, The Price, The Vengeance Factor – “The Fiftieth!!!” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 051)

    This week on To Baldly Go, we continue our first-time watch of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 with episodes 7 through 9: “The Enemy,” “The Price,” and “The Vengeance Factor.” This week, we get: Worf going against expectations The ethics of the empath Personal connections to Star Trek In “The Enemy,” Geordi is stranded with a Romulan on Galorndon Core, giving us a strong example of what Star Trek can do when it mixes survival drama, political tension, and character conflict. We talk about Worf’s surprising refusal, Romulans in Federation space, disability representation among Romulans, and how the episode deepens the lore. In “The Price,” the Ferengi are back, and Troi gets pulled into both a romantic story and a moral dilemma around empathic abilities. We discuss why this one does not really work for us, the creepier moments, and whether there was a version of this episode that could have landed better. In “The Vengeance Factor,” the Enterprise gets pulled into a murder mystery involving old feuds, tribalism, and revenge. We talk about Riker, Yuta, Worf’s very different relationship to vengeance, and why we are all the villain in somebody’s story. A bunch of generally solid episodes this week — even if one of them is definitely doing more heavy lifting than the others.

    1h 36m

  7. May 5

    Star Trek TNG S03E04-06 Who Watches the Watchers, The Bonding, Booby Trap – “The Actual 50th Episode” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 050)

    First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 03, Episodes 04-06 Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast, in which I – a newbie to the Star Trek universe – am watching through Star Trek from the beginning, in release order, and discussing with some of my long-time Trekkie friends. This week, we get: Explanations for things we don’t understand No man can step in the same river twice Human intuition We covered: Who Watches the Watchers The Bonding Booby Trap “Who Watches the Watchers” gives us a damaged Federation observation post, a pre-warp civilization, and a Prime Directive disaster that accidentally turns Captain Picard into a god figure. We talk through the episode’s critique of religion, whether that critique is fair, and how much of belief comes from trying to explain things we do not yet understand. “The Bonding” is a heavier episode centered on grief, loss, and a child trying to process the death of his mother. We discuss how difficult the episode is to get a clean read on, how life experience can change the way we receive a story, and why this may represent an important turning point for Star Trek: The Next Generation. “Booby Trap” traps the Enterprise in an ancient battlefield and gives Geordi a holographic engineering partner who helps him work through the problem. We get into the cool sci-fi premise, the uneven execution, Picard’s ship-in-a-bottle enthusiasm, Geordi being a bit creepy, and somehow end up talking about Tommy Boy, Chris Farley, John Candy, John Belushi, and Rick Moranis. Next time: Star Trek: The Next Generation S03E07-09 — The Enemy, The Price, and The Vengeance Factor.

    1h 37m

  8. Apr 28

    Star Trek TNG S03E01-03 Evolution, The Ensigns of Command, The Survivors – “TNG Season 3 Kickoff” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 049)

    First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 03, Episodes 01-03 Welcome to another episode of the To Baldly Go Podcast, in which I – a newbie to the Star Trek universe – am watching through Star Trek from the beginning, in release order, and discussing with some of my long-time Trekkie friends. This week, we get: Twister in space The less-funny Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy The Man Trap, Part 2 We covered: Evolution The Ensigns of Command The Survivors “Evolution” – What is life, anyway? Season 3 kicks off with what may be the most solid premiere episode of The Next Generation so far. Wesley’s experiment with nanites spirals into a crisis aboard the Enterprise, raising questions about intelligence, responsibility, and what qualifies as life. We also talk about Wesley owning his mistake, Nate — usually our resident Wesley apologist — having to wrestle with Wesley’s role in the crisis, the continued production-quality upgrade, Beverly’s return after a season away, baseball, vinyl versus streaming, and, of course, twister in space. “The Ensigns of Command” – Diplomacy, stubborn colonists, and excessive honesty Data is sent to evacuate a human colony before an alien race arrives to destroy them, but the colonists are not especially interested in being saved. What follows is part land-rights dispute, part diplomacy problem, and part lesson in creativity. We discuss whether you can save people who refuse to be saved, the value of guile in negotiation, Data’s brutally honest approach, and a little behind-the-scenes talk about ADR. “The Survivors” – Empathy for a monster The Enterprise finds an entire colony destroyed, except for two elderly survivors who remain mysteriously untouched. As the crew investigates, the episode becomes something stranger, darker, and more morally complicated than it first appears. We talk about how The Next Generation feels like it is operating at a higher level, Riker’s skepticism, the emotional weight of the reveal, and what happens when someone commits a crime so enormous that no law seems big enough to cover it. Season 3 is off to a really solid start. Next time: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 continues with episodes 4-6: Who Watches the Watchers, The Bonding, and Booby Trap.

    1h 39m
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Join me as I watch through Star Trek for the first time and discuss with my Trekkie friends

Information

  • Creator
    Aaron Emery
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    To Baldly Go