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[Discovery 503 review starts at 23:00] Anthony gives an update on the Star Trek prequel movie, then he and Laurie dig in to the latest on the Paramount/Skydance talks, talking about why shareholders aren’t thrilled about Shari Redstone’s plans and what that could mean. They discuss the new offerings from the Roddenberry Archive and new Star Trek-branded coffee, then turn their attention to Star Trek: Discovery. They talk about showrunner Michelle Paradise’s reasons for using TNG’s “The Chase” as an inspiration for the season, plus Mary Wiseman’s (not-so) cryptic comments about the Starfleet Academy show, and play some audio from Laurie’s recent interview with Wilson Cruz on the same topic. They briefly chat about the “This season on…” trailer and then dive into their review of Discovery episode 503, “Jinaal,” talking about Wilson Cruz’s strong performance, Trill mythology, the challenges of juggling multiple stories where some are less compelling than others, and more. Then it’s time for their bits of the week: Ernie Hudson’s description of auditioning to play Deep Space Nine‘s Ben Sisko and a podcast about Leonard Nimoy and the early days of Star Trek fandom with Bonnie Moss.

[Discovery 501 review starts at 24:32; 502 starts at 57:35] Anthony and Laurie are joined by Matt from the Shuttle Pod this week! They start with the latest news on a potential Paramount sale to Skydance, Alex Kurtzman’s hopeful statements about Trek “surprises,” the addition of a Deep Space Nine channel to Pluto TV, and Hugo nominations for Strange New Worlds. They also speculate on new info about the Section 31 movie and talk about the “First Contact” score heard at a NATO ceremony last week. After that, they take a deep dive into the first two episodes of season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery (“Red Directive” and “Under the Twin Moons”), discussing the refreshing pace of the show, character arcs, best moments, nitpicks, and play a clip from Sonequa Martin-Green’s interview at the NYC premiere about the Burnham/Rayner relationship and what it means to her.

Anthony and Laurie have a lot of news to go through from the recent Star Trek cover story in Variety! They give updates on the Section 31 streaming movie, Starfleet Academy, and the Star Trek movies that are still moving forward (or in development), as well as the latest on season 3 of Strange New Worlds. They discuss the release of Prodigy season 2 on French TV. The bulk of the pod is devoted to clips from their Star Trek: Discovery season 5 junket interviews. Co-showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman and actors Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, David Ajala, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, and Blu del Barrio all talk about what to expect in season 5, which arrives next week. They wrap up with 3 Body Problem interview with Rosalind Chao and one of Laurie’s birthday presents: a USS Enterprise-D Bluetooth speaker.

Anthony and Laurie are joined by Brian Drew from the Shuttle Pod podcast this week. They start by looking at the latest competing offers to buy Paramount Global, what else is on the table, and how all these high-level business dealings might impact the Star Trek franchise on TV and the big screen. And in other business news, we hear what some executives had to say about the future of Trek on the big screen and why Star Trek: Legacy has not been greenlit for the small screen. There is also some production news to catch up on for the Section 31 movie and Strange New Worlds and a few Discovery season 5 tidbits. The trio then moves on to talk about the new William Shatner documentary You Call Call Me Bill and the NYC premiere event (that Brian and Laurie attended) where Shatner and his director, Alexandre O. Philippe, did a Q&A with Neil deGrasse Tyson. All three offer their thoughts on the doc and how it fits its subject perfectly. They wrap up with a Star Trek prediction update from the BBC, a look forward to Adam Nimoy’s new memoir about his father, and a look back at Gene Roddenberry’s The Lieutenant.

Anthony and Laurie start with the latest intel on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. They talk about the Critics Choice Super Awards nominations for Strange New Worlds and Picard, then dive into Terry Matalas’ comments about choices made, ideas abandoned, and production challenges on seasons 2 and 3 of Picard. Then it’s time to get into the latest live events: Tony talks about his experience at Star Trek San Francisco and the podcasters talk about panels with Melissa Navia, Robert Picardo (about Prodigy), and Lower Decks cast members. Then it’s Discovery time! Laurie and Tony play clips from TrekMovie’s red carpet interviews with Sonequa Martin-Green, Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, Wilson Cruz, Doug Jones, and Blu del Barrio, who talk about what to expect in season 5 as well as the legacy of the show itself and what might come in the future. They wrap up with their own spoiler-free thoughts on the first four episodes of the new season.

Tony is busy this week headed to the ST-SF convention in San Francisco so we are bringing back an interview we did last summer when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was waiting to start production on season 3 due to the strikes. The show is now half way through production and so we thought it was a good time to hear what Chris had to say… ORIGINAL EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Laurie and Tony have a lengthy, engaging conversation with Chris Fisher, producing director and co-executive producer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. His enthusiasm for the job and the show is infectious as he talks about hiring and working with directors, working with Paul Wesley, collaborating with the creative teams, using the AR wall, combining practical with virtual effects for the Gorn, what he knows (and doesn’t) about the Section 31 movie, and much more. He also gives his take on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (and how long it would take to get production rolling again once they’re over) and talks about being mentored by Star Trek behind-the-scenes vets Merri Howard and Marvin Rush.