The Joy of Trek

Kay, Khaki and Greg
  • 5.0 (5)
  • TV REVIEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
The Joy of Trek

Two lifelong besties (and their trusty engineer) adventure through the vast constellations of Star Trek's decades on TV, especially the lesser-loved stories. But instead of bitching about why they’re bad, we’re going to find the joy in each of them, because everybody loves the great episodes, but it takes dedication, insight, and hard-working fools to love the clunkers too. And by Jove, we are those fools! Positive, inclusive and optimistic (though not uncritical!) we try to find the brilliance even in the least-loved episodes of our favorite TV shows!

  1. 1D AGO

    Tuvix (VOY S2 E24)

    Tuvix (Star Trek: Voyager, S2 E24) was recommended by Alex Russet , who said: I'm honestly shocked that this hasn't shown up in the podcast yet. It's the perfect fit for what you're doing. This Episode is fascinating to me. At It's very core is a trolly problem. Save the lives of two for the cost of one, or preserve the one at the cost of two. Both sides have valid points, but equally are both flawed responses to a situation with no truly correct response. But respond Janeway must. And while it was fairly obvious which option would be chosen, (Tim Russ and Ethan Phillips had bills to pay), it still hit hard. Not every option is black and white. How much is a life worth? Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? I think the fandom as a whole settled on Team Tuvix, myself included, but I think this episode is captivating from a series famous for it's moralizing. Tuvix first aired on May 6, 1996, written by story by Andrew Shepard Price and Mark Gaberman, teleplay by Kenneth Biller, and directed by Cliff Bole A transporter accident merges Tuvok and Neelix into a new person. The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    1h 26m

  2. MAR 25

    "Hunting Hound" (by Leah [archived by Warp5Complex_Archivist])

    "Hunting Hound" by Leah [archived by Warp5Complex_Archivist], can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/8080225 "Tucker and Reed hunt for a hound." The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    23 min

  3. MAR 18

    Devil's Due (TNG S4 E13)

    Devil's Due (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S4 E13) was recommended by IronBoomer, and he/him, who said: This episode is pure Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner at their best, and our guest actress of Marta Dubois is so much fun. While it ends up just being a legal drama and half-bottle episode, everyone is bringing their A-Game to this episode. Devil's Due first aired on February 4, 1991, written by story by Philip LaZebnik & William Douglas Lansford, teleplay by Philip LaZebnik, and directed by Tom Benko A powerful mythic figure from a millennium ago returns to enslave a planet in accordance with a contract. However, Picard is convinced she is an opportunistic charlatan. Guest star Marta DuBois as Ardra. The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    1h 25m

  4. MAR 11

    "Faith and Begorrah" (by Bruce (PKSP))

    "Faith and Begorrah" by Bruce (PKSP), can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/34170499 "Tom Paris and Harry Kim try to repair the Fair Haven holoprogram in time for St. Patrick's Day." The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    17 min

  5. MAR 4

    Move Along Home (DS9 S1 E10)

    Move Along Home (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S1 E10) was recommended by nazzy (she/her), who said: I cannot believe nobody has asked for this one yet! One of the earliest criticisms of DS9 was that it didn't "boldly go", and in its first two seasons in particular, there were a lot of episodes whose basic synopses read "Weird alien(s) come to the station, hijinks occur." And being a DS9 fan as always meant knowing that criticism is always just around the corner, which meant that for episodes like "Move Along Home", the standard response was an embarrassed shrug and a 'yeah...it hadn't found its feet yet. It got better!' And "Move Along Home" is the ur-example of this type of story. Weird aliens come to DS9, and introduce Quark to a strange board game of chance that traps members of the senior staff in a bizarre game world??? And that's the episode?! But then I read a review of "Move Along Home" that reframed the episode for me in a very meaningful way. "Move Along Home", it said, is basically a TOS episode. And that made so much sense! Is Commander Sisko having to play hopscotch and sing a children's song that different from the crew of the TOS Enterprise being forced to fight in "Plato's Stepchildren"? Or acting strangely to break the brains of the androids in "I, Mudd"? Suddenly, it made perfect sense, and "Move Along Home" is no longer embarrassing. Move Along Home first aired on March 14, 1993, written by story by Michael Piller, teleplay by Frederick Rappaport, Lisa Rich and Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci, and directed by David Carson Quark plays a board game with the Wadi, a newly encountered species from the Gamma Quadrant, and the lives of the crew seemingly depend on the outcome. The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    1h 7m

  6. FEB 25

    "I Just Might Say it Tonight" (by orcamermaid)

    "I Just Might Say it Tonight" by orcamermaid, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/30425253 "Five times Garak and Julian didn't voice their feelings, and one time they finally did." The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    43 min

  7. FEB 18

    The Cloud Minders (TOS S3 E19)

    The Cloud Minders (Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), S3 E19) was recommended by Kaleb, he/him, who said: No war but class war baby! I love this episode for being that classic campy trek, while also being a rather good simplification of how environment- particularly an environment caused by oppression in the first place- shapes the way that oppression is justified and continued. Not specifically class related, but that's the medium this episode evokes, and many marginalized identities can be viewed through class structures as well. I can't deny a good “I won't be the bigger man, I'm dragging you down to my level” type story, especially when it's our protagonist doing the dragging. I can't help but love Droxine flirting w/ Spock, bc it just registers to me as the relatable experience of “ma’am please, I'm here w/ my boyfriend, who you clearly haven't clocked as such, so I'm gonna try and find the most non-scene causing way to stop this”. It kills me, I don't think this scene is supposed to reduce you to giggles. Hope you also enjoy! The Cloud Minders first aired on February 28, 1969, written by Jerome Bixby, and directed by Murray Golden Kirk races against time to acquire plague-fighting minerals from a world in the midst of a civil uprising. The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    1h 22m

  8. FEB 11

    "O Captain! My Captain!" (by VallesMarineris)

    Spock explores human romantic traditions, and works on a surprise for Kirk. Meanwhile, Kirk gets back at him for overuse of a title they now share. First published on February 15th, 2023 on Archive of our Own by VallesMarineris. The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky) Send us your recommendations, or support us on Patreon. Find us at joyoftrek.com · Twitter · Facebook

    30 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Two lifelong besties (and their trusty engineer) adventure through the vast constellations of Star Trek's decades on TV, especially the lesser-loved stories. But instead of bitching about why they’re bad, we’re going to find the joy in each of them, because everybody loves the great episodes, but it takes dedication, insight, and hard-working fools to love the clunkers too. And by Jove, we are those fools! Positive, inclusive and optimistic (though not uncritical!) we try to find the brilliance even in the least-loved episodes of our favorite TV shows!

Information

  • Creator
    Kay, Khaki and Greg
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Kay, Khaki and Greg
  • Show Website
    The Joy of Trek

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