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Commentary: Trek Stars 60: They Got ALFed! /  by Trek fm

Behr, Part 3: The 4400.

In 2004, Rene Echevarria and Scott Peters created The 4400. In the show, 4,400 missing persons from the past century spontaneously return with superpowers. Echevarria quickly handed over the writing staff to his Trek boss, Ira Steven Behr, who ran the series until its cancellation in 2007.

This Week, Max and Mike are joined by Trek.fm's very own Christopher Jones to talk about Behr's fourth show. We discuss the religious parallels of the story, the character development over time, and the moral ambiguity of the situations presented in the series.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 60: They Got ALFed!
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Commentary: Trek Stars 59: Like Jordan Playing Hungry Hungry Hippos /  by Trek fm

Behr, Part 2: The Twilight Zone. 

Perhaps the only science fiction television franchise which is more critically acclaimed than Star Trek is Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. And the only person in history who has run shows in both franchises is Ira Steven Behr.

This week, Mike and Max are joined by Tom Elliot of The Twilight Zone Network to look at Behr's third series, the 2002 incarnation of The Twilight Zone. We discuss how Behr's series compares to the original, the idea of a cohesive Twilight Zone multiverse, and what we can expect from future incarnations of the show.  We also debate whether or not the Steve Guttenberg vehicle Tower of Terror takes place in the Twilight Zone.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 59: Like Jordan Playing Hungry Hungry Hippos
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Commentary: Trek Stars 58: Ira-ocity /  by Trek fm

Behr, Part 1: Trek. 

During the third season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Michael Piller "stepped back" from his daily duties and handed the writing staff to his Number One—Ira Steven Behr. It was at this point that Deep Space Nine went from being a great show to being the best show. Ever. 

This week, we begin a new series looking at Behr's career as a showrunner. In Part 1, Max and Mike are joined by Larry Nemecek to look at Behr's work on Star Trek. We discuss his origins on The Next Generation, how Piller lured him back to work on Deep Space Nine, and how he predicted fans would appreciate the show in later years. We also talk about how baseball was responsible for the best of Trek.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 58: Ira-ocity
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Commentary: Trek Stars 57: Stubborn as a Cyborg Donkey /  by Trek fm

Ellison, Part 4: Recap.

Few writers are as prolific as Harlan Ellison. But perhaps his greatest contribution to the world of sci-fi is his commentary on the genre itself. This week, Mike and Max recap Ellison's work on The Outer Limits. We look at his two episodes, "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Hand," as well as his episode of Star Trek, “The City on the Edge of Forever." We also discuss his career outside television, and his impact as a public figure in the sci-fi community.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 57: Stubborn as a Cyborg Donkey
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Commentary: Trek Stars 56: God Bless Sumerica /  by Trek fm

Ellison, Part 3: Demon with a Glass Hand.

In 1964, Harlan Ellison won the Writer’s Guild of America Award for his second entry into The Outer Limits, “Demon with a Glass Hand.” The episode tells the story of a man with a computer hand who is humanity’s last hope in an intergalactic war. This week, Max and Mike are joined by Tysto of Tysto.com to look at “Demon with a Glass Hand.”  We discuss why it is so acclaimed, how it is part of a much larger story, and how it might have tied into Babylon 5. We also talk about how awesome The Sci-Fi Buzz was.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 56: God Bless Sumerica
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Running Time: 38 minutes 20 seconds

Hosts

Mike Schindler and Max Hegel

 

Guest

Tyco

 

Show Notes

Check out Tysto’s audio commentaries at tysto.com.

 

Chapters

Demon with a Glass Hand
The Episode’s Influence
The Earth-Kyba War
The Bradbury Building
Final Thoughts

Sponsor

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As a Trek.fm listener you can get a free audiobook of your choice along with a 30-day trial to see just how great Audible is. So give it a try today, catch up on all those classic Star Trek books you’ve yet to read or that latest novel from you favorite author and support the network and our programming at the same time! Just go to audibletrial.com/trekfm and sign up today.

More recent episodes of Commentary: Trek Stars…

Commentary: Trek Stars 55: Klingon Small Wonder /  by Trek fm

Ellison, Part 2: Soldier.

In 1964, the cult sci-fi show The Outer Limits was renewed for a second season. The new production team decided to shift the focus away from a "monster of the week" format, and into a "hard sci-fi" direction. As part of this change, Harlan Ellison was brought in to write two episodes of the anthology series.

The first of these was “Soldier,” based on his own short story entitled “Soldier from Tomorrow.” As the title suggests, it tells the story of a soldier from a future war, played by Michael Ansara, who is thrown back in time to the strange land of America in the mid-20th century.

This week, Mike and Max take a look at both “Soldier” and the story upon which it's based. We discuss The Outer Limits in general, the episode in particular, and the allegations of plagiarism which Ellison brought against James Cameron's The Terminator. We also look back at the Shatner-starring, Esperanto-speaking opus which is Incubus.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 55: Klingon Small Wonder
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Commentary: Trek Stars 54: The Citizen Kane of Star Trek /  by Trek fm

Ellison, Part 1: Trek.

This week, Max and Mike begin a new series on writer Harlan Ellison, looking at his work on The Outer Limits.

Ellison's “The City On the Edge of Forever” is considered by many to be Star Trek's finest hour. The story of Kirk finally falling in love, only to have that love snatched away by the Universe is both epic in scale and personal in emotion. It is thought of by most to be a masterpiece. But not by Ellison.

The episode's road to the screen was undoubtedly the most troubled of any Trek episode. Ellison's original screenplay was thought to be unfilmable and uncharacteristic of Trek. As such, it was heavily rewritten by Gene Roddenberry and others, until it became something that Ellison despised. Three decades later, Ellison published his original screenplay along with an essay telling his side of the story. The book is almost as epic as the episode itself.

For the first part in our series on Ellison, we are joined by Drew Stewart of Standard Orbit and John Mills of Words with Nerds to look at both the finished episode and the original screenplay. We discuss whether or not it is the best episode of Trek, how the aired version differs from the first draft, whether or not the changes are for the better, and what Ellison's essay says about the creative process.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 54: The Citizen Kane of Star Trek
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Commentary: Trek Stars 53: Kung Fu Vulcan /  by Trek fm

Black & Cushman, Part 2: Star Trek & These are the Voyages.

Only months after publication, Marc Cushman's These are the Voyages is already considered to be the most thorough insight into the making of Star Trek: The Original Series. With 500 pages dedicated to Season One and two more volumes on the way, it is quite clearly the definitive history of Gene Roddenberry's classic show.

In our third season premiere, Mike and Max present the second half of their interview with Marc and Original Series veterans John D.F. & Mary Black. We talk about how television has changed since the sixties, what other movies and shows John has written, and what we can expect to see in the next two volumes of These are the Voyages. We also ponder what it would have been like if Spock had left after Season One.

These are the Voyages, TOS, Season One can be purchased now on Amazon.com, with Seasons Two and Three set for release in the coming months.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 53: Kung Fu Vulcan
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Commentary: Trek Stars 52: Chasing Tires /  by Trek fm

Black & Cushman, Part 1: Star Trek & These are the Voyages.

These are the Voyages has quickly become the most critically acclaimed book ever written on the making of Star Trek. It is a comprehensive look at the day-to-day operation of The Original Series, from script to air.

In the second season finale, Max and Mike are joined by the book's author and Next Generation writer Marc Cushman, Original Series writer and producer John D.F. Black, and his wife and Original Series assistant, Mary Black. We discuss what makes this book different from others, what it was like to work on The Original Series, and how the industry has changed over the years. We also try to figure out how you can tell when a writer is lying about missing a deadline.

These are the Voyages, TOS, Season One can be purchased now on Amazon.com, with Seasons Two and Three set for release in the coming months.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 52: Chasing Tires
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Commentary: Trek Stars 51: The Future of Cancelled Sci-Fi TV /  by Trek fm

Moore, Part 7: Recap.

Ronald D. Moore's work as a writer on Star Trek gained the attention of many producers in Hollywood. Because of this, he has built a very successful career as a television showrunner.

This week, Mike and Max recap their series on Moore's career, looking at all of the shows he ran, including Roswell, Carnivale, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, and Virtuality. We also take a look at the future of Moore's career—with Helix and Outlander—as well as his unaired pilot, 17th Precinct.

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Commentary: Trek Stars 51: The Future of Cancelled Sci-Fi TV
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