dethstrobe
@dethstrobe@startrek.website
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x08 "Original Sin" 3 days ago:
I actually didn’t expect Khan to just abandon his people…but he does seem a bit self serving, so I guess it’s not exactly out of character.
Also, we get some idea of when everything happens.
2267 - Space Seed. 6 months later Ceti Alpha VI blows up. 2272 - They complete the Venture, and it presumably takes off with Kali and Delmonda and maybe 2 others. 2285 - Wrath of Khan happens. Khan mentioned it was 15 years after being marooned on Ceti Alpha V, but this is clearly 18 year difference. Khan could just be bad at keeping time. (this is assuming that memory alpha is correct) 2293 - The Excellsior goes to Ceti Alpha V to investigate why Ceti Alpha VI blew up and what happened to Khan and company. Sulu also mentions Kirk’s death, so we know this takes place after the Enterprise-B’s maiden voyage from the opening of Generations.
Also, interesting reasoning for Ceti Alpha VI’s destruction being from the Elboreans’ nonstandard warp drive. I’m really happy they explained it. I don’t understand it though. What kind of FTL drive blows up planets? That sounds more like a horrible weapon putting the Deathstar to shame.
Sounds like rehabilitating Ivan didn’t go very well.
Well, one episode left. I have to say, this has been a pretty enjoyable listen to on my mondays.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x07 "I Am Marla" 5 days ago:
What a twist. That’d make sense. I guess the age would be about right. Space Seed in about 2267, and this audio drama is set after Generations’ death of Kirk in 2293. Kali/Lear could be in their mid 20’s or 30’s which would fit.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x07 "I Am Marla" 1 week ago:
I know this is consistent with the film, but part of me wishes she had met her demise more directly as a result of some choice that Khan made, if only to reinforce just how foolish she had been to join his little cult in the first place.
What I REALLY thought would happen is that Khan would be losing control of the situation and implant the Ceti Eel in McGiven’s as a way to control her. Super messed up and dark, not as dramatic and evil going with a hot spring being populated by Ceti Eels. But you know, sometimes the universe is just uncaring.
And clearly they want to make Khan more sympathetic. So it’s not a bad decision and is clearly offering interesting character growth for him. I imagine in the next few episodes we’ll start to see him swing back to the tyrant we know he is.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x07 "I Am Marla" 1 week ago:
This was a pretty heavy episode. A lot of interesting emotional beats.
Rosalind Lear appears to be hiding some kind of alternative motivation for investigating into Khan and Ceti Alpha, that is assuming Tuvok’s suspicions are correct. I wonder if Lear might be a distant relative to an augment. We know that the Noonien-Singh line even survives to the 23rd century because of La’an from SNW. (Why did La’an’s ancestors not change their last name?)
The song the young augments were listening to was Your Touch released in 2021. The song is synthwave so sounds like something from the 80’s, which I thought was intentional, as we know from Space Seed that the Botany Bay was launched in the 90’s (thought because of time travel shinanigans this was shifted around a few times). But I was expecting this to still be true. I’m unsure if this song is meant to imply that we’re in a timeline where the Botany Bay is launched after 2021, or if this song is meant to be from the 80’s which is how the augments have a copy. I wouldn’t read too much into this, but…what’s the point if we don’t argue a bit over it?
Ivan’s betrayal, and Khan’s odd mercy towards him is interesting. Khan’s paranoia served him well to deduce Ivan’s betrayal as well. I’m very curious if the Elboreans will actually be able to rehabilitate Ivan, i suspect if they’re successful this will place a great deal more paranoia in to Khan as he’ll believe the Elboreans are capable of brainwashing. And make him even less trusting of them.
Lastly the inevitable loss of McGiven’s to the Ceti Eel. It hit much harder than I was expecting. Amazing performances from the actors. I feel there are 2 possible fates of Kali, either Delmonda will save her and escape on that small ship they’re building (Delmonda leaving the augments behind on Ceti Alpha V because Khan inevitably betrays them), or she dies which will send Khan of the deep end to go ape shit on the Elboreans.
This was a very interesting episode. I think we only have 2 eps left. Things should get moving pretty quick.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x05 "Imagination's Limits" 3 weeks ago:
Interesting factoid is that McGivens knows Zefram Cochrane’s true motivation for building the first warp ship. When we see people talk about Cochrane after the fact, like Archer in ENT or even with Kirk and co met Cochrane or even the TNG crew. They all idolize him. McGiven’s, being a historian, oddly does not. As a historian I think it makes sense that she’d have a much more intimate knowledge of actual historical facts. In retrospective, her characterization in this audio drama is extremely different (and much more interesting) then her depiction in Space Seed.
In Space Seed she seemed to idolize historical figures. But in this drama she seems to almost be more cynical about it. I do think this makes her character a lot more interesting, so I’m not knocking it. The naive book worm having a crush on the genocidal dictator is not exactly compelling Star Trek. Her being the voice of reason, and even trying to offer a modern counterpoint to Khan’s dogmatic caveman (relatively speaking) thinking is good Star Trek. It’s just a shame she doesn’t have much political power to enforce the Federation’s ideals on these warmongering primitives.
I also like that even after Ceti Alpha VI blew up, it will take months before it effects Ceti Alpha V, giving Khan and co time to prepare. Also, nice to know that some of his company is intelligent enough to know they need to start to prepare, while Khan is prioritizing the wrong things and even possibly could have saved his people if he’d listen to Mcgiven’s and stop being so xenophobic.
I wonder if they’ll ever explore his feeling guilty, if he just listened to McGiven, Wrath of Khan would never have happened. But instead he unwittingly doomed them all.
This isn’t exactly the Star Trek I wanted, but I am pretty happy we got something to hold us over until the next series.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x04 "Magical Thinking" 4 weeks ago:
How could the Enterprise crew have missed the fact that one of the planets in the system was about to go critical? How could the Reliant crew not have not noticed a missing planet upon their return?
I’m going to be so disappointed if they don’t answer those questions.
- Comment on Is Star Trek Discovery that bad? 4 weeks ago:
I think Discovery is perfectly OK Star Trek. However, because it had a few changes in show runners things progress very strangely.
Season 1 is a 10 hour movie. I liked it for doing something different, and thought the plot twist was interesting.
Season 2 starts off good, but then jumps the (metaphorical) shark at the end.
Season 3 thru 5 starts to feel more like traditional Star Trek, just with wacky doom’s day scenario in the background until it’s resolved at the end of the season. It honestly feels too formulaic, but I thought Season 4’s ending was fantastic, some of the middle stuff was a mixed bag.
Anyway, I still think you should watch it. It’s perfectly adequate. Didn’t make me throw up at all.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x03 "Do Your Worst" 5 weeks ago:
So Khan and gang are on Ceti Alpha V. We see foreshadowing that Ceti Alpha VI is going to blow up. And we know it does in Wrath of Khan. What I don’t understand is how Chekov and company mistake Ceti Alpha V for VI. Khan says that the planet’s orbit shifted because of the explosion of VI.
But if VI is the outter most planet, how does it push V out further? Or like, how could they have mistaken V for VI when there is clearly a missing planet in the system. I guess because they were looking for a non-M class planet and didn’t even bother to count the planets in the Ceti Alpha system. I guess that makes sense…
It also doesn’t exactly make sense that a planet would just blow up, but I guess it could happen…
Anyway, I’m really enjoying this audio drama. This is honestly my first audio drama. I hope some animator with too much free time tries to make some cool visuals to go with this.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x03 "Do Your Worst" 5 weeks ago:
Yeah, I think this book/podcast is what named them Ceti Eel. I’m pretty sure they’re unnamed in Wrath of Khan.
- Comment on 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Producers Promise Season 4 Will Be Better 1 month ago:
I also really like Season 3, but I do feel it is the weakest of the 3 seasons we got so far.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x02 "Scheherazade" 1 month ago:
What are the rifles they’re using? Maybe taken from the 90s Eugenic Wars? I guess Kirk would have left them with it, since they’re basically obsolete and they do need something to help defend themselves.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x10 "New Life and New Civilizations" 1 month ago:
I don’t like destiny episodes. It makes it feel like nothing matters. Like in ENT’s Shockwave, the screw just follows Daniel’s plan it and it all works out.
I feel this was not a very strong season, but I did enjoy it and that they experimented with the shows formula a bit. But over all, I feel this is the weakest of the 3 seasons we have so far.
Also, what’s up with all the mind melds? I went back and watch Dagger of the Mind, the first time we see an onscreen mind meld, and Spock says that he never mind melded with a human before. I guess he could always be lying, as that is definitely within Spock’s ability, but it seems like a trivial thing to lie about. But I get it, don’t be a slave to canon when we got a story to tell.
But to be realistic, it’d have been easier to make a program that could fire the phasers at the same time rather then a mind meld. And at the same time, there are many times in Star Trek where literally basic cyber security or actual computer programming could have saved the day, and at the end of the day that’s just not good compelling story telling.
I’m also a bit disappointed that they did not find a contrived techno babel solution to save Gamble. But I get it, he’s not bridge crew, so is expendable.
It was nice that Pike and Batel got to experience a happy ending that we know will never come.
I don’t think I much like this episode though.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x01 "Paradise" 1 month ago:
I’m refreshing myself on Khan story and am watching Space Seed. And I see Lt. McGivers identifies Khan as a Sikh. I knew that Khan and company rules over India during the Eugenics Wars, but for some reason I always thought since the augments were multiracial, I just assumed they got Ricardo Montalban, a Mexican actor, because when they’re combining genes to make the perfect human they just kind of go with whatever’s on hand.
It not makes me think that Andrews is even better casting choice now.
Not to throw shade at Montalban, because I love Ricardo Montalban. He’s got so much charisma. But I do think it makes sense to have a Sikh character played by an Indian actor.
In contrast, Benedict Cumberbatch is another fantastic actor, but literally made no sense why they casted him as Khan.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x01 "Paradise" 1 month ago:
Gasp! I should have looked up if Earl Boen was still with us.
- Comment on Podcast Discussion | Star Trek: Khan | 1x01 "Paradise" 1 month ago:
I’ll add my comment from the other post here too.
Naveen Andrews is doing a great job with Khan sounding very charismatic.
Not to throw shade at Andrews, but I do kind of wish maybe they got Earl Boen who can do a very good sound alike to Ricardo Montalban. Boen filled in for Montalban as Señor Senior Sr. in Kim Possible, and sounded really spot on.
But if we ever see Khan on screen again, I think Andrews would be great casting.
I also did the unthinkable, I’m listening to this podcast at 1x speed. Because I wanted to really be immersed in the story telling. I usually listen to podcasts at 1.5x or 2x, whichever allows me to consume the content quicker while understanding it.
It’ll be intersting to see what hell comes from this that will inform Khan’s revenge for Kirk in Wrath of Khan.
- Comment on Star Trek: Khan is now available 1 month ago:
Naveen Andrews is doing a great job with Khan sounding very charismatic.
Not to throw shade at Andrews, but I do kind of wish maybe they got Earl Boen who can do a very good sound alike to Ricardo Montalban. Boen filled in for Montalban as Señor Senior Sr. in Kim Possible, and sounded really spot on.
But if we ever see Khan on screen again, I think Andrews would be great casting.
- Comment on Star Trek: Khan is now available 1 month ago:
I think we should. Any reason to talk more about Star Trek lore is great in my book.
- Comment on Star Trek: Scouts ☄️🖖🪐 | Official Trailer | Nick Jr. 1 month ago:
I personally am looking forward to the inevitable crossover episode with Strange New Worlds.
- Comment on Teaser | Star Trek x LEGO 1 month ago:
That’s going to be so dope. Probably very pricy too, since license Lego products are expensive and the tariffs I’ve heard have even effect Lego prices.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x09 "Terrarium" 1 month ago:
- Yeah. They waste at least 2 days trying to get Ortega back when maybe they should have just accepted the calculated lose. They even risked the Enterprise in a very dangerous maneuver to force open the wormhole. All around it is a bad call from Pike, but it’s pretty on brand for Starfleet Captains to put an individual over the needs of the many. It’s why Vulcan captains probably suck.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x09 "Terrarium" 1 month ago:
- I think this can easily be handwaved away since the scenario is artificial in the first place.
- Odds are it’ll take a few days or possible weeks of travel to rondevu with the Constellation.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x09 "Terrarium" 1 month ago:
To be fair, if you look at her quarters, she does tinker with things a lot. So it’s not exactly out of left field that she might have the mechanical knowledge to tinker up some jury rigged devices.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x09 "Terrarium" 1 month ago:
A Darmok and Arena episode is not what I was expacting but I was pleasantly surprised.
I don’t mind retreading old stories, after all recycling plots is a Star Trek tradition.
I’d have been happier without the reveal of the Metrons. I get it, as a callout/foreshadowing of Arena, but I kind of feel that is took away from the emotional beat of the Gorn being killed by the security team. Then to also have it handwaved away with a memory wipe, so that it is only meant for us, the viewers. I don’t know man… I kind of like the deepcut, but it’s also distracting.
I guess it was also a bit necessary for us to understand the Gorn a bit more to have the all seeing eye narrate to us that the Gorn pilot was lonely and is the reason Ortega was spared.
Anyway, I loved this episode. We got a whole episode for Ortega. Addressed her PTSD that had been sitting in the backseat for this entire season. And I love these kind of survival episodes. Like I really enjoyed ENT’s Shuttlepod One for the same reason. Just seeing characters fighting for their lives and also accepting their death in a cold and uncaring Universe. It’s good completing Star Trek.
The only thing I wish is that SNW’s best episodes didn’t feel like the best of TOS.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x08 "Four-and-a-Half-Vulcans" 2 months ago:
Why wouldn’t doctor m’benga challenge their decision to remain Vulcan without checking, testing, verifying their capacity?
I totally thought that too. Clearly, their judgement has been impaired and what they want is irrelevant. But you know…sometimes you just need stuff to happen to get the plot moving.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x08 "Four-and-a-Half-Vulcans" 2 months ago:
Does that imply that Romulans augmented themselves? And that’s what distinguishes them physiologically from Vulcans, and is what makes them kinda evil?
I guess it makes some sense. They never got the teachings of Surak. So to control their emotions maybe they looked in to genetic augmentation, and it turns out, they turned evil. Which to be fair, a very common theme in Star Trek (exect when it’s not).
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x08 "Four-and-a-Half-Vulcans" 2 months ago:
I didn’t appreciate that despite the extra long (and extra long feeling) runtime of this one they had three of the Vulcans return to human off screen.
I feel like Pike and Uhura already had external character growth on screen to explain why it wouldn’t take much convincing for them to go back. I kind of wish they showed what convinced Chapel.
But I think it makes sense to also emphasis La’an because they’re trying ti build up the relationship with Spock, so they do kind of need more screen time.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x08 "Four-and-a-Half-Vulcans" 2 months ago:
Great episode. Extremely cringe but it works for me.
God, the amount of bullying Spock must have put up with as a kid. It’s no wonder he joined Starfleet. We even see it in one of the movies where he kicked the shit out of another Vulcan kid.
And incase someone needs a reminder on how Pike and La’An knew what Romulans are. La’An ran in to one in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. And Pike runs into them in *A Quality of Mercy *. Both dealing with wacky time displacement nonsense and conanically Romulans aren’t revealed until TOS’s Balance of Terror (which A Quality of Mercy is a remake of).
La’An is a terrible Romulan. She should have kept her plotting closer to the chest. Also funny how Pike saw through her behavior but didn’t do anything about it. Does show Vulcan’s are inherently bias towards other Vulcans. Which we even saw brought up when Batel calls out Pasalk.
This was a very fun episode, and does show off the complete bullshit logical fallacies that make up Vulcan society without having to deal with Vulcan society.
- Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x07 "What Is Starfleet?" 2 months ago:
I agree, the documentary was simply a framing device. I think it was an interesting decision as well. The moral quandaries are not taking a backseat just because the framing device is so front and center.
I think an entire series framed like this could be very interesting with an embedded reporter creating a documentary on the on goings of a Starfleet ship.
Honestly, as an audiance we are a bit spoiled with the all seeing eye, but that’s not necessarily how the average citizen in the Federation sees it.
- Comment on new Star Trek Voyager videogame: Across the Unknown 2 months ago:
If this is FTL but Star Trek Voyager, I’m going to be in heaven.
- Comment on Star Trek: Infection VR - Official Release Date Trailer | gamescom 2025 - IGN 2 months ago:
You might be right. I just took a look at the sales, and last year did see a 12% drop. Apple’s Vision Pro is over priced and lacks software, and the Meta Quest 3 saw high initial sales but has dropped a lot since then.
It is definitely a very niche product with a high price point that prevents it from making broader market appeal.
But oddly, Meta is reporting increase in VR game revenue, so I guess games are still selling on its platform at the least.