Episodes
What if J/C was canon? In our last episode of Punch It: Writing in Star Trek, we tackle something near and dear to our hearts. Janeway and Chakotay are in love and you can't convince us otherwise. What if those cowards in the writer's room pulled the trigger and made it canon? We make up the relationship on the fly and figure out how the show would change if it was revealed they have been in an intimate relationship. Thank you all for listening.
Published 01/09/20
Published 01/09/20
What if the Voyager crew got stranded in LA when they went back in time? In Star Trek: Voyager's "Future's End" the crew got taken back to 1990s LA. They had to find their way back and of course, they did. But what if they didn't right away? What would happen? Would they get jobs? Would they move on? Would they stay together? We answer these questions and a whole lot more.
Published 12/05/19
22nd Century Short Trek This week we tackle Short Treks once again but this time within the 22nd century. Enterprise showed a great relationship between Trip and Archer. We wanted to expand on that and talk about their survival training together in Death Valley. What type of Enterprise short trek would you guys like to see from Star Trek?
Published 11/21/19
24th Century Short Treks This week we take a fantastic listener suggestion and develop 24th century Short Treks that bridge The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. We took a stab at two and an interesting theme came up that is revealed in the title. What are some Short Trek ideas you would have liked to have seen in the 90s?
Published 11/14/19
What stories could be explored if Star Trek leaned heavy on animation? We've had Star Trek: The Animated Series and now we're getting Lower Decks. But what if an executive came into a room and said "We're starting a new initiative with a lot of animated Star Trek projects. Pitch me some ideas." This week, we discuss that scenario and explore what kind of stories could be told.
Published 10/31/19
Punching Up "The Trouble with Edward" Char didn't like the latest Short Trek and Tristan thought it was fine. Regardless of your opinion on the quality of the episode, there are more than a few things that stand out as puzzling. This week, your Punch It crew takes the episode and figures out how they can punch it up and have it appeal to a wider Star Trek audience.
Published 10/24/19
Picard/Disco Trailer Discussion We've been gone for quite some time but are happy to be back! We catch up with​ each other as well as the audience as to what was going on during those three weeks. But we mainly geek out about the new Picard and Discovery trailers! We talk briefly about the new Short Treks but there are zero spoilers.
Published 10/17/19
Weird shipping in Star Trek We continue with oddball pairings this week and it goes into some uncomfortable territory. Last week we developed an entire relationship between Janeway and Neelix. This week we spend time on more than one couple. We tackle, flirting, infidelity, and how there were a lot of triangles in Deep Space Nine.
Published 09/19/19
What if Neelix and Janeway were in a relationship? You read that right. We're actually doing this. We pose the crazy question and then explore it over the course of this episode. We had no plans that this is what we would discuss but it just happened. But what would that relationship look like in Star Trek: Voyager? Honestly? It turned out great and oddly touching. Listen and let us know what you think.
Published 09/12/19
What makes a mediocre Star Trek episode mediocre? It's easy to make a best and worst list of Star Trek episodes; they're all over the internet. But no one is making a "mediocre" list. In this episode, we discuss what are some common characteristics of forgettable Trek episodes that aren't terrible.
Published 08/29/19
As Star Trek fans, we lead rich fantasy lives. Char and Tristan discuss what it was like growing up Star Trek fans and how they either wrote down their Trek fantasies or just played them in their head. Imagining themselves on the bridge of the Enterprise or lost in the Delta Quadrant, it didn't matter because it was a place to escape. They discuss this as well as how certain fantasies can become unhealthy. What are some of your Star Trek fantasies that you go to?
Published 08/22/19
What would an R rated Star Trek movie look like? Listen, neither Char nor Tristan want an R rated movie. That's why they think it would interesting if they were forced to write one. With news of the possibility of a Tarantino Trek coming getting more and more serious, they wanted to see what it would take to get a Trek amped up to R. How much language, how much sex, how much violence would be "appropriate"? More importantly, what kind of story would be ideal? Listen to find out the...
Published 08/15/19
What happens right before Star Trek: Picard? There is zero way of knowing for sure but your Punch It crew loves a good "What if?" This week, we take a look at the Picard trailer again and see if we can fill in the gaps between when Jean-Luc leaves Starfleet and when the show picks up. So many direction to go in it's hard to choose one, but we try. Listen to see how we tackled it.
Published 08/08/19
What if "Year of Hell" was on other iterations of Star Trek? This was a listener suggestion that we were itching to try out. We started developing scenarios for Deep Space Nine and The Original Series and got really excited. As we moved on to The Next Generation and Enterprise we started seeing a pattern in the existing writing of the show. Listen to find out what we learned.
Published 08/01/19
Our honest and hyped reactions to the Star Trek: Picard trailer We started out the episode thinking this would just be an intro topic but it ended up filling the entire episode. This week we ponder the ramifications of this type of show as well as the possibilities of directions that show as well as the character of Picard could take. 20 years is a long time and the world, as well as our former Captain, is very different. What do you hope to see in this upcoming show?
Published 07/25/19
On-the-fly episode about Phlox Phlox is an extremely interesting character from Star Trek: Enterprise. His backstory is extremely colorful and this week we explore a scenario where it comes back to haunt him. In this episode on-the-fly, we create a story where a husband of one of Phlox’s wives is bad news.
Published 07/11/19
What if Deep Space Nine's wormhole went to the Delta Quadrant? The Bajoran wormhole has given us some amazing stories in Deep Space Nine by taking us to the Gamma Quadrant. But what if it didn't? What if it went to the Delta Quadrant and Star Trek: Voyager never existed? In this episode, we talk about how DS9 would change and what familiar faces we could possibly see. How do you think the show would have looked?
Published 07/04/19
How would the other captains react to the Caretaker? In another "What if?" scenario, this week's episode of Punch It tackles Star Trek: Voyager's series opener, "Caretaker," and how Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Pike would have reacted to the situation of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant​. What do you think each captain would do?
Published 06/20/19
Kirk and Crew take on the Borg You read that right! In this episode of Punch It, we craft a story that postulates what the Borg would look like and how the events would go down if it was a TOS episode first. But we couldn't stop there; we tackle a sequel movie as well. If you're thinking this is reminiscent​ of Space Seed/TWOK then you are very perceptive. Please listen and write us what you think the episode and the movie should be called.
Published 06/13/19
Everyone, I mean everyone, is in the Nexus You read that right. Your Punch It hosts create an absurd story that gets every single lead Star Trek character into the Nexus. How did they get in there? Do they try to get out? How do they find each other? Who gets along and who doesn't? Listen to hear this off-the-wall tale of heaven and plot devices.
Published 06/06/19
Picard is on its way and hopefully, so are some Short Treks The new teaser trailer for Picard dropped and it asks more questions than it answers. It begs you to watch it find out more and it feels like a tonal shift from Discovery that might bring in some different types of fans. In this episode, we discuss what types of Short Treks could be made as a lead up to Star Trek: Picard as well as Discovery season three. We also talk about how other Star Trek shows would have handled Short Treks if...
Published 05/30/19
Would Tom Paris fit on any show other than Star Trek: Voyager? This week we take a look at everyone's favorite pilot, Tom Paris, and see how his character would fit and/or develop on all the other iterations of Star Trek. From TOS to DSC. The hardest part seemed to be how to get a person with his past physically on the ship/station. Listen to find out how we did it. How would you do it?
Published 05/16/19
The Sound of Thunder's Prime Directive Problem Pike made a decision in Star Trek: Discovery's season two episode "The Sound of Thunder" that changed the course of evolution for one species and altered the balance of power with another. These were both non-federation races. The captain had a split second to make that monumental choice. How would other captains react? In this episode, we discuss how Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer would have done if they were the captain of Discovery...
Published 05/09/19
What if Seven came aboard the Enterprise-D instead of Voyager? Adding to our "What If?" catalog, we tackle Seven of Nine and transplant her as a show regular on Star Trek: The Next Generation. How would Scorpion be different? Would it be a rewrite of I, Borg? How would she get along with the crew. We discuss this and more on this week's episode.
Published 05/02/19