Far from Home. Michael Burnham’s arrival in the year 3188 gave us our first glimpse of the far future and revealed hints about the cataclysmic event known as the Burn, as well as the seeming demise of the United Federation of Planets as a galactic power. But what about the crew of the USS Discovery? “That Hope Is You, Part 1” left them in the shadows. But while the first episode of Season 3 was all Michael, the second is all everyone else. In this episode of The Edge, host C Bryan Jones...

That Hope Is You, Part 1. When we last saw the crew of the USS Discovery, they were on their way to the 32nd century. It’s taken longer than expected to make it through that wormhole, thanks to a little 21st -century problem of our own, but the third season of Star Trek: Discovery has finally arrived. And with it have come some answers as well as a slew of new questions. We now know what the Burn is—at least the basics—and have gotten our first glimpse of a diminished United Federation of...

Discovery and the Mirror Universe. Star Trek first took us to the Mirror Universe during the second season of The Original Series. It would take 27 years for another crossover—in the aptly named second-season episode of Deep Space Nine—and the show would bring us three more outings. Enterprise continued the theme with the two-part “In a Mirror, Darkly” before Discovery made the the Terran Empire a key part of its first season. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart and Brandi Jackola...

Tilly. Ensign Sylvia Tilly is a special character, like few we have seen in Star Trek before. She is human, but there are many aspects of her humanity that have not often been part of the officers seen in past series. It’s a testament to the writers and creators of the show that they could so successfully introduce such a wonderfully crafted young engineer. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart and Brandi Jackola, who identifies most with Tilly of all characters in the franchise,...

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It’s the show that everybody has been asked for since Anson Mount took the screen as Captain Christopher Pike in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery. At last, the powers that be have heard the collective cries of fandom and announced the return of Mount as Pike along with Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romijn as Number One in a spin-off series entitled Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola, and Nick...

Discovery Season 1 Special Features. Creating a new show is never easy. Creating a science fiction show and a brand-new universe would be daunting. And doing so within the framework of Star Trek universe would be utterly terrifying. Yet all the departments working on Star Trek: Discovery, from make-up to set design, did a fabulous job of crafting a new take on a familiar world from the ground up. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola, and Nick Collinson discuss the...

Disco Klingons. Honor! Glory! Death in battle! Klingons have been a part of Star Trek since the beginning. The Original Series saw smooth-headed Klingons, the movies introduced forehead ridges, and we learned more about their culture during the franchise’s so-called golden years of the 1990s. More than two decades later, Star Trek: Discovery once again changed—or reimagined—the look of one of the show’s staple aliens species. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola,...

Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad. The majority of Star Trek—from The Original Series through to Enterprise—has followed an episode-of-the-week format. Sure, Deep Space Nine had its overall Dominion arc and Enterprise tackled the Xindi in its third season, but it took until Discovery for Star Trek to hit a fully serialized format. “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” Discovery’s seventh episode, is the only standalone installment so far in Discovery’s two-season run. In this episode...

Discovery: The Missing Story, Part I. Star Trek: Discovery followed two main storylines in its first season: the Klingon War and Lorca’s journey back to the Mirror Universe. When the NCC-1031 paid its visit to the Terran Empire, the Klingon War in the Prime Universe continued without them. Months passed before Discovery returned home, and when it did we saw that the Klingons had almost decimated the Federation. But how? In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola, and Nick...

Background Bridge Crew. Every incarnation of Star Trek portrays the bridge crew and senior staff as a cohesive unit. One could say they are a family. We also get to learn a great deal about not only the captain and first officer, but also those who sit at the conn, communications, ops, and security stations. Star Trek: Discovery, however, is different. Famed for being the first Star Trek series whose main character is not the captain, it doesn’t really develop the bridge crew as other series...

Unanswered Threads. When a television show creates large, elaborate storylines that are weaved throughout a season, some of the smaller plot points that were developed may never get finalized. What on Kaminar is happening now with the Kelpiens and Ba’ul? The logic extremists came and went pretty quickly, and what’s going to happen with L’Rell’s chancellorship? In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola, and Nick Collinson discuss some unanswered questions and speculate on...

Ships of Discovery, Part 3. Not only did Star Trek: Discovery introduce a whole range of new Federation vessels, it also brought us fresh designs for some much-loved ones from beyond Starfleet. The Klingons have been part of Star Trek since the beginning, and were a major adversary in Season 1 of Discovery, with their fearsome vessels destroying many Starfleet assets. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola, and Nick Collinson conclude their three-part discussion on...

Ships of Discovery, Part 2. Not all ships are hero ships, such as the USS Discovery and the USS Enterprise. Starfleet still needs the smaller, lesser-known vessels to perform vital functions throughout—and at the edge of—Federation space. Medical, transport, and science ships all have specific day-to-day functions. But when it comes down to it, all starships are able to fight for the Federation’s values when necessary. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola, and...

Ships of Discovery, Part 1. Some starships look like cruise ships. Others look like warehouses with nacelles. Either way, Star Trek would not be the same without the myriad vessels shown over the past 50-plus years. Star Trek: Discovery has given us great new designs and updated one of the franchise’s most iconic ones: the USS Enterprise NCC-1701. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Liam Smart, Brandi Jackola, and Nick Collinson discuss the hero ships of Star Trek: Discovery, including the...

Animated Short Treks. It’s been more than 45 years since the airing of “The Counter-Clock Incident,” the final episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series. All Star Trek since has been live action—until now! “The Girl Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot” represent a new chapter in Star Trek’s second golden age. With the franchise venturing into adult animation with Star Trek: Lower Decks, these animated Short Treks offer something for the younger audience. In this episode of The Edge,...

Commentary Track. In this episode of Tracks from The Edge, Mike Schindler is joined by Max Hegel to bring you a commentary for “Ephraim and Dot,” the fifth episode of the second season of Star Trek: Short Treks. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Commentary (00:04:56) Closing (00:15:58) Hosts Mike Schindler and Max Hegel Production Mike Schindler (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao...

Commentary Track. In this episode of Tracks from The Edge, Mike Schindler is joined by Max Hegel to bring you a commentary for “The Girl Who Made the Stars,” the fourth episode of the second season of Star Trek: Short Treks. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Commentary (00:04:18) Closing (00:11:27) Hosts Mike Schindler and Max Hegel Production Mike Schindler (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C....

Star Trek: Discovery: A New Host Review. With two full seasons under its belt—and a third to be released later this year—Star Trek: Discovery has given us some great new Star Trek stories and allowed older ones to grow. Through the Klingon War, Section 31, and the Mirror Universe, Discovery expanded upon the culture of the Klingons and the goings on of the Terran Empire while also giving us a new way to fly! Now, some time-traveling shenanigans have set up what could be a dramatic Season...

Goodbye and Hello. Each season of Star Trek: Discovery has brought us a different captain: Lorca in the first and Pike in the second. Who will take the center seat in the third? And just as each season of the series has told a fascinating story before the crew moves on to something new, so it is with this podcast. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin are joined by Liam Smart, Nicholas Paul Collinson, and Brandi Jackola for a changing of the guard as they say...

Fan Response to “The Girls Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot.” After watching the Short Treks episodes “The Girls Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot,” fans had much to talk about. In this episode of Postcards from The Edge, host Christopher D. Littlefield is joined by Brandi Jackola to discuss all the feedback we’ve received from listeners—both positive and negative. (Be sure to listen all the way past the closing music!) Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Fan Response (00:08:36) ...

Live Reaction Show.   In this episode of Live from The Edge, hosts Brandi Jackola and Bruce Gibson discuss their initial thoughts and feelings about “The Girl Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot,” the fourth and fifth episodes of the second season of Star Trek: Short Treks.   Hosts Brandi Jackola and Bruce Gibson   Production Bruce Gibson (Editor) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate...

Ask Not. Starfleet has a tradition of testing its members: Kirk and the Kobayashi Maru, Wesley Crusher and the psych scenario, Deanna Troi and her command test are examples. These trials are designed to judge character, loyalty, and the ability to make decisions. When serving aboard Captain Pike’s Enterprise, the drill is no different. In this episode of The Edge, hosts Amy Nelson and Patrick Devlin discuss the latest episode of Short Treks, “Ask Not.” We delve into the many types of...

Commentary Track. In this episode of Tracks from The Edge, Mike Schindler is joined by Max Hegel to bring you a commentary for “Ask Not,” the third episode of the second season of Star Trek: Short Treks. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Commentary (00:02:47) Closing (00:15:06) Hosts Mike Schindler and Max Hegel Production Mike Schindler (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate...

Fan Response to “Ask Not.” After watching the Short Treks episode “Ask Not,” fans had much to talk about. In this episode of Postcards from The Edge, host Christopher D. Littlefield is joined by Christos Giannaris to discuss all the feedback we’ve received from listeners—both positive and negative. (Be sure to listen all the way past the closing music!) Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Fan Response (00:06:47) Questions and Concerns (00:28:13) Last Words (00:35:31) Final Thoughts...