Ceti Alpha 3: A Star Trek Podcast

Star Trek in Wonderland. Star Trek provides so much to their fans - great stories and characters, a sense of hope for the future, a dazzling prediction of future technology and more. There is also the simple sense of wonder - whether in special effects or small moments. Darren, Daniel, and Phillip look at the moments of "wonder" in Star Trek, and why they are so important. What's your favorite "wonder"ful moment in Trek?

What If ... It Wasn't the Vulcans at First Contact?April 5, 2063 - one of the most historic days for Earth in "Star Trek." However, Daniel, Darren, and Phillip imagine a reality where it wasn't the Vulcans that landed in Montana. What if it had been the Klingons? Or Cardassians? Or Denobulans? The trio goes through the effects on human history if Earth's first contact had been with any other Trek alien species. Which alien species would you most want to have first contact with?

"The Cage" OverviewThe season one finale of "Star Trek: Discovery" gave viewers their first glimpse of the Captain Christopher Pike-led starship Enterprise since The Original Series. Phillip, Daniel, and Darren decide to view the original source material of the first Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," to see where the season two premiere episode of DSC will lead us. They discuss the characters, technology, and other features from the first ever episode of Trek that they are looking forward to seeing again.What features of "The Cage" are you most looking forward to in Discovery?

Star Trek Theme ParkWith Star Wars land coming to the Disneyland Resort next year Daniel, Darren and Phillip decide what a Star Trek theme park would look like. Located in central Montana your stay will be surrounded by Klingons, Vulcans and Starfleet. What would you add to your Star Trek theme park?

Writing the Star Trek Discovery MovieThe final scene of Star Trek Discovery's first season showed us the starship Discovery meeting the U.S.S. Enterprise. The trio decides to pitch their idea of a Discovery movie that answers the question - what happens next? They imagine an epic story where Captain Pike's distress signal leads to a starship Enterprise caught in a temporal dimensional eddy leading to the Discovery crew traveling among multiple Enterprises -- but only one can survive in the end. Join the stranded co-hosts as they travel among the various versions of the NCC-1701. 

Trek Marriages. We know that romantic stories can play a part in many “stories of the week” in the Star Trek franchise. But what about the long-term romances? Phillip, Daniel, and Darren look at the trial and tribulations of committed couples in Starfleet and wonder why they are so rare.Who is your favorite married couple in Trek?

If the Enterprise-D Had Lived in the MoviesWe all know that the Enterprise-D was destroyed and unable to be salvaged in "Star Trek: Generations." In this episode, Darren, Daniel, and Phillip try to imagine the rest of the Next Generation feature films with our favorite Galaxy-class vessel. What if the flagship went through the same evolution as The Original Series' Enterprise in the movies - with a modified version as its successor, analagous to the "All Good Things" model. How would it have faired against the Borg? The Briar Patch? How many extra warp nacelles are too many?Which movie would the Enterprise-D have been best in? 

The Ultimate Star Trek Crew Bracket.There has been a lot of uses of “pop culture” brackets following the end of sports ball bracket season. Daniel, Darren, and Phillip put their own spore drive spin on the concept - they pick a captain and crew member from each series and “pit” them against each other in a “Hunger Games”-esque scenario. Which pair will come out on top? And which partners might turn on each other? What Trek character makes it to the end, with arms raised in victory? Join this celebration of 50 plus years of Star Trek, and let us know what your ultimate Trek bracket would look like.

Shakespeare in Star Trek VIIn this week of 4/1, the Ceti Alpha 3 duo tackle the ubiquitious use of William Shakespeare in The Original Series' final feature outing, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. From the film title itself to General Chang's frequent quotations, Jessica and Phillip look at how Klingon culture embraces the Bard and more. What is your favorite Shakespeare line from the movie? 

Picking Your Fantasy Starfleet AssignmentWe all dream of serving on the Enterprise with Captain Kirk or Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. But the trio decides to pick their fantasy Starfleet assignments outside of the "main" ships and space stations. This leads to some surprising choices across time and space. Join the stranded team as they do a round-robin exercise of picking their future starship assigments.Which secondary Star Trek ship would you choose to serve on?

Star Trek: Titan Pilot Episode. Star Trek fans hunger for the continuing adventures of the 24th Century. Many of those stories live on in the novels, including those with Captain William T. Riker and the starship Titan. However, Daniel, Darren, and Phillip decide to write and pitch their own television pilot for “Star Trek: Titan,” with new characters and some familiar faces. They fill in the senior officers with a diverse group of aliens, and a story that strikes at the heart of the United Federation of Planets. They propose a familiar villain acting in a new capacity, and Captain Riker will face a foe who may know him better than anyone.Who would you want on the crew of the U.S.S. Titan?

Switching Trek Crew RolesEvery so often in Star Trek, a crew member will be asked to take another's role - Worf took over for Yar after her death in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and Saru got placed on the command track after Burhnam was sentenced to life in prison in "Star Trek: Discovery." In this thought experiment episode, Phillip goes through every live-action Star Trek television series and has Daniel and Darren fill a "vacated position" with an existing person from that same series. Who on the NCC-1701-D will replace Lt. Cmdr Data at Ops? Which person will now be the security/tactical officer onboard Voyager? Who gets the promotion to first officer once Lt. Col. Kira is taken off Deep Space Nine? Join in the game and let us know your choices! Do you agree with Daniel and Darren's picks

Episodes That Should Have Been Movies.We love our Star Trek movies (er, most of them...) and those two- and three-part episodes. However, there are still some individual Star Trek episodes that could have shined on the silver screen. Darren, Daniel, and Phillip take turns pitching episodes from 50 plus years of Star Trek that would have brought our favorite characters to feature length stories (and budgets). Which idea do you think would be the best movie? Which episode should have been made a movie? 

Creating a Star Trek Escape RoomThe trio has been stranded on Ceti Alpha 3 for while, so it's time to think about escape! Daniel, Phillip, and Darren are joined by Escape Room GameMaster Zach LaVoy (@ZachLaVoy) as they create a Star Trek-themed escape room. They establish "Professor Moriarty's Holodeck Mis-adventure," as well as specialized escape room ideas for each of the live-action Star Trek series/movies. Join them as they use Satan's Robot to give clues, have an apple waiting in the Kobayashi Maru simulator, and have contestants sorting through different-colored tribbles.What would be your favorite idea for a Star Trek-themed escape room?

The Ultimate Star Trek ConventionDaniel, Darren and Phillip plan the ultimate 2 day Star Trek Convention. There will be sets, stars, cosplay, music, bars, dancing, escape rooms and more. Listen as we spare no expense to make thousands of fans happy.

"Will You Take My Hand?" AnalysisChapter one (or is it chapter two?) of "Star Trek: Discovery" comes to a close with this season finale. Daniel, Darren, and Phillip take one last trip in the Crossfield-class Starfleet vessel before turning off the mushroom drive for hiatus. They discuss whether the Klingon War came to a satisfying end, how Michael's redemption was earned, and if all the characters landed in an interesting place at season close. They also give their season one ratings and look to the future.What is your rating for season one of Discovery? Did the season finale give enough closure?

The penultimate episode of season one gives us a Mirror Empereor with a surprising new role, a devasted and perhaps morally-wounded Federation, and a plan to end the Klingon War once and for all. So this should all get wrapped up nicely in the one remaining episode! Darren, Daniel, and Phillip follow the episode chronologically, looking at character moments and how all the previous episodes have led the Discovery crew to desperate acts. The trio attempts some predictions for the season finale, and discuss where "Star Trek Discovery" has led its audience.

"What's Past is Prologue" AnalysisThe first season of "Star Trek: Discovery" is coming to a close, and things are happening fast. So fast, that the trio does their first-ever "quick reaction" episode, recording just an hour after "What's Past is Prologue" was uploaded onto CBS All Access. With all the twists and turns in this Mirror episode, and a plot moving at mushroom warp speed, Phillip, Daniel, and Darren try to absorb it all in, talk about how fan predictions were proved wrong (or right), how Lorca, Michael, the Emperior, Tilley, & Stamets developed, and that the ending means for the remaining two episodes in the season.Where do you think Discovery is heading as the season closes?

"Vaulting Ambition" AnalysisIn the shortest episode of Star Trek ever we get many confirmations, reveals and questions about what the last 3 episodes will hold. Captain Lorca is ... revealed. And the trio has a lot to say about it. Join them as they examine the Discovery’s continued adventure into the Mirror Universe with Emperor Georgiou, sampling Kelpien dishes, and Stamets meets himself & his departed partner. Where do you think these storylines are going? What surprised you the most?

"The Wolf Inside" Analysis"Star Trek Discovery" finally commits to revealing some long-awaiting plot twists in "The Wolf Inside," but unfortunately the Mirror Universe swallows co-host Darren Moser. However, Daniel and Phillip welcome Andi VanderKolk (@firsttimetrek) to help discuss Lt. Ash Tyler's tendency to sweat and look nauseous, when it's appropriate to tell someone who their Mirror version counterpart is, and Captain Lorca's true identity. Join this Mirrorverse trio, and then let us know what you thought of this episode.What do you think the future holds for the Burhnam-Tyler romance? Were you surprised by the Empereor's arrival?