Death Wish.

When Voyager premiered, it seemed a given that the fan-favorite Q would turn up on the series. But the producers were cautious in using John de Lancie’s character yet again. As loved as Q was, he always ran the risk of being a one-verse song played over and over—a danger highlighted by his single appearance on Deep Space Nine. The door to Q’s return was finally opened by an unexpected hand, that of Michael Piller’s son, Shawn. Having overheard his dad pondering the problem, he began pitching the idea that became “Death Wish.” And from this idea grew one of the most poignant Q episodes in all of Star Trek.

In this episode of The Ready Room we're joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Suzanne Abbott, and Scott Hertzog of The SciFi Diner to discuss how Q's character grew through this story that tackles some very difficult and divisive issues, including assisted suicide, treatment of prisoners, and the rights of individuals versus the good of society.

In our news segment we take a look at Cross Cult's new covers for Kirsten Beyer's Full Circle and Unworthy, discuss how Data may have gotten his Federation citizenship (as described by "The Measure of a Man" writer Melinda Snodgrass), and ponder a proposed perfect RetKHAN to Star Trek Into Darkness.

Coda.

Jeri Taylor wrote the book on Janeway. Literally. Two of them in fact! So it was no surprise that a third-season story about Janeway's death came from her pen. "Coda" pulls together a number of familiar Star Trek themes to explore issues of death, how it affects both the survivors and the deceased, and even throws in a Dying Swan for good measure. In this episode of The Ready Room we're joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Tristan Riddell, and Suzanne Abbott to discuss Janeway's brush with death, Chakotay's outpouring of emotion, what Jeri Taylor brings to Janeway that other writers can't, and whether or not this mishmash of ideas comes together to create a satisfying whole.

In our news segments we find out where the next Destination Star Trek with land, take a peek at Patrick Stewart's new TV series, learn about the latest honor for William Shatner—this time from NASA—and find out what decision almost made in 1966 could have changed the course of Star Trek.  

Scientific Method.

Aliens performing experiments on the crew without their knowledge is nothing new for Star Trek. The Next Generation did it to very creepy effect in “Schisms.” Enterprise also did it—in a somewhat different way—in “Observer Effect.” But Voyager delivered perhaps the most entertaining lab rats-in-space story in the Season Four episode “Scientific Method.”

In this episode of The Ready Room we're joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Phillip Gilfus, and Daniel Proulx to talk about Tom and B’Elanna getting busy in engineering, Seven and the Doctor wearing tights, a potential Chakotay-Neelix spinoff, Janeway channeling Sisko, and, for some reason, Muppet fanfic.

In our news segment we take a look at a theatrical run for Shatner's World, Leonard Nimoy and the Boston Pops, QMx's salvaging of the Voyager commbadge, and StarTrek.com's interview with Susan Gibney—the Almost-Janeway.

Faces.

We all have different sides that make us who we are. The Original Series explored this masterfully in Richard Matheson’s story of Kirk’s struggle to live with only his good or evil half in “The Enemy Within.” When Voyager rolled around nearly 30 years later, the writers once again took us to the realm of Jekyll and Hyde incarnate with “Faces,” the story of B’Elanna’s struggle between her Klingon and human halves. In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Charlynn Schmiedt and Mariel Keeran to discuss what the story has in common with “The Enemy Within” and where it differs, how the loss of each side affected the other as B’Elanna coped with being fully Klingon and fully human, and how the writers could have taken a bold step on Voyager and turned the actions of the Vidiians into an incredible character arc.

In news we examine the winners of the WeLoveFine Star Trek t-shirt design contest, get you ready for Star Trek Online’s debut on Mac, learn about the return of Michael Dorn as Worf in STO, share our thoughts on the rumours of Joe Cornish directing the next Abramsverse film, and get the details of the Japanese Blu-ray release of Star Trek Into Darkness (are all the extras available in one set?). Plus, we find out which energy drink will be sponsoring the next Parrises squares championship. 

The Voyager Conspiracy.

Alcoves have many uses. There's the obvious one—regeneration—but there are less common ones as well, like playing Matlock. When Seven decided she could analyse data better than the crew or the ship's computer, she found herself being pulled down a rabbit hole infested with photonic fleas. In this episode of The Ready Room we're joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Phillip Gilfus, and Daniel Proulx to discuss "The Voyager Conspiracy," why exactly Seven wanted to download 30 million teraquads of data into her brain in the first place, and just who exactly Naomi Wildman is working for.

In our news segment we find out what Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner have brewing on stage, how Gates is using Vine as a promotional tool, debate which Trek series has the best theme music is, and look at Bruce E. Drushel's new anthology Fan Phenomena: Star Trek.

The Q and the Grey.

Q was a constant thorn in Picard’s side. He put the Enterprise crew on trial for the crimes of humanity, introduced humans to the Borg, kidnapped Vash, and sent the Captain spiralling through time. Through it all, one thing he never did with Jean Luc was try to procreate. But that’s exactly what he tried to do with Janeway in “The Q and the Grey.” In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Darren Moser, and Mike Rittenhouse to discuss a Q’s guide to romance, how John de Lancie’s character fits into Voyager compared to TNG, how the episode rewrites the very nature of the Q, and the battle for the future of the Continuum.

In our news segment we preview the festivities slated for Star Trek Las Vegas, fill you in on a special convention panel for Larry Nemecek’s Stellar Cartography, and we say goodbye to Michael Ansara, who played Kang—one of Star Trek’s original Klingons. Plus, we unveil our plan for solving the world economic crisis using custom Star Trek email accounts.

Thirty Days.

Tom Paris started his life on Voyager as the carefree badboy. But over the course of seven seasons he grew more than perhaps any other character. The journey was not without its bumps though, as was the case when he found himself back in prison—or at least the brig—after violating Janeway’s orders under Monean waters. In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Tristan Riddell and Daniel Proulx to discuss “Thirty Days” and how, though it meant a demotion for Tom, it showed he had learned to care about things bigger than himself.

In our news segment we look at the Saturn Award win for the TNG remastered team, the TNG Season Five Blu-ray trailer, a Star Trek t-shirt design contest, and Chris finally gets to talk a bit about his impressions of Star Trek Into Darkness. Plus, we remember the prolific writing career of Richard Matheson, who passed away on June 23. 

Real Life.

When the USS Voyager was pulled across the galaxy by the Caretaker Array, each person on the ship left a family member behind. All but one that is. As a hologram the Doctor had no family to lose; yet he still wanted to find out what it would be like if he did. In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Charlynn Schmiedt, Colin Higgins, and Lorrie Sears to discuss the Doctor’s grand family experiment in “Real Life.” Along the way we also find out how a classic 20th Century song inspired Tom Paris to fly into space eddies, how Janeway deals with windy dangers, and ponder the Delta Quadrant’s bovine deficiency.

In news we look at the TNG Season Four Blu-ray set, new reviews and alternate poster artwork for the TOS films from CromeYellow.com and artist Matt Ferguson, Star Trek-themed checks from Checks In the Mail, the Star Trek Into Darkness world premiere tour, two new teasers from the film, and Paramount’s UK “Where’s Scotty?” promotion. Plus, we reveal what buttons we’d want on our Captain’s chair and find out how the Into Darkness scuba suits were inspired by Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 

Fair Haven and Spirit Folk.

Being stranded 70,000 light years from the Federation, with just a small ship to call home, meant that the crew of Voyager really loved their holodecks. Tom enjoyed creating new locales for his shipmates, and sooner or later he was bound to go Irish. In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Matthew Rushing and To The Journey’s Charlynn Schmiedt and Tristan Riddell to discuss Voyager’s Irish duology “Fair Haven” and “Spirit Folk.” They’re episodes fans love to hate, but there are some important questions asked amidst the cows and barfights—particularly about Janeway.

In news we remember actor Malachi Throne, who passed away on March 13, and we gather the latest on other Star Trek actors including Chris Pine being named Male Star of the Year, Patrick Stewart calling for an end to violence against women, plus new projects for Scott Bakula, Karl Urban, John Billingsley, and John Cho. We also examine the beautiful packaging and menu screens for the Enterprise Season One Blu-ray set, and speculate on the likelihood of the third J.J. film dropping in 2016. Oh… and there could be an unexpected pairing in Star Trek Into Darkness. 

11:59.

The year 1999 brought us the Y2K bug, Will Smith sampling The Clash, and the Newmannium. It also brought us The Millennium Gate and the story of Captain Janeway’s great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother in the uniquely named “11:59.” In this episode of The Ready Room we’re joined by Charlynn Schmiedt and Matthew Rushing to discuss this tale set in Indiana at the dawn of the 21st century, how the family story of Shannon O’Donnell inspired Kathryn Janeway, and the importance of finding solid relationships, letting go, and charting new courses into the future.

In news we talk about which series fans told StarTrek.com they’d most like to see next on Blu-ray, Jonathan Frakes’s desire for the TNG cast to reunite in a future J.J. Abrams movie, and an onslaught of Star Trek Into Darkness news. What do we know about John Harrison—and is that really his name? What is Alice Eve’s take on Carol Marcus? Will J.J. Abrams’s involvement in Star Trek be limited to a trilogy? Why did Abrams tell MTV that this movie was not made for Star Trek fans? And what connection does Smaug the Dragon have to the detonation of the fleet and all it stands for? Step into The Ready Room and find out.