JC's Trek Talk

I need to say something.  The fan reactions/vitriol/hate surrounding Starfleet Academy are getting out of hand.  I am personally not a fan of the series, although that is not to say I hate the series.  If anything I find the series unnecessary.  Yes the idea existed for quite some time before it was realized by Kurtzman and co.  The show is not in fact horrible, or "woke" or "too gay" or whatever other inaccurate descriptors the toxic side of the fandom like to apply to it.  Fans, including influencers like Nerdrotic and Critical Drinker among others deride the series for being so progressive, having two LGBT couples on the series (Jayden Kraang and Kyle, and Lura Thok and Jett Reno.  I say so what?  This is not new to Star Trek.  Discovery, which this series is a direct spinoff of had Stamets and Culber.  Star Trek is and always has been about inclusivity, diversity and tolerance.  This was a big part of Roddenberry's original phil...

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Gamma 1. On what ship did Liam Shaw serve as a junior officer during the Battle of Wolf 359? 2. What actor holds the record for playing the most different roles in Star Trek? 3. Before coming aboard the USS Enterprise, Montgomery Scott served aboard what ship, destroyed at Parnassus Beta, as a junior engineer? 4. Subcommander T'Pol and Michael Burnham were both practitioners of what Vulcan martial art? 5. On the USS Enterprise sets, some pipes and conduits are labelled "GNDN".  What does this stand for? 6. In Star Trek III, what command did Scotty tell the computer to activate the self destruct sequence? 7. In "The Outrageous Okona" Data created a holographic nightclub with a standup comedian to better explore humor.  Who played the holographic comedian? 8. Odo's name is a shortened form of a Cardassian word odo'ital.  What does odo'ital mean in Federation Standard? 9. Before he died on Veridian III, what were James Kirk's l...

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Beta Answers 1. Her Most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominus of Qo'noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius. 2. The 28th Century 3. Linear Models of Viral Propagation 4. USS Republic 5. Friendship One 6. Doctari Alpha 7. Captain Saru 8. SS Puget Sound 9. Mistress of the Winter Constellations 10. the Sikarians 11. USS Ranger CVA-61 12. Trellium-D

Trek Throwback Thursday The Genesis Wave by John Vornholt On the planet Pacifica, Dr. Carol Marcus, the last person in the galaxy with the highly classified knowledge of Project Genesis, a 23rd century Federation terraforming technology that could be turned into a weapon of genocide, is kidnapped by parties unknown.  In a tale that brings the crew of the USS Enterprise-E face to face with old friends and new in a race to save the galaxy from a spaceborne solar system spanning new version of the Genesis Wave, mercilessly transforming whole planets and systems, killing billions in the process.  From the first victims of the wave, the entire population of the remote colony of Seran and the research base Seran T-One, to the Enterprise-E's crew investigating the lack of communication with the sector, to the emergency response by the Federation to stop the wave as one planet after another falls and their entire populations are wiped out, to the discovery of the culprits behind the w...

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Beta 1. What was Emperor Philippa Georgiou's full name? 2. A participant in the Temporal Cold War, the Suliban Cabals mysterious benefactor was said by Agent Daniels to be from what century? 3. What was the title of the groundbreaking research paper penned by Dr. Katharine Pulaski early in her medical career? 4. What ship did James Kirk and Benjamin Finney serve on together as midshipmen? 5. After nearly 7 years in the Delta Quadrant USS Voyager was given it's first official assignment since becoming stranded: to track down an ancient UESPA probe.  What was the name of that probe?  6. On what planet were Michael Burnham's parents apparently killed during a Klingon attack? 7. Who said "before we can care for others, we must care for ourselves"? 8. La'an Noonien-Singh was the sole survivor of a Gorn attack on a colony ship.  What was the name of that ship? 9. What was D'Vana Tendi's title in the Orion Syndicate? 10. The derelict Bor...

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Alpha Answers 1. Trakor's Third Prophecy 2. Gene Roddenberry 3. Molly 4. Athos IV 5. Michelob 6. "Welcome home" 7. Project Proteus 8. His cousin Selek 9. "For I dipt into the future far as human eye could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be." - Alfred, Lord Tennyson 10. 2769 11. Valley of Fire, Nevada 12. Azati Prime

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home This year marks the 40th anniversary of Star Trek IV The Voyage Home.  The one with the whales.  Considered by many fans to be one of the best movies of the entire franchise.  Also, when seen with Star Treks II and III The Voyage Home's overarching story, Kirk and company returning to earth to face the music for the events of Star Trek III forms an unintentional trilogy between the three movies.  In contrast to those two previous films, Star Trek IV is a fun humorous adventure romp set mostly in Star Trek's past, the present day when the movie was filmed (1986).  The movie is packed with fun and funny moments, from Kirk and company trying to use "colorful metaphors", to Uhura and Chekov asking random passerbys on a San Francisco street corner for directions to the "nu-clee-are wessels", to Scotty trying to talk into a Macintosh computer mouse and giving the plant manager at the plexiglass factory the formula for transparent alum...

Star Trek Trivia Quiz Alpha 1. The events surrounding the deployment of the Gamma Quadrant communication relay were foreseen three thousand years ago and written down in what piece of Bajoran scripture? 2. The ship's chef on the USS Enterprise during Kirk's tenure as captain, who contacted Kirk on the bridge to inform him that the synthesized meatloaf had turned into real turkeys was voiced by whom? 3. When she departed Earth on Voyager's fateful trip to the Badlands, Kathryn Janeway left behind her fiancé Mark and her pregnant Irish setter.  What was the dog's name? 4. Following a distress signal, Starfleet security officer turned Maquis leader Michael Eddington went down in a blaze of glory saving Maquis refugees on a secret base on what planetoid? 5. During the trip to 1986 San Francisco, James Kirk went on a dinner date with marine biologist Dr. Gillian Taylor.  What beverage did they order with their meals at the pizza restaurant? 6. DS9's "The Search, par...

Star Trek Trivia Quizzes Over the next 4 weeks I will be posting a series of quizzes (titled Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta like the galaxy's quadrants) to test your knowledge of the final frontier.  These quizzes cover trivia from all 11 series (including the Animated Series) and all 14 movies.  The quizzes will post on Tuesdays, the answers will post the following Friday.  Good luck!