Derek and I made a good episode here. This has been The Beige and The Bold. Remember Rand.

I'm here with Joie from The Jump and Shoot podcast. We're watching the last episode of Ro Laren with you all. Ro has grown a lot and now she's learning about her own culture during a mission to infiltrate the Maquis. I won't ask if you can think of a reason for a man and woman to talk privately in a bar; I'll ask how many reasons you can think of f…

It's the last solo session before this all wraps up. I fell I've said that before, but I really mean it this time. Is the Enterprise itself enough of a character to warrant a whole episode? Was this that episode? (It wasn't) The Beige and The Bold is hosted on Anchor and is available on most podcasting platforms. New episodes are usually posted on …

Gepwin is my guest again and we're watching "Bloodlines" with you. Maybe there's a version of this where Dr. Crusher discovers all of the medical chicanery in Picard's Son (I forget his name and I don't care) and Data and Geordi figure out Bok's one trick that physicists hate to route his subspace transporter beam straight into a holding cell, we w…

It's another Solo Session. Worf is worried about Alexander's future, but luckily a Klingon consigliere named K'mtar is there to help. Also there's something about a plot to murder Worf by, *reads smudged writing on hand* the Dumas Brisket? I didn't have fond memories of this one, but it's surprisingly solid, even if later Treks--*ahem*--destroy eve…

Journey's End has been a long time in coming. It feels like the beginning of the end of the series and it's also an episode I recorded with this guest host almost two years ago. That said, there are a few things I'd like to get off of my chest: Picard does not have Native American heritage. Ro Laren was 8 episodes of TNG and a prominent character i…

I'm hanging out with Gepwin this week while we watch Genesis. I feel like our science nitpicking would be really petty and mean if anything at all happened in this episode. I'm not the kind of guy to expect big arcs out of TNG, but some level of drama and real stakes are necessary. And no, "the ship will be animals forever" is not real stakes. I ca…

I'm here with Randolph this week and we're just tryin' to get it done. It's a heavy talk about suicide. Do series trivialize sensitive topics like suicide when they talk about them? Is it worth the risk of being disrespectful to talk about it? The Beige and The Bold is hosted on Anchor and is available on most podcasting platforms. New episodes are…

I continue watching each episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This time with my friend Dr. Izixs as a guest. Delivered exactly on Wizard Central Time, it's the one where Data has hot rocks and no memory and Troi has no rocks and a hot memory. A memory of being in command. Despite being a bit rickety, is this one of the best episodes of the se…

Unedited, slightly incoherent, and mostly redundant, The Beige and The Bold Solo Sessions are episodes where I run through a show with just you, the listener, as my companion. In "Sub Rosa," things get messy. Sub Rosa has gotten infamous in later years as the one where Dr. Crusher fucks the ghost. I've heard it said that if Riker had fucked the gho…

Hey it's me and Matt lookin' at one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's last classic episodes: "Lower Decks." We're gonna watch it together on Netflix and then talk about it some. Given that Star Trek: Lower Decks is based on this episode, it's surprisingly heavy. The series has a lot of humor with only touches of drama and pathos, but it does have…

Unedited, slightly incoherent, and mostly redundant, The Beige and The Bold Solo Sessions are episodes where I run through a show with just you, the listener, as my companion. In "Homeward," I basically miss everything Dr. Crusher was saying because she addresses a lot of my concerns, but-- --what about DOMESTICATION?! Do you know how long it took …

I'm watching TNG's 7th season alongside you, the viewer, and Alex from Media Thinkings and Cinema Joes. It's about Riker and loyalty versus principle. It's a great conflict that has a lot of ideas behind it and addresses a lot of the structure of the Star Trek universe. "Sadly, we don't see any compelling alternative ideas behind this. Don't be a d…

I'm watching TNG's 7th season alongside you, the viewer and Grymm from Descents part one and two. We're talking about Worf. In time. It's a collection of roads not traveled, which is a pretty good look when, dead Geordis aside, most are pretty badass. Worf ranks up if people die I guess. It feels like Starfleet wouldn't function quite so much like …

I'm watching TNG's 7th season alongside you, the viewer and Joie from Jump and Shoot. We're talking about climate change. In space. Season seven puts the "beige" in The Beige and The Bold and this one is no exception. I've gravitated further from "language of television" and closer to "lazy contemporary assumptions." This episode is that so much be…

I'm watching Season 7's "Inheritance" alongside you, the viewer. No co-host this week, just me talking about moms. Specifically, Data's mom, who appears out of nowhere after decades and wants to start a relationship with Data. In retrospect, it gets weird. I'm going to blame it on Star Trek: Picard, but it gets weird. Am I wrong though? Is Dr. Tain…

My guest co-host is Gepwin this week and he's on to something with these tricorders. They do an awful lot. I'm not sure if there's some big idea or approachable social metaphor or human story in this episode. Unless it's homeopathy. Because we get one ounce of those things and whole lotta tap water to keep 'em in. You can listen to Gepwin and Dr. I…

In the far distant future of the 24th century, museum exhibits will interact with you. It's hard to say anything about "Masks" because there's no human story, no lesson, and no real point to it. It's a standalone idea that's executed with moderate skill. It's a Star Trek episode that happened. I dunno. How are YOU doing? My guest this week is Namel…

Dark Page is a heavy and surreal episode which is a hard thing to make fun of, but me and Smokey try. I hope you guys like How I Met Your Mother*. It's great how this episode deals with language and trauma. As best as a 45-minute episodic TV drama can. It utilizes Majel Barret effectively and Marina Sirtis gets some decent work. I'm not sure why th…

Unedited, slightly incoherent, and mostly redundant, The Beige and The Bold Solo Sessions are episodes where I run through a show all on my own. Man, "Phantasms" has got it all; lazy pseudoscience, disdain for people who aren't the main cast, and a gaping hole where a big idea should be. It's a yawner that's only slightly redeemed by its strong and…

Gepwin and I talk Horatio Hornblower, the black boxes of command, and how logic and emotional are a little more complicated than Vulcans talk about. Also, how much bull-hockey is it when Picard just hacks [REDACTED] off-screen. That's a big sword of Damocles hanging over this story and then Picard just Uno Reverse cards it when no one is looking. D…

We talk about the narrative structure and the shallowness of fake outs and deaths in media, from Boromir, to Picard, to John Snow. There's some discussion about Star Trek clumsily trying to affect seedy bars and archaeology sites. Gambit is the most uncompelling compelling episode I've ever seen and we try to figure out why. For everything happenin…

Unedited, slightly incoherent, and mostly redundant, The Beige and The Bold Solo Sessions are episodes where I run through a show all on my own. I'm sorry, but I just don't know Ben Vereen and Madge Sinclair. This isn't a boast; it's a--conspicuous--hole in my pop culture knowledge. Like, my dad and I sit around and talk about actors in movies. I'm…

Unedited, slightly incoherent, and mostly redundant, The Beige and The Bold Solo Sessions are episodes where I run through a show all on my own. Picard is in a Geordi plot, which is mind-blowing to discover, and the intrigue sizzles like a superconductor on an Alaskan highway*. No one cares and nothing happens. Worf gets a win and sales of fun-size…

I've turned the volume up on this episode so it plays at the same level as other audio on my system. I've always set the volume according to Audacity instead of from the playback of the exported episode, but I'm doing this now. So the episode might be louder than past episodes. Let me know if it's too loud. Grymm and I talk about payoffs, Lore's ch…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. It breaks a bit and there are some plotholes, but it's a satisfying conclusion. I wish I coul…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. It's possible I have an ax to grind about people who have an axe to grind over the use of the…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. It's basically safe for work, but the technology of being safe for work while being not safe …

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. Wow. I didn't watch a lot of Voyager, but this is a gangbusters Janeway and Tuvok episode and…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. This one is about Kes and the Temporal Cold War and it's just good teevee. Regular episodes o…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. It's another Prime Directive episode, but if you promise not to tell anyone, it's also about …

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. Woof. I guess if you're going to make a Star Trek fanfiction series, you've got to make a bad…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. It's about institutional incompetence and a culture based on doing one thing, and that thing …

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. Pure Ambition is the Doctor Bashir storyline worked backwards. The dramatic revelation about …

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. Starbase 47 is the home port story I've been wanting to make for a long time. Most of the tim…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. We Unwinding is about Nog, because it's his introduction to the series. What happens when you…

While we're waiting for the Deep Space Nine series, Nine Deeps of Space, to catch up, I'm sharing a series of reviews for Enterprise One. Enterprise One is a Star Trek series I worked on with Dr. Izixs. We hash out the stories, then I give reviews of them. Ending Yesterday is a pilot and it plays with the possibilities at hand before serving up our…

I'm back with Grym and we're going over the Season 6 cliffhanger, "Descent, Pt I." I guess that's not really a spoiler if the name is "Part I." And if the last three season finales were also cliffhangers. What are we going to do; go back to clip shows to close out the season? Anyway, we see Star Trek doing something really interesting with the Borg…

Anna's back and we're talking about solid character episode with minimal ghosts "Timescape." It's got runabouts! And time travel! There's not too much to say about this one. We don't have a deep concept or a tightly-constructed mystery. Timey-wimey stuff happens, but we have fun anyway. I mean that time; it sure is subjective, right? I've been out …

More than any other episode, this one makes me think about the title of this series. Second Chances is bold in that they keep Riker around and don't write him off as some kind of alien of the week. It's pretty beige in that they thought about shaking up the status quo without really changing their cast but didn't for what are essentially commercial…

It's a pretty cool Doctor Crusher story that effectively packs a lot into it. Remember how rushed "The Chase" was? I feel like "Suspicions" moves at a similar pace but uses a framing device to make it actually work. It's too bad we never see the scientists again, but who knows? Maybe this technology will be useful again some day. I want to thank th…

It's all corrections for this one. That's boring, so imagine reading this in Robert Stack's Unsolved Mysteries voice. My reference to Supernatural actor Jensen Ackles' constantly deepening voice was abandoned early in the episode, but that happened, and it was weird. It's Paramount+, not CBS All-Access anymore. I have seen a Philip K. Dick book inc…

For a pretty sedate episode, we've got a lot going on here. Folks kid a lot about TNG being more about administrative issues instead of high-stakes space action, and Lessons is definitely that. It focuses on one character, Picard, and it's bizarre we don't even get a character arc. It's packed with stuff, but stuff that doesn't seem to take us anyw…

Unedited, slightly incoherent, and mostly redundant, The Beige and The Bold Solo Sessions are episodes where I run through a show all on my own. The Chase is one of those episodes we all just collectively forget. Not because its epicly bad, but because it's epicly mediocre. I'm already forgetting it. It's an episode that defies being written to med…

Worf meets Klingon Jesus, who's changed a lot since he fought Kirk and Abraham Lincoln on the rock guy planet. The episode is better than I remembered and I'm glad I could watch it with Grym, who is a fan of the Klingons. "Rightful Heir" is a cool combination of science, religion, and Klingon politics. Does Trek even handle religion this well again…

I don't feel like there's a lot of depth to plumb here. It's "Die Hard on a starship." It's competently executed, but lacks real stakes and apes the original's character beats instead of making up ones that fit Star Trek. I dunno. Who should've gotten this? Worf, as he murders his way through twice as many mooks, going "You know how I said I'd kill…

There's not much to say Derek is leaving. He's going to record "All Good Things" with me, but it won't go up until the end of the series. Until then we've got guests and solo session. Get me at https://twitter.com/VanVelding if you'd like to be a guest.

What happens when the only solution for peace is having sex with an enemy prisoner of war when she knows the only hope of survival is reciprocating your crappy, emotionally-stunted advances? The fact that I can point to two women this applies to in this situation is a little ewww. I'm being a little unfair. Birthright is actually one of season six'…

Derek is actually pretty right about the trend in TNG two-parters, which is kind of embarrassing and kind of makin' me proud. Granted, I only have so many, "pride in my son" moments left as Derek's 'Trek cred comes to rival my own. Would Jaglom Shrek is the only Yridian we've met and he'd still be the worst if we met a Yridian corpse in a decaying …

I know it's a classic, but can we agree that this TNG run has revealed a few hidden gems and a bit too much fool's gold? Look, is old Picard too impulsive or not impulsive enough? Is he altering his character or just a few actions that young Picard is going to retroactively justify? Given that Picard straight up chooses to DIE rather than not be a …