Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1-09: 300th Night (Quick Review)

Episode:

9

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Writer:

Kirsten Beyer

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Director:

Jonathan Frakes

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Air Date:

05-Mar-2026

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about the penultimate episode of Starfleet Academy's first season. It's called 300th Night, it's written by Kirsten Beyer (writer of all my least favourite stories) and it's directed by Jonathan Frakes (who's done some good stuff in the past).

There's only one episode left after this and I've been thinking about things I could write about in my season one review. One complaint I've had is that the series hasn't done a great job of showing the passage of time, but they've been doing better at that recently and now this episode's literally called 300th Night. We've never had a Star Trek episode pin down when it takes place so specifically in the title before. To my recollection.

The Original Series had The Naked Time and Amok Time, but you won't find those events on your calendar and The Deadly Years actually only lasted a few days. Tomorrow is Yesterday presumably takes place the day before tomorrow, which is today, so that doesn't help narrow it down. And the Day of the Dove presumably didn't become a Klingon holiday.

The Next Generation was even less specific. Parallels took place on Worf's birthday, which comes right before Captain Picard day in The Pegasus, but neither were in the title. Voyager did better with 11:59, but it doesn't say if that's AM or PM. Though we also got Day of Honor, which is a Klingon holiday! So I think Voyager actually wins this time.

Warning: there will be SPOILERS below. For this, Discovery and Picard.

Star Trek: Discovery 5-09: Lagrange Point (Quick Review)

Episode:

64

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Writer:

Sean Cochran & Ari Friedman

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Director:

Jonathan Frakes

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Air Date:

23-May-2024

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing Lagrange Point, the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery!

It's the last episode by director Jonathan Frakes and writer Sean Cochran, who have produced some of my favourite episodes of the series. In fact, they were both credited on Despite Yourself and New Eden, and if this ends up being that kind of quality I'll be more than satisfied. It's also the first episode for writer Ari Friedman, who picked a great time to join the show! Though she wouldn't have known back then that this was also going to be her last episode, as the news of the show's cancellation came after filming had finished.

There will be SPOILERS below for this and earlier Star Trek stories.

Star Trek: Picard 3-04: No Win Scenario (Quick Review)

Episode:

24

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Writer:

Terry Matalas & Sean Tretta

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Director:

Jonathan Frakes

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Air Date:

09-Mar-2023

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing about more Star Trek: Picard. It's season 3, episode 4: No Win Scenario.

In Star Trek, a no win scenario is a situation where there's no possible way to achieve any kind of good outcome. It's a mythical thing, like Rumpelstiltskin or the Greek god Apollo, except less likely to be encountered by a veteran crew with an ongoing series. Sure the heroes lose sometimes, but if they ever think a situation looks hopeless they're just not looking at it from the right perspective yet.

The episode was written by Terry Matalas and Sean Tretta, so the showrunner scripted this one personally. You'll see often a showrunner's name on the most crucial and impressive episodes in a season, the opening chapters, the epic finales, the format-breaking stories, the ones that reveal something about the characters... though on Deep Space Nine you'd also see it on all those Ferengi stories. Ira Behr did love them Ferengi.

I hope you're okay with SPOILERS because this is where they start.

Star Trek: Discovery 1-10: Despite Yourself (Quick Review)

Episode:

10

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Writer:

Sean Cochran

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Air Date:

07-Jan-2018

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm finally getting around to sharing my thoughts about Star Trek: Discovery's new episode, Despite Yourself! I've left it a bit late I'm afraid, as by the time I'm posting this the next episode's almost out. Could be worse though, as I'm 25 years late on my Deep Space Nine reviews.

Discovery's been a bit lazy itself, with the way it took December off, but it's back now for season 1, chapter 2, and Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes is at the helm! I've been waiting for this episode ever since watching the episode of The Orville he directed, Pria, as I was curious which would turn out to be better. Not that a TV director has that much influence on an episode, it's not like he wrote it, but I'm still interested in how it turns out. Which of them is going to impress me more, Despite Yourself or Pria?

There'll be huge SPOILERS for the episode, by the way, and probably earlier Trek episodes as well. Though this is just a quick review and I won't be going through it scene by scene like I usually do with TV shows.

The Orville 1-05: Pria (Quick Review)

Episode:

5

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Writer:

Seth MacFarlane

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Air Date:

05-Oct-2017

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm rushing through another The Orville episode review. I have to get this finished and posted before they go and air the next episode.

This is apparently the fifth episode in a row written by Seth MacFarlane, so he's either pulling a J. Michael Straczynski-style feat of marathon script writing, or they've been forgetting to update the opening credits each week. Plus this is the fourth time they've gotten Trek veteran in to direct and this time it's Jonathan Frakes! He's one of the best Trek actors turned directors so I'm always happy to see his name show up. Plus it means that in a few weeks I'll be able to watch his episode of Star Trek: Discovery and compare the two series fairly.

Okay, past this point there be episode SPOILERS, so continue no further if that's an issue.

Star Trek: First Contact

Written by:

Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore

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Directed by:

Jonathan Frakes

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Release Date:

1996

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm going to go through the 8th Star Trek film: First Contact, aka The One with the Borg in it. Not to be confused with the episode First Contact, which doesn't have even the slightest bit of Borg in it. The movie was nearly called Star Trek: Resurrection, but Alien: Resurrection went and stole that title. Someone was apparently fond of the sound of it though, as the next Trek film was called Insurrection.

Here's another fact for you: First Contact just turned twenty today, as it was released in November 1996, during Trek's 30th anniversary. Deep Space Nine celebrated by compositing its crew into The Trouble with Tribbles, Voyager celebrated by putting Janeway into the 25th anniversary film The Undiscovered Country, and here Next Gen is celebrating by... sending the Enterprise back in time to meet a boring guest star from one of the most forgettable episodes of the Original Series. Seems like now would've been the time to have the epic crossover with Kirk's crew, but they tried that already and blew it.

1996 was when Star Trek began to reach its peak as a Marvel-style shared universe with Voyager reaching its third season, DS9 hitting season 5, and Next Gen shedding its TV sets to become a true movie series. It didn't shed its TV creators though, as writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore returned to provide the script. Also Riker actor Jonathan Frakes took the helm, beginning the Star Trek tradition of the ship's first officer getting to direct two of the movies.

Anyway my writing will contain SPOILERS for First Contact and the episodes and movies preceding it, including DS9 up to season 5 and a certain episode of the Original Series. I might even mention that this film led to the Borg showing up in Voyager, the uniform switch-over in DS9, and the premise of Enterprise, but other than that I'll keep quiet about what came after. This far, no further.