All posts filed under “Star Trek

Episode 289: Thanks to these Puppies

This week the word is Consequences. After a quick shoutout to the concept album, the nerds discuss the importance of consequences in games and other forms of story-telling, with particular emphasis Star Trek and Phoenix: Dawn Command. Next Keith yammers about the expression, “Beyond the Pale,” and Andy talks a little about Galactic StarCruiser. Then they continue their discussion of House of Leaves, in particular, Expedition 5. Moving on to other media, they talk about Free Guy and The Adam Project, and Andy talks about playing games on BoardGameArena, in particular, Lost Cities. Lastly, they lower the spoiler curtain to discuss the newest episodes of Star Trek Discovery and Picard.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

Episode 288: Is the Top Still Spinning?

This week the word is Dream. The nerds talk at great length about dreams and dreaming, games Keith has worked on that focus on dreams, various recurring dreams they’ve had, lucid dreams, and so on. They also discuss dream-themed movies, with particular attention given to the Lathe of Heaven. Next, Keith talks about a recent trip to Utah, then Andy brings up some lingering Galactus topics. Lastly, after dropping the Spoiler Curtain, they talk about the most recent Star Treks.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

Episode 287: Yay! It’s a Waffle Party!

This week the word is Memories. The nerds talk about stories and games they’ve enjoyed in which memories are tampered with: implanted, erased, jumbled, and so on. These topics merge into dreams, which they also talk about a lot, which Andy going off on a tangent about bi-phasic sleep. Keith gives a report on his aging mother, prompting Andy to recommend a relevant book by Roz Chast. Andy also talks about starting to plan for Burning Man, and then they discuss some Star Trek rumors. Lastly, after dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the first two episodes of Severance.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

Episode 285: Four Interesting Chickens

Blurb: This week the word is choices. The nerds start by discussing various difficult choices and how creating those is a goal of game designers. Keith talks about recent events in his role playing game that involved 4 chickens. Moving on to media, Keith talks about watching Yellow Jackets, and Andy talks about Station Eleven and Miracle Workers. Next they talk a bit about unusual tarot decks. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss The Book of Boba Fett and Star Trek Prodigy. Andy also describes a scene from My Little Pony.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

Episode 283: The Power of the Dog vs. The Nine Kittens of Christmas

This week the word is gimmick. The nerds discuss gimmicks seen in games and 3-D movies and various nuances of the term. Next Keith talks about watching movies with a home projector. He gives his non-spoilery thoughts about several films including The Matrix 4, and Andy talks similarly about Don’t Look Up and Get Back. Then Andy yammers about the ending of an obscure time travel movie from 1964, and Keith talks about recent legal proceedings within his current RPG game. Discussions include teenage protagonists from the 80s who are good with computers and are popular. Near the end they discuss House of Leaves and recent Star Treks.

SPOILER WARNING: contains vintage spoilers.

Episode 282: Andy and the Mids

This week the word is Pyramids. Andy yammers about his life-long obsession with pyramids and talks about a new theory for how they were built. Then the nerds talk about unusual names, artificial candles & fireplaces, seeing a movie (Spiderman) in a movie theater again, Root and other asymmetrical powers games, and Taskmaster. Lastly, after dropping the spoiler curtain, Keith has many thoughts about the Star Trek Disovery episode called The Examples.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

Episode 281: For Only Moonkind

This week the word is conventions. The nerds start by talking about PAX Unplugged, the first big convention they’ve been to since the pandemic began. Then they talk about a fan-edit of the series For All Mankind that focuses only on the space mission plotlines, called For Only Moonkind. Andy tells the origin story of the obscure usage of “Robocop” as a verb, and then they talk about Star Trek Discovery. Other topics include stuff they’re currently working on, new flavors from Tony Chocolonely, Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser, Keith’s current RPGs, and House of Leaves.

Episode 280: Not Enough Exploding Spaceships

This week the word is History. First, Keith takes about finding a very old note in a very old book. After some other discussions of historical stuff, the nerds talk at a high level about For All Mankind, The Expanse, Star Trek, and Arcane. Keith talks about starting a game of Tales from the Loop, and Andy talks about Olympus Fluxx and Loonacy. Next they discuss a bit more of House of Leaves. Lastly, they talk about Dune.

Episode 278: Cetaceans in Spaaaaace!

This week the word is Dolphins. The nerds reminisce about Bluestar, the almost-a-videogame about dolphins in space they worked on back in the nineties. They also discuss cetacean ops on the starship Enterprise. Andy talks about the most recent episode of Survivor and how much the game has changed since it started. Keith reports in vague terms on work stuff he’s been working on, and talks about his recent discovery of the Silent Disco. Next they continue their discussions about what book to read next, and Keith reports on his D&D campaign. After lowering the spoiler curtain they discuss the last few episodes of season 2 of Lower Decks, and the near-final few episodes of season one of Only Murders in the Building. Lastly, Andy shares a few reactions to the first episode of Ordinary Joe.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

Episode 277: The Ultimate Good Stuff

This week the word is Cookies. Topics include the crime of replacing chocolate chips with raisins, the recipe for Sweet Dream cookies, the best gluten-free flour substitute, rigging a baking contest during a D&D game, and biscuits vs scones. Then they get into a long discussion about discontinued candy and other lost foods. Moving on to media, they talk about Foundation and Dune and the importance of wacky side characters in huge epic dramas. They discuss a few other shows they’ve been watching, including, of course, Taskmaster. Lastly they briefly discuss Lower Decks and What If?

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.