Star Trek's 60 Greatest Moments: Episodes 50-41

[00:00:07] Trek Geeks No one talks Trek like we do. Oh my gosh, Trek Geeks is proud to have Fansets as our presenting sponsor. Fansets is the place for amazing pin collectibles with over 500 officially licensed Star Trek pins with new releases every month. Stay tuned for a special discount code that'll be good on your next order over there at fansets.com. Get there, go there now.

[00:00:36] Wow, fansets, our pins have character. Hi, this is Nana Visitor, Major Kira Norris from Deep Space Nine and you are listening to the biggest little show this side of the Gamma Quadrant, the Trek Geeks Podcast with Bill Smith and Dan Davidson.

[00:01:47] Well, at least you all had audio. Dan and I didn't. And it was very interesting because normally we play air guitar during the open. But good Thursday night to you one and all as we start to consider the next round of Star Trek's 60 Greatest Moments for the 60th anniversary. Hey everybody, Bill alongside Dan here for Thursday Night Geeks once again. And buddy, it's good to see you. It's been a couple weeks and how are you doing?

[00:02:16] It's good to see you too, man. I had audio. I'm not sure what was going on, but I wasn't in. Really? I didn't. I was trying to figure out why I didn't see the comment section, but I just had to scroll down a little further. But yeah, I heard everything. It sounded fantastic as it always does. Sounded almost as good as you look, pal. I'll just put it that way. That's amazing because I look like shit. It's good to see you. I'm doing better.

[00:02:42] I have, as everybody knows, I've been having some issues, but I am feeling a little bit better. I got a little bit more energy. My appetite is starting to come back. I still haven't really put on any more weight, but we'll see what happens. Went to the doctor. Blood work was perfect. So we have no idea what's going on. So I have another round of about 12 tests that I have to go through. So that's going to be just great. Are any of them scheduled to look for a brain?

[00:03:08] I think we've already ruled that one out. There's no need to look for something that we already know isn't there. So yes. You might have two competing cells fighting to get a cogent thought out. Yeah, absolutely. We'll see. But buddy, we're excited tonight because we're going to continue with episodes 50 through 41 of our top 60 moments from all of Star Trek. Some great ones on the list tonight. Some I'm sure people are going to be like, what? And others that people are going to be like, yeah, I love that moment.

[00:03:38] Either way, it's going to be a great discussion. Absolutely. It always is. We always talk about, we always find things or I have seen that as we put together this list. Some of the stuff is like, oh my gosh, I haven't thought about that in a long time. And that really is one of Star Trek's top moments. So I'm looking forward to the discussion as always. Well, Dan, we start, of course, with Thursday night. Let's say hello to some folks that we have in chat.

[00:04:03] Of course, let me scroll up. Ross, first in the house tonight. Ross, good Thursday, my friend. Hi, buddy. Marina is here. Good evening. So is Brad. Brad. Ross said they had audio too. So because you got to hear you do your thing on fans. That's the, oh, excellent. Get there. Go there now. Go there now. Burley is in the house, which is always great. Jason is here. What's up, New England? Yo.

[00:04:31] Yes. Ryan says, what up, Geeps? Geeps. One of my favorite moments from STLV was when Kalia had the Trek Geeps shirt on. That was just fantastic. Kalia, who is here in the house, along, of course, with our dear, dear friend, Willow. Jim is in the house. Burley's video is frozen. I didn't even know you were broadcasting tonight, Burley. That's amazing.

[00:04:59] Dan, what are you drinking tonight, buddy? All right. So tonight I got something new tonight. It's going to be hard to see, but I'll see. So basically what this is, my sister sent me this recipe. So we bought some silicone molds and they're in the shape of pumpkins. And this recipe calls for filling those molds with apple cider, freezing it. That becomes the ice cube with Prosecco.

[00:05:25] So it's basically an apple cider mimosa with a caramel and apple cider sugar rim. That's what I got tonight. Does it come with a side of diabetes? It's good apple cider. I got to tell you, I'm not going to lie. It's very good. It's Hannaford's brand, but it's still pretty freaking awesome. So I've never thought of good and Hannaford's in the same sentence. To me, they are mutually exclusive terms. On a Venn diagram, they would not interact.

[00:05:55] No, it's very tasty. I'm a huge apple cider fan, as everybody knows. I love Prosecco too. And this combination is great. My sister sent to me an Instagram reel and I love it. What do you got, man? I am drinking another BuzzBox Long Island iced tea. It was there. I was there. And I'm making magic happen right now. Magic. Yeah. So Ross is saying that he has to try that out. Ross, go out to Instagram and you can do a search for it. And there's a few recipes, of course, because I have that recipe.

[00:06:24] Now I've gotten like five or six more in my feed. And I'm probably going to try most of them. So yeah. Well, okay. Well, Dan, I'm getting something from the control room. You probably can't hear this in your ear, but we do have some breaking news. I'm going to roll the breaking news bumper as we get ready to talk about it. Standby.

[00:07:01] Dateline September 3rd, 2026. Dan, brand new information coming into the Trek Geeks newsroom. Last night in my house, my wife told me she was willing to watch a Star Trek series in completion. What? Yes. So basically what I'm hearing is that invasion of the body snatchers has taken place at your house in the last 24 hours. I don't know who has replaced my bride.

[00:07:31] But so here's how the conversation went down. Okay. I'm standing at the island in our kitchen. We're talking about stuff. And she's like, I have something I'd like to discuss with you. And I'm like, what did I do? You know? You know? What's going on? She goes, you might want to prepare yourself. So I'm like, all right, I don't have any sharp objects. My life insurance is paid up.

[00:07:58] And she goes, we've watched a lot of stuff in the last few years. We feel like we've watched everything. She's been watching Grey's Anatomy recently. And there are times where I'm around for that. And what a putrid fucking show that is. Can I just say that? I'm never going to watch that. There's that one nurse who's always like this. And I can't stand. I don't know how Grey's Anatomy gets 23 seasons and Starfleet Academy gets two. But anyway, that's a topic for another time. Yes.

[00:08:26] But she says to me, I want you to pick one Star Trek series. And I'm going to watch it all the way through with you. I said, I wish to request an addendum to this. And she goes, okay. I said, because I'd like to pick Star Trek The Next Generation, which I think is the appropriate one to pick. It's more current. It's less campy. There are themes that transfer through even today.

[00:08:56] It's very high-minded. It's very much about Jean's vision. But I said, I would also want you to watch the three seasons of Picard after that so you can see the full journey of the crew. Very nice. Yep. And so she has consented. Excellent. So it's not starting immediately. But, you know, because she's like in season 17 of Grey's, there's 22 seasons overall. Yep. She's in season fucking 17 of Grey's and Maddening.

[00:09:26] Why? I have a question. Yeah. I'd love to answer it. If she enjoys it, do you think you can get her to do our favorite show, Deep Space Nine, next? The reason why I didn't start with that is because you have to know a lot going into DS9. Yeah. Absolutely. Yep. So let's take a look at some comments here, okay? Ross says, Dan, you need to make a Trek Geeks drink book that you keep talking about. Yes, I do. Willow wants to know if we've checked the basement for pods.

[00:09:55] Quokes on you, Willow. We don't have a basement. Marina says, was she of sound mind and body when she said that? That's still up for debate, quite honestly. Jason is just like, wow. Wow. Wow. Brad is like the proper reaction bill to that statement. Ross, I think, has come up with the ultimate take on this is I wore her down. And I think that's probably the most accurate.

[00:10:24] Ross also thinks I should go with lower decks. Brad wants to know if I got it in writing. No, my wife is so trustworthy that I don't have to get it in writing. I agree with that. Yeah. She'll watch it. Jason says, not strange new worlds. And this week, I agree with him. That's all I'm going to say. Yes, I know you do. That's all I'm going to say. Ryan agrees with my addendum. I like it. But Ross also says we're going to need her to do short reaction videos. I don't know if I'll be able to make that happen.

[00:10:53] Do you think we could get her on a guest appearance here on Thursday Night Geeks like we did with the wives a few years back? I don't know if that'll happen. Maybe when it's all done. So, sisters in the house. Hey, Yvette. What's going on? What's up, girl? Jim is proud of my wife. Yvette, to catch you up. My wife has decided she's going to watch one Star Trek series from front to back.

[00:11:16] I have selected TNG because 40th anniversary, you know, the rest of the Berman verse doesn't happen without it. That kind of thing. Ryan wants to know if I'm going to skip season one. Absolutely not. She's going to watch it all, including Code of Honor. Code of Honor, maybe. To know the low point of the series. And that it happens that early. So, that is the breaking news here from the Trek Geeks News Center. Your reaction, Dan? I'm thrilled.

[00:11:46] I think it's great that she's going to do that. I wish that some of that rub off on my wife so she would watch Breaking Bad with me. But that's not going to happen, so I'm not going to even worry about it. But, no, I think it's great. And I hope that she enjoys it. I hope that there are things that she disagrees with you and or me with regards to different episodes. Because it's always great to see that different opinion, especially from someone who's new to the franchise. So, I think it's great. Absolutely.

[00:12:14] So, with that, we're going to return to our regularly scheduled content. We're going to set the scene, as it were. And, of course, Dan and I will be right back momentarily. Stay right there.

[00:12:43] We really spared no expense on that video budget. It really was amazing. I don't know how we do it week after week. But I'm going to say it kicks a little ass, quite frankly.

[00:13:22] It does. As we were putting together this list, I'm not going to ask you for any specifics right now. But did any of these happen to surprise you? For tonight's list, no. I thought they were all great moments. If anything, if there was any surprise, maybe certain ones maybe would have been higher on my list. And there's one specific one that I'm sure you know about, which we'll get into when we hit it. Sure. But other than that, I thought they were all great moments.

[00:13:51] Very important to the understanding of what makes Star Trek so great. So, I'm very excited for this list. And I think my excitement is only going to build in subsequent weeks as we get closer and closer down to the final ten. Yeah. Yeah. That's going to be really, really cool as we kind of get there and go on this journey. So, why don't we go ahead and kick it off? Episodes 50 through 41. Let's start with number 50.

[00:14:18] And that is Seven Joins, the Voyager crew. Scorpion Part 2, although this screen cap is from the episode after that. This is number 50. The gift. Thank you. Yep. Certainly a very momentous occasion in the scope, not just of Voyager itself, because it really did set a new course of sorts to employ a pun. But it definitely changed the development of many characters as a result of this.

[00:14:48] It really did. Of course, when it all came out, everyone was all, okay, they're bringing this character in for all the adolescent males and the sex appeal of this character. It's going to be really important to the success of the show. And it turned into so much more than that. Seven became such an integral and important part of Voyager and the Star Trek universe. I was skeptical at first. I'm not going to lie. I do remember saying, okay, what are they doing this for?

[00:15:18] I mean, okay, great. Yeah, nice skin tight outfit, blah, blah, blah. But the character development really took off. There were some areas of the character development that people don't like, myself included. But Seven is kind of the walking embodiment of the show's central question, which is what does it mean to be an individual? What does it mean to be in a place that you're unfamiliar with?

[00:15:43] And how do you adapt and cope as we saw the crew do as they were trying to get back to the Alpha Quadrant? I think it's great. I think it's a great first episode to talk about tonight with number 50. And the way that I like to look at Seven's journey on Voyager is she doesn't simply join Voyager. She is rebuilt on Voyager from Borg to human.

[00:16:11] And I think that's a very important and integral part of her character arc. I've been rewatching The Center Seat, which is now on Peacock, in advance of the next edition of those episodes coming up for the 60th anniversary in a few days. And when they got to this particular moment, I saw that episode just over the weekend. They talk about how there was some uncertainty within the cast because you've got one character with no emotions, Tuvok.

[00:16:38] And now you're introducing Seven, which is essentially another character without emotions. I would argue that there's three because Chakotay is there. And Akuchi Moya. I still don't get out my drink. Almost. You know, but I think as far as where Voyager was headed and its production and its... Oh, I love that. Covers your face. That's amazing.

[00:17:06] In its tenure as a Star Trek series, I think that this was the right move for the time, especially given some of the challenges that Jennifer Lien was having at that time. Right. You know, she... I don't know if she was in the midst of something or if she was just shutting down from the workload, but there were problems leading up to this. It wasn't just because they needed to get rid of somebody. It's that Jennifer clearly was not in a good place. So... I'll say this in addition to that. I agree.

[00:17:35] But also, I've always thought that her character development was extremely lacking throughout the time she was on the show. There wasn't really much building up of her character and her... What she was going to contribute going forward. And I kind of wonder if they kind of ran out of ideas for Cass. So they just decided that, I guess, the best way to deal with that is to get rid of her and bring in a new character who was an ex-Borg.

[00:18:03] That's just speculation, but that's something I've always felt. Well, realistically, there's only so much you can do when you've got a character who lives less years than your average house pet. Right. And that's not to put down Jennifer Lien or her portrayal of Cass. That really says more about the writing for the character than anything else. Yeah. I think they put her to disadvantage with a character that really was only going to live through the series. Yeah. Yep. True.

[00:18:31] And one of the things I've always found interesting about Seven, which is why I'm glad this is on the list and that we're talking about it now, is you know Kirk. You know Spock and Picard. She has become one of the most recognizable characters in Star Trek. Like, if you ask somebody to name what's one of the top characters you can think of in Star Trek, Seven's going to be in the top five. Probably more times than not. So I think that's kind of interesting that she came in in season four.

[00:19:00] So, but she is, you know, in those remaining seasons, she became a Jaggernaut for the series. A Jaggernaut? Is that like a Juggernaut? Juggernaut. Jaggernaut. Juggernaut. Is that like a Mick Jaggernaut? Was she dancing around doing Start Me Up? Exactly. I'm such a dick. Well, with that, Dan, let's move on to number 49 as we look at the top 60.

[00:19:25] And that is Picard refuses to let his vengeance define him in Star Trek First Contact. This is such a pivotal moment in that movie. He shatters his little ships. And then he talks about, you know, how we're not going to, you know, fall back. You know, they've been assimilated entire worlds and we fall back. Not here. And then after that, in his conversation with Lily, he really realizes that he can't let that vengeance run his life. It's destroying him. It's destroying his ship.

[00:19:55] It's going to get his crew killed. And it's a pivotal moment for Jean-Luc and in First Contact itself. So I think this is good placement for this moment at number 49. Yeah. I think it's one of the more memorable speeches in this film. Oh, it's to me. I think it's one of it is the most memorable. It's funny, too, because up until that point, even to the part until he smashes the glass, he is 100 percent full on vengeance.

[00:20:23] The entire that's all he's thinking of everything, which is clouding his judgment. And, you know, we've heard those stories all the time about how obsession and stuff can do that. But the entire first half of the movie, at least, that's his mindset. And it's driving him to do things that he normally wouldn't do. And you can kind of actually see physically the change of his thought process after this scene when he's talking to Lily.

[00:20:51] I think it's fantastic on Patrick's part of how he does it. And then, you know, the rest of the movie, of course, we get to see him acting more like the captain and doing the things that he needs to do. We get to see those guns when he's climbing up the board tubes and all that stuff. Just fantastic. He steps back from himself in that scene, which I think is is a fantastic example of a man who was born to be a captain on a starship.

[00:21:18] You know, moments like this allow Patrick Stewart to show why he's one of this planet's finest actors. And some people will, you know, will piss on it saying it's just in Star Trek. You know, it doesn't count. But he gives a literal performance here almost equal to that of Ricardo Montalban in The Wrath of Khan, especially in this scene. He is commanding that soundstage and that set right there.

[00:21:44] And I mean, when you've got Elfrey Wardard right across from him, you could not ask for two better presences in this scene. It not only elevates the material, but you feel it when he's saying this. It's chilling when he talks about how the Borg have assimilated entire worlds and we're not going to take it anymore. And I'm getting chills just thinking about it right now. And it's delivered with the skill that only somebody like Patrick Stewart can handle. I love William Shatner.

[00:22:13] He's not going to do this scene the same way and it's not going to have the same gravity. Yeah, absolutely. And I've got to give kudos to Lily. And I like using the character names or Alvig. But what she does and how she goads him is really important in this scene. Talking about, you know, how many people have you killed? And that you got a thrill out of murdering someone. I mean, I just think that that whole, you know, we always focus on the Picard part of the speech, which you talked about minutes ago.

[00:22:42] The things that she says are just as important and just as well acted. And really, without that part of what happens in that scene, Picard's Picard speech would fall more flat, I think. It's just incredible. It's an incredible dynamic, these two characters. And I will say, you know, the first couple of times that I watched First Contact, I wasn't really a Lily fan. Really? I've gotten old. Yeah, I don't know.

[00:23:11] I can't really answer why. I don't know if I just, you know, I thought that, you know, it was a little strange that, you know, she's getting, you know, she comes up to the Enterprise. But with that being said, as I've gotten older and watched it countless more times, I absolutely love the character and think that the movie would not have been anything close to what it was without that contribution that she gave. And Ryan said, great acting by both actors in the scene. And Jason says, and to think Gene didn't want to cast Sir Patrick. Completely true.

[00:23:41] You know, he was all about the bald head and that really threw Gene. But when you got an actor of this caliber, if you haven't listened to it, you really owe yourself to listen to the audio book of Sir Patrick's memoir, Making It So. It is outstanding. To hear him tell the story of his life and his career is just, it's phenomenal. It really is.

[00:24:07] It's, it's a, every Star Trek fan should listen to it because I mean, what better narrator than Patrick Stewart? Quite honestly. Yeah. Probably pretty, probably, probably sounds pretty good. Yeah. He reads. Okay. Yeah. I'm sure he does. I, uh, I screwed up my screen here. Let's try this and that one, Dan, we're going to go now to number 48. Oh boy. And this is a good one. This is Christopher Pike accepts his fate from the Star Trek discovery season two episode in the Valley of Shadows.

[00:24:37] Um, this is one of those moments. I remember when you had seen this before me and you were like, you have got to, got to see this. And you came down to where I was sitting in our lunchroom where we worked and watched me watch this. Yes. And it was the reaction you were hoping for. Yep. Um, Anson Mount plays this so well, just that look on his face right there.

[00:25:02] You know, you realize that he's entering into a, a compacted, a contract even. Yeah. That says I can do this, but I'm going to meet this fate. And, um, I can't imagine carrying that burden around with you that whole time. I mean, you see it right there on his face. It's, uh, I've talked about this countless times, how, when I saw this for the first time and we saw the accident and we saw what happened, I screamed.

[00:25:28] And I instantly texted both Bowie and, uh, and Eric of the writers of this, of the episode to tell them how happy I was to finally see this moment after, you know, what, how many 50 years back then? Uh, when it first came out to see Pike's accident. And you're absolutely right.

[00:25:47] This moment here, not only the scene, you can see it in the face in the, in the image that you're showing, but when we see him seeing himself in the wheelchair and then it comes back to him, um, on the Klingon planet. And, and the scream that he lets out as he like backs him, crawls backwards against the wall is phenomenal. And, and Anson just kills us.

[00:26:08] And he, he, he knows that he's sacrificing himself for the greater good, which again, we've talked about, you know, the, you know, the true, you know, way that somebody is, is put together that, I mean, he's, he's giving up his, his future to save countless people now. And that's just, it's, it's a phenomenal moment in Star Trek. Brad brings up a great point. Number 48, it solidifies his Pike.

[00:26:36] I think not only that Brad, but without this scene, I don't think Star Trek strange new worlds ever happens. I think that Anson took this to a completely different level to the point where they realized they need to do something more. Now that's my opinion. That's my conjecture. I don't know if that's the case, but I don't know how you come to any other conclusion. Like we have to lock this guy up in a Star Trek series and have him there for a long, long time. Yeah.

[00:27:05] I, I, I, I just, it, it always is amazing to me that he, he sees what's going to happen and he is given the choice. He, he, the guy said, you can walk away from this. And he, he chooses not to, he chooses not to, he just saw what's going to happen to him. And he still chooses not to.

[00:27:26] And then we see another version of that when he's questioning everything in the season one finale of strange new worlds, um, with the future Pike and seeing what, what happens if he did not go through with the accident. And he saved the kids on the, on the, um, on the ship. And he, and he chooses again, that he knows that he needs to go through that. I just, what an, what an amazing, um, character. And you're right.

[00:27:56] This, this moment right here on screen is the defining moment of Anson as Pike and got him the role that we now seeing in strange new worlds. Absolutely. Well, you know, we go from number 48 to the most important number in star Trek and that is number 47, Dan. And that is, it's a gut punch.

[00:28:17] I tell you what Kirk destroys the enterprise and star Trek three, the search for Spock to give the crew a fighting chance to live on the Genesis planet. I think I've told this story many times. I did not cry when Spock died in star Trek two, the wrath of Khan. I did shed tears when the enterprise met its fate in orbit of the Genesis planet. It, it totally devastated me.

[00:28:44] It still does if I think about it, but this is one of those moments that can never be taken back. You know, um, uh, the show that got us through the original series and the first couple of movies, you know, that show that has become so classic and so legendary, even as the refit gets destroyed. And it's rough because the enterprise was always that character, you know? Absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:29:11] It was, we've talked about what an important character the ship itself is and all the star Trek series, especially the original series. And it's funny that you say that. Cause I, I had, I had thought about the fact that you had talked about that. You didn't cross. So I am, I was more emotionally hit with this. Just like you. I don't remember if I cried with Spock dying. I know I was just completely like in my mouth was hanging open. What? See the thing with the thing with Spock is this is going to sound kind of macabre, but I don't mean it to be.

[00:29:40] He kind of like sits back and just kind of relaxes and closes his eyes and he's gone. We watched the enterprises haul disintegrating in front of us. And then the entire front saucer section just completely explodes. And then we see it on fire as it's falling through the atmosphere, like in the picture that you have up on screen. So it's much more of an intense death. I guess you could call it.

[00:30:06] And the other thing that I've always felt with this movie, Kirk, Kirk gets his ass kicked in this emotionally in this movie so much. He lost Spock. Then he loses David. Now he loses the enterprise. I mean, what else is going to, what else can happen to this guy in this movie? It's just, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's one of the hardest moments in, in certainly TOS characters and shows and movies. If not all of Star Trek.

[00:30:36] How much do you want to have happen to him? I mean, Steve is here. Hey Steve, a search for Spock is entirely underrated. I have to agree with that of sorts. You know, there's a sacrifice made in many levels in this movie, not just the crew and their potentially their careers. But the ship that we all love, you know, Jason says my first enterprise, I hated seeing it destroyed. Yeah. Same here. And Brad agrees with, uh, with Steve.

[00:31:03] So, um, it's still, I hated that we saw this in the trailer because I knew it was coming even when I saw the movie in theaters. Um, but it doesn't make this any less painful, man. Here's the question for you. Is destroying the enterprise Kirk's greatest act of command or his greatest act of friendship? That's tough. Um, or is it, I'm going to give you another option.

[00:31:32] Is it his greatest failure of command? Okay. You know, because he's, he's brought all of these folks into the same sort of situation. Granted, they volunteered to go, but they're doing it based on his leadership, right? Um, is it, I mean, as I, of course he should have done it, but should he have done it? Um, because he's risked more than their careers. He's risked their lives. He's risked their reputations.

[00:32:00] Um, you know, so, uh, it's hard to say it's something I still could come down on any side of on any given day. Yeah. Honestly. Yeah. I, I usually go with the act of friendship. I mean, he's willing to give up everything and he does give up just about everything for his best friend. Um, it's kind of like, I hate to bring it up, but it's cause I, cause I just talked to Scott McDonald was kind of like Toscan O'Brien. O'Brien gives up willing to give up everything for this guy who wasn't even his best friend. Kirk's best friend.

[00:32:28] He's giving up everything for, and it ends up working on the end. Yeah. Let's move on to number 46. And that is of course, Star Trek, deep space nine, the search part two. Odo finds his people and rejects them. This is a key moment for Odo. Um, really much of the rest of the series hinges on this moment because the female changeling just wants Odo to approve. And to become part of the great link.

[00:32:58] And Odo is like, I don't think so, bitch. Um, this is a fantastic episode, especially when you come to the end. I believe Jonathan Frakes directed this episode. So it was in great hands there, but this episode is not only key to Odo, but for me, I think it's key to the rest of the Dominion arc. The Dominion arc is, is, and will always be my favorite arc in any Star Trek series. Everybody knows how much I love the Dominion. I've always thought it was fantastic.

[00:33:26] I love how Odo was such an integral part of it before we knew what was going on. I remember reading a book by Peter David. I think it was called the siege. It came out right after season one of, of, of deep space nine. And it talked more about his coming, where he came from and stuff like that. And I thought it was a remarkable, remarkable book, but it's not official canon. And then this happens and everybody knows Odo is my all time favorite character.

[00:33:55] Um, I just, I just love what Renee did with him. And this is the pivotal moment. We get to see the Dominion for the first time, really for what it is with these caste systems of the Jem'Hadar being the, the soldiers and the, and the, the, um, Florida being the generals and then the God, the, the God changelings.

[00:34:15] And I, the, the way that Odo grapples with what he's finally been searching for and knows where he's from versus his loyalties to, to Cisco and the crew and his own ideas of justice is, is brilliant in this episode. And his ultimate rejecting, uh, the female changeling and his people and going back to deep space nine is one of the best moments of the series. Without a doubt.

[00:34:44] I couldn't say it any better. And that's a, that's kind of an amazing admission for somebody like me, Dan, we're going to pause there. We're going to take some time to do a little business with America. And then we're going to come back and talk about our friends, our family at a fan set. So everybody stay right there. We'll be right back.

[00:35:24] Oh, sorry, Dan. I don't know if you're aware of this, but, um, it also, uh, you could call this breaking news in a sense, or maybe you don't want to, I don't know. But, uh, there's a new study out that proves that people who buy fans, that's pins are infinitely happier than people who don't.

[00:35:43] So we have to thank them for being the exclusive and presenting sponsor of Trek geeks here coming into their 11th year with us starting, uh, really anytime now. And, um, we couldn't be prouder to, to represent them every week as we do Trek geeks and Thursday night geeks, buddy. Absolutely. And if you're in the Tucson area and you're going to the convention this weekend, be sure to stop at their table and buy some new pins. Cause you know, they're going to have new pins at the booth.

[00:36:11] They also have new pins on the website, buddy. Cause we have big news from fansets, um, for all those folks in Vegas and maybe those who weren't in Vegas fansets has announced that the restock of the sold out exclusives from STLV are now available at fansets.com. Head over there right now to get the three Kirk's pin with that beautiful Trek 60 logo available.

[00:36:34] And the three enterprises from those three different Kirk's also available is the 60th anniversary series pin, the rectangular one. That looks so great. Having the dates from, uh, from when it started to current, absolutely beautiful, very similar, but also just as cool. Also available is the 60th anniversary round pin because who doesn't need or who does need, doesn't need a rectangular and a circular Star Trek 60 pin, right?

[00:37:04] I'm so proud. You learned your shapes. That's amazing. I know exactly. Yeah. Um, those, yeah, I remember doing that as a kid. Anyway, uh, also available the STLV 2026 Vegas exclusive pin complete with the Rio sign and their logo is available right now at fansets.com. Where's that one? It's on there somewhere. I saw it earlier, but I don't know. It's right. It's it. Trust me. It's there unless it's sold out already. I don't see a Rio sign. Right there. Right there. Nope. Next one over. That's not, that's not the Rio sign. That's.

[00:37:33] Isn't that the Rio sign up in the top, right? That's the Vegas sign. Vegas pin. Okay. Well, it's the Vegas sign. Sorry. That's what happens when you look at it really fast, but it's still available at fansets.com, which is the important thing. And the big one, buddy, the one that everybody always wants every single year. The 2026 STLV poker chip is now available at fansets.com. Now for all of those pins that I just talked about, once they're sold out, that's it. There will be no more ever.

[00:38:01] So make sure you get yours before they are gone. Um, but that's not it, man. That is not it. There's new stuff because it's the first week of September. So right now the newest patch in their line of great patches is available. And it's the star fleet museum patch nicely embroidered as all their patches are. And, uh, you can also get from section 31 supply from their Vegas exclusive is the Borg slot machine. That is cool. I love the greens in that one. That one is available over at fansets right now.

[00:38:31] And finally you can get the star fleet Academy commander Delta in either pin or magnet form. That is a lot of stuff, but you know what? You've got to buy them all because they're all fantastic. Because as bill said, you'll be happier being a fansets customer. And true. And that's the lieutenant commander. Lieutenant commander. I saw the LT and didn't say it. There will be a commander one coming out at some point. I'm sure there'll do 47 different ones like the future imperfect badges.

[00:38:58] Um, but, uh, Dan, I, that is a dizzying array of pins. I mean, including all the stuff you talked about the last episode, there's all this new stuff. They've got to be well over 700 offerings at this point just for star Trek. So, you know what we want you to do? I'm going to get real close here. We want you to go out to fansets.com. Um, we want you to get all 700 of those things on their website. Add them to your cart. Just drop them in. Trip, drop, trip, drop, trip, drop.

[00:39:27] And then at checkout, use the special discount code. Trek geeks. That's Trek geeks in all capital letters. No spaces. That way you get 10% off your entire order at fansets.com. 10%. And of course, Dan, when you spend more than 30 bucks on fansets.com, do you know what you get? Do you know? Free shipping. Free shipping. Free dang shipping in the United States. Dang shipping. Okay.

[00:39:56] Free dang shipping. Well, you know, we, it's, they're a sponsor. We don't want to use foul language. Fansets. Our pins have character. All 700 of them. And we thank our friends at fansets for being the presenting sponsor of Thursday Night Geeks. Ryan's not wrong. I was too close. I just want to say anything, but that was a little scary. Ross asks, the question is, when can we order the Trek geeks Delta? Like Bill has on right now. This is the Trek geeks mag Delta loving crafted by fansets.

[00:40:27] We still don't have a method by which people can purchase those yet. So we are working on it. There are obvious implications as far as taxes. Um, we have to be sure we account for that in any state in which we happen to sell them potentially. So, uh, we're doing more research as soon as something like this is available. Um, we'll certainly let you know. I can tell you, I will have a supply with me in Philadelphia at the convention in November.

[00:40:56] So if you happen to be going to Philly and you're looking for one of these Trek geeks, mag Deltas, um, we will have those there. Dan speaking of the stuff we had at Vegas. Yes, sir. We have uploaded a bunch of designs to the Trek geek shop, including all three of our Vegas designs, our Vegas poker chip pin, which is available in a variety of t-shirts.

[00:41:22] Um, you know, uh, from lightweight to Uber soft to even a V neck tee. If you're looking for it, there's also the, uh, the shirt that I have on right now, which is the 60th anniversary Delta. Mm-hmm. Um, uh, this one, uh, all three of these sold out in an almost record twice, both male and female fit in a variety of colors. And then also, and this was the most popular shirt in Vegas.

[00:41:50] We're psyched that it's on the site for everybody. The, uh, the retro star fleet, which, uh, with the NASA logo, uh, at the bottom, this probably was my favorite design to make this year. Um, I had a lot of fun with it. I'm glad that it went over as well as it did. Uh, but those are all now available on the Trek geek shop at trek geek shop.com. And Dan, you actually uploaded one the other day. You don't often do this. I don't. Um, you uploaded a design of your own. Yeah.

[00:42:20] I'm very excited about that one. Um, everybody knows I'm a huge breaking bad fan and I wanted to do some kind of mashup. And I, I joked about this with bill. I said, Hey, how about a tattoo of a mashup of the Walter white doodle as a Borg? And it's Heisenborg. And you looked at me and said, that's the stupidest thing you've ever said in your life. It is, but I, there's a shirt. Yes, but I worked at it and that, that is now a shirt.

[00:42:47] And in November, that will become a tattoo on my body because that's my next tattoo. Is it going to be a tramp stamp? I am not telling anyone. Uh, and then the other new one, which I put up just the other day is this brand new space, the final frontier t-shirt, uh, which has, uh, kind of the, the Delta there in the middle is sort of a thin line, um, kind of subtle, but, uh, still pretty cool. That's all the Trek geek shop, trekgeekshop.com. Uh, we're going to come back in just a few more seconds to talk a little bit more about

[00:43:16] the remaining five entries on our list. So stay right there. So Dan, we've only got five more episodes to talk about. We're at quarter till the hour, so we're doing pretty good.

[00:43:42] I'm going to, uh, cue up the old, uh, view screen here and we can talk about the remaining ones. As you remember, we left off with a deep space nine episode. Yep. Um, we're going to continue on with, um, probably a, a very memorable moment in the scope of star Trek, the next generation. It's not an episode I love, but this moment is undeniably great and it is let history never

[00:44:10] forget the name enterprise number 45 on the list of star Trek 60 greatest moments from the episode yesterday's enterprise Dan. Nobody, nobody could have said this line better than Sir Patrick Stewart. The, the, the baritone, the, the accent, everything about it, the seriousness of the moment. It's one of the best quotes in next generation.

[00:44:33] And the fact that it's a whole time episode or all kinds of weird things going on makes it all that more exciting to me. I love that. That's I, I spew that I'd be driving down the road and I'll just say that line every once in a while. That's, that's one of those moments that you just always love and remember in star Trek. You know, Willow has the perfect comment here.

[00:44:58] It really is chef's kiss and that scene, it is the perfect way to, to sort of button up that particular part of the scene and take it into the last act. You know, as the enterprise C is sent back through the distortion, um, just a, a great, great moment. And it just shows that this crew can band together and do what needs to be done really in any situation. So this is a fantastic moment, uh, undeniable, even for me, um, ironic things in it.

[00:45:26] I think bill is, is Picard knows about these different timelines based on what's about to happen, but the way that he words, let's make sure history never forget which version of history. And he knows that. And I think that's what makes it a much more powerful statement when he says it to the crew. Who wrote that line? Um, that's a great question. I think, I don't remember if Ron Moore did the final draft on that script. I know Eric's it's from a story by Eric Stilwell and Trent Ganino, I think.

[00:45:56] Um, but I don't remember who did the finished draft on that, Ryan. Um, I'm sure that, uh, somebody can, we'll look it up on, um, on a memory alpha before too long. Dan, that takes us to number 44. Um, if I find the right button here and that is Kirk refuses cyborg. To take away his pain.

[00:46:19] Um, this moment really kind of messed with my head, you know, because here's Kirk who is, you know, the captain of captains of sorts. You know, he's the guy who nothing affects until it does. And then, you know, he's like, yeah, you know, you want to take away my pain. I need my pain. And I thought that that was really kind of introspective about Kirk, honestly. Um, and we got to see him in a way that we really haven't seen him before.

[00:46:47] We saw Spock's pain, you know, with, uh, being called human at birth. We saw McCoy's pain and probably the best scene that DeForest Kelly ever gets to do in Star Trek where he turns off his father's life support, such a gut wrenching scene. And then, you know, you have Kirk's moment, which I think is equally as important. And for me, the second best part of Star Trek five after D Kelly's moment. It's an, it's, it's interesting to me.

[00:47:18] How I have always felt about this scene. He, he refused, you know, he, he, like you said, Cyborg does it for McCoy. He does it for Spock. Then he offers Kirk and Kirk's like, no. And the reason it says he needs his pain. How many times have we seen in Star Trek, the loneliness and the pain that a captain has? And I'm talking about classic Trek because that's not, doesn't seem to be the case these days, but.

[00:47:44] It's an important aspect, but I also have always thought of the connection with what he says here to what we saw happen in the enemy within episode. He separated into the good and the bad or the pain. He is, he is not the same and can't function as captain without that part of him. I've always felt that connection with this scene and why he doesn't want to have Cyborg help him.

[00:48:14] This is completely non sequitur. It has nothing to do with the discussion, but apparently it's Steve's birthday. Oh, well, all righty then. Steve, happy birthday, buddy. Have a, enjoy the day, my friend, because days like that are worth celebrating. Definitely have that glass of wine and celebrate because who knows what happens tomorrow. Enjoy yesterday's enterprise.

[00:48:37] This scene really is just, it's, it's a reminder to us that we just can't excise the parts, you know, that we don't. Right. Of that have happened in our lives. We've all done things. It was Kirk says, you know, you know, tell me I turned left when I should have turned right or something along those lines. I'm sure you have memorized. But, you know, I, I think that it's important to remember that all of these moments make us who we are. Right. Even the moments that are the most painful.

[00:49:05] And that's what I took away from this, even when it came out in 1989. And all of a sudden my smoke detector started beeping. I heard that. I was like, you got a parrot over there? Yeah. And it does this intermittently. So it may be time to replace that smoke detector. That's what I'm thinking of my battery at least. Yeah. Yeah. I can't wait for that to show up in the audio version. But, but yeah, so apparently Kalia is, is using the enemy within a class tomorrow. So you bring that up. That's kind of cool. Yeah.

[00:49:33] I, you know, I wish my teachers had used Star Trek overall. I would have paid much more attention at school. Yeah, I don't, I, I agree a hundred percent with that. Yeah. Dan, we move on to number 43 and I'm sorry about the formatting here and the numbers when I converted it from Canva, kind of screwed it up. That's okay. This is such an amazing moment in deep space nine. There goes the, uh, the fire alarm again where Nog asks commander Cisco for a Starfleet Academy recommendation.

[00:50:03] This is such a great scene for Aaron Eisenberg and Nog in general that, I mean, there's, uh, you consider that as a young actor, Aaron Eisenberg here is going toe to toe with Avery Brooks. I can't think of anything more intimidating, quite honestly. Just look at the picture you put up. That's intimidating in itself. You know, and I'm thinking that, you know, Nog here is fierce. He wants this. He's showing he Cisco. He wants it. And.

[00:50:32] You know, it, it ultimately pushes Cisco into his corner. And that's what I love about this scene that, you know, despite the fact that, you know, there's a, there's a Ferengi, an anti-Ferengi bias in the next generation. Um, that doesn't necessarily exist with Cisco on deep space nine, especially when it counts in moments like this. Yeah.

[00:50:53] And, uh, we've talked so many times over the years that Nog is the best character arc or complete arc of a character. Um, with what we see him, we see him grow into. This scene is so great because, you know, at the beginning of the episode, he's just trying to bribe him, you know, by giving him Latin and stuff like that. And then the way Cisco pushes him to find out the real reason why he wants this so much.

[00:51:22] And he finally admits it. And it all comes out that he doesn't want to be like his father, that he wants, he isn't running away. He wants, he wants to get away from the expectation that Quark and his father put on him as a Ferengi. And this is the defining moment I think of Nog and, and what we see and what I wish we could have seen more of him, uh, in deep space nine. Yeah.

[00:51:48] Uh, and after honestly, um, I, I, I, I still miss Aaron very much. Um, and I know most of fandom does, he was such a wonderful person and such a joy to, to just talk to. Um, but what he brought to Nog was just undeniably fantastic. Yeah. And this scene probably is the start of Nog's transition into being more human, uh, more Ferengi than Ferengi, I suppose.

[00:52:17] Um, it's just, it's such a beautiful moment. So, um, Dan, that takes us to number 42. Hmm. And I don't know anyone that doesn't get misty eyed at this. Um, Star Trek, the next generation, the offspring, uh, data creates lol. And then sadly, ultimately loses lol. Um, it is such a, it is such an, an amazingly powerful and beautiful episode.

[00:52:45] Frakes is first director chair on next gen. And this episode has no weak moments. And, uh, it's between the performance of, of Hallie Todd and Brent Spiner as to why it's carried so well. His hands were moving faster than I could see. It's amazing. This it's, it's, it's funny. You get misty eyed. We saw someone in a lol cosplay at STLV.

[00:53:11] And that made my heart kind of jump a little bit because this it's so great. This whole episode is great. You're so right. There's no weak moments in this. We get to see data. At his best and trying to become human and the reasons that he talks about it and the reasons why he's going to go against what Starfleet wants him to do. Uh, I just, it's a, it's a brilliant episode.

[00:53:36] It's one of, I think one of the best data centric episodes in terms of what we see he, him wanting to become and, and doing things that prove that he's capable of, of being that. Yeah. Al and hail. Good to see you. Al says, I saw it when lol describes her feelings and pounds her chest. She is pounding that thing hard. She must've looked at bruise. Yeah. It's kind of like how I feel Dan.

[00:54:02] When, um, you know, people tell me that you're not feeling well, you know, it's like I'm feeling things. Oh my God. Um, and it's, it's joy. I don't know how else to describe it. I feel joy. I appreciate that. Um, uh, painting. Willow says my favorite part is the data lets his child choose their own identity. I think that's so wonderful, especially in the scope of today's conversations. Right. Um, uh, it's a fantastic moment.

[00:54:27] I love that, you know, uh, they go through various choices and that Lyle gets to choose what Lyle feels most comfortable in, you know? So Dan, that takes us to the last episode this week. That is number 41. Um, the last of our list is until we continue two weeks from now. And that is Cisco convinces the prophets to stop the dominion fleet. And the sacrifice of angels on deep space nine.

[00:54:54] Um, this is a moment that really kind of starts to turn the tide on the dominion war. It's not going well. It's not, but it gives the federation a chance. Without this episode, it's entirely possible that the dominion overtakes the alpha quadrant, but the dominion rushes in.

[00:55:18] They squash the, the gem and our attack force and Cisco retakes the station. It's, um, it, it's so important in deep space nine. It's so important in star Trek. And it is when I remember when this aired, I watched this and I was like, you have got to be kidding me. They did what? And, and these are some of the first times that we get to see these incredible space battles in star Trek, um, that, that they did, that they were so good at doing in deep

[00:55:48] space nine during the dominion war. It's great. I love this episode because Cisco Cisco has to, is playing, you know, he's, you know, federation and he's a God of the pro you know, he's the emissary of the prophets. He's got, he's got to juggle all these things, but he basically tells the prophets, you got to do, you do what I tell you right now. I don't care that you don't want to interfere. You've got to interfere. Bajor is your responsibility. And I think, and, and I think, I think one of the quotes he says is Bajor needs a miracle. If I remember correctly. Yeah.

[00:56:18] Um, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's great. And, and the other thing that's great is the prophets tell him. Um, yeah, okay, we'll do this, but you're going to pay for it. They don't say it in that way, but there's going to be a penance and he doesn't care. Not even knowing what that's going to be. Um, again, we talk about what good, good commanders do, what they sacrifice for the good of, of the people that, that they are in command of and who they care about. And here's another great example.

[00:56:47] Well, Dan, that takes us to the end of this particular list. Um, I would show you the rundown, but it's all screwed up as you might imagine. Uh, I'm going to vamp while I get it ready, but we've talked about 10 episodes. The one thing that surprised me about this list this week is there was, uh, several deep space, nine entries, no animated entries and no TOS entries. Well, yeah, that's true. I, yeah, yeah, that's right.

[00:57:13] We did, we did the movie, but that's not TOS, but yeah, that's okay. Hey, there's six, you know, there's, there's a 60 years to go through. So, you know, they'll pop up here and there. I'm sure. So let's run down the list that we talked about tonight. Uh, number 50, seven or nine joins the Voyager crew in Star Trek Voyager 49. Picard refuses to let his vengeance define him in Star Trek. First contact, uh, 48. Christopher Pike accepts his fate in Star Trek discovery 47.

[00:57:41] Kirk destroyed destroys the enterprise in Star Trek three. The search for Spock 46 Odo finds his people and rejects them in deep space. Nine 45 let history never forget the name enterprise from TNG 44. Kirk refuses side box offer to take away his pain in the final frontier 43. Nog asks Cisco for a Starfleet Academy recommendation 42 data creates law. They're really the whole episode.

[00:58:10] Um, and the last one 41 Cisco convinces the profits to stop the dominion task force into and from invading the alpha quadrant. Dan, that is a solid group of 10 episodes. Um, we're down to 40 episodes left in our countdown. This will go on well past the, the, uh, the 60th anniversary coming up next week. Again, we're, we're five days away from that as we approach the 60th anniversary. And as we close things out, what are your thoughts?

[00:58:40] You know, where is, uh, where is Star Trek for you? How's your fandom doing? My fandom is reduced. I will be honest in saying, um, I have not made it a priority to be caught up on everything. I have several episodes and several shows that I have to catch up on. It doesn't mean I love it any less. It's just not at the plateau of it being like on the forefront of everything. Right.

[00:59:07] Um, I don't know if that's because there's been a lot of things that I don't like that's been happening with Star Trek, like cancellation of shows left and right for no reason. As you talked about earlier, how some shows can go on for 23 seasons that suck and Starfleet Academy gets canceled after two. So it's, it's kind of gotten me aggravated about the state of things more very differently than when they canceled enterprise back in the day.

[00:59:36] Um, so it's, it's still there of course, but it's just not, it's not like in your face. Like it usually is. Although I am very excited to start building my Lego, um, TOS bridge set this weekend, which came in yesterday and I'm pretty sure yours did too. Yes, it did. Yes, it did. I feel like we're, we're kind of at a place we were at in 2005.

[01:00:00] Um, we are about to start a time where there is no Star Trek on TV, uh, in movies, at least for the foreseeable future. I know they've got a movie in development, but we'll see if that even happens. Um, there are nine more episodes of strange new worlds coming down the pike, no pun intended. And I don't even, I don't even care. Um, this season has been such a vast disappointment for me.

[01:00:27] I am looking forward to Starfleet Academy, but my feelings are very different than they were from the 50th anniversary where I thought we really kind of had, you know, the universe before us as far as where Star Trek could go. So I'm hopeful, but I can only hope that a new generation takes Star Trek to places we couldn't have even imagined by the 70th. Quite honestly. I am in total agreement with you there, man, on all, all your topics. Yep. Absolutely.

[01:00:57] Well, that's going to do it for us this week. We'll be back in two weeks to talk about episodes 40 through 31. I had to do the knocker in my head. Um, and, uh, until then, obviously we hope you all have a great 60th anniversary of Star Trek, you know, uh, watch some Trek, kick back, have a glass of wine like Steve's got to do tonight and just, uh, enjoy these days because we've got 60 years of, of greatness

[01:01:24] to, to watch and love and rewatch and love all over again. So for Dan, I'm Bill. We do hope you all live long and prosper. We'll see you all in two weeks. Have a great night. Coconut. Music for Trek Geeks is provided by Five Year Mission. They're creating one original song for each episode of Star Trek. Get their music at fiveyearmission.net. Trek Geeks and Thursday Night Geeks are a production of Coconut Media Works.

[01:01:51] Executive producers Bill Smith and Dan Davidson. For the best Trek podcast in the galaxy, be sure to visit trekgeeks.com.

[01:02:50] No one talks Trek like we do.