Earl Grey: A Star Trek The Next Generation Podcast

Top Five Favorite Episodes.Whenever fans of The Next Generation gather together, there is an inevitable discussion about which are the best episodes. Earl Grey marks their one-year anniversary by discussing each of the co-hosts five personal favorite episodes. The discussion includes fan favorites such as "Tapestry," the two-parter "The Best of Both Worlds," and the series finale "All Good Things..." as well as "Family," "Gambit, Parts 1 & 2," and "Lower Decks." Daniel Proulx, Darren Moser, and Phillip Gilfus celebrate their favorite Star Trek series and why they continue to spend every week discussing all things TNG.   Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact   Chapters Fifth Favorite Darren: The Quality of Life (7:12) Phillip: In Theory (11:17) Daniel: Sarek (15:00)   Fourth Favorite Darren: Starship Mine (21:00) Phillip: Disaster (25:50) Daniel: Tapestry (30:26)   Third Favorite Darre

Romantic Guest Stars. Every Star Trek series features guest stars who provide romance for our favorite characters. In this episode of Earl Grey, we discuss the non-Picard romances from The Next Generation. Whether you wanted Suzie Plakson's K'Ehleyr to appear more or thought Data was everyone's "magical boyfriend," Phillip, Darren, and Daniel follow their hearts in analyzing this series's romances. 

Season Three Overview.The third season of TNG introduced uniform collars, a promoted La Forge, the last full season for Wesley, welcomed back Dr. Crusher, and ended on the greatest cliffhanger in Star Trek television history. In this episode of Earl Grey, Darren, Daniel, and Phillip discuss why Season Three is their collective favorite out of all seven years of the series, how most episodes introduced storylines that would continue throughout TNG's television run (in addition to other Trek series and feature films), and how many times Riker smiles during other characters' embarrassing moments.   Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact   Chapters Opening Thoughts (2:18) 1 Evolution (4:42) 2 The Ensigns of Command (9:00) 3 The Survivors (11:25) 4 Who Watches the Watchers (14:14) 5 The Bonding (16:35) 6 Booby Trap (18:25) 7 The Enemy (22:00) 8 The Price (24:03) 9 The Vengeance Factor (27:09) 1

Klingons on TNG.From forehead ridges to bat'leths, from High Council politics to a Romulan-orchestrated civil war, the story of the Klingons was greatly expanded on The Next Generation. In this episode of Earl Grey, Daniel Proulx, Darren Moser, and Phillip Gilfus discuss how having a Klingon on the bridge led to a continuing exploration of the Klingon people and their society. We also examine reoccurring Klingon characters, story-lines, and what aspects of the Empire were expanded on in DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise.  

Is TNG a Children's Show?A lot of fans began their love of The Next Generation as children and continued their fandom into adulthood. In this episode of Earl Grey, Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx examine their TNG experiences as children versus as adults. Special guest Andi Vanderkolk, aka @FirstTimeTrek, provides a different perspective as someone who began watching the series as an adult. Join us as we find what aspects of TNG speak specifically to children and what concepts remain universal, despite any fan's age.

The Top 47 Things We Love About Trek, Part 2.  The number 47 repeatedly comes up in The Next Generation, but since Star Trek is currently celebrating its 48th year, Earl Grey uses its 48th episode to continue our look at the 47 things we love about Trek. In part two of this round-robin discussion, Darren Moser, Daniel Proulx, and Phillip Gilfus complete their run through the 47 greatest aspects of Star Trek as they cover the role of female characters, specific episodes, the various series, ship model sets, and more.   Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact   Chapters 36 Creating role models (PG) (1:12) 37 One Little Ship - DS9 (DM) (3:14) 38 The Movies! (DP) (5:05) 39 TOS - An exciting adventure (PG) (9:50) 40 Model Kits! (DM) (12:43) 41 Women of Trek (DP) (17:30) 42 DS9 - How today could be like if we tried (PG) (23:18) 43 Message In A Bottle (DM) (26:43) 44 Broken Bow (DP) (29:50) 45 VOY

The Top 47 Things We Love About Trek, Part 1. Most fans are aware of the reoccurrence of the number 47 in TNG and subsequent Star Trek series. Join us as Earl Grey celebrates its 47th episode—and the larger "47 conspiracy"—by listing the 47 things we believe make Star Trek a great television and movie franchise as it approaches its half-century mark. Darren Moser, Daniel Proulx, and Phillip Gilfus deliver a round-robin discussion of philosophy, ships, episodes, costumes, and more as they explain why they love all things Trek.

Most Forgettable TNG Episodes.Even the most die-hard TNG fan may have trouble remembering the storylines for all 178 episodes that span the seven season of the television show. A good, bad, or mediocre episode can still come as a complete surprise when one does a rewatch of the series. In this episode of Earl Grey, Daniel Proulx, Darren Moser, and Phillip Gilfus do a round-robin style listing of the episodes they can barely remember from The Next Generation. See if you remember these stories that faded into the recesses of our minds. 

Cardassians on TNG.Galor-class warships. The occupation of Bajor. The Demilitarized Zone. Marc Alaimo in the armor uniform. These aspects of the Cardassians are seen throughout Deep Space Nine, but they all originated on The Next Generation. In this week's episode of Earl Grey, Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx review all the TNG episodes featuring this species, how they rate as villains for the Enterprise-D crew, and whether the Cardassians stood on their own on TNG or were merely setup characters for future Deep Space Nine and Voyager storylines.   Chapters First Impressions (3:30) The Wounded  Ensign Ro (16:23) Chain of Command (21:40) The Chase (28:10) Parallels (30:08) Lower Decks (31:20) Journeys End (34:20) Preemptive Strike (37:20) Ranking (41:03) Setup for DS9/VOY? (47:00)

Enterprise Ship Legacy List.The Next Generation's legacy is that, through individual television episodes and feature films, it "filled in" the history of ships named Enterprise. In this episode of Earl Grey, Darren Moser, Daniel Proulx, and Phillip Gilfus give their individual rankings of all the Enterprises that have been seen throughout the entire Star Trek franchise. We cover favorites, ones we didn't like, and which should have been left in dry dock permanently. See if the choices agree your own ranking for all things Enterprise.

Lost Elements from TOS.How much changes in the Star Trek universe in 100 years? When The Next Generation first aired in 1987, viewers discovered a new Enterprise, a new crew, as well as writers and producers who wanted to "update" several aspects of The Original Series. In this episode of Earl Grey, Daniel Proulx, Darren Moser, and Phillip Gilfus discuss which elements from TOS were purposefully avoided, and whether it was a mistake to "reinvent" Star Trek too much or if it helped TNG create its own unique identity as the newest Star Trek television series.

Uniforms & Wardrobe in TNGFans may debate how much the TNG crew evolved over their many missions, but there is no question that their uniforms evolved from the initial television pilot "Encounter at Farpoint" to the last feature film, Star Trek: Nemesis. From the four kinds of Starfleet uniforms worn by the 24th-century Enterprise officers and crew to the surprisingly skimpy and full-of-ruffles civilian clothes, Phillip Gilfus, Daniel Proulx, and Darren Moser discuss skants, dress uniforms, and alien costumes in this fashion-forward episode of Earl Grey.

The 1701-E.Following the destruction of the NCC-1701-D in Star Trek Generations, a new starship Enterprise was commissioned for the crew of The Next Generation. Featured in the final three TNG films—First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis—the Enterprise-E differs greatly from its Galaxy-class predecessor in both size and appearance, inside and out. In this episode of Earl Grey, Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx discuss the finer details of this Sovereign-class ship, including what they liked (and loved!), and why they wish we could have seen more of it.

Guinan. During the TNG's second season, viewers were introduced to a new character who may have seemed more like the ship's counselor than Troi. Played by comedy superstar Whoopi Goldberg, the sage-like bartender Guinan provided the series with an outside perspective on Starfleet, the Enterprise, and our characters. In this episode of Earl Grey hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx talk all about Ten Forward and its insightful barkeep, who always has an ear to lend, and a pint to offer.

Pen Pals Commentary.The Prime Directive is a centerpiece of Star Trek storytelling, and in TNG's second season we get an early Prime Directive episode in "Pen Pals." A small girl on a dangerously volcanic planet contacts Data looking for help, and the crew must deal with the fallout of this unpredictable situation. In this episode of Earl Grey Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx bring you a commentary track for "Pen Pals" and discuss the many interesting ideas in this episode, which is generally not a fan favorite.

Divisional Shuffle.What would happen if our favorite TNG characters belonged to other divisions? What if Data worked in security? What if Picard manned the science station? What if Riker sat at tactical? In this episode of Earl Grey hosts Phillip GIlfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx discuss what it might be like if our beloved Enterprise-D crew had their colors scrambled and danced the divisional shuffle. We touch on blue-shirt Picard from "Tapestry," Lieutenant Riker, and a technicolor Data. Don't get jealous, Wesley!

TNG Admirals.From the initial zoom in to Picard on the Enterprise to the final zoom out from the poker table, Star Trek: The Next Generation consistently had Starfleet admirals as recurring and influential characters. More often than not, these admirals were a thorn in the side of the Enterprise crew, sending Picard on questionable missions, making unreasonable scheduling requests, and even dragging Riker into a cover-up of illegal experiments. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx put on their best dress uniforms and blend into the admiralty. From cameos by familiar characters-turned-admiral—like McCoy and Janeway—to a movie all about a Badmiral, this is a very regal cup of Earl Grey.

Picard's Romances.One of the first differences viewers noticed between Captain Picard and his legendary predecessor was his attitude towards love. While not as famous as Kirk's, Picard himself has an interesting and varied history with romance. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx talk all things love as it relates to Jean Luc Picard. From his early relationships before the show even started, in episodes like "Tapestry" and "We'll Always Have Paris," to alternate future marriages with Beverly Crusher—and all flings in between—this week's cup of Earl Grey is extra hot.

Saucer Separation   One unique aspects of The Next Generation was a relic of The Original Series, though one we never saw. It was something Gene Roddenberry had wanted to show but couldn't—a separating ship. Finally, in TNG's pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint," we got to see just what it would look like for the Enterprise's saucer and hull to go their separate ways. In this episode of Earl Grey hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx talk about one ship becoming two. We cover all instances where saucer separation was used or even just mentioned. So come enjoy your weekly dose of Earl Grey, this time in two smaller cups!

Ferengi When The Next Generation premiered, many people were surprised to see a Klingon on the bridge of the Enterprise. With the Klingons no longer positioned as the enemy of the Federation, the writers had to bring in a new foe for the crew to battle. Thus the infamous Ferengi were born—and buried within a few short engagements. In this episode of Earl Grey, hew-mon hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx take a close look at the fearful Ferengi, from ships to lobes to laser whips.