Ceti Alpha 3: A Star Trek Podcast

Ship Profile: NCC-1701-A The history of onscreen Enterprises is rich in detail for some and scant for others. Then there's the U.S.S. Enterprise-A. First introduced in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as a reward for our TOS-era heroes saving Earth once again, we saw this Constitution refit-class in the next two movies (Star Trek V and Star Trek VI). The trio looks at this ship's origins and purported ending, discovering more mysteries about it than first thought. They look at the largely non-canon origins of the ship, and ask if the U.S.S. Yorktown, then recommissioned as the Enterprise-A, was a new or quite old vessel? What about the history of the Constitution-class and its refits in general? What are the differences, if any, between the refit NCC-1701 and the NCC-1701-A? What was the A's mission in between its malfunctioning introduction in Star Trek V and its scheduled decommissioning in Star Trek VI? Join us as we discuss all things about the first Enterprise to add a letter to its registry and the last with Captain Kirk in command.

Whittling Down Season Four (DS9) to 10 episodes Love it or hate it, today's Trek means less episodes than the 20th Century series. For some, it's a sign of tighter storytelling, focusing on quality plot and themes. For others, it means missing episodes that are more "day in the life," outside of one season's particular villain/mystery. Or maybe it's just show business wanting to spend less money! Whatever the reason, the trio is going back in time and translating old series of Trek into today's franchise format. What if season four of Deep Space Nine were made today? They look at the initial 25(!) episodes and chop it down to a 10-episode season. Will it be one coherent theme or random episodes? Will it be all about the Klingon-Cardassan war or the rise of the Dominion threat? Or will it just be a series of character-focused stories? Take a listen and find out what episodes made the cut!

What If? Features in Pilot Episodes Never Changed In most Trek series created in the 20th century, the pilot episodes often have obvious differences from the rest of the series. From a character's make-up to their voice to their actions, change is inevitable. Even the music or look of the show itself can alter from the very beginning. Most of the times, these changes are seen as improvements. But what if they never changed? The trio look at how first episodes of shows, even from current Trek series, were different in tone, style, and specifics from what came later. How different would the shows be if those improvements were never made?

A New Series of Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise was the first TV series of the franchise to be unexpectedly cancelled since the 1960s. With the resurrection of the TNG story in "Star Trek: Picard", the trio open up their pitch meeting to map out a new season for the NX-01 crew in the 22nd Century. Twenty years have passed since we last saw the voyage of Enterprise in "Terra Prime." The United Federation of Planets has survived its first few formative years. As for retired Admiral Jonathan Archer, for whatever reasons, he allowed the leadership of the future of the Federation to pass him by. However, he still remains active to the cause as one of Earth's representatives to the Federation Council. As the time to decide about re-election comes, Archer finds himself caught in a brand new adventure, with past friends as foes, and the lingering question of "has Archer's time gone by?" Join the trio as we revisit what happened to the NX-01 crew, featuring Captain Reed of a refit Enterprise, Starfleet Academy Commandant Sato, last of the cargo fleet Captain Mayweather, Ambassador T'Pol of Vulcan, and proud father Phlox whose son is challenging Archer in the election. And will a long-dead familiar face from the past show up...in another form?

Whittling Down Season Four (TNG) to 10 episodes Love it or hate it, today's Trek means less episodes than the 20th Century series. For some, it's a sign of tighter storytelling, focusing on quality plot and themes. For others, it means missing episodes that are more "day in the life," outside of one season's particular villain/mystery. Or maybe it's just show business wanting to spend less money! Whatever the reason, the trio is going back in time and translating old series of Trek into today's franchise format. What if season four of The Next Generation were made today? They look at the initial 26(!) episodes and chop it down to a 10-episode season. Will it be one coherent theme or random episodes? Will it be all about the Borg or Klingon politics? Will there be a focus on characters or "just vibes"? Take a listen and find out what episodes made the cut!

Character Codas With the ending of "Star Trek: Discovery" upon us, it's time to look back at the untold endings of our favorite Trek characters. From TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, and (arguably) Picard, there are still futures for the main characters that have never been explored. While fans have gotten a few "post-series" peeks at characters, such as Tom Paris and Tuvok, we still don't know what their lives looked like once their series finale ended. The trio hit the random number generator and create codas for main Trek characters from the 20th and 21st century TV shows. What happened to Commander Chekov? Where did Travis Mayweather end up? What does Captain Tuvok do now? Join us in this round of untold stories in Trek.

Pitching a New Trek Series: Enterprise-C There are "gaps" in Trek history, mostly between the launch of the Enterprise-B and the start of the continuing voyages of the Enterprise-D on "The Next Generation." The trio dives into creating a new series based during the earlier part of the 24th Century with the crew of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-C. Just like Captain Christopher Pike, fans already know the tragic ending for Captain Rachel Garrett, Lieutenant Richard Castillo, and the Ambassador-class ship (and alternate universe Tasha Yar!). But even though the episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" tells us the end of the story, what were the missions and untold stories of this crew? In this proposed new series, Captain Garret leads a senior crew of commanders from various alien worlds, along with some familiar faces along the way. A young, wild, and close-to-losing-his-job junior diplomat Curzon Dax helps the Enterprise-C in its mission of patroling Klingon and Romulan space, with a new class of starship that seems more equipped for combat than diplomacy. Will the ship's communications officer be the last one in Starfleet? What lower deck shenanigans are occuring? And why does the Ambassador-class ships become less common in the later part of the 24th Century? All these questions and more are explored in the pitching of a Enterprise-C TV series!

Species Focus: Vulcans Vulcans are everywhere in Star Trek - from the first appearance of Spock to later iterations with Tuvok, T'Pol, and T'Lyn. But how much do we really know about them? And does what we know actually raise even more questions about the way the Federation works? The trio braves the high heat of the desert planet and dives into all things Vulcan. Are they the only major Federation race to maintain their own Fleet? What do the Vulcans do outside of Starfleet? How do we think we'll see them in future Trek series? Suppress your emotions and join us in logically examining Vulcans.

Species Focus: Cardassians They are the villains of the Alpha Quadrant, the occupiers of Bajor, the makers of Terok Nor, the torturers of Picard ... the Cardassians! Introduced in "The Next Generation," fans learned more about this militaristic society in "Deep Space Nine" through characters like Garak and Gul Dukat. But is there more to this species than first meets the eye? Are they only the military and the Obsidian Order? What are "everyday" Cardassians like? What do we know about the history of the Cardassian Union? And what will be their future, following the disaster of the Dominion War? The trio grab a bottle of kanar and investigate what we know about Cardassians.

Games in the Franchise: Star Trek: Resurgence It's been a few months since the release of the adventure game "Star Trek: Resurgence" from Dramatic Labs. Players control two different characters in this story-driven game: Commander Jara Rydek, a Kobliad first officer just joining the USS Resolute, and Petty Officer Carter Diaz, a young but experienced engineering technician. Players decide what actions these characters take in this epic story featuring Ambassador Spock, Captain Riker, other (surprisingly) familiar aliens, new species, and choices that could lead to deaths or saving lives. The trio talks about how this game is more story than game, but how the exciting events makes this (relatively inexpensive) game worth playing. From how to loyal be to a brink-of-retirement captain to how you might choose to sacrifice your friends or yourself. They talk about where someone might get stuck in the game to what parts marveled them as they played. And spoilers: They discuss the random Star Trek episode that serves as prolouge for this story. So step aboard the USS Resolute, brave the ion storm, and set course (via the gaming platform of your choice) for "Star Trek: Resurgence."

Discovery and Series Finales Fans have said goodbye to many Star Trek series during the life of the franchise. Some shows ended more suddenly than others, e.g., The Original Series and Enterprise, whilst others had time to plan their ending, e.g., the seven-year series of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. In the 21st Century, "Star Trek: Picard" has been the first show to say goodbye with a planned series finale. Given all this experience, how do we think Discovery will end? The trio looks at how planned the 2024 Discovery series finale was, what traditions of Trek "goodbyes" are available to use, and what they think are the possibilities of how to end the five seasons show. How will Captain Burnham and the crew of the USS Discovery ride into the sunset? Let us know your thoughts!

What's to come in Star Trek It's been a long road ... from 2023 to what we look towards next year for Star Trek. This past year saw the ending of "Star Trek: Picard", the continuation of "Star Trek: Strange New, Worlds" and "Star Trek: Lower Decks." There was the controversy around "Star Trek: Prodigy", a series that now lives on Netflix. The trio look at what the franchise will bring in 2024. How will we literally watch Star Trek in the months and years to come? They look at the worries about the future of Paramount Plus, and streaming in general, as well as the diminishing ability to purchase "hard media" of Star Trek series and movies. Next year promises the final season of "Star Trek: Discovery," a theoretical "Section 31" movie, as well as season two of "Star Trek: Prodigy," and possibly more "Lower Decks" and "Strange, New Worlds." Will we get more news about the announced Starfleet Academy-based series? And who knows what other surprises are in store? Join us as we look into the crystal ball of Trek 2024.

Computer Operations in Starfleet There is a lot that goes on aboard starships and starbases that we never see. There is no question that one of the most important systems in Starfleet is the computer - it runs all systems and yet we never meet the team who are in charge of maintaining it. Who is the master/mistress of the LCARS? The trio reviews the many computer malfunctions in Trek, and why the IT department was surely ignored by the command team. Who is the ultimate commander of the computer?

Characters' Holodeck Preferences In the Trek franchise, fans have seen our favorite characters enjoy many programs in the Holodeck (including those that try to kill them). But for time (and copyright) reasons, we know that there are more holographic programs in the starship or space station catalog than we ever see on screen. The trio hits the random character generator button and guesses what are the real Holodeck programs that people use during their recreation time periods. From debating whether the choices from Starfleet Holdecks are the same as commercial Holosuites, they look at all there is to offer in holo-tainment.

Season Four - Star Trek: Lower Decks The season four finale of the second Trek animated series provided endings, new beginnings, and some mystery for our USS Cerritos crew. The trio looks at what happened with the unexpected return of Nick Lacarno (and how he looks ... familiar ...), the story arc of Lt(jg) Beckett Mariner, and what the future holds for everyone else. This era of Star Trek tends to have season-ending stories with galaxy-wide consequences, impressive battle sequences, and final answers to lingering questions. Even in the cartoon world, "Old Friends, New Planets" brings that same structure, but with lots of jokes and Trek-references thrown in. But how did we get here? How does "Lower Decks" deal with season arcs, compared to its sister Trek shows? Join us as we search for answers in the 10 episodes long season.

Main Actors in Other Trek Roles We all know and love the Trek phenom that is Jeffrey Combs. His many notable Trek roles have led fans to think he may be playing them in everyday life! What is even more noticable about actors who play multiple roles is when it is someone who plays a "main character." A recent "Lower Decks" reminded fans about the Nick Locarno/Tom Paris double-billing. The trio looks at the "main" actors in Trek who have played multiple roles. Remember seeing Ensign Ro before we saw her? Did you know Tim Russ can be seen a few times in the franchise before joining the Voyager bridge? And what about those actors who played "guest roles" after their main series ended? Join us as we see double (or triple) in actor appearances, including a continuing argument about how to count appearances in TNG's "Shades of Gray".

Creating a Section 31 TV Movie With the end of the writers' strike, pre-production continues on various new (and current) Star Trek projects. One such idea that keeps popping up from official channels is the idea of a "Section 31" story. From the initial promise of a series to the new evolution of a "TV Movie Event", it remains unclear what this will look like in the end. The trio try their hand at shaping a story that would become a Section 31 TV movie. They turn their attention to Julian Bashir as the central character, with the story set after season three of "Star Trek: Picard." We revisit old faces with Miles O'Brien, along with potential new faces from Section 31, Romulans, and maybe even the next generation from Deep Space Nine. In this thriller surrounding the assassination of a Federation official, will Section 31 finally meet its end?

Ferengi Federation Membership In the "Lower Decks" episode "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place", viewers are surprised to see Grand Nagus Rom (and his wife Leeta) spearheading efforts for the Ferengi Alliance to join the United Federation of Planets. The trio looks at how Ferengi culture does (and does not) fit into what we understand of the Federation. From the extremes of capitalism to the "opportunities" available to Federation members, why should the Ferengi join the Federation? Or is it actually a bad deal?

Star Trek Toy Pitches First, there was Star Trek. Quite quickly thereafter, there was ... merchandise! Trek has been a franchise full of toys for over 50 years. From Mego to Playmates to Diamond Select to Eaglemoss, there have been many manufacturers of Trek action figures, playsets, accessories, and more. The trio looks back at the 90s era of Trek and asks - what would have been other great choices down the Trek toy aisle?

The Evolution of Fandom The trio are all (on a spectrum...) children of the 90s. They all embraced "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as their first Trek and expanded their love of the Trek franchise from there. They discuss how they entered the fandom and how it evolved over the decades until the 2009 "reboot" movie. Did their favorite series remain the same? How did they get to know The Original Series' episodes and movies? How did they engage with "Deep Space Nine," "Voyager," and "Enterprise"? They also examine the different ways they engaged from fandom, from cons, games, podcasts, and more.