MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002)

So, Wrath of Khan is a phenomenally good movie.

This is a movie that would like to be that.

It fails.

And it fails hard.

This is the final outing for the Next Generation crew (in movies anyway), and this is definitely not ending with a bang, but a whimper. Let's get into it...

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998)

Happy New Year! I put this off as long as I could, but now it's 2023 (or at least it will be by the time that anybody besides me is reading this) and I think it's time to finish up the Next Generation films. Luckily, we only have two left.

Unfortunately, they both suck. A lot.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996)

Alright, so now that we're back on the horse...

Last time, we had a so-so adventure link the past and the present together sort of, but not really. Captain James T. Kirk got his last big hurrah until it was time for Captain on the Bridge and bridged he was. Oh, also Doctor Loomis from the terrifying Rob Zombie timeline was trying to get into a mystical Hallmark dimension using missiles, no doubt because he was trying to escape being pulled back into the Rob Zombie timeline.

It also occurred to me, since doing that review, how little Picard actually cared about the people who had died under his command as well as how absolutely crap the man is at using the resources allocated to him.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek: Generations" (1994)

Okay, I'm going to level with you all, I am really not looking forward to dealing with the Next Generation movies.

They're all honestly range in quality from "ok" to "very bad". There's only one that's good.

It isn't this one.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991)

Well, we are finally here. The last of the films for the crew of TOS. It isn't the last of the appearances of all of the members of the original cast (that will come much, much later), but this is the final word on the very first original series of Star Trek. From 1966 all the way now to 1991 (at the time of release), it was the 25th anniversary of the franchise and Paramount was determined for it to go out with a bang for the original cast's final ride.

Particularly after their last ride, in which Kirk, Spock, and Bones went on a camping trip to Yosemite and nothing of note happened beyond a sterling rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".

God, I love in-built continuity erasers so much.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989)

"Each man hides a secret pain. It must be exposed and reckoned with. It must be dragged from the darkness and forced into the light. Share your pain. Share your pain with me..."

Alright, well, since you asked nicely...

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986)

Alright, so, here's another review that's mostly going to be me gushing. Why? Because, besides The Wrath Of Khan, this is my favorite Star Trek movie bar none.

So yeah, you're gonna sit here and see me mostly fanboy over it. Sorry.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" (1984)

Yesterday was an important day in the Christian mythology. While I myself am not a particularly religious person, I feel that it is important at least attempt to observe widespread holidays if only in order to make keywords in my videos that will hopefully ping people's Google searches and get me ad revenue.

. . .y'all know what I'm about. We had this discussion last week.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982)

Okay, so... didn't expect to be getting to this so soon, but here we are. And on the year of the fortieth anniversary of it, no less!

I am approaching this review with equal parts eagerness and trepidation. I technically have covered this before, but that was essentially a "review" of me complaining about/comparing this film with Star Trek Into Darkness. It's almost impossible to adequately describe the love I and many other Trek fans have for this movie and, at the risk of gushing like a fanboy, it is a love that is entirely earned.

And it is here, on this glorious April 4th - a mere forty-one years before the day before First Contact with the Vulcans (unless you're somehow reading this then, in which case - HI VULCANS! Thank you for saving us from our own stupidity!) - I bring to you... the myth, the legend, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979)

So, if you've followed my Twitter of late, you've probably seen that I've been on a Star Trek kick (unless you're reading this long after 3/21/22, in which case - Hi future people! Is the pandemic over yet?). Rather than spend my time either being snarky or outright complaining about Star Trek: Picard getting a second season, I decided to actually talk about some good Trek.

...this obviously isn't that, but I haven't actually covered any of the movies, so I figured I'd have to start somewhere.

From MadCap's Couch - "Star Trek: Voyager" (7 Worst Episodes)

So here we are again, after the best that Voyager had to offer, let's get into the worst.

This is...the 7 worst episodes (by season).

Like with DS9, there are no runners up (expect for Season 6, but I'll get to that). This list was significantly easier to compile than the Best list.

From MadCap's Couch - "Star Trek: Voyager" (7 Favorite Episodes)

So, I already did a best of list for my favorite Star Trek spin-off, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It was seven years of television that turned the very concept of Star Trek on its head, but in a very smart and sophisticated way, dissecting and inverting a lot of Gene Roddenberry's original concepts as well as giving the spotlight to several alien races that The Next Generation introduced and didn't do too much with in the way of development.

Voyager...really, really wasn't that.

From MadCap's Couch - "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (7 Worst Episodes)

So I covered my favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine last week, and it seemed only fitting that I would deliver unto you what I believe to be the 7 worst episodes of the show - one from each season.

I'm sure this definitely won't be a contentious issue at all!

So, without further adieu...

From MadCap's Couch - "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (7 Favorite Episodes*)

So, I've mentioned it a few times before both here on the blog and on Twitter, but Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is my favorite Star Trek series. While I do have a massive appreciation for the Original Series and - of course - The Next Generation, DS9 took Star Trek in a new direction that developed not only Starfleet and the Federation, but also other alien races who had previously only really been in the background or had been black and white antagonists such as the Cardassians and the Ferengi. That doesn't mean I enjoy every single episode of it (I'm looking at you "He Who Is Without Sin"), but I do enjoy the emphasis on world building, the ways in which the main crew was developed in believable and enjoyable ways, and the epic scale of everything by the end.

Needless to say, after finishing another marathon, I decided to write out this list.

This isn't going to be an exhaustive or comprehensive overview of the entire series, as much as I would absolutely love to milk all those sweet, sweet views that I'm not getting. More to the point, there are other people who have already covered Trek far better and more in-depth than I ever could (I personally recommend SFDebris: All glory to Psycho Janeway!). This list will be nothing more than my seven favorite episodes from the seven seasons of Deep Space Nine - one episode for each of the seven seasons the show ran.

...likely with a few honorable mentions before we get to number one.

That being said, spoilers for various parts of the show will be given depending on where we are in the Series' overall arc. So, if you haven't watched the show yet and are interested, this is your final warning. Beneath the cut, anything goes.

From MadCap's Couch - "Star Trek: Picard" (Season 1)

Oh, boy, here we go.

I haven't yet reviewed Star Trek beyond a few (that is, two as of this writing) of the movies and there's a very good reason for that - it's a franchise that has been going on for the past 50+ years and has an exhaustive and diverse range of ways it's been approached. Everything from the camp and cheesy,  Original Series to the camp and cheesy 80sness of The Next Generation, to the early camp going into serious and yet still occasionally camp cheesiness of Deep Space Nine going into the absurdZha campiness of...

You see where I'm going with this. There's a lot of ground to cover and there is plenty of goofy chipmunk shit to be found.