I call my cats by pet names of, sweetie, bunny (I have no idea why I call cats bunnies), love. I also call them by the pet names of bogan, hooligan, and ruffian. “Which one of you hooligans did this?” is an often used phrase in my home. My cats are very good at looking innocent when they are guilty; and looking guilty when they’ve done nothing wrong. They drive me crazy. I love them with all my being.

When I last had a dog (I still love and miss you, Ali) he would eat whatever I wrapped his pill in and spit out the pill. I had to put the pill in his mouth, gently hold his snoot close, and massage his throat until he swallowed the pill. Cats I’ve lived with? I tried to give a pill to one of my cats. The cat became a whirlwind of anger, fury, and indignation. I think they bent time-space and opened a wormhole. I wound up taking them to the vet, and having a vet tech give my cat the pill.

Random lukewarm takes with no consistency of posting? Want it? That’s exactly what I’ll be doing on my Mastodon account! Occasionally sharing some of my tepid observations with the world.

Prodigy absolutely got done dirty. But, the banner with Dal was from the 2022 SDCC.

I think access to holodecks is a huge factor for that vs. doing a pastime in the real world. Because of what you said about being accessible to all vs. only to certain elites. Also because I wonder about the availability of holodecks for those not on starships or in Starfleet. I don’t remember if that’s mentioned in the various series and movies since they are typically centered around being on a starship. Transport tech is shown as being publicly used on Earth. I’d imagine that there would be holodecks available on Earth (maybe other planets), or at least holosuites like in Quark’s. Access to pastimes in the real world, without using holosuites, might be commonplace. Maybe trying something new in a holodeck/suite where serious injury is less likely before trying it in the real world.

That would be great fun, doing holodeck combat simulations. With me having the danger level set very, very low. Like when I’m new to a combat video game. I start with the difficulty level as low as possible. Enemy NPCs are whaling away on my character, doing little to no damage while I try and remember which button does what in the game.

Oh, that sounds amazing. I agree.

I took fencing for a time in school. No one like being paired with me because they thought I was too aggressive with my fencing. Maybe they were right. Everyone else liked to do, “and one, and two, and three,” fencing. I admit to being very, “let’s go!” while still staying within the taught techniques.

I get the siren call of skydiving. Part of me is, “flying through the sky, wind blasting, amazing scenery.” Another part of me is, “Girl, you are talking about jumping out of a perfectly good plane.”

Apples to oranges was my first thought. Guinan is good at listening, helping to sort out someone’s thoughts, and if needed saying that there is a path for someone to follow. Quark is about that profit, and when he gives advice it is direct, not subtle. Sometimes accompanied by an insult. I think both are good characters, but Quark is definitely more well-rounded and developed. Over time, little is learned about the El-Aurians from Guinan. A lot is learned about the Ferengi from Quark.

Thank you for posting this. That first article detailing some aspects of the HCA’s history is a wild ride.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Seeing all of TNG’s main cast back together was great. And, that the characters weren’t static, they had changed over the years. Yet they weren’t complete reworkings of how they were in TNG, as in being unrecognizable. Except for Data, because of his situation. I like this latest iteration of Data. Seeing some non-TNG Star Trek characters was wonderful. I like that we got to see some Raffi 2.0. Clean of her addictions and back in full fighting trim. Still with her determination to keep working on mysteries that threaten the Federation

The story had some highs and some plot holes, but was a fun ride. But, I don’t think it was perfect.

I would not have minded if PIC season 3 had fewer episodes if that meant that the pacing would have been tighter. Multiple episodes of, " … and, they’re still in the nebula," got old for me.

Not unleashing the full talent of Amanda Plummer as Vadic until late in the season was a waste. Until episode 7 (IIRC), Vadic struck me as quirky. Nothing more. However, Ms. Plummer’s performance as Vadic from episode 7 on blew me away.

Fleet Formation protocol is such a bad idea, I can’t imagine how it was approved.

Vadic knows a lot about Starfleet personnel, so it’s likely that she knew about Kestra. Vadic’s people captured Troi, but how or why did they not also capture Kestra? While I’m glad that Kestra was never in Vadic’s clutches, and it’s a minor point, I still keep wondering what happened.

Shaw’s end. I am still very, very salty about that.

The seemingly dogged determination to not have any sign of the Agnes Borg Queen or Elnor. I know the Agnes Borg Queen is busy (PIC season 2), but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a Borg Queen vs. Borg Queen mega-throw down. I think Elnor would have fit in the season 3 narration, and absolutely deserved a seat on the bridge of the re-named Titan more so than Jack.

Jack. First, I think Ed Speleers’ performance was done well. I applaud how he showed the hurt from Picard choosing Starfleet over having a family, how childhood pains don’t always heal over time. However, that couldn’t make up for the show’s overwhelming attempt to force Jack as Picard: The Next Generation. Right down to renaming the Titan and Q’s appearance. There was too much, “why don’t you people just talk to each other,” forced drama between Jack and pretty much everyone else. And, Jack getting fast-tracked through Starfleet, and a position on the bridge, irked me. Nothing in PIC season 3 convinced me that he deserved that. And, Picard pushing for his offspring to get a free pass through Starfleet seems out of character.

Again, I like PIC season 3. I’ll be getting the physical media of it. I recommend others view it.

I don’t think there’s anything to be angry about. Enjoying some Star Trek shows over others is a compliment to Star Trek. It means that all the shows aren’t just a copy/paste of each other. That there is variety, yet they are all Star Trek. We should not, do not, have to apologize for having favorites. Being pissed at someone for preferring a different Star Trek show than ones favorite(s) is silly, and should never happen. LLAP.

Agreed. Maybe he doesn’t do it often because of time, and because of the impression you got from Spock when he said that. If Spock said things like that too often, he could come across as unlikable. Like being that person who if I say the sky is blue, they will respond with, “it’s cerulean.” They may not be wrong, but it can get tedious.

I also had the impression that Kirk was a bit snappish in this episode for no particular reason. It came across as though William Shatner was in a mood, as opposed to being something coming from Kirk. I didn’t have that impression from Spock, though. Spock’s comment struck me as being on brand for Spock. The sort of thing he would say more often, if time allowed.

“That Vulcans cannot feel emotions because of their biology.”

I remember that idea being prevalent years ago. I did not know that it’s still making rounds.

That sounds fun! Just reading the description caused my credit card to transport in to my hand.

I think not having just a bunch of pew-pew for the sake of pew-pew endless fighting has always been a part of Star Trek. When dealing with non-Federation space faring species, Star Trek shines when there is something going on other than just, “let’s fight.” I think the Klingons history with the Federation is a stand out, with them being on again, off again, frenemies. I wish that there was more exploration of the Romulans, but they too aren’t always in open warfare with the Federation.

TOS can lean a bit too much into offering peace, and then doing their darnedest to dismantle a society that slaps away the hand of friendship if that society doesn’t conform to Federation norms. TNG onward is much better at dealing with such situations. Not saying perfect, though – I’m looking at you “Symbiosis” (TNG s1e22).

I think TNG took some time to figure out how to respect the TOS framework without trying to be TOS version 2. “The Measure of a Man” is a standout episode. Where Federation standards aren’t just stated, they are examined and demonstrated.

I’m glad I’ve seen all of TNG, but I agree that the show more consistently finds its footing in season 3.

I don’t know the strike rules, but with the WGA possibly still being on strike, and SAG possibly going out on strike, during Comic-Con I’m imagining the panels to consist of non-union background actors who never had speaking roles and aren’t in the WGA. Some mild dishing about behind the scenes.

Good news. I purchased volume 1, and I’ll purchase volume 2. I think Prodigy is fine, but not my cup of tea. However, I can’t abide how dirty Paramount+ treated the show, the team, and the fans. To Prodigy fans – I got your back. To Paramount+ – sarcastic Vulcan salute.