Transporter Lock - A Star Trek: Discovery podcast

Star Trek Online with Al Rivera

May 17, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 39:09 — 21.6MB) | Embed

Al Rivera, aka Captain Geko, is the Principal Lead Designer at Cryptic Studios, developer of Star Trek Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. The debut of Star Trek: Discovery marks the first time in the MMO’s eight-year history that it has a current television show to work off, and we chatted with Al about all the opportunities and challenges that presents. Does Rivera get to see the show’s script in advance, or work with the show’s actors for original voice acting? How do characters and ships from the year 2255 show up in a game set in 2409? What unique gameplay mechanics do the spore drive and Crossfire-class ships present? Will next month’s DS9-themed expansion, Victory Is Life, include any Discovery content?

Rivera has been in the games industry since the Sega Dreamcast and a Star Trek fan longer than that; it was great to chat with him about this dream merging of his two worlds!

(more…)

S1 Post-Season Reflections

February 22, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 43:15 — 23.5MB) | Embed

The first season of Star Trek: Discovery has concluded. Having already reviewed the season finale, this week we take a step back and consider the entire 15-episode season as a whole. What was our favorite episode? Why isn’t Discovery set post-Voyager? Why couldn’t Sarek have been just another Vulcan, and what will his role be in Season 2? Do we wish the Klingon War had gone on longer? Is Discovery "Star Trek" enough? And how long-lasting will the consequences of the Enterprise‘s appearance be? All these theories and more in this week’s Transporter Lock!

(more…)

S1E15: Will You Take My Hand?

February 13, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 59:46 — 31.1MB) | Embed

It’s the season one finale of Discovery, featuring an anticlimactic takedown of Terran Emperor Georgiou, a welcome end to the Burnham/Tyler/Voq love triangle, and a surprise cliffhanger appearance that left us in tears. Did you spot all the callbacks to Trek lore in the Orion outpost? Or on the Qo’noS map? We have the details you missed! We also welcome the feedback of all the volcanologists in our audience — we need to hear from you!

(more…)

S1E14: The War Without, The War Within

February 6, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 48:40 — 26.0MB) | Embed

The Discovery, back in the Prime Universe, finds itself at war with the Klingons and with a veritable rogues gallery aboard: Voq, L’rell, and Emperor Georgiou. A broken Admiral Cornwell makes some terrible decisions, while nobody gives a crap about the feelings of Burnham, recently out of an abusive relationship. Why is everyone such a jerk?? Everyone except Saru, whom we love in our bonus review of The Shape of Water!

(more…)

S1E13: What’s Past Is Prologue

February 1, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 48:30 — 25.9MB) | Embed

Things come to a head in the Mirror Universe as Michael Burnham must choose between two evil, racist, xenophobic, tyrannical despots, each of whom has been her captain. Bri and Ken suspect we haven’t seen the last of this dynamic trio, and we ponder how they’ll be reunited, what reactions they’ll have to living in the Prime Universe, and what roles they’ll play in reversing the Klingon victory over the Federation. Also: Is Mirror Kirk somewhere out there… and is he saner than we saw him in TOS? We answer a reader’s question!

(more…)

S1E12: Vaulting Ambition

January 26, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 45:49 — 24.7MB) | Embed

In the Mirror Universe, not everyone is what they appear to be… just like back home in the Prime Universe! Burnham discovers that Saru is delicious and that Emperor Georgiou is a cold-hearted murderer — but may be the Discovery‘s only way home. Stamets finds himself in the Mushroom Kingdom, where he gets one last chance to say goodbye to Hugh. And Ash Tyler is Voq, except when he’s Ash. These big surprises have small payoffs, but we’re still hoping for more in the season’s remaining three episodes.

(more…)

S1E11: The Wolf Inside

January 17, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 43:12 — 23.5MB) | Embed

As captain of the ISS Shenzhou, Michael Burnham discovers what a small cast of characters the Mirror Universe has, every goateed rebel or sadistic ruler being someone she’s loved or killed back in the Prime Universe. Did some not-so-shocking revelations warrant a season-long buildup? Sabriel and Ken still question Lorca’s motives, Tyler’s future, what role Paul Stamets (either of them!) played in arranging this switcheroo, and just how far Burnham will go to hide — or reclaim — her own humanity.

(more…)

S1E10: Despite Yourself

January 12, 2018

Podcast: Download (Duration: 52:49 — 27.9MB) | Embed

Susan Arendt of the Continue podcast and Genii Online fills in for Sabriel as Discovery returns to the airwaves. Are we surprised that our heroes have found themselves in the Mirror Universe, or that hot tortured guy may be a Klingon? We gush over Captain Killy and Jonathan Frakes’ directing, puzzle over Lorca’s origin and his relationship to Burnham, and ponder what’s next for the crew of the I.S.S. Shenzhou.

(more…)

Crossovers We’d Like to See

December 26, 2017

Podcast: Download (Duration: 43:22 — 23.6MB) | Embed

Set 90 years after Enterprise and 10 years before The Original Series, Star Trek: Discovery has the potential to cross over with familiar characters new and old. Who would we like to see appear as guests on Discovery? Sabriel and Ken brainstorm everything from specific Klingons to Mirror Universe doppelgängers to Kelvin Universe cast members to T.J. Hooker. Come for Sabriel’s William Shatner impression — stay for our bonus review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi!

(more…)

Holiday Gift Guide 2017

December 13, 2017

Podcast: Download (Duration: 38:47 — 21.5MB) | Embed

Humanity may have evolved beyond materialistic needs by the 24th century… but here in 2017, all we want are Star Trek books, toys, and DVDs! For the Trekkie or Trekker in your life, or maybe just for yourself, Sabriel and Ken share their wish lists of the best Star Trek merchandise available this Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa / Yule / solstice / holiday season — whether it’s celebrating the 51st anniversary of The Original Series or boldly exploring the frontiers of the franchise’s newest show, Discovery.

(more…)