Jack's Silly Little Friendly Neighborhood Star Trek Discovery Podcast

TRILL POOLS! They’re back, and so are Sam Stovold (Marvel Star Wars Explorers, Reopening the Wormhole) and Sean Davis (After the Credits) to do the deepest dive (into a Trill pool) on Trills since Reopening the Wormhole!  Recent events, and a delicious new Jaxilly drank have the guys in high spirits as they debate the relative merits of Trill adventures and disastrous dinner parties. They’ll also find time for taco talk, Ocarina of Time temple-ranking, Smoke Monster HotTheories, discussing characters as conduits, and seeing how many different ways Sean can find to say Culber’s name.  Dive into the this cool refreshing Trill Pool with us, and let us be your symbionts.

It’s the first big Disco party of Season 3, as Jack, Sam and Kevin of RTW, Barm, and Ferengi expert and Golden Boy Kregg collide in orbit over Earth, and tensions are running HIGH when the group finds itself dividing into factions.  (And this is even before George Lucas pops in to offer up his hot takes.)  Sure, we can all agree on key issues like Book = delightful, Georgiou = irritating, Saturn = awesome, but is this episode more overly melodramatic preponderance, or one of the best episodes of the series??  It’s the most contentious issue in America today, without question, but the difference is, we have ANSWERS.  Or do we?  The only way to rip the bug alien helmet off and open your mind is to PRESS PLAY.   

It’s FIRST SEANTACT as Sean Davis (who somehow hasn’t been on to talk about a Discovery episode yet) joins Jack and Barm to talk about the wacky continuing adventures of Captain Saru, Jett Reno, Emperor Georgiou and other classic characters after Disco reopened the wormhole.  Along the way, we’ll wax nostalgic for “boring Star Trek”, see how far we can stretch Sean’s “Trek is Manifest Destiny” analogy, ponder the mysteries of personal transporters, and OMG Michael Burnham is a beautiful angel sent from heaven that I love so much

Eat your heart out, Covid, because we’ve got DISCO FEVER!  Jackshow mainstay Barm (he brought his own mic!) and Kevin (Reopening the Wormhole) join Jack to talk about the wacky and kind of wonderful opener to Season 3!  We’ve got a LOT to discuss here, including a lengthy discussion on the history of vomit in Trek, FUN Burnham, Indian Desmond, the Temporal Cold Wars, George Miller, the DC movies again, Scandinavia, Grudge and Trek pets, and FRUIT.  This episode is worth spending your life sitting at a desk in an empty room doing nothing every day for.

Jack’s Silly bids adieu to Lower Decks (and one of our favorite characters) for now, with a group of All Stars!  Jack is joined by Barm, Kevin Young (Reopening the Wormhole), Geoff Clarke (The ApeCast), Ferengi expert Kregg Castillo (Golden Boy?) and Sean Davis (After the Credits) to talk SERIOUS Lower Decks, Peanut Hamper and Exo-comps, the return of Pakleds, Bae Bajoran Badasses, Riker’s millionth appearance, and our feelings on Lower Decks as a whole!  Plus Phat Pakled returns to drop some HOT RHYMES.  We’re going out like a CHAMP.

Jack Stovold (Reopening the Wormhole, The ApeCast) directs!  In this thrilling chapter of the Jack’s Silly Saga, Jack (JACK STOVOLD) and Barm (BARM) are discussing the 9th episode of STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS, when Richard (RICHARD DUNHAM) appears – and their lives are changed forever.  Together, the three of them will discover the truth behind why this episode reminds them of STAR TREK movies --- and how the power of cinema brings people together.  – “Diverting fun for the whole… family!  Three thumbs up!” – Arex, the Chingyville Times   (End Theme “Yama no Ongakuka” by Keen on Keys.) 

The trial of the Millenium of Aftermath/The Willenium is listening to Jaxilly’s coverage of VERITAS. Court is now in session, and Jack and witnesses Barm and Kevin Young (Reopening the Wormhole) swear to tell the veritas, the whole veritas, and nothing but the veritas about their feelings on… Veritas.  Whether that means spilling the eels on Jack’s ice cube problem, digestion tips, memes, Bill and Ted, Eric Bana’s career, Bugle Boy, Lars von Trier’s filmography, The Good Place, Tokyo Disney Sea, the bird family of anatidae, or Kurtwood Smith, so be it.  Sake ni shinjitsu.

Jack, Sam and Barm reunite just to hang out and talk Trek, and it feels so good. And this seems to be the perfect episode for them to do just that!  It’s really a hangout sesh, as the Boims talk about their love of Boimler, their admiration for the whole voice cast, the positive evolution of Mariner, and a buncha real nerdy shit, like reveling in the second EDOSIAN to appear in Trek, cataloguing the freaks, unveiling the secret history of McDonald’s and Doug Jones, defending Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 and laughing at language nerd Jack’s apparent inability to identify basic dialects. And Sam is here to respond to our reactions to the Deanna Smackdown and credit the podcast with LIFE-CHANGING REVELATIONS.  Want some of those?  LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE.

Geoff Clarke (Jack’s partner in crime on the ApeCast) joins Jack and Barm to share his thoughts on Lower Decks and TERMINAL PROVOCATIONS, specifically.  But ESPECIALLY Badgey.  But we’re also here to talk JG Hertzler, TNG again (a lot), Holodeck tomfoolery, that one Fletcher-type we all know, the future ascendance of Mexican food, Lethal Weapon, what the title could mean, and the whole DECAL pronunciation situation.  You’re gonna go APE for this one.

Parasite-induced love is in the air, as Barm and Jack are joined for the first time on this podcast by What Were We Watching·s Cam Siemer, one of the Founding Fathers of Castville, to talk about Bradward in Love. We reflect on Lower Decks (and Mariner) finding their groove, the disturbing lack of Dr. Katz, Star Trek Lore (and Data), DEEP SPACE NINE and where this bar flashback takes place, our innate Boimlerness, the X-Men film franchise, the bizarre history of racial surgical alterations in James Bond movies and Bill and Ted·babble. It·s a Cam Sundae with Barm sprinkles.

The inimitable Sean Davis joins Jack and Barm in making juvenile innuendos about the title “Moist Vessel”, and pulls off a “hi-third-oh” unknown feat on this show-- being the first guest to write an email into the show DURING his appearance, in case you’re wondering what all the keyboard clacking that could only be partially edited out is.  They’re also talking about Tellarites, American puritanism, BEES, emotional honesty, binary fandom, and especially TNG, like, a lot.  This is one podcast episode that is going to get YOU moist, so check it out!  

To talk about time, and crystals, (but not time crystals) Jack, Barm, and Kevin are joined by RTW email legend Jason Butze, making his JSLFNSTDSTPALDP debut!  The gang has a blast diving into such diverse topics as the mistakes Jack has made, Butze’s take on Picard, Ben Franklin’s coolness, work-ruining changes from corporate overlords, Sliders, Garfield and newspaper comics, the exhausting sex fantasy fulfillment tasks that shapeshifters must face, and so much more.  Oh, and Temporal Edict, as well.  Hop in your Crystal Car and speed towards fun!

It’s the second episode of Lower Decks, and the first appearance of a Ferengi in Star Trek in EIGHTEEN YEARS, so you know who Jack had to grab for this one!  That’s right, it’s Space Merchant Ferengi expert Kregg Castillo, finally getting to talk about Ferengis on Jack’s Silly!  In addition to waxing rhapsodic over their profound love of Quimp, the Dynamic Duo talk about where LDS has casually landed on the “Klingon Question”, Rutherford’s new grooves, fast talkin’ characters, and so much more! In addition to the debut of a brand new recurring feature, this episode will go down in history as the first official public announcement of a very special new project from Kregg that is sure to change lives!  This episode, I tell ya, it’s Golden, Boy.

Saddle up! Let’s lock, load, and LOOK at the newest member of the Star Trek Crew (of shows).  To do that, Jack has brought back the P.D. Crew (himself, Barm, and Sam and Kevin from Reopening the Wormhole) to check out Second Contact, the first outing of Lower Decks.  Is it good Star Trek?  Is it funny? Does it have ENOUGH Star Trek/California references? Is it similar/different enough from The Orville/Rick and Morty?  Most importantly, is it FUN!? In addition to these important questions, the gang will rank the Riddlers, discuss their favorite punctuation marks, find out who wrote Monkees songs, open a ginormous mailbag, and so much more! No matter what YOUR take on Lower Decks, you’re gonna have a good time hearing ours.

LOWER DECKS!? Never heard of it. At this podcast, all we know is DISCO, and we got DISCO BOOK FEVER.  Jack and Barm, widely known as the two biggest Emperor Georgiou (and Section 31)  fans in the world, have joined forces to discuss the OTHER crazy thing between the first and second seasons of Discovery that was happening, with crazy starfish people, slug people, and lightning ball people during the wacky adventures of Emperor Georgiou, Finnegan, and Emony Dax.  All right, yeah, we’re gonna talk about Lower Decks for the next ten weeks, but before we do, why not take one last dive into a Blood Devil pool and see how just fucking NUTS Discovery can be when the cameras are facing elsewhere? 

The drunk speak! That’s right, like our beloved Sheev, DRUNK STAR WARS has arisen from the dead, but the only difference is that this makes sense! Or as much sense as any drunk Star Wars episode could make.  Jack’s bottle of whiskey may have cost 80 dollars less than Kregg’s, but the end result is the same: another few fantastic hours of drunk assholes whining about Star Wars!  Jack has FINALLY found a sympathetic ear to try and keep track of what the hell is happening with lightsabers in this movie, commiserate about Death Star nonsense, pin down what is wrong and right about Threepio and hang out with Watto in Mos Eisley.  The alcohol, it is IN THEIR BLOOD.

Remember back when Jack, Barm, and Kregg discussed Saru’s origins, and promised you a Sober Last Jedi commentary track?  Of course you do, and 18 or so months later, here it is, because Jack can’t get enough of doing Last Jedi podcasts.  The Golden Boy, the guy who’s on like 70% of the episodes of this show, and your Jedi host are back to talk about The Last Jedi AGAIN, and this time you get to hear a cat vomiting WHILE YOU WATCH!  Once you’ve watched The Last Jedi this way, you won’t ever be able to watch it without it.  If you can only listen to ONE Jack Last Jedi podcast and you’ve already heard the other four, this is the one for you.  You have the spirit of a TRUE JEDI!

It’s time to Discover Discovery all over again! This time, the robotic Jack and Kevin of last year’s ELO party are joined by a couple of daft punks, in the form of Sam Stovold and Daft Punk superfan Geoff Clarke of the ApeCast, to talk about 2001’s Discovery. Inevitably, as the alcohol flows freely, they’re gonna talk about Interstella 5555, and branch off into a bevy of musical topics and other tangents as well, as they go through the album track by track.  So dye your skin blue and get ready to rock.  Veridis Quo, y’all! 

Beloved moths, the only Discovery podcast that is distermined not to talk about Star Trek: Discovery is BACK with its 3rd annual Curb Your Enthusiasm episode!  Lauren and Jack are ready to talk about asshole and swan killer Larry David, but HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER! Sam Stovold has discovered the cheat code to get on to podcasts, and that is making the host feel guilty about their past negligence.  It’s all good though, as Sam makes a fine addition to the Curb Team, as they investigate whether the eponymous swan is named Kyoko or Kiyoko, enjoy the rare quartet of Larry, Jeff, Cousin Andy and Funkhouser, reminisce on their large bird experiences, fantasize about Larry David and Patrick Stewart switching places, talk Godzilla AGAIN, and finally, discuss genre fiction that TRANSCENDS its trappings.  Mr. Takahashi himself couldn’t find it in his heart to condemn this episode.

It may be the millennium of Aftermath, but Jack and Barm aren’t awarding any platinum plaques to Star Trek: Discovery’s lackluster third comic series.  It’s Klingons again, and not even the combined powers of Pike, Spock, and a John Colicos looking Kor are enough to save this comic from an anemic story and dodgy artwork, plus shitty binding that has the TPB literally falling apart in your hands, as a final insult.   On the plus side, our magnetic co-hosts found the Captain Saru annual to be some pretty zippy fun, and enjoy talking about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  Unlike L’Rell, you’re not gonna wanna crash this fantastic episode into a mountain.