Listen to Episode 100.

This is it, listeners! The Starbase breaks through Q’s pesky force field grid (complete with 1987 CGI goodness!) to finally hit 100!

How could they do it up right, you might ask? Why, by inviting some friends aboard for the party, of course! Smexiness reigns supreme on this episode, as the Admiral and Ro welcome aboard Boz and Casey from Here Goes Nothing fame to coordinate refreshments, and musical maestro Steven Cogswell to spin the tracks and keep the Starbase crew dancing well into the wee hours of night.

(No, it didn’t look like the rave scene from that Matrix movie. Although the Starbase crew would not protest if Gina Torres ever felt like coming on board and teaching us how to dance like that.)

In what might go down in history as the lewdest, most suggestive, one-handed-typingest episode of the Starbase, our intrepid crew try to tackle a topic of Centennial Celebration by discussing some of their favorite genre fiction television shows that also reached the 100-episode mark. Admittedly, not all the shows discussed are actually genre shows…but we guess you’re just going to have to listen to make that call for yourselves, aren’t you?

Along the way, we hear some fantastic audio comments, the Admiral brags about his Cogswell Box, we touch on Klingon Kleavage, someone please go back and CGI Commander Sela’s hair black before Ro blows a fuse!, why is Scully English now? (oh, wait, she’s not), purple-haired moon chicks, Maria Bello in leather pants, what was he about to say about Jorja?!?, Christina Hendricks and her spectacular contributions to the genre, and that infamous Lucy Lawless wardrobe malfunction…which is no longer available on YouTube, so enjoy this instead.

The Admiral and his crew would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us this far into the journey. We’ve got light years yet to go!

Ro still thinks this is funny...

Listen to Episode 99: Elevated Actors.

What’s that? Levitated actors? Well…it is the month of All Hallow’s Eve, and lots of people do like to experiment with the darker arts during this time of the year. It’s not all that difficult to imagine the Starbase crew gathering around the conference room table for a quick session of “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board” before heading off for the…wait, what? Oh. Elevated actors. Right. Perhaps the Bajoran shouldn’t try to listen to the episode while still wearing ear plugs. It’s just…Dave does snore a bit loudly.

Anyway. As we were saying, the Starbase crew join together to summon the spirit of io9′s list of the 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Actors Who Make Everything Better. The resident Kanadian even makes a rare public appearance for this episode (we swear, he’s gone so Hollywood ever since that three-picture deal on the life and loves of Big Dawg).

First on the list, the crew spend a little time (and by a little, we really mean practically half of the episode) catching up with each other, traveling down tangential paths such as happenings at the September Toronto Meet-Up in which much is revealed, including secrets about the special guest, Jonathan Bloody Wilkinson, from The Greatest Events in Sporting History podcast and possible crimes committed on foreign soil by some from the American contingent.

(The Bajoran gives her word that she was on her best behavior while under the watchful eye of the Canadians. She cannot, however, vouch for her Beloved. But that’s a story for another podcast to tell.)

From there, Kennedy takes us on a tour of the genre movies that he’s seen recently and the one that gets his vote as best movie of the year and what gets his vote as meh movie of the year. He’s also been reading a lot of the comics from the recent DC Universe reboot. Which ones are worthy? Which ones are worthless? And which one does the Admiral want to check out without pants? (And, no, we’re not specifying which kind of pants…or who might be without them.)

The Bajoran then pulls a bit of a time-traveling trick by discussing her “recent” purchase of a book that she’s somehow already reviewed here at the Starbase blog. Rather than gushing discussing it even more, let’s simply enjoy this…random screen capture of Worf and a security detail:

Yep. Totally random. Just like this link to a random Twitter feed that we think you all should follow.

At this point, the Admiral goes all professor on listeners and actually gives a homework assignment. Of course, it’s fun homework in which he asks for horror movie recommendations (yes, we were shocked as well). The two most recommended movies will be chosen, viewed by all Starbase personnel, and then discussed for this year’s Halloween episode. So start your recommending, listeners!

Discussion switches to NASA’s announcement about how they’re going to get our asses to Mars. Maybe. By the 2030s. Possibly. If they don’t liquefy us first.

The Admiral and Kennedy then babble about some kind of Tribble-shitterific shared hallucination they’ve been having. The Bajoran missed this portion of the show due to unexpected lens flare-induced blindness. All was fine, however, by the time the conversation shifted to the Trek tease for the 2012 Bluray release of TNG in time for the imminent year-long 25th anniversary celebration.

We then launch into the heart of our topic, which the Admiral introduces in a rather…inimitable way. Who’s on the list? Who isn’t and should be? Could one of them be “a cock in a frock on a rock”? Or perhaps the sexily mustachioed man below?

You’ll just have to listen to find out.

Meanwhile, take a gander at this random and completely unrelated photo of the two Daxes trying their hardest to break the space-time continuum:

No, it really has nothing to do with this episode. This is just what happens when the Bajoran tries to write show notes at 1 in the morning. Enjoy.

Listen to Episode 98: Baby Brain and E-mails.

No, the Starbase hasn’t been invaded by Lilliputian zombies. That’s just the Admiral, suffering from a massive case of “We had a Starbaby!” syndrome. We suspect it’s a long-term condition. And with Kennedy off “web-slinging” in the wilds of Kanadia yet again (we’ve learned not to ask when such euphemisms are used), it’s up to the Bajoran to keep things on track.

Which explains a lot about the random nature of this week’s episode. A lot.

Then again, any episode that begins with the Admiral giggling is bound to be enjoyable! We kick this flea throw…er, free throw into gear with a “Grew Review” of Ro’s birthday present from her Beloved: an Amazon Kindle. Lots of free books available, smexy futuristic design, but can e-Readers do to real books what digital music and movies are doing to CDs and DVDs?

And why, oh why, isn’t there a TARDIS Kindle cover? Oh, wait.

Then somehow, Bones comes up. No, not Dr. McCoy. Bones Deschanel. Dressed as Wonder Woman.

We’d buy that for a dollar.

The Admiral then lays down the edict that Ro must track down Lynda Carter before the restraining order kicks in (we’re kidding, of course. That restraining order went into effect YEARS ago), before launching into a bit more gushing over the remastered version of the Original Series.

And finally, we begin with e-mails! Featured submissions from this episode came to us from Colin, Karl (Valdora), Steven (Kazon Nystrøm), Deepa (DesiLady), and Shane (tokenbg).

Colin thanks the crew for taking the Roddenberry pilots bullet for listeners (we’re still healing from the dink damage) and asks a question that somehow brings up pigs in kilts, Karl shares Ro and Kennedy’s uncanny love for the X-Men, while Steven mourns the loss of Superman’s red skivvies, which launches a tangent about the new Superman movie costume:

Sorry. Wrong file. That’s from Kennedy’s fantasy folder. We meant this new Superman movie costume:

Ooh. Bulgy. Actually, that might be from Kennedy’s fantasy folder, too.

At some point during this part of the discussion, the Admiral reveals a fetish that he may or may not share with Ro pertaining to footwear, right before that tricksy Bajoran sneaks in a mention of Anne Hathaway’s recent rap dalliance, just so she could post this video:

We here at the Starbase applaud all forms of creative outlets that end with Ms. Hathaway uttering the line “I know you love to feel my pop.”

Deepa dips back to the crew’s vivid Voyager vivisection episode and joins the fanbase for the GeeksOn Garrett Wang interview that we love so much. Mention is made of that Tim Russ Trek movie, Of Gods and Men (not Gods and Monsters, which is a completely different movie, Admiral), which is once again online for viewing (if you dare), and a Mulgrewian apology for her reaction to teh sexy drone on her ship. Kind of. Okay, maybe not.

Finally, we round things out with Shane’s response to Karen Hears a Who and the withholding of British scorn. For now.

Listen to Episode 97: You’re the Devil!

As some listeners may know, it was about as hot as the Devil’s jockstrap in many parts of the Alpha Quadrant this summer, and that heat got to many of us…including the intrepid crew of the Starbase. So while Kennedy high-tailed it to Hoth to cover their annual Rebel Alliance “Yavin a Laugh” comedy festival and wampa roast (Copyright HGN), the Admiral and Ro clicked the central cooling up to 11, popped open some cold ones, and summoned the sweltering sauna of sinfulness with some Satanic synergy. And lots of sibilance.

To help them along, the Starbase crew welcome back Greg, GAB on the Simply Syndicated forum and host of the Inappropriate Conversations podcast.

(Some might think that Greg was the perfect choice for this particular topic because of his impressive religious knowledge. Ro knows that it’s because of his infliction of the Roddenberry Pilots on the Starbase. That was just EVIL.)

First, though, the Borg want us to know that our moon might have been lying to us all this time about its age (we always suspected that was a fake ID). Also, the Starbase crew is extremely honored to have been nominated by one our Swedish listeners for “Bästa utländska kanal” (which we hope means “Best Foreign Podcast”) in the 2011 Svenska Podradiopriset. It really is an honor just to be nominated. However, the crew would not be averse to winning. Especially if the award is a shipment of Swedish fish. Or meatballs.

Then it’s on to the tainted topic of terror as this week’s trio discuss some of the greatest depictions of the Devil in movies, television, and Clay-mation, starting with smelly Klingons and giving the lissome Devil her Lycra-d due, down through the Doctor’s Satan Pit, horny Tim Curry, Alan Cumming, implied Devil, epicene evil, Dio’s devilish logo, don’t dial 976-EVIL on the Admiral’s dime, Damien Thorn and birth control advertisements, Tilda Swinton brings sexyback to androgyny, “Christian picketing” is really Hollywood’s best-kept marketing secret, and listening to “Stairway to Heaven” backward will Jack. You. Up.

Finally, the crew of the Starbase would like to formally introduce you all to our newest member and the Admiral’s pride and joy…’tis the Starbaby herself! Congratulations, Admiral!

Listen to Episode 96: Karen Hears a Who.

Our resident Bajoran has been called many things, but it’s only now that she has earned the distinction of another honorific to boost her geek cred: Wholigan.

That’s right, listeners, we here at the Starbase do pay attention to what you ask for (even if it sometimes takes us a little while to get to where you want us to be!). Ro heard the growing rumbles of frustration from our international outposts and, not wanting to be the victim of that infamous “British Scorn,” she finally fired up the TARDIS and began her journey through New Who.

Prior to bouncing along in that smexy blue police box, the Admiral vents over SyFy stupidity, Ro breaks the logic framastat by bringing up a Quinn-tessentially non-scifi show, the Admiral is no longer “animated” over a certain series, ball of hormones and a Dink Flashback, and look for Emergence of the Starbaby, coming soon to your local bookstore!

And then we’re off! Strange worlds await, and even stranger aliens (even the bobble-headed gaseous variety that caused eye-roll-induced sprains) as the Admiral and Ro hop through the first three seasons of new Doctor Who. What was liked? What was mocked? What was with the Mary Sue angle? How do you pronounce Agyeman? Why is there no action figure for Lady Christina de Souza?

Okay, no one probably cares about that last question but Ro, so we’ll let it go. For now.

And once you’ve listened, let us know what you think! What did we say that you agreed with? What did we say that caused you to shatter a molar or two? Should Ro go back to the beginning? Or is it best to keep full-steam ahead to the Matt Smith era? Are we asking too many questions? We do apologize. Here. Enjoy some music:

Not into metal? How about a dubstep version?

No? Trance then?

Seriously, there’s a bajillion of these things out there.

How about Doctor Who, the Springfield Remix?

This graphic is from Springfield Punx, a delightfully geeky site run by an artist who likes to draw various genre characters in the style of Simpsons characters.

Listen to Episode 95: Space Westerns.

This ain’t no show for intergalactic greenhorns, pardners! So, sidle on up to the bar and order up a round for the crew, because we’re settlin’ in to talk about Space Westerns!

First, though, the Admiral and Kennedy have a “toy-off” as they rejoice in nearing the ends of their simultaneous unpacking efforts from their recent moves; Nimoy is packing in his convention appearances (allegedly) after the recently finished Las Vegas Creation mega-party and the upcoming Chicago convention this September 30; the Admiral has time-warped back to his youth with Star Trek: The Animated Series on Netflix streaming; Kennedy tries to surprise Ro with a sci-fi movie recommendation but underestimates the Bionic extremes to which she has already gone in pursuit of certain actresses; The Nerdist podcast interviewed Wil Wheaton, Matt Smith, and Karen Gillan and the Admiral says it’s good; Kennedy dips into his archive of geekery to plug the Garrett Wang GeeksOn interview and episode 10 of …Do You Think That’s Just Bollocks?; and more space news, now with private docking and Uranus humor!

Then it’s time to head ‘em up and move ‘em out to that big rodeo in the sky as the crew discuss Cowboys and Aliens, The Adventures of Chin-co County, Jr. MacGuyver and Q in the Old West (?), Will Smith is NOT James West, Back to the Future III and the branchless McFly family tree, Andie MacDowell as H.G. Wells? (Ro! Put the rum down and pay attention!), Michael Knight versus Jack the Ripper, Westworld, Wagon Train to the stars?, The Valley of Gwangi, Cowboy Bebop, and only one mention to the greatest space western of them all…”A Fistful of Datas.”

Listen to Episode 94: Crew Swap.

No, the Admiral hasn’t decided to implement that “Starfleet Swingers” program that Kennedy recommended a few months ago. This is instead a forum topic suggested by listener Steven Nystrum (Kazon Nystrøm on the forum). Steven posed the question, How well would some of our favorite genre characters do if they found themselves faced with stepping into the roles held by other sci-fi scions?

Could Captain Picard have handled running DS9 and being a Bajoran religious icon? Or would the constant offerings of spring wine and hasperat have driven him mad? Would Mal and Riker have gotten along as two roguish cads leading the Enterprise into non-stop adventure? Or would they have challenged each other to a duel to the death for the love and attention of Counselor Inara? Er, Companion Troi? Would Inara have crashed the Enterprise?

Let’s tangent off into this video clip of Marina Sirtis discussing Troi’s infamous go at the helm of the NCC-1701-D, shall we?

Good times.

What other bizarre swaps can our intrepid crew devise? Wookie engineers? Psychotic Razors and Voyaging Captains? Cruise Director Starbuck?! And who the hell is Rocket Robin Hood?

Oh. Wow. Canada.

Plus, enjoy the front-loaded gab fest at the beginning of this episode, in which our heroes play a little catch-up with each other and discuss: the shuttle program (ONE MORE TIME!); the recent confirmation that the Russians will crash the ISS into the ocean in 2020 (we knew they never should have renamed it the ISS Sirtis!); Ro’s disappointment in the Admiral for not “liberating” Dr. Crusher’s lab coat from the Star Trek Exhibit he toured with UNKK!!^TM at Cape Canaveral; lots of super hero movie talk; PEOPLE EYES!!; Captain Janeway in an eye patch; Twitter Talk; Jeri Ryan as a Marine; the Admiral loves The Bloggess, Treknologic, and Star Talk with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson; rainbow-shitting Pop Tart cat that Ro refuses to acknowledge with a link…only silent judging of the Admiral’s Brokeback Mountain-like obsession (“I wish I knew how to quit you!”); Toronto Meet-Up!; and Ro’s Beloved now blogs!

Whew. That’s a lot. And that’s not even the half of it. Welcome back to the Starbase, listeners. It’s ON.

Listen to Episode 93: The X-Men.

Snap on your yellow spandex, seal the doors to the SR-71 Blackbird, and strap in, listeners! It’s time to dive in to the wild, wonderful world of our favorite band of mutants, the X-Men!

In preparation for the release of X-Men: First Class, the Admiral sits back with a raktajino and listens as Kennedy and Ro roll out their knowledge of Marvel Comics’ Mutant Hero Royalty. First, however, Ro gets her brag-on with the mention of a superhero-sized deal she found online at the U.S. Amazon.com: $5.99 for a four-disc special edition of Superman: The Movie!

The price was so right for the first movie, Ro couldn't resist buying the sequel, too!

[Price Update, June 20, 2011: While the super-low price that Ro found for her special edition of Superman is no longer available, Amazon.com's U.S. store is currently selling the set for $7.82. Get in, listeners!]

While Ro squees in anticipation of her impending Superman Supermarathon, Kennedy laments the fact that The Greatest American Hero…well, isn’t really all that great anymore. This television show has not aged well, and not even his kids want anything to do with the complete series set he recently purchased.

The crew then touch upon one of their more popular “heavy rotation” topics, Wonder Woman, with mention of recent picture postings to the Amazon princess’s ongoing Simply Syndicated forum thread and briefly mention the impending DC Comics tabula rasa moment coming for all their superheroes.

Then it’s on to the Mutant Masquerade! Kennedy and Ro delve into the origins, characters, and some of the most popular (and not so popular) storylines to come from the nearly 50 years of the reign of the X-Men, with mention of the famous Byrne/Claremont years, the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix saga, the shockingly awful The Pryde of the X-Men cartoon (and the shittiest Aussie accent this side of anywhere!) and the redemptive powers of the superior 90s Saturday morning cartoon…

Wait. Let us all pause to listen to the “metal” version of that cartoon’s theme, shall we?

What went wrong with the comics that almost led to the death of Marvel itself in the 90s? What went wrong with the movies? Can X-Men: First Class undo the damage done by the atrocious Singer-less third X-Men movie? Will our fearless crew discuss your favorite Merry Mutant? And will Ro ever get her wish to see Angela Bassett as Storm?

*This* should have been your Weather Witch, Mr. Singer...

Listen to Episode 92: Mailbag.

Written to the Starbase lately? And by “lately,” we mean since…oh, around February of this year? Then this might be your lucky week!

That’s right, the Starbase crew finally receive all those subspace communications that our listeners have been sending us. Seems that Chuck in the Mailroom (second cousin once removed of Dave in the Brig) was accidentally rerouting communiques to the wrong place! So if you’ve received a response from us recently, ignore it. Turns out, someone named “Kiki Velour” was getting our messages and responding to them. Don’t worry, though. The Admiral sent the Bajoran militia after Kiki and all is well again. Chuck, however, might appreciate being brought back in from his…accidental spacing.

Pre-topic tangential musings this week include news on Star Trek 2: The Tribble Shit Strikes Back and that fabled 50 hours of filming for the Star Wars television show. Kennedy mentions Kevin Smith’s Bionic Man comic is now available and Ro mentions that the second season of the Lindsey Wagner Bionic Woman show is now on DVD. Then, somehow, this comes up:

And, yes, I do believe Sandra Bullock’s character calls Wagner’s character “Julie” toward the end of this scene.

Believe it or not, the crew are then able to segue perfectly from Bionic Bullock to Nana Visitor’s upcoming appearance on Torchwood, then to more Game of Thrones talk, followed up by Kennedy and the Admiral discussing a potential future Superman book club discussion (Ro missed this portion of the show while she was mixing up a fresh Dark and Stormy). She, did, however, return in time to hear about this:

All she can say is…Wonder Woman isn’t a blonde. Jeri Ryan, however, is. And her show, Body of Proof, has been picked up for a second season. To celebrate, here’s a random Seven of Nine photo. Obviously, the Borg never had to take phaser training.

This photo courtesy of TrekCore.

Smallville is over, Darren Aronofsky really should do that Batman movie of his, the Admiral reviewed Pirates 4 for Simply Read, Kennedy still isn’t convinced that The Green Lantern isn’t going to suck but he and Ro are totally digging the chatter about X-Men: First Class…and finally! Finally, they dive into the mailbag.

But you’re just going to have to listen to hear about that part of the show…

Listen to Episode 91: Roddenberry Pilots.

Yet again, the Kanadian is called away on assignment, so this week the Admiral and Ro welcome Greg to the Starbase! Better known on the SimSyn forum as GAB, Greg hosts the Inappropriate Conversations podcast, where each week he tackles topics that are too often deemed “inappropriate” in honest, open, and humorous ways.

Before getting to the core of this week’s discussion, Ro mentions the passing of William Campbell, best known to Trek fans as Trelane from “The Squire of Gothos” and as Koloth from TOS‘s “The Trouble With Tribbles” and DS9‘s “Blood Oath.”

Ro then shows off her Collector Cred by hyping the fact that new collectibles are on their way in celebration of big anniversary dates for both TNG and the entire Star Trek franchise. Traumatic feelings over the possibility of Crusher PEZ tracheotomies and mention of Red Letter Media’s review of First Contact come up (WARNING: Do not watch if you don’t want to taint your opinion of First Contact forever), and then the Admiral breaks the space-time continuum by mentioning this photograph:

What the frak?

Greg and the Admiral discuss their recent trips to see The Adjustment Bureau and Thor, and Ro suddenly and rather disturbingly begins to channel a mystery character from another SimSyn podcast before pulling the Starbase off-course for a tangent on Darren Aronofsky. The Admiral finally watches (and subsequently loves) To Kill a Mockingbird, which has been covered both in movie form and book form by Simply Syndicated.

Last but not least, the Admiral brings Ro the SQUEE-inducing news that her life-long transformation into Dr. Crusher may soon be able to include a working medical tricorder.

On to the topic! After discovering through Warner Archives the existence of three Gene Roddenberry pilots on DVD—Planet Earth, Genesis II, and Strange New World—Greg decides that misery does enjoy company. So he sends copies to the Starbase crew to watch.

Ro at first interprets this as a declaration of war, but in the end is left questioning the sadomasochistic quality of Greg’s friendship with the Starbase. It’s decided that Gene Roddenberry was, indeed, a very libidinous individual with his own sadomasochistic qualities as well as a strange obsession with Roman Empire cosplay; Majel Barrett definitely loved him, though, to willingly appear in two of these pilots; Ted Cassidy is disconcerting out of his Lurch persona; Diana Muldaur on a horse is still not enough to make Ro forgive Dr. Pulaski; Burt Reynolds would make a terrible Captain Kirk; and Roddenberry was horribly out of touch with feminism by the 70s and really just wanted the chance to get his own personal fantasy fanfic committed to film.

Should listeners watch these pilots? We can only take you so far. You need to choose the red or the blue pill on this one…