Tue, 26 December 2017
Courtroom Dramas, Part 1 Star Trek has a long history of episodes with courtroom dramas, going back to the first season episode "Court Martial" in The Original Series. The Next Generation continued that tradition with no fewer than nine examples of trials, hearings, or some sort of legal proceeding, with many of those episodes putting an unusual twist on the idea of the courtroom drama. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Richard Marquez, Amy Nelson, and Justin Oser start a two-part series about courtroom dramas on The Next Generation. Episodes covered in Part 1 are "Encounter at Farpoint," "Justice, "The Measure of a Man," "A Matter of Perspective," and "Sins of the Father." Chapters Intro (00:01:18) Comments from Babel Conference (00:02:18) Courtroom Dramas (00:06:48) Encounter at Farpoint (00:07:14) Justice (00:19:56) Measure of a Man (00:33:35) A Matter of Perspective (00:44:50) Sins of the Father (00:51:29) Final Thoughts (01:01:28) Runtime: 1 hour 12 minutes 16 seconds Hosts Richard Marquez, Amy Nelson, Justin Oser Production Richard Marquez (Editor and Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Justin Oser (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 19 December 2017
Melinda Snodgrass Interview. Melinda Snodgrass is the writer of one of the most acclaimed episodes in the entire Star Trek franchise, "The Measure of a Man." This was her first experience writing for television and her background as a lawyer informed one of Star Trek's most famous legal dramas. The episode also landed Snodgrass a spot on The Next Generationwriting staff in seasons two and three of the show and helped to launch a successful career as a writer for television and novels. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson, Richard Marquez, and Justin Oser interview writer Melinda Snodgrass about writing "The Measure of a Man," her experience on the writing staff in seasons two and three of The Next Generation, and her novels and upcoming projects. There are fascinating stories and behind-the-scenes insights into the writing process and the making of The Next Generationthroughout the interview. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Welcome, Melinda! (00:02:05) Writing Career Start (00:02:27) "The Measure of a Man" (00:05:40) Other TNG Episodes and Characters (00:18:06) 24th Century Storytelling (00:25:48) After TNG (00:31:40) "The Tears of the Singers" Novel (00:35:35) Other Interests and Novels (00:38:01) Technobabble (00:44:27) Conventions (00:47:46) RPGs and Wild Cards (00:50:51) Current and Upcoming Projects (00:54:32) Final Thoughts from the Hosts (00:56:51) Closing (01:01:36) Runtime: 1 hour 5 minutes 57 seconds Hosts Richard Marquez, Justin Oser, Amy Nelson Guest Melinda Snodgrass Production Justin Oser (Editor and Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Richard Marquez (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 12 December 2017
Favorite Character Moments Season 1. The Next Generation has a mostly episodic format, but over the course of the show and the movies, there are many great character moments. Those moments, both great and small, can enhance our experience of the show and lead to a new understanding of both regular and recurring characters. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson, Richard Marquez, and Justin Oser list their three favorite character moments from season one. Each host discusses why their chosen moments are important to them and to the development of characters on The Next Generation. Favorite character moments is a series that will cover all seven seasons and the four movies of The Next Generation. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) First Choices (00:02:56) Second Choices (00:11:11) Third Choices (00:27:35) Honorable Mentions (00:42:33) Final Thoughts (00:58:39) Closing (01:04:48) Runtime 1 hour 9 minutes 54 seconds Hosts Richard Marquez, Justin Oser, Amy Nelson Production Justin Oser (Editor and Producer) Richard Marquez (Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 5 December 2017
Actors Who Got Their Starts on TNG, Part 2 Star Trek has helped to launch many acting careers in its 51-year history. The Next Generation is no exception with a number of actors appearing on the show and in the movies in one of their first roles in film or television. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson, Richard Marquez, and Justin Oser conclude a two-part series on actors who got their starts on The Next Generation.Actors covered in this episode are Ashley Judd, Famke Janssen, Kirsten Dunst, Terry O’Quinn, Adam Scott, Bryan Singer, and Tom Hardy. Chapters Intro (00:01:20) Babel Conference Comments (00:02:50) Ashley Judd (00:09:03) Famke Janssen (00:18:26) Kirsten Dunst (00:26:03) Terry O’Quinn (00:37:10) Adam Scott (00:46:37) Bryan Singer (00:50:20) Tom Hardy (00:53:30) Final Thoughts (01:07:40) Closing (01:10:19) Runtime: 1 hour 17 minutes 41 seconds Hosts Richard Marquez, Justin Oser, Amy Nelson Production Richard Marquez (Editor and Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Justin Oser (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 21 November 2017
Actors Who Got Their Starts on TNG, Part 1 Star Trek has helped to launch many acting careers in its 51-year history. The Next Generation is no exception with a number of actors appearing on the show and in the movies in one of their first roles in film or television. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson, Richard Marquez, and Justin Oser start a two-part series on actors who got their starts on The Next Generation. Actors covered in this episode are Teri Hatcher, Michelle Forbes, Ken Jenkins, Robert Knepper, Brenda Strong, Nikki Cox, and Pamela Adlon. Chapters Intro (00:01:20) Emails (00:02:28) Comments from Babel (00:07:22) Contest (00:10:09) Robert Knepper (00:11:51) Brenda Strong (00:18:33) Teri Hatcher (00:23:15) Nikki Cox (00:28:56) Ken Jenkins (00:32:23) Pamela Segall Adlon (00:38:30) Michelle Forbes (00:44:40) Final Thoughts (00:54:40) Closing (00:57:28) Hosts Richard Marquez, Justin Oser, and Amy Nelson Production Richard Marquez (Editor and Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Justin Oser (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 14 November 2017
The Next Generation has a number of episodes exploring the definition of life and the rights of different types of life forms. A memorable example of this type of episode is "The Quality of Life," in which versatile machines called exocomps demonstrate the ability for self-awareness and making decisions that affect their survival. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Justin Oser and Richard Marquez are joined by Patrick Devlin of The Briar Patch to provide a commentary for the episode "The Quality of Life" from season six of The Next Generation. They discuss cute exocomps, orbital mining platforms, the definition of life, and why rocks seem to be everywhere. Chapters Intro (00:01:20) Listener Feedback (00:01:57) Commentary (00:06:16) Final Thoughts (00:51:10) Closing (00:57:23) Hosts Justin Oser and Richard Marquez Guest Patrick Devlin Production Justin Oser (Editor and Producer) Richard Marquez (Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 7 November 2017
Unsung Episodes Season 7. Every season of The Next Generation has episodes that get overlooked or ignored. Well, not here and not today. Most fans will quickly identify "Parallels" and "All Good Things..." as being their favorite episodes from season seven. So, if we set those episodes aside, which other episodes should we celebrate and recognize from this season? In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson, Richard Marquez, and Justin Oser list their three unsung episodes from season seven. Each host puts up a good defense on why their chosen episodes should be among the fan favorites or at least viewed with a fresh perspective devoid of preconceived perceptions. Unsung Episodes is a series that will continue through 2017 highlighting each season in honor of the thirty-year anniversary of TNG. Chapters Intro (00:01:20) Email (00:02:26) Comments from Babel (00:05:45) Contest (00:07:56) First Choice (00:11:38) Second Choice (00:21:30) Third Choice (00:34:53) Honorable Mentions (00:47:47) Final Thoughts (00:54:45) Closing (00:58:44) Runtime 1 hours 6 minutes 10 seconds Hosts Richard Marquez, Justin Oser, Amy Nelson Production Richard Marquez (Editor and Producer) Justin Oser (Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 31 October 2017
Spooky Scenes. |
Tue, 24 October 2017
Qpid. In the season four The Next Generation episode "Qpid," Q makes an appearance on the Enterprise-D for the first time since having his powers taken away and then restored in the season three episode "Déjà Q." Picard's love interest from "Captain's Holiday," Vash, is also on the ship and Q decides to transport Picard, the crew, and Vash into a Robin Hood adventure. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson, Richard Marquez, and Justin Oser celebrate Earl Grey's two hundredth episode by discussing the two hundredth Star Trek production, "Qpid." They talk about Q's role, Picard's relationship with Vash, and their favorite moments in the episode. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) 200th Episode Concept (00:05:33) A Q Story (00:07:16) Initial Thoughts (00:08:36) Vash (00:15:10) Q's Privacy Issues (00:25:25) Q's Role (00:27:52) Favorite Moments (00:34:51) Vash's Interactions (00:41:30) Final Thoughts (00:45:37) Closing (00:52:55) Runtime: 58 minutes 19 seconds Hosts Richard Marquez, Justin Oser, Amy Nelson Production Justin Oser (Editor and Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Richard Marquez (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |
Tue, 17 October 2017
Michael Piller, Part 2. One of the most important contributors to the Star Trek franchise, Michael Piller was the showrunner for The Next Generation from seasons three to five and many credit him with helping to improve the overall quality of the show after a rocky first two seasons. Michael Piller was also a co-creator of Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Piller capped off his career with Star Trek by co-writing "Insurrection" and sadly passed away from cancer in November 2005. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson, Richard Marquez, and Justin Oser conclude their two-part series on Next Generation episodes and movies written by Michael Piller. The episodes and movies discussed are "Unification," "The Masterpiece Society," "The Perfect Mate," "Time's Arrow," "Rascals," and "Insurrection." Chapters Intro (00:01:19) Comments from the Babel Conference (00:02:03) iTunes Review Winner (00:04:28) List of Episodes (00:05:45) Unification Part One (00:07:09) Unification Part Two (00:10:33) Masterpiece Society (00:17:45) The Perfect Mate (00:23:26) Time’s Arrow (00:31:31) Rascal’s (00:36:21) Insurrection (00:42:10) Final Thoughts (01:02:21) Closing (01:06:54) Hosts Richard Marquez, Justin Oser, and Amy Nelson Production Richard Marquez (Editor and Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Justin Oser (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) |