"Masks" Rewrite.

The seventh, and last, season of The Next Generation is not often listed as the best year of the Enterprise-D crew. It features great, bad, and "meh" episodes. Darren, Daniel, and Phillip take one of those "meh" efforts - "Masks," an episode that is considered an "okay" episode and rewrite it. They decide what elements worked, like Captain Jean-Luc Picard "geeking out" over archaeology and the overall mystery of the alien probe, and seek out what elements didn't work, e.g., Brent Spiner playing every single character and then some, as well as the "on the cheap" effects. 

The trio also incorporates new elements, characters, and story twists, using original ideas, as well as aspects from other TNG stories, including the other Star Trek. Their new "spec script" includes a memorable guest star that may remain a fan favorite for a long time. So join the other children in the clay room, forget all about the sun and moon, and join Earl Grey are they re-write the Next Gen episode "Masks."

Hosts
Daniel Proulx, Phillip Gilfus, & Darren Moser

Editor / Producer
Darren Moser

Executive Producers
Norman C. Lao, Matthew Rushing, & C Bryan Jones

Will Nguyen

These Are the Voyages. 

Star Trek fans generally decry the series finale of Enterprise as being an extended episode of The Next Generation - so Darren, Daniel, and Phillip discuss it from their TNG perspective, with the help of special guest Will Nguyen, co-host of "Warp 5." 

"These Are the Voyages..." is an episode featuring many things - action, adventure, the finale to the prequel series, the continuing story of TNG's episode "Pegasus," a 24th Century perspective on the 22nd Century, and a so-called "valentine" to the Star Trek franchise itself. Viewers get to revisit the NCC-1701-Dfor the first time in years, from CGI external shots to rebuilt sets that almost look like the real thing. This episode also features a ten year fast forward from the penultimate ENT episode "Terra Prime," featuring uniform changes and ... no apparent promotions. Earl Grey discusses how well (or ill) the episode closed the series, what it meant to have the Next Gen predominately featured, and whether this episode deserves all the criticism it receives in the Trek community. So put on your nametag, switch to objective mode on the Holdeck, and join Earl Grey as they discuss the Enterprise series finale "These Are the Voyages..."

Hosts
Daniel Proulx, Phillip Gilfus, & Darren Moser

Guests
Will Nguyen

Editor / Producer
Darren Moser

Executive Producers
Norman C. Lao, Matthew Rushing, & C Bryan Jones

Will Nguyen

Scotty in TNG.

The continuing mission of the characters from Star Trek The Original Series was left a verboten topic for the first half of The Next Generation. However, after the appearance of Ambassador Sarek in season three ("Sarek"), as well as the cameo of a certain ornery admiral in the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint," the floodgates were open for TOS characters to "special" guest star in the second incarnation of Trek on television. 

Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott beamed into the 24th century in the sixth season episode "Relics" and found it difficult to find a place on this new Enterprise, with its "bloody" D suffix. Daniel Proulx, Darren Moser, and guest co-host Andy Farber explore Scotty's difficulties of being a man out of his time, and whether theTNG writers were faithful to his character. The interplay between the competingEnterprise chief engineers, Scotty and Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge, reveal not only the differences between those two characters, but also the differences between the two beloved Trek television shows. Join Earl Grey as they mourn poor Franklin, drink something green, and remember times past on the Holodeck for their discussion of Scotty's appearance on TNG.

Hosts
Daniel Proulx and Darren Moser

Editor / Producer
Darren Moser

Cast Direct Episodes.

Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner began the tradition of Star Trek actors getting behind the camera as directors. In The Next Generation, Jonathan Frakes was the first to "take the helm" of an episode as a director, beginning with the season four episode "The Offspring" and spanned all the way to the third TNG feature film, Star Trek: Insurrection. Darren, Daniel, and Phillip examine the Frakes' led stories, as well as Patrick Stewart's, Gates McFadden's, and LeVar Burton's adventures in directing TNG episodes. Earl Grey also follows Burton's directing work into all subsequent Star Trek incarnations (Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise). They also discuss when Micheal Dorn eventually got a chair ... a director's chair that is ... for three episodes of DS9 and one of ENT. Take off your Starfleet uniform, get into some comfortable clothes, and get ready to tell your friends what to do in this episode about cast directed TNG episodes.

Hosts
Daniel Proulx, Phillip Gilfus, & Darren Moser

Editor / Producer
Darren Moser

All Good Things…

It's the episode that was the ultimate sign-off for a show that grew from an iffy proposition that no one thought would succeed to one of the most influential dramas—science fiction or otherwise—of its time. "All Good Things…" brought the TNG story full circle by tying everything back to the pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint."

In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx discuss "All Good Things…" and how the series changed throughout the seven seasons of the show. We take a trip through time with the characters from before "Farpoint," past Voyager and beyond to find out what we enjoyed and what didn't work quite so well.

Encounter at Farpoint.

After a 20-year absence on the small screen, Star Trek returned in 1987 with the two-hour pilot "Encounter at Farpoint." Though it was a drastic shift from what we had seen on TOS, it is often considered a weak pilot. In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx discuss Farpoint, what it establishes properly in-universe, as well as its shortcoming and our ideas to make it better. So join us as we sip that very first cup of Earl Grey.

TNG Introductions.

Occasionally it becomes necessary to introduce new people to the world of Star Trek, whether they are friends, family, or the occasionally first date. There have been many discussions about the best way to do this, but in this episode of Earl Grey the focus is on how to bring new Next Generation fans into the fold. To help us do this, the regular Earl Grey crew of Phillip GIlfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx are joined by Mrs. Sci-fi herself, Maureen Moser.

Episodes We Love to Defend.

While The Next Generation is widely loved and home to some of Star Trek's greatest stories, it's also well known for having a few episodes that are a nacelle (or two) short of achieving warp speed. From Season One's "Justice" to Season Seven's "Sub Rosa," there are those that just don't seem to stick with most Trek fans. In this episode of Earl Grey hosts Phillip Gilfus, Darren Moser, and Daniel Proulx each choose the top three episodes that they love despite the flaws, then defend them against the petaQ… we mean other hosts. It's a free for all on this week's Earl Grey!