Standard Orbit: A Star Trek Original Series Podcast
124: Hailing Frequencies Open Too

Feedback from the Fans and The Babel Conference.

When the Standard Orbit “Refit” Crew began our shakedown voyage aboard the Trek.fm network on January 11, 2016, one of the tenants of our podcasting team for Trek.fm was to ensure that we - Norman C. Lao, Jeffrey Harlan and Ken Tripp - upheld the level of quality and content standards that the listeners of Standard Orbit and Trek.fm have come to expect from the incredible groundwork set by former hosts Drew Stewart and Mike Schindler. Theirs were large shoes to fill and the Refit Team had a daunting task to reach a bar that had been previously set so high with 110 shows.

Nearly four months and 14 episodes later, the Refit Team just wanted to check in with all of our supporters and listeners to see if we have settled into a nice and steady cruising speed. The Chief (Ken), Mr. AtoZ (Jeffrey) and I have a great deal of fantastic content planned for the future. But, we also want to keep all of our listeners and Red Shirts engaged in the show that is crafted for you. We have loved every second that we have brought you in these first few months and there is a great road ahead to BEYOND and STLV50! Thanks to everyone for supporting all of our efforts on Standard Orbit.

Hosts
Norman C. Lao and Ken Tripp

Feature
Welcome to Standard Orbit! (00:01:12)
E-Mail Epilogue (00:03:18)
In Defense of Mr. AtoZ (00:11:45)
Kicking the Tires (00:16:08)
Do YOU Like Italian? (00:20:11)
Our Future POV for TOS (00:24:31)
Teasing a Trailers Review (00:38:57)
The Alternative Factors (00:48:43)
Always Finding the Value in TOS (00:52:35)
The Schmedlap and Umptyscratch Awards (00:58:46)
Thank You for Listening to Standard Orbit (01:02:11)

Production
C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer), Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer), Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer), Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer), Ken Tripp (Editor and Associate Producer), Renee Roberts (Associate Producer), Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer), Richard Marquez (Production Manager), Will Nguyen (Content Manager)

Direct download: so-124.mp3
Category:Listener Feedback -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

123: TMP vs. TWOK: The Conversational Kobayashi Maru

The Motion Picture vs. The Wrath of Khan.

When Star Trek left the television airwaves in 1969, there was a void that was left in the hearts and minds of Trekkies around the world. The Original Series "re-runs" and the 1973 Animated Series tried to fill that void with varying degrees of success. But on May 25th, 1977, everything changed with the release of George Lucas’ STAR WARS. It created a shockwave in the film industry that challenged the very nature of science fiction storytelling and the projects that were being developed at that time, especially Star Trek: Phase II - the grandiose production to bring Star Trek back to television.

Many Trekkies believe that Phase II's evolution into Star Trek: The Motion Picture was necessary to strike while the proverbial "iron" was hot, and launch the film franchise through riding the epic financial tidal wave and wake of Star Wars. Conversely, there are also many who believe that the (arguably) most popular Star Trek movie of all time is The Wrath of Khan because it was more "profitable" as a film and because it has so totally permeated global pop culture to this very day. So ... what IS the movie that truly “saved” Star Trek and is this the "conversational" Kobayashi Maru for the Chief and the Commodore?

Hosts
Norman C. Lao and Ken Tripp

Feature
Welcome to Standard Orbit! (00:01:41)
Entering the Chief’s Movie Zone (00:03:15)
The Spark that Set this Off (00:04:42)
Tripp-ed Up by Emotional Ties (00:09:03)
Memoirs of a 10-Year Old Commodore (00:15:12)
A Wise Use of Scale (00:19:14)
The Humbling of a Hero (00:27:57)
Finding Spock Again (00:36:26)
Counselor Disco Bones (00:41:32)
Differences by Design (00:46:33)
The V’Ger Sized Element in the Room (00:57:15)
By the Numbers (01:03:26)
Settling the Scores (01:10:41)
Thank You for Listening to Standard Orbit (01:15:06)

Production
C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer), Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer), Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer), Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer), Ken Tripp (Editor and Associate Producer), Renee Roberts (Associate Producer), Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer), Richard Marquez (Production Manager), Will Nguyen (Content Manager)

Direct download: so-123.mp3
Category:Movies -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

122: The Babel Conference Has Spoken!

The Essential Top TOS.

In this episode of Standard Orbit, we conclude our epic journey with what we believe to be the Top 15 TOS episodes for essential viewing. Over the course of Standard Orbit episodes 119, 120, and 121, we were able to academically and passionately deliberate and discover what we believe are the top five episodes for each individual season. And thank you to the members of The Babel Conference who voted to help create what can be considered as one of the most comprehensive "essential viewing" lists for any fan of The Original Series.

Our goal for this episode, and for all of the TOS "Essentials" podcasts, is to offer new perspectives to both new and veteran fans of The Original Series. Hopefully, our recommendations will be used as a TOS starter kit with episodes chosen from each season and not heavily influenced by any one in particular. We believe our listeners will truly enjoy these comprehensive recommendations compiled by their very own Refit Crew; podcasters and friends they have come to know and trust.

Feature
Welcome to Standard Orbit! (00:01:05)
A Recap of The Essentials (00:02:16)
A Balance of Season One (00:03:35)
The Season Two Machine (00:10:05)
The Unanimous Incident (00:19:45)
The Babel Conference Has Spoken! (00:24:10)
The Final, Fantastic, Fab ... Four (00:42:05)
Reflecting on the Retrospective (00:58:27)
A Message from the Chief (01:00:13)
Thank You for Listening to Standard Orbit (01:03:52)

Hosts
Norman C. Lao, Jeffrey Harlan, and Ken Tripp

Production
C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer), Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer), Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer), Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer), Ken Tripp (Editor and Associate Producer), Renee Roberts (Associate Producer), Richard Rutledge (Associate Producer), Richard Marquez (Production Manager), Will Nguyen (Content Manager)

 

Direct download: so-122.mp3
Category:Episode Discussions -- posted at: 8:00am MDT

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