Standard Orbit: A Star Trek Original Series Podcast (Season Three)
126: Beauty is in the IDIC of the Beholder

The Misconception of Perception.

As the old saying goes, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. The Original Series episode “Is There In Truth No Beauty?” from Season Three, is an incredibly deep and philosophical exploration into the more complex meanings behind the nature of one’s self. Does the superficial outweigh the essential? How can the truth survive amongst the shifting nature of human perception? As the Chief and AtoZ were away on respective missions, I beamed aboard my sisters from Educating Geeks, Alice and Megan, to help me unpack these philosophies.

At the end of this episode Spock and Miranda shared a wonderful exchange, “The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity. And the way our differences combine to create meaning and beauty." Did they tell a story that lead to the message or does the path not match with the destination? Does this episode fall into the Season Three stigma or did it set itself apart with this unique study of the human condition? Join us as we delve deeper into the IDIC, revel in the freshness of new visual POVs (especially Turbolift POV!), discover Alice’s passion for TOS Dress Uniforms and more!

Host
Norman C. Lao

Guests
Alice Baker and Megan Calcote

Feature
Welcome to Standard Orbit! (00:01:04)
Beaming In a Couple of Educated Geeks (00:02:04)
3 Perspectives on Truth and Beauty (00:07:04)
A Not So Trivial IDIC? (00:15:29)
Literally Literal First Impressions (00:17:46)
Interesting Points of View (00:24:43)
Is there in Dinner No Truth? (00:34:03)
The Abyss of IDIC (00:41:40)
Did the Truth Come Out? (00:50:18)
The International Flavor of Dress Uniforms (00:59:38)
Thank You For Listening to Standard Orbit! (01:03:42)

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-126.mp3
Category:Season Three -- posted at: 8:00am MDT

121: Did We Get The Turkey?

Essential Season Three TOS.

In this episode of Standard Orbit, we continue our coverage from Episode 120; delving deeply into Season Three with a more finely tuned eye and critical perspective. When it comes to ranking the "best" episodes of The Original Series, there are Top Ten lists ... and there are TOP TEN lists. Unlike Season One, episodes from Season Three are rarely, if ever represented. Believing that these Top Ten lists are imbalanced in many ways, your Refit Team has revisited all three seasons of TOS to discover what we believe are true "essential viewing" recommendations.

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.

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

Feature
Welcome to Standard Orbit! (00:01:11)
The Essentials Season Two Shakedown (00:03:15)
The A to Z of Peaks and Valleys (00:04:30)
Yesterday’s Web of Paradise (00:13:15)
Where the Money is Made (00:21:00)
Behind Curtain Number Four (00:34:13)
Once, Twice, Three times an AtoZ (00:43:08)
Two out of Three at Two (00:51:25)
Did the Team Get the Turkey? (00:59:16)
Polling The Babel Conference (01:11:28)
Hailing Frequencies Open (01:13:19)
Thank You for Listening to Standard Orbit (01:19:05)

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-121.mp3
Category:Season Three -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

80: Fridged

Season Three with @FirstTimeTrek.

Is the third season of The Original Series really as bad as Trekkies make it seem? Would it break first time watchers having to sit through it? In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew are joined again by Andi—a.k.a. "FirstTimeTrek"— who has been live tweeting her experience of watching Star Trek for the first time. Find out if she came through the season unscathed and if she managed to pluck any jewels from the slime.

Hosts
Drew Stewart and Mike Schindler
 
Guest
Andi (@FirstTimeTrek)
 
Editor and Producer
Drew Stewart
 
Associate Producer
Richard Rutledge, Jr.

Production Manager
Richard Marquez
 
Content Coordinator
Will Nguyen
 
Chapters
A Certain Amount of Baggage (00:01:38)
Thoughts on Season 3 (00:05:30)
Season Three Not Favorites (00:09:46)
The Paradise Syndrome (00:10:27)
Turnabout Intruder (00:14:21)
Season Three Favorites / The Enterprise Incident (00:18:36)
The Tholian Web / Whom Gods Destroy (00:21:28)
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (00:29:00)
Decent But Not Great (00:32:40)
Thoughts On TOS Overall (00:34:50)
Looking Forward To The Movies(00:40:16)
Goodbye To Andi (00:43:00)
Closing (00:48:25)
 
Send us your feedback!
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Direct download: so-080.mp3
Category:Season Three -- posted at: 5:51am MDT

74: A Righteous Cause

Marc Cushman on Season Three, Part 2.

Ratings are the name of the game in television. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew are rejoined by Marc Cushman, author of These Are The Voyages​, to find out what the creative team behind Season 3 did to garner the ratings they did. Why did the season lead off with the episodes it did? Why did they hire a lawyer to play Gorgan? Ratings, my friends! Also, learn more about the two episodes that didn't get made, and why saving your best for last may not be the best idea.

Hosts
Drew Stewart and Mike Schindler
 
Guest
Marc Cushman
 
Editor and Producer
Drew Stewart
 
Associate Producer
Richard Rutledge, Jr.

Production Manager
Richard Marquez
 
Content Coordinator
Will Nguyen
 
Chapters
​How Marc Learned To Write (00:01:04)
And The Children Shall Lead (00:5:12)
The Lost Episodes / Escaping Reality (00:09:30)
Does BTS Hurt The Episode? (00:13:32)
Your Last Battlefield (00:21:15)
Cushman’s Plans (00:26:20)
Closing (00:33:32)
 
Direct download: so-074.mp3
Category:Season Three -- posted at: 10:25am MDT

73: Numerous Lurking Variables

Marc Cushman on Season Three, Part 1.

The third season of Star Trek started with a lot of strikes against it, but not many people appreciate the work that went into making it the best it could have been. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew are joined again by Marc Cushman, author of These Are The Voyages​, to find out what really happened behind the scenes of Season 3. What happens when you have to take the action out of your space action-adventure show, while being told to leave the ship more often but also having a much more limited budget in a time slot no one wanted? You do the best you can, which is exactly what Season 3 producer Fred Freiberger did. Find out more about what he and the others did to keep things running on the Starship Enterprise during the last year of it's mission!

Hosts
Drew Stewart and Mike Schindler
 
Guest
Marc Cushman
 
Editor and Producer
Drew Stewart
 
Associate Producer
Richard Rutledge, Jr.

Production Manager
Richard Marquez
 
Content Coordinator
Will Nguyen
 
Chapters
What is TATV? (00:01:45)
Opinion of Season 3 (00:04:04)
Research Changes Things (00:09:42)
The Making of TV (00:14:35)
Making A Weekly Show From Nothing (00:20:10)
Adding A Twist to Themes (00:23:04)
What Could Have Been (00:28:55)
Fred Freiberger (00:34:22)
Closing (00:41:06)
 
Direct download: so-073.mp3
Category:Season Three -- posted at: 7:31am MDT

69: Crazy And Cool

Season Three Top Five.

Season 3 of The Original Series is not anyone's favorite season. Fortunately, there's still some good in it. In this episode of ​Standard Orbit​, Mike and Drew each choose 5 favorite episodes from Season 3, surprisingly with very little crossover. There are several good concepts mediocrely executed. Does the whole season count as being "so bad it's good"? Is this where the anthology show concept loses its grip? Are there some genuinely good stories hiding in there?

We also have a quick news segment where we talk about the new writers for Star Trek 2016, Simon Pegg and Doug Jung and if we think they'll be a good fit for the franchise based on their past works.

Hosts
Drew Stewart and Mike Schindler
 
Editor and Producer
Drew Stewart
 
Associate Producer
Richard Rutledge, Jr.

Production Manager
Richard Marquez
 
Content Coordinator
Will Nguyen
 
Chapters
The Time Has Come (00:00:48)
Drew’s #5: “Spock’s Brain” (00:02:46)
Mike’s #4: “Is There in Truth No Beauty” (00:04:52)
Drew’s #3 / Mike’s #3: “Day of the Dove” (00:07:29)
TNG Interlude (00:09:20)
Mike’s #2: “The Mark of Gideon” (00:11:47)
Drew’s #2 / Mike’s #5: “The Tholian Web” (00:15:35)
Mike’s #1 / Drew’s #4: “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” (00:18:45)
Drew’s #1: “The Enterprise Incident” (00:20:35)
Recap (00:23:08)
NEWS: Simon Pegg, Writer (00:23:36)
Closing (00:33:59)
Send us your feedback!
Twitter: @trekfm
Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm
Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm
Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact
Visit the Trek.fm website at http://trek.fm/
Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm

Support The Network!
Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm
Direct download: so-069.mp3
Category:Season Three -- posted at: 8:12am MDT

63: Abraham Lincoln vs Kahless

Creating The Standard Orbit Canon: Season Three.

The time has come to confront the toughest choices ever made on a podcast: which episodes of The Original Series' third season are worthy of being included in our canon? In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew put each episode of Season Three on the scales to see how many weigh enough to make the cut to create the "Standard Orbit Canon". A surprising amount of episodes stand our test of continuity, play an important role in the future of Star Trek, and eventually lead to the finale of The Original Series, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

After we take or leave Season Three, we talk about the recently announced director of Star Trek 13, Justin Lin. We discuss the titling of his previous movies and what we think of what we've seen of his work. Also be sure to stick around through the closing to hear perhaps the greatest Audible book in existence!

Hosts
Drew Stewart and Mike Schindler
 
Editor and Producer
Drew Stewart

Production Manager
Richard Marquez
 
Content Coordinator
Will Nguyen
 
Chapters
SO Canon Theme Opening Titles (00:01:26)  
Spock’s Brain through Spectre of the Gun (00:04:23)  
Day of the Dove through The Empath (00:14:59)  
Elan of Troyius through The Lights of Zetar (00:22:03)  
Requiem for Methuselah through Turnabout Intruder (00:30:22)  
Recap (00:36:58)  
NEWS: Star Trek 13 Director Revealed (00:38:32)  
Closing (00:51:54)  
 
 
Direct download: so-063.mp3
Category:Season Three -- posted at: 12:00pm MDT

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