Punch It: Writing In Star Trek

Deep character analysis of Miles Edward O'Brien from Star Trek: TNG and DS9Lieutenant, Chief, Non-Com, Enlisted, whatever you want to call him, Miles Edward O'Brien is a great character. Maybe only next to Worf, he is one of the most explored characters in all of Star Trek who've we've spent the most time with. We first saw him in 1987 and last saw him in 1999. That's a long time to play one character consistently. A musician, a war hero, a tactical officer, a pilot, a transporter chief, chief of operations, and a professor. O'Brien is clearly a talented renaissance man.In this episode, we take a look at how he was written over the course of his entire tenure. How consistently was he written? Was he believable as a character? Did he fit in with the rest of the crew? We ask all these questions as well as put our own Punch It flare in the gaps.Here is the audio play mentioned in the show.

We fill in some much needed Sarek and Michael backstory with Star Trek: Discovery?We have stayed away from writing or rewriting Star Trek: Discovery for obvious reasons. It is currently ongoing, we don't know the characters that well, and so much is not known that will most likely come about. So we tried to find an area to explore and develop that wouldn't contradict anything.In this week's episode, the plan was to focus on Michael Burnham. Instead, we used her as a focal point to explore her relationships with her family, mainly Sarek. When did Sarek discover he had a mental connection with Michael and how did it make him feel?

Why don't we see Denobulan's in other iterations of Star Trek? The real world reason is obvious; Denobulans weren't created until Star Trek: Enterprise came around and they were an original species. But where is the fun in that? We as Star Trek fans love creating and theorizing in-universe reason for mistakes, retcons, and absences all the time. So why don't we see Denobula or Denobulans in the 23rd and 24th century?In this episode, we do a "what if" scenario featuring Phlox's home planet as well as a lightning round of "what if" possibilities on a vast array of Star Trek topics, all submitted by listeners like you.

We look at the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Brothers" at a different angle Whenever we rewrite an episode, we have a rule: it won't be a horrible episode, it won't be a great episode. Right down the middle is where we operate; thus "punch up". However, we decided to let an app choose an episode at random for us and Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Brothers" is what popped up.Now, this is not an all-time great but it is a solid episode where Spiner plays three characters. That alone makes it impressive. This week, we try to keep the themes while at the same time try to come up with a new perspective on how the story could have gone down.

Was romance in Star Trek well written? There was a lot of coupling in Star Trek but was there a lot of romance and was it well written? Star Trek isn't exactly known for its romance and has in fact been criticized for its lack of believability or motivation within a relationship. But is this a fair criticism?Char and Tristan take a look at all of Star Trek and try to cover as many couples as they can and figure out if they are well written, believable, as well as necessary.What are some of your favorite Star Trek couples? 

What if Voyager didn't make it back home in Endgame? This fantastic listener suggestion posed the question of what would happen if the Voyager crew remained in the Delta Quadrant at the end of the series finale: Endgame. Now, Endgame is a divisive episode, to say the least, with some loving it and some hating it but a very common thread is everyone wishing they could have seen more of an epilogue. We are giving that epilogue but just not in the way you think.How would the 8th season of Star Trek: Voyager look in the Delta Quadrant? Listen and find out.

What if Janeway made the decision to not split Tuvix back to Tuvok and Neelix in Star Trek: Voyager? Inspired by last week's episode asking about what if Tasha Yar lived, we continue this trend in the Star Trek: Voyager realm with Tuvix. Made famous over 20 years ago, Tuvix was the result of a transporter accident joining Tuvok and Neelix into one body and one personality. Weeks went by with no cure and he integrated himself into the crew. Then the Doctor found the way to bring Tuvok and Neelix back but Tuvix did "not want to die." Janeway made the tough call to save two lives over one. This decision has been debated, contested, and screamed over for the past 20 years. This episode, we postulate what might have been if Tuvix did not "die" in that episode and in fact thrived on the U.S.S. Voyager. What would happen to him? Would he stay on board? What would Kes do? How would the crew react?Listen to us discuss this and let us know what you think.

What if Tasha Yar survived Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1? What would that look like? "What if?" is one of our favorite questions. This week we apply that to Tasha Yar. A fan favorite in the Riddell household and they never really let go of that anger of seeing Tasha die in season one. But what if she never died? What if she survived and thrived and stayed on for the entire seven-year run? How would she grow? What would happen to Worf? Would Best of Both Worlds end differently? Where does that leave Yesterday's Enterprise?We muse on all this and a whole lot more.

Punching up one character from each iteration of Star Trek Not every character in a franchise will be perfect and Star Trek is no exception. While we love almost all main characters in our beloved space saga, some could use a few tweaks here and there. Nothing major, no drastic paradigm shifts of personality, we just punch it up here and there. We each select one character from each iteration and explain our choices.Which character tweaks would you perform if you were in the writer's room?

What happened to Tuvok after Voyager got home?There are several novels and even Star Trek Online that covers what happened to Tuvok but of course nothing on screen. But that isn't stopping the Punch It crew from writing their own story about Tuvok's post-Voyager career. All will say is this: Tuvok and Red Squad.Listen and find out.

How would the Gilmore Girls revival look if Char wrote it? We’re nearing the end of our long Gilmore Girls journey. A listener thought it would be a great idea for Char to write what she thinks should have happened in the Gilmore Girls revival *before* she watches it. We discuss Rory’s love life, Lorelai’s Inn, Luke’s now grownup daughter, Emily’s loss of Richard, and so much more of what Char thinks should have happened.

Unfinished Star Trek storylines that would be ideal for novels and comics Char and Tristan love ancillary Star Trek materials but it's impossible to read them all. Those ancillary materials are perfect destinations for tieing up loose ends. Why did Guinan hate Q? What happened with those TNG season one parasites? Was the B a cool ship to be on?Your Punch It crew asks these questions and a whole lot more. Listen and lets us know what loose threads you always wanted to have addressed.

Part II of our film rewrite of Star Trek: Generations Last week we were able to dive deep into the writing of Star Trek's seventh film, "Generations". As we were writing on-the-fly, we developed a newfound appreciation for the problems that were beset the writing staff. Due to this, we weren't able to go much further than the prologue. But we were happy to pause because it allowed us to flesh out our version, even more, this week.This week, we give Guinan and Geordi a whole lot more to do and also tone down Data. Listen to find out what else we changed and what we kept.  

The Punch It crew takes on Star Trek: Generations in a rewrite. Generations is not the best Star Trek movie. It is also not the best Next Gen movie. But it is the host's belief that this film has been unfairly maligned for decades. Regardless of that opinion, there are still plot holes and things that could have been better. Char and Tristan were young enough to not care when they were kids but now they have studied storytelling and have a few things to say.They start the show with a spoiler-free reaction to the Star Trek: Discovery season finale but then move onto the rewrite where they tackle what turned out to be one of the hardest things to rewrite: the opening.

Continuing Char's Watch of Gilmore Girls with the Final Network Season What was once the final season of Gilmore Girls is now just another step in the journey of Lorelai and Rory. After Amy Sherman-Palladino's exit, the new showrunners and writers had a lot on their plate. Do they try to erase everything ASP did in season 6? Or do they drive into the skid and roll with it? Maybe there was a third path. Char and Tristan went on record as hating season 6 and what it did to the characters, but what will season 7 bring? Listen to find out and let us know how you felt about season 7 as well as the series finale. 

The writing style of Q and how it changed over the years Q was the first antagonist introduced to us in 1987 when Star Trek: The Next Generation was launched. He was omnipotent, dangerous, and enigmatic. However, Encounter at Farpoint was not the last time we saw him. As the show progressed and new shows were developed, Q appeared a total of 12 times in the franchise.Char and Tristan analyze his character as well as check the consistency of the writing to see if he grew over time or stayed stagnant. What do you think about the consistency of Q over the years?

Rewriting Star Trek: Voyager's "Elogium" This week was Star Trek: Voyager's 23rd anniversary and we just had to go back to our roots and talk some Delta Quadrant. We used to rewrite episodes all the time on our old show but not so much here. This was a treat because the character of Kes is such a rich area. When we rewrite we try not to pick the best episodes or the worst. Elogium is right there in the middle and so it was fun to play with.One major criticism of Voyager was its ability to reset. Should Kes have conceived a child? Should she have conceived a child with Neelix? Was the magnetic field necessary? Also, why aren't the Ocampans extinct? Find out all this and more by listening.

Part 2 of our conversation on Star Trek captains and the actors who played them?A few episodes ago, we started a conversation on the influence that Trek actors had on their captain characters. We got through Shatner, Stewart, and Brooks. But once we got to Mulgrew we realized there was no way we could contain the rest in one big episode. This is the continuation of that episode and we talk Mulgrew, Bakula, and Pine. 

Which characters would have New Years Resolutions and what would they be? 2018 is here and to celebrate the New Year, we here at Punch It are asking the fun questions. Char and Tristan come to the table with some ideas of who would be wanting to change things during this holiday and then ask each other randomly for some examples. What would Janeway do? Would she cut down the coffee? Try to learn how to cook? How long would she last on either?Please enjoy this episode and let us know which characters you think would have resolutions. 

Enjoy this short holiday message from your crew at Punch It We'll be back in the New Year and before we took a break we wanted to tell you guys how much you mean to us.On top of all that, the holidays can be extremely stressful. If you're feeling low or frustrated or even worse, please use these resources because there is always someone who will listen.Be safe and have fun!Depression HotlineCrisis Textline