Punch It: Writing In Star Trek

The Writing and Themes of Better Call Saul Season 3Season 3 of Better Call Saul has come and gone and some were left with more questions than answers. We got the introduction of Gus Fring, a fan favorite in Breaking Bad. Every season has gotten a consistent rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. But some people are asking if character development is enough to keep a series momentum. What did you think of Better Call Saul Season 3?

Writing a Star Trek: Enterprise Story On-the-flyWriting stories on-the-fly is one of the many reasons why we started Punch It. We love to take a kernel of a story and let it expand organically into something new but also familiar. One avenue that is very much home to us is Star Trek. This week we write a story about Star Trek: Enterprise and we focus on Trip and T'Pol. Anybody who has listened to us for awhile understands that we are big Janeway and Chakotay shippers. That love has translated to the Enterprise first officer and engineer.We hope you enjoy and what did you think of this famous Star Trek couple?

What if Beavis and Butt-Head grew up?One of the benefits of an animated series is that it doesn’t have to follow the same rules we follow in real life. For instance, characters don’t have to face consequences for their actions, and they don’t have to age with the passage of time. But what if you played by the rules of real life with America’s favorite lovable losers, Beavis and Butt-Head?In this episode of Punch It, Char is joined by her husband, Patrick, as they explore what an animated revival of Beavis and Butt-Head would look like if they had aged the 20+ years since the show’s airing. What would sort of lives would Beavis and Butt-Head have in their mid-30s? Would they have jobs? Money? Girls? What sort of aspirations would they have as a mark of success in 2017 and could they achieve their dreams? Char and Patrick discuss this and more.

Analyze the writing and direction of Gilmore Girls Season 3Here we are again and we could not be happier. Char has finally finished her first Gilmore Girls run through of season three! Tristan is a Gilmore Girls veteran but this is Char's first time and so they take a look at the Stars Hallow world through the lens of Punch It. The first two seasons established the tone and setting and this season really solidifies who the characters are. Did Char think this was the best or worst season so far? Listen and find out. 

We explore what a House of Cards spinoff would look likeLast week, we explored every single angle you could possibly explore with how a House of Cards spinoff would actually look. We landed on a Garret Walker lead show. How did he get to the presidency? How did his marriage survive? What was it like in the Governor's mansion in Colorado?We start the episode with our spoiler free review of House of Cards season 5.

What would a House of Cards spin-off look like?House of Cards was released this week and Char and Tristan couldn't be happier. The Netflix original with Frank and Claire Underwood is one of their favorites and a lot of the world feels the same way. This episode is not a review of Season Five because it was recorded a day before its release. So there is no feasible way that it could be spoiled for you.Your Punch It crew explores almost every single avenue with what this hypothetical show could look like. Should it move forward? Alongside? Or should it be a prequel? Who would be the protagonist and more importantly, would they talk to the camera?What would you like to see in a House of Cards spin-off if there ever was one?

Developing Guinan's backstory from Star Trek on-the-flyGuinan first graced the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation in season 2's episode "The Child". While that episode was lacking, this new warm and fascinating character, portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg, was not. She was an enigma from the very beginning and her origins were unknown. Certain moments of conflicting canon didn't help when it came to how she came onboard the Enterprise. One of her deepest connections onboard was with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and she once described their relationship as "beyond friendship, beyond family". But what else is there?We start at the beginning and work our way forward speculating on who she was, where she came from, and how she really met Picard. 

What would a Home Improvement revival look like?Last week we talked about how networks are hitting the nostalgia button a bit too hard lately with the constant revivals. Sometimes if feels like TV executives are throwing darts at a 90s board and guessing what would be a hit. With Roseanne, The X-Files, and even Xena coming back, we tried to think what would be interesting or what could be next.We toyed around with the idea of a Cheers revival as well as a Buffy The Vampire Slayer revival. Neither were really that appealing so we thought of something we both loved that ended well that execs could try to exploit. Home Improvement seemed like a natural place to start and we loved going back and visiting Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor. 

The Ups and Downs of Television RevivalsSo many television revivals are happening that it's hard to keep up. X-Files, 24, Heroes, maybe Xena and now Roseanne. Roseanne is actually coming back to TV and it's not just Barr coming back, it's Goodman and Metcalf as well. But why? It's easy to say that Freaks and Geeks and Firefly should get a revival because they were canceled before their time. 24, X-Files, and Roseanne all had gloriously long runs. So why? What more needs to be said? What more could be said? We discuss this and more on this week's Punch It.We open the show with the winner of the Voyager episode naming.

Original Star Trek Deep Space Nine Audio DramaThe following story is an original work by Tristan Riddell and performed by him and his wife, The Girl. It's based on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and takes place between seasons 4 and 5 of the show. The story centers around Julian Bashir and a surprise female protagonist. 

Star Trek: Voyager episode written on-the-fly It's been a long road...wait...wrong series. It's been a long time since Char and Tristan have been in the world of Star Trek: Voyager. They return with a fury and write an episode on-the-fly that focuses on the one and only Captain Kathryn Janeway of the starship Voyager.Char and Tristan ask the question of how Janeway got the command of the intrepid starship. This episode takes place just before Caretaker and explores the ups and downs of then Commander Janeway of the USS Billings. 

Writing a Babylon 5 Episode on the flyWith Tristan gone for the week, Char and guest host Phillip Gilfus (Ceti Alpha Three) make magic happen in the writer’s room.Rather than write one episode on the fly, Char and Phillip discuss missing scenes from the entirety of the Babylon 5 story and explore how these little moments could translate into webisodes or short stories. They start with a blank white board but punch it up to the last, best hope for peace.

We continue our discussion on great and not so great series finalesThis subject is so massive and expansive that it could not be contained by one meager episode. Even though we continue on into this episode, we could go much farther. With Char taking the lead, Punch It delves deep into not only mentioning what are some great finales, but what makes it great as well as what makes it subpar. So many shows out there give us a finale that can leave a bad taste in our mouth but we have to ask ourselves, was it true to the show? Many finales could be considered well crafted but also betray the tone established by the previous seasons. One pitfall many shows fall into is not knowing how to advance the characters once age becomes a factor. Listen for more on this subject and tell us what are some of your favorite finales.

What makes a great series finale?Last week we talked about good movies with bad endings and how we would make them better. This week we discuss television series finales and what makes a good one. Does it need to tie up loose ends in a pretty bow? Does it need to infer continuation? Or does it just need to be true to itself. Char and Tristan go down the list of finales that were great, ok, as well as godawful. 

Some of our least favorite movie endings and how we would punch them upWe've all been there where we see a movie and it's going great and you get to the end and it just dies hard. Sometimes the credits roll and you hear yourself say out loud, "That's it!?" On this week's Punch It, we discuss that very occasion. We talk about all types of movies from those with muppets to movies with demons, suicide, and sex. Bad endings aren't just in one genre but across the board. What movie endings make you go crazy?

The Writing of Gilmore Girls Season 2Tristan convinced Char to start Gilmore Girls awhile back and she reluctantly agreed. She watched season one and they discussed it on the show. She liked it and was interested and enjoyed the writing but thought it was kind of "sitcomy" with its setups. Then came season two and thankfully Char was impressed with how amped up everything was. Like a good show, season two is just more. More story, more plot, more character development, and way more coffee at Luke's. Also, enter Jess, the bad boy, so that's the drama factor. Listen to our episode where we discuss the pacing, story, and overall writing style of season two as we visit Stars Hollow. 

Writing Teddy's Backstory from Bob's BurgersBob's Burgers is an amazing show and it's been on for 7 seasons now. If you have not watched it yet, stop what you're doing, go to Netflix, and start binging. It's a witty but also crass show that focuses on family positivity. One thing that is unique to the show is the character, Teddy. Loyal, funny, awkward, and hairy. He has all these traits in spades. Throughout the past seven years, we've gotten little hints about his past. Divorced, loves burgers, one testicle, the usual stuff. Your Punch It crew takes this character on and writes his backstory on-the-fly.

What if Lt. Jae and Captain Picard had something on the side?It is no secret that Char and Tristan love to ship certain Star Trek characters. Janeway/Chakotay is by far their biggest obsession in this area. Tristan, however, had a secret headcanon that is now not so secret. It starts with a simple premise, what if Captain Jean-Luc Picard found an interest in our favorite extra Lt. Jae?A few episodes ago they gave her a backstory so why not give her a whirlwind romance? Tristan is back and they are wasting no time in the fictional romance department.What do you think of this odd pairing?

Babylon 5.In the mid 1990s, planning a five-year series arc for television was considered crazy. So was the idea of rendering all special effects with CGI. And if a show runner said he would do both of those things while also producing a high-quality science fiction show at a fraction of the cost of the budget given to the Star Trek series of the time, you might have laughed in that guy’s face. But creator J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) did it, and the result is Babylon 5.Special guest Phillip Gilfus, co-host of Ceti Alpha Three on The Nerd Party, joins Charlynn for an in-depth discussion of the many layers of Babylon 5’s writing in this episode of Punch It. They discuss how JMS structured a five-year story that could function unscathed from real-life circumstances, the themes that made the epic story thought-provoking to all members of its audience, the compelling characters that gave story its depth, and much more.

Beavis and Butt-HeadWith Tristan busy taking care of Baby Riddell this week, Char has the unique opportunity to talk about one of her favorite shows that she knows Tristan would never tackle with her. That show, ladies and gentlemen, is Beavis and Butt-Head. She recruits her husband, Patrick, for cohosting duties since he knows the show as thoroughly as she does; after all, it's one of the things that ultimately brought them together. Together, they dissect the show's writing and discuss the fine art of depicting stupidity in a clever and humorous way. This formula for success ultimately led to an immediate – maybe infamous – hit for MTV, eight seasons, a movie, and two loveable losers that will live on in pop culture forever.