Re:Engage TNG

[SEASON FINALE] Descent Part 1 - s6e26

Season's ending, crew, time to bring in the big guns. We got Lore, the Borg, a lot of Hugh mentions, a Federation Admiral, and a slew of dead red shirts. Or Yellow. You get the idea. They might as well have had a saucer separation. Why didn't they? Blew all the budget on Einstein's facial prosthesis? Data is feeling himself. He fights the borg and gets super mad, going so far as to strangle one of them. These aren't normal Borg BTW. They are Brosus. And Torsus. And Daryl. And they follow someone they call the One. The Federation wants Picard to reverse what he did with Hugh and kill them all. Meanwhile, Data experiments with more killing and more death on the holodeck and freaks out Troi when he says he enjoyed it. Woof. Then the Borg enter a transwarp conduit, leave Crosus on board to sabotage Data, and they fly off into the sunset in a shuttlecraft. It all comes clear that it's been Data's long lost brother Lore who's been pulling the strings and making the Borg into fascist assholes. Now he's got Data on his side ... TO BE CONTINUED!
We'll be taking a short break from releasing new episodes as we prepare for the final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Thanks for listening. Please send us any thoughts on the series to LetsReEngage@gmail.com or on Bluesky. We'd love to answer your question or read your comment on the podcast!
 
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)  
Panel: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG), Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG), and Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) 
Audio Editor: Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the SEASON PREMIE s7e1 "Descent Part 2" hosted by Jimmie!

Timescape - s6e25

TimEscape. Tim's Cape. It's all about getting high on time. Picard draws a smiley face on an exploding reactor blast, proving that graffiti is the same in the 24th century. Troi, Laforge, Picard and Data attend the most boring /slash/ misogynistic science conference on the fanciest shuttlecraft in the fleet. But everybody keeps kitting the pause /slash/ fast-forward button. The fruit got real moldy and Picard's fingernails grew ten sizes that day. Anomalies abound as the Enterprise is found in mid-space battle with a Romulan warbird. What what what? It's timey-wimey and a ton of fun. No notes.
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG) 
Panel: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG), Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG), and Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) 
Audio Editor: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG)
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the SEASON FINALE s6e26 "Descent Part 1" hosted by Greg!

Second Chances - s6e24

Two Rikers! Holy continuity breakdown! This one is directed by Levar Burton, and doesn't focus so much on the science fiction of meeting your double. Instead, we get a much greater understanding of Troi and Riker's romance before the show even started. It's bold. We get tai-chi over leotard-stretching ladies and cute-sey scavenger hunt ploys from a young Thomas. No discussion of the effects of being alone for 8 years, but you need time to create metallic phaser art with a brand new setting: Love.
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG)  
Panel: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG) , Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG), and Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) 
Audio Editor: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG)  
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e25 "Timescape" hosted by Kate!

Rightful Heir - s6e23

Kahless the great returns after Worf burns a fat one on the Enterprise and gets dressed down /slash/ given a vacation from Picard. Then we talk about religion and governance without really getting at the moral quandary of cloning and free will. Worf confronts the Klingon pharisees, then convinces Gowron to bends the knee. No, it doesn't make sense any more than religion does, but we are made to assume something profound happened to Worf. For me, it was Tuesday.
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) 
Panel: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG) , Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG), and Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG) 
Audio Editor: Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter)
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e24 "Second Chances" hosted by Erik!

Suspicions - s6e22

Sometimes an inner monologue is all you need to discover who the real killer has been all along. Guinan talks to Dr. Crusher about tennis elbow, but Beverly isn't the doctor on this ship anymore. Then through a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards, she uncovers the killer of a Ferengi scientist for which she was busy getting recognition among a group comprised of a Vulcan, Klingon and Takaran scientist. The Takaran has extra organs, FYI, that might be important! We get some great Nurse Ogawa agency, a little bit of Ferengi razzle-dazzle, and some strange behaviors from Riker and Picard, who never turned down a mystery before.
Happy New Year, y'all. We recorded this in December 2024 and will be returning to our schedule in the January!
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG) 
Panel: Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter), Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG), and Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG) 
Audio Editor: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG)
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e23 "Rightful Heir" hosted by Erik!

Frame of Mind - s6e21

It's a meta-existential threat episode! Riker is an actor in a play written by Beverly Crusher, or is that Jonathan Frakes? Or is it the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? This episode is written in such a delicious way, blending exposition and strange character behavior in a perception-annihilating frame of mind. I am shattered, like the fabric of reality poor Riker is experiencing, each time I watch it. Shades of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Waiting for Godot, and The Matrix collide in a tour-de-force performance by Jonathan Frakes.
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) 
Panel: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG), Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG), and Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG) 
Audio Editor: Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) 
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e22 "Suspicions" hosted by Jimmie!

The Chase - s6e20

I love doing musical intros! After his old archeology teacher shows up to guilt trip him on a goose chase, Picard fondles some figurines before his teacher is killed. He leaves behind a trail, and Picard ignores protocol to make the DNA tell him and Crusher where to go next. Cardassians show up, then Klingons and Romulans, yet the Captain finds a way to put the petal to the warp metal and piece together the news that one man seeded all the species in the galaxy. That's why the aliens of Star Trek all look the same. Because they all came from one dude. His name was Roddenberry!
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)
Panel: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG), Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter), and   Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG) 
Audio Editor: Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)  
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e21 "Frame of Mind" hosted by Jimmie!

Lessons - s6e19

The Fish and the Rocks! A quiet episode, until it's not. Picard meets a pianist, and she opens up his musician side as well as his heart. Too bad she is under his direct command. She plays the keys and he plays the flute in the sexiest part of the starship, the Jeffries Tubes! There are dolphins, there are non-stop HR violations, there is exquisite chest hair. This is a fantastic episode and we hope you enjoy it. Share and enjoy!
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG) 
Panel: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG), Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter), and Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)   
Audio Editor: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG) 
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e20 "The Chase" hosted by Greg!

Starship Mine - s6e18

"The Enterprise is mine!" says Picard when he goes back for his saddle(!) No one grows in this one, including our panel, but that's just perfect for a mélange of 80s action movie moments. Due for a scan for waste particles associated with the warp engines, the Enterprise bridge crew must go to a reception held by Hutch, er, Commander Calvin Hutchinson. Data wants to emulate the art of small talk, but then verges into the actually interesting conversation around interior design and scientific facts about planets. Picard leaves the reception to grab the saddle he apparently always has with him, and discovers Tuvok and crew dissembling the ship. The captain trapped on his ship with ne'er-do-wells must make arrows and set up ambushes like he's John McClane Rambo. It's a fun one, with great stunts and an honest-to-god reference to Mr. fuckin' Ed. No joke.
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG)
Panel: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG), Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter), and Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)   
Audio Editor: Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG)
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e19 "Starship Mine" hosted by ???!

Birthright, part 2 - s6e17

Worf shines in this episode by teaching the town to dance, to hunt, and to sing. Michael Dorn is a true triple threat! The younger generation of prisoners don't even know they are in prison. The much younger lady he saw washing in the previous episode shows Worf the artifacts of an ancient time. The Romulan leader Tokath is generally nice - he even married one of his Klingon prisoners! - but he's pushed to the limit by Worf's presence. Worf kisses a ROMULAN on the mouth, but it's OK. She's half his age. It's time for the firing squad, until Toq arrives dressed in armor and all become Spartacus. Tokath relents, and Worf lies to Picard when he gets rescued. It's cool now.
Get in touch with us on BlueSky @ReEngageTNG.bsky.social! 
 
Host: Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter)  
Panel: Erik Gratton (@erikfallsdown on Twitter & IG)  , Kate Jaeger (@jaegerlicious on Twitter and IG), and Greg Tito (Gregtito.com, @GregTito on Bluesky, @greg_tito on IG)   
Audio Editor: Jimmie G (@thejimmieg on IG & Twitter) 
Logo artwork: @mojojojo_97 on Twitter, mojo97.com
Theme music: Ryan Marth
 
Next up is the s6e18 "Starship Mine" hosted by Kate!