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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

What's the one episode you'd pick from each series to best communicate what the show was like to someone who'd never seen it before? Not necessarily the BEST episode, mind you, but the one most representative of that series's vibes. (Ignoring series that are so serialized it's basically impossible.)

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

And now, let's have something that will surely be not at all controversial: a ranked list of Starfleet captains. I'm including everyone I can think of who served as captain on screen long enough for us to get a feel for their command style. Apologies to any I missed.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

As part of my wrap-up, I'll go very briefly through the strengths and weaknesses of each Star Trek series, starting with…

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

And that's that! I have now watched all 964 of the canonical episodes and movies in the Star Trek franchise to date, in in-universe chronological order, over the course of almost exactly 17 months. That's two episodes a day on average. Of those 964, 88 (9.1%) were excellent and 33 (3.4%) sucked ass.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Turns out I missed a couple of Short Treks back in the 2250s, so quickly: “The Trouble With Edward” gives us backstory on the tribbles that I for one didn't need, but it's elevated somewhat by what I think is the only live-action performance I've ever seen from H. Jon Benjamin.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Short Treks, “Calypso”: In the 43rd century, Zora saves a life and falls in love. A weird, unsatisfying little epilogue, both to Discovery and to the franchise as a whole. Zora was specifically ordered to wait for this Craft guy, yet how Michael knew about him or why he's important remain unknown.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

All in all, Starfleet Academy season one was a welcome surprise; consistently good, occasionally great. It's very Trek, while still telling a new story and giving us a distinctly different vibe than the 23rd-24th century series. We're seeing the Federation in recovery – a hopeful message right now.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

SFA S1E10, “Rubincon” (sic): The cadets and teachers of the Athena have to stop Nus Braka and save the Federation alone. A very good conclusion to a very good first season, wrapping up most of the major plot and character arcs satisfyingly. The dynamic between Nahla and Anisha was especially strong.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

SFA S1E9, “300th Night”: As Starfleet braces for a Venari Ral attack, Caleb finally gets a line on his mom. Not the joyful episode I was hoping for, but a very good one – excellently paced, with a steadily mounting threat that leaves us on a hell of a cliffhanger going into the last episode.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

SFA S1E8, “The Life of the Stars”: Tarima returns, and SAM's glitches are back. This episode centers on the characters healing from the trauma of two episodes ago, so it's unsurprisingly another downer. I think it's better than the last one, but I really hope they bring some joy back in episode 9.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

SFA S1E7, “Ko'Zeine”: The Academy cadets go on break, and Darem and Genesis confront their futures. A much more understated episode, heavy on the interpersonal drama, which can be a good thing, but here it doesn't really work. Both main stories are ones we've heard before with no real surprises.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

SFA S1E6, “Come, Let's Away”: A team of cadets is trapped on board a derelict ship with a bunch of Reavers and Ake considers a deal with the devil to get them home. A very dark episode, especially after the pure Star Trek joy of the last one. I'm just glad I'm watching one a day rather than binging.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

SFA S1E5, “Series Acclimation Mil”: SAM researches the life of Benjamin Sisko. Tawny “Beckett Mariner” Newsome cowrote and appears in this one, and they should clearly just let her do anything she fucking wants, because this is hands down the best episode of Star Trek I've seen in quite a while.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

SFA S1E4, “Vox in Excelso”: During a debate class, Kraag must make peace with his fear of public speaking – among other things. This is our first view of the fate of the post-Burn Klingons, and it's a pretty grim one. Overall, the character study of Kraag is great; the rest of the episode less so.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

SFA S1E3, “Vitus Reflux”: Starfleet Academy and the War College get into a prank war. This is the first episode since maybe Lower Decks that's pretty much entirely skippable, not really relevant to any larger plot – and I love that. I missed skippable episodes. It helps that it's also extremely fun.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

SFA S1E2, “Beta Test”: Starfleet Academy hosts a delegation from Betazed in an effort to convince them to rejoin the Federation. I really like that they made the Betazoid president Deaf and cast a Deaf actor to play him. It had nothing to do with the plot and was just… a normal element of the world.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

SFA S1E1, “Kids These Days”: In which we meet the first class of Starfleet Academy cadets to return to San Francisco. I've been told by people I trust that I'm really going to enjoy this series, but even if I hadn't, I think I would have walked away from this episode feeling decidedly optimistic.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Discovery season 5 is not as strong as seasons 3 and 4, for sure. It takes a big swing, taking the story of a not universally loved TNG episode and effectively retelling it over ten hours. I respect the attempt, but it ultimately doesn't feel like it has something important to say – and it wants to!

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

DIS S5E10, “Life, Itself”: Burnham encounters the Progenitors' tech, and we say goodbye. Half of this episode is an extended goodbye, in fact – arguably a little too extended. There are some bits that are handled elegantly and some… less so. The worst is probably the extremely forced Kovich reveal.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

DIS S5E9, “Lagrange Point”: Discovery finds what they're looking for, but they're not alone. A high-intensity episode, as befits the penultimate episode of the season. The high point is definitely Book on distraction duty, but there's also some good Saru/T'Rina in there too. I love them so much.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

DIS S5E8, “Labyrinths”: Burnham must navigate her own mind to find the last clue. Is this episode named for the Jorge Luis Borges short story collection? I choose to believe yes. The A-plot doesn't feel particularly satisfying to me, but the rest of the episode is very strong.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

DIS S5E7, “Erigah”: The Federation faces a diplomatic emergency with the Breen. I like an episode where two people are each working independently on a plan that would save both, only for those two plans to cancel each other out. Good use of dramatic irony.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

DIS S5E6, “Whistlespeak”: Burnham and Tilly visit a pre-warp society in search of the next clue. Fun fact: whistlespeak is a real thing here on Earth; the most famous is the Silbo Gomero of the Canary Islands. I suspect they talked to a linguist for this one, which always wins bonus points from me.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

DIS S5E5, “Mirrors”: Burnham and Book face down Moll and L'ak in the ruins of a Terran warship. Not really a Mirror Universe episode, but it does give us some closure to previous ones, which is nice. And we learn Moll and L'ak's backstory, which includes a pretty cool and genuinely unexpected twist.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

DIS S5E4, “Face the Strange”: Listen: Burnham and Rayner have come unstuck in time. A classic little time hijinks episode, quite a bit of fun, with some decent and much-needed character growth for Rayner in there. Will I like him more after this? We shall see.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

DIS S5E3, “Jinaal”: Burnham meets with a Trill who has the next clue in the puzzle. The best part of this episode was seeing Saru and T'Rina navigate a sticking point in their relationship like the adorable cinnamon rolls they are. The worst part was Rayner. I have Concerns about Rayner.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

DIS S5E2, “Under the Twin Moons”: Discovery races to find the Progenitor tech. This so far really echoes “The Chase”, the episode it's riffing on – which is a pretty divisive episode to choose as the basis for an entire season! I like it, but a lot of people really don't, and I totally get why.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

DIS S5E1, “Red Directive”: Kovich sends Discovery on a classified mission to recover something from an ancient Romulan ship. Starting the season with an explicit TNG callback is a choice, one that reminds me of Picard S3 too much for me to be uncautiously optimistic. But I'll be happy to be wrong.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

So that's Discovery season 4, which I would say was at least as good as season 3! Less thematically coherent – my initial guess after episode 1 that the season would be about “Michael's pathological desire to save everyone” was WAY wrong, that never came back at all – but more consistent in quality.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

DIS S4E13, “Coming Home”: Discovery has only hours left to reach an understanding with the Ten-C, and there's still a pretty big problem in the way. Not as much cool xenolinguistics this time; even extremely complex sentiments are communicated easily. I see why they did it, but it's still a letdown.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

DIS S4E12, “Species Ten-C”: Discovery makes first contact, but there's a complication. I really liked this one; it felt like the whole story of the season has fully come together now, plus there's some very cool xenolinguistics going on. A definite high note to go into the season finale.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

DIS S4E11, “Rosetta”: Burnham explores a Species Ten-C ruin hoping for some clue about their culture. Star Trek rarely features really *alien* aliens, which on some level is intentional, because ultimately it's about humanity. But the Ten-C seem to be an interesting semi-exception, and that's neat.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

DIS S4E10, “The Galactic Barrier”: Discovery must, well, cross the galactic barrier. That's a callback aaaall the way back to the second Star Trek episode ever produced, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Kinda cool, as I approach the end of my watch, that an episode from 60 years ago remains relevant.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

DIS S4E9, “Rubicon”: Burnham has to stop Book before he blows up the DMA… somehow? Again, we get the results of some good setup, as everyone involved has clear, established motivations that conflict with each other in interesting ways. It's a very character-driven piece, and the payoff feels earned.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

DIS S4E8, “All In”: Burnham chases Book to a casino where he hopes to buy isolynium to destroy the DMA. Again, I quite like Book and Burnham and hate to see them on opposite sides, but I like that we've been given ample evidence for why each of them would feel the way they do. Good setup and payoff.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

DIS S4E7, “…But to Connect”: Burnham and Book are on different sides of the issue of what to do next about the DMA and Zora is acting out. Another good episode, though I confess I'm increasingly unclear on what Glasses Guy's job is. (His name is Kovich, but I can only think of him as Glasses Guy.)

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

DIS S4E6, “Stormy Weather”: Investigating the DMA gets Discovery stuck in a void as its newly sentient onboard computer has a poorly timed emotional meltdown. This is a pretty good episode; the relationship building between Burnham and Zora the AI is really sweet and earnest. I like Zora.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

DIS S4E5, “The Examples”: When the DMA threatens an Emerald Chain colony, Burnham leads a rescue of six people trapped in prison. The A-plot here is really quite good, with some great character moments for Michael and Book. The B-plot, about Stamets and a new guy trying to understand the DMA, well…

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

DIS S4E4, “All Is Possible”: Burnham and Saru must solve a last minute hiccup in the Ni'Var/Federation talks, while Tilly leads a team building exercise for some Starfleet Academy cadets. Another episode that barely relates to the main plotline, but which ties in well with the themes of the season.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

DIS S4E3, “Choose to Live”: Burnham and her mom track down a rogue Qowat Milat, Tilly expands her comfort zone, Grey gets embodied, and Book faces his trauma. A lot going on here, very little of it directly related to the apparent plot arc of the season, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

DIS S4E2, “Anomaly”: Discovery needs to scan a massive planet-killing gravitational anomaly to predict its path. The heart of the episode is the relationship between Burnham and Book, which I haven't talked about much, but I like them as a couple, and I like seeing a captain with a romantic life.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

DIS S4E1, “Kobayashi Maru”: Burnham leads a rescue mission after a station is hit by an anomaly. This is actually my first time watching S4! I liked S3 when I first saw it but never got around to continuing, so this is all new to me. I like it so far; this is an intriguing opening episode.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

DIS S3E13, “That Hope Is You, Part II”: The Discovery crew must stop Osyraa from using their ship to destroy the Federation. A very strong closing episode to a very strong season! It's not the best Star Trek has ever been, but it's relentlessly optimistic that good will triumph because it is good.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

DIS S3E12, “There Is a Tide…”: The Emerald Chain has a surprising pitch for Admiral Vance. I really like the negotiation scenes here; Osryaa's pitch is actually kinda compelling and seems to be meant 100% sincerely. She only asks a small compromise from the Federation: their sense of justice.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

DIS S3E11, “Su'Kal": Discovery tries to save the stranded Kelpian at the heart of the Burn. Damn, remember when Star Trek seasons had more than 10 episodes? It's amazing how even just having 13 feels like a luxury. Especially in an era of season-long arcs, it makes a huge difference to the pacing.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

DIS S3E10, “Terra Firma, Part II”: Georgiou attempts to find a way to rule the Terran Empire with a slightly less iron fist. The growth in Georgiou's character shown here feels earned and does actually work for me. She's still ruthless and evil, but she can't be the same kind of evil she used to be.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

DIS S3E9, “Terra Firma, Part I”: Georgiou, dying of acute time travel, gets the chance to go back and fix her past in the Mirror Universe. I keep on thinking we're done with the MU only for it to come back again, usually disappointing me in the process. But there is something here worth the revisit.

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

DIS S3E8, “Sanctuary”: Book has to go home to make sure his planet is safe from the 32nd century version of the Orion syndicate. I think it was actually a mistake to make the Orions the baddies. It'd be more interesting to make them Federation members and the bad guys… idk, Tellarites? Betazoids?

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flying ghoti @flyingghoti.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

I didn't plan my chronological Star Trek watchthrough so that I would get to the 32nd century right in time for Starfleet Academy, but it looks like I got pretty close anyway. I am forcing myself to finish Disco before starting SFA, even though I'm as uncautiously optimistic as I get for new Trek.

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