Episode 210: …and you get a Mind Meld!

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1. How Lucille Ball Saved the Star Trek Franchise 

Subspace Chatter

• Michael Forest Dead: Actor In B-Movies, ‘Star Trek’s Apollo Was 97 
• Star Trek Reboot: Directors Confirm “No Legacy Characters” And Tease A Much Darker Movie 
• Star Trek Reboot: Directors Confirm Major Change As “No Legacy Characters” Will Appear 
• New Star Trek is the ‘darkest film’ Goldstein & Daley have ‘ever written’ 
• Star Trek Reboot: Directors Confirm “No Legacy Characters” And Tease A Much Darker Movie 
• First Star Trek Movie Reboot Details — Will Legacy Characters Return? 
• New STAR TREK Won’t Use Legacy Characters or Kelvin Universe – Nerdist 
• Star Trek luminary isn’t interested in classic characters returning to the franchise 
• ‘Star Trek’ Alum Gates McFadden to Write Dr. Crusher Comic Book Series 
• A Classic Star Trek Crew Member Is Officially Returning For New Next Generation Sequel Series 
• IDW announces STAR TREK titles penned by Gates McFadden; Timothy Zahn 
• James McAvoy Pitched a STAR TREK Prequel That Would’ve Explored Picard’s Mysterious Past — GeekTyrant 
• Star Trek: James McAvoy Pitched Young Picard Series Set on Stargazer 
• James McAvoy Almost Played Picard In a ‘Star Trek’ TV Prequel 

CLICK HERE to see our ratings for Star Trek episodes, movies and books we have discussed on the show. Ratings are compiled and maintained by Listener Diane, with our eternal thanks.

Here are links to 59  additional stories.broken out by series, movies and other categories. 

CLASSIC TV SERIES (in order of premiere)

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 – 1969) [3 seasons]

2. Star Trek Episode “Mirror, Mirror” Shut Down Over Strep Throat 
3. William Shatner Planned To Wrestle A Real Bengal Tiger For Star Trek 
4. How Star Trek fans named NASA’s space shuttle Enterprise 50 Years Ago – YouTube 
5. 60 Years Ago, A Nearly-Forgettable Star Trek Episode Accidentally Became Crucial To Canon 
6. 60 Years Ago, Star Trek’s Most Debauched Episode Was Almost The Pilot 
7. Why Star Trek Replaced Jeffrey Hunter With William Shatner 
8. Nichelle Nichols explained why Star Trek became legendary 

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 – 1994) [7 seasons]

9. The Star Trek Episode That Traumatized ’80s Kids With an Exploding Head (& Never Resolved Its Cliffhanger) – ComicBook.com 
10. A Star Trek Icon Admits Gene Roddenberry Never Wanted Him There
    

Star Trek: Voyager (1995 – 2001) [7 seasons]

11. The Greatest Star Trek Villain Nobody Remembers Appeared in Just 2 Episodes 27 Years Ago 

STREAMING SERIES AND MOVIES (in order of premiere)

Star Trek: Picard (2020 – 2023) [3 seasons]

12. Terry Matalas Talks Patrick Stewart’s ‘Star Trek: Legacy’ Role And ‘Picard’ Season 2’s Biggest Fail – TrekMovie.com 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022 – present) [4th season has begun, 5th/final season in post production]]

13. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 4 Finale Was Almost the Show’s Last Episode 
14. Star Trek actor teases plenty of Kirk & Spock in SNW series finale 
15. ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’: Joe Morton Reveals What He Loved About Playing an Admiral (Exclusive) 
16. ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Finished Season 4 Without Making Nielsen Top 10 Streaming Chart – TrekMovie.com 

Star Trek Scouts (2025 – present) [2nd season announced]

17. Watch: A Gassy Horta Sends The ‘Star Trek: Scouts’ On A Stinky Rescue – TrekMovie.com 

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy [2026 – present] [2nd and final season in post production]

18. The Final Season Of Star Trek’s Masterpiece Series Will Brilliantly Continue A Classic Trope 
19. After 34 Years, Star Trek Will Finally Deliver What The Next Generation Could Never Show 
20. ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ Cast on Season 2 Guest Stars & Show’s Ending (Exclusive) 
21. Star Trek Actor Breaks Silence on Starfleet Academy’s Cancellation 
22. ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ — Meet the Full Cast Of Season 2 
23. ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ Cast Talks Character “Twists” And “Complicated” Season 2 (And Series) Finale – TrekMovie.com 

unannounced “Star Trek: Legacy” series

24. Star Trek Showrunner Confirms Patrick Stewart’s Role in Legacy Sequel 

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES (in order of premiere)

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

25. Jonathan Frakes Shoots Down Longstanding Star Trek Movie Rumor 30 Years Later
    

Untitled Star Trek movie by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley [in pre-production]

26. The Star Trek Movie’s Latest Details Have Me Convinced It’ll Lean Into A Classic Franchise Trope | Cinemablend 

OTHER MEDIA
Star Trek books, audio books

27. Star Trek: The Original Series Officially Returns October 27 With Echoes In Eternity 

Star Trek video games/board games

28. ‘Magic: The Gathering’ is exploring strange new worlds with the ‘Star Trek’ 60th anniversary crossover (interview) | Space 
29. Star Trek: The Original Series Officially Returns November 2026 In Universes Beyond 

Star Trek Comics/graphic novels/magazines/web comics

30. Star Wars Author Timothy Zahn Writing Star Trek Graphic Novel 
31. Star Trek’s New Frontier Is Officially Confirmed For A Bold New Era 
32. 3 Years Later, Star Trek Officially Confirms Captain Picard’s Fate
33. ’Star Trek’s Greatest Sci-Fi Episode Is Bringing Back Its Original Story in Just 8 Days 
34. Star Trek Just Confirmed Captain Kirk’s Final Love Interest—And It’s a Legacy Character Nobody Expected 
35. Star Trek: The Last Starship Reaches Its Final Frontier Today (And Its Creators Have a Message for Fans) [EXCLUSIVE] – ComicBook.com 
36. Star Trek Unveils First Look At New Villain Species 

MISCELLANEOUS

Paramount+ / Paramount Skydance

38. Star Trek Officially Enters a New Streaming Era at Paramount+ 
39. Paramount/Warner Bros. Officially Merged, Brings Big Aspirations (And Big Questions) For Star Trek – TrekMovie.com 
40. Star Trek Skydances into the future via the finalized Paramount & Warner Bros. merger 
41. Star Trek’s Most Infamous Disaster Is Officially Getting a Documentary [Exclusive] 

Franchise-wide/Miscellaneous

42. 10 Examples Of Real Science In Star Trek – video Dailymotion 
43. Every Classic-Era Star Trek Crew, Ranked by How Many Captains They Officially Produced 
44. Star Trek creator’s son argues franchise is ready for “new stories” | Radio Times 
45. What’s it like bringing ‘Star Trek’ to life? Sci-fi franchise icon Michael Okuda shares tales from the final frontier (interview) | Space 
46. Star Trek luminary isn’t interested in classic characters returning to the franchise 
47. Ben Stiller to Moderate William Shatner’s NYCC ‘Star Trek’ Panel 
48. Star Trek: How Every Enterprise Was Destroyed (& How the Crew Survived) – ComicBook.com 
49. Star Trek’s William Shatner talks Spock popularity in new clip from upcoming film doc 

Convention news/fandom

50. STAR TREK Beams Down to New York Comic Con this Saturday to Preview STARFLEET ACADEMY Season 2 and More – TrekCore.com 
51. NYCC — Fanhome Previews Upcoming STAR TREK Starship Models, Including STARFLEET ACADEMY’s USS Athena and More – TrekCore.com 
52. EXCLUSIVE: Nacelle Reveals Renders for Gene Roddenberry & Lucille Ball Star Trek Figures – Trek Central 

Actor Watch

53. Kate Mulgrew Says ‘Unprecedented’ Role as “Star Trek”’s First Female Captain Completely ‘Reshaped My Life’ (Exclusive) – Yahoo News Canada 
54. Star Trek actor discusses winning Voyager viewers over while playing a female captain 
55. William Shatner Shares Why Star Trek Is More Important Than Ever In 2026 [Exclusive] 
56. 31 Years Later, Two Star Trek Legends Reveal Their Fears About Joining The Franchise 
57. Exclusive: William Shatner Reveals Why New Generations Still Love Classic Star Trek 
58. Every Military Jet Ever Included In Star Trek’s Michael Dorn Aircraft Collection 
59. 39 Years Later, One Star Trek Legend Is Ready To Explore A Brutal Backstory 

Main Mission

Star Trek: The Original Series, book #82
“Mind Meld”
Written by John Vornholt

End Of Show

It’s about time to refill the dilithium chamber and get on out of here. 

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