Phasers Set To Stun: Starfleet Academy S1. E8 - The Life of the Stars

0:01 Space the Final Frontier. Join us for a bold conversation our prime directive to recap our favorite Star Trek shows, both new and old, to engage and debate about all things Trek. Prepare to energize with phasers set to stunt. Welcome back to a new episode a Phaser set to stem, where we continue to show our love for Everything's Star Trek in this ongoing series from a film by podcast which focuses on every system of the expanding Star Trek universe by covering television, movies, animation, directors, merchandise, and much much more. Flotting your course on this voyage is your Core Trek crew. I'm Wayne Whited, I'm David Burns.

1:05 And I'm Sky Hoffman. And today we're discussing an all new episode of Star Trek Starfleet Academy Episode eight, titled The Life of the Stars, which was written by Jiea Fiolo and Jane Maggs and directed by Andy Armaganian. So from this point forward, it's red alert. There are spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen this episode yet, please stop and beam yourself to the nearest viewscreen to catch it on Paramount Plus. Then come back and rejoin us for this discussion. So, David, why don't you give us the short summary of the episode. The effects of PTSD are very real and continue to surface among the cadets following the fallout from the Miyazaki.

1:46 All of them are struggling and it takes a toll on their academic performance, their personal lives, and their friendships. Most notably, Tarama and Sam Killtley arrived at Starfleet Academy not only to teach theater, but to use it as a tool to help the cadets work through their pain and trauma. The class this task was selected a play, and is Sam who chooses our Town. As they begin to disfect the play, the cadets slowly realize it's deeper meaning and how closely it mirrors their own lives. At the same time, Sam's condition worsens as she begins to glitch more frequently. Eventually, she is forced to leave both the class and the Academy, returning to her homeworld accompanied by Nahla and the Doctor. It is there that the Doctor must find the confront what he has been emotionally holding back and make a decision he has struggle with for many years, one that.

2:32 Will ultimately save Sam. Now, before we get into the discussion, let me let me say these two quick points. As we predicted correctly last episode, Sylvia Tilly is back and she's a really nice addition to the cast of this episode. And we've also got the Doctor returning after being missing from the last episode. This is an unexpected sequel to one of the better Star Trek Voyager episodes, which was titled Real Life from the show's third season. So if you're unfamiliar with that episode, I suggest you to take the time and to watch it because it'll help you better appreciate this episode and the character of the Doctor himself. All Right, guys, what do you think about this episode?

3:15 So I'd like to cap on that as the guy who has not really watched Voyager. Okay, It's an interesting perspective in that as I was watching this episode, I really wanted to dig into Real Life, which I've never seen. At the same time, I need some time to recover from this episode before I try to see that episode. This was without that context, without that kind of background. This was emotionally just devastating for me. Like I'm not afraid to admit, I sobbed after this which speaks to the performance in this episode, especially Robert Ricardo. It's one that makes me want to dig into Voyager more, which is always one of the great aspects of these shows.

4:05 It makes you want to sample from other parts of the buffet, right, But yeah, I had limited exposure to his character of the doctor from Voyager, A little bit of sampling from some DS nine, a few episodes that I've caught just kind of you know, essential watches for Voyager. But my god, if Robert Riccardo has been this goes the doctor throughout Voyager, I can't use. Yeah, David, what'd you think? So? I mean, I mean, Scott pretty much everything I needed to say, because I mean, this episode was extremely powerful. My thing is this episode literally makes the last episode irrelevant.

4:50 You literally can skip over last week's episode and not miss anything because the doctor's personal log gives you everything you need the very beginning of this episode of what's happening and the fact that the crew is dealing with all that PTSD And you know, Wayne, we kind of talked about these yesterday when we were hanging out. Star Trek does a phenomenal job with episodes about PTSD. We actually done a recent episode on Deep Space nine that we talked about where you know, they showed that and we're you know, getting through seeing people dealing with that, and here's just another episode of Star Trek dealing with the same thing with just a younger crew having to deal with it for the first time, you know. I mean, clearly there's a lot more of this's coming in the future for them, unfortunately, but the fact that you know, this is the first time they've actually seen something like this and dealt with something like this is very emotional.

5:39 But I did not see the Voyager stuff coming at all. Like that was kind of hit. And then when you know, Sam reached out to ask the doctor to hold her hand and he refused. I mean, I got angry. I'm like, what the hell is your problem? Doctor? Really? I mean I was pissed off at him when that happened. I mean, tears that's coming down her cheeks and like she really needed him and he flat. Out refused her. But then when Nadla approached him and then he explained himself, and I didn't I completely forgot about the Wager episode until he started going in that and they gave you a little bit of that tidbit of the the you know the scenes from that episode. I'm like, oh man, then that really hit home at that point.

6:19 And then the. Most incredible thing they did in this episode was when the Cadets were playing out our town and the montage was going back and forth between them to the doctor raising Sam. Right, those scenes, that was just. Phenomenal, Like it took the episode over the top when it did that, Like Scott, I'm gonna make I'm with you. I mean, I had, I had tears. I I was so emotional by the time this episode was done. I'm like, Okay, you just completely rebounded from that last episode. Now I can put that other episode completely out of my mind because this one was phenomenon. It's a it's a meta it's a very meta masterclass in theatrical drama, Like you don't expect for them to kind of layer in the theatrical narrative storytelling that you see on the stage play out more and more as the episode goes on. That was a stroke of brilliance that I didn't even know was happening to me until I was three quarters of the way.

7:22 I'm an India, right, it was always hidden. And then go on exactly exactly. Now. What I think is interesting is and a question that keeps coming back to me, what I does it help to have the space between the Miyazaki disaster and this episode of one episode? Good question, right. Not necessarily the episode we got last episode, which does help to dig into one or two of the characters a little bit more, but it the one advantage I can see is that this seems to have so much more emotional heft because we the viewers spend more time away from it to help get that, at least for Tarima's story arc, if nothing else, to know how long she has been through and kind of feel that passage of time.

8:15 Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up too, because I was thinking that exact same thing. You know, if we would have had what was come Let's Away and then this episode, I think that would have been really, really emotionally heavy. We needed that that episode in between. It too bad it was that episode. I mean, it's a pity that could come up something else, but I mean there did need to be a space between these two episodes. I'm glad we were on the same mine because I was thinking the same thing. See, I disagree with you guys, on this really a Night of the Seven Kingdom had two episodes back to back that were emotionally heavy, and they were they were perfect. It was like a continuing story. So I feel like if they had done the same thing here, it would have just been the continuing story of it, and I think it would have hit just as hard as it did now and you would be okay with it.

8:59 I feel the last best to Steel. Garbage, I agree we should never have had that. You know, I'm not trying to save it, Dave, don't go, I. Know, I know, but no, I think this should have been the next episode after the azaki. I really do, because you are emotionally cut off at the end of that episode as an audience, and you want to know exactly how your audience is feeling without that fluff that you get in another one hour episode that you have to wait for the following episode to get that. So I feel like, no, they should have done that immediately so we could have got the exact same thing. Those characters got some kind of damn relief from what was happening, So yeah, I disagree with you, guys.

9:39 Okay, Well, speaking of relief and a little bit of joy, even though it's wrapped around tragedy. Is seeing Tilly. Again, Oh yeah. She was one of my favorite parts of Discovery from the jump, and I think to see a more mature, more seasoned Tilly come back to help provide therapy, to kind of hidden therapy to the entire Starfleet Academy crew while also being kind of a parallel to Sam. And like I was seeing a lot of parallels to how Tilly used to be or used to come across in Discovery.

10:22 I think she sees a lot of herself in Sam. Is that fair? Yeah? Yeah, I think so too, especially in their early years. Again, there were so many good scenes in this episode, but you bring up a good point about Tilly. That scene where her and Tarama are. Like kind of going at it, like she's refusing to go on with this because she realized that what Tilly is doing and Killy's. Just not back and off. I mean, she actually comes up towards her and starts getting almost face to face with her in that conversation. And I just thought that was an incredible scene, And with what you said, it shows you the maturity that Tilly has gotten over the years, because she wasn't like that in Discovery for a while, you know, we got we got to see her grow with Discovery, but in this thene Man, Yeah, she a mature individual who really stands her a ground and understands where she's at in life and what she's trying to do to help these cadets.

11:16 Very theatrically too right. It takes a very measured, like one step at a time kind of approach to something we've been talking about. I don't know how many times of the Ship's councilor having one of the most daunting duties in these series, but you know how many times has Miles O'Brien probably been like, all right, go ahead and buy yourself about because I've got a lot of sessions coming up. To dig into this much depth to kind of dedicate to something like this. I think it's a it's a brave direction for them to go in, and I'm glad they're doing it. I yeah, I mean, we've had we've had some phenomenal episodes this season and and one miss. But my opinion of this is that this is probably the strongest episode to date so far, and we still got two more, So you know, I'm gonna hold that. I'm not gonna quite say it is, but you know, this is this is the episode I was expecting to get after Come Let's Away. I mean, we had that little gap, I kind of you know, the little breather. I know, we disagree with that, but this is what I was expecting.

12:15 But because I wanted an episode that was that was full of character and emotional growth for for the cadets. But this is a sweet plus because it's full of of that growth for the doctor and that's the character that we're most familiar with. I'm really surprised at that. You know, just there's a lot of stand up performances in this, both Carrie's Brooks and Mary Wiseman. But I want to give a personal round of applause to Robert Paccardo for this. You know, we we got to meet him, David, and you got to meet him last year one of the conventions, and I really hope that we do again because I would love to tell him how much I loved his performance this season for them matter, any of the cats, really that this just is an absolute incredible episode.

12:59 I loved every minute. Was glued to the screen. And it went so fast. I mean, you know, once it started going on, you realize what was happening, and then as it just got it got, you know, bigger and bigger and bigger, and you just got more emotionally pulled into this episode. And then when everything was happening, by the time you get into I mean, you just felt drained. You really did. And it's surprising because this is actually one of the longest episodes so far this season. But I didn't feel like that. No, not at all. No. And I love the touch of all the same stuff. When they're on the plant, the black. And white and the creatures with the blue, I thought that was beautifully done. Yeah, and the little petals that are falling, the pink petals, Yeah, yep.

13:40 I was blown away by Robert Priccardo's dramatic range. And I will just again, I have not seen all the Voyager. Most of Voyager, I always think of him as having great comedic timing. I always think of him being a great actor when the scenes called for it. But when we first meet Sam and the doctor encounter Sam, it's a little bit more comedic fair. It's almost kind of like annoyance, like Okay, that's great, you're new. Go away. The way that they were able to pull through and kind of hide his the pain behind that until now, and what he was able to bring out in those performances was heart wrenching, gut wrenching, just absolutely powerful, and I've never seen that in a Robert Pricardo performance. I'm sure they're there. I'm not saying he's incapable, but I was pleasantly amazed by the way he did.

14:48 Yeah, and it's a shock that you know they brought up the events. It's an episode, like I said, it was during the third season, so that has been like a nineteen ninety seven lot that long ago, but it's one of those. So it was a phenomenally good episode, very heart wrenching and emotional, but then it was never brought up again in his character, so you completely forgot about it. I'm I got to give a lot of kudos to the to the writers for the research that they'd done, for for finding that episode and bringing that back, because it's one of his best performances of Voyager now that I look about it, look back at it, So I, like I said, I completely forgot about that episode and what happened to it. I never realized that it had affected him. His character that strongly.

15:37 Yeah. I love his personal log at the beginning when he says how many dons have I seen alone? And his his one line with time is their beef it bites us differently, that's I think our man that hits the deep. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean for such a young series, this is a very mature episode. Yes, it is for season one, damn it. And you and the undercurrent of growth too, like we literally see Sam getting raised from birth along with the doctor. A great direction going with this. And I'm curious about this whole thing about her having the two memories and and how that will work with her.

16:19 I mean, you know, she she apparently is aware that you know, her life before being grown up with the doctor. I'm just I'm just curious on how they're going to to bring this out, how they're going to develop this further in this season and next season. I do I do want to call out the composer again because, holy crap, I tell you this, he is nailing the score. A week after week. This one was gorgeous. I mean it just it just stood out and just flowed with what was going on beautifully. I know when they're towards the end I mean, there's so many different pieces throughout this episode that was beautiful, but the one that just was like, wow, man, that's so good was when everyone was excited to see Sam come back and all of her friends are there and they're meeting her, and the scrge of welled right there.

17:05 I'm like, damn, man, he knocked it out of the. Park right there, he did, he did. I hope they bring a soundtrack of this out you too. All right, let's take a quick break and then we'll be back to talk a little bit more about this great episode. We're back and we are talking about Starfleet Academy episode eight. So now that we've given our opinions of the episode, let's take a look at the characters themselves. Which character you think shines the most this week? Scott the doctor, I think so, yeah, I don't know. Otherwise, no, I'll say there are plenty of stand up performances, but his his takes the cake. It was very hard not to also noticed how much him being called the doctor was hitting my ear as a doctor who fan.

17:57 Yeah this know I have that problem too, is he though? Yeah? But yeah. Robert Priccardo deserves standing ovation for this one, hands down. You know, for me, it is the Doctor, don't me wrong. But I wanted to cop out a little bit when I first was thinking about this question, because I was like, you know what, everyone had a phenomenal. Character in this episode. All of them did. They really did. Everybody shined. But when I really dove down and really thought. About the episode in detail, I was like, it has to be Rapper Paccardo. It has to be the doctor. Because just the scene of him explaining why he could he stood his distance from Sam, how heartbreaking, how heart wrenching that was, which just just won me over right there.

18:43 I mean, watching the pain in his eyes as he explains his reasons, you know, followed by the relief in quiet joy when he finally embraces that role, pushed this performance completely over the top for him, and I had to give it to him. And you know, no followed anybody else because they all did great. But I'm telling you, man, the Doctor. I mean, we've said a lot about his performance, tires, I really can't add it much more. To it, but without question, man with him. Yeah, I mean, you're you're right. There are a lot of these characters shine this episode, but I got to choose the Doctor too. I mean for the same reasons. You know, as I said before, he's the character that we're most familiar with. You know, we since spent seven years watching him grow from just being an emergency medical hologram that could be turned on and off and to become a valuable member and of the Voyager team with thoughts and emotions and dreams. And then we saw him grow even more on that season of Struturk Prodigy that he was on. And I want to state that if you guys haven't seen that, or anybody out there has watched it, please watch it. It's fantastic.

19:49 You know. I hope we get to do a review of that series here on a phase of such a stunt soon. But this episode right here, this is a whole nother level. They taken the doctor, you know, showing his tragedy, emotional pain, the man that's had to live over eight hundred years, so watch everyone that he cared for die around him. You know, he's got he's got a whole new purpose now. It's one I can't wait to see how they're going to take it, where they're going to explore with it. It was actually a genius that they brought him into this show. It really is because not only are you able to develop his character more after all those eight hundred years and be there for these cadets to help them through, but can it gives us as Trekki's and people who love Star Trek a connection to this series. You know, a more and more emotional because of him, especially if you watch Voyager and you know a lot about the doctor and Rupert Priccardo, so you know. So I understand why they did and I think it's genius that they did it, and the fact that we're getting this kind of episode.

20:49 Early in the series really was needed in my opinion. After seeing this episode. Yeah, I agree. All right, if you had any choice to be any character that appeared in the episode, which one would it be? And why David you start this time? So I'm actually gonna go with Tilly on this one because she gets to teach something she truly loves while also watching her students struggle through it at first. What makes it rewarding is seeing her realize that her teaching is actually reaching them. I mean, how many teachers probably don't get to see something like that as they're teaching somebody to get to see that real that happening of people watching them change, watching them grow.

21:32 You know a lot of teachers don't get to see that. And then when her and je Reno were, you know, watching what was happening as they were actually you know, realizing they were making the breakthrough, Just how what a relief that is for Tilly all the things that she has been through over the years on Discovery and getting to witness something like this just had to be something pure joy, is what it was, because any teacher would have pure joy in that moment. Yeah, Scott, Yeah, I totally agree. I'll just say what Dave said. I mean, I love the use of the word joy there because when she first comes in, you get that signature Tilly spunk. Is that the right kind of word enthusiasm? Right?

22:18 Yeah? That that gels completely with Sam and she's like you right there, you're my favorite. Those kind of moments were amazing, knowing what she's about to kind of unlock in them, knowing that she's about to kind of let them know what theater can do for people, which is quite a bit in a lot of different ways. But then what you were just saying made me think about that moment where Tilly walks up to Tarima at the end, and it feels like that kind of moment where a teacher is talking to a student about like we're cool, right, like you put we put each other through some things to learn some things. I think we understand where each other is going. And then walking away not with like some kind of embrace, not with some kind of hug or anything else like that. But there's that moment that Mary Wiseman expertly does here where you can see that look on her face, like I can see the fuse that.

23:16 I just lit. Yeah, and I know that there's going to be more growth and more epiphany and more that comes out of this experience, But I can't predict which way that's going to go. All I know is that this helped do something and to help them get that kind of therapeutic breakthrough in just recognizing the usefulness of therapy has got to be so rewarding for Tilly, and I love the growth that she's had as a character as an actress. Yeah, so it would be Tilly for sure. Wayne. What about you? Well, I agree with both of you who but I actually chose Nala keptain hockey, because she really doesn't have much to do in this episode. She's just basically a character in the background, standing there watching the events unfold.

24:10 But because of that, she's she's and and they like they She's like the stagehand in that play that you know, our Town. She's quietly pushing, manipulating the events in the right direction. You know, we we saw the consequences from that episode that come Let's Away, but now we're seeing the good and the positive influence that she's making with these students. You know. I I love I just loved her part in there. She's watching all this unfold, watching all this this great stuff happening to these students that she's in charge of, and that that final scene with her was just brilliant. I think her those final words and she says what a shame it would be not to live every moment I And then that final shot in that spotlight, I love that. I love every minute of that.

24:58 Yeah, although probably need therapy of her own after this, well, I think the parenting threads that are going through this. She's the perfect companion to the doctor and Sam because she has to be as the camp you know, the person that's going to reach out to the cask, but also to help through that moment that I don't think she was even expecting, but as a as a parent, made total sense for her to be there. You know, I hope she gets her own moment for that. Yeah, And you to go back a little bit to the episode before we move on to the I know Wayne's favorite part. The toothbrush. You know, it's something something that's so funny that you know they happened earlier in the episode, but then had so much meaning to it when Genesis finds it that Sam had left it there for her to find, and her saying that, you know, she gives a toothbrush to say I love you that. I mean, where would you hear that at honestly, and it would have that kind of meaning, right, And it's just it's that's just another simple line that seems so awkward but yet hits so damn deep in this episode because I mean, we didn't know if Sam was going to live, because you know, what happened to Bobby, I mean it could have happened to Sam. We don't know, we didn't know where they were gonna go with this, because I mean, not everybody's safe anymore sometimes in these episodes, you know.

26:21 That's a That's a good point, because honestly, halfway through there, I really thought they were telling that character all id and I was going to be very very mad if they did. Yeah, I mean they linked to the whole thing that determinate and they did it, and I'm like, are we really losing this character? Holy crap? I know, I was afraid. She's turned out to be one of my favorite characters, and I'm like, please don't do that. I think that's how I became most emotionally involved in this episode, why I was glued to the screen. Yeah, it maybe angry at commercials, like those commercials are like, you better not, I don't care what you're trying to sell. Back'd you do it. All? Right? That? David said this is my favorite part picking out them easter eggs from the episode, looking really deep and getting into it. Seem as you can find any This episode didn't have very many be honestly, not very many that I saw, but there were a few points that I wanted to bring out. But did you guys find any?

27:18 Maybe you saw some I didn't. All I had was the voyager connection. But we already talked about that. That's all I had. Yeah, I have nothing except for the fact that what Dave mentioned about the toothbrush makes me think of Little Mermaid. Well that's right about the Yeah, well, yeah, you're right, You're right, David. I mean, this is a sequel. As I mentioned before, if they start to her Voyder episode Real Life, go watch it. But there was one other mention that he brings. He says that he spent a lifetime on the planet Gutana, which was a planet where time moves at a much faster rate than the rest of the universe, just like it was when he was spending time and Sam was growing up. This then can be seen in the Star Trek Voyager episode Blink of an Eye. However, I think I think the doctor's exaggerating a bit here because he only really spent three years on that planet, which at that time, let's say that would have been about eighteen minutes of Voyager's time. But one thing is, this is the first time we actually hear the name of that planet. It was never mentioned in the Voyager. This is the first time we learn of it. And then the only other easter egg I found was when Tilly first appears in the episode. Composer Jeff Russo snug a little bit of the Star Trek Discovery theme as she walked in, and that is it.

28:35 I mean, really, this was a very well I mean, they didn't spend much time at Starfleet Academy. They you know, spent a lot of time on that other well. I can't think of the name of Sam's planet, but that's it, thank you, thank you very much. But so you know, that's a new planet, so I guess there wouldn't be too many callbacks to spoilers for that. The planet that looked like a Dungeons and Dragons raw dice. I thought that too, that's what it looks like. All right, Well, it's obviously we all three of us liked this episode. Is there anything else you guys would like to add about this? The only correction is I loved this episode. Yeah, yeah, that correct.

29:18 I do have a question though, related to Sam and kind of the nature of her kind of being, and I'll be interested to see how this plays out. But when she's growing, like when she's first kind of in the doctor's hands, that she's kind of starting to grow up. He holds her almost like a seedling, which felt like it was kind of a callback to the intro and whatnot. Do we think that is a physical part of Sam that's always there, That's that's what it is, potonic body, Yes. That's what it is. And I'm glad you brought that up because I didn't clearly this is an easter because it's not really. But that looks identical exactly the same as the little thing that is inside of Rimor on rede Wars. It really does. It's a little like, I don't know what you call four sighted like triangle thinging that it spins around and creates the hologram. I don't know if they did it on purpose, art was just pure coincidence. But the first thing I thought of when I saw all that that's a good point.

30:26 I think it's kind of interesting, like in the Spider Man books more recently, they got into Sandman having like a goud particle, like there's one grain of salm that contains like if that goes away, then Sandman's done. I feel like it makes Sam as a as a character more tactile, and we have a little bit more kind of feeling of danger for her, like she can't just phase like vision and not get hurt. Well, yeah, and that brings up another point that I don't know if I mentioned on the other episodes, but I know I talked to mention it to you, David or so is the doctor you know on Voyager in over for him to walk around and step out aside of the holiday, he had to have his Hollo emitter, his mobile Hollo emitter, but we don't see him having that anymore. So I'm wondering if he has some sort of technology similar to that we don't know or you know, what's going on. Are they're hollow emitters now in every room or what's what's going on there? Which I hope they kind of explain that just as even just if it's just like a passing mention or something, right, I'm curious about that.

31:28 Yeah, I mean too, That's a good bring up because it's it's hopefully they will explain it both th yep. Cool And that's it for this week's episode of Phasers sets to Stunts to look at the new series, Star Trek Starfleet Academy. We'd like to open a channel to our listeners and hear just what you thought about the most recent episode and the season in general who knows you might even be mentioned on a future show. Of course, you can email us at a film by Podcast gmail dot com, find us online at a film by podcast dot com, follow us on Facebook, inst and Twitter, and if you're looking for a more exclusive content or swag, you can join a Patreon find out what a gyms are hidden within, and in case you didn't know, a film by and a phaser set to stun or now on YouTube. You can find many of our episodes, both old and new, on the channel at a film by Podcast. Also, go to our website at a film by podcast dot com and click on the articles tab at the top of the page and find our phaser set to Stun.

32:24 Book reviews, where I'm going through each Star Trek novel old and new and telling you which ones to pick up and which ones you should beam out into space. We have a new one being released soon which you're reviewing the classic Star Trek novels Blackfire and you heard a song, so please check them out. Thank you David and Scott for joining me and our listeners for another fascinating discussion. Absolutely blast is always Thank you. I can't wait till the next one. Three hundredth night looks like everybody Jonathan Frakes and don't look any further. I'm just don't look any further because I don't want to spoil it. I'm not why you know something about it. All I got is the very vague Paramount blurb on it.

33:08 I just after seeing this episode, I want to be surprised. Okay, me too. Yeah, then I will skip that little bit. If you guys want to find out what it is, just call on the internet and look go to Paramount Plus or the website. You'll find that out, but very curious as to what it could mean for our new characters. But as always, we look forward to returning to the thirty second century and the classrooms of Starfleet Academy, and you'll find us here each week reviewing every new episode as they premiere. So until then, we're worping on out of here. Just here, buddy. Thanks