Star Trek In Significantly Fewer Seasons, 15: Augments

It's hard to believe that we're almost caught up with the current seasons of Star Trek franchise shows, but we are. There are, at the time of this posting, 850 hours of Star Trek programming. Obviously, we haven't watched all of it. But all of it worth watching? We're getting there.

In this season we get a very abbrevriated mirrorverse timeline for Picard. Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks battle to be The Most Fun Star Trek Series, even crossing over with one another. There's a ton of Voyager lore in Lower Decks and Prodigy this season, so we'll even revisit them. 

1. The Trial Never Ends
(Picard, Q, 7of9, Guinan, Rios, Raffi, Jurati, Elnor, Dahj)

It's a shock to see a Q episode without the letter Q in the title but here we are. This episode sets up an entire season long Mirrorverse adventure. It's ... So Boring. We'll be skipping most of it. But the setup was mostly fun, which is what we get here.


2. The Broken Circle
(Spock, Uhura, Chapel, M'Benga, Pelia, La'an, Ortegas, Pike, 1, April, Jay)

It's been a while since we checked in with the crew of the USS EverythingsGreat Partytime, but let's see what they've been up to. Oh no! #1 has been arrested for being an Augment within Starfleet. While Pike leaves the ship to help her out, Spock STEALS THE ENTERPRISE, along with the rest of the crew, to answer a distress call from La'an that insinuates the possible beginning of a Klingon uprising against Starfleet. Also, there's a new engineer played by Carol Kane, and she is a delight.


3. The Slingshot Effect
(Picard, 7of9, Rios, Raffi, Jurati, Borg Queen, Elnor, Q)

The old Slingshot maneuver comes through in the clutch again. As Picard's crew finds themselves in an alternate timeline, they must assemble and go into the past to fix something that Q did to mess up history. The kicker? In this world, they're all fascists and are about to exterminate the being most likely to help them reach the past: The Borg!


4. Crossroads/Masquerade 
(Dal, Janeway, Gwyn, Rok, Zero, Pog. Okana, Murf)

The crew of the Protostar realizes the only safew way to engage Starfleet is to abandon the ship for a bit. This does NOT go well, especially when Actual Janeway figures out where they are. Then we find out more about what Dal is before The Romulans show up to try and ruin everything. Stupid Romulans.


5. Ad Astra per Aspera 
(Pike, 1, Batel, Spock, Chapel, Ortegas, M'Benga, LA'an, Uhura, April)

Easily my favorite legal episode in the entire franchise. This is a whole episode about Civil Rights centered around The Augments. It's the best example in decades of what I've always imagined Rodenberry's intention was for the Star Trek franchise.


6.  Preludes/Mindwalk
(Dal, Janeway, Gwyn, Diviner, Vindicator, Rok, Zero, Pog. Murf)

We begin with the origin stories for The Protostar Crew unfolding as The Vindicator helps the amnesiac Diviner try and remember his past. Then we get a classic bodyswap as Dal and Actual Janeway switch places. 


7. Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow
(La'an, Kirk, Pelia, Spock, Uhura, M'Benga, Ortegas, 1, Khan, Jay) 

When La'an is recruited to save the timeline from The Eugenic Wars, she ends up traveling meeting Kirk on her quest to kill her ancestory KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN.


8. You Can't Have Your Mirror Glazed Cake And Eat It Too
(Picard, Soong, Dahj, Guinan, Q, 7of9, Raffi, Rios, Jurati, Elnor)

While we're investigating alternate timelines where a Soong messes everything else, let's check in with Picard in the 21st century as he and his crew have to figure out a way to repair their ship, fix the timeline, and get back to their reality. Unfortunately, a crew member merges with the Borg Queen and aligns with both Q and Soong to make everything extra extra difficult.


9. Inheritance
(Data, Picard, Riker, Worf, Laforge, Troi, Crusher)

So much of the Soong dynasty is about daddy issues, but sometimes they have mommy issues, too. Data ends up in that cursed Rigel system to learn more about his past from someone a bit more trustworthy than Lore or his creator. He hopes.


10. Among The Lotus Eaters
(Pike, La'an, M'Benga. Ortegas, Spok, Uhura, Chapel, Batel, 1, Jay)

Has anything good ever happened in the Rigel system? Oxes, terrible video games, doomsday devices, Riker in a bathrobe chasing prostitutes. Oh, and, of course, the whole Pike being captured and tormented and ending up paralyzed waaay back in TOS. Well, this time he's trapped again, and he and the crew on the ground lose their memory making it difficult for them to escape. Which seems fine as the crew back at the ship have also forgotten who they are and how to do their jobs so how can they possibly rescue the ground crew?
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11. The Europa Prophecy
(Picard, 7of9, Raffi, Soong, Borg Queen/Jurati, Rios, Q, Guinan, Dahj, Elnor, Wesley)

Our Picard-era time travel journey comes to a close as dying Q, evil Soong, and conflicted Borg Queen's plans all either ravel or unravel (same thing) to place everyone back on the timeline where they belong. Well...not everyone.

12. Those Old Scientists
(Boimler, Pike, 1, Spock, Mariner, Uhura, Chapel, La'an, Tendi, Rutherford, M'Benga, Ransom, Pelia)

It's our first ever live-action/animated crossover as the crew of the Cerritos checks on a portal which results in them ending up on Pike's Enterprise!


13. Learning Curve
(Janeway, Tuvok, Torres, Chakotay, Neelix, Doctor, Kes, Paris, Kim)

One of the rare Voyager episodes that spent time dealing with the differences between Starfleet and The Maquis, this episode becomes very relevant to the next Lower Decks episode. Not as relevant as "Tuvix" but we did see that already in this chronology.


14. Twovix/I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee
(Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, Rom, Leeta, Shaxs, T'ana, Billups, Kayshon) 

It's Voyager-mania! Boimler and the crew of the Cerritos end up on a mission to help move important artifacts from Voyager to a museum dedicated to the ship. Unfortunately, the same brouhaha that caused the original Tuvix problem gets involved and we end up with a whole Cerritos worth of  jumbled crew members. Then a visit to a space menagerie (which never go well for Starfleet), the crew is stalked by Star Trek's version of Nibbler from Futurama.


15. Faces
(Torres, Janeway, Chakotay, Doctor, Tuvok, Neelix, Paris, Chakotay, Kes, Kim)

Keeping on keeping on with the Voyager energy, we revisit the series to explore Torres's Klingon side as she explores how it balances her humanity.


16. Under The Cloak Of War
(M'Benga, Pike, Spock, Ortegas, 1, La'an, Uhura, Chapel)

On Pike's Enterprise, a Klingon war criminal/hero presents a very dire conundrum to the crew.


17. Supernova
(Dal, Rokh, Janeway, Zero, Gwyn, Pog, Noum, Diviner, Murf, Drednok, Chakotay)

It's the final (so far) episode of Prodigy as the crew of the Protostar and Starfleet unite to protect Gwyn's homeland, and then they must decide whether to enter a time portal in order to save Chakotay and the original Protostar crew.


18. Subspace Rhapsody
(1, Uhura, Pike, Kirk, Ortegas, Spock, La'an, Kirk, M'Benga, Chapel, Pelia, Batel, Sam Kirk)

Because no one demanded it! The musical episode of Star Trek Strange New Worlds. It ain't "Once More With Feeling!" but it is fun.


19. Empathalogical Fallacies/Parth Ferengi's Heart Place
(Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, Shaxs, T'ana, Billups, Kayshon

Betezoids & Ferengi? Clearly we've moved back a little from Voyager to TNG/DS9 times with a story about controlling emotions and a story that bring Rom & Leeta back to our screens!


20. Hegemony
(Pike, Spock, Chapel, Uhura, La'an, Ortegas, M'Benga, Scott, Pelia, Batel, April, Sam Kirk)

OH NO!!! The Gorn are back and that means death, destruction, and dissolution for the crew of Pike's Enterprise. Also, we sort of end on a cliffhanger for the first time in a long while.

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