Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

The Disney Plus shows for Star Wars have been up and down in their quality, but a couple creators to the Saga, Jon Watts and Christopher Ford bring fans something new in the latest show on the streaming platform. 

In this crossover episode of The 602 Club with Aggressive Negotiations hosts Matthew Rushing and John Mills talk about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. We discuss first impressions, the point of the story, the kids, the main villain, new mysteries, helicopter parenting, pirate’s life, production value, the music and our ratings. 

Chapters
First Impressions (00:02:25)
The Point of the Story (00:14:18)
The Kids (00:17:43)
The Main Villain (00:28:49)
New Mysteries (00:37:01)
Helicopter Parenting (00:46:00)
Pirate’s Life (00:50:56)
Production Value (00:55:23)
The Music (01:02:55)
Ratings (01:04:56)

Hosts
Matthew Rushing
John Mills

Production
Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) 

Social
Twitter: @The602Club
Instagram: @the602clubtfm

“Dramatis Personae” 30th-anniversary reflections

A Klingon survey ship returning from the Gamma Quadrant brings back something unexpected: drama! A telepathic virus has infected the crew and led them to revolt. How do we know? One of the Klingons was a prolific vlogger. When the virus is set loose on the station, the events that did in an alien civilization and a Klingon ship start to play out once again. It’s mutiny on Deep Space 9! Alien forces pit Kira against Sisko in a deadly power struggle! Can Odo prevent it from becoming an all-out war?

In this episode of The Orb, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 30th-anniversary retrospective that will take you through all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one episode at a time. In this installment, we discuss “The Forsaken” and how the writers put a distinctly DS9 twist on a TNG premise to deliver masterful character development.

Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
This Has All Happened Before … (00:03:54)
Too Soon? (00:10:11)
Sisko As Rudolph II (00:16:50)
You've Changed! (00:19:26)
Distinctly DS9? (00:26:41)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:32:04)
Closing (00:37:04)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production
C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)

In this episode of Warp Five, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 20th-anniversary retrospective that takes you through all of Star Trek: Enterprise, one episode at a time. In this installment, we warp into Season 3 with “The Xindi” as we discuss how the series takes a dark turn with a new mission, sexy character tension, and an upbeat retooling of everyone's favorite theme song.

Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
The Xindi Concept (00:02:10)
Faith of the Upbeat Heart (00:10:28)
A Dark Turn (00:16:26)
Making the Case for MACO (00:26:17)
Malcolm and the Major (00:30:01)
Sexy Time with Trip and T’Pol (00:34:43)
Visual Effects (00:40:22)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:43:54)
Closing (00:45:53)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production
C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)

“The Forsaken” 30th-anniversary reflections

When the ambassadors of arrogance visit the station for a fact-finding mission, the crew’s hospitality is put to the test. But no one faces a bigger challenge than Odo, who finds himself being pursued by Lwaxana Troi. The situation becomes more uncomfortable when data downloaded from an unknown probe infects the station’s systems and triggers a series of failures, leaving Odo and Lwaxana trapped together in a turbolift. Forced to open up to one another, both reveal truths about themselves that they keep hidden from others.

In this episode of The Orb, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 30th-anniversary retrospective that will take you through all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one episode at a time. In this installment, we discuss “The Forsaken” and how the writers put a distinctly DS9 twist on a TNG premise to deliver masterful character development.

Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
Miles O'Brien's Bad Romance (00:05:29)
Becoming a Better Bashir (00:11:28)
Uncovering the Real Lwaxana (00:18:46)
Odo Lets His Guard Down (00:26:27)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:30:54)
Closing (00:35:39)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production
C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)

The Pandora Principle. 
  
Star Trek books are some of the longest running tie-in fiction series out there which means that you never know when an entry will be a diamond in the rough or just rough.

In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about the TOS novel, The Pandora Principle. We discuss, development hell, get him out of the way, the first chapter, Saavik, a positive or negative, mystery boxes, what?, disjointed, our ratings and final thoughts. 

In the news we look at the upcoming new releases for books as well as review some comics with Star Trek issues 19-24 and Defiant issues 12-16.
 
News
New Books Coming (00:03:21)
Star Trek 19-24 (00:11:30)
Star Trek Defiant 12-16 (00:17:21)                 

Feature: The Pandora Principle  
Development Hell (00:27:28)
Get Him Out of the Way (00:32:30)
The First Chapter (00:37:08)
Saavik (00:39:12)
A Positive or Negative (00:44:05)
Mystery Boxes (00:50:11)
Wait, What? (00:52:41)
Disjointed (00:55:49)
Ratings (01:00:26)
Final Thoughts (01:02:18)        

Hosts
Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Production
Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

It has been over twenty-three years since the release of Peter Jackson’s first entry in the Lord of the Rings series, The Fellowship of the Ring and his production company is finding new ways to bring stories to life from Tolkien’s works. 

In this episode of The 602 Club hosts Matthew Rushing and Christy Morris talk about The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. We discuss recent Rings, coming into this movie, favorite Middle Earth groups, an animated movie, a familiar voice, an unnamed daughter, the voice cast, themes, the connections, the music and our ratings. 

Chapters
Recent Rings (00:02:34)
Coming Into the Movie (00:06:08)
Favorite Middle Earth Groups (00:10:38)
An Animated Movie (00:12:58)
An Unnamed Daughter (00:23:05)
The Voice Cast (00:32:24)
Revenge, Power and Pride (00:36:42)
The Connections (00:43:14)
The Music (00:44:34)
Ratings (00:47:28)

Host
Matthew Rushing

Co-Host
Christy Morris 

Production
Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) 

Social
Twitter: @The602Club
Instagram: @the602clubtfm

The Penguin.

When Matt Reeves brought his interpretation of Batman to the screen in 2022 one of the things that had people talking after they saw it was the performance by Colin Farrell as Penguin.

In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing welcomes John Mills to talk about the HBO show, The Penguin. We discuss coming into the show, the title character, a universe of one’s own making, creating a franchise property, no Batman, Victor, Sophia, Maroni, adding to a franchise and our ratings. 

Chapters
Coming Into the Show (00:02:38)
The Title Character (00:07:20)
A Universe of One’s Own Making (00:13:39)
Creating a Franchise Property (00:17:00)
No Batman (00:23:43)
Victor (00:30:14)
Sophia (00:39:22)
The Maroni Family (00:49:08)
Adding to a Franchise (00:54:26)
Ratings (00:57:15)

Host
Matthew Rushing

Guest
John Mills 

Production
Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) 

Social
Twitter: @The602Club
Instagram: @the602clubtfm

Una McCormack: Asylum. 
  
One of the joys of tie-in fiction is the way that it can delve into the backgrounds of characters to make the viewing experience feel richer because the fan has a greater understanding of what motivates the characters. 

In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Jonathan Koan and Casey Pettitt are proud to welcome author Una McCormack to talk about her Strange New Worlds novel, Asylum. We discuss starting the book, timelines, the Academy storyline, lectures, and interesting friendship, the mystery, themes, writing the SNW crew, references, using talents, heartbreak, a fun note, where to find Una and our final thoughts.                

Feature: Una McCormack
Starting the Book (00:03:50)
Timeframes (00:06:24)
The Academy Storyline (00:09:49)
Lectures (00:13:05)
An Interesting Friendship (00:16:09)
The Mystery (00:18:02)
Themes and Questions (00:22:42)
Writing the SNW Crew (00:27:12)
References (00:29:19)
Using Talents (00:34:41)
A Fun Note (00:44:56)
Where to Find Una and What is Coming (00:48:23)
Final Thoughts (00:50:30)      

Hosts
Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Guest 
Una McCormack

Production
Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

There are a lot of things that have to come together to make a movie work and it is not always all the same ingredients, but you can bet that if you have the right director, script and cast, the likely-hood that the movie is going to work is pretty significant. 

In this episode of The 602 Club hosts Matthew Rushing and Christy Morris talk about Mr. & Mrs. Smith. We discuss finding the movie, casting questions, why they work, a marriage story, therapy, the action, the tone and our ratings. 

Chapters
Finding This Movie (00:02:49)
Casting Question (00:04:21)
A Marriage Story (00:17:14)
Therapy (00:23:29)
The Action (00:29:59)
The Tone (00:34:30)
Ratings (00:38:52)

Host
Matthew Rushing

Co-Host
Christy Morris 

Production
Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) 

Social
Twitter: @The602Club
Instagram: @the602clubtfm

“The Expanse” 20th-anniversary reflections

An attack on Earth by an unknown species forces Starfleet to call the NX-01 back and presents the crew with a new mystery, one filled with danger greater than anything humanity has faced. Tipped off by Future Guy that a species called the Xindi are behind the attack, Archer has to convince Admiral Forrest to let him go find these unknown bad guys. Meanwhile, Trip faces the loss of his sister, killed in the attack, and T’Pol finds herself once again caught between two worlds. And if that wasn’t enough, Duras and the Klingons are at it again.

In this episode of Warp Five, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 20th-anniversary retrospective that takes you through all of Star Trek: Enterprise, one episode at a time. In this installment, we close out Season 2 with “The Expanse” as we discuss how the story sets the show on a new course.

Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
Clearing the Deck (00:01:41)
T'Pol's Arc (00:10:03)
Ripped from the Headlines? (00:17:32)
Injecting the Unknown into Star Trek History (00:25:55)
Trip's Loss (00:32:25)
Cut Scenes (00:35:49)  
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:44:11)
Closing (00:46:55)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production
C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)

The Nanotech War. 
  
Star Trek Voyager is a polarizing series to say the least and yet in the realm of literature, it has made for some of the best stories in Treklit.

In this episode of Literary Treks hosts Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan talk about The Nanotech War. We discuss the book not being numbered, first impression, first contact, B’Elanna and Seven’s arcs, putting everything back in the box, wrapping up with our ratings and final thoughts.

In the news we return to the comics and discuss the Sons of Star Trek series, the Star Trek 2024 Annual as well as the Star Trek Celebrations one shot.
 
News
Sons of Star Trek (00:04:21)
Star Trek 2024 Annual (00:11:53)
Star Trek Celebrations (00:16:03)                

Feature: The Nanotech War    
No Number (00:20:26)
First Impressions (00:21:54)
First Contact (00:27:30)
B’Elanna’s Arc (00:34:47)
7 of 9 (00:41:27)
Put Everything Back in the  Box (00:48:48)
Ratings (00:51:32)
Final Thoughts (00:56:21)      

Hosts
Casey Pettitt and Jonathan Koan 

Production
Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)