Saddle Up! A Star Trek Strange New Worlds Podcast

“Tomorrow’s Enterprise”
As the Enterprise studies a white hole, the theoretical counterpart of a black hole, Uhura begins hearing strange music. Soon, an energy pulse strikes the ship and Uhura hears Scotty screaming for help. But no one else hears his cries, and she is left bleeding. Once cleared by Doctor M’Benga, Uhura sets out to investigate what happened … and ends up contacting her future self. With one year to work with, the two Uhuras must collaborate through time to solve the mystery of the anomaly and help birth a space baby to save Scotty and restore the timeline.
In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing wrap up our look at Strange New Worlds Season 4 with the finale, “Tomorrow’s Enterprise.” We discuss Uhura’s journey, hopping timelines, visiting Kirk’s Enterprise, how the story could have served as a series finale, and more.

Chapters
Intro (0:00:00)
Temu Interstellar (00:03:18)
Uhura’s Journey (00:06:42)
Pike’s Influence (00:12:47)
A Show on Its Own Terms (00:17:00)
Timelines (00:19:54)
Natural Interactions (00:24:09)
Boyce Not So Noice (00:27:58)
Full On Animated Series! (00:30:40)
Space Baby! (00:39:41)
The TOS Feel (00:47:12)
Potential Series Finale? (00:49:30)
Looking Ahead to Season 5 (00:54:17)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (01:02:41)
Closing (01:09:49)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

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

“Once La’an a Time”
When the Enterprise comes across what appears to be a flat planet, it’s just the beginning of things that probably shouldn’t exist. The entity that swept away M’Benga’s daughter in Season 1 has apparently expanded on the original storybook for a sequel: The Elysian Kingdom II: Swords and Dragons. As the landing party becomes tangled in a fantasy web, La’an must fight herself and her inner demons—literally—to get two new companions aboard the Enterprise: Runa the dog and Jim the Kirk.
In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our look at Strange New Worlds Season 4 with “Once La’an a time.” We discuss the return to the Elysian Kingdom, resolving La’an’s inner conflict, narrative hijinks in Star Trek, and more.

Chapters
Intro (0:00:00)
The Elysian Kingdom, Part II (00:01:47)
The Most Clichéd Solution (00:09:04)
Griffin Confusion (00:16:33)
Jim’s Back Again! (00:19:29)
A Sword Fight Is All You Need (00:22:57)
Bye, Bye Pelia (00:28:00)
Narrative Hijinks (00:33:09)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:42:13)
Closing (00:49:09)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

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

“Orders of Magnitude”
The Enterprise crew are thrilled to meet a living legend, Admiral Simon Reeger, but excitement soon turns to tension when he commandeers the Enterprise for his own purposes. Stranding Pike, Una, Uhura, and A’Sha, who are on an away mission and out of communications range, Reeger sets off in pursuit of a ship that he claims is responsible for the deaths of five million. His XO for the mission is none other than James T. Kirk, who conveniently happens to be visiting the Enterprise once again. Ultimately, that turns out to be a good thing, as it is Kirk who uncovers the admiral’s true motives and stops him for executing General Order 24 and destroying all life on a planet where the alleged mercenary ship attempts to hide.
In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our look at Strange New Worlds Season 4 with “Orders of Magnitude.” We discuss the Star Trek feel, a classic badmiral, the untold (and unknown) history of the Kirk family, and more.

Chapters
Intro (0:00:00)
A Breath of Fresh Air (00:02:56)
I Was in the Neighborhood (00:07:04)
Badmirals Are Back! (00:10:08)
A Drug Too Many? (00:17:24)
No Objections (00:28:09)
Kirk Family History Hour (00:35:15)
Angry Andorians (00:42:44)
Uhura and A’Sha (00:45:33)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:52:36)
Closing (00:57:26)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

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

“Like Chronitons through the Hourglass”
When the Enterprise again encounters the “cosmic entity” who once staged a wedding for Spock and Chapel, the crew find themselves trapped in a soap opera filled with classic tropes, melodrama, camera work, and music. There’s even an evil twin brother.
In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our look at Strange New Worlds Season 4 with “Like Chronitons through the Hourglass.” We discuss the format, the potential, the execution, and … Sybok.
Chapters
Intro (0:00:00)
Nailed the Sybok (00:01:34)
What the Hell Is a Soap Opera? (00:03:14)
Lost Pain (00:09:13)
Inept Writing (00:12:46)
The Story that Could Have Been (00:17:05)
Counselors Are Back! (00:20:39)
Q Connection (00:25:43)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:32:04)
Closing (00:36:12)
Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing
Production
C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer)

“Off-Hour”

TGIF is in the air as the Enterprise alpha shift crew gets set for its weekend break. But all hell breaks loose when the ship is pulled into a slipstream wormhole. With the phenomenon knocking out power and accelerating them to greater and greater speeds, they must beat the clock to break free before the Enterprise passes the warp threshold and is torn apart. But first, a concert!

In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our look at Strange New Worlds Season 4 with “Off-Hour.” We discuss the latest genre swing, the character development, the technobabble, crawling on the ship, surprise faces, and more.

Chapters
Intro (0:00:00)
A Storytelling Revelation (00:02:16)
A Genre That Fits (00:07:16)
Classic Technobabble (00:15:37)
Crawling on the Ship (00:19:56)
Chapel and M'Benga (00:24:25)
Scotty's One True Love (00:29:07)
Boyce Boyce Baby (00:35:25)
Making Genre Work (00:40:08)
A Grotesque Obsession (42:42)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:46:53)
Closing (00:51:57)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

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