198 Timey Wimey #21 Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad

Live from Master Closet Studios, you’re listening to the only podcast on the internet covering a series repeating itself for the fourth time! It’s the Noobs and the Whovian! 

My name is Austin and I’m the Whovian and these are my sons Corbin and Tripp and we’re the noobs! 

This is the podcast that introduces a whole new generation to Doctor Who by watching an episode each week and discussing it from the perspective of a dad who’s seen it before, and two sons who haven’t. Except for when we don’t.

Welcome to Episode 198 covering Timey Wimey #21 Star Trek: Discovery’s Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.

Super-short Recap

This is the one where Dwight attacks Lucius Malfoy and Lebron James’ wife to try and steal the plans to the spore drive. Also space whales!

Who’s Responsible for this?!

• Director: David M. Barrett
  • The first DISCO director who had directed a previous Trek franchise, having done Enterprise’s episode Divergence
• Writers: Aron Eli Coleite & Jesse Alexander

Where do I know that guy from? 

• Burnham – Sonequa Martin-Green
  • Before this, she was in the Walking Dead for a long time
  • She was Lebron James’  not-wife in Space Jam
  • Once Upon a Time
• Lorca – Jason Isaacs
  • The Inquisitor in Star Wars: Rebels
  • Lucious Malfoy in Harry Potter
• Harcourt Fenton Mudd – Rainn Wilson
  • Dwight from The Office

Misc Trivia 

• This was a bottle episode utilizing limited sets and effects to save money for the season.
• First Trek episode to open without a teaser (it just featured the PREVIOUSLY recap) since Encounter at Farpoint – TNG’s premiere episode in 1987

Random stuff we noticed

• Name of the episode spoken in dialogue
  • NOOOO!
  • In true Trek fashion this is from Classic literature. It’s a quote from the Illiad and referred to Aphrodite’s sash.
  • A feat of magic that would make the most accomplished artist blush
• Technobabble
  • This crystal has the same orthogonal indices as the device on Mudd’s wrist
• 823 ways to die in space
  • That feels low
• How does that purple marble weapon thingy work?!
  • When Mudd was holding it, i thought it didn’t make sense. But then I thought maybe it has to hit something at high speed to work. But then Burnham swallowed it and it still killed her.

Random stuff we MISSED!

• Mudd says he killed Lorca 53 times, and then there were 3 more 30-minute loops on screen. This means that there was at LEAST 28 hours of loops

Time Travel Details

Method

• Non-equilibrial time state – a time crystal!
  • time travel tech

Rules

• Only Mudd and Stamets are experiencing the loop
• It’s exactly 30 minutes in length

General Discussion

• Was the power fluctuation the result of the time loop restarting?

Things they got wrong

• The repeated parts were definitely off
  • The second time through (for us), the timing was a bit off. Tyler and Burnham got to the bridge faster because their interaction with Stametz was shorter, but Saru was already identifying the gormagander 
  • The last time through was WAY too short!
• There was noticeable character/relationship growth in Burnham and in her relationship with Tyler, even though that should’ve been impossible
• Corbin thought there was a plot hole 
  • However, there was a DELETED SCENE that fills it. In this scene, Tilly, Lorca, and Stamets are in the brig and Tilly explains the plan to Stamets.

Retractions

• Last week, I referenced Jonathan Pryce playing Governor Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean and said he was Emma Swann’s dad. Emma Swan (with 1 “n”) is the hero in ABC’s hit show Once Upon a Time played by Jennifer Morrison. ELIZABETH SWANN (with 2 “n”s) is the character from Pirates, played by Keira Knightley.
• As always, Master Closet Studios apologizes for the error and promises more to come.

Was it good?

• Was it a good story?
  • Austin – yes
  • Corbin – 
  • Tripp – yes 
  • Jared – 
• Was it a good time travel story?
  • Austin – yrp
  • Corbin – yes
  • Tripp – yes
  • Jared – 

Wibbly Wobbly Memories

• We’re continuing with our Best of Series with The Best of Twelve. We’ll cover Series 9 episodes 7 & 8, The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion.
• Tripp – Osgood twins keep dying?
• Corbin
• Jared
• Austin – Clara being a Zygon, Osgood twins, epic speech by the Doctor

The Game Plan 

After that, and having concluded the Master Plan with Curse of the Fatal Death, we’re heading back to a parallel universe in an alternate dimension on a branch of a variant timeline to witness Dr. Who: Daleks Invasion Earth 2150.