Braga, Part 4: Salem.

Brannon Braga is one of only five individuals in history who can claim to have created a Star Trek series. In the past, we have discussed that creation, Enterprise, as well as his other television series, Flashforward. Last Sunday saw the debut of Braga's third series, Salem, which he co-created with Adam Simon.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Mike and Max return to their Brannon Braga series to discuss his work on Salem. We look at the political message of the film, the similar style of Game of Thrones, and how it compares to the other show that Braga runs, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. We also look back fondly on Adam Simon's portrayal of himself in The Player.

Rick Berman.

It could be argued that, with the exception of Gene Roddenberry, no one has played a bigger role in shaping the Star Trek franchise than Rick Berman. In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Max and Mike take a look at the choices Berman made on a conceptual level, and how they influenced the direction of the franchise. We discuss how he balanced Roddenberry's vision with Michael Piller's creativity on The Next Generation, the choice to set Deep Space Nine on a station, whether or not Voyager was designed to replicate TNG, and the reason why Enterprise was always destined to take place on a starship. We also look at how the fans' view of Berman's contribution has changed with distance.

Bole, Part 6: Recap.

The Next Generation era of Star Trek is not exactly known for its breakthrough directorial choices. Rick Berman operated a very well-oiled machine which was manned by expert craftsmen who knew exactly what was expected of them, and delivered high-quality product week after week. Such is the nature of episodic television. Very few shows allow the director to stretch their legs creatively in such a way as to demonstrate their own personal style. One such show was The X-Files.

Cliff Bole is one of a very few directors to have worked on both franchises, and he is credited with creating some of the very best episodes of each.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Mike and Max recap our look at Bole's work on The X-Files. We discuss all four of his episodes, including "Small Potatoes," "Bad Blood," "Chimera," and "Jump the Shark." We also discuss the talents of Vince Gilligan, and ponder how the producers knew that Bole would be the perfect choice to handle such iconic episodes.

Bole, Part 5: Jump the Shark.

From the beginning, The Lone Gunmen were fan favorites on The X-Files. The trio of characters, Byers, Langley, and Frohike, were conspiracy theorists who published a newspaper aimed at revealing the truth. In 2001, they received their own spinoff series. Also in 2001, that spinoff was cancelled.

Left on a cliffhanger, the story remained unresolved until midway through the following season, when the creators of the series gave it a proper resolution in an episode of The X-Files entitled "Jump the Shark". This was also the final X-File for Cliff Bole. 

This week, Max and Mike discuss The Lone Gunmen's role on The X-Files, how that roll changed on their own show, and how "Jump the Shark" acts as an episode of two series simultaneously.