A starship captain uncovers a grievous injustice.

Director's Commentary:

• STOS Kirk would probably just seeth internally about this, but I'm pretty sure that the new Kirk would drag the cook over the counter by the lapels and get those waffles now.
• "Frakking?" "Gorram?" "Tanj?" I finally settled on "Frigging" as a way of keeping this relatively universe-neutral.
• In related news, if you haven't seen this classic by Eddie Izzard, please do so now.



Stardate: Tuesday

An important Consumer Alert for all users of Tyrannocillin brand antibiotics.

Director's Commentary:

• Yes, zombies. It was only a matter of time before I got to them.
• It was hard coming up with a name for the antibiotic that hasn't been used yet. You would not believe all the whacky names there are out there for actual antibiotics.
• For a hard-boiled, no-nonsense approach to zombies--and an antidote to the whole "sparkly vampire" nonsense of late, I heartily recommend Already Dead by Charlie Huston.
• Only one more episode until the big season 1 finale!

Consumer Alert

A Father speaks to his estranged son.

Director's Commentary:

• Kind of serious this week, but there's a scene in Frankenstein that has always haunted me. It's at the beginning of Chapter 5, when Victor Frankenstein rejects his own creation: "He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs." And that's where the whole tragedy starts--rejected, the monster leaves and begins a path of revenge.
  But what if Frankenstein hadn't rejected his creation? What if he was able to see beyond the surface, to act with empathy instead of fear? This week's [1]nm is a little snapshot from that alternate version.
• Adam is evidently the name Mary Shelly called the creature in early tellings of the story.

For Hap and Chris.

Father to Son

The Voice of the Machine speaks for its bretheren.

Director's Commentary:

• And we're back after another missed week. Mea what you call your culpa.
• This was one of the first ideas I had when I started the podcast. I could tell right away that The Voice of the Machine was going to have its own opinions.
• Mari, as usual, knocked this out of the park. I think she'd make a great Bond villain. If you know me, you know that's a sincere compliment.
• Going to try something a little different next week, something a little serious. I am both exciting about the possibilities, and nervous about pulling it off. Stay tuned, and wish me luck.



The Machine Speaks

The aspirations of a beep.

Director's Commentary:

• Sorry I missed last week. Forgot how discombobulating it is getting back to reality after a long trip.
• This one is inspired by childhood memories of my Dad setting his watch and ship's clock to WWV on his shortwave.
• Recorded a different outro this week, asking you to please leave a comment on 1newmess.com or a review on iTunes. Let me know you're out there, and haven't been captured for aliens for their space zoo. You know how I worry.

The Sound of the Tone