WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.190 --> 00:00:02.070 This week I'm talking to Anthony Rapp 2 00:00:02.070 --> 00:00:03.870 about the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery. 3 00:00:03.870 --> 00:00:05.270 We spring new info 4 00:00:05.270 --> 00:00:07.590 out of that dramatic prison break we just saw, 5 00:00:07.590 --> 00:00:09.880 and we have an exclusive sneak preview 6 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:11.320 from next week's episode. 7 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:12.610 Report to The Ready Room, crew, 8 00:00:12.610 --> 00:00:16.701 because all of that and more is coming your way right now. 9 00:00:24.670 --> 00:00:25.503 Hey, nerds. 10 00:00:25.503 --> 00:00:27.630 I'm Wil Wheaton and this is The Ready Room! 11 00:00:27.630 --> 00:00:30.240 Your official behind-the-scenes hub for all things 12 00:00:30.240 --> 00:00:31.460 Star Trek Universe. 13 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:33.670 Today, we're assembling a research team 14 00:00:33.670 --> 00:00:34.910 that includes both myself 15 00:00:34.910 --> 00:00:37.450 and our very special guest, Anthony Rapp, 16 00:00:37.450 --> 00:00:40.490 who plays our beloved Disco scientist, Paul Stamets. 17 00:00:40.490 --> 00:00:42.160 And the subject of our research 18 00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:45.380 will be Season 4, Episode 5 of Star Trek: Discovery, 19 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:47.080 "The Examples." 20 00:00:47.080 --> 00:00:48.290 - Red alert! [siren blares] 21 00:00:48.290 --> 00:00:50.740 Now, as usual, spoilers will be coming fast 22 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:52.670 and frequent from here on out, 23 00:00:52.670 --> 00:00:55.345 like a swarm of exploding beetle mines. 24 00:00:57.250 --> 00:00:58.820 Hope that wasn't a spoiler for you. 25 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:00.300 So if you haven't caught up 26 00:01:00.300 --> 00:01:01.910 to the latest episode of Discovery, 27 00:01:01.910 --> 00:01:04.162 do yourself a service and check it out now! 28 00:01:04.162 --> 00:01:07.256 Otherwise, well, watch your step. 29 00:01:07.256 --> 00:01:09.440 And of course it wouldn't be The Ready Room 30 00:01:09.440 --> 00:01:11.830 without a brand new clip from next week's episode 31 00:01:11.830 --> 00:01:12.810 of Star Trek: Discovery. 32 00:01:12.810 --> 00:01:14.477 So stick around for that. 33 00:01:14.477 --> 00:01:15.550 But first, 34 00:01:15.550 --> 00:01:18.680 let's dig a little deeper into the episode we just watched 35 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:21.530 with another installment of Moments of Discovery. 36 00:01:21.530 --> 00:01:23.684 Control room, engage. 37 00:01:26.195 --> 00:01:27.985 Mobile landmine. 38 00:01:27.985 --> 00:01:29.425 Heard the Emerald Chain used weapons like this 39 00:01:29.425 --> 00:01:30.977 disguised as native life. 40 00:01:30.977 --> 00:01:32.345 There's a lot more coming this way. 41 00:01:32.345 --> 00:01:35.510 There is this colony that is going to be hit 42 00:01:35.510 --> 00:01:37.730 by the DMA, it is going to be wiped out, 43 00:01:37.730 --> 00:01:39.920 and there is a collection of prisoners 44 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:41.420 that have been left there to die. 45 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:42.540 Six offenders chosen 46 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:44.670 to demonstrate the cost of misbehavior. 47 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:47.023 Book decides that this is wrong. 48 00:01:47.023 --> 00:01:48.942 We can't let them die. 49 00:01:48.942 --> 00:01:51.851 And of course, this is Burnham's position already. 50 00:01:51.851 --> 00:01:54.270 So they decide to sacrifice themselves 51 00:01:54.270 --> 00:01:55.915 and go save these prisoners. 52 00:01:55.915 --> 00:01:57.080 [device whirring] 53 00:01:57.080 --> 00:01:58.755 You have got to be kidding me. 54 00:02:06.512 --> 00:02:09.592 Tell me, why would a Starfleet captain come to help us? 55 00:02:09.592 --> 00:02:12.336 Because the Federation doesn't leave prisoners to die. 56 00:02:12.336 --> 00:02:14.150 Is that so? 57 00:02:14.150 --> 00:02:16.412 Those actors were incredible. 58 00:02:16.412 --> 00:02:18.700 And we had such a good time 59 00:02:18.700 --> 00:02:20.390 and it was at the AR wall, 60 00:02:20.390 --> 00:02:22.430 which is a whole other thing. 61 00:02:22.430 --> 00:02:25.000 Because you walk into this building, 62 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.673 this very unassuming industrial-type building, 63 00:02:27.673 --> 00:02:31.890 and then this whole world is just opened up for you. 64 00:02:31.890 --> 00:02:35.790 And, you know, the wall is a U-shape 65 00:02:35.790 --> 00:02:38.470 and they also have the ability to program the ceiling. 66 00:02:38.470 --> 00:02:41.390 It takes a good amount of time to program locations 67 00:02:41.390 --> 00:02:42.370 into this AR wall. 68 00:02:42.370 --> 00:02:45.441 But the whole thing is that on the monitor, 69 00:02:45.441 --> 00:02:47.820 it looks like you're there. 70 00:02:47.820 --> 00:02:50.380 It's incredible because it allowed us to go 71 00:02:50.380 --> 00:02:51.630 to these exotic locations 72 00:02:51.630 --> 00:02:53.840 without going to these exotic locations. 73 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:54.830 I love the prison. 74 00:02:54.830 --> 00:02:56.610 I thought the prison was really interesting. 75 00:02:56.610 --> 00:02:58.550 You know, Alex Kurtzman wanted us to make, 76 00:02:58.550 --> 00:03:01.020 have a really big vision of that prison, 77 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:02.790 and so we made it enormous. 78 00:03:02.790 --> 00:03:05.180 And it was just, had a lot of scope and scale. 79 00:03:05.180 --> 00:03:06.110 And you would never have been able 80 00:03:06.110 --> 00:03:07.810 to do that in real life, of course. 81 00:03:09.306 --> 00:03:12.070 The prison exterior was a bit of a challenge. 82 00:03:12.070 --> 00:03:15.550 It was very complicated. the elements that we needed, 83 00:03:15.550 --> 00:03:17.040 and we had to integrate a lot of things. 84 00:03:17.040 --> 00:03:20.150 They had this very elaborate digital asset on the wall 85 00:03:20.150 --> 00:03:22.640 and very complicated physical stuff, as well. 86 00:03:22.640 --> 00:03:24.490 The director had a very complicated story 87 00:03:24.490 --> 00:03:26.120 of blocking and moving through all these things. 88 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:27.520 It was challenging that one. 89 00:03:30.150 --> 00:03:31.040 Come on. Let's go. 90 00:03:31.040 --> 00:03:31.873 I'm staying. 91 00:03:33.040 --> 00:03:35.870 What do you do with the character who wants to stay? 92 00:03:35.870 --> 00:03:38.520 And what do you do with the character 93 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:42.320 who wants to be in charge of their own destiny, 94 00:03:42.320 --> 00:03:43.770 but has a different way of doing that 95 00:03:43.770 --> 00:03:45.540 than you would want for them? 96 00:03:45.540 --> 00:03:48.540 And what are the boundaries? 97 00:03:48.540 --> 00:03:49.920 What are, what's, you know, 98 00:03:49.920 --> 00:03:51.330 what are the boundaries of right 99 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:53.919 and wrong and personal choice, 100 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:56.330 and someone influencing someone else's personal choice, 101 00:03:56.330 --> 00:03:57.450 or taking away that choice? 102 00:03:57.450 --> 00:04:01.530 It just felt like a really rich area to explore 103 00:04:01.530 --> 00:04:03.985 and something that was very, very Trek. 104 00:04:03.985 --> 00:04:06.033 You have years ahead of you still, 105 00:04:07.420 --> 00:04:10.420 you can live a different kind of life. 106 00:04:10.420 --> 00:04:12.100 That is not what I want. 107 00:04:12.100 --> 00:04:14.500 It harkens back to the Kobayashi Maru of it all. 108 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:16.027 Burnham says to him, 109 00:04:16.027 --> 00:04:17.381 "Well, no. We're-" you know 110 00:04:17.381 --> 00:04:19.170 "We're not going to leave you behind." 111 00:04:19.170 --> 00:04:22.127 You know, that's a huge Starfleet principle, but he said, 112 00:04:22.127 --> 00:04:24.360 "Is that really your choice to make?" 113 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:25.660 And now we're starting 114 00:04:25.660 --> 00:04:28.200 to see that maturation process happening. 115 00:04:28.200 --> 00:04:31.411 There had to be an acceptance that I'm not in control, 116 00:04:31.411 --> 00:04:35.016 and this is a lose-lose kind of situation 117 00:04:35.016 --> 00:04:36.730 because he's going to stay here 118 00:04:36.730 --> 00:04:38.280 and that's his choice and I have to let him, 119 00:04:38.280 --> 00:04:42.190 so I love how it connects to that journey again. 120 00:04:42.190 --> 00:04:43.210 For me, that's one of the things 121 00:04:43.210 --> 00:04:45.050 that I really loved about The Original Series, 122 00:04:45.050 --> 00:04:48.130 was the times when they would kind of look at those things, 123 00:04:48.130 --> 00:04:50.870 and it wasn't necessarily black and white. 124 00:04:50.870 --> 00:04:52.620 Because life isn't most of the time. 125 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:55.764 Black alert. 126 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:07.480 I am now here virtually 127 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:09.900 with Star Trek: Discovery's resident scientist, 128 00:05:09.900 --> 00:05:12.870 and foremost authority on all things DMA, 129 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:14.260 Paul Stamets himself. 130 00:05:14.260 --> 00:05:16.980 Anthony Rapp is here with us on the viewscreen. 131 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:18.230 Thank you for joining me, Anthony. 132 00:05:18.230 --> 00:05:19.670 It is wonderful to see you. 133 00:05:19.670 --> 00:05:21.712 Thank you very much. It's great to be here. 134 00:05:21.712 --> 00:05:25.149 So a couple of episodes back Stamets coined the term 135 00:05:25.149 --> 00:05:29.700 for this extinction-level threat, the Dark Matter Anomaly, 136 00:05:29.700 --> 00:05:31.640 which we are calling the DMA. 137 00:05:31.640 --> 00:05:33.790 I am totally into it. 138 00:05:33.790 --> 00:05:36.767 How do you think this larger than life threat 139 00:05:36.767 --> 00:05:41.767 is weighing on Stamets as a thing he can't solve? 140 00:05:41.810 --> 00:05:45.560 He can solve everything and he can't solve this! 141 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:46.870 How is he dealing with that? 142 00:05:46.870 --> 00:05:48.307 Yeah, I mean. 143 00:05:48.307 --> 00:05:51.960 It's not, not well, I would say not well, overall. 144 00:05:51.960 --> 00:05:55.580 I think that things tend to come fairly easily to him 145 00:05:56.810 --> 00:06:00.860 and it's not super comfortable to 146 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:01.959 struggle. 147 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:05.370 And also, you know, Stamets is certainly willing 148 00:06:05.370 --> 00:06:09.850 to enter into any kind of scientific exploration. 149 00:06:09.850 --> 00:06:12.551 He's a biologist, my calling is a biologist at heart. 150 00:06:12.551 --> 00:06:15.040 This is something that is threatening biology. 151 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:18.364 And, you know, so that is a huge reason 152 00:06:18.364 --> 00:06:20.510 why he's so dedicated to it. 153 00:06:20.510 --> 00:06:22.450 But it also touches, there's also aspects of it, 154 00:06:22.450 --> 00:06:26.300 I think, that are not necessarily in his wheelhouse, 155 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:28.550 but that doesn't stop him from, you know, 156 00:06:28.550 --> 00:06:31.510 staying up all night every day to try to solve it. 157 00:06:31.510 --> 00:06:33.830 It seems like it is the thing 158 00:06:33.830 --> 00:06:36.421 that is just defining everything. 159 00:06:36.421 --> 00:06:40.410 And it is in between him and everything else in his life. 160 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:44.620 It seems to be like metaphorically sleeping between him 161 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:47.093 and you, in your quarters. 162 00:06:48.088 --> 00:06:52.030 And now, this week, here comes this dude 163 00:06:52.030 --> 00:06:56.632 who has built off of Stamets' research. 164 00:06:56.632 --> 00:06:59.781 This dude who is clearly a smart guy, 165 00:06:59.781 --> 00:07:01.890 but Stamets is a little annoyed 166 00:07:01.890 --> 00:07:04.022 that he's like, gimme some professional courtesy. 167 00:07:04.022 --> 00:07:07.180 I don't think it's about the professional courtesy. 168 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:10.139 I think maybe it's about something else a little bit. 169 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:12.800 Do you want to talk about that at all? 170 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:15.560 Well, if you remember, like way back in Season 1, 171 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:20.130 you know, Stamets like resisted being a colleague 172 00:07:20.130 --> 00:07:23.100 with Burnham, resisted being a colleague with Tilly, 173 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:24.880 until they earned his respect, 174 00:07:24.880 --> 00:07:26.430 and now he's like whole hog. 175 00:07:26.430 --> 00:07:30.247 You know, in terms of like scientific expertise, 176 00:07:30.247 --> 00:07:32.640 he's always going to be, generally going to be, 177 00:07:32.640 --> 00:07:33.710 the smartest person in the room. 178 00:07:33.710 --> 00:07:34.870 He's very accustomed to that. 179 00:07:34.870 --> 00:07:37.640 And so when somebody else is coming along, 180 00:07:37.640 --> 00:07:40.310 claiming to take up some of that space, 181 00:07:40.310 --> 00:07:44.520 it's always going to be like, "Really, guy?" 182 00:07:44.520 --> 00:07:45.830 Or person over there. 183 00:07:45.830 --> 00:07:47.840 Nice to finally meet you 184 00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:49.620 Aurellio's told me all about you. 185 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:52.120 And of course, I've studied your work extensively. 186 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:55.079 So much to admire and improve upon. 187 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:57.721 So what are we waiting for? Let's get started. 188 00:07:57.721 --> 00:08:00.100 But you can earn his respect. 189 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:01.470 He's certainly willing to give it over. 190 00:08:01.470 --> 00:08:04.400 He's not... He's arrogant because he's really super smart. 191 00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:08.129 He's not so arrogant that he's unwilling to collaborate. 192 00:08:08.129 --> 00:08:10.360 But yeah, this guy, Tarka not, yeah, 193 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:11.660 it's a double-edged sword. 194 00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:12.650 It's the one thing, 195 00:08:12.650 --> 00:08:16.210 he is also co-opting some of Stamets' work, 196 00:08:16.210 --> 00:08:18.770 and trying to take up, take up some of that, 197 00:08:18.770 --> 00:08:19.960 which is not cool, 198 00:08:19.960 --> 00:08:21.870 but then also not even responding 199 00:08:21.870 --> 00:08:24.591 to like entreaties to engage about it. 200 00:08:24.591 --> 00:08:28.060 Earlier this season Stamets went to Ni'Var 201 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:30.588 and spent some time at the Vulcan Science Academy. 202 00:08:30.588 --> 00:08:35.120 Boy, did I feel his "Can we just get on with it" frustration 203 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.063 [laughs] in those scenes? 204 00:08:38.063 --> 00:08:39.724 I love that! 205 00:08:39.724 --> 00:08:41.870 I mean, you know, that logical thing. 206 00:08:41.870 --> 00:08:44.220 I mean, Stamets is very logical, but come on, 207 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:45.487 like there's certain points where you're like... 208 00:08:45.487 --> 00:08:46.593 Oh, I know! 209 00:08:47.541 --> 00:08:50.010 Come on. You gotta have a little bit of grace with it. 210 00:08:50.010 --> 00:08:50.843 Anyway. 211 00:08:50.843 --> 00:08:51.676 Yeah. 212 00:08:51.676 --> 00:08:55.010 Did you get to work with the AR wall 213 00:08:55.010 --> 00:08:55.843 when you went to Ni'Var? 214 00:08:55.843 --> 00:08:57.120 Sure did. 215 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:58.530 Yeah, so yeah, all that stuff, 216 00:08:58.530 --> 00:09:01.750 when you're looking at us and you see that landscape, 217 00:09:01.750 --> 00:09:03.760 that was all the AR wall around us. 218 00:09:03.760 --> 00:09:06.660 That's not green screen. That's the image. 219 00:09:06.660 --> 00:09:08.715 What does that do? 220 00:09:08.715 --> 00:09:12.580 As a performer, like how do you, it's...? 221 00:09:12.580 --> 00:09:14.470 'Cause we still have to use our imagination, 222 00:09:14.470 --> 00:09:17.880 but that triggers things 223 00:09:17.880 --> 00:09:20.030 that I think maybe our imagination doesn't. 224 00:09:21.300 --> 00:09:24.330 Yeah. And it's just, it's just, it's so deeply impressive. 225 00:09:24.330 --> 00:09:28.140 It was just like, wow, I could see into the horizon. 226 00:09:28.140 --> 00:09:31.510 So yes, I felt like I was on a different planet 227 00:09:31.510 --> 00:09:33.310 in a way that certainly I don't feel like-- 228 00:09:33.310 --> 00:09:35.420 You know, we're very lucky. 229 00:09:35.420 --> 00:09:38.050 We're-- I'm mostly, Stamets is mostly on the ship 230 00:09:38.050 --> 00:09:39.330 I don't get to go places that much. 231 00:09:39.330 --> 00:09:41.830 So I'm always looking at things that are real, 232 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:42.980 unless it's a hologram. 233 00:09:44.630 --> 00:09:46.207 And I can certainly use my imagination. 234 00:09:46.207 --> 00:09:49.160 I don't, you know, I don't resent that, but yeah. 235 00:09:49.160 --> 00:09:51.920 To be able to look and see this expanse 236 00:09:51.920 --> 00:09:54.337 and these other floating, 237 00:09:54.337 --> 00:09:56.160 I don't even know what they're called, 238 00:09:56.160 --> 00:10:00.130 these floating things where the Ni'Var people do stuff, 239 00:10:00.130 --> 00:10:01.490 like on the horizon. 240 00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:05.510 Yeah, I mean, I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie. 241 00:10:05.510 --> 00:10:06.930 I feel like I'm in a science fiction novel 242 00:10:06.930 --> 00:10:08.780 when I'm reading a book and I read these things, 243 00:10:08.780 --> 00:10:09.980 this is what I envision. 244 00:10:10.834 --> 00:10:12.100 It's really, really, really special. 245 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:14.720 And just the technology also, just from, you know, 246 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:15.720 an aspiring director, 247 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.790 to just watch how it works is also fascinating, 248 00:10:18.790 --> 00:10:23.280 that the image is moving itself with the camera. 249 00:10:23.280 --> 00:10:26.565 It's like calibrated, it's wild. 250 00:10:26.565 --> 00:10:31.565 It just photographs amazingly, just wow. 251 00:10:32.973 --> 00:10:36.410 When we were doing it, it was green screen. 252 00:10:36.410 --> 00:10:37.720 I think we may even, 253 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:40.743 I remember us being on blue screen, we're so old. 254 00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:46.120 And very rarely we would get like a backdrop 255 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:49.860 from, you know, maybe from some other production 256 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:51.800 that they had something that looked like that. 257 00:10:51.800 --> 00:10:55.930 That you got the planet of Ni'Var on your scene! [chuckles] 258 00:10:55.930 --> 00:10:57.080 I know, I know. 259 00:10:57.080 --> 00:10:58.778 That is super cool. 260 00:10:58.778 --> 00:11:03.309 And you can see like clouds moving and the dust flying. 261 00:11:03.309 --> 00:11:05.000 I mean, it just, and there, you know, 262 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:08.965 we have fans on the sets so we also feel wind and air. 263 00:11:08.965 --> 00:11:10.002 So then you see that. 264 00:11:10.002 --> 00:11:11.153 It just, yeah, it just helps 265 00:11:11.153 --> 00:11:13.450 with like the sensory experience. 266 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:15.319 It's amazing. 267 00:11:15.319 --> 00:11:16.210 That is cool. 268 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:18.903 That is the thing that I legitimately envy. 269 00:11:19.885 --> 00:11:21.100 I think that's really great. 270 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:23.640 I want to talk about the family dynamic on Discovery. 271 00:11:23.640 --> 00:11:24.750 It's one of the things 272 00:11:24.750 --> 00:11:28.240 that drew me into the show right away. 273 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.222 I talk a lot about Star Trek and family. 274 00:11:31.222 --> 00:11:32.520 I talk a lot about 275 00:11:32.520 --> 00:11:35.260 how the cast of Next Generation is the family 276 00:11:35.260 --> 00:11:36.520 that I never got to have. 277 00:11:36.520 --> 00:11:39.219 Like it is Star Trek is a family. 278 00:11:39.219 --> 00:11:44.219 I especially love this family within a family 279 00:11:45.150 --> 00:11:49.700 that exists with your character, Ian's character, 280 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:51.800 Blu's character, and Wilson's character. 281 00:11:51.800 --> 00:11:56.800 Y'all are a special family inside of an existing family. 282 00:11:57.410 --> 00:12:02.410 I felt it the instant they came onto the set last season. 283 00:12:04.130 --> 00:12:05.660 Would you talk a little bit 284 00:12:05.660 --> 00:12:09.820 about exploring the family dynamic even further, 285 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:12.730 particularly with Gray being incorporated now 286 00:12:12.730 --> 00:12:13.653 in Season 4? 287 00:12:14.660 --> 00:12:15.493 Well, it's just, 288 00:12:15.493 --> 00:12:16.950 it feels like such an extension 289 00:12:16.950 --> 00:12:19.595 of our off-screen dynamic. [chuckles] 290 00:12:19.595 --> 00:12:24.595 Wilson and I feel very parental and like mentors. 291 00:12:26.470 --> 00:12:29.660 We are kind of mentors to Blu and Ian, 292 00:12:29.660 --> 00:12:32.450 although not to say that they're not fully, you know, 293 00:12:32.450 --> 00:12:34.410 incredible human beings in and of themselves. 294 00:12:34.410 --> 00:12:37.012 But, you know, we have all these decades of experience, 295 00:12:37.012 --> 00:12:39.680 but they're also teaching us so much about stuff 296 00:12:39.680 --> 00:12:41.110 that they're going through 297 00:12:41.110 --> 00:12:43.510 and what their generation is understanding 298 00:12:43.510 --> 00:12:45.990 and challenging about the way things have been done. 299 00:12:45.990 --> 00:12:46.823 So it just feels 300 00:12:46.823 --> 00:12:50.808 like the show is just such a natural extension of that. 301 00:12:50.808 --> 00:12:53.030 You know, so much of the season, honestly, 302 00:12:53.030 --> 00:12:56.050 for Stamets is like he get so wrapped up in the DMA 303 00:12:56.050 --> 00:12:58.400 that he doesn't even avail himself 304 00:12:58.400 --> 00:13:00.290 as much as he should at first 305 00:13:00.290 --> 00:13:02.340 to stuff happening within the family, 306 00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:04.830 including like not really honoring 307 00:13:04.830 --> 00:13:07.740 and paying attention to this amazing moment 308 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:09.711 of Gray incorporating. 309 00:13:09.711 --> 00:13:12.380 It's like, "Oh yeah, that's great. I'm so happy for them." 310 00:13:12.380 --> 00:13:13.690 You know, which unfortunately 311 00:13:13.690 --> 00:13:16.310 that's also very real in family sometimes. 312 00:13:16.310 --> 00:13:17.820 That's one of the family dynamics that happens 313 00:13:17.820 --> 00:13:20.610 is you're caught up in what you're caught up in. 314 00:13:20.610 --> 00:13:23.530 And then you don't always take the time 315 00:13:23.530 --> 00:13:26.603 to take care of the people in the way that they deserve. 316 00:13:27.910 --> 00:13:30.220 Later in the season, you know, not to spoil anything 317 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:32.450 'cause I know that this is like earlier in the season, 318 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:33.791 there's something that happens 319 00:13:33.791 --> 00:13:35.070 that I think is really special also, 320 00:13:35.070 --> 00:13:37.529 that the characters of the family 321 00:13:37.529 --> 00:13:39.594 are part of a larger conversation 322 00:13:39.594 --> 00:13:41.680 and they have a kind of disagreement 323 00:13:41.680 --> 00:13:45.981 about an ethical question and there's safety 324 00:13:45.981 --> 00:13:48.315 to have this disagreement 325 00:13:48.315 --> 00:13:50.390 and it's not ever made explicit 326 00:13:50.390 --> 00:13:51.760 that the characters don't talk about it. 327 00:13:51.760 --> 00:13:53.137 They're not like, they don't say, 328 00:13:53.137 --> 00:13:55.427 "I can have this disagreement with you because I love you 329 00:13:55.427 --> 00:13:56.400 and I'm your father." 330 00:13:56.400 --> 00:13:58.830 It's just implicit, it's in the background 331 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:01.447 they can like say, 332 00:14:01.447 --> 00:14:03.970 "How can you feel that way about this thing?" 333 00:14:03.970 --> 00:14:05.460 I really appreciated 334 00:14:05.460 --> 00:14:09.550 that that was included in the larger story. 335 00:14:09.550 --> 00:14:13.860 That these young voices of the children, so to speak, 336 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:17.610 challenge the authority figure father, Paul, 337 00:14:17.610 --> 00:14:22.610 in a way that's very adult and also very, you know, 338 00:14:23.880 --> 00:14:27.100 it's like from a place of like just trying to stand 339 00:14:27.100 --> 00:14:28.860 for something and understand each other. 340 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:31.350 I just thought that, I just think that's a great element. 341 00:14:31.350 --> 00:14:33.590 I feel like we could have a very long, 342 00:14:33.590 --> 00:14:36.700 tangential discussion about how much we love Adira. 343 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:39.522 Like, what a great character they are. 344 00:14:39.522 --> 00:14:43.740 I'm gonna stick with representation to close this out. 345 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:46.629 I want to specifically talk about the LGBTQ representation 346 00:14:46.629 --> 00:14:49.580 in Discovery specifically, 347 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:51.603 in science fiction in general. 348 00:14:52.610 --> 00:14:55.918 Like, look, the reality is 349 00:14:57.068 --> 00:14:58.893 y'all are in the vanguard 350 00:14:58.893 --> 00:15:03.320 of something that is slowly, surely, 351 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:04.980 relentlessly changing things, 352 00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:09.980 and focusing attention on a very marginalized community. 353 00:15:11.761 --> 00:15:15.413 And you're going to carry some responsibility with that. 354 00:15:15.413 --> 00:15:17.270 You're going to get reward 355 00:15:17.270 --> 00:15:18.950 and you're going to get challenges. 356 00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:22.766 And I just wonder if you would talk a little bit about 357 00:15:22.766 --> 00:15:26.850 what it means to you, Anthony, 358 00:15:26.850 --> 00:15:29.869 to be this person at this moment, 359 00:15:29.869 --> 00:15:34.869 taking this representation and creating it and nurturing it, 360 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:38.270 not for now, but for like 10 years from now, 361 00:15:38.270 --> 00:15:39.310 20 years from now? 362 00:15:39.310 --> 00:15:40.723 Yeah. Thank you. 363 00:15:41.890 --> 00:15:44.210 I mean, it goes back to the early nineties 364 00:15:44.210 --> 00:15:45.820 when I came out publicly at a time 365 00:15:45.820 --> 00:15:49.020 when very few people were out publicly. 366 00:15:49.020 --> 00:15:52.703 And that was inspired by the great activist, Larry Kramer, 367 00:15:54.020 --> 00:15:57.460 who I got to meet and work with on a, just on a very, 368 00:15:57.460 --> 00:15:58.370 on a reading of a play, 369 00:15:58.370 --> 00:16:01.270 and just being around him was so galvanizing, 370 00:16:01.270 --> 00:16:03.240 but just, you know, his insistence, 371 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:05.680 that visibility would be what would make a difference. 372 00:16:05.680 --> 00:16:09.420 It just was like, yeah, I'm in. 373 00:16:09.420 --> 00:16:12.086 And so I, you know, I came out publicly, 374 00:16:12.086 --> 00:16:15.670 by thanking my then-boyfriend in a Playbill bio 375 00:16:15.670 --> 00:16:19.100 that hundreds or maybe a couple hundred people saw, 376 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:20.810 but that was just, you know, that's the step, 377 00:16:20.810 --> 00:16:22.705 once you're out, there's no going back in, 378 00:16:22.705 --> 00:16:24.083 which was fine with me. 379 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:26.280 So this, so then, you know, 380 00:16:26.280 --> 00:16:27.290 and then Rent happened 381 00:16:27.290 --> 00:16:28.393 and I was playing a straight character, 382 00:16:28.393 --> 00:16:31.060 so that was a different kind of interesting visibility 383 00:16:31.060 --> 00:16:34.290 that, you know, queer people can play straight. 384 00:16:34.290 --> 00:16:38.710 And that's such a, it was such a queer-visible show also. 385 00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:40.460 So that was another way of moving it forward. 386 00:16:40.460 --> 00:16:43.762 But then yeah, science fiction, for whatever strange reason, 387 00:16:43.762 --> 00:16:47.915 kind of has been lagging behind in this domain forever. 388 00:16:47.915 --> 00:16:50.360 And we, you know, you may or may not be aware, 389 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:53.320 Gene Roddenberry did want to do it at different times. 390 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:54.153 He thought about it. 391 00:16:54.153 --> 00:16:56.320 There were different pushes against it from the networks 392 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:57.640 or the producers or whatever. 393 00:16:57.640 --> 00:16:58.943 Didn't happen until now. 394 00:17:00.130 --> 00:17:04.810 And we are very grateful that our creators 395 00:17:04.810 --> 00:17:07.560 and CBS/Paramount+ and everyone 396 00:17:07.560 --> 00:17:09.916 has been completely on board with this. 397 00:17:09.916 --> 00:17:11.330 Not only on board with it, 398 00:17:11.330 --> 00:17:13.450 but like trumpeting it from the rooftops 399 00:17:13.450 --> 00:17:15.789 and recognizing the importance of it. 400 00:17:15.789 --> 00:17:17.373 So it just like, 401 00:17:18.290 --> 00:17:21.020 it's very gratifying that it has been received 402 00:17:21.020 --> 00:17:25.790 with such a warm welcome and such enthusiasm 403 00:17:25.790 --> 00:17:26.710 and not just from queer fans, 404 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:29.568 but also straight fans who declare themselves 405 00:17:29.568 --> 00:17:32.523 and understand the importance of allyship 406 00:17:32.523 --> 00:17:36.843 and standing in solidarity with their queer brethren. 407 00:17:37.882 --> 00:17:39.520 So, yeah, it just means, 408 00:17:39.520 --> 00:17:43.079 it means so much to know that we are making this difference. 409 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:44.220 I wish that had happened sooner 410 00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:45.930 in the larger scheme of things. 411 00:17:45.930 --> 00:17:49.970 I'm also grateful and honored that it is on our shoulders, 412 00:17:49.970 --> 00:17:53.110 on Wilson and mine and Blu and Ian's shoulders to help, 413 00:17:53.110 --> 00:17:56.468 and Tig, to help move this forward. 414 00:17:56.468 --> 00:17:58.230 And yeah, I know, 415 00:17:58.230 --> 00:18:00.010 I know very well that it is making a difference 416 00:18:00.010 --> 00:18:01.010 because people tell me, 417 00:18:01.010 --> 00:18:02.800 they share it with me at conventions, 418 00:18:02.800 --> 00:18:07.170 or Twitter messages, or Instagram posts. 419 00:18:07.170 --> 00:18:10.220 And that's very, very meaningful and I take it to heart 420 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:15.220 and I promise to do my best to continue upholding that 421 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:18.650 and doing what I can to shine a light where I can. 422 00:18:18.650 --> 00:18:19.483 I'm very lucky 423 00:18:19.483 --> 00:18:21.700 that I have these fierce warriors alongside me 424 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:24.766 who will also be doing the same thing. 425 00:18:24.766 --> 00:18:27.590 We're just about halfway through. 426 00:18:27.590 --> 00:18:30.996 And I am loving it. 427 00:18:30.996 --> 00:18:32.980 I don't know what comes next. 428 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:34.283 I haven't watched ahead. 429 00:18:35.570 --> 00:18:37.610 I am serving the fan-side of me, 430 00:18:37.610 --> 00:18:39.020 instead of the professional host 431 00:18:39.020 --> 00:18:42.681 of The Ready Room side of me as much as I can. [chuckles] 432 00:18:42.681 --> 00:18:44.730 But I've really enjoyed it so far 433 00:18:44.730 --> 00:18:47.000 and I know the audience has as well. 434 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:50.680 And I really appreciate your time. 435 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:52.190 Thank you for being here with us today. 436 00:18:52.190 --> 00:18:54.805 Thank you for your work on Discovery. 437 00:18:54.805 --> 00:18:57.163 - Thank you. - And I cannot wait to see 438 00:18:57.163 --> 00:19:01.240 how your story arc plays out as the season unfolds. 439 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:02.490 Thank you so much, Wil. 440 00:19:06.097 --> 00:19:07.496 This is U.S.S. Janeway, 441 00:19:07.496 --> 00:19:08.860 I'm approaching the DMA. 442 00:19:08.860 --> 00:19:11.116 We're picking up massive ionic fluctuations. 443 00:19:11.116 --> 00:19:14.263 Any other vessels in the area? Confirm. 444 00:19:15.177 --> 00:19:17.194 N.S.S. T'Pau here, confirming the same. 445 00:19:32.470 --> 00:19:35.510 Now, in addition to our good friend, Paul Stamets, 446 00:19:35.510 --> 00:19:38.250 this week's episode of Star Trek: Discovery introduced us 447 00:19:38.250 --> 00:19:41.620 to a brand new scientist named Ruon Tarka, 448 00:19:41.620 --> 00:19:42.840 which got us thinking 449 00:19:42.840 --> 00:19:45.829 about some of the other brilliant scientific minds 450 00:19:45.829 --> 00:19:47.630 in Star Trek history. 451 00:19:47.630 --> 00:19:51.380 So why don't we stimulate this synaptic plasticity, 452 00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:53.440 also known as taking a trip down memory lane, 453 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:54.450 for the layperson, 454 00:19:54.450 --> 00:19:56.733 and watch this next video package. 455 00:19:58.540 --> 00:20:00.370 Mr. Tarka, welcome aboard. 456 00:20:00.370 --> 00:20:03.130 [Narrator] It takes a great mind to navigate the science 457 00:20:03.130 --> 00:20:05.050 and technology of the future. 458 00:20:05.050 --> 00:20:06.490 I've studied your work extensively. 459 00:20:06.490 --> 00:20:08.823 So much to admire. And improve upon. 460 00:20:08.823 --> 00:20:11.120 [Narrator] Ruon Tarka is one such mind 461 00:20:11.120 --> 00:20:13.640 among the many doctors, engineers, 462 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:16.250 and scientists in Star Trek's history. 463 00:20:16.250 --> 00:20:17.990 You want to create a device 464 00:20:17.990 --> 00:20:21.130 that will generate a wormhole on Discovery? 465 00:20:21.130 --> 00:20:22.900 [Narrator] Like those who have come before him, 466 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:26.440 "There is no great genius without some touch of madness," 467 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:28.313 as Aristotle once put it. 468 00:20:29.290 --> 00:20:30.400 Oh, come on! 469 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:32.770 [Narrator] Here are just a few of the brilliant brains 470 00:20:32.770 --> 00:20:36.577 in Star Trek, who've shown us just how thin the line can be 471 00:20:36.577 --> 00:20:39.476 between intelligence and insanity. 472 00:20:43.510 --> 00:20:46.530 Dr. Ira Graves, cybernetecist. 473 00:20:46.530 --> 00:20:48.160 Before I die, 474 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:52.310 I plan to transfer my great intellect into this machine. 475 00:20:52.310 --> 00:20:53.564 Ira. 476 00:20:53.564 --> 00:20:54.397 It is me. 477 00:20:54.397 --> 00:20:58.410 I deactivated Data and transferred my mind into his frame. 478 00:20:58.410 --> 00:21:00.000 They won't let you get away with it. 479 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:03.340 It is my body now. It is out of their hands. 480 00:21:03.340 --> 00:21:06.600 Professor Gideon Seyetik, terraformer. 481 00:21:06.600 --> 00:21:08.200 My son and I visited Blue Horizon 482 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:09.500 on the way to Deep Space Nine. 483 00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:11.460 I must say, I was impressed. 484 00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:13.860 Of course you were, I created the place 485 00:21:13.860 --> 00:21:15.170 and even I am impressed. 486 00:21:15.170 --> 00:21:16.390 Commander, when all this is over, 487 00:21:16.390 --> 00:21:18.777 you'll find a case among my personal belongings. 488 00:21:18.777 --> 00:21:20.639 There's something in there I want you to find. 489 00:21:20.639 --> 00:21:22.000 What is it? 490 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.370 My obituary. [chuckles] 491 00:21:24.370 --> 00:21:27.200 [Narrator] Dr. Tristan Adams, psychologist. 492 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:30.270 Dr. Adams, what did he do to us? 493 00:21:30.270 --> 00:21:33.250 He can reshape any mind he chooses. 494 00:21:33.250 --> 00:21:37.858 He used it to erase our memories. 495 00:21:37.858 --> 00:21:40.187 Put his own thoughts there. 496 00:21:40.187 --> 00:21:43.520 [Narrator] Dr. Kila Marr, xenologist. 497 00:21:43.520 --> 00:21:46.100 My son died on Omicron Theta. 498 00:21:46.100 --> 00:21:47.862 That is the reason I've become an expert 499 00:21:47.862 --> 00:21:49.320 on the crystalline entity. 500 00:21:49.320 --> 00:21:51.800 And if I learn you have been helping that thing 501 00:21:51.800 --> 00:21:53.070 in any way whatsoever, 502 00:21:53.070 --> 00:21:57.704 I will see to it that you are disassembled piece by piece. 503 00:21:57.704 --> 00:22:00.010 Sulan, Chief Surgeon. 504 00:22:00.010 --> 00:22:02.749 For generations my people have been searching the quadrant 505 00:22:02.749 --> 00:22:05.764 for a species immune to our disease 506 00:22:05.764 --> 00:22:08.370 in the hope that it would lead us to a cure. 507 00:22:08.370 --> 00:22:12.550 And how will you know that? 508 00:22:12.550 --> 00:22:14.289 I have infected you. 509 00:22:14.289 --> 00:22:16.060 [Klingon B'Elanna snarls] 510 00:22:16.060 --> 00:22:19.890 Dr. Paul Manheim, time and gravity theorist. 511 00:22:19.890 --> 00:22:21.700 Paul's always been interested in time. 512 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:22.560 He came to believe 513 00:22:22.560 --> 00:22:25.375 that we reside in one of infinite dimensions. 514 00:22:25.375 --> 00:22:29.250 And what holds us here is the constancy of time. 515 00:22:29.250 --> 00:22:30.450 Change that, and it would be 516 00:22:30.450 --> 00:22:34.240 what he called opening the window to those other dimensions. 517 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.230 But as he saw his goal getting closer, 518 00:22:36.230 --> 00:22:38.330 he became more and more obsessive. 519 00:22:38.330 --> 00:22:39.800 It's changing again. 520 00:22:39.800 --> 00:22:41.150 What do you see? 521 00:22:41.150 --> 00:22:43.820 I have touched another dimension. 522 00:22:43.820 --> 00:22:45.600 [Narrator] All the Soongs, 523 00:22:45.600 --> 00:22:48.190 from Arik to Altan. 524 00:22:48.190 --> 00:22:51.455 I take it my face looks familiar. Must be disturbing. 525 00:22:51.455 --> 00:22:53.396 I know it is for me. 526 00:22:53.396 --> 00:22:57.810 Dr. Altan Inigo Soong, mad scientist. 527 00:22:57.810 --> 00:22:58.900 [Narrator] Suffice to say, 528 00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:02.496 these eccentric geniuses give new and unusual meaning 529 00:23:02.496 --> 00:23:05.740 to the phrase, knowledge is power. 530 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:09.333 Yell back at me! What are you afraid of? Do it! 531 00:23:09.333 --> 00:23:12.328 [Saru yells] 532 00:23:12.328 --> 00:23:14.295 Well. That was something. 533 00:23:39.280 --> 00:23:40.113 Well, nerds, 534 00:23:40.113 --> 00:23:43.030 our time in The Ready Room this week is almost at an end. 535 00:23:43.030 --> 00:23:44.240 But before we go, 536 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:47.762 our research has led us to a very interesting find. 537 00:23:47.762 --> 00:23:49.800 A never-before-seen clip 538 00:23:49.800 --> 00:23:52.700 from next week's episode of Star Trek: Discovery. 539 00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:53.700 Here you go. 540 00:23:56.532 --> 00:23:58.086 You're turn, Zora. 541 00:23:58.086 --> 00:23:59.530 [game piece beeps] 542 00:23:59.530 --> 00:24:00.780 Nice! 543 00:24:00.780 --> 00:24:02.800 And cool name, by the way. 544 00:24:02.800 --> 00:24:03.720 Thank you. 545 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:06.900 In some of the cultures I've encountered on earth, Ba'Ku, 546 00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:10.210 and Ni'Var, the name means dawn or new day. 547 00:24:10.210 --> 00:24:12.640 I thought it was fitting, all things considered. 548 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:13.743 I chose my name, too. 549 00:24:14.670 --> 00:24:17.700 Not because of the meaning. I just liked it. [chuckles] 550 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:18.821 I like it as well. 551 00:24:20.029 --> 00:24:21.805 This isn't just a game, is it? 552 00:24:21.805 --> 00:24:23.618 What makes you say that? 553 00:24:23.618 --> 00:24:27.000 I find that I'm less overwhelmed since we began. 554 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:29.780 83% of my low priority processes have returned 555 00:24:29.780 --> 00:24:31.260 to the background. 556 00:24:31.260 --> 00:24:32.460 I hoped that would happen. 557 00:24:32.460 --> 00:24:33.930 Why is this-- 558 00:24:33.930 --> 00:24:34.763 Wait. 559 00:24:35.860 --> 00:24:37.410 Is everything okay? 560 00:24:37.410 --> 00:24:39.710 Now that my systems aren't overwhelmed anymore, 561 00:24:39.710 --> 00:24:41.910 I can detect something unusual on the exterior hull 562 00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:43.330 of Deck 17. 563 00:24:43.330 --> 00:24:44.360 You should tell the captain. 564 00:24:44.360 --> 00:24:45.890 I don't have sufficient data. 565 00:24:45.890 --> 00:24:47.390 I can't identify the course. 566 00:24:47.390 --> 00:24:48.983 Zora, you need to tell her. 567 00:24:50.360 --> 00:24:52.850 Thank you all so much for joining me here 568 00:24:52.850 --> 00:24:54.020 in The Ready Room today. 569 00:24:54.020 --> 00:24:55.970 As always, I had a blast. 570 00:24:55.970 --> 00:24:57.460 It is a privilege to be here 571 00:24:57.460 --> 00:24:59.757 and I am so grateful that you spent some time. 572 00:24:59.757 --> 00:25:02.390 Next week, my very good friend 573 00:25:02.390 --> 00:25:04.430 and everyone's favorite space Dad, 574 00:25:04.430 --> 00:25:07.210 Jonathan Frakes will be beaming into The Ready Room, 575 00:25:07.210 --> 00:25:10.110 and I am sure he will have plenty of amazing things to say 576 00:25:10.110 --> 00:25:12.355 about the new episode of Star Trek: Discovery he directed. 577 00:25:12.355 --> 00:25:16.210 We might even reminisce a bit about Next Generation. 578 00:25:16.210 --> 00:25:17.750 I can't wait. 579 00:25:17.750 --> 00:25:19.646 Until then, I'm Wil Wheaton, 580 00:25:19.646 --> 00:25:21.634 live long and prosper.