Before the Future Came

About Before the Future Came

Melissa Avery-Weir, Gregory Avery-Weir, and Dr. Lucy Arnold look at the ideologies of Star Trek as we voyage from one episode or film to the next, following a breadcrumb trail of motifs. How is the universe portrayed in Star Trek a truly egalitarian utopia, and how does the world subtly uphold the hegemonic values of our present day?

Publisher

Melissa Avery-Weir, Gregory Avery-Weir, and Dr. Lucy Arnold

Category

society & culture · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Jul 2023

Latest episode

3 Sept 2025

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Sept 2025

   S01E14. Yesteryear, How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth

   Behold me as I am! Melissa comes to us with two episodes from The Animated Series: "Yesteryear," (S01E02) written by D. C. Fontana and directed by Hal Sutherland; and "How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth," (S02E05) written by Russell Bates and David Wise and directed by Bill Reed. Like "Qpid," these episodes involve paternalism echoing from the past. We talk about radical autonomy, monoculturalism, paternalism, orientalism, and (of course) assessment. We also geek over James Doohan (despite his accent work), space monsters, and how all the writers agree about young Vulcan bullies. For images discussed in this episode, visit the episode page on our website. Please let us know what you think about the show! Hail us at onscreen@beforethefuture.space, contact us on social media, or comment on our website at beforethefuture.space. Connections: The Enterprise encounters two warring races, one white on the right side and the other white on the left, in The Original Series S03E15, "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." Spock's half-brother Sybok is introduced in the film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Spock's childhood home city, ShiKahr, is actually named in "Yesteryear." In later appearances and the extended universe, it is established as the capital city of Vulcan. Works Cited: Adichie, C. (2009, July). The danger of a single story [Address]. TEDGlobal 2009, Oxford, U.K. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story Benares, C. (1977). Zen without Zen masters. And/Or Press. The quotation on "One of the hazards of refusing to accept change in yourself..." is found on p. 45. Gerber, S. (Creator). (1980-1981). Thundarr the barbarian [TV series]. Ruby-Spears Productions. Glassner, J., Wright, B., Cooper, R., Mallozzi, J., Mullie, P., Anderson, R. D., & Greenburg, M. (Executive producers). (1997-2007). Stargate SG-1 [TV Series]. MGM Television, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Film Corp., Sony Pictures Television, Showtime Networks, & Sci-Fi Originals. Homer. The Odyssey. The Lotus Eaters appear in Book IX. Malaclypse the Younger. (1979). Principia Discordia: or how I found Goddess and what I did to her when I found her: the magnum opiate of Malaclypse the Younger, wherein is explained absolutely everything worth knowing about absolutely anything. Rip Off Press. The "Sermon on Ethics & Love" is on p. 38. Toth, A. (Creator). The Herculoids [TV series]. Hanna-Barbera Productions. von Daniken, F. (1968). Chariots of the gods? Unsolved mysteries of the past. Bantam Books. West-Puckett, S., Caswell, N. I., & Banks, W. P. (2023). Failing sideways: Queer possibilities for writing assessment. Utah State University Press. For our next episode, we'll watch Star Trek: Prodigy S01E09-10, "A Moral Star" parts 1 and 2, written by the entire Prodigy writing team and directed by Ben Hibon. Before the Future Came is edited by Lucy Arnold, transcribed by Melissa Avery-Weir, and webmavened by Gregory Avery-Weir. Our theme is “Let’s Pretend” by Josh Woodward, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

2. 

   2 Apr 2025

   S01E13. Qpid

   Blood will be spilt! Gregory brings "Qpid," the 20th episode of season 4 of The Next Generation, written by Ira Steven Behr and Randee Russell and directed by Cliff Bole. Like "Captain's Holiday," this episode features the recurring character of Vash (and a lot of misogyny). We discuss historical fantasy, amatonormativity, the ideal woman, power, pedagogy, and Q. We also chat about humor, stage fighting, and queer coding. Transcripts are in progress and will be added to this post when complete. For images discussed in this episode, visit the episode page on our website. Please let us know what you think about the show! Hail us at onscreen@beforethefuture.space, contact us on social media, or comment on our website at beforethefuture.space. Connections: Q drops his imperious act at the end of The Next Generation S07E25-26, "All Good Things." Q tries to convince Captain Janeway to bear his child in Voyager S03E11, "The Q and the Grey." Lwaxana Troi undergoes "super-menopause" (actually the Phase, a period of hyper-fertility and -sexuality) in TNG S02E19, "Manhunt." The Betazoid term of affection, "imzadi," first appears in TNG S01E01-02, "Encounter at Farpoint." Mr. Homn, Lwaxana Troi's valet, first appears in TNG S01E11, "Haven." He's played by Carel Struycken, who also portrays The Giant and The Fireman on Twin Peaks. Works Cited: Brake, E. (2012). Minimizing marriage. Oxford University Press. Bryant, P., Chibnall, C., Collins, J., Collinson, P., Davies, R. T., Gardner, J., Hinchcliffe, P., Lambert, V., Letts, B., Lloyd, I., Minchin, B., Moffat, S., Nathan-Turner, J., Penhale, F., Robinson, J. A., Sherwin, D., Skinner, C., Strevens, M., Tranter, J., Wenger, P., Wiles, J., Willis, B., Williams, G., & Young, M. (Producers & Executive Producers). (1963-present). Doctor who [TV Series]. BBC Television, BBC Wales, BBC Studios, BBC Studios Productions, Bad Wolf. Gross, E., & Altman, M. A. (1995). Captains' logs: The unauthorized complete Trek voyages. Little Brown & Co. Director Cliff Bole offers excuses for misogyny in a quotation on p. 219. Nordgren, A. (2012, July 6). The short instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy. Tumblr. https://log.andie.se/post/26652940513/the-short-instructional-manifesto-for-relationship For our next episode, we'll watch The Animated Series S01E02, "Yesteryear," written by D. C. Fontana and and directed by Hal Sutherland; and S02E05, "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth," written by Russell Bates and David Wise and directed by Bill Reed. Before the Future Came is edited by Lucy Arnold, transcribed by Melissa Avery-Weir, and webmavened by Gregory Avery-Weir. Our theme is “Let’s Pretend” by Josh Woodward, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

3. 

   5 Mar 2025

   S01E12. Captain’s Holiday

   You've fulfilled your destiny all too well! Lucy brings "Captain's Holiday," the 20th episode of season 4 of The Next Generation, written by Ira Steven Behr and directed by Chip Chalmers. Like "Inquisition," this episode revolves around an attempted holiday that goes awry. We talk about vacations, misogyny, bodies, liminality, archaeology, and antisemitism. We also discuss pre-trip research, amazing costumes, and our beloved Vash. For images discussed in this episode, visit the episode page on our website. Please let us know what you think about the show! Hail us at onscreen@beforethefuture.space, contact us on social media, or comment on our website at beforethefuture.space. Connections: This episode is Risa's first appearance. It is portrayed in three more episodes of various series (and mentioned a few more times). Picard memorably appears even more nude in The Next Generation S06E11, "Chain of Command, Part II." Picard lives an entire life and learns to play the Ressikan flute in The Next Generation S05E25, "The Inner Light." Beckett Mariner warns Brad Boimler about jamaharon in Lower Decks S01E02, "Envoys." Works Cited Moffat, S. (Writer) & Lyn, E. (Director). (2008, May 31). Silence in the library (Series 4, Episode 9) [Tv series episode]. In Davies, R. & Gardner, J. (Executive Producers), Doctor who. BBC Wales. This is the first appearance of River Song (from the perspective of the viewers). Spielberg, S. (Director). (1981). Raiders of the lost Ark [Film]. Lucasfilm Ltd. This is the first appearance of the adventuress Marion Ravenwood. van Gennep, A. (1977). The rites of passage. Routledge & Kegan Paul. Verhoeven, P. (Director). (1990). Total recall [Film]. Carolco Pictures. Zemechis, R. (Director). (1984). Romancing the stone [Film]. El Corazon Producciones S.A. For our next episode, we'll watch The Next Generation S04E20, "Qpid," written by Ira Steven Behr and Randee Russell and directed by Cliff Bole. Before the Future Came is edited by Lucy Arnold, transcribed by Melissa Avery-Weir, and webmavened by Gregory Avery-Weir. Our theme is “Let’s Pretend” by Josh Woodward, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

315

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

39 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

40

Social presence

0

YouTube

64

Engagement

27