12. Pull My Loop

In “Pull My Loop”, Katie expresses more concerns about Captain Kirk’s sexual behaviour with Janice Rand, and shares her thoughts on other Star Trek episodes. Also, Kyle reveals all from his encounter with an anti-lockdown protest earlier that day.

Her First Trek - A Star Trek Review Podcast
Her First Trek: A Star Trek Review Podcast
12. Pull My Loop
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What to expect from Episode 12: “Pull My Loop”?

The episodes covered in this edition of Her First Trek are (TOS) Miri, (TNG) Angel One, and (DS9) Vortex.

Pull My Loop

Kyle begins this episode, titled “Pull My Loop”. Therefore, Katie gets to be introduced as the very special superstar that she is.

To confirm her importance, Kyle tells her that he has finally gained access to the Her First Trek listener demographic figures, from Spotify.

He explains how Spotify is able to tell podcasters how old their listeners are, their gender, what other music they listen to, and more. Much to his surprise, it is almost a 50/50 split between male and female listeners. He attributes this to Katie, and women wanting to hear her thoughts on the franchise.

“I’m feeling a lot of pressure, right now,” Katie tells him.

Reviews

Having not kept on top of reviews of the show, Kyle decides to read out the two new reviews that the show has received on Apple Podcasts.

Katie reads out the first review. Kyle takes the second, which he calls the best review he has ever received for a podcast.

They ask listeners to drop the show a review on Apple Podcast, if they use that app for listening to Her First Trek.

Destination Star Trek 2021

They reveal some huge news: they are both going to Destination Star Trek 2021! Katie still can’t believe it.

Kyle thanks Amy Nelson, who messaged him about the event, which reminded him that he wanted to persuade Katie to go to the convention with him.

They will be discussing their excitement for Destination Star Trek 2021 in much more detail, on their After Show, which is available to Patreon supporters of the show.

Wedding Music

Unfortunately, they are unable to use the Star Trek: Picard theme music during their wedding ceremony. However, they have confirmed a different piece of wedding music for the ceremony, which has been approved by the venue. Kyle gives Katie the honour of revealing it.

It’s “Faith of the Heart”, the Star Trek: Enterprise theme song!

They will be using a different version of the song, but both are happy to have Enterprise represented at their wedding. Surprisingly, it was Katie’s idea.

Anti-Lockdown Protesters

Kyle tells Katie how, earlier on the day of recording this episode, he was heckled by anti-lockdown protesters.

He was walking through the city centre, and the protesters were coming towards him. For having a mask on, at the time they saw him, Kyle was called a “slave”, a “sheep”, and more.

Whatever anyone thinks of lockdown policies, or face masks, abusing people on the street is not the solution, Kyle says.

5G

On the subject of anti-lockdown protesters, Katie says that she has little time for people who are opposed to the vaccine. She thinks it hilarious that people genuinely believe that the vaccine is being used to put 5G in people.

Kyle says that, were that true, he’d be the first in line. Their internet is bad outside of one part of their home, so the idea of people able to hotspot to 5G cellular data, in his body, appeals to him!

Angel One

Katie is “enjoying the ride” of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Kyle confirms that they are now approximately halfway through the first season.

He tasks Katie with giving her take on the events of this week’s TNG episode, Angel One.

Deanna was Pissed

During her episode rundown, Katie points out that “Deanna was pissed,” when she realised that Cmdr. Riker had slept with the leader of the planet.

“He banged that woman! […] He gave it to her good!” she exclaims.

Red is Aggressive

Katie is convinced that the method of killing guilty people, on Angel One, is not painless, as was suggested by the indiginous people. Kyle disagrees, suspects it is just like being beamed away.

Katie points out that the light, on the machine which kills the convicted people, is red. “What does red mean, Kyle?” she asks.

Highlighting that, for example, red is the colour of choice for a Sith’s lightsaber, Kyle accepts that the colour red is aggressive, when used in film and television.

Was the Virus a Hoax?

Neither host is sure where the virus came from, that Dr. Crusher was battling. Kyle also isn’t sure how the snowballs could have a smell, outside of the holodeck.

Comparing to 2021’s COVID-19 pandemic on Earth, Kyle asks the big question: was the virus a hoax? (Tongue-in-cheek!)

Really Refreshing

Katie found it “really refreshing” that this episode empowered women, rather than portraying them as a weak and oversexualised gender, as she’s seen in a lot of Star Trek: The Original Series, and sometimes in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

She did have some concerns over how the episode was trying to imply that “the world was going to shit,” just because women were in-charge.

Is it Evolution?

Kyle challenges Cmdr. Riker’s assertion that men becoming more prominent in Angel One’s society is evolution. As the men behind this change came from offworld, Kyle wonders how it can be considered a natural evolution on Angel One.

Riker’s Outfit

They spend a bit of time discussing the traditional clothing of Angel One, that Riker wears to impress the leader of the planet.

Katie was not happy with Troi and Tasha Yar’s attitude toward Riker’s outfit. She felt that their criticism of his attempt to fit in with the local residents, by wearing such an outfit, was inappropriate.

Were the gender roles reversed, she thinks people would take greater issue with their behaviour.

It’s a Thumbs Up

At the end of their discussion on this episode, Katie can happily confirm that it’s a thumbs up, this week.

She enjoyed the episode, as did Kyle.

Miri

Next, Katie wants to talk about “Miri,” a Star Trek: The Original Series episode.

Fatal Blows

Both are somewhat shocked at the three fatal blows Kirk delivers to the alien male, who attacked McCoy.

They weren’t surprised that the male was dead, once they’d got him away from McCoy.

So Gross, So Strange

During her description of the plot, Katie describes the titular character, Miri, as “a teenager with a child mentality.”

Katie found Miri’s romantic interest, in Captain Kirk, to be “So gross, so strange.”

She points out that, for most of this episode, Kirk is “flitting between” Miri, and Janice Rand.

“Anyway, they save the day.” She says, to conclude her brief rundown of the plot.

Kirk Got Beaten Up By a Bunch of Kids

Fleshing out the plot resolution a bit more, Kyle discusses the scene where Kirk got beaten up by a bunch of kids.

“Remember when he stood up, and there was just blood coming out of every part of his head?” asks Kyle.

Blood coming from Kirk’s ears was worrying, for Katie. She’s sure he must have been having some sort of haemorrhage.

Katie would have used a phaser, and stunned all of the unruly children. Kyle jokes that listeners are now getting some insight into how parenting is handled, in their home.

That’s a Pretty Big Cock-Up

The plot was “a little convoluted,” Kyle thinks.

Katie didn’t quite understand how the sickness originated, so Kyle tries to explain it to her. This isn’t easy, given he was confused about several plot elements, too!

Once he explains it, Katie can’t help but wonder how bad a scientist one has to be, to mess up in the way they did on this alien planet.

“That’s a pretty big cock-up,” Kyle agrees.

A Duplicate Earth

Neither host understands why such a big deal was made out of the alien planet looking identical to Earth, only for the episode never to focus on that subplot, beyond the opening.

Katie wondered if they’d travelled to another universe. But, she never got an answer.

Why even include this, if it’s going to go unexplained?

Six Months of Food Left

Katie is concerned at how Kirk left the children alone on the planet, to fend for themselves, given there is only six months of food left.

Kyle pointed out that Kirk did say Starfleet was going to send teachers, and more. Presumably, that meant food, too.

People Flirt in Work

Conversation moves onto Kirk and Janice Rand.

Katie takes issue with this plotline. She didn’t think it was necessary to have Rand say that she has been trying to get Kirk to look at her legs, on the Bridge, given she isn’t the one who chose the uniform design, etc.

As Kyle points out, people flirt in work. It makes sense that this would also happen on a starship.

Katie’s biggest issue is with how the writers are treating Janice Rand as an object, and have been all season.

It’s Like the Old Days

Kyle is baffled at Spock, and McCoy, saying that Miri was about to enter puberty so, as a result, was going to be ready to have sex with a man.

“It’s like the old days,” says Kyle, comparing their thinking to centuries ago, when humans would say a girl was ready to marry and have children, the moment they had their first period.

By Spock’s thinking, Katie says she would have become a woman at age 11.

Kyle wonders if the writer of the episode was clueless as to how puberty works, and that it is not just a switch that gets flicked, turning a young girl into a sexually-active woman.

Sexism

Although she has come to accept the dated production values, and style of storytelling, Katie is struggling with how Star Trek: The Original Series is treating women.

“It bashes me over the head with it’s sexism,” she declares.

Kyle is surprised that there are so many female fans of TOS, given how oversexualised it is, and how it treats female characters.

He admits that he is noticing this treatment of women more now, than he ever has before.

Vortex

Kyle begins their discussion of Vortex by stating that he is enjoying his rewatch of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine more than any of the other shows.

Despite this, he does worry that whenever they watch an episode, Katie won’t enjoy it. He thinks she judges DS9 more harshly than she does the other shows.

Cry There, You Little Bitch

Both are amused at how little Sisko seemed to care about the death of one of the alien twins.

Katie describes his attitude as, “Just go back to your ship. Cry there, you little bitch.”

This gets a chuckle.

Surely You’ve Got to Have a Passport?

Kyle thought it was rough that Odo’s favour, to the alien at the end, was to let him quietly escape to Vulcan. He can’t think of much worse places to go.

Katie thinks Risa would’ve been a place he’d rather go, and Kyle agrees that he would’ve left Vulcan as soon as he arrived there.

“Surely, you’ve got to have a passport?” Katie says, wondering how planets can keep track of people coming to and from them.

A Big Fan of Odo

Katie enjoyed this episode. She’s liked all of the Odo episodes, thus far.

She’s fully invested in finding out where Odo comes from, and wants him to find out soon.

The Necklace

Kyle was not impressed by the suggestion that the necklace Odo was given was connected to the changelings. He felt it was naff.

A Skin Loop

They can’t end the show, without discussing the alien make-up for the twins.

Kyle describes their neck design as a dog collar, with what resembled two belt loops at the front of the throat. “A skin loop,” he adds.

Both were grossed out by this design. Katie wonders if they pull on them during foreplay.

Kyle wonders if it will become a trend on Earth. Old people, with saggy necks, could get them pierced and start wearing dog collars through them.

There’s a business idea…

Ferengi Ears Are Triggering

On the subject of the skin loops, Katie confesses that ferengi ears are triggering for her.

Kyle wonders how many cotton buds the ferengi must go through, cleaning their ears.

Rom jumping to Quark’s defence, during Quark’s interrogation, was Kyle’s favourite part of the episode, given Rom was trying to kill Quark in the previous episode.

Rom and Quark are currently his favourite duo on the show.

Episode Credits

Hosts

  • Katie Harben
  • Kyle West

Editor

  • Kyle West

Small Print

The theme music is "Amiss in Wonderland" by Gabriel Lucas, and is licenced by Holosuite Media through Epidemic Sound.

Episodes contain brief extracts of audio from episodes of Star Trek, for the purpose of production style. These audio extracts are the property of CBS Viacom.

STAR TREK and all related marks, logos and characters are owned by CBS Studios Inc.

Her First Trek, Holosuite Media, the website, the promotion thereof and any exhibition of material created by Her First Trek, Holosuite Media, or the Her First Trek team are not endorsed or sponsored by or affiliated with CBS Studios/Paramount Pictures or the STAR TREK franchise.

This podcast is a fan production. All views made are that of the individual(s), and may not represent that of Her First Trek, or the Holosuite Media network.

Her First Trek - A Star Trek Review Podcast
Her First Trek: A Star Trek Review Podcast
12. Pull My Loop
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