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Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

Jul 30, 2022

Star Trek’s Double Troubles

Don’t they say you die if you meet yourself? Our intrepid Starfleet officers had better hope the answer is no, since encounters with doubles, doppelgängers, and duplicates appear to be just part of the job. From the two Kirks in “The Enemy Within” to Lower Decks’s twinned Boimlers,...


Mar 27, 2022

Captain Picard and Indiana Jones.

Wise, measured, and distinctly unromantic, Captain Jean-Luc Picard was conceived from the start as very different from his predecessor, James T. Kirk. But for Patrick Stewart, the lack of physical drama felt creatively unsatisfying. In October 1988, he wrote a letter to Gene Roddenberry...


Jul 10, 2019

Cast Changes in Star Trek.

When Star Trek’s original pilot, “The Cage,” was rejected by NBC, Gene Roddenberry was forced to rethink the acting lineup for his new show. Jeffrey Hunter’s Christopher Pike was out, replaced by the more charismatic William Shatner as James T. Kirk. Gone, too, was Roddenberry’s...


Sep 26, 2018

Hawkeye Pierce, Milo Minderbinder, and Nog.

In a series celebrated for its long-form serialized storytelling, Deep Space Nine’s young Ferengi Nog enjoyed one of Star Trek’s most satisfying character arcs, going from illiterate juvenile delinquent to Starfleet officer on the fast track to command. But as much as the...