The Greatest Generation (podcast)

*Greatest Trek*
Greatest Trek
Presentation
Hosted by	Adam Pranica ; Benjamin Ahr Harrison
Genre	Comedy
Updates	Weekly (Tuesdays)
Length	50-75 min.
Production
Production	Rob Schulte (episodes 1–126) ; Wynde Priddy (127–present);
Theme music composed by	Adam Ragusea
Opening theme	The Greatest Discovery Theme (episodes 1–185); The Greatest Trek (186–present)
Ending theme	The Greatest Discovery Theme (episodes 1–185); The Greatest Trek (186–present)
No. of episodes	250 (as of December 15, 2023)
Publication
Original release	September 22, 2017
Related
Website	https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/greatest-trek/

*The Greatest Generation*
The Greatest Generation
Presentation
Hosted by	Adam Pranica ; Benjamin Ahr Harrison
Genre	Comedy
Updates	Weekly (Mondays)
Length	50-75 min.
Production
Opening theme	The Picard Song by Darkmateria (episodes 1–178); DS9 Intro Theme by Adam Ragusea/Darkmateria (179–351); The Janeway Song (DO IT) by Adam Ragusea (352–present);
Ending theme	The Picard Song by Darkmateria
No. of episodes	523 (as of May 20, 2024)
Publication
Original release	January 25, 2016
Related
Website	http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/greatest-generation

The Greatest Generation is a weekly comedy Star Trek podcast hosted by Adam Pranica and Benjamin Harrison and distributed online by Maximum Fun. The show's tagline is "A Star Trek podcast by two guys who are a little bit embarrassed to have a Star Trek Podcast." The show started on January 25, 2016, and after 30 episodes joined the Maximum Fun network on May 9, 2016.^[1] The show, as of August 2018, is the highest-rated Star Trek podcast on iTunes.^[2]

History and format

From January 2016 to September 2017 the podcast was posted twice-weekly (on Mondays and Wednesdays), with each show reviewing an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (where the podcast gets its name). After completing its run of The Next Generation, the show switched to once a week (Mondays) and moved on to review episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in October 2017, Star Trek: Voyager in February 2021, and Star Trek: Enterprise in May 2024.

The podcast has a number of running gags, such as referring to the listeners as "viewers" and Pranica and Harrison parodying This Old House or impersonating the character of Kevin Uxbridge (played by John Anderson) from The Next Generation episode "The Survivors".

Maron open and review

Every show starts with a Maron Open (named after comedian Marc Maron's podcast, WTF with Marc Maron). There are a few standard opening segments including opening trading cards, reading fan mail, or "Bible Study" (where they open up the show bible and compare the plan for the show to its eventual execution). The opening for episode 152 (which was published on July 10, 2017 and reviewed "Descent, part II") featured Pranica and Harrison interviewing LeVar Burton, who portrayed Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in The Next Generation.^[3]

Following the Maron Open, Pranica and Harrison give a walk-through of the selected Star Trek episode scene by scene, followed by a review. Pranica and Harrison, both of whom have professional video production experience,^[4]^[5] use their knowledge of cinematography to provide commentary on the show, offering insight into some of the aspects of Star Trek while also pointing out some of the areas where it could be better. Using their experience, they critique the show's sets, special effects, acting, hairstyles, writing, and directing.

Drunk Shimoda

After the review of the episode, Pranica and Harrison designate their "Drunk Shimoda" for that episode, which is the character or actor (or in some cases TV crew member) having the most fun or just being the silliest in the episode. The term "Drunk Shimoda" is a reference to the second episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Naked Now," in which assistant chief engineer Jim Shimoda is inebriated by a virus and removes all of the isolinear chips from the engine control station.

Episode vetoes

At the end of each episode, Harrison reads the preview for the next episode they are to review from Amazon and Netflix. During their reviews of The Next Generation, Pranica and Harrison each had the chance to veto one episode per season of The Next Generation, meaning they would skip that episode and review the one after instead. However, the vetoes could be nullified if the other host chose to use their veto to counter the decision, which is what happened every time the vetoes were used.

In Season 1 Pranica vetoed "Haven" because it featured Lwaxana Troi, but this was nullified by Harrison. In Season 2 Harrison attempted to veto the episode “Up the Long Ladder,” but Pranica nullified as he felt they should watch a low quality episode. In Season 3 Harrison described "The Ensigns of Command" as one of his favorite episodes, leading Pranica to veto it and forcing Harrison to counter-veto. In Season 4 Harrison vetoed “Remember Me", describing it as "a turkey", but Pranica nullified. In Season 5 Harrison attempted to veto “New Ground", incorrectly thinking it featured Lwaxana Troi, but Pranica nullified as he felt Harrison was "vetoing blind". In Season 6 Pranica vetoed "Rascals" (in which four adult characters are turned into 12-year-old children) stating he was "anti-kids", Harrison countered because he liked the episode and thought it needed a second chance. In Season 7 Pranica attempted to veto "Dark Page", again because it featured Lwaxana Troi, but Harrison countered it because he did not have detailed intelligence about the episode.^[6]

Board game

As Pranica and Harrison's knowledge of Deep Space Nine was not as strong as it was for The Next Generation, instead of vetoes, for the last fifteen episodes of the first season of Deep Space Nine, Harrison rolled a virtual die. If they rolled a 1 (out of a potential 1 thru 15), they would have to be drunk for that episode, something they achieved twice.

From the second season onward, Pranica and Harrison created a Snakes and Ladders style board game called "Game of Buttholes: The Will Of the Prophets" during reviews of Deep Space Nine and "Game of Buttholes: The Will Of the Caretaker" during reviews of Voyager.^[7] At the end of each episode the virtual die is rolled and Pranica and Harrison advance as many spaces on the board, resulting in either a blank tile (meaning a normal next episode) or an action tile containing a theme for the next episode. There are 100 tiles out of which 76 are blank, 18 are action tiles and 6 are Bajoran Wormholes (meaning they would move to a lower part of the board, the equivalent of snakes in Snakes and Ladders).

The action tile themes are:

Quark's Bar: A "Drunkisode", where Pranica and Harrison have to be drunk recording the show (9 tiles)
CoCo NoNo: A tiki-themed Drunkisode
Mornhammered: Power Hour, where Pranica and Harrison have to take a one shot of beer every minute while recording
Starship Mine: Where Pranica and Harrison have to build a spaceship model while recording the show
Caught in the Nebula: Where Pranica and Harrison have no notes and cannot scroll through the episode while recording
The Nth Degree: Where Pranica and Harrison have to undertake extensive research about the episode
Measure of a Man: Pranica and Harrison flip a coin at the start of the recording and then vehemently argue the pros and cons of the episode depending on the result of the coin toss
The Naked Now: Pranica and Harrison record the show from their respective bathtubs
Looking At Each Other During: One host has to fly to the other host's city and record in-person
Fuck It, We'll Do It Live!: Livestream the recording session

The game was updated when the show moved to Voyager with "Bangers" and "The Traveller" replacing Bajoran Wormholes. "Looking At Each Other During" and "Fuck It, We'll Do It Live" tiles were removed and replaced by:

His Eyes Uncovered: The hosts must employ ten Tamarian-style metaphors during the episode
Jay Gordon (later renamed to Naomi Wildman): Each host must make a piece of artwork representing the episode and share it with the other and post pictures
Neelix's Galley: The hosts drink Talaxian Champagne
The Caretaker: The Caretaker sends the runabout to a random square on the board

In August 2022, during Voyager's fourth season, the game was updated to add two new tiles:

Kanar with Damar: Each host attempts to create a cocktail that tastes like Kanar and the other host must try the recipe
Brone Zone: The hosts must communicate using glorified Vori tellings during the fullness of the episode

Greatest Trek

In 2017 Pranica and Harrison started a new podcast, The Greatest Discovery, following the launch of Star Trek: Discovery. It was billed as "the unofficial, irreverent and filthy aftershow Discovery didn't know it needed."^[8]

The podcast, which is released the Friday after a new episode of Star Trek is aired, reviews each episode in the same format as The Greatest Generation. When there are no new episodes, the podcast is released monthly with Pranica and Harrison discussing Star Trek related news, interviewing guests and reviewing other Star Trek related media, such as comics and specific episodes of The Original Series. Guests featured on The Greatest Discovery include Anson Mount, J. K. Woodward and Chris Black.

Following the launch of Short Treks and the announcement of Star Trek: Picard, Pranica and Harrison announced that The Greatest Discovery would be used to review all upcoming Star Trek television properties, including Short Treks, Picard, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, in addition to Discovery. In August 2022, coinciding with the launch of Lower Decks season 3, the podcast was renamed Greatest Trek.

Reception

On February 14, 2016 Ars Technica published a review of the podcast titled "If you grew up watching ST:TNG, then you'll love this new podcast."^[9] On July 29, 2016, Slate's Sarah Archer offered a review of the podcast noting that the "show has lost a few listeners thanks to their willingness to bust the show's chops, other listeners (like me) delight in their clear affection for it and their admiration for its progressive ideals."^[10] Archer also stated the podcast was "more Mystery Science Theater 3000 than Comic-Con."^[10]

References

^ "Ep 30: Dick Valet (S2E5) | Maximum Fun". www.maximumfun.org. 8 May 2016.
^ "The Greatest Generation". iTunes Store. Apple. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
^ Harrison, Benjamin Ahr (14 July 2017). "LeVar Burton on The Greatest Generation". Benjamin Ahr Harrison. Medium. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
^ "Bad Character". www.badcharacter.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
^ "Dorsia Films". www.dorsiafilms.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
^ "Every Veto on The Greatest Generation". YouTube. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
^ "The Greatest Generation". gagh.biz. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
^ "The Greatest Discovery | Maximum Fun". www.maximumfun.org. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
^ Farivar, Cyrus (14 February 2016). "If you grew up watching ST:TNG, then you'll love this new podcast". arsTechnica. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b Archer, Sarah (29 July 2016). "This Hilarious Star Trek Podcast Perfectly Captures the Spirit of The Next Generation". Slate. Retrieved 29 November 2017.