Father David Subu joins host Cindy Collins Smith to discuss their recent theatrical experience of Project Hail Mary - a hard science fiction film that blends humor, optimism, and self-sacrifice in the face of a potentially galaxy-ending phenomenon, and holds an unexpected and transformative friendship at the center of the film.

Our Babylon 5 panel was stunned in its previous episode to learn that Maggie had never seen the classic Star Trek: TNG episode “Darmok.” Now, along with “Maggie, her eyes uncovered,” part of our panel reconvenes to discuss Darmok… and Maggie’s response. Join us as we recount Captain Dathon’s faith and hope as he puts his life on the line to establish communication (and maybe communion?) between two races that communicate in mutually unintelligible ways. Frequently counted in TNG Top 10 lists, Darmok gives a masterclass in acting with an often opaque script.

Our panel - composed of Cindy Collins Smith, Maggie and Jos Johnson, Richard Strube, Sam Cook, and Amy Browning-Dill - returns as Babylon 5 hits its stride. With the Centauri Emperor’s visit, the beginning of the Great War, and the first true revelations of the Shadows, the series accelerates into its central arc - and rarely lets up. These episodes bring those threads together, deepening the characters and sharpening the show’s core themes of choice, consequences, and sacrifice. Here, the epic begins.

George R.R. Martin’s reputation does not often include serving up tales of honor, goodness, and chivalry, yet his personal favorite work is his series of Dunk & Egg novellas, following the adventures of an un-ironically good hedge knight and his young squire about a century before Game of Thrones starts. Amy Browning-Dill and Fr. David Subu join host Cindy Collins Smith to discuss the memorable characters, themes, and twists in season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - a fairly faithful rendering of Martin’s first Dunk & Egg novella. Was Ser Duncan’s master, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, a drunk or a bit of a holy fool? Is Aerion Brightflame pure evil or an example of a man consumed by his passions? And why did the greatest knight in the Realm stand with an unproven hedge knight in mortal combat?

In this sequel to the “Android Dreams” episode, Derek Power returns as he and host Cindy Collins Smith tackle Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049. While Derek finds echoes of the Incarnation in the miraculously-born child and its protectors, the conversation ultimately centers on the results of choice more than destiny.