BONUS: Beverly Crusher Day 2024 - React & Review of "Open a Channel"

[00:00:00] I think I'm saying that we struggle all our lives to answer it. That it's the struggle that is important. That's what helps us to define our place in the universe.

[00:00:10] This is, uh, Beverly. Dr. Beverly. Dr. Dr. Beverly Crusher.

[00:00:15] Honest. Forceful. Trusting. Brilliant. Strong. And adventurous. And this is Crusher Convo.

[00:00:29] Welcome to Crusher Convo, where we are crushing the conversation one episode at a time.

[00:00:35] And happily Beverly Crusher Day guys, to all those who celebrate, because in 300 years our favorite dancing doctor will be born.

[00:00:44] Now, I do want to mention real fast because if you head over to Gates with Fatitz Tee Public Store, they have a very, very special design there that her team put together and you will not be disappointed.

[00:00:57] So there's the link, TeePublic.com forward slash stores, forward slash gates dash McFadden dash official dash store.

[00:01:04] So, wanted to mention that real fast. And of course I got a couple of things that I want to just kind of get out of the way.

[00:01:12] And, you know, a few reminders and a few upcoming things.

[00:01:16] First off, this shirt, Be Kind Like Crusher.

[00:01:21] This is at my TeePublic store, which there is the link, TeePublic.com forward slash viewers forward slash Crusher dash Convo.

[00:01:30] And all the proceeds of all these sales will go to Trek Talks next year, which is January 18th.

[00:01:38] And it's a wonderful telethon that, you know, John Billingsley, Bonnie Gordon and a bunch of the Trek stars come together from Trek Geeks and Sci-Fi Sisters.

[00:01:50] And all of them come together and they try to raise money for the Hollywood Food Coalition, which is a great organization.

[00:01:57] Definitely look it up. So if you want to, there's their followed at Trek underscore talks and all their socials and then their YouTube channel, which is at Trek Talks Telethon.

[00:02:09] So, yeah, any of these sales at my TeePublic stores will go to Trek Talks.

[00:02:15] So please hit it up. You can get a sticker, a hat. This is my Crusher combo hat.

[00:02:19] I don't know if you could see it. But, yeah, I think it's it's a pretty nifty little design.

[00:02:24] So hopefully you guys will like it. Let me check real fast.

[00:02:28] We got someone in the comments. There's Happy Bookworm.

[00:02:32] Hello. And Terra Alpha Audio Drama, which we just met.

[00:02:38] So hello, hello. Glad you are here.

[00:02:42] So next thing I did actually want to mention.

[00:02:46] I give away. OK, guys.

[00:02:48] So for all new subscribers up until December 1st or until we get to 200 subscribers, I'm giving away the Beverly Crusher ornament.

[00:02:58] I mean, we don't get a lot of Beverly Crusher merch.

[00:03:02] So this is a big deal.

[00:03:04] And also some stickers.

[00:03:06] So all new subscribers hit me up.

[00:03:10] There will be a drawing.

[00:03:12] If your name is picked, you get the ornament and some stickers.

[00:03:15] So I just wanted to announce that again because I just put that out there.

[00:03:19] I was trying to give away this blanket because it says Maurice Hurley on it.

[00:03:23] And as a Gates of Expanded fan, I'm not sure if I should have that.

[00:03:26] But apparently no other Beverly Crusher fan wants it as well.

[00:03:29] It's just fine.

[00:03:30] Maybe we could do something else with the blanket.

[00:03:32] But I think the ornament, all of you guys, good luck.

[00:03:37] And also, I'm on TikTok.

[00:03:40] I bit the bullet.

[00:03:42] I decided to go on because not everyone that's on TikTok is on Instagram or vice versa.

[00:03:48] So I just started to kind of post some my fan cams over there, some of my sneak peeks of interviews and episodes and stuff like that.

[00:03:58] And so far, it's been going pretty good.

[00:03:59] My daughter now has TikTok because now I have TikTok.

[00:04:03] And she's been having a lot of fun on there.

[00:04:05] So if you want to see a kid go skippity or skippity, I guess that's how you say it.

[00:04:10] That's my kid.

[00:04:12] But anyways, there I am at Crusher Convo.

[00:04:17] Patreon, guys.

[00:04:18] I have a Patreon.

[00:04:19] Patreon, if you would like to join me over there for as low as $3 a month, you could be a Starfleet commander, which is general support, member shout out, and of course, joining the private community.

[00:04:33] Also, if for just a few dollars more, you can be the admiral of Starfleet medical where you get those three things plus exclusive bonus content and sneak peek to interviews.

[00:04:47] I have one Patreon member, which is Engineer Mark.

[00:04:54] I appreciate your support.

[00:04:55] You are awesome.

[00:04:56] I definitely wanted to give you a shout out.

[00:05:00] So yeah, let me see here.

[00:05:03] Looking over here, we got Mr. Mizzle.

[00:05:07] Thank you, L-L-A-P.

[00:05:09] Appreciate you here today.

[00:05:12] You know, guys, it is a big day for us.

[00:05:14] It is Beverly Crusher Day, and we celebrate every year not only how amazing Beverly Crusher is, but also how amazing Gates McFadden is.

[00:05:24] And so if you go to hashtag BevCrusherDay on Twitter, Instagram, threads, wherever your socials are at, especially Twitter, you will see amazing things.

[00:05:36] Artwork, videos, just why people love Beverly Crusher.

[00:05:41] It's kind of a cool day to really have a lot of the Bev heads kind of come together and celebrate our favorite doctor.

[00:05:50] So definitely hit that up.

[00:05:52] But I like to celebrate Beverly Crusher for one, you know, that's my podcast.

[00:05:57] It's about the Crusher family.

[00:05:59] But two, you know, just to really highlight those special things about Beverly and why she's so important to the franchise.

[00:06:07] So today's going to be a little different, though, because I'm not just specifically going to be talking about Beverly Crusher.

[00:06:16] I will, obviously.

[00:06:17] But I am going to be talking about Nana Visitor's new book, Open a Channel, A Woman's Trek.

[00:06:25] I got this a week ago.

[00:06:27] So I'm a very slow reader.

[00:06:29] So I couldn't get through all of it, unfortunately.

[00:06:32] But I mean, it is so far what I've read is absolutely amazing.

[00:06:36] And it's funny because, like, a lot of the stuff I knew, but when you put it into context, especially the way that Nana is explaining it, it really hits you differently.

[00:06:50] Okay?

[00:06:50] So I got mine on Amazon.

[00:06:52] I'm sure you could buy it on Amazon, on any of, you know, probably if you go to your local bookstore, you should be able to find it.

[00:06:58] But it is filled with just amazing stuff.

[00:07:02] I mean, we got pictures.

[00:07:03] It's just, it's so cool.

[00:07:06] I mean, it's such a cool book.

[00:07:08] I was very excited to do this.

[00:07:12] And especially because one of the big things that we love about Beverly is how strong, compassionate, how kind she is.

[00:07:22] And this focuses on everyone, the women of Star Trek.

[00:07:27] The reason, you know, we all just adore these characters and why we adore these characters.

[00:07:33] And the actors who brought them to life.

[00:07:37] And I think that was just so, so important to be able to bring all that stuff that they went through to light because you could see, you know, a certain scene of Beverly talking to Picard.

[00:07:50] And it might have not gone that way or it was supposed to be something different or something might have happened.

[00:07:56] And you never know the process because you're just watching the television show, right?

[00:08:01] But for them, it's everything.

[00:08:03] You know, they probably fought to have this line or they probably tried to do it differently and they were turned down.

[00:08:09] And so it's amazing of what had gone back then for all this to come together.

[00:08:16] So definitely wanted to mention that.

[00:08:19] So, yeah.

[00:08:20] So I'm going to go ahead and get started.

[00:08:23] And she had a lot of interviews.

[00:08:25] Okay.

[00:08:26] And she talked about a lot of different women characters.

[00:08:29] Clearly, she couldn't get to everybody.

[00:08:30] But these are the ones that she had so far.

[00:08:34] Who she has?

[00:08:35] She has Majel Barrett, you know, Grace Lee Whitney, Nichelle Nichols.

[00:08:40] She even talks about Lucia Ball and Daisy Fontana.

[00:08:42] And, of course, there's Denise and Gates and Marina.

[00:08:46] Alice Craig, who is the Borg Queen.

[00:08:49] Of course, Nana's in there.

[00:08:51] Terry, Nicole, Penny.

[00:08:53] You know, it's Cassidy Yates.

[00:08:55] Rosalind Chow, Chase.

[00:08:58] You know, Kate Mulgrew, obviously.

[00:08:59] Jerry Ryan.

[00:09:02] She talks a bit about Jennifer, who played Kes.

[00:09:06] Roxanne Dawson.

[00:09:08] Jolene, which is to Paul.

[00:09:10] Linda Park.

[00:09:11] Sonequa.

[00:09:12] Mary.

[00:09:14] You know, Tani Newsome.

[00:09:16] And then, of course, Christina, Melissa, and Jess from Strange New Worlds.

[00:09:20] Now, I did want to also just give a few honorable mentions.

[00:09:25] Like I said, there was so many.

[00:09:27] But, you know, I just talked to Stephanie Chakowsky, who was in Season 3 of Picard.

[00:09:32] You know, there was also Tiffany Sheepis, Olivia Youngers, Tracy Lee Coco, Michelle Hurd, Ashley Sharp Chestnut, Mika Burton.

[00:09:41] Celia Rose Gooding.

[00:09:43] Celia Rose Gooding.

[00:09:43] Rebecca Romijn.

[00:09:44] Allison Peel.

[00:09:45] Isa Barone.

[00:09:46] Don Lewis.

[00:09:47] The list goes on.

[00:09:48] Like, there's just so many amazing actresses.

[00:09:51] Women of Trek.

[00:09:52] That definitely deserve a shout out.

[00:09:55] So, yeah.

[00:09:57] Lots of fun.

[00:09:57] So, let's go ahead and get into it.

[00:10:00] Oh, we got another comment.

[00:10:01] We have Janice saying hello.

[00:10:04] Hello, hello.

[00:10:05] And Janice says that her favorite character is Wesley Crusher.

[00:10:09] And we also love Wesley.

[00:10:12] Probably won't be messing with Wesley too much in today's thing.

[00:10:16] But, you know, he's very important to the podcast for sure.

[00:10:20] So, I'm going to check my Instagram real fast.

[00:10:24] We have a Will Wheaton fan for Life 14.

[00:10:27] Says she loves my shirt.

[00:10:28] Thank you very much.

[00:10:30] And asked about how it was like meeting Will Wheaton.

[00:10:34] It was amazing.

[00:10:36] I just met Will a couple weeks ago at FanX.

[00:10:40] Definitely just amazing, amazing guy.

[00:10:43] Like, I just could sit there and talk to him for hours.

[00:10:46] Like, he's just absolutely great.

[00:10:47] So, but yeah.

[00:10:49] Let's go ahead and get started.

[00:10:52] And if you guys have any questions or comments, just keep hitting that comment button.

[00:10:57] All right.

[00:10:57] So, this was the very beginning.

[00:11:01] I had picked a few snippets in here.

[00:11:06] Mostly about TNG and Voyager and DS9.

[00:11:09] But this was the very beginning.

[00:11:12] Like, the introduction part.

[00:11:13] Part in this is what Nana had to say.

[00:11:17] She says, I was also thrilled to discover how big a role Star Trek had played in changing individual lives.

[00:11:24] We actors hear firsthand from audience members what the effect of Trek has been on their lives.

[00:11:31] So, we are primed to take on the responsibility for our characters.

[00:11:36] It is a unique opportunity to understand the importance of the story and the myths of telling it.

[00:11:41] Hearing what gave women a sense of freedom in their emotional lives has made me an advocate for them.

[00:11:48] I really loved that.

[00:11:50] I know they are so humbled by all the stories when they meet these fans.

[00:11:57] Just telling them how, you know, they inspired them to become doctors or scientists or security officer or something in that, in those fields.

[00:12:06] And, you know, at first, I think these actors were just like, well, we're playing a character and they're going to play them to the best of their ability.

[00:12:12] But they didn't realize just how much of an impact they were going to make.

[00:12:15] And they're still impacting to this day.

[00:12:19] Talk a little bit more about my impact.

[00:12:21] And also about a certain special surprise that I saw in the book at the very end that I'm going to get into.

[00:12:27] But, yeah, I think it's one of those things where even after 30 plus years, these actors are still surprised about how much they mean to so many people.

[00:12:39] And that is something that they hold dear.

[00:12:42] Right.

[00:12:43] And I think that was probably part of the reason why Nana did the book was because she wanted to embrace that and show that to everybody.

[00:12:53] This is what we went through and this is the strengths and how we had to get it done.

[00:12:59] And but, yeah, I think that was I loved that part of the introduction.

[00:13:03] The next one here was about Denise Crosby.

[00:13:07] And I picked out this little section and it was under no control.

[00:13:11] Says Roddenberry had told Denise that once she was a cat was cast, it was up to her to make the role live.

[00:13:19] However, she didn't have the opportunity to influence the scripts and soon found that she only got significant screen time in a handful of episodes.

[00:13:29] The intention was clearly to create a character who pushed the boundaries of what was normal for a woman.

[00:13:34] In 1987, a warrior woman was very much of a forward looking idea.

[00:13:40] Tasha is a product of her time.

[00:13:43] I always thought of Tasha as kind of I like how she said warrior woman because she definitely had that Zena mentality.

[00:13:52] Right.

[00:13:53] And I know what they were going for.

[00:13:57] But when you read the book and a lot of Denise has talked about this a lot, you know.

[00:14:04] Gene had this idea of still the 1960s, even though it was 1987.

[00:14:10] He still had this mindset of like, well, the formula was, you know, Kirk, Spock and Bones and it worked.

[00:14:18] So we're going to stick to it and it's going to be Picard, Riker and Data like that was his mind.

[00:14:23] You're there. You're important. But you're you're over here.

[00:14:27] Right.

[00:14:28] That really doesn't sit well for not only the actor, but for the audience, because in a lot of cases and we all know this,

[00:14:39] we have a lot of fans who love more than just Picard, Riker and Data.

[00:14:44] We have a lot of fans that love Worf.

[00:14:46] We have a lot of fans that love Troy.

[00:14:47] We have a lot of fans that love Crusher.

[00:14:48] Like there's a list and I don't think Gene really understood it at the time.

[00:14:56] That this cast is a whole, it's one character, right?

[00:15:00] Even the Enterprise D is a character like they're all in it together.

[00:15:05] And so just kind of putting three in the front and the rest in the back.

[00:15:09] Yeah, it worked in 1966, but it wasn't necessarily going to work in 1987.

[00:15:15] And also, I mean, you kind of have to think about what was going on in 1987.

[00:15:19] I mean, we had Golden Girls, for goodness sakes, which was an all women cast, older ladies who are living their life to the best of their abilities.

[00:15:28] And that's what we liked.

[00:15:30] And so we wanted to see more strong women characters.

[00:15:34] And they had the idea.

[00:15:36] They just didn't know how to execute it properly.

[00:15:40] So it was kind of disappointing because, I mean, at the time we had Ripley.

[00:15:44] We had Marion Ravenwood.

[00:15:45] We had Leia, for goodness sakes.

[00:15:47] Like there was just, there was a lot of strong women characters at the time that it was kind of surprising.

[00:15:53] That they couldn't really push the boundaries.

[00:15:56] But unfortunately, we still had a lot of misogyny going on at that time.

[00:16:02] And so, you know, they definitely had to fight a lot just to even get certain screen time.

[00:16:08] Right?

[00:16:09] Or even just to have their voice be heard.

[00:16:11] And of course, we also know that Gates wasn't even in season two.

[00:16:16] And we all know why.

[00:16:17] And so it's disappointing because I think, especially for Tasha's character, you know, her character went through a lot.

[00:16:26] She was from a horrible planet.

[00:16:28] She escaped.

[00:16:30] She did better for herself.

[00:16:32] She went to Starfleet.

[00:16:34] You know, she definitely did a lot to get out away from her past.

[00:16:39] And we just didn't get to see that.

[00:16:42] And what's even sadder is that, you know, she left like a rape planet and abuse to be in the Starfleet and to be a better person.

[00:16:51] But then she ends up dying just to be captured by Romulan being their slave and having their child and then getting killed for it.

[00:17:01] Like Tasha's story is like so sad.

[00:17:04] If you think about it, it is horrifically sad that you're just like, what?

[00:17:08] But she totally deserved better, in my opinion.

[00:17:12] Like Tasha deserved better.

[00:17:13] Denise deserved better.

[00:17:15] It was absolutely just insane how that all ended.

[00:17:19] So yeah, it's disappointing.

[00:17:23] It's definitely disappointing.

[00:17:24] But I've met Denise.

[00:17:26] She is hilarious.

[00:17:27] I love her to death.

[00:17:30] We saw each other again in FanX of 2023.

[00:17:37] And her and Michael Dorn were just cracking jokes about Lecoq, Gates' mentor.

[00:17:49] And they were just cracking jokes.

[00:17:50] My daughter ended up cracking jokes.

[00:17:52] Denise thought it was hilarious.

[00:17:53] And now they bonded.

[00:17:54] Like it was just who she is.

[00:17:56] She's also a Dodger fan.

[00:17:57] Bleed blue.

[00:17:58] We're doing good right now.

[00:18:00] We'll see what happens in the next couple weeks.

[00:18:02] But she's just a great person.

[00:18:04] And I just kind of wish that she had more than what we got.

[00:18:08] Okay.

[00:18:08] So that's just how it is.

[00:18:11] But yeah, let's go ahead to the next one.

[00:18:14] And of course, it's Gates McFadden's section.

[00:18:19] No anger.

[00:18:21] This baffled me.

[00:18:24] Like it blew my mind when I read this.

[00:18:26] I was like, what?

[00:18:28] Gates found out she was pregnant during filming of this episode, which was Remember Me.

[00:18:33] She told me that she had asked to have her pregnancy written in to avoid hiding it through limited filming, desks, and carrying things, which was a customary on TV back then.

[00:18:44] Unfortunately, she found out they were allowing another actor to play her pregnancy on DS9.

[00:18:49] And they couldn't have two Star Trek women pregnant at the same time.

[00:18:53] That other actor was me.

[00:18:55] She spent the rest of the season hiding her belly in limited scenes.

[00:18:58] And in all the time I've known her, she had never told me my pregnancy had affected her work.

[00:19:04] Like women writers at the time who fought for the woman's slot, quote unquote.

[00:19:09] Pregnant women had a slot too.

[00:19:11] And I had beaten her to it.

[00:19:14] So apparently you can't be pregnant at the same time in the 24th century.

[00:19:19] I lost my mind.

[00:19:21] I literally lost my mind.

[00:19:23] I could not believe that they couldn't have two actors.

[00:19:29] And it's on two different shows.

[00:19:30] It's not like it was two actors both on The Next Generation.

[00:19:34] She's on The Next Generation.

[00:19:36] Nana's over at Deep Space Nine.

[00:19:38] So I'm like, who cares?

[00:19:41] What the heck?

[00:19:43] But I've heard so much of where Gates even said this when she was on.

[00:19:49] I'm trying to remember her name.

[00:19:52] Joan Rivers.

[00:19:53] And she was like, I thought I was going to get fired.

[00:19:56] Because that was customary back then.

[00:19:58] You could lose your job because you got pregnant.

[00:20:01] Just, oh my gosh.

[00:20:03] And this happened to Gillian Anderson where she thought she was going to get fired.

[00:20:08] She got pregnant on the very first season of The X-Files.

[00:20:11] She thought she was going to get fired.

[00:20:13] And David's like, no, you're not.

[00:20:15] But fortunately for her, everyone was very supportive on The X-Files set.

[00:20:20] The only problem was it would have been a little too soon to be like Alien Baby on the first season.

[00:20:25] So they did hide her pregnancy.

[00:20:27] We got Alien Baby later on.

[00:20:29] But it was just too soon.

[00:20:31] So I guess because of creative differences, that didn't play out the way she wanted it.

[00:20:38] But I'm hoping she understood.

[00:20:39] I don't know.

[00:20:40] I don't know how that ended.

[00:20:42] But yeah.

[00:20:42] I mean, it's so crazy that it's like you're a working woman.

[00:20:47] You're married or whatever.

[00:20:48] You want kids and stuff like that.

[00:20:49] And then you have to choose between your children and your career.

[00:20:53] I don't think that's true.

[00:20:57] And I grew up with a single mom who had to work to provide for her kids.

[00:21:04] And she also had to deal with misogyny.

[00:21:08] Okay.

[00:21:08] And it just amazes me that even no matter what profession you're in, it's a problem.

[00:21:18] Like they're just going to be like, oh, well, you're not going to be able to do it.

[00:21:22] Or they start making excuses of like, but then when the baby comes, it's going to be a problem.

[00:21:27] And it's like, no, we could do it.

[00:21:30] We can multitask.

[00:21:31] Thank you very much.

[00:21:32] I just could not believe that they just didn't even write her story.

[00:21:36] And just because they couldn't have two characters pregnant at the same time, because that's just unheard of.

[00:21:42] I'm going to check Instagram real fast.

[00:21:44] We've got a couple more people who have joined us.

[00:21:47] So thank you guys.

[00:21:49] That was another part of Gates McFadden's section of the book.

[00:21:53] I like that she mentioned this.

[00:21:56] It was under Crusher's Choice.

[00:21:58] She was talking about attached and the whole will they, won't they trope.

[00:22:03] She says, the answer is not now.

[00:22:06] And the one to decide that is Crusher.

[00:22:08] I like that she has agency in this relationship.

[00:22:11] That's admirable.

[00:22:12] But like with so many episodes, I felt like I was supposed to be more interested in how rejection feels for Picard than how it feels for both of them.

[00:22:23] Now, when Beverly returns in Star Trek Picard, you can see how the times have moved on.

[00:22:28] Despite having Picard's child, she has rejected him and set out on her own path.

[00:22:33] When he complains, she points out that he always put ship and duty first, stating that this wasn't enough for her.

[00:22:40] For me, and I think for Gates, we finally get to see the Dr. Crusher that was promised to us in the beginning.

[00:22:46] And it was quite thrilling.

[00:22:49] I know a lot of people had a lot of issues with that storyline, with Beverly leaving Picard and hiding Jack away.

[00:22:58] I believe it was Trev from Salon Trek.

[00:23:01] He has, or maybe it was Stan.

[00:23:02] I don't remember.

[00:23:03] One of those two.

[00:23:03] I always get them confused because they are one.

[00:23:07] They said she made the wrong decision for the right reasons.

[00:23:13] Is it good that she hid his child?

[00:23:16] Not so much.

[00:23:17] Did she have really good reason to do so?

[00:23:19] Yes, she did.

[00:23:21] But I don't think they quite realize, and I don't know if it's just the writers at the time or what,

[00:23:29] but Picard always was about duty and honor and being a captain.

[00:23:36] That personal relationships were never really his thing.

[00:23:41] Right?

[00:23:42] Beverly knew that, which is probably why she kept her distance.

[00:23:48] She didn't want herself to get hurt.

[00:23:51] And in all honesty, she probably also didn't want to hurt Picard.

[00:23:54] She knew how fragile he could be.

[00:23:59] She's fragile in her own way.

[00:24:01] And so this was a decision that she had to make for both of them.

[00:24:04] Because it wasn't a decision that he would be able to make.

[00:24:09] And I also don't think that she would want to feel like he had to choose.

[00:24:13] And so she just made the choice for him.

[00:24:16] And she did what was best for her child.

[00:24:17] I mean, as a mother, and she even said this, she was like,

[00:24:21] as a mother, your whole being is about protecting your children.

[00:24:25] It's very true.

[00:24:27] We are, and it's not even just our children.

[00:24:29] It's all children, right?

[00:24:31] Like I got nieces and nephews and cousins and stuff that I will die for them.

[00:24:36] And it's just one of those things.

[00:24:38] I mean, even my assistant manager, she has a daughter.

[00:24:40] Love her daughter.

[00:24:41] I will protect her with my life.

[00:24:44] So, but how strong Beverly is and that just how she made those sacrifices and she was alone

[00:24:52] and it was tough for her and everything like that.

[00:24:54] She, she did it for the right reasons.

[00:24:56] So I think, you know, a lot of people are always going to be, he was right.

[00:25:01] She was right back and forth, whatever.

[00:25:03] But I think just in the end, they're human.

[00:25:08] You know, it was a human reaction.

[00:25:10] It was a human choice.

[00:25:12] And she did what she thought was right.

[00:25:14] And so that is admirable in, in a lot of ways.

[00:25:19] So the next one, I was so excited.

[00:25:22] She mentioned this.

[00:25:23] I was stoked.

[00:25:24] I was like, thank you for bringing this to my attention because, you know,

[00:25:28] not a lot of actors are watching, they hardly watch their own show, much less other Star

[00:25:33] Trek episodes.

[00:25:34] So I think this was a big journey for Nana to just go in and be like, I'm going to be

[00:25:38] watching, you know, TNG and Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks and all this stuff and just see

[00:25:43] what's going on.

[00:25:44] And like she put in the effort and she did great.

[00:25:47] And she was pointing out stuff that I, even I pointed out when I first started watching

[00:25:51] Star Trek.

[00:25:51] This one was about Marina.

[00:25:56] It's under victim.

[00:25:58] She goes, I was struck by how many times Troy's body or brain was used against her will.

[00:26:05] Most of the writers I spoke with mentioned the difficulty of telling stories without the

[00:26:11] drama boosting interpersonal conflict.

[00:26:14] Finding a way to use a woman character who was under the idolized human concept without

[00:26:21] slipping into a soapy romance of the week must have been challenging.

[00:26:25] At the time, it must have felt necessary to take away what is most valuable to a character

[00:26:30] to understand how they would behave.

[00:26:33] And of course, for Troy, it was her Betazoid powers.

[00:26:37] It was her empathy.

[00:26:39] We have mentioned this so many times of like, oh my gosh, Troy is being abused again.

[00:26:45] Okay.

[00:26:46] I mean, it was in violations.

[00:26:48] It was, I mean, even in that episode, which I think was, um, is that a man of the people?

[00:26:53] I think it was, you know, the child.

[00:26:57] Okay.

[00:26:58] Troy was used a lot.

[00:27:00] She was used a lot.

[00:27:02] And I remember when I was recently on a green shirt, I was on their episode for sub Rosa.

[00:27:09] And one of them had asked me like, do I like this episode just because it has Beverly Crusher

[00:27:14] in it?

[00:27:15] And, um, it kind of came down to of the fact that I believe that sub Rosa is a good episode

[00:27:21] because of how Gates played it.

[00:27:24] And that I see the story differently.

[00:27:26] Like there is no ghost.

[00:27:27] There is no love.

[00:27:28] It's all manipulation.

[00:27:29] It's all abuse.

[00:27:30] It's all addiction.

[00:27:31] Okay.

[00:27:32] That's what I see in the episode.

[00:27:34] Someone had asked me like, well, what if this was a Troy episode instead of Crusher?

[00:27:37] And it, I didn't even, I don't even think I got the chance to, to answer it with somebody

[00:27:42] else.

[00:27:42] It was Bobby who was like, she's been used enough.

[00:27:47] Like let's give Troy a break.

[00:27:49] And I agree because it's like, we've already seen, and maybe it was even Cameron.

[00:27:53] I can't remember, but it was like, we've already seen Troy go through the trauma.

[00:27:57] And not that I want any of these characters to go through some trauma, but let's see how

[00:28:03] someone else handles it.

[00:28:04] Right?

[00:28:05] Like they said, it's kind of difficult to, to deal with these different stories without

[00:28:11] it becoming very like soap opera-y.

[00:28:14] And that's kind of what a lot of these episodes turned out to be, especially sub Rosa.

[00:28:19] But it was a, it was a different take, right?

[00:28:21] Because having it as Beverly and not Troy, we definitely see it differently.

[00:28:26] And of course, Marina and Gates have totally different acting approaches.

[00:28:30] So if Marina had done it, we would not have the same impact.

[00:28:34] We would probably have a different impact or a different view on how the episode went based

[00:28:40] off that.

[00:28:40] Right?

[00:28:41] So that's definitely one way of looking at it, but yeah, let's, let's give Troy a break.

[00:28:47] I kind of, I kind of chuckled at that part.

[00:28:50] Now we're on to Nana's portion.

[00:28:53] And this was under the gifts of Kira.

[00:28:56] Now, as she was talking about how she was playing Kira, because we all know that Kira

[00:29:00] suffered a lot, uh, being prisoner from the Cardassians and all that stuff.

[00:29:05] She says, I didn't have a name for it then, but my angry behavior was based on my understanding

[00:29:11] of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, a term used since 1980.

[00:29:16] I once heard a Navy SEAL say that post-traumatic stress isn't a disorder, but proof that you

[00:29:23] had a human response to inhuman treatment.

[00:29:27] And since then I refer it to PTS as well.

[00:29:31] I had no idea that in a few years I would myself suffer with it and its effects would last

[00:29:37] for over 20 years.

[00:29:40] As you guys know, Nana suffered a horrific, mind boggling, violent event in her life.

[00:29:55] And she talks about it all in the book.

[00:29:57] And not only does she talk about it in the book, she also talked about it in Gates's podcast.

[00:30:03] Nana is a very strong, strong human being.

[00:30:11] And I don't know if anyone's really told her that, you know, because it is a very sensitive

[00:30:16] subject.

[00:30:16] You don't really walk up to her and be like, Hey, about your, your trauma, let's talk about

[00:30:20] it.

[00:30:21] She definitely to, to open up after all these years and to just be like, this is what happened.

[00:30:29] This is what I went through.

[00:30:30] This is what I'm still going through.

[00:30:33] What an inspiration that not a visitor is like truly.

[00:30:38] And, um, who I'm getting emotional knowing that I suffered, knowing my suffer from last

[00:30:47] year, my own trauma, which not even close to what Nana went through.

[00:30:52] I know it's going to be a part of me for a really long time.

[00:30:57] And I know I have support and I know I learned a lot from, from Star Trek.

[00:31:07] So, you know, and this is, and this is one, one of those, one of those things that it's like,

[00:31:14] okay, this is, this is how you do it and this is how you get through it and this is how you

[00:31:17] survive.

[00:31:20] So it was, um, yeah, it was a very important section of the book of, of how she was, you

[00:31:27] know, putting everything into detail and how it was.

[00:31:30] And it was very emotional.

[00:31:33] And like I said, very inspiring.

[00:31:35] So I can stop crying now.

[00:31:38] Comments.

[00:31:39] Um, Janice is say happy crusher day, happy crusher day to you.

[00:31:44] And Dave, hello.

[00:31:46] Thank you for being here.

[00:31:47] Happy crusher day.

[00:31:49] Glad to watch the live show.

[00:31:50] So happy for you to be here.

[00:31:53] And yes, she sure did.

[00:31:55] She is definitely an inspiration.

[00:31:56] She definitely is a fighter.

[00:31:58] And, uh, he says we could all use that Nana power.

[00:32:01] That is for sure.

[00:32:04] Um, Janice is say that will, we inspired her to become an incredible actor, just like him

[00:32:09] by huge inspiration.

[00:32:10] So, you know, and that's, what's wonderful about track is we have a lot of actors and a

[00:32:16] lot of characters that inspire us and all in different ways.

[00:32:19] Gates McFadden is, is my, um, but I've learned a lot, not just by Gates, but just by so many

[00:32:25] other people with this, uh, with this franchise and it came into my life at the right moment

[00:32:32] because, um, you know, I got into star Trek in 2022 and my trauma happened in 2023.

[00:32:38] And so I don't know how I would have reacted during that time.

[00:32:44] So yeah, it's one of those things.

[00:32:46] And I had heard Nana's story prior to my own trauma.

[00:32:49] So, you know, it was kind of like, what do you do?

[00:32:51] How do you get through it?

[00:32:52] What's happening?

[00:32:53] Like, how do you even process this?

[00:32:58] So, um, for sure.

[00:32:59] It's definitely important to, uh, to have those inspirations to kind of, you know, keep you

[00:33:06] going.

[00:33:07] Here's the next one.

[00:33:09] And it's about Terry Farrell.

[00:33:11] Her section was the cost of beauty.

[00:33:14] And she says, Terry remembers Michael Peller and Rick Berman telling her that Jed Zia Dax was

[00:33:20] a cross between Grace Kelly and Yoda.

[00:33:24] Oh my gosh, guys.

[00:33:26] Wow.

[00:33:27] That's an acting challenge.

[00:33:29] Terry took the note to mean a quiet majesty, this elegant, strong woman.

[00:33:37] Dax was both man and woman.

[00:33:39] Here was a character who had experienced life as both genders.

[00:33:42] So it made sense that she, quote, wouldn't conform to a stereotypical version of either.

[00:33:49] But in 1992, it wasn't clear how any of that would play out.

[00:33:54] Grace Kelly and Yoda.

[00:33:56] Like, I actually read this as like, they want this beautiful, angelic, amazing woman.

[00:34:05] And then Yoda is supposed to be that, um, you know, inspiring, you know, and has all the

[00:34:12] answers, you know, uh, mentor kind of thing.

[00:34:17] But I was all like, you picked a species from Star Wars to represent that.

[00:34:25] I mean, I could think of a lot of women that represent that.

[00:34:27] I don't know.

[00:34:28] It just seemed odd to put it in those two, those two ways.

[00:34:33] But I mean, Yoda, man, like that's, that's a kick-ass Jedi.

[00:34:37] So I'm glad Terry was like, I'm going to go with it.

[00:34:39] And she was kick-ass.

[00:34:41] We've seen, we saw Jadzia as an amazing, strong character.

[00:34:46] And she went toe to toe to toe to barf.

[00:34:48] She went toe to toe to Cisco.

[00:34:49] She went toe to toe to every single person.

[00:34:52] And she never let her, like, even when she let her guard down, she was also just being

[00:34:58] herself.

[00:34:58] And she was like, you don't like it.

[00:35:01] There's the door, you know?

[00:35:03] And we kind of need to have that sometimes where we're not trying to be mean.

[00:35:07] We're not trying to be a bitch.

[00:35:09] We're not trying to be, and some people think that, but it's like, no, this is who I am.

[00:35:14] You can accept it.

[00:35:16] Or there's the door, you know?

[00:35:18] And I think that's also what a lot that we're going through now.

[00:35:21] We have to just accept each other for who we are and love each other and be kind.

[00:35:25] And guess what?

[00:35:27] We're just going to have an amazing experience, right?

[00:35:30] Again, I just felt with even Terry's exit, you know, didn't even make it to the last season,

[00:35:39] was really hard for me because I really liked Jadzia.

[00:35:44] She was one of my favorite characters.

[00:35:45] I didn't like the way she went.

[00:35:48] And I don't know.

[00:35:50] It just seemed kind of like a slap in the face.

[00:35:52] Just been like, okay, well, you want to leave?

[00:35:54] We're just going to kill you off.

[00:35:56] To the studios or to, you know, the behind-the-scenes crew, it just, oh, you're just another actor we can replace.

[00:36:02] But no one can replace Jadzia.

[00:36:04] And as much as we got Esri, and a lot of people love Esri, and I have a heart for Esri, she was a different character.

[00:36:10] She just wasn't Jadzia, right?

[00:36:12] So I think that is another, I feel like, Denise Crosby moment, right?

[00:36:19] But I think Terry did get more of an opportunity to really flesh out her character than Denise did.

[00:36:28] Denise only got one season.

[00:36:30] Terry got six.

[00:36:31] So that was in Terry's favor.

[00:36:36] Kate Mulgrew.

[00:36:38] Our first in a series, okay?

[00:36:42] Not our first female captain, obviously, because we did have female captains before her.

[00:36:48] But she was the first to ever lead a Star Trek show.

[00:36:52] So this was under Natural Leader.

[00:36:54] And it says, you never for a second question why Janeway is in charge.

[00:36:59] Kate enters any room with the presence of pure authority.

[00:37:03] She lent that to the captain, who is defined by her self-reliance, her strong opinions, and above all, by her compassion.

[00:37:13] Inspiration and example for Captain Janeway literally changed the lives of so many of the people I spoke to.

[00:37:19] Kate has an intensity when she focuses in Janeway's passion for science.

[00:37:24] Her reveling in the questions it brings and the solution it makes her reach for is so instructional.

[00:37:31] Janeway is an amazing character, okay?

[00:37:36] And Kate plays her to perfection.

[00:37:41] We all know there was supposed to be somebody else playing Janeway.

[00:37:44] There was no way that we were going to get the same response that we got from Kate.

[00:37:51] It was perfect casting.

[00:37:53] The way she speaks, she's very eloquent.

[00:37:56] She's very, like she was saying, compassionate, you know, but curious and wants to get into the answers.

[00:38:03] And I'm trying to remember the three things that Janeway says.

[00:38:05] She's like, tuck your shirt in, go down with the ship and never abandon your crew.

[00:38:11] Okay?

[00:38:11] We saw that a lot with Janeway.

[00:38:13] And we could see why so many people were inspired by her.

[00:38:17] She just, she was also like a mom of that ship.

[00:38:21] And it's funny because even in my department, I have 19 employees under me.

[00:38:27] They call me mom.

[00:38:29] Even though those that are older than me, they're like, okay, mom.

[00:38:32] And I'm like, well, it's just because I'm just like, you know, getting them to work.

[00:38:37] But I'm also interested in their life.

[00:38:39] And I'm trying to be like, hey, you look, you're not yourself today.

[00:38:42] Let's talk about it.

[00:38:43] You know, just because I feel like that's, you know, helpful in a lot of ways.

[00:38:49] But she was the same way.

[00:38:51] Right?

[00:38:51] And people respected her for it.

[00:38:53] And it was great to see.

[00:38:54] But this is what's fascinating, guys, is that we are seeing these amazing characters who had the authority, who even the men, you know, were like, yes, sir.

[00:39:04] But the actors behind the scene fought their asses off just to get to that point.

[00:39:10] So it was just so amazing how they were putting it on TV, but then they weren't even treating the actors with that respect.

[00:39:18] It just is mind-boggling in that sense.

[00:39:22] And, you know, every single one of them had a story about how hard it was to be in the industry.

[00:39:30] Right?

[00:39:32] And, you know, for Gates, for instance, we've all heard her stories.

[00:39:36] And as much as she was let go because of Maurice Hurley, she was a favorite of the fandom.

[00:39:45] They wrote letters.

[00:39:47] They were like, bring her back.

[00:39:48] We want Crusher.

[00:39:50] And the moment Maurice was gone, they called her up.

[00:39:54] I mean, Patrick was like, I'm bringing her back.

[00:39:56] Like, this is ridiculous.

[00:39:57] Like, it was just, I wish they had that.

[00:40:00] Like, let's do it.

[00:40:02] You know, in the beginning, it'd be like, bye, Maurice.

[00:40:04] And kept her.

[00:40:07] But, misogyny.

[00:40:08] But anyways, the thing is, though, is it's one of those things that these women, all these actors worked so hard just so they could betray the characters that they wanted them to be.

[00:40:22] Because we wouldn't have these characters as amazing as they are without the way that the actors portrayed them.

[00:40:28] And so we literally owe all of it to them.

[00:40:33] Every single person that was interviewed in this book, every single person that I mentioned, every single person that was in the franchise, they all impacted us the same way.

[00:40:41] And we all owe them a debt of gratitude for it.

[00:40:46] Just had to put that out there, by the way.

[00:40:50] As I'm getting towards the end here, this was the conclusion.

[00:40:54] This is writing this book caused an earthquake in my life.

[00:40:57] Most of the interviews were filmed.

[00:40:59] I asked questions that I thought would help the women reveal how it had been for them.

[00:41:04] Rewatching them many times, I felt that the question I chose and the words I used revealed me, too, in ways that weren't always consistent with who I thought I was.

[00:41:16] Doing this project forced me to take a hard look at myself.

[00:41:21] I always find it amazing when you are doing a project.

[00:41:26] It could be anything, right?

[00:41:28] And when you really start to get into these deep conversations with people and you start to realize, that's me.

[00:41:38] That's a piece of me.

[00:41:39] I'm part of that puzzle, right?

[00:41:42] And that's how it was with me, and I know how it was for a lot of people, to be a fan of Star Trek.

[00:41:50] We see ourselves in a lot of these characters.

[00:41:53] We see ourselves as single moms or just single parents.

[00:41:57] We see ourselves who have lost parents.

[00:41:59] We've seen ourselves who have lost children.

[00:42:01] Who, you know, who have just gone through hell in their life.

[00:42:07] And it's always nice to feel seen.

[00:42:12] And it's always nice to always open up that Pandora's box of your life and just kind of figure out who am I, right?

[00:42:23] Who is this person?

[00:42:25] What have I gone through?

[00:42:27] You know, I've always said that, you know, every person is who they are just because of all the things that they've gone through.

[00:42:35] Right. They would not be the person they are today if they did not go through these things.

[00:42:39] And some of those things may be tragic. Some of those things may be wonderful.

[00:42:43] But we would not be that person if we didn't have those. Right.

[00:42:47] And so it is funny how Nana had that same experience just doing this book.

[00:42:54] And she probably even grew closer with these these women than ever before because they were really being raw and emotional and just peeling back those those layers.

[00:43:06] And they were doing it for us as the fans to be like, this is my story.

[00:43:11] And we could be inspired by that. We can totally be like, how can I put this in my life?

[00:43:18] How can I learn from this?

[00:43:22] So I think that was what was important and why I really wanted to do her book for Beverly Crusher Day.

[00:43:28] We are celebrating a woman that we all love and adore for all different reasons.

[00:43:34] This is the perfect example for it.

[00:43:36] Now, this last conclusion, though, that I did put in that I put in here, I was very excited.

[00:43:42] I was reading Gates's section and I had recognized a name, Major Mel.

[00:43:50] She is a wonderful Beverly Crusher fan.

[00:43:55] I happen.

[00:43:56] We have not met in person, but we have talked for these last couple of years.

[00:44:00] She has joined Crusher Convo last season by submitting some voice hails on certain episodes.

[00:44:08] As you can see, she is donning the Bef Pack shirt in this photo.

[00:44:17] Nana was so taken aback by the amazing person that Mel is that she had to talk to her.

[00:44:25] And I literally screamed when I saw her name in the book.

[00:44:29] I was like, oh, my gosh.

[00:44:30] And I reached out to her.

[00:44:31] She's like, look at the back.

[00:44:32] And she has three pages, guys.

[00:44:35] This was part of it.

[00:44:36] Now, it says Mel is a chaplain in the U.S. Army.

[00:44:40] In an ever-shifting world, she has found grounding for three decades with two mentors,

[00:44:46] the character of Beverly Crusher and the woman who plays her, Gates McFadden.

[00:44:50] It interests me that she transferred her admiration of Crusher to Gates, and I asked her about it.

[00:44:56] She said that although she would never confuse the actor's life with the characters,

[00:45:01] she can see infused in Crusher parts of the woman who played her.

[00:45:05] This led her to feel that McFadden was a mentor for this new chapter of her life.

[00:45:10] Do it for Beverly.

[00:45:13] And I wrote that because she said that anytime she was doing something, as she was going through the army,

[00:45:18] as she was going through life, she was like, do it for Beverly.

[00:45:20] Do it for Beverly.

[00:45:21] This is what would Beverly do, right?

[00:45:24] This is the situation I'm in, and this is what it was.

[00:45:28] I love you, Mel.

[00:45:29] You are an inspiration.

[00:45:31] You are an amazing person, and I feel like I'm a better person just by knowing you these last couple of years.

[00:45:37] And I was so excited to see you in the book, as we talked about.

[00:45:43] But it made me think about when I was younger, and, you know, I didn't know Star Trek, so I didn't have Beverly Crusher,

[00:45:48] but I had a lot of, you know, I was homeschooled, didn't have a lot of friends, didn't have teachers,

[00:45:54] was never really outside of the house.

[00:45:56] My mom was also very sick, so I had to take care of her a lot.

[00:46:01] And so the people that I was drawn to were the women on TV.

[00:46:07] One of those was Zena, and that was my thing.

[00:46:11] What would Zena do?

[00:46:11] How could I do this?

[00:46:13] I went through my whole depression.

[00:46:14] I went through my whole suicide attempt.

[00:46:17] I did, you know, it was a very rough childhood.

[00:46:22] But I always looked to a lot of women to just try and build that strength.

[00:46:26] You know, I loved Leia.

[00:46:27] I loved Marion Ravenwood.

[00:46:29] I loved Golden Girls.

[00:46:30] I loved Julie Andrews.

[00:46:32] I loved Carol Burnett.

[00:46:33] Those were people that I absolutely adored to keep me going

[00:46:39] and to just understand who I am and how I could be strong, right?

[00:46:48] So I understood that part when Mel was talking about when she was younger growing up.

[00:46:53] And as I got older and, you know, I'm married the second time.

[00:46:59] I have a daughter.

[00:47:00] And I watched Star Trek for the first time.

[00:47:03] And instantly it's Beverly Crusher.

[00:47:07] She was a single mom.

[00:47:08] I was a single mom.

[00:47:10] I was the same age as Gates.

[00:47:12] And my daughter was the same age as Will in that first season when I first started watching Star Trek.

[00:47:17] So I just had this, like, connection to her character.

[00:47:22] And like Mel said, there's a lot of Gates in this character.

[00:47:25] The way she rolls her eyes.

[00:47:27] The way she says a word.

[00:47:29] Or how she talks to Picard.

[00:47:31] Or how she even just brings out authority.

[00:47:34] That's Gates.

[00:47:34] It doesn't say how to do that in the script.

[00:47:37] It gives you a little detail.

[00:47:38] Like, oh, well, this happened.

[00:47:39] But she's the one that put it out.

[00:47:41] You know, I've talked about so much in Sub Rosa.

[00:47:44] You know, it would say like an addict needing her next fix, right?

[00:47:48] When she was in the quarters waiting for Ronan after she lit up the plasma fire.

[00:47:52] That was Gates acting that out.

[00:47:54] That's all it said in the script.

[00:47:55] She acted like that tweaker in that room.

[00:47:57] And she was pacing back and forth.

[00:47:59] Like, we saw that, you know, moment with her because Gates took it to a next level.

[00:48:04] That's why we love Beverly Crusher.

[00:48:06] And it's because of Gates McFadden.

[00:48:08] Before I continue, Dave said, what a great inspiration.

[00:48:12] Fantastic words from Mel.

[00:48:14] Absolutely.

[00:48:15] Absolutely.

[00:48:15] I am so happy to call her my friend.

[00:48:17] I'm so proud of her.

[00:48:19] And one of the things is, too, is now as I'm an adult, I have Beverly Crusher as an anchor.

[00:48:29] I don't know what I would have gone through, guys, if I did not have Beverly Crusher or Star Trek or anything like that when I went through my trauma or when I went through all of my stuff last year.

[00:48:39] Dang, I hate getting emotional.

[00:48:40] But and it's because it was so hard and I went through so much and it wasn't even just the trauma.

[00:48:50] There was so much else going on.

[00:48:52] And even just this year, I've dealt with so many losses.

[00:48:55] I've dealt with just hardship, personal, work related, whatever.

[00:49:01] And it was just like, bam, bam, bam, bam.

[00:49:04] Right.

[00:49:04] And this happens to everybody.

[00:49:06] We all go through something every day and we have to have an anchor.

[00:49:11] You know, I have faith.

[00:49:12] I believe in God.

[00:49:14] But there's also these moments of where it's, you know, seeing an actual person, even a character go through hardship and see how they handled it.

[00:49:24] But that that helps.

[00:49:26] That helps get you through it.

[00:49:28] Be like, OK, I am hit rock bottom, but I'm definitely going to get up.

[00:49:34] And Dave Blass told me once a ball cannot bounce until it hits the bottom.

[00:49:40] And it's one of those things where it's like.

[00:49:43] You know, we get at the bottom lots of times, but we will bounce back.

[00:49:47] Right.

[00:49:48] We always bounce back because we are strong.

[00:49:51] We are capable of being able to to handle handle these situations as hard as they are.

[00:49:57] Right.

[00:49:57] And especially, especially in the Star Trek community, we have each other.

[00:50:03] And someone for me who didn't have a lot of people growing up, you know, the Star Trek community has been awesome.

[00:50:12] And I thank everybody for it.

[00:50:15] So I'm going to stop crying now.

[00:50:17] But and one thing I did ask my husband, we meet once a week as he's getting help right now.

[00:50:25] And I asked him today, I was like, you know, I'm going to be talking about the women of Star Trek for Beverly Crusher Day.

[00:50:31] Who were who were women that really just mean a lot to you?

[00:50:37] And he mentioned his two teachers, a fourth grade and a fifth grade teacher who taught him about how poetry was cool and the arts and science.

[00:50:46] And he says they were just awesome.

[00:50:47] They were single.

[00:50:49] They had kids.

[00:50:52] And he's like, they just made learning fun.

[00:50:54] And that's what he remembered the most, you know, because where he lived at the time, it wasn't the greatest area.

[00:51:02] But he found comfort in those teachers.

[00:51:05] And I just I was like, it's funny.

[00:51:08] I know my husband 21 years.

[00:51:09] I never knew that about him.

[00:51:11] And I thought that was great.

[00:51:12] And it was, you know, it brings out just there's always someone in your life, whether it's a character or a person in your life,

[00:51:22] that makes an impact to this day.

[00:51:26] I'm going to look at Dave's comments.

[00:51:28] He says, Golden Girls and Designing Women were my go tos as entertainment.

[00:51:32] Love designing women.

[00:51:33] Julia Sugarbaker.

[00:51:34] That's my girl.

[00:51:35] I'm a gay man, but I liked seeing empowered women hold agency with their lives in different age groups and body types.

[00:51:43] That's what was the big thing, especially for Golden Girls, right?

[00:51:46] They were older.

[00:51:47] They were dating.

[00:51:49] They were talking about sex life.

[00:51:50] Like they just, you know, they were living.

[00:51:52] Right.

[00:51:53] And they were funny.

[00:51:54] Like so much.

[00:51:56] I could quote that show.

[00:51:59] Dave also says, hey, be emotional.

[00:52:01] You lived it.

[00:52:02] This is a safe space.

[00:52:03] Thank you very much.

[00:52:05] And he says, Dave Blass and Liz Kay both had the same sage advice when you pull them aside and chat with them.

[00:52:12] They are fun people, but down to earth.

[00:52:14] Agreed.

[00:52:14] Yes, they are amazing people.

[00:52:16] Haven't gotten to meet them in person.

[00:52:18] I've only talked to them through social media, but they are amazing people.

[00:52:23] And they gave us back the Enterprise D, guys.

[00:52:25] So we owe them like a lot.

[00:52:29] I'm not going to lie.

[00:52:31] But that's really my conclusion of the book.

[00:52:33] Like I said, I haven't even gotten to finish reading it.

[00:52:36] I've only been able to skim through most of it.

[00:52:39] But it is so empowering.

[00:52:42] It is so good.

[00:52:43] You will not be disappointed.

[00:52:44] It has so many stories.

[00:52:46] It talks about so much.

[00:52:48] And yeah, I think you guys will enjoy it.

[00:52:53] And I thank Nana for deciding to do this book because, you know, it brings up those hard questions and, you know, makes us think about ourselves a little bit.

[00:53:03] So, you know, how are we going to be a better person today?

[00:53:07] Right?

[00:53:07] Be kind like Crusher.

[00:53:11] But before I wrap up, I did want to mention real quick to wrap up my season two.

[00:53:17] I'm going to be deep diving into Lower Decks, the final season.

[00:53:21] It's season five, guys.

[00:53:22] It comes on October 24th.

[00:53:25] So it airs on a Thursday.

[00:53:27] And I will react and review on Friday.

[00:53:30] So my first one will be on the 25th.

[00:53:31] If you would like to be a guest on a particular episode, just hit me up.

[00:53:37] I do have this form that you could fill out if you want to pick an episode.

[00:53:41] Doesn't matter.

[00:53:42] You can hit me, DM any social media, email me.

[00:53:46] But yeah, I think this will be a good way to wrap up season two.

[00:53:50] And I'm super sad because I love Lower Decks.

[00:53:53] And so I hate that it's ending.

[00:53:56] And of course, guys, you could also listen to all the audio versions of my episodes on

[00:54:02] Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and GoodPads, or any of those other wonderful podcast apps that

[00:54:08] you love to listen to.

[00:54:09] You could buy Crusher Combo merch at TeePublic, just like my Be Kind Like Crusher.

[00:54:14] And remember, all the proceeds for the Crusher kindness shirt or sticker, whatever the design

[00:54:20] will go to Trek Talks next year.

[00:54:22] So hit it up over there.

[00:54:24] Right now, there is a big sale going on.

[00:54:26] So definitely is a time to do it.

[00:54:29] And of course, you can like and subscribe on YouTube.

[00:54:32] You can meet me up over at Threads, Instagram, and now TikTok.

[00:54:37] Don't forget about my Patreon.

[00:54:38] And you could also buy me a coffee.

[00:54:42] So yeah, I hope you guys have enjoyed this.

[00:54:46] I want to thank everyone in the chat.

[00:54:49] We had Janice and Dave, and I know Happy Bookworm was here.

[00:54:53] Tara Alpha, Mr. Mizzle.

[00:54:56] We had a couple people over on Instagram.

[00:54:58] So thank you so much.

[00:55:01] And let me see here.

[00:55:02] Dave says, I'm only up to the first part of Nana's story so far, about a third way through.

[00:55:07] Most excellent, but can't put it down.

[00:55:10] That's very true.

[00:55:11] Sometimes I'm all like, okay, I got to go to bed.

[00:55:12] I have to work tomorrow.

[00:55:14] And he said, so glad to be on the live chat.

[00:55:16] See you around.

[00:55:17] Thank you, Dave.

[00:55:18] You've been wonderful.

[00:55:20] Thank you so much for your support.

[00:55:22] Happy Bookworm said, enjoy.

[00:55:24] And Tara Alpha says, great show.

[00:55:26] So thank you guys.

[00:55:28] But yeah, I will be here in a couple of weeks to talk about Lower Decks.

[00:55:34] And if anything else pops up, just hit me.

[00:55:37] I'll put it on the socials and you'll see what else is going on with Crusher Convo.

[00:55:41] But like I said, guys, this was so much fun.

[00:55:43] Thank you for joining me.

[00:55:45] But yeah, guys, live long and prosper.

[00:55:48] Crusher out.