Earl Grey 237: Exotic Solar Systems / by Richard Marquez

"The Chase" and Panspermia.

eg-237-th-widescreen.jpg

Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes 10 seconds

Download / RSS / Send us a message / Discuss the show / Support Trek.fm

"The Chase" is a sixth season episode of The Next Generation that answered a question many fans had wondered about over the years - why do so many of the species that we see in Star Trek look so similar? This question is answered when the pieces of a puzzle spanning many worlds and billions of years is revealed. A progenitor species found themselves alone in the galaxy four billions years ago and decided to seed many planets with life in the hope that the resulting intelligent species would one day connect and understand each other.

In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Justin Oser and Richard Marquez are joined by special guests Mike Wong and Elise Cutts of the Strange New Worlds: A Science and Star Trek Podcast to discuss "The Chase" and the science behind the idea of panspermia presented in the episode. Panspermia is the theory that life can be introduced in different environments because it was seeded from outer space, whether through natural objects (such as asteroids and comets) or through artificial means. We discuss the science behind panspermia, whether the idea presented in "The Chase" works from a scientific or a storytelling perspective, and how we could know if life on Earth was introduced from space.

Chapters

Intro (00:01:09)
Babel Conference Feedback (00:01:32)
Strange New Worlds Podcast (00:04:02)
The Chase (00:11:45)
Panspermia (00:18:11)
Evolution (00:29:03)
DNA (00:35:34)
Time (00:45:52)
Outside Our Solar System (00:57:00)
Final Thoughts (01:05:04)

Hosts

Richard Marquez, Justin Oser

Guest

Mike Wong, Elise Cutts

Production

Richard Marquez (Editor and Producer) Justin Oser (Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Thomas Appel (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

More recent episodes of Earl Grey…
Earl Grey 333: I Will Feel It For the Both of Us
Earl Grey 333: I Will Feel It For the Both of Us

Memorable Goodbyes. We discuss some of our favorite characters saying goodbye in TNG as we also say our own goodbyes to the listeners as we take our leave of hosting duties on Earl Grey.

Earl Grey 332: Woof Woof
Earl Grey 332: Woof Woof

Characters We Never Saw Again. We discuss some of the many characters we only ever saw once.

Earl Grey 331: Troi For Troi Swap
Earl Grey 331: Troi For Troi Swap

Mismatched Episodes. We discuss what would happen if the characters from different Star Trek series were like a deck of cards shuffled and dealt into various TNG episodes.

Earl Grey 330: Tap Dancing With My Eyes
Earl Grey 330: Tap Dancing With My Eyes

Data's Hobbies. We discuss our the many and varied hobbies of Lieutenant Commander Data in The Next Generation.

Earl Grey 329: A Garlic Waffle a Day Keeps the Hiccoughs Away
Earl Grey 329: A Garlic Waffle a Day Keeps the Hiccoughs Away

Season 7 Deleted Scenes. We discuss the deleted scenes from The Next Generation season 7 episodes. All the deleted scenes that are discussed can be found on the season 7 Blu-Ray release.

Earl Grey 328: Yar Is Alive
Earl Grey 328: Yar Is Alive

What if Series: Part 1. In this episode, the hosts of Earl Grey start a new series looking what if scenarios, beginning with Yar, Locutus, and W. Thomas Riker.

Earl Grey 327: Their Intentions Were Good
Earl Grey 327: Their Intentions Were Good

The Good in Low Rated Episodes, Part 1.  In this episode, the hosts of Earl Grey start a new series looking for the good that can be found in the lowest rated episodes, beginning with Season 1.

Earl Grey 326: Fun With Flags!
Earl Grey 326: Fun With Flags!

Introducing New Hosts. We introduce our new hosts, Ria Papageorgiou, Kevin Scharf and Pierre LaRocco.

Earl Grey 325: Polygamy on Steroids
Earl Grey 325: Polygamy on Steroids

Jack Crusher. We discuss the character of Jack Crusher through his appearances in The Next Generation and in some of the novels.

Earl Grey 324: First Born, No Kids
Earl Grey 324: First Born, No Kids

Aging and Death. We discuss the idea of aging and death as perceived in the 24th century. We share our personal stories to growing older and our perceptions of death.