Episode 600: Almost Shakespearean

This week we bounce from the eternal debate over pie superiority (and some truly questionable anti-pie opinions) into sci-fi revivals, strange travel stories, and the art of a good ending—before closing things out with a genuinely unsettling short story that may or may not leave you side-eyeing your bathroom forever. Real Life We kick things off with the most important topic we've ever covered: pie. Favorites, non-favorites, and a few takes that might genuinely damage friendships. No spoilers—but some of us have very strong opinions. Ben brings a little sci-fi hope (and caution) with talk of a possible return to the world of Firefly. Between comics and expanded universe material—like the recent developments covered over at SYFY Wire (https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/firefly-brand-new-verse-comic-boom-studios) there's clearly still life in the 'verse. But as always, the question is: should it come back, or is it better left alone? Meanwhile, the planned Buffy reboot/sequel has officially stalled out at Hulu, which… honestly might be for the best. [bad opinion AI] Devon takes us on a trip to Eureka Springs, a town built on the idea that its waters had healing properties. It's got that old-world charm mixed with just enough weird to make it interesting—complete with a glass-and-wood beam church, ziplining adventures, and a full-on St. Patrick's Day parade. A little history, a little adrenaline, a little chaos. Steven celebrates Pie Day the right way, follows it up with an all-day beach trip, and then pivots straight into Pirate Borg prep. There's a game on the horizon, and the hype is real. Future or Now Ben takes the wheel with a surprisingly thoughtful discussion about endings—what makes them work, why they matter, and how often they completely fall apart. This leads into Babylon 5 (with a shoutout to Josh), and if you want a refresher or a reason to revisit it, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z54XNJivHOs From there, it's all about what's next in Star Trek. Starfleet Academy Season 1 has people talking, and the future lineup is stacked: Strange New Worlds Season 4 is on the way this summer, with Season 5 already lining up some heavy hitters—including Thomas Jane stepping in as Dr. McCoy and Kai Murakami as Sulu. And then there's the truly baffling situation: Star Trek: Prodigy just won an Emmy… and is basically impossible to watch. If you want to feel equal parts excited and frustrated, here's the breakdown: https://trekmovie.com/2026/03/04/star-trek-prodigy-wins-emmy-for-animation/ Steven dives into some fun (and slightly chaotic) tech territory with green screen experimentation. Corridor Crew breaks it down here: https://youtu.be/3Ploi723hg4?si=Mu_9whhpY_gvJldY and if you want to mess with it yourself, the open-source tool Corridor Key is here: https://github.com/nikopueringer/CorridorKey Book Club Next week, we're checking out Arco!—you can find it on Apple TV right here: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/arco/umc.cmc.16jgcgmdg48xptfayroel0yvy We'll report back on whether it's worth your time (and money). This week, we read What We Mean When We Talk About the Hole in the Bathroom by Angela Liu: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/what-we-mean-when-we-talk-about-the-hole-in-the-bathroom/ And look—this one sparked some debate. Ben tries to walk Steven through it… because it didn't quite click at first. But Devon cuts straight through the noise and nails it: this is a horror story. Not loud, not obvious—but deeply, quietly unsettling in a way that sticks with you longer than you'd like. One More Thing Ben's got boots on the ground this weekend at the Beacon Art Show Ekphrastic Poetry Reading, happening Saturday (3/21) at 2pm at the SLO United Methodist Church. If you're local, go check it out—support some art, hear some poetry, and maybe report back. If you've got strong pie opinions, thoughts on whether Firefly should come back, or theories about that bathroom story, we want to hear them. And if you haven't yet—subscribe, follow, and share the show with someone who enjoys a good mix of chaos, sci-fi, and questionable food takes.