MAKE IT SONG! Strange New Worlds breaks the TV mold by doing their musical episode early in the show's run rather than later. There's lots of singing but very little dancing. Bryan has a theory as to why. But more importantly, this week's special guests joining Bryan and Kristen have theories of their own about why this episode works so well and also why there are a few small pockets of the hour where it works less well. 

Becca is a Grammy Award-winning musician who breaks down the vocals. Bill is an Emmy Award-winning writer who points out just what the show gets right technically in translating the notion of a musical into the Star Trek universe. 

Yes, there's comparisons to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical from which this episode draws a lot of its inspiration. And as a final content warning: if you don't want to hear even a breath of negativity about this episode, this might be one to skip, though we suspect most listeners will love our hosts' final grade. The grades begin at (25:44). If you want to skip to specific songs, here's the list:

STATUS REPORT (26:18)
STRANGE NEW WORLDS THEME (34:25)
CONNECT TO YOUR TRUTH (36:08)
HOW WOULD THAT FEEL? (42:39)
PRIVATE CONVERSATION (48:19)
KEEPING SECRETS (52:44)
I'M READY (59:49)
I'M THE X (1:09:39)
KEEP US CONNECTED (1:14:27)
WE ARE ONE (1:18:06)

Best Trek Tropes and the rest of the grades resume at (1:23:19).