Side-Pod - Star Trek Assignment Earth: DISCO BEAR

Hark! It’s an 87^th Precinct Podcast Sidepod!

We slip time-streams today and end up in the 23^rd Century before being whizzed straight back to the 20^th Century, 1968 to be precise, as we look at what could have been Star Trek’s swan-song. The episode “Assignment: Earth” was the final episode of season two of Star Trek at a time when the show was threatened with cancellation. This episode was intended as a back-door pilot for a new spin-off.

So how does this relate to the gritty and down to earth world of Ed McBain and the 87^th Precinct? Well, it’s linked by two very thin strands. The main star of the episode is the best on-screen version of Detective (2^nd Grade) Steve Carella, Robert Lansing as Gary Seven and also Leonard Nimoy who starred as a skinny-tie wearing, car-hiring, drug-running baddy in the 87^th Precinct TV series in 1961.

Joining Paul for the chat is illustrator, educator and all-round sci-fi nerd, Adam Paxman. Search for his various art outputs online: Mister Paxman’s Glorious Bastards, The Museum of Fragmented Shadows and BurningZebra: The Abandoned Storybook – a treasure trove of grotesques, horrors, intrigue, sci-fi, adventure and philosophy in various forms.