Along with the Andorians, the Tellarites are one of the most memorable races from Star Trek that got almost no love after The Original Series went off the air. Even the TOS films merely gave them blink-of-an-eye-cameo attention (in The Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Country). But never fear! As with their fellow, antennae-donning Federation-founders, Enterprise came to the rescue. Sort of. The first Tellarite the 22nd-century gave us didn’t look—nor act—much like those we met in “Journey to Babel.”

In this episode of The Ready Room, we’re joined by Larry Nemecek, Norm Lao, and Will Nguyen, to discuss our hoofed friends and the episode “Bounty.” We explore the first draft of the script, in which the bounty hunter was not Tellarite, and also delve into what it takes to make a new Star Trek series that meets fan expectations for in-universe connections, yet feels fresh at the same time.

In our news segment, we catch up with Larry post-San Diego Comic-Con to talk about the state of Star Trek fandom at conventions, preview plans for Star Trek Las Vegas, and find out what secrets Larry has stashed away in a portal labeled 47.

Originally published as The Ready Room 183: Breaking Out with a