Star Trek (2009): Part 1
Prepare yourselves to dive back in time for vengeance, shockingly patient vengeance, with Benton “Sancho” Sartore, Byron Czopek, and Ansel Burch. They’re pop culture observers/ zany podcasters/ excellent friends who have incredibly varied levels of attachment to this franchise and aren’t afraid to Spock about it.
This is our drinking rules episode and the hosts’ history as college buddies with many a party behind them shines through with some truly worrying rules to offer you la carte for your discerning watchalong pleasure.
Find us online!
Ansel Burch is @Indecisionist on Twitter and @TheIndecisionist on IG.
Join us next week for our review of 2009’s Star Trek and make sure you’re subscribed because all month long, it’s #Time2Party
Episode Transcript
Ansel Burch 0:05
Hi, I'm Ansel Burch
Benton Sartore 0:07
I'm Benton Sancho Sartore
Byron Czopek 0:09
I'm Byron Czopek
Ansel Burch 0:09
and it's time to party. This episode was recorded on June 13 2023. We are not doctors, we don't give medical advice. Please drink responsibly. Love it. That's perfect.
Byron Czopek 0:23
All right. Well, that's it. No, it's probably probably say who we are. Why we've never been. I don't know anybody else. So
Ansel Burch 0:42
I'm so excited. We So normally, Ben is our host Ben Silverio. And he has moved to California. And as moving to California does, it has it, it would be very inconvenient for him to record either from his car, or from his aunt's house, where he's staying at the moment is my understanding. So while everything is getting sorted out on Ben's end, I'm going to have some rotating co hosts for the next couple months. And this month, I am honored to have two amazing podcasters and close friends from college. People I've known in excess of a decade truly incredible, incredible men gentleman check is layered. Let's hear from you guys. Dads, I was thinking about this you might be the first people have who have children in the history of this podcast. I think so far it has all been on unfettered, childless adults, as our CO hosts up till now and if you hear my
Byron Czopek 1:50
kids in the background, they're they're fucking around instead of going to bed. So this could be a really interesting podcast.
Ansel Burch 1:59
We're gonna learn so much about Lightning McQueen. Oh, dude.
Byron Czopek 2:04
Yeah, yeah. Well, first off, thanks, Ansel for the for the kind words. I don't even think we really call ourselves podcasters anymore, because we don't we don't really podcast anymore because we've got kids. No, it's in
Ansel Burch 2:15
our blood. Internet is forever once it's out there. Yeah.
Byron Czopek 2:19
But yeah, we did a show for over 10 years called Byron Santos show. It was it was pop culture.
Benton Sartore 2:26
Politics, Politics, current events. Recipe. A lot of the wire.
Byron Czopek 2:32
Oh, god. Yeah. Yeah.
Ansel Burch 2:33
A lot of the wire. So
Byron Czopek 2:34
yeah, so a lot of the wire pretty much so if you're big wire fan, you would have loved it. But unfortunately, it's not. It's not in the ether anymore. Maybe at some point. But who knows.
Benton Sartore 2:45
I will say to speaking or friendship, our friendship is old enough votes.
Byron Czopek 2:49
That's true.
Ansel Burch 2:50
That's accurate. What? Well, and
Byron Czopek 2:54
yeah, well, actually, I learnt real quick. When I first met Ansel, I did not like him at all. I didn't like you. And then like, about a month or so I was like, Oh, I like this guy. I was being like, I tell people that they're like, how he's like the nicest guy. And I'm like, wow, I don't know. I was like, you didn't know
Ansel Burch 3:16
me in college. I was a real dick. Yeah.
Byron Czopek 3:20
I have a lot of emotional things come through. So anyway, so say we
Ansel Burch 3:25
all Man, what a time. What a time. card was like, oh, and I was actually going back to our college days. That was you guys. Were the ones that got me into doing radio. Yeah. Really? Us? Yeah. Yeah, we had a Friday afternoon. This was my that was my first time in front of a microphone by itself.
Benton Sartore 3:50
This is my great legacy that
Byron Czopek 3:52
Yeah, so we did a college radio show for WB CR for black college radio in Beloit, Wisconsin. And that and I just we just played like hip hop music and then we would do skits we'd have like our friends Ansel was one of them. I think we had you mainly as like Santa Claus or something like that. Like we we kind of
Ansel Burch 4:12
I was Santa. I think yeah, I think that was my main contribution that in the barber shop. rendition of manna war, I think was my my true high point. Because that someone else had left a metal ca CD out on the mixing desk and for whatever reason, we decided that we were going to try to sing it. And yeah, came up with a barbershop rendition which Yeah, a lot of our there's not a recording of a lot
Byron Czopek 4:44
of our stuff. And our other friend Andy Pierre, we used a lot to like all of our stuff revolved around just doing old timey radio, Goofy,
Ansel Burch 4:54
man, the asbestos cigarettes, but yes, that lives rent free. In my head, they're the best us.
Byron Czopek 5:03
Asbestos are the best notes. I forgot about that, too. Yeah, well, well,
Benton Sartore 5:10
folly of you. Yeah.
Byron Czopek 5:12
And we're sorry that we brought you into this. But it's not it's nice to in all honesty, though, it's cool to see you like do your own shows and like all the stuff that you did with like Starlight radio, dreams and everything. I actually have a bunch of those. I found a bunch of the pins. Yeah, I found old Starlight radio dream. And so yeah, I've always been impressed with like, what you've been able to build Ansel, so to get to do things a little goofy show and not have to write up soliloquy. I appreciate that.
Ansel Burch 5:49
Yeah, I believe that I believe
Byron Czopek 5:52
that my character completely outside of anything else. That
Ansel Burch 5:59
that probably would have been right on brand. Who knows who knows what will be next as well, like but,
Benton Sartore 6:05
but I will say though, Ansel, after all these years of listening to your shows. We're here to say we want our cuts.
Ansel Burch 6:14
Well, okay. I'm glad. I'm glad you finally come for your for your pound of flesh.
Byron Czopek 6:20
Yeah, we didn't watch the movie at all. We just came to
Benton Sartore 6:25
intervention intervention.
Ansel Burch 6:37
You didn't do that when we were in Detroit. That seems like the right place to do that.
Byron Czopek 6:42
Shakedown would have been good.
Ansel Burch 6:44
Yeah, there we go. Let's turn to geography. Speaking of having too much fun, let's, let's talk about this movie. Now, for those of you who are listening in this month, we are talking about Star Trek, The 2009 film by JJ Abrams featuring several amazing actors. And I just wanted to read off the IMDB summary because it is so off base. It's ridiculous. So if you if you haven't gotten a chance to see the film, and you're thinking about watching it along with our drinking game after this, you can expect the brash James T Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy. With Mr. Spock, keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.
Byron Czopek 7:41
Well, I don't think Spock ever kept him in check. Oh, no.
Ansel Burch 7:48
Like wait made him worse. Yeah. Yeah, how many times was Spock just this asshole again?
Byron Czopek 7:56
Like how did he get on the ship again? Like now? I don't think he was ever like I gotta keep this guy in check. He was just like, can we get rid of this guy?
Benton Sartore 8:10
Greg Yeah. Oh,
Byron Czopek 8:13
he got him on that ice hockey planet thingy.
Ansel Burch 8:15
Yeah. Just marooned him in a odd
Benton Sartore 8:21
regulation.
Ansel Burch 8:23
Right. I have questions. I have questions. But we can do that in the review for right now we're going to talk about the movie in a sort of zoomed out spoiler LIS way and talk about some some drinking and potentially smoking rules. This is a great way to identify just repeating themes, things that we thought were interesting stuff that might be fun. And just to be clear, we're not here to encourage you to drink or smoke anything you don't want to
Byron Czopek 8:52
know we were trying to kill everyone and thin out the herd. Oh, okay. Well, then COVID did not get the chance to thin out that was Michael some of my drinking
Ansel Burch 9:01
might do it. So, but yeah, so you know, feel free to drink water or soda or just point at the screen and go hey, every time one of these goes off. Also, it's
Byron Czopek 9:12
feel free to drink yourself into a stupor that works to you. You hate your job lose your kids.
Ansel Burch 9:20
Make this your life now. So who wants to go first?
Benton Sartore 9:23
I'm just a few. I only have like three. I feel like they're all pretty good.
Ansel Burch 9:28
That's there are three of us. That's plenty.
Benton Sartore 9:30
All right. Every time there's an alien scene or it's a very human centric movie. Like once in a while. It's like oh, look at like the Kardashians sunrise Drake. Oh again, Dorian shingles like they're just throwing it out. Yeah.
Ansel Burch 9:46
Yeah, none of the very few of the like classic aliens. There's the the
Benton Sartore 9:53
I will say you should probably discount the Vulcans for this drinking game since they're actually I would say the Romulans count though they're they appear sporadically. Okay,
Ansel Burch 10:02
so it's Spock's Eric and Spock, you get a pass on? Yes. All right, that makes sense.
Byron Czopek 10:08
I'll, I'll go with mine. All right now remember, my my goal is to kill everyone. Oh, dear.
Ansel Burch 10:15
I think we may have the same first drinking rule then.
Byron Czopek 10:21
I was, I was like, everybody's gonna have this tricky role, but I'm gonna throw it in. Should we say? Yes. 321
Ansel Burch 10:30
every time there's a lens.
Byron Czopek 10:32
Yeah, every time is let's play. Yeah.
Benton Sartore 10:35
I thought of that. It seemed too easy.
Ansel Burch 10:37
I got that too. And then, yeah, as the as the film was opening, there was a lens flare in the credits. And I was like, Nah, you gotta I have to.
Byron Czopek 10:49
Well, well, like after I said it like the first time because I this is the first time I've ever seen the movie. And then I saw like, how much goddamn lens flare there is in this movie. I'm like, man, like this is this is the only rule I have, like, you'll be you'll be driven by like, minute three is a set rule Yeah.
Ansel Burch 11:06
Small drinks. I noticed that there they somebody had to go in and post production and add artificial lens flare to mimic the reflection of the like, the the displays on the screens. Which was hopefully, well, hopefully well,
Byron Czopek 11:38
trying to think trying to think who would who would be because I actually because I work behind the scenes and film and TV shows for a while. So I'm trying to think who would who would be the because usually they have they have like a person who will be in charge of like video displays like I befriended a guy who did that. And he would just be like, yeah, like, put video displays up like on set so maybe that guy would be
Ansel Burch 12:02
maybe they did talk about in for the recent season of card they talked about creating like displays that actually responded and did all the things that they were supposed to do. So who knows maybe JJ had practical displays in place but it I don't know they none of them looked like they went with things that were actually on camera.
Byron Czopek 12:27
Usually, you kind of have to program it to like really literally just be as stupid as possible for an actor to just like, like they don't knit like literally like the this one guy was showing me was like the iPhone. Like he had like this mock up iPhone. And he's like, Yeah, you don't have to like press here eat like literally they could press anywhere. It's just a big slideshow. Yeah, like really? At the end of the day. Hey, you know, you have to think you have to think in terms of the actors and they're all dumb. Well, all actors are dumb idiots. Hey.
Benton Sartore 13:00
You don't want that like that one precise motion to be like the reason you have to do a new tank.
Ansel Burch 13:04
I think that's the big thing.
Byron Czopek 13:09
As I'm sure a lot of your friends who listen to this are also actors.
Ansel Burch 13:14
Believe it that is purely for like we got to get those rage tweets. We don't get nearly enough angry response online.
Byron Czopek 13:23
But you know, but but to Ben's point. Yeah, like press like in case you press in the wrong spot. But you still have a good take. Yeah, you don't want to lose that tape because you press in the wrong spot. So make it easier.
Ansel Burch 13:33
You shouldn't actually have to learn how to drive a starship in order to make the thing work. Exactly.
Byron Czopek 13:38
Yeah. It shouldn't be a functional thing. Yeah, like, you know,
Ansel Burch 13:42
I again, going back to
Benton Sartore 13:44
on your resume.
Ansel Burch 13:46
Oh, shit. But yeah, going back to that comment about the displays for Picard season three. They also talked to Wil Wheaton about the original displays for tng. And he was talking about how somebody like because he was a kid, right? He's a kid on a spaceship set. And he was supposed to be flying the spaceship. And I guess at first it like really freaked him out until somebody finally pointed out like, none of these buttons do anything. If if if they tell you to make the spaceship go and you push a button, that's the button that makes the spaceship go now like that. Yeah, it's any, any of the buttons. They all do whatever it is you want them to do. Just just touch the thing and it happens. It's
Byron Czopek 14:34
man. How old was he? When this was happening?
Ansel Burch 14:37
I don't feel like he was in his early teens. When he when they were shooting.
Benton Sartore 14:42
He was young.
Byron Czopek 14:45
I mean, if like if he was 10 or something I would understand but if it turns out he was like 13 or 14
Ansel Burch 14:52
then Well, I think he was worried about like pushing the wrong button for you know, like, for the screen right? Like, what if what if they see me You push the right button.
Byron Czopek 15:02
Like it like it pops up something else on the screen. That's not supposed.
Ansel Burch 15:06
What if they see my plan? I
Byron Czopek 15:07
would understand why he would be concerned. Yeah, yeah. He overthink it a little bit. Over thunk it. overthink it.
Ansel Burch 15:15
Yeah. Let's see How old was he?
Benton Sartore 15:19
Yeah, youngest. 15.
Byron Czopek 15:20
Okay. No. Yeah. Okay.
Ansel Burch 15:23
But yeah. Oh, yeah, like anxiety. Exactly. You're anxious about everything at 15.
Byron Czopek 15:30
Oh, yeah. You think you think the world is way more like together than it actually is?
Ansel Burch 15:35
Remember when we thought grownups knew what was going on? Oh, yeah, simpler times.
Byron Czopek 15:42
You have kids and you realize oh, it's everyone's making it up in profit this whole world. All parenting is just good improv. So if you are if you're listening and you're did like improv at some point in your life, it'll be great parents. Great. Actor You're. You're preparing myself.
Ansel Burch 16:03
Yeah, there it is. Yeah. All right. My first rule is to take a drink every time someone says their catchphrase, they, they really, they really hit the greatest hits on this one. I think we got everybody's main catchphrase and take a drink every time you get one of those one of those sweet sweet member berries.
Benton Sartore 16:23
My next drinking game rule is take a drink whenever somebody says their own first and last name. Yeah, James T. Kirk, cars Zoo. Check of when they
Byron Czopek 16:37
say it or if somebody else says it.
Benton Sartore 16:39
But somebody else's there. Their whole stock again does not count. That's his only name.
Ansel Burch 16:48
I do. Every time someone says Spock on my list. Because it's a lot. He's heavily featured. He's important. Yeah.
Benton Sartore 17:00
So my wife her name. I was still alive. When
Byron Czopek 17:03
when I saw my wife. I was doing this movie. And I like I've never seen it before. And she came back to like, what do you think of it? I was like, Yeah, and it's like, she's like, put you like Spock, right? I'm like, oh, yeah, Spock was awesome. She's like, I had such a crush on Spock. when that movie came out. The actor that played Spock I'm like, All right. We have we have similar I had a crush on Spock too. He was he was my favorite person in the whole movie.
Ansel Burch 17:29
Quintos a good looking man, you know as this Nimoy Yeah,
Byron Czopek 17:33
just just get him in the In the Green Lady and abroad. Just go every go call that the movie.
Ansel Burch 17:45
The just a roommate sitcom between the two of them and with Spock coming to visit would be that'd be great.
Byron Czopek 17:53
Coming to visit, like they'd be like to let you go letting it Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley.
Ansel Burch 18:01
Oh my god, I just realized that both of them would have been in that same dorm room.
Byron Czopek 18:06
Yeah, I just Yeah.
Ansel Burch 18:09
Yup. There you go.
Byron Czopek 18:12
Man. We made a much better movie. And it'd be a rom com. Get rid of all the space and the laser who doesn't love a rom com? Yeah. prophecies and you know
Ansel Burch 18:26
Romulan comedy,
Byron Czopek 18:28
really a Romulan
Ansel Burch 18:32
coming. There you go. To pick oh, we need to come into peacock. Alright, Byron, what's your next rule?
Byron Czopek 18:40
My next rule so my other two rules are really more kind of specific to like a specific point in in the movie.
Ansel Burch 18:48
Oh, do that. I mean, you can do shot rules if you want. So
Byron Czopek 18:50
okay. Yeah. So I'll do this a shot rule. Actually, this would be a really good shot rule. This one. My favorite line in the entire movie is bones. When he goes my ex wife took everything. Oh, you left me and all I got left is my bones. And he takes a drink and I'm like, I just laughed out loud like I watched this movie in my backyard with like a projector and I just like cackled like laughing because I thought that was a funny, it's the funniest most pettiest thing you could ever say post divorce
Ansel Burch 19:22
like she took the whole planet and the divorce
Byron Czopek 19:26
and the divorce and all I got left this but bodes like what a what a brilliant lied. So as headline comes out, oh yeah, you got to take a shot at that point.
Ansel Burch 19:42
Certainly in the movie too, so that'll be a good warm up for the rest of the thing. All right. I also wanted to throw in a respect shot. We do we do shots for respect here on time to party pretty frequently for Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin what's a respect shot? Just just a shot out of respect for somebody who who's either really awesome or really awesome and also passed away, which sadly both Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin did after filming this film well over
Benton Sartore 20:16
the next Volney after the next darker, yes, yes. The next one,
Ansel Burch 20:22
right. Yeah, they both made it. Yeah, they didn't die right after this one they have since passed on. Yeah. So pour one out of respect for Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin. Right. And you got one more
Benton Sartore 20:34
I do. Well, I got to think about it. Oh, I'll do all right. Shots. Or Chris Hemsworth cameo. Yeah, before he was famous.
Ansel Burch 20:47
Right. This was yeah, what, two years before Thor?
Benton Sartore 20:53
Yeah, he's not like jacked or like, bearded or anything. He's just like, somebody's dad.
Ansel Burch 20:58
Just did. She was what she was. Perfect cast. How about you, Byron, what's your next one?
Byron Czopek 21:09
My next one that probably another shot rule when you finally realize when this is a time traveling movie, because? hour and a half? I'm like, wait, where was the timeframe? Well, at the beginning, when they did like the answer, consider like a time jump. Like a time travel. I don't understand. And then what's the here's the thing you'll know, you'll know when you when when you've realized when if it's the first time you've ever seen it. You'll know if you've seen it before. You guys know exactly what the moment was. When you realize oh, it's a time travel movie. I don't need to say what it is. So that's, that's a special one for you. Listening.
Ansel Burch 21:49
Very good. I'm excited to talk about that later as well.
Byron Czopek 21:57
I have to because I still have
Ansel Burch 22:05
I have take a take a shot for the Beastie Boys. So
Byron Czopek 22:10
I was surprised that so Okay, so funny that you mentioned that because I was surprised that that song got cleared because the Beastie Boys are kind of notorious for not letting a lot of stuff clear. And I'm like, how are they clear? And like, Oh, that's right. They're a bunch of like Star Trek fans. Like it was like
Ansel Burch 22:24
oh there Yeah, Star Trek dorks? Yeah. And I think the thing that I really enjoy and you won't you won't already know this. The that same song is like the theme song for this trilogy of films. It shows up in all three Yeah, sabotage shows up in three J Abrams Star Trek movies. And every time it is a banger it is perfect for the scene every time in my humble opinion. So yeah, do a shot for the Beastie Boys. There at the very top.
Benton Sartore 23:01
All right, and Benton you had one more and do waterfall for the most unlucky cameo. tilework Harry.
Byron Czopek 23:10
Harry in this movie.
Benton Sartore 23:11
Tyler Perry is on like the committee that's like going to judge her.
Ansel Burch 23:16
Oh, that's of Federico Starfleet Academy.
Byron Czopek 23:21
Yeah, if he did it as Madea then I would have really recognized Tyler Perry like as a human being only recognize when it comes out.
Ansel Burch 23:34
I love that it was just Tyler Perry being Tyler Perry. Like we didn't get a name for that character. No one called him by name. Nobody calls him by like title. There's no name plates. He has like a name plate in front of them. Oh, he does have a name plate. That's that's fair. That's fair. So canonically that's not just Tyler Perry in front of the they have a holographic Tyler Perry brought down to judge you. I also have one more this is related to my earlier one. But I still think it counts. Anytime they introduce an original canon crew member. Go ahead and take a drink. Oh, I phased them out a little bit over the thing.
Byron Czopek 24:16
Yeah, so like first time like when? Yeah, yeah.
Ansel Burch 24:20
What Yeah, when Sulu shows up when checkup shows Scott and shows Scotty shows up eventually. Spoilers I know.
Byron Czopek 24:30
Oh my god, there's nobody in it that's it's all ruined if you've never seen the movie before.
Ansel Burch 24:41
All right, well, so those are our drinking rules. Party people. Get out there check out Star Trek 2009 Directed by JJ Abrams. You'll know it because official title is Star Trek 1009 Yep, star trek to the past even no past, so check out the 2009 Star Trek available on Paramount plus for streaming. This has been an indecision as to production. You can find me online @Indecisionist on Twitter and @TheIndecisionist on Instagram. Special thanks to April Moralba for our podcast art and to Marlon Longid of Marlon and the Shakes for our amazing theme song. Head on over to indecisionist.com For show notes and transcripts of all of our episodes in season three, and you can interact with us online using the hashtag time to party that's time the number two party as well as time the number two party all spelled out. Thank you, Warwick. Wherever you are in the timestream friends
Byron Czopek 25:42
be excellent to each other
Benton Sartore 25:44
and party on dudes
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
