It’s almost time for “Starfleet Academy,” but before we sit down to watch the newest “Star Trek” series, we’ve got to wrap up our “Wreath of Khan” series with a look at “Star Trek Into Darkness.” Khan is in it (spoilers!), but should he be? What makes this movie work, and where does it fall apart? - Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.

Premee nerds out about a beloved (and well-used!) collection. - Sandra Wong with Premee Mohamed.

We're talking about TPK: Golden Vault!

What we assume is the first rash of trailers for the upcoming Doomsday Marvel Mega Event has just dropped so we’re on the case like Plastic Man. Captain America, Thor, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Wakanda report for the adversiting roll call. Read along to find out what we think. - Dan Moren, John Moltz and Guy English.

Host John Siracusa asks himself to discuss the difference between Supercars and Hypercars, while Jason looks on. - John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

We're talking about TPK: Shameless Sleuths!

Noah Hawley’s TV take on the Alien franchise, “Alien: Earth,” is crashing into a building near us, bringing gross aliens old and new, suspicious synths, terrified (and bloody) humans, and a new class of hybrid life forms with the minds of children and superhuman bodies. Does the show give us enough Xenomorphs? Is the eye alien a breakout fan favorite? Was replaying “Alien” on a different ship a good idea? Why is Trillionaire Island so understaffed? We break it all down. - Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Brian Warren, Annette Wierstra and Sandra Wong.

Hope you’re not lactose intolerant! Matt Skuta returns to discuss John Cormier’s I am the Cheese (1977). - John McCoy with Matt Skuta.

The team’s covering the NFL draft which might take a bit longer due to some cloudy skies. Jeremy says the line “It cannot, it must not rain at Indian Wells” (anybody want to guess whether it starts raining?) Meanwhile, Jeremy is a bit nervous because he invited his new girlfriend to visit the studio. And Dana has an inexplicable bandage on her face? Lex and Brian think some of this makes sense, and some … less so. Either way, all this talk of rain tells me we’ll definitely be Sorkin’ In It! - Lex Friedman and Brian Warren.

We're talking about The Incomparable 800!

We're talking about TPK Scriveners Tale!

We're talking about Pluribus!

Our most frequent panelists of the year join Jason to talk about their favorite stuff from the year gone by, and we also pause to recall some favorite Incomparable moments. Synergy! - Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Moisés Chiullán, Tony Sindelar, David J. Loehr, Annette Wierstra, Scott McNulty, Dan Moren and Brian Warren.

We're talking about Frankenstein (2025)!

The difference between a slegh and a sled. - John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

What, the one as big as me? Marina McCoy makes her holiday return to discuss Mário de Andrade’s sweet-and-salty “A Christmas Turkey” (1956). - John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

The Wreath of Khan rolls on with part 3 of 4, as Scott and Jason spend some time discussing one of their favorite movies, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” after having followed Khan from “Space Seed” through “Star Trek: Khan.” We don’t know how many times we can say that we love this movie, but we tried and it seems like we could do it forever. - Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.

The Magnum, podcast holiday special is here! We watched the failed 1979 pilot for Boston and Kilbride, “The Chinese Typewriter,” starring Tom Selleck (as Tom Boston) and James Whitmore Jr. (as Jimmy Kilbride). The dubbing! The fake signs! The weird casting! We break down everything that makes this pilot a fitting failure, though with some admiration about how it does a lot with almost zero budget. Also: you, the listeners, introduce many segments. See you next year! - Jason Snell, Philip Michaels and David J. Loehr.

Kilmas comes but once a year! This year we’re climbing into the cockpit and revisiting 1986’s “Top Gun,” starring some airplanes, Val Kilmer, and Tom Cruise. It’s a very subtle movie. Were Tony’s parents right in protecting his young mind from it? And most importantly, why do we remember Val Kilmer’s character being the villain when he’s actually the conscience of the entire film? - Jason Snell with Annette Wierstra, Katie Mack, Erika Ensign, Tony Sindelar and Brian Warren.

Dan isn’t one of the 100 Most Influential People in Sports, but Casey is. You can bet that goes over like a fart in church. Speaking of church - Dana visits one to get out of the rain… and likes it (the church, not the rain… or the fart). The rain also helps Jeremy continue his flirtation with Jenny. There’s so much Sorkin In It to do. We got you. - Lex Friedman and Brian Warren.

[Cross-posted from Downstream #109 on Relay FM.] Tim Goodman pops down the chimney again to reunite with Jason and discuss the Oscars on YouTube, finding balance in the TV review game, the rise of international content, episode deconstructions, “Pluribus,” and his top shows of the year. - Tim Goodman and Jason Snell.

Up up and away to the bars amoung the stars! A teaser trailer for Supergirl was recently released and Team Biff is here to chat about it. We also get into some superhero sweep and try to remember how to do the show. - Dan Moren, John Moltz and Guy English.

Listener William challenges our ruling about chargers and we get deep into the weeds of car charging. - John Siracusa and Jason Snell.

We're talking about Top Gun (Kilmas)!

The Wreath of Khan continues with our review of the “Star Trek: Khan” audio drama—available where you get podcasts. - Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.