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Screenshot: Death Howl A soulslike with tactical turn-based combat and deckbuilding sounds like way too much, but developer The Outer Zone dared to dream big. I used to be a big proponent of the idea that if you add too many elements to a game, you just end up with a game with a bunch of mediocre parts. I don’t feel that way anymore. In fact, I’m excited how developers these days come up with clever ways to bend and break gameplay rules. It’s an entire gaming renaissance that is barely acknowledged. But great concepts, even if realized, aren’t always executed perfectly. Death Howl is a game I was initially wary of, but then fell in love with. The gorgeous, dreamily haunting pixel art mixed with a novel and engaging combination of gameplay mechanics hooked me right away. You play as Ro, a grieving mother who refuses to accept the death of her son. Instead, she goes into the spirit world to fight her way to him in an effort to bring him back. I’ve always appreciated the types of stories where you kill gods, or fight your way through hell–so Death Howl ’s premise is something I definitely could get behind. Mix that with a folklore-steeped Scandinavian purgatory and you get a game that feels like a lost legend, one that balances the cosmic scale of defying the afterlife with the intimate, crushing weight of personal grief. Screenshot: Death Howl As Ro, you explore this spirit world and encounter strange creatures, uncover secrets hidden in the map, loot items, and run into grid-based combat encounters. There are many benefits to exploring the world–not just for items that you can use to craft new cards, but also quests that give you unique cards as rewards, and other items you can find to help your quest. If you accidentally walk into combat, you can initially cancel with no penalty, but once combat progresses there’s no going back–and there’s no “undo” button in combat, either. Any misclick can lead to the end of that combat encounter. I failed often, but I took the ‘git gud’ approach to Death Howl ’s combat encounters–only to realize that I wasn’t getting the same return on investment ratio I was getting with Dark Souls –so to speak.  Screenshot: Death Howl Since there are no movesets to memorize, or weapons to learn the feel for, improvement in  Death Howl means trying different combinations of cards in your 20 hand deck, and seeing what works and what doesn’t. Unless you’re a deckbuilding savant (I’m not) Death Howl can feel a bit frustrating. I remember what it was like as a kid trying to play other kids with my crappy Magic: The Gathering deck–because that’s all I had. Death Howl allows you to craft new cards to help fill in any tactical gaps you might have.  Battles take place on a grid. I would have preferred hex-based, but Death Howl at least avoids the pitfall of always punishing movement or always punishing turtling by having a variety of enemies to fight–healers, those with one touch kills, ranged, melee, and more. Combat is turn-based, with movement and abilities enabled by spending mana. Each region has its own set of unique cards, which allows you to build and try multiple different decks during your playthrough. But that’s also one of my biggest gripes with Death Howl .  Screenshot: Death Howl It really feels like Death Howl  doesn’t respect your time, or even your preferences. If you find a fun weapon in Dark Souls,  it might not be viable for the entire game (though more often than not it would be) but you wouldn’t be outright penalized for using it in a different area of the game. In Death Howl , any regional cards are penalized by costing more mana. Further, any other ability upgrades–like totems, which enable much needed bonuses–are undone for any new region you enter, forcing you to level up a whole new set of bonuses that are region specific. And it’s around the time I realized this fact when the honeymoon period wore off. That’s when I just had to grit my teeth and get into the grind. It was like I had to learn to love it for what it was, not what I wanted it to be. Though I still feel like it might be a better game if it didn't punish the player for progression.  Screenshot: Death Howl But there are other ways that Death Howl  gives players a break. You can fast travel between this game’s bonfire equivalent (called ‘stone circles) as long as you aren’t holding a quest item. If you die, you lose whatever experience you’re carrying just as you would expect–but you’re not forced to fight through every group of enemies again. Instead, you’ll start the fight with the same health as you did when you originally started the encounter. This is pretty forgiving, but it also led to me throwing myself against the wall until I finally got the perfect RNG to get through the fight. I played Death Howl  on my Steam Deck for the majority of my playtime–and while it runs great, I ran into a fair number of bugs that didn’t let me select cards properly while playing with my Steam Deck docked, leading to a lot of frustration. I hope these bugs are fixed on a Day One patch, otherwise you might have to undock your Steam Deck to get past the issue before you can redock it.  Screenshot: Death Howl Death Howl  is a unique game. It has a brilliant core concept with some strange design decisions that make it feel like a bit of a grind when it really doesn’t have to be. But I do love it for what it is. When my deck works the way I want it to, Death Howl  is great fun. Despite the bugs and baffling design choices, this is the most fun I’ve had with a deckbuilder since I first played Slay the Spire .  Death Howl  is out December 9th on Steam and GoG, and will be coming next year on consoles with a physical edition confirmed for Q1 2026.

My first impressions of Cloudheim when I saw it was: “Hot damn! What a cool looking game.” While it leans towards a more anime/gacha visual style (not really my thing) I can’t deny how gorgeous it looked in screenshots. It reminded me a bit of Genshin Impact x Legend of Zelda , with creature designs that could be something out of Studio Ghibli. However, games aren’t just as good as their visuals, and Cloudheim definitely has potential. But I can’t help but feel like Cloudheim is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. Is this going to be a narrative driven game, or is it going to be an open physics-based sandbox? Who knows? It might even be both.  Cloudheim definitely plays a bit loose with who you can play as. I’d argue it’s less of a role-playing game and more of a class-based open world co-op adventure game with some progression mechanics. Characters aren’t distinct entities. Instead, your class is determined by the weapon type you carry. There’s nothing wrong with this, per se, but those coming in expecting a more traditional role-playing game character creation might be in for a bit of a culture shock.  The physics-based combat is as-advertised, and fun on its own. Environments are often destructable, and I found amusement by kicking my enemies off of ledges or into pillars–which break down appropriately. But the combat doesn’t feel polished and as engaging as I had hoped. There’s a fine line with physics-based combat systems, and right now Cloudheim is teetering a bit more towards Goat Simulator style jankiness than what I would expect from a serious action role-playing game. But this is really just this author’s humble opinion–the community will be able to weigh-in soon enough. There is also the clunky base building system. I felt like I was infodumped during the hectic tutorial, so there is obvious room for improvement there. I was tasked with constructing a number of buildings in a row with very little context for why. It would have been better if Cloudheim  paced this out—perhaps having me build a station, complete a task in the world, and then return to introduce another aspect. I really just wanted to get out there and explore, kick a few more enemies off ledges–you know, have fun. On the upside, the fact that your base is built on the back of a giant flying turtle definitely earns points in my book. However, the effect is largely visual; in reality, you’re in an instanced environment disconnected NV from the greater world. It's practical for game performance, but a bit disappointing for the fantasy. I’m hoping the introduction to crafting can be smoothed out as the game progresses through Early Access. Cloudheim is going to be in early access for the next 9-12 months, as stated in the Early Access information box on its Steam store page. Developer. Noodle Cat Games promises regular updates as the community plays the game and provides feedback. I have some high hopes for Cloudheim , because developer Noodle Cat Games is founded by David Hunt, lead designer on Fortnite . If even a small spark of that success touches Cloudheim Noodle Cat will have a winner on their hands. The Early Access roadmap is a bit vague on when , but it definitely has a long list of exciting things to look forward to, like new islands, weapons, enemies, dungeons, characters, class abilities–among many other items. Cloudheim releases today on Early Access on PC, but there are also plans for Cloudheim to come to consoles on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X soon.

We've said this time and time again: Smaller cons hold a bit of special magic to them. They're perfect chance to spend sometime with like minded people in a non hectic, not overcrowded venue and discuss the smallest detail of the fandom. Such was the case during these two fantastic panels. First up was the trio of Jo Martin (the Fugitive Doctor), Steph De Whalley ( 15th Doctor companion Anita Benn), and Susan Twist (Susan Triad). Right off the bat, all three members of the panel discussed the discovery of the vast world of cons and being honored to represent the series beyond their time on the show. For us fans who are well aware of the con circuit, its always refreshing to hear that actors appreciate the second like their work get beyond the show. Having depicted a mysterious version of the Doctor, Jo Martin certainly got a lot of attention during the audience Q&A portion and was more forthcoming about the future of her character than one would think. She responded positively to questions about a show revolving around her Doctor, teasing that it is a very real possibly. Later asked what she would like her Doctor to do in the future, Martin had to navigate a little more carefully but hoped some capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art the mixes dance and acrobatics) could be in the Doctor's future, Susan Twist, certainly the most recent focal point of three on Doctor Who, delved into her history with Russel T Davies, after being asked if her character's plot line was possibly inspired by her perfect stage name or it was a happy coincidence. She admitted to not really knowing and being really impressed with all the theries the fans made (like thinking that her name and history had been planted online as a ARD) before she was revealed as ... well, spoilers. Twist recalls having met Davies well before being on the show and being asked to be on the show with out an audition, something the panelists and audienced agreed must have fed into the character he wrote. Towards the end of the talk questions began to expand beyond the world of Who. Martin discussed her time on Mike Leigh's Hard Truths, which at the time the iconic British writer/director claimed to her would be his last film, but is currently is filming his 16th feature. "He lied to me!" She jokingly exclaimed, much to the glee of the crowd, before relaying how happy she was to work with Leigh.. All three were then asked who they would love to work. De Whalley immediately noted Olivia Coleman, Martin instantly noted Judy Dench, and Twist lamented that she never worked with Maggie Smith. Of course the conversation returned to Who before the end of the panel and Steph De Whalley shined the brightest. She proudly declared to have eaten every bite of food on screen (and beyond in additional takes) during her time on Doctor Who, which was met with a bit of astonishment form her fellow panelists and Ncuti Gatwa while on set. And when asked what they all wanted their TARDIS to look like if they were the Doctor, de Whalley invoked the inside of the Spice Girls tour bus from Spice World.. And let's be honest, who wouldn't want that!

Carole Anne Ford -via ChicagoTARDIS.com It’s hard to overstate the privilege we have when we talk about Chicago TARDIS. Born out of a different convention called Visions, Chicago TARDIS is not only one of the OG conventions for sci-fi fans with a storied history and great traditions that have stood the test of time, it’s also a convention that’s consistently drawn amazing guests from around the world.  Doctor Who is an institution at this point, having been, at least in our opinion, the crown jewel of the BBC and British TV in general since November 23, 1963, and having created a timeline full of fantastic characters - Doctors, companions and pepper-shaker shaped villains alike.  Whether you kicked off your time as a Whovian with Chris Eccleston and the New Who revival or you’ve been a fan since William Hartnell first explained that his police box was bigger on the inside, Chicago TARDIS has not only welcomed you, but had something special for you.  Just like we talked about with Trek, it’s a rare and unique privilege to have a chance to talk with the people who were there when it all began, as well as those who carried the torch, and that’s why we were so excited to see Carole Ann Ford, one of the original Doctor’s companions, alongside Katy Manning, the third Doctor’s companion, Jo Grant.  What’s even neater is seeing the two take the stage together and talk about all those weird what-ifs we can imagine as fans, but only so far. There were the standard questions about what the actresses may have gotten to take from the costume room (apparently half of a copper costume for Katy, who ‘wouldn’t have chosen her companion’s clothes in the first place’), but what was more interesting were their responses when asked about the legacy of the show.  Katy Manning via ChicagoTARDIS.com The pair first touched on the core of the show - the changing faces and pathos of the Doctor himself, with Carole adding that the companions have got ‘more and more beautiful over the years.’ Both actresses agreed that it’s a beautiful thing to see the Doctor change the way that they have, experiencing things through the eyes of those young and old, black and white, and everything in between.  Though both actresses are now also huge fans of the series, when originally asked where that fandom started, Manning quipped  “I was 16 when the show started, and I was like wow, this is a really cool show, but I’m 16. Hello! You think I’m sitting at home at night on the radio?” Manning did mention that she’s now a huge fan, having picked up the show much more recently, and explaining her journey with it as experiencing her childhood with Doctor Who now.  Fans also asked how they thought Susan Foreman and Jo Grant would’ve gotten on, should there have been some sort of timey wimey mishap that found the two in the same decade, and both women agreed heartily that they’d likely get along just as well as they did in real life. Manning made a brief joke about having stalked Foreman originally to begin the friendship, but the two imagined that they’d get on great, and even potentially go shopping together. We were so glad to get to eavesdrop on this lovely conversation between two people who could have been friends, that thanks to the BBC and a shared favorite show, are now actually living the life we imagine Jo Grant and Susan Foreman would’ve lived had they travelled together with the Doctor. Stay tuned for even more from the Chicago TARDIS floor as we continue to travel with Doctors, dance with Daleks and shoot the shit with the Slitheen.

Screenshot: Scrabdackle Act 1 What do you get when you put together a bit of metroidvania, a pinch of soulslike, a dash of Terry Pratchett, a few cups of Zelda  and a whole bucket of charm? Apparently you get Scrabdackle , a hand drawn, top down adventure game developed by jakefriend. It looks like a game I would have come across in the corners of some early digital distribution storefront years ago, replete with hand drawn animation that looks like it was drawn in MS Paint. Screenshot: Scrabdackle Act 1 Scrabdackle puts you in control of novice wizard Blue as you learn new spells, fight strange creatures, and meet loads of peculiar NPCs as you get Blue back to Wizard Academy. Forced to learn about the world and its dangers, Blue has to (eventually) learn new spells and other tricks to navigate the world and overcome its obstacles. With metroidvania style open world gameplay, Scrabdackle lets you explore the way you want–until you come across an obstacle that you have to use some yet undiscovered item or spell to overcome. It’s a classic gameplay loop, but Scrabdackle stands out in both its whimsical charm and scope–because Scrabdackle looks like it’s going to be a big game. Screenshot: Scrabdackle Act 1 Scrabdackle is releasing into Early Access, so that means it’s technically not a finished game, but it does release with its entire first (of three) acts completed. According to the developer that means 12-18 hours of gameplay. But that also means you’re going to have to wait a year between Act 2 and another year after  that before Act 3 releases. Get in early because the game will increase in price slightly as each new act releases, though what kind of increase to expect is not explicitly stated. I’ll probably be dipping into Scrabdackle after major updates to see how it’s coming along. In fact, developer jakefriend even equates each of these Acts as an episode in a season of TV–as “they’re designed to be played with a little time to digest between each,” which sounds like a perfect reason not to wait until its finished development until playing.  Scrabdackle will release on Steam Early Access December 2nd.

William Shatner at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor I think this panel writeup might need a preface: William Shatner is legendary, especially to the Star Trek fandom, because he was Captain James T. Kirk. THE Captain Kirk. One of the most iconic characters in our modern culture. William Shatner himself is a treasure, and I just need to clarify that we’re never laughing at the man. Okay, maybe a little bit. But it’s from a place of love. And he’s certainly getting up there in years, and I can’t tell if that’s making him genuinely stranger, or if that his advanced years is is making his mask slip a little bit easier–because Shatner has always had a bit of a reputation, especially for his acerbic come backs. William Shatner at ST-CHI Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor Shatner arrives in the panel room carrying a bag of sushi. He tells the story:   “They said to me today, ‘what would you like to have for lunch? You got some sushi.’ "That would be nice." ‘We'll go get you Sushi.’ "So, I'm sitting at a table reading about the condition of the world (and there’s no) sushi. So, now I come in here (to the panel room). And as I'm coming in here, ‘here's your sushi.’ "So, if any of you know about sushi, it has a limited taste like, you know, the moment it's out of the sushi maker's hands it's already decaying. So I said, how am I gonna eat this? They said, ‘eat it after (the panel)’ and I said "it'll decay! So, you're going to have to forgive me. I'm going to talk to you. We're going to talk about anything and everything. And while we're talking I'm going to eat my sushi.” So we all had a chance to have lunch with William Shatner. Or, rather, he ate sushi while taking questions from the audience. William Shatner at ST-CHI Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor It was delightful in a way that only Bill Shatner can delight. One of the standout stories was when an audience member asked him about Jimmy Darren, who not only played as Vic Fontaine in Deep Space Nine , but also starred in TJ Hooker alongside Shatner. “I haven’t seen him in a long time. Did he die?" Once an audience member confirmed Darren’s passing, Shatner replied cheekily “I’ll see him soon" before continuing with the story: “So Jimmy (Darren) and I did this police show together. So we jump from one roof to another–the whole thing. We were running up and down roofs in Los Angeles, chasing the bad guy… Jimmy one day says to me, ‘Bill, I’m afraid of birds. I have a thing about birds. They’ve frightened me.’ "Yes, but Jimmy, we’re jumping from roof to roof." The birds are all over the place. He says, ‘I know, I’m frightened to death.’ "Jimmy, my loving, beautiful, singing, Italian friend. Was afraid of birds. He would deny it. But he’s in no position (to complain.)” William Shatner at ST-CHI Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor Shatner then went on to talk about stunts, and how he didn’t believe Tom Cruise could possibly do his own stunts because of how much money any injury could cost the studio. Shatner said, “Millions of dollars (in lost revenue). The insurance company is not going to insure you…. If Tom Cruise you know” [Shatner mimics getting an injury, and continues] “ I'll be back in an hour an hour. Tens of thousands of dollars (of money wasted). What are you talking about? I don't give a shit about your little toe. Seriously, and there he is flying off motorcycles into space. He's not going to hurt his toe, he’ll split open, like a melon!" Shatner then told a story about when he wanted to do his own motorcycle stunt. Shatner, a self proclaimed motorcycle “aficionado”, argued for doing a risky motorcycle stunt that involved jumping sand dunes.  “I can do (the stunt). I’ve got it. I’m really good (at riding a motorcycle.)” [Shatner mimics arguing with a studio exec] “No no, listen, I can do it, ‘’No Bill, because the insurance company won't insure us. If you do, we're going to get a stuntman to do it.’ Ah, jeez, man, I've could have done it. I'm telling you, I could have done it! And they do the (stunt.) The stuntman’s on the motorcycle. It leaps up and lands everybody's great. He's lying on the ground. He broke his back. And then somebody who's watching the filming comes running down. ‘I'm his girlfriend, I'm his girlfriend, I'm his girlfriend,’ and I'm standing, looking at him, saying, what's the matter and his girlfriend comes running down, and she looks up and says, can I have your autograph? And sand is falling off his face. And I took him back to Vancouver. He was a Canadian stuntman, and he remained a paraplegic for the rest of his life.”  And of course a fan asked about his time in space. Shatner went into low earth orbit on the second flight of Blue Origin back in 2021. Back then, he was practically in tears relaying the feelings he had while experiencing earth from orbit for the first time. That feeling has evidently since faded.  William Shatner at ST-CHI Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor “(Have I been) to real space? Yeah. There’s no sushi there.” Shatner said before giving a long rambling answer about hydrogen gas, the Hindenburg disaster, and how he lamented being on the second Blue Origin flight, instead of the first, and what it was like being weightless. Shatner also commented on the utter blackness of space, comparing the black of space he saw with absolute darkness in experienced while spelunking: “I've been in Kentucky to a cave. In Kentucky, where they shut the door. And so there's no light at all. No itinerant light at all. Pure blackness is not what you see when you pull the drapes down. You're seeing little bits of light somewhere. In a cave with an airtight door shut–that's black. It's so black that you feel you.can put your fingers in it. It's palpable. Not only that–it's so surrounding that you lose your balance. You have nothing to balance you. You lose your sense of balance. I look up into that blackness, and I see the blackness of space now." "Since you're all here, obviously interested in science fiction and science fiction involves space: the final frontier. Uh, it's not the final frontier. I'm here to tell you death is the final frontier. (Space) is one of the Frontiers, but it's not the final -- Look at this beautiful piece of fish.”

Chase Masterson, Cirroc Lofton and Nana Visitor at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor One thing is always apparent when you go to Star Trek conventions: fans think Deep Space Nine is the best Star Trek show. Seriously. There are fans that love the other shows better, sure, but when Deep Space Nine is brought up it’s referred to as “the best Trek” more often than any other of the shows. And there has been a lot of Trek . And that must say something about the cast and crew that made it possible all of those years ago.  We got a chance to see Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko), Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys) and Chase Masterson (Leeta) at this year’s ST: CHI as they talked about their experiences with Star Trek Deep Space Nine . All things were discussed, from Nana Visitor's new rap name (Ill Nana, bestowed by Lofton and borrowed from Foxy Brown) to whether Gul Dukat was a sociopath (he was). Early on as the three were reflecting on fame, and the fact that their children don’t want to watch their old shows, Visitor mentioned an even more awkward consequence of fame: while her son was deployed to Afghanistan, apparently some fellow soldiers had a Kira Nerys picture they were using as a pin-up. Her son, understandably, was not okay with that. Nana Visitor at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor One of the first questions an audience member asked was about whether the actors knew how long their characters’ romantic relationships would last on the show, and the short answer is “no.” These panels make it very apparent how little forward planning went into even such a treasured show as Deep Space Nine . Nana Visitor revealed that the iconic relationship between Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and Kira was based on a look that Odo gave Kira that was seen in the dailies. Visitor recalled, “They were watching dailies, and they went. ‘Oh, he's in love with her!’ And they wrote it from that. "And it was the way Renee looked at my character that they got that from. And, and that's those little moments. That's where they start to weave what’s going to happen.” Enter a convincingly forlorn Lofton, who quipped “I was looking at you like that the whole time and they didn’t write anything for my character.”  In line with the last question, but much later in the panel, Chase Masterson told a story about Max Grodenchik, who played Rom on Deep Space Nine  and turned out to be surprise love interest for the former Dabo girl. Masterson even mimicked the exchange between showrunner Ira Steven Behr and Max Grodenchik (while providing a perfect impression of Grodenchik) “After (the episode) Bar Association, Ira (Steven Behr) took Max on a ‘father-son walk,’ and he said, “we’re gonna give you Leeta’ and Max said “Thank you!” and then (Ira) Said, ‘yeah, because Doctor Bashir, he’s like, really loved by all the ladies. And he’s, you know, he’s handsome and all that. So, I’m going to keep him single and Max said, ‘thank you?’”  Another interesting insight was when Cirroc Lofton was talking about Aron Eisenberg, the late actor who portrayed Nog–and had one of the greatest character arcs in TV history. According to the man himself, Eisenberg “dragged” Cirroc Lofton onto the podcast, which was the prototype for other Trek podcasts that followed–and there are quite a few. Lofton said, "As far as the podcasting is concerned. I want to give Aron tremendous respect. And credit to Aaron Eisenberg because it was his idea to get it into that space.” he continued with, “(the) positive effect it had on my life, it’s just immeasurable. So I am eternally grateful for Aaron.” .

Chicago TARDIS 2023. Photo: Marielle Bokor For some, the holiday season kicks off with Halloween - ghosts and goblins, candy and pumpkins. For others, it's Thanksgiving. Turkey and all the trimmings, travel and family. Chicago TARDIS. Photo: Marielle Bokor Then there's us Whovians here in the Chicago area. For us, there's an oft-treacherous trek to the suburb of Lombard, a comfy room at the Westin Chicago Lombard, and a host of amazing cast and fans from the BBC's most storied, internationally beloved sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Sylvester McCoy at a Children's panel, Chicago TARDIS. Photo: Marielle Bokor For years, it's been the second largest Who convention in the country, and a real tradition for many of us who've ever loved the Doctor in one incarnation or another. We come to cheer on the competitors in the masquerade, have tea with The Master, stay up all night watching episodes in the viewing room, marvel at the array of Daleks in Dalek alley, and, as always, soak up all the goodness that comes from having the likes of Frazier Hines, Carole Ann Ford, Jo Martin and, a huge get for 2025, Chris Eccleston. That's hardly a full list of activities and the charm of Chicago TARDIS lies in the exploration - it's a classic convention that's an annual tradition for local Whovians, after all, some of whom actually show up pre-Thanksgiving and center their entire holidays around the franchise. Masquerade contestants at Chicago TARDIS. Photo: Marielle Bokor Absorb yourselves in tales from the shows or audio drama, join the parade - craft a popsicle stick Dalek, or hit the dance party in your sci-fi finest - this convention is the definition of familial, cozy and welcoming and it's something we genuinely look forward to every single year There's a storm brewing over this weekend, for sure, but with the Doctor and his companions by our side, we're sure we'll be alright. If you want to join us, check out this link for more information .

Todd Stashwick at ST-CHI Trek to Chicago with Nick Sarantos, host of Chicago History's DIBS podcast. Photo: Marielle Bokor We kicked off Day Two of ST-CHI with none other than our favorite “dipshit from Chicago” Todd Stashwick, who Trekkers my know as Captain Liam Shaw from Picard ’s Season 3. In case you didn't know, he comes by that moniker honestly, as Stashwick is a genuine Chicago dipshit. This panel was full of hometown love, as it was also a live taping of   Chicago History’s podcast DIBS hosted by Nick Sarantos, who deftly steered the ship between Stashwick's storied roles and hometown tales. Stashwick comes onto stage singing “Sweet Home Chicago,” full from days of pizza eating. Right away the rules were set: no questions about Stashwick’s portrayal of Paladin in the upcoming MCU series Visionquest , and no questions about Star Trek: Legacy, which seems all but dead to us outside observers. The pair did get to talk about Stashwick as Paladin, and how he got both that and his infamous hometown captain role: “Terry Matalas, who was the showrunning of 12 Monkeys , and also the showrunning of Season 3 of Picard , and he created the role of Shaw (Season 3 Picard) for me, which is super humbling. When he called me and said, “hey do you want to want to be (in Picard )? I’m writing a Starfleet captain for you. I said ‘I can’t wait to get to see who plays it because I know how Los Angeles works and when roles are created for you, the studio goes, ‘yeah, but we were thinking of Pedro Pascal.” Apparently Kevin Feige, the head of the MCU, is also a huge Star Trek fan and loved season 3 of Picard . That led to Feige and Matalas having a conversation and Matals getting the job on Visionquest . Terry invited Stashwick to play the role of the bounty hunter Paladin, of which he says, “it’s all still in my wheelhouse. It’s like they’re all variants between Deacon (Stashwick’s 12 Monkeys character) Shaw and Paladin.” Todd Stashwick at a live taping of Chicago History's DIBS with host Nick Sarantos at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago. Photo: Marielle Bokor From that point on, there was surprisingly little discussed about Star Trek , but lots and lots of discussion on Dungeons and Dragons . It turns out Stashwick is a huge fan, having played Dungeons and Dragons when he was younger, but it took a 30 year hiatus for him to return to the game and he hasn’t looked back since. Stashwick credits his improv background for being a good dungeon master, a pedigree that includes a stint in Second City with the likes of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert and other household comedy names. Stashwick later quipped, “I hope things work out for them. Fingers crossed.” Todd Stashwick is a comedian, but he’s finding himself in a lot of genre work, which he loves. “Outside of doing comedy–Dharma and Greg, Will and Grace–I also love doing genre. I love doing Supernatural, I love doing Buffy  ( The Vampire Slayer), I love doing Law and Order , I like doing The Riches .” He continues, “(When I was a kid) I was as much of a Sci-Fi nerd as I was a Sci-Fi/Fantasy nerd, and so you know, I spent a lot of my life just as I’ve said before: either trying to be Han Solo or Peter Venkman (from Ghostbusters) . So I either want to be Bill Murray playing  Han Solo or Harrison Ford playing Peter Venkman” with Sarantos joking “let’s do t he rest of the interview with you as Bill Murray.” Chicago is lucky to have Todd Stashwick representing us. He’s not just any dipshit from Chicago, he’s our dipshit.

UPDATE: We checked out these earbuds earlier this month, and we absolutely loved them. We ALSO just found out they’re on sale during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday round of sales, so now is a great time to grab these great earbuds on a deep discount. Photo via Status. I’m not usually an earbuds guy, especially when it comes to active noise cancellation. Sometimes, it barely works, and with others, earbud noise cancellation can be so aggressive and tinny. And why would you want something in your ears when you can have pillowy soft over-ear headphone cups? The Pro X ear buds by Status have actually changed my view on earbuds in a few drastic ways. In fact, I’ve been using the Pro X earbuds as my main audio device over the last few weeks, and I don’t see that changing. To start with, the Pro X earbuds have a premium look and feel, and the case really sets the tone. The Status Pro X’s case feels premium quality–just as you’d expect. It has a bright LED status light strip that you can see when the case is opened and closed. The case can charge wirelessly or wired, and while it's not perfect on my fast charger, it’s not as compact as other earbud cases. Photo via Status. My only other gripe with the case comes with stowing the earbuds. Inserting the earbuds into the case to charge can be a bit annoying, as they have to fit in a particular way. Even after I’ve become familiar with them, I sometimes still momentarily struggle to get them into the case.  The earbuds themselves look and feel very premium. They can be a bit boxy looking, which isn’t my favorite–and that boxiness is what makes them persnickety to put into their case. Wearing them in your ear, though, the charge points face forward and it almost looks like they should be sporting little LED lights. I’m only mentioning this because it’s quite prominent when the earbuds are worn a certain way. But they are extremely comfortable, and I can wear them in my ears for hours without thinking about them being there. That's because, these are some comfortable earbuds. Included with the Pro X kit are three different size ear cups. My ear canal is towards the smaller size, and as others with that problem may know, it’s hard to find an earbud I can wear for any extended amount of time. The smallest size on the Status Pro X does the trick, and I can wear them for hours without any physical discomfort. That’s something very few ear buds can boast. And the sound quality–which is the most important part–is fantastic.  Let’s look at the advertised features: (These are coming straight from the manufacturer) Hybrid Triple Driver Acoustic System 12mm Dynamic Driver Dual Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation Adjustable Transparency (“ambient-aware”) Mode AI-Powered Voiceloom Speech Enhancement for Clear Phone Calls Bluetooth 5.3 with Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast Support SBC, AAC, LDAC, and LC3 codec support High Res Wireless Audio Certified by the Japan Audio Society Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair Support  Multipoint Connectivity IP55 Water and Dust Resistance 8 hours of continuous playback + 24 additional hours with the charging case Photo via Status. The Pro X earbuds sound fantastic , overall, though I still have to caveat that by saying “for being earbuds.” I would love to hear a pair of earbuds that will replace my over ear headphones, but I don’t think the technology is here yet. Still, Status' Pro X comes pretty damn close. They have a rich sound with great bass. The high end is clear and rich, and combined with the bass excels in that natural listening feel. I swear I can almost feel the bass in my chest. The midrange gets lost in all of this, however. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s… fine. With the right equalizer tweaks you can get some really great sounds out of these bad boys.  And even so, I found myself using the factory premade EQ settings. I usually just ignore the factory defaults after I do a little bit of testing and tweaking, but I actually ended up settling on one of the premade settings. I didn’t just use the earbuds to listen to music: Their podcast EQ setting eliminated some annoying mouth sounds and breathing noises from my audiobooks. It’s meant to  make listening to lower quality audio podcasts easier, but it surprisingly does a ton to spruce up even my Audible listening experience.  Taking and receiving calls on the earbuds is easy, with voice clarity never a concern on either side of the conversation.  I’ve been using the earbuds extensively, and with all the prolonged use I'm happy to say they live up to their advertised battery life. I was never the biggest fan of active noise canceling in earbuds, but the Pro X earbuds are starting to change my mind. When I first got them, the noise cancellation was aggressive, but there was a software update that tweaked the ANC to the perfect range to drown out unwanted outside noise while not making it feel like I had white noise being shoved through my skull.  While the earbuds themselves are fantastic, the app experience is a bit of a mixed bag. The app can be frustratingly slow to update sometimes. When it works well, it’s great. But often my phone will know my earbuds are paired and the app will have trouble finding them. I’ve also had instances of active noise cancellation just turning off on its own. However, Status' app is easy to use, and the latest updates have made it somewhat faster–and it's definitely behaved better with my phone.  As for customization of your listening experience, there are also plenty of optionswith the Pro X earbuds. You can turn on and off touch controls, enable different forms of audio feedback when manipulating earbud settings, and more. You can use the app to customize how the touch controls, work, too, assigning actions like Volume Up and Volume Down to single tap, double taps, triple taps, and a tap and hold. There are also physical buttons on the earbuds that are mapped to commands like noise canceling on and off, enabling voice assistant, and manual power off. Sadly, you can’t customize the physical buttons. Status an its products were not really on my radar before the Pro X earbuds, but I’ll definitely be checking out more of their products in the future. I went from feeling like earbuds were an occasional necessary inconvenience to an alternative that I eagerly use.  For more information on the Status Pro X earbuds, visit the manufacturer's site here.

Jeri Ryan and Tim Russ at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago 2025. Photo: Marielle Bokor Day One's final panel at ST-CHI was definitely worth the wait, as Tim Russ and Jeri Ryan took the stage to talk about Voyager and do a little bit of impromptu request performances from the audience. I just want to say: If you’re ever at one of these conventions, please don’t ask the actors to perform for you. It just creates an awkward situation for everyone, especially if the actors feel compelled to continue fulfilling requests after agreeing to an initial request. Seriously. It started with one fan asking Tim Russ to say his famous (and only) line from Spaceballs! It even extended to Jeri Ryan doing a spot-on Voyager era Seven of Nine voice saying “The fun will now commence!”  It turns out this is Tim Russ’s first time in Chicago. I’m not sure if he meant for a Star Trek convention or EVER (!) but it’s absolutely a treat to be able to finally see the actor who portrayed one of my favorite Vulcans. His very first question revealed that Russ had previous acting experience with Leonard Nimoy, long before he knew he’d be playing a Vulcan on Voyager . He also had the chance to work with LeVar Burton, Avery Brooks, and Kathryn Mulgrew, all before they ended up on Star Trek .  Jeri Ryan and Tim Russ at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago. Photo Marielle Bokor On Voyager, there were lots of on set shenanigans. Ethan Phillips, who played the Talaxian Neelix on Voyager , would famously try to ruffle Russ’s feathers right as the cameras would start rolling. Russ himself isn’t against pulling any pranks though, and he told a story about a particularly raunchy trick he pulled. There was a scene in which Tuvok is to appear naked–a dream sequence. To augment this, Russ went to Matt to have a “prosthetic” assembled for the occasion. I have no idea who Matt is, but Ryan chimed in with “of course Matt would do this” so apparently Matt is known for his antics, as well. “You have to make me an appendage” Russ had said to Matt, as the crowd erupted into laughter at this. “I want to attach it to my shorts, so that it hangs down below them.” And he managed to get the entire cast’s reaction to Russ’s appendage, “I opened my robe, I swung it around. Oh, they tried to hold (in their laughter).” Russ concludes the story by saying “I think they ended up using that take, because that reaction is what they wanted.”  Tim Russ clearly has some comedic timing, and he has one of the most iconic lines in Mel Brooks’ Sci-Fi satire Spaceballs . When asked whether he will be returning for the sequel Russ said that he hasn’t been contacted yet, but he remains optimistic. His exact words were “I would gamble on it,” meaning he expects to be called up to film another “we ain’t found shit!” for the upcoming sequel. Jeri Ryan at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago. Photo: Marielle Bokor One question by the audience clearly made Jeri Ryan uncomfortable, but she managed through an answer despite the apparent strain in her voice. The question was whether Ryan was aware of the sex appeal angle they were planning on taking with Seven of Nine as her character progressed towards being human again. Ryan was indeed aware of this, as it was the chance to “break Star Trek into the mainstream.” She briefly mentioned the famous rift between her and Kate Mulgrew after Ryan was brought onto the show, which seems to have been resolved after some time together on a Star Trek cruise. Ryan knew from the beginning that Seven was being brought in as a sex symbol, but she admired the character for her depth. Seven, despite her form-hugging cat suit was one of Trek’s most compelling characters, and that’s because Ryan did such a good job bringing that humanity forth. Ryan’s performance transcended the catsuit and made Ryan a symbol for those who felt like they were struggling to find acceptance in the world, like those in the LGBTQ+ or even those who may be neurodivergent. That's a lasting legacy that doesn't fade with time. and certainly one of the biggest feathers in Voyager's cap - alongside Russ' fantastic performances, of course.

Anthony Rapp and Doug Jones at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago. Photo: Marielle Bokor We got to sit in on the lovely and unusually gangly Doug Jones and the equally lovely and unusually pale Anthony Rapp, known to Star Trek fans for their time on  Discovery , but were famous before they ever put on a Starfleet uniform. Doug Jones is known for his portrayal of creatures in many films including Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy , to name just a few of his multitude of roles from advertisements, tv and film. And Anthony Rapp was known for his role as Mark Cohen in Rent on stage and in film–but I knew him as Daryl Coopersmith in the almost forgotten classic, Adventures in Babysitting .  The last time I saw Doug Jones it was an absolute love fest–he’s definitely the celebrity I’ve seen hug the most people. He’s also the celebrity I think of when I think of creature effects and heavy prosthetics use. When a fan asked Jones what his mental process was like and how he’s able to survive sitting in the makeup chair for hours. Jones replied, “Unlike most people, I don't have to be doing something all the time. Many people ask me, like, what do you do during those hours? It’s like: nothin’. And I mean if I was alone at home I could stare at a wall and drool on myself and be completely content. So I’m kind of built for the makeup process. The longest thing I ever did was for the Hellboy movies, seven hours a day, that was. That sounds like a full work day, and I was like, fine, they’re doing all the work and I’m just sitting here,” he then mimics sitting contentedly while getting makeup applied, and he continues, “But then the hard part is wearing it for the rest of the day and performing in it and keeping your energy up while you’re hotter than everyone else, and heavier than everyone else. A little stickier than everyone else.” Anthony Rapp, on being left out of a musical episode of Trek. ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago. Photo: Marielle Bokor One of the funniest moments of the weekend happened when a fan came up to ask the panelists about the Strange New Worlds musical episode. The fan could not even finish their sentence before Anthony Rapp dramatically yelled, threw his mic and literally flipped over a chair in mock rage, with Jones quipping at the display “As you can see, he’s taking it well.” The fan finished “if your character had a song, what genre do you think the song would have been?” Rapp replied, “Did you ever play Mass Effect?  So, it’s like a bit of an Easter egg, and it’s not necessarily a spoiler, but there’s this character Mordin I always think of this when I’ve thought about it. Mordin sings Gilbert and Sullivan, so I always imagined that would be Stanmets, you know? I don’t think he’d do like a rock number. But on the other hand, maybe he would get totally emo. You know, as like a shift. You never know.” And Jones and Rapp went on to point out the irony that Rapp, a Broadway star, didn’t get to sing a single bar while Jones sang twice as his character Saru.  Anthony Rapp and Doug Jones at ST-CHI: Trek to Chicago When the two actors were asked about their favorite episode of Star Trek: Discovery , Anthony Rapp referenced his work with late actor Kenneth Mitchell, who sadly passed away from complications due to ALS in 2024. Of Mitchell Rapp said, “he was an amazing human being” who fought his battle with ALS with courage. Mitchell portrayed Klingons Kol and Tenavik, as well as human Aurelio in Star Trek Discovery .  When asked about Saru’s famous arm swinging gait, Jones had a very practical answer on his process: “How do you make this character different than all the ones I’ve made before, right? And I had played many aliens before Saru, so I’m like ‘how’s his posture, what shape is his spine in that’s different than everyone else? Well, when I got the shoes I was like ‘welp! There we are. It’s a high heel boot–it’s like a hoof, like a land animal with no heel.' And when I saw that design I was like ‘Oh, that’s going to be a problem. And the producers said, ‘oh, Lady Gaga wears shoes on stage like that all the time. And I said, ‘Well, if Gaga can do it!' So they had a cobbler–a shoe maker–up in Toronto put these together. And the first time I had them on it was like ‘okay, here goes!. And he said, ‘when you stand up, just put the your hips a little bit forward so the weight goes on the ball of the foot where your base is. You have no heel. Don’t rely on the heel.’” At this point Jones stands up, mimicking trying on these shoes for the first time. “Whoa, that’s no so bad. I’m at this posture, and I'm walking around with full length mirrors in the room and I was like OH!” as he demonstrates the arm swing, “it was that fast. And no one told me to stop doing it.” As we've seen with every other instance of Rapp and Jones together, they bring the fun, the chaos, and the heart to the Trek world in panels just as much as they do in the shows we all love so much.