Entertainment
The Best Star Trek Showrunner Reveals The Episode He Hated The Most
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
For years, anyone who criticized shows like Star Trek: Discovery or Star Trek: Picard was labeled as a narrow-minded bigot who just couldn’t appreciate all of the progressive signaling from the writers. In reality, that signaling was just jangling keys to hide how unprogressive these new shows often were (seriously, when they weren’t killing their gays, they were tokenizing them). Eventually, though, the culture war stuff stopped really mattering. Starfleet Academy got canceled after only one season, and it wasn’t alone; under the leadership of Alex Kurtzman, all NuTrek shows (minus Picard, which was always planned as three seasons) received early cancellations. The reason? Simple: not enough people were watching!
Whether you loved or hated NuTrek, this led to a grim development. Paramount has ceased all Trek TV development and is pivoting the franchise to the big screen. Now, fans of all stripes are returning to the shows of yesteryear and rediscovering the best series of them all: Deep Space Nine. DS9 achieved greatness largely thanks to showrunner Ira Steven Behr, who always pushed the franchise in new directions. Of course, he learned the hard way what does and does not work for the franchise. Case in point: despite it having a nearly perfect script, Behr later declared the TNG episode “A Matter of Perspective” to be the worst Star Trek episode he ever worked on!
Make It “No”
In Season 3, Star Trek: The Next Generation brought us “A Matter of Perspective,” which was a sci-fi murder mystery. When a lab blows up and kills a sketchy scientist, Riker is the chief suspect. Why? Because he was the last person to talk to the deceased and maybe had an inappropriate relationship with the guy’s wife. I say “maybe” because this episode uses the holodeck to recreate different characters’ events of what really happened. Eventually, Riker is exonerated, and in a shocking twist, we discover that the dead scientist accidentally blew himself up trying to kill Riker.
On paper, “A Matter of Perspective” has only a single writer: Ed Zuckerman. However, staff writer Ronald D. Moore (who would later serve as showrunner for the Battlestar Galactica reboot) claimed in a later AOL chat with fans that all of the staff helped with an uncredited rewrite for this episode. One of those writers was Ira Steven Behr, who had a rather elliptical relationship with Star Trek. He started writing for The Next Generation in Season 3, brokering peace between older writers and Michael Piller, the new showrunner. Piller eventually offered Behr the job of showrunner; instead, Behr left the show entirely.
When It All Blows Up In Your Face
However, Piller really liked Behr and later brought him in to work on Deep Space Nine. After three seasons, Behr replaced Piller as showrunner for DS9. There, he oversaw some of the greatest sci-fi episodes ever created and wrote quite a few himself. Today, DS9 is rightfully remembered as the best Star Trek show ever made. How did Behr maintain such high quality when it came to storytelling? One way was by learning what not to do. For example, on the TNG Season 3 special features, he dubbed “A Matter of Perspective” a “disaster” and his least-favorite Trek episode that he had ever worked on.
What made this so surprising is that “A Matter of Perspective’ was not a badly-written episode. As recorded in Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, showrunner Piller declared that he was “very, very, happy with the script,” one that was “the best murder mystery I’ve been involved in developing…because every detail falls into place, every line comes together…it really worked from a mystery standpoint.” Furthermore, the story was “very complicated, yet if you take that script apart, nothing falls out of it.” However, he felt “it didn’t translate properly” and ultimately “didn’t think it was great television.” Behr and Moore both agreed, though they were harsher in their criticisms.
“A Matter of Perspective” is a solid hour of Star Trek: The Next Generation, one that uses futuristic technology to tell a very captivating story. Still, Ira Steven Behr was one of many writers who thought they dropped the ball when it came to bringing this tale to life. At the time, this was a minor blip in a career that would eventually be defined by the greatest sci-fi franchise ever made. Once he became showrunner for Deep Space Nine, though, his ability to tell whether a script would work onscreen helped him craft the best Star Trek series ever made.
As the Department of Temporal Investigations might put it, the rest is history!
Entertainment
How to watch Norway vs. England online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Norway vs. England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup for free on ITVX. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN, an Official Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is reaching its dramatic conclusion. One half of the semi-final stage has already been decided, and now Norway face off against England for a place in the final four.
England came through an epic clash with Mexico in the last round, relying on goals from Bellingham and Kane. Norway shocked the world by beating Brazil thanks to two goals from Erling Haaland. Can the Manchester City striker do the same against England? It’s going to be a fascinating battle between two confident sides.
If you want to watch Norway vs. England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Norway vs. England?
Norway vs. England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off at 5 p.m. ET on July 11. This fixture takes place at the Miami Stadium.
How to watch Norway vs. England for free
Norway vs. England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is available to live stream for free on ITVX.
Mashable Top Stories
ITVX is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock ITVX to live stream the 2026 World Cup for free from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Norway vs. England for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK
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Visit ITVX
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Watch Norway vs. England for free from anywhere in the world
$12.99 only at ExpressVPN
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the 2026 World Cup without actually spending anything. This obviously isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Norway vs. England (plus more World Cup fixtures) before recovering your investment.
ExpressVPN’s regular 30-day money-back guarantee is not available for any subscriptions purchased during the FIFA World Cup between June 10 and July 11. ExpressVPN remains our top pick for sport, but you will need to pay the monthly rate. Alternatively, Proton VPN still offers that all-important money-back guarantee.
What is the best VPN for ITVX?
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ITVX, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including the UK
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
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Fast connection speeds free from throttling
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99. That covers you for the duration of the World Cup.
Live stream Norway vs. England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup for free.
Entertainment
James Gunn’s Raunchy, R-Rated Superhero Comedy With Office Star Delivers Swift And Brutal Justice
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
Any grown man will tell you that some of the best moments of his childhood involved playing superheroes with his friends. If you could use your imagination, throw some sort of mask over your eyes, and maybe even arm yourself with the lid from a trash can, you were all set. It goes without saying that every friend group had one sociopath who wanted to be the villain, which is why the trash can lid came in handy. You didn’t have much time before they started throwing rocks, which more often than not resulted in parents getting involved.
If you’re wondering what it might look like if a grown adult decided to play dress-up and start fighting crooks after punching out from his day job, you pretty much get 2010’s Super, starring none other than Rainn Wilson as Frank Darbo, or, as he would like to be known, The Crimson Bolt.
Thinking about how kids playing superheroes is pretty much universal (my 5-year-old son has the capes in his toy chest to prove it), Super feels almost like wish fulfillment for those kids after they grow up. Except our hero is so misguided in his vigilantism that the best we’re going to get from him is “Shut up, crime!” before humiliating himself in most situations.
From Loser To Super
When we’re first introduced to Frank Darbo (Rainn Wilson) in Super, it’s well established that he’s not exactly a prize catch. He’s deeply religious, works as a short-order cook, and lets everybody walk all over him. This includes his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler), a reformed drug addict who quickly shifts her attention to a ruthless drug dealer named Jacques (Kevin Bacon). Absolutely heartbroken, and worried sick that his wife will relapse in her new lover’s company, Frank decides it’s time to take matters into his own hands after the religious superhero from the local TV station known as The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion) pays him a visit in a dream.
Now calling himself The Crimson Bolt, Frank heads to the comic book store to do some research, where he meets Libby (Elliot Page), a nerd of the highest order who wants to help him fully embrace his alter ego. When he’s not working or researching, Frank is field-testing his Crimson Bolt suit by hiding behind dumpsters and waiting for crime to happen.
At first, we bear witness to some truly vulgar displays of power, if you could call it power because he has none. Frank gets into fights with people who cut him in line, and most of his crime fighting leaves both him and everybody else worse off after he intervenes. Once he starts building a reputation as a force for good, though, everybody catches on. Jacques and his goons realize he’s out for revenge because that’s what kicked off this entire crusade in the first place. Meanwhile, Libby wants in on the action. She knows Frank is running around as The Crimson Bolt and decides she should call herself Boltie and become his sidekick.
Together, The Crimson Bolt and Boltie are a force to be reckoned with. But is Frank’s gumption, and his sudden interest in building pipe bombs, enough to take down Jacques? And will The Holy Avenger support this kind of behavior? Only time will tell, but rest assured plenty of people get their asses kicked in Super.
Deserves Its Cult Status, But Don’t Compare It To Kickass
What’s most baffling to me is how Super only garnered a 50 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. For a dark comedy, it checks all the boxes. It has a conflicted protagonist who channels serious Dwight Schrute energy when he’s pushed into an awkward situation, and Kevin Bacon looks like he’s having an absolute blast playing the bad guy.
One possibility is that the James Gunn film was constantly compared to Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass, which came out the same year. It could be that audiences only had so much bandwidth for superhero comedies, and when push came to shove, Kick-Ass simply ended up being the more popular movie. Commenting on the similarities between the films, Millar chalked the whole thing up to parallel thinking. The reality is they were both working on similar ideas at roughly the same time, but the end result is two very different movies.
If I’m being honest, I think Super is the superior movie, mostly because nobody has any enhanced abilities. It’s a spiritual journey that one man goes through after his whole world falls apart, and his naivety about how the world works is what sells most of the humor. If anything, you should watch both films as a double feature because they’re cut from the same cloth while operating in completely different lanes.
As of this writing, Super is streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
James Gunn’s Raunchy, R-Rated Superhero Comedy With Office Star Delivers Swift And Brutal Justice
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
Any grown man will tell you that some of the best moments of his childhood involved playing superheroes with his friends. If you could use your imagination, throw some sort of mask over your eyes, and maybe even arm yourself with the lid from a trash can, you were all set. It goes without saying that every friend group had one sociopath who wanted to be the villain, which is why the trash can lid came in handy. You didn’t have much time before they started throwing rocks, which more often than not resulted in parents getting involved.
If you’re wondering what it might look like if a grown adult decided to play dress-up and start fighting crooks after punching out from his day job, you pretty much get 2010’s Super, starring none other than Rainn Wilson as Frank Darbo, or, as he would like to be known, The Crimson Bolt.
Thinking about how kids playing superheroes is pretty much universal (my 5-year-old son has the capes in his toy chest to prove it), Super feels almost like wish fulfillment for those kids after they grow up. Except our hero is so misguided in his vigilantism that the best we’re going to get from him is “Shut up, crime!” before humiliating himself in most situations.
From Loser To Super
When we’re first introduced to Frank Darbo (Rainn Wilson) in Super, it’s well established that he’s not exactly a prize catch. He’s deeply religious, works as a short-order cook, and lets everybody walk all over him. This includes his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler), a reformed drug addict who quickly shifts her attention to a ruthless drug dealer named Jacques (Kevin Bacon). Absolutely heartbroken, and worried sick that his wife will relapse in her new lover’s company, Frank decides it’s time to take matters into his own hands after the religious superhero from the local TV station known as The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion) pays him a visit in a dream.
Now calling himself The Crimson Bolt, Frank heads to the comic book store to do some research, where he meets Libby (Elliot Page), a nerd of the highest order who wants to help him fully embrace his alter ego. When he’s not working or researching, Frank is field-testing his Crimson Bolt suit by hiding behind dumpsters and waiting for crime to happen.
At first, we bear witness to some truly vulgar displays of power, if you could call it power because he has none. Frank gets into fights with people who cut him in line, and most of his crime fighting leaves both him and everybody else worse off after he intervenes. Once he starts building a reputation as a force for good, though, everybody catches on. Jacques and his goons realize he’s out for revenge because that’s what kicked off this entire crusade in the first place. Meanwhile, Libby wants in on the action. She knows Frank is running around as The Crimson Bolt and decides she should call herself Boltie and become his sidekick.
Together, The Crimson Bolt and Boltie are a force to be reckoned with. But is Frank’s gumption, and his sudden interest in building pipe bombs, enough to take down Jacques? And will The Holy Avenger support this kind of behavior? Only time will tell, but rest assured plenty of people get their asses kicked in Super.
Deserves Its Cult Status, But Don’t Compare It To Kickass
What’s most baffling to me is how Super only garnered a 50 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. For a dark comedy, it checks all the boxes. It has a conflicted protagonist who channels serious Dwight Schrute energy when he’s pushed into an awkward situation, and Kevin Bacon looks like he’s having an absolute blast playing the bad guy.
One possibility is that the James Gunn film was constantly compared to Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass, which came out the same year. It could be that audiences only had so much bandwidth for superhero comedies, and when push came to shove, Kick-Ass simply ended up being the more popular movie. Commenting on the similarities between the films, Millar chalked the whole thing up to parallel thinking. The reality is they were both working on similar ideas at roughly the same time, but the end result is two very different movies.
If I’m being honest, I think Super is the superior movie, mostly because nobody has any enhanced abilities. It’s a spiritual journey that one man goes through after his whole world falls apart, and his naivety about how the world works is what sells most of the humor. If anything, you should watch both films as a double feature because they’re cut from the same cloth while operating in completely different lanes.
As of this writing, Super is streaming for free on Tubi.
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