It was so popular last year that we decided to do it again! Join us this holiday season as we introduce you to twelve of our favourite podcasts in the 12 Days of Podmas.
Nowadays, it seems that there are more Star Trek-related podcasts about than there are M Class planets in the Alpha Quadrant. From Voyager, we have The Delta Flyers, hosted by Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill. The 7th Rule is co-hosted by Deep Space Nine’s very own Jake Sisko, Cirroc Lofton. The Next Generation’s Dr. Beverly Crusher also has her own series, Gates McFadden Investigates.
Heck, even Khan Noonien Singh is getting his own podcast (albeit as a scripted drama – Ceti Alpha V – from The Wrath Of Khan’s writer and director, Nicholas Meyer). Yes, it would seem there is certainly plenty of ancillary material out there for those who need to get a fix of Gene Roddenberry’s iconic and enduring sci-fi franchise, especially at the moment, due to both the recently-resolved WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes throwing a hydrospanner into the Warp Core, and stopping production on Paramount’s year-round slate of various Trek shows and other special projects, all of which is grist for that content mill which is Paramount+.
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The Shuttlepod Show is a real standout when it comes to the increasingly-crowded field of Trek-related podcasts, giving us a winning double-header of co-hosts in the form of Star Trek: Enterprise’s Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating. Ably assisted by Erica LaRose and Mark Cartier, The Shuttlepod Show– named after Enterprise episode ‘Shuttlepod One’ – sees Trinneer and Keating taking both fans and themselves on a voyage of discovery, which covers both outer and inner space. This is Star Trek up close and personal with franchise personnel, from on both sides of the camera, in a way which is insightful and irreverent in equal measure.
Each episode of The Shuttlepod Show sees our hosts sitting down to break Bread (and Circuses) with various alumni who hail from right across the history of Trek, taking a deep dive into their guests’ lives and careers far beyond the wingspan of the Great Bird of the Galaxy. It makes you realise just how little we really know about the people who have been part of bringing the franchise to life for nearly 60 years, and much of the most fascinating material comes from hearing about the subjects’ non-Trek work, helping us not just to find out all about them, but also get to see them in a rather different light, putting their Starship enterprises into context.
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Trinneer and Keating are the perfect foils for each other, and both the duo and their guests manage to speak about Trek in a refreshingly candid and off-message way at times. The odd drop of liquid refreshment helps loosen tongues and also get the conversation flowing. With fan questions, trivia quizzes, a variation of Desert Island Discs, and a banging theme tune – ‘At The Cosplay Hop’, written by no less than Gary Graham, and performed by his band The Sons Of Kirk – there is just so much to love about The Shuttlepod Show, the ultimate Star Trek star, uh, trek.
The Shuttlepod Show is available from wherever you get your podcasts.