Beyond the Final Frontier - A Star Trek Podcast

BFF35: Top 7 Trek TV Villains!

This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby turn to the dark side and count down their favourite villains from across the Star Trek TV-verse – small-screen baddies only, so the film-only foes (no Kruge, sorry) are sitting this one out. Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com [beyondffpod@gmail.com] | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect Jeffrey Combs' gloriously unctuous Weyoun, Voyager's Seska, a serial-killing TOS femme fatale with serious daddy issues, the baddest of all the "badmirals", Brad Dourif's chilling Lon Suder, the Borg Queen, Peter Weller going full xenophobe in Enterprise, and Brent Spiner's evil twin Lore – before the inevitable happens and Deep Space Nine swallows the top of the list whole (but with who?!). Toby imposes a brave one-villain-per-series rule (which still can't stop DS9 winning), and a certain infamous augment lands lower than you'd expect... Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

Ep34: Top 5 Opening Titles & Theme Tunes with Kate O'Shaughnessy!

This week on Beyond the Final Frontier podcast: Rich, Ian and Toby get tuneful – and call in some actual musical backup – as they count down the greatest main title themes in all of Star Trek, the fanfares, marches and one deeply controversial power ballad that have been getting under our skin for sixty years. They're joined by Irish drummer and content creator Katie O'Shaughnessy of Lyterian, who brings a real musician's ear to a ranking the boys are otherwise prepared to conduct entirely by humming. Expect a healthy debate about whether a vocal theme even counts as a theme (the jury says no, sorry Enterprise), the dawning realisation that the beloved Next Gen music is secretly Jerry Goldsmith's Motion Picture march wearing a trenchcoat – and that fans once accused him of stealing his own tune – plus Alexander Courage's eight little notes turning up in literally everything, the First Contact theme reborn in Picard Season 3, Cliff Eidelman going full Stravinsky, Nami Melumad making history, and Russell Watson, Rod Stewart and Patch Adams all somehow entering a Star Trek conversation. Plus a number one that everyone seems to agree is really two themes in one. Let us know your thoughts on our rankings, what you think we got right, or wrong, and what you'd like to see us cover next. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com [beyondffpod@gmail.com] Instagram – @beyondffpod Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

Ep33: Top 7 Shocks & Twists in Star Trek!

This week on Beyond the Final Frontier podcast: Rich, Ian and Toby brace for impact as they count down their Top 7 Shocks and Twists in all of Star Trek – the heel-turns, gut-punches and out-of-nowhere deaths and surprises that left them reeling. Expect a debate over whether the films even count (Toby's only counting the series), a suspicious amount of overlap that suggests the boys share the same three traumas, and a parade of picks: Lorca's Mirror Universe reveal, Sisko deciding he can live with it, the slow violation of Picard into Locutus, the casual murder of Tuvix, a holodeck nightmare, Bashir unmasked as a changeling, and a beloved starship blown to bits. Plus the death of Spock, three different number ones nobody can agree on, a single Picard tear that Ian still refuses to buy (so he polls an AI to settle it mid-recording), and a lengthy detour through choir school, dropped testicles and the Enterprise theme – which Toby maintains is the biggest shock of all. Let us know your thoughts on our rankings, what you think we got right, or wrong, and what you'd like to see us cover next. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com [beyondffpod@gmail.com] Instagram – @beyondffpod Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

Ep32: Biggest Big Ideas in Star Trek!

This week on Beyond the Final Frontier podcast: Rich, Ian and Toby go cerebral as they count down their Top 7 Big Ideas in Star Trek — the lofty, philosophical, occasionally pretentious notions that separate Trek from its imitators. Expect a healthy debate about what a "big idea" even is (Toby's still not sure), plenty of overlapping picks that may prove Star Trek has fewer big ideas than they thought, panspermia, the cost of war, the nature of God, free will, false memories, and a Blade Runner comparison or four. Plus a number one that everyone seems to have written the word "better" next to. Let us know your thoughts on our rankings, what you think we got right, or wrong, and what you'd like to see us cover next. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com [beyondffpod@gmail.com] Instagram – @beyondffpod Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

Ep31: ARMIN SHIMERMAN & KITTY SWINK, plus Fave Five Ferengi Episodes!

This week on Beyond the Final Frontier podcast: Rich, Ian and Toby roll out the red carpet for two very special guests, as Armin Shimerman and Kitty Swink beam aboard to talk careers, Quark's lobes, and a cause close to their hearts. From the Rules of Acquisition to the rigours of Shakespeare, the pair pull back the prosthetic on decades in the Trek-verse – the makeup-chair marathons, the craft of playing a Ferengi with actual heart, and how the Bard turns out to be surprisingly good training for life under all that latex. The conversation then turns to something far more personal: Kitty and Armin's advocacy for pancreatic cancer awareness, and the remarkable ways Star Trek fandom rallies behind real-world causes. Expect laughs, a Top Five Ferengi Episodes rundown, an unexpected run-in with Stephen Hawking, a healthy dose of mutual admiration between two actors who clearly adore each other, and a heartfelt reminder that – sometimes – the fans really are the heroes. Let us know your thoughts: which Ferengi episode should have topped the list, and who you'd like us to have on next. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! Engage(!) with us: Email: beyondffpod@gmail.com Insta: @beyondffpod Facebook: BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Pancreatic Cancer Support & Awareness We talk about pancreatic cancer in this episode. If you, or someone you love, has been affected, support is available — free and confidential: United States — Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan) Website: https://pancan.org/ [https://pancan.org/] Patient Services: 877-272-6226 (toll-free, Mon–Fri) Email: patientservices@pancan.org [patientservices@pancan.org] United Kingdom — Pancreatic Cancer UK Website: https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/ [https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/] Support Line (free, staffed by specialist nurses): 0808 801 0707 Email: nurse@pancreaticcancer.org.uk [nurse@pancreaticcancer.org.uk] BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.