Spocklight: A Star Trek Podcast

The Spocklight crew are joined by Sam Clements, host of the excellent, 90 Minutes or Less Film Fest Podcast, to celebrate the stellar sophomore season of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'.   Join us as we discuss the political allegories of 'Ad Astra per Aspera' and 'Under the Cloak of War', dissect the format breaking innovations of 'Those Old Scientists' and 'Subspace Rhapsody', wonder if the 5th episode of each season is becoming a Spock farce tradition, ponder why Captain Pike spent half the season cooking and debate the success of the first Trek musical.   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   You can find Sam @sam_clements on X, while more information about his fantastic podcast, 90 Minutes or Less Film Fest, can be found at https://www.90minfilmfest.com/ Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talent

We're joined by Comedian, Josh Weller, to debate one of the most controversial episodes in Star Trek history, Tuvix.    As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Josh can be found at @joshwellerjoshweller on Instagram and TikTok. Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com/      

They're together again, but on different sides of the law! William Shatner Vs Leonard Nimoy - it's T.J. Hooker in Vengeance is Mine!   The Spocklight crew dive into Hookland to wonder if William Shatner's other iconic TV show was actually a Police Academy prequel, praise the episode's sensitive handling of sexual assault for the time, but find themselves perplexed over the bizarre tonal shifts throughout.    Listen now as we investigate T.J. Hooker...or should that be T.J. Booker?! Join us and find out!    As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com  Huge thanks to Russell Honeywe

On a special Christmas edition of the Star trek Podcast from a non-Trekkie perspective, the Spocklight crew discuss two festive episodes of Boston Legal (Hired Guns from Season 1 and Green Christmas from Season 4) starring William Shatner in his Emmy Award winning turn as Denny Crane.    We're joined for this dive into David E. Kelley's legalverse by Eleanor Parker of the Bygones Podcast, which examines Ally McBeal episode by episode through modern eyes, as we talk Denny Crane's penchant for guns, the other Star Trek connections that Boston Legal had over the years, the odd tone of the show, the surprisingly starry cast and how the anti-environmental message of Green Christmas has aged very badly, all while polishing off a bottle of port.   Come join us for a cigar on the balcony and download now.    As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that

The Spocklight Crew cover Steve Martin’s definitive City of Angels satire, L.A. Story, featuring a legendary cameo from Sir Patrick Stewart. We discuss the aftermath of Martin being the butt of a cutting joke from Dennis Pennis, if Martin’s Harris K. Telemacher’s was a TikTok pioneer, the pre-Sex & The City career of Sarah Jessica Parker, and celebrate the legacy of Martin's iconic body of work.    As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com  Huge thanks to Russell Honeywell for sound post production support assistance

Our resident Animation expert, David Trumble, returns to the podcast with news of the latest project he's been working on for Netflix, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Twits, and primarily to help us breakdown the second half of Star Trek: Prodigy's triumphant first season.    We discuss the importance of having a great Star Trek show on the air that's accessible to kids, praise Kate Mulgrew's performance in her dual role as Admiral/Hologram Janeway, the benefits of "leaving it all out on the field" when it comes to plotting out the first season of a TV show, and wonder if a Summit for the Showrunners of the current Star trek Universe is required to ensure that the plots of the various shows don't overlap.    There's also some exciting Awards news for some members of the Spocklight crew and we look forward to the potential that a second season of Prodigy could bring.    Note: This episode was recorded before the resolution of the WGA strike and before the announcement that Prodigy would now be continuing on

Comedian, Dan Thomas (Smersh Pod) returns to the podcast to discuss Star Trek Original Series classic, Arena, as the Spocklight Crew go full Gorn!   We breakdown the iconic fight between Kirk and the Gorn, discover what else was on TV the night that Arena was first broadcast in UK, debate whether a lizard man should blink, and much more.   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share, subscribe, review and all that good stuff.   You can follow Dan on Twitter @danthomascomedy Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com  Huge thanks to Russell Honeywell for post production support on sound. 

In a very special episode, we’re joined by returning Guest, Nick De Semlyen, Editor of Empire Magazine and Author of new book, The Last Action Heroes, the behind-the-scenes story of the movie Action Heroes who ruled 1980s and ‘90s Hollywood, to talk his reasons for writing the book, what made him fall in love with Action cinema and just have a big old chat about the Action Movie Genre in general as we look back over the triumphs, flops and feuds of Hollywood’s Kings of Carnage – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Dolph Lundgren, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   You can find Nick @NickdeSemlyen on Twitter (or should we say, X) and buy ‘The Last Action Heroes’ from Amazon, Waterstones and all good booksellers. Credit for our wonderful theme musi

The Spocklight Crew boldly go on one last adventure with the original TNG crew as we finally engage with the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard   We discuss the huge difference that excellent writing & direction can make to an Actor's performance, praise Todd Stashwick's brilliant portrayal of Captain Shaw, debate whether Jack Crusher walked off the set of a Guy Ritchie movie, wonder if the cost of living crisis has led to the lights always being switched off on the Titan, mull whether the series ended up with the right villain and ponder the potential legacy of the show...   Make it so and listen now!   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful

The Spocklight crew take the turbolift back to the lower decks on a search for justice as Paul defends Bird/Robot sex to the hilt, a search for adventure as Matt seeks to discover if he still “low-key loves” the show and a search for wonder as Liam asks why his most hated character had to make a return...   It's the Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 Spoiler Special, listen now...FOR STARFLEET!    As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com  Huge thanks to Russell Honeywell for sound post production support assistance

We’re joined by Cosplayer and D&D Player, Linda McGarrigle, to discuss new Blockbuster release, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, Starring Captain Kirk of the Kelvinverse himself, Chris Pine.   Matt praises the stand alone nature of the film and Pine’s ability to laugh at himself, Liam has a breakdown regarding the state of modern movies, while Linda guides us through the world of D&D and offers her player perspective on this big screen adaptation.   So take a roll of the dice and join us, the game has just begun!   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Linda can be found at @lindamcg on Instagram and @LindaMcG on Twitter Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was c

The Spocklight crew celebrate Star Trek’s return to episodic television as we examine the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.   Paul praises the ensemble cast of the show but questions the casting of Paul Wesley as Captain James T. Kirk, Matt is impressed by the reintroduction of a classic Trek alien race, while Liam asks if there could be a better medium between episodic and serialised TV than what this show provided as we analyse the few long running arcs that the season did give us.    See that play button?! Hit it!    As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com  Hug

Our long delayed Discovery Season 4 episode is finally here!   We discuss all aspects of the Anomaly/Ten-C storyline and if this season long arc worked to the show’s benefit, debate whether Michael Burnham is a good Captain or not and where we stand with the Discovery crew four seasons in.   Then, we reconvene and bring things bang up to date by poring over the recent announcement that Discovery will be ending with the forthcoming Season 5, now pushed back to 2024.   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com  Huge thanks to Russell Honeywell for sound post production support ass

In the light of her recent Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination, we go back to where it all started for Hong Kong Action Queen, Michelle Yeoh, with her first leading movie role, Yes, Madam then go straight into the sequel, Royal Warriors, for a In The Line of Duty double bill. That's right, for the first ever time we're covering two movies on one Spocklight at the Movies episode!   Both of these films have recently been released by Eureka Video on Blu-ray and we heartily recommend you get hold of both of them!   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com  Huge thanks to Russell

We pay tribute to the late, great Nichelle Nichols as we’re joined by Daryl Bar from Sudden Double Deep and Is Paul Dano Ok? to cover one of her few starring movie roles outside of the Star Trek franchise, playing vicious Madam, Dorinda in 1974s Truck Turner.   We discuss our own personal histories with Blaxploitation and how Truck Turner, with its Everyman hero played by Isaac Hayes and it’s knowing blend of comedy and hard boiled crime action, make it a unique entry in the genre.    So hide your Mammas because Big Brother is coming, and he's coming on strong!   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   You can find more information about Daryl’s brilliant podcasts at @SDDFilmPodcast and @IsPaulDanoOk on Twitter Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work

In a very special Christmas edition of the podcast, the Spocklight crew discuss the 1996 TV movie adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost starring Sir Patrick Stewart as suggested by one of our listeners (and if any of you Spocklighters out there have suggestions for future episodes we'd love to hear from you!)   We crack open a bottle of the finest port as we trace the history of the Christmas Ghost Story tradition and the various different adaptations of ‘The Canterville Ghost’ over the decades while chatting the lack of scares, the attempts at broad humour and how a dark mid-point revelation makes Stewart’s character rather difficult to root for.   Merry Christmas from everyone at Spocklight!   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnst

Regular guest, David Trumble, returns to the podcast fresh from completing his work as a Story Artist on new Henry Selick stop motion animation, Wendell & Wild (now available on Netflix), to discuss Star Trek’s first foray into Children’s Animation in many a year (almost 50 in fact!), Star Trek: Prodigy.   We praise the show for being the boldest entry in the new Star Trek TV Universe thus far, compare it with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, marvel at the dense plots packed into these shorter episodes, and discuss doing fan service right.   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   David can be found at @Drumble on Twitter Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/ Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumbl

For the 50th episode of our main mission we return to where it all began for our little podcast - Star Trek: The Motion Picture! This time the Spocklight Crew beam down to The Prince Charles Cinema in London to watch the 4K restoration of Robert Wise’s Directors Edition of the film, giving their thoughts before and after the screening. We discuss the relationships between the core trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy and why they need each other, speculate how different things could have been if this had been the Enterprise’s final voyage, look forward to another potential Directors edition of a later Trek film, explore the deleted scenes and unbox Paul’s own 5-disc Box Set of the complete Adventure.   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you ca

We're joined by returning guest, TV Writer extraordinaire, Sophie Petzal (Blood, Hollington Drive), to discuss (and in Sophie's case - tear apart) the second season of Star Trek: Picard as we play the game again, analysing everything from Jurati's sudden bout of non-consensual singing to THAT hug. All this, a pre-prepared statement on the season from Empire Magazine and the Pilot TV Podcast's James Dyer and much, much more await you so...ENGAGE!   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   You can find Sophie @Sonic_Screwup on Twitter    Credit for our wonderful theme music goes to the incredibly talented, Adam Johnston’s, you can find more of his work at - https://adamjohnstonuk.bandcamp.com/   Our beautiful artwork was created by Stephen Trumble, see more at http://www.stephentrumble.com    Huge thanks to Russell Honeywell for

Together again with two returning Guests as we’re joined by Muppets Superfan, Professor Elemental, and Muppets Sceptic, Hattie Snooks, to dissect The Muppets Take Manhattan starring Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Rizzo the Rat, Gonzo and more importantly Star Trek alumni, Gates McFadden!   We outline our personal histories with The Muppets before discussing McFadden’s dual roles in front of the camera as Mr. Price’s Secretary and behind the camera as the Choreographer of the film. Plus, Liam makes his case for Miss Piggy being a Feminist icon, we discuss what appears to be a Muppets caste system, the joy of seeing a Childrens movie set in the scuzzy New York of the 80s and Hattie raises her objection to the seminal Muppet Babies dream sequence.   As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on: TWITTER - @spocklightpod INSTAGRAM – @spocklightpod FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/spocklightpod/ EMAIL - spocklightpod@gmail.com Please Follow, like, share and all that good stuff.   You can find Professor Elemental @prof_elem