Shuttle Pod - The TrekMovie.com Podcast

The Shuttle Pod crew was recalled “by a little known, seldom used reserve activation clause” to record a quick update for our sister podcast, All Access Star Trek, to respond to questions about the Shuttle Pod’s current status and possible future. Since we recorded it, we thought we'd also release it in our podcast feed with a small bonus introduction.

Brian Drew from the Shuttle Pod podcast joins Anthony and Laurie this week. They talk about the latest twist in the Paramount merger (now that another bidder has emerged), round up the news on Starfleet Academy, Section 31, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, that Star Trek workplace comedy Tawny Newsome and Justin Simien are developing, and the Nicholas Meyer audio drama about Khan we haven’t heard about in a while. They touch briefly on the upcoming Blu-ray & DVD releases of Prodigy season 2 and all of Discovery, and then it’s time to dig in to all things Star Trek Las Vegas. The trio discusses the changes this year and goes over the highlights of the convention from panels, to events, to the hotel and much more. They wrap up with some bits of interesting and fun moments from STLV.

This is a live recording of the TrekMovie.com “Star Trek Status Report: 2024 And Beyond” panel held on Saturday, August 3rd at Creation Entertainment’s STLV event in Las Vegas. This is the biggest Star Trek convention of the year and Tony and Laurie from the All Access Star Trek podcast were joined by Matt and Brian from the Shuttle Pod podcast to talk about the current status of the Star Trek franchise, focusing on TV and film, as well as where things are headed with announced, potential, and rumored projects. They also discuss how the changing media and business landscape is impacting the franchise, and what the pending Paramount/Skydance merger could mean for Star Trek.

Following up on our emergency podcast in June about Star Trek: Prodigy being removed from Paramount+, Kayla from Shuttle Pod and Tony and Laurie from All Access Star Trek reunite to talk about the great news that the show has been saved. Season 1 and Season 2 are coming to Netflix. The trio talks about the news, speculates about season 2, and offers hope that the move to Netflix could lead to a third season.

This is a special live joint podcast from the 57-Year Mission convention, recorded on Thursday, August 3rd. At Star Trek Las Vegas the two TrekMovie podcasting teams got together for a “State of Star Trek” panel to discuss what's going on with the franchise and where things are going, especially in light of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes along with changes in content strategy at Paramount+. The panel was comprised of the All Access Star Trek duo of Anthony Pascale and Laurie Ulster joined by The Shuttle Pod‘s Kayla Iacovino, Brian Drew, and Matt Wright. the panelists offered their thoughts on Star Trek in 2023 and also took questions and comments from the Las Vegas crowd.

After the big news broke on Friday that Paramount Global is canceling and removing a number of shows including Star Trek: Prodigy, the TrekMovie podcasting teams assembled for an emergency pod to talk about it. Kayla and Brian from the Shuttle Pod join Tony and Laurie from All Access Star Trek to break down the news and put it into context with what is going on with Paramount and the streaming business. The podcasters also express their sadness to see such a great show get canceled but are hopeful it will find a new home, as Paramount has said they plan to license both season 1 and the upcoming second season to another network. They also have a frank discussion about the state of Star Trek merchandise and about what all of this could mean for the future of Star Trek on television.

The full compliment of the Shuttle Pod crew gathers to discuss the final two episodes of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season three. Brian, Kayla, Jared, and Matt also look back at the season as a whole, and look forward to the potential ‘Legacy’ show.

Shuttlepodder Jared Whitley invites John Duchak and Laurie Ulster to join him in a celebration of ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ in honor of the show’s 30th anniversary. After a not-so-quick overview of the series as a whole, they each pick three episodes to talk about—not the most venerated ones, necessarily, but ones that stuck out to them as favorites that demonstrated some aspect of what the show does best. NOTE: We’ll be back in a few weeks when we can reconvene with the full complement of the Shuttle Pod crew for a ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3 wrap up.

Brian, Kayla, and Matt climb aboard the shuttlepod to talk Ultra HD Blu-ray, 35mm film restoration, and of course the issues around, and possibilities for, remastering the beloved ’90s Trek shows (DS9 and VOY), and more. https://www.dotheysellamurfplushyet.com/

Kayla and Matt climb aboard the Shuttle Pod to discuss “Dominion” and “Surrender.” The podcasters worry about a slight mid-season slump, but everything comes out on top by the end of the 8th episode. They praise Vadic’s interesting backstory, Marina Sirits’ and Jonathan Frakes’ chemistry, and Brent Spiner’s ability to seamlessly switch between Data and Lore. The crew discuses how Jack has become the star of these two episodes, and they talk about how they really just want to know what’s on the other side of that red door now.

Brian and Matt climb aboard the Shuttle Pod to discuss “Imposters” and “The Bounty.” As the final season of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ hits the mid-point, there’s lots to talk about including starship fan service done right, the welcome surprise returns of Ro Laren, Geordi LaForge, and maybe even Data?

In this episode of the Shuttle Pod podcast, Brian, Matt, and Kayla sit down to go over the latest two episodes of Star Trek: Picard, representing the end of Act One of the season-long story arc. The crew are enjoying this season, even more than they thought they would, and Kayla has a couple of deep cut clues she may have uncovered in these two episodes. Plus, the crew come up with a very realistic and definitely correct fan theory about the Changelings’ buckets. Perhaps the most fun clue we uncovered is the provenance of the knife used by Vadic to turn her hand into some kind of Changeling communication device. It reminds us of a certain Reman knife, but it turns out that (at least in non-canon works) the knife isn’t Reman at all… it’s Jem’Hadar. Listen in to find out more! Relevant images to go along with this week’s podcast: Picard and Beverly share a moment in sick bay That alien language looks familiar… Come to think of it, so does that knife…

Shuttlepodders Kayla and Brian tackle the first two episodes of Star Trek: Picard’s third season, and ask the tough questions, like what is the deal with Jack Crusher? Is Captain Shaw a jerk, or justified in his actions? Is there a mole on the Titan? Why is Raffi always talking to screens? Is showrunner Terry Matalas all that and a bag of chips?

The Shuttle Pod crew gathers to go over the final trailer for ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season three that was released Sunday evening. Brian, Kayla, Jared, and Matt talk about their hopes, questions, and concerns for the upcoming season, which is billed as a “proper send off” for the ‘Next Generation’ crew.

With the return of the second half of the first season of ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’, shuttle pod’ers Kayla and Matt are joined by Laurie from All Access Star Trek to discuss all things ‘Prodigy.’

Brian and Matt board the Shuttle Pod to commemorate the 35th anniversary of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation.’ They recall their first encounters with TNG, reflect on previous TNG anniversary celebrations, and look forward to ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 3 in February. Then the pair discuss the unsurprising news that the next Star Trek movie has been pulled from Paramount’s schedule. They mull over the various scripts that have been prepared over the last few years, and wonder if there’s even a need for a Trek film at this point.

This special podcast features a live recording of the TrekMovie.com “State of Star Trek” panel from the 56-Year Mission Las Vegas Star Trek convention. On the panel were TrekMovie.com editors and podcasters: Anthony Pascale, Laurie Ulster, Kayla Iacovino, and Matt Wright.

Brian, Kayla, Matt, and the co-host of TrekMovie’s ‘All Access Star Trek’ podcast, Laurie Ulster, talk about the life of Captain James T. Kirk and try to separate myth from reality. Was he an arrogant, rule-breaking womanizer who never looked before he leaped, as pop culture says? The answers we came up with may surprise you. We also look at the newest iteration of the character, played by Paul Wesley on ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’, and our hopes for how Kirk will be portrayed in the show's upcoming second season.

Brian, Kayla, and Matt reflect on the life and lasting influence of Nichelle Nichols. Then, the Shuttle Pod crew look forward to the festivities at the Creation 56 Year Mission convention in Las Vegas later this month. And lastly, the trio discuss some of the news out of San Diego Comic-Con, including: the look we got at the ‘Next Generation’ crew in ‘Picard’ season 3, and they ponder just how a ‘Strange New Worlds’ and ‘Lower Decks’ crossover will work.

This time on the Shuttle Pod, the crew discusses the known whereabouts of the classic characters from the original ‘Star Trek’ during the first season of ‘Strange New Worlds’ (set in 2259).  But first the crew share their general impressions of the first half of season one of ‘Strange New Worlds.’ NOTE: For international fans, be warned there’s some SNW spoiler talk in this episode.

The Shuttle Pod crew is back, and this time they’re discussing the 2022 ‘Director’s Edition’ of ‘The Motion Picture.’ Which is easily the biggest “Legacy Trek” project since the remastering of ‘Next Generation.’ Join them as the podcasters give an overview of the rushed release in 1979, and why legendary director Robert Wise didn’t really get his final cut until the 2001 release of The Director’s Edition on DVD which helped to refine the film with a more polished narrative. They delve into what exactly makes the DE different from other versions out there, with a brief overview of the changes, along with a specific discussion of the new 2022 version.

The crew talks about the breaking news on the day of recording, James T. Kirk is coming to ‘Strange New Worlds.’ Then Brian, Kayla, Jared, and Matt tackle the main topic for this installment of the podcast: their impressions of “The Star Gazer” and “Penance,” the first two episodes of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season two.

The Shuttle Pod crew uses IMDb rankings of the seven seasons of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ as a jumping off point to discuss their own rankings of TNG. Seasons 3-6 are quite popular, but where do they rank for each podcaster? does a consistent season make it worthy to be higher on the list? or is it about the best episodes of a season? listen along and see if you agree with their rankings.

The full complement of the Shuttle Pod crew discuss their (potentially) unpopular opinions about Trek. The Star Trek: Discovery season one prologue (“The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars”) is actually a good introduction. Sulu’s orientation in Star Trek Beyond was not on screen, only in press interviews. The USS Cerritos is actually a cool looking ship. And perhaps most controversial, Next Generation season 2 is better than season 7. Listen along and see if you are persuaded.

The Shuttle Pod crew is back after a brief winter hiatus and ready to ring in 2022. It can’t be understated just how much Star Trek is happening this year. With 51 new episodes of Trek on TV, documentaries, video games, comics, and much more, it’s certainly a big time for Trekkies. The full TrekMovie gang already went over some of the most anticipated items for the year, and Brian, Jared, and Kayla use this as a springboard to take a bit of a deeper dive into what we are looking forward to and why.

This week, the Shuttle Pod feed has been taken over by the SyFy Sistas: Yvette, J.D., Subrina, Fran, and Tamia. The SyFy Sistas cover Sci-fi movies, books, comics, TV series, conventions, and podcasts from a black female point of view. It’s where science fiction meets Afrofuturism! You can read more content from the Sistas on their website or listen to their podcast on the Trek Geeks network. For this takeover episode, the SyFy Sistas ask: can any Star Trek movie pass the SyFy Sistas Inclusion Checklist test? Many listeners may be aware of the Bechdel test, in which a film or television show passes the test if two female characters have at least one conversation that is not about other male characters. The test became famous because, despite the extremely low bar for female representation in film, a surprisingly large number of movies and TV shows fail. The Sy-Fy Sistas have taken a similar look at the Star Trek movie universe, but with respect to characters of color. The Sy-Fy Sistas Inclusion Checklist consists of six key points that a Star Trek film must have to pass the test: At least two named characters of color Dialog of those characters must be more than merey supportive of the white characters Characters of color must have a skill that contributes to the survival of the group Characters of color don’t have a criminal record Characters of color must have a positive relationship with another character Characters of color are not magical stock characters The first run of this podcast episode is exclusively here on The Shuttle Pod, and will be published on the SyFy Sistas podcast on TrekGeeks.com later this week.

Kayla sat down with Howard Jackowitz and Craig Spurrier of Wines That Rock, makers of officially licensed Star Trek Wines. Their team is made up of real Star Trek fans who have worked with CBS, the Klingon Language Institute, and even some Star Trek writers to create top-quality products that feel like they are taken right out of the Star Trek universe. And they don’t skimp on what’s inside the bottle. Not only is the packaging cool, but the wine is also delicious and meant to be enjoyed. The trio discusses the wines, the bottles, and the history of how these products were made. We highlight the newest wines in the Star Trek Wines lineup, a Kanar red wine blend, and a United Federation of Planets Andorian Blue Chardonnay. In particular, the story behind the making of the Kanar bottle makes you realize just how much Wines That Rock cares about authenticity. One of only a handful of original bottles still in existence plus a metal stopper prop used in TNG’s “The Wounded” were used to create 3D models. Brand new Kanar bottles were produced at a glass forge in Italy, making these really unique. You can purchase all of the Star Trek Wines and the Chateau Picard wine crate at StarTrekWines.com. GIVEAWAY: Enter to win! TrekMovie and Wines That Rock have teamed up to give away some amazing Star Trek Wines prizes, including a Chateau Picard wine crate ($199), a Kanar bottle (empty) with topper and glass stopper ($45), a Federation metal medallion wine label ($20), and a $300 Star Trek Wines gift card! Learn more about the wines, the contest, and ENTER TO WIN here.

The full complement of the Shuttle Pod crew re-examine four episodes that are considered oddballs, underdogs, or just plain weird episodes. Before they jump into the weirdness, the podcasters also announce the 100th episode contest winner. Then, on this installment of The Best Of The Weird,  Brian, Kayla, Jared, and Matt discuss “Spock’s Brain,” “Phantasms,” “If Wishes Were Horses,” and “Threshold.” Are these episodes as strange as you remember them? or just plain bad? listen along and see if you agree with the podcasters.

Join Kayla, Brian, and Jared as they celebrate the 100th episode of Shuttle Pod (not including supplementals and episode reviews), and learn how you can win a Shuttle Pod prize pack (for contest details, see TrekMovie.com)! Fresh from their journey to Las Vegas for the Creation 55-Year Mission, the team reflects on the new Star Trek Las Vegas and what it was like to do a con during a pandemic. We go over all the con highlights and favorite moments and look ahead to 2022 when the event will be moving to a new location.

Creation Entertainment's annual Las Vegas Star Trek convention, now dubbed “The 55-Year Mission Tour”, will return next Wednesday, August 11, after  last year's show get postponed twice due to the pandemic. While this year's convention is a go, it hasn't been without its challenges. The Delta variant has caused a surge of infections in Nevada, with mask mandates returning in various counties in the state, including Clark County, where Las Vegas is located. This development has made both fans and celebrities understandably concerned about traveling to the city. Most of the TrekMovie team will be heading to the con, including Shuttlepodders Kayla, Jared, and Brian. In this episode, they preview the convention, their own concerns about navigating a convention during a pandemic, and more. We also spoke to DS9's Chase Masterson, who will be a guest at the con, about how Creation is working to keep the actors safe as well as her work with Pop Culture Hero Coalition, which she'll be promoting at the show.

Watch along with Brian, Matt, and Kayla as they discuss TOS’s “The Doomsday Machine”.

Yes really, the Shuttle Pod Crew discusses chairs. What started as a goofy idea developed into a serious topic of discussion. From the all important captain’s chair to the lowly standard office chair. Having a place to sit is important, it shows that you have a place at the table, or a center seat to command from, or maybe it’s a funky art piece for more for display than function. Kayla, Jared, and Matt discuss all of these aspects and more!

John de Lancie is returning to play Q in Star Trek: Picard, so Kayla, Brian, and Jared take a look back at this iconic character from Star Trek: The Next Generation and peer forward to imagine how he might fit into the new TV show. Will the immortal Q return as an older man, mocking Picard? Will he and Guinan make jazz hands at each other once again? We speculate about this and much more on the latest Shuttlepod!

With so much news coming out of Star Trek First Contact Day, it was only logical for the Shuttle Pod crew to team up with All Access Star Trek—our first crossover event—to debrief! Kayla, Jared, Matt, Tony, and Laurie discuss the new teasers, trailers, and intel on Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Lower Decks, the panels about the Nichelle Nichols documentary Woman in Motion and Star Trek: First Contact’s 25th anniversary, and the announcement of a new (and official) yearly Star Trek convention.

Wish the legendary Bill Shatner a happy birthday with this podcast celebrating the legend! To honor the 90th birthday of our dear Captain Kirk – today, March 22! – Brian, Jared, and Laurie share their favorite  William Shatner moments, whether he’s out there hopping galaxies or pushing Priceline.com.

In honor of half-price boxes of chocolate after Valentines Day, Kayla, Jared, and Matt join together to discuss Trek romances, couplings, unrequited loves, bromances, and a little bit of fanon ‘shipping.

Jared and John are joined by TrekMovie founder Anthony Pascale to take a deep dive into Section 31, discussing how the inclusion of Starfleet’s enigmatic clandestine organization has worked over the years. The Shuttle Pod team examines the organization’s Star Trek history—from its first appearances in Deep Space Nine to popping up in season four of Enterprise and being the real bad guy in Star Trek: Into Darkness, and its prominent role in season two of Discovery. With Section 31 possibly being central to a potential upcoming Michelle Yeoh-led Star Trek spinoff series, we discuss whether this story device works best as a super-secret covert action organization (as seen on DS9 and Enterprise), or as a more militaristic branch of Starfleet (as seen on Discovery and Into Darkness).

How well do you know the Shuttle Pod Crew? For that matter, how well do you know your Trekkie friends? Think you could guess their top three favorite characters in all of the Star Trek franchise? This week, Kayla, Brian, and Jared sit down to discuss their top three, but with a fun twist. They first have to try and guess each others’.

Kayla, Jared, and returning host John Duchak discuss one of their favorite episodes of Star Trek — The Next Generation’s season 4 episode “The Drumhead” — in the context of how Star Trek has done social commentary. And, importantly, Kayla invites you to join her in never again being able to unsee the fact that the interrogation chair is actually a mediocre 1990’s office chair, complete with caster wheels, arm rests, and those little levers to adjust the height. So, go ahead and sit down in an office chair while we probe into the ancestral origins of your great-great-great-granduncle to decide whether or not you are allowed to hang out with us.

Brian and Kayla sat down with filmmakers David Zappone and Joe Kornbrodt who, through their production company 455 Films have brought eight Star Trek documentaries into the world. Zappone, who runs the company, started working with William Shatner and produced William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet in 2009. The pair worked so well together that the rest, as they say, is history. The company’s latest product is a special 4- or 5-disc set (depending on which set you buy), The Captains Collection, which Brian reviewed before our chat. We spoke with David and Joe on the new box set and much, much more including What We Left Behind, the Deep Space Nine documentary that debuted in 2018, plans for another DS9 doc that is planned, and their work on the currently in production documentary on Star Trek: Voyager. The Captain’s Collection Box Set Definitely check out Brian’s thorough review of the set, which includes: The Captains The Captains Close-up Chaos On The Bridge Get A Life! Extended interviews and William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet (5-disc Special Edition set only) You can grab the 4-disc set for $42.51 on Amazon and the 5-disc Special Edition, which retails exclusively through Shout Factory, for $74.98.

Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ are often lumped together. The crew discusses how season 2 is quite a different show than the first. Season 2 took risks with the introduction of Kate Pulaski, and because they were still finding their footing the writers gave us a variety of styles of stories. Season 2 also introduced many mainstays for the series, including: Guinan, the weekly poker game, The Borg, Riker’s beard, plus Worf and Geordi get their key positions in the senior staff.

The full compliment of the Shuttle Pod crew hunker down by the campfire and discuss the cooky, the spooky, the disturbing, and the downright scary episodes of Star Trek. Listen along as Brian, Jared, Kayla, and Matt pick episodes from all over the franchise, creating a non-exhaustive list (of course there’s too many to talk about in just one episode!) of fun frights for your All Hallows’ Eve viewing pleasure.

Using Noah Hawley’s recent comments about making a smaller budget Star Trek movie as a springboard, Brian, Jared, and Matt discuss the business of making movies. The podcasters discuss where Trek fits into the current business models, and the pressures to make Star Trek films a worldwide success.

Watch along as the crew discuss this rather, erm, unique episode.

Kayla, Jared, and Laurie celebrate Star Trek: Voyager’s 25th anniversary by choosing two standout episodes, one from each category: pre- and post-arrival of Seven of Nine. They also discuss some of the early plans for the series that never happened, and look at its overall legacy.

Kayla, Jared, and Matt sit down and chat about episodes of the Star Trek franchise that they’ll watch again and again, episodes that they’ll watch if they’re having a bad day. Their “comfort food” of Trek if you will. Each podcaster selected two episodes to discuss. Listen along to hear their picks and why they like them.

Brian, Kayla, and Matt catch up about the latest goings on with the CBS Star Trek Universe — including ‘Discovery’ season 3, ‘Picard’ season 2, and what 2021 will probably look like for Trek content. Then the crew review “Second Contact” the first episode of the highly anticipated animated comedy ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks.’ And they give their (spoiler free) impressions of the next three episodes.

This year’s San Diego Comic-Con was quite a bit different, with pre-recorded virtual panels. Join Brian, Jared Kayla, and Matt as they break down everything from the CBS Star Trek Universe event.

TrekMovie editor Laurie Ulster sits down for a phone interview with Gates McFadden. The two talk topics from virtual Star Trek conventions to politics to what it was like for Gates to play a role that inspired so many in the medical profession. Take a listen! The interview was recorded on June 29th and is available, in part, as a transcription at TrekMovie.com. Shuttle Pod Supplemental: Interview with Gates McFadden  Your browser does not support the audio element.

Kayla has been rewatching all of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,’ and has reevaluated season one. She feels the common wisdom of TNG S1 being generally poor, and often hard to watch, is flawed. She presents her points to fellow her Shuttle Pod crew members — Brian, Jared, and Matt. Listen along to see where the podcasters land in their appraisal of season one of ‘Next Generation.’

Listen to the audio of our full interview with Kate Mulgrew. TrekMovie editor Laurie Ulster sat down with Kate to talk the state of the world, reunions with the Voyager cast, and new projects in Kate’s life. Listen in! Note that this interview was recorded just before the murder of George Floyd, and so while Kate discusses the COVID-19 crisis, the recent Black Lives Matter protests hadn’t yet happened and so are not discussed.