Fascinating? - A Star Trek Podcast

This special update episode marks ten years since we published Episode One of the Columbo Podcast – Murder by the Book . In this episode, Gerry and Iain look back on ten years of podcasting together and announce their plans for the Columbo Podcast in 2025. You can find all of the shows discussed on the episode here: Sledgecast – A Sledge Hammer! Podcast The Jonathan Creek Podcast The B...

This final wrap-up brings together our thoughts on the show and the movies. We look back on our high and low points and answer some last listener questions. In this episode Gerry and Iain firm up their plans for the future. In this episode Gerry and Iain considered the highs and lows of three seasons of Star Trek, six movies and the combined story of Captain Kirk and his Enterprise . The discussio...

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was the sixth and final big-screen adventure for the Star Trek crew, with peace talks between the Klingons and the Federation threatened by a high profile assassination. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss whether peace is possible without trust. A sceptical Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise are tasked with escorting the Klingon chancellor Gorkon ( David...

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was the fifth big-screen adventure for the Star Trek crew, with Spock’s secret half-brother leading his cultists on a mission to find God. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the difference between the family you’re born with and the family you choose. When a mysterious Vulcan cultist takes hostages on a planet in the Neutral Zone managed jointly by t...

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was the fourth big-screen adventure for the Star Trek crew, with the group forced to travel back in time to the 1980s to recover a pair of humpback whales. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss defunct donut chains and timeless landmarks. With Spock’s memory and skills largely restored, the Enterprise crew head back to Earth on the Klingon Bird of Prey they hij...

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was the third big-screen adventure for the Star Trek crew, with the restoration of Spock’s eternal soul to his regenerated body leading Kirk to hijack his own starship. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the best way to deal with a pubescent Vulcan in an isolated setting. In the immediate aftermath of the detonation of the Genesis device, Kirk and the...

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was the second big-screen adventure for the Star Trek crew, with a longstanding enemy restored to prominence with revenge on his mind. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss manoeuvring in 3D and genocide on a global scale. Abandoned on a hostile world, Khan Noonien Singh ( Ricardo Montalban ) encounters Captain Terrell ( Paul Winfield ) and his first officer Comman...

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the first big-screen adventure for the Star Trek crew, with Kirk’s return to the Enterprise leading to problems in the chain of command as Earth faces an existential threat. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss killer clouds and old friends. Alerted to the approach of a deadly cloud, presumed to be masking some kind of weapon, Admiral Kirk wrestles control...

This series wrap-up is a brief interlude before we resume with the motion pictures, with a quick look back at some of our highlights and our thoughts on some viewers’ questions. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss their plans for the future. In this episode Gerry and Iain considered the highs and lows of three seasons of Star Trek. The discussion continues in the comments below and please...

Turnabout Intruder was the twenty fourth and final episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with Kirk’s body stolen by a jealous ex-lover intent on commanding the Enterprise . In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss role reversal and gender politics in space. Arriving at a Federation outpost on Camus II, the Enterprise crew find most of the team dead from apparent radiation poisoning...

All Our Yesterdays was the twenty third episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with a civilisation using time travel technology to escape an impending apocalypse. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss looking before you leap. After arriving at a planet due to face the supernova of its star, Kirk, Spock and McCoy find one person alive on the surface, a librarian named Atoz ( Ian Wolfe )...

The Savage Curtain was the twenty second episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with a lava creature seeking to learn about good and evil by pitting Kirk alongside Abraham Lincoln in a battle with Genghis Khan and other villains. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss whether this whole thing wasn’t done better in Arena . After some unusual readings are obtained from a seemingly l...

The Cloud Minders was the twenty-first episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with a starkly divided society causing Kirk and Spock to weigh their moral codes against an urgent rescue mission. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss whether something you can’t see could harm you. Arriving at the planet Ardana, Kirk and Spock discuss the planet’s cloud city and its reputation...

The Way to Eden was the twentieth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with a group of idealists taking control of the Enterprise as they seek nirvana. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss whether that singing was truly necessary. After bringing on board a band of renegade hippies, the crew of the Enterprise are locked out of the primary controls as the ship is diverted to the mythi...

Requiem for Methuselah was the nineteenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with a planet’s sole inhabitant inhibiting an operation to retrieve chemicals required to end a deadly epidemic. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss whether Kirk has his priorities straight, given the circumstances. Seeking a supply of ryetalin to synthesise a cure for an epidemic that threatens to...

The Lights of Zetar was the eighteenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with the last remnants of a destroyed civilisation causing difficulties for the Enterprise . In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss whether Scotty’s behaviour ought to raise more concerns. On the way to the Federation’s primary information hub at Memory Alpha, the Enterprise encounters an unusual e...

That Which Survives was the seventeenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with an automated defence system causing havoc for Kirk and the Enterprise. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss whether beauty is worth consideration. After beaming down to an ‘impossible’ world, Kirk, McCoy and Sulu quickly lose their colleague D’Amato ( Arthur Batanides ) to the touch o...

The Mark of Gideon was the sixteenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with an overpopulated world looking for a desperate solution. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the necessity for a full-scale replica Enterprise . Hoping to welcome the reclusive planet Gideon into the Federation, Kirk is given special permission to visit and meet with the council of Elders. On arrival, ho...

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield was the fifteenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with two intractable foes bringing their millenia old dispute to the Enterprise . In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter. After identifying a missing Starfleet shuttle, seemingly disabled and leaking oxygen, Kirk brings it aboard along with...

Whom Gods Destroy was the fourteenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with an asylum inmate causing problems for Kirk and Spock. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the key elements of a good impersonation. When Kirk and Spock visit the insane asylum on Elba 2 to deliver medicine that will eliminate mental health problems forever. Greeted by Director Cody ( Keye Luke ), they so...

Elaan of Troyius was the thirteenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with a special guest making life difficult on board the Enterprise . In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss good manners and how to learn them. When the Enterprise picks up Elaan, the Dohlman of Elas ( France Nuyen ), who is to be wed to the ruler of Troyius in an effort to end a war between the two planets, conf...

The Empath was the twelfth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with Kirk, Spock and McCoy made unwilling participants in a test of character. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss judgment and who gets to set the tests. Attending the planet Minara II to recover a research team before the local star goes nova, the Enterprise is shocked to discover no signs of life. Kirk, Spock and Mc...

Wink of an Eye was the eleventh episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with Kirk accelerated beyond human perception by an alien queen anxious to breed. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss fast love and fast times. Responding to a distress call, Kirk, McCoy, Spock and a redshirt visit the planet Scalos. When the redshirt vanishes after drinking local water, the team retreats to the E...

Plato’s Stepchildren was the tenth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with Kirk and Spock forced to endure a series of humiliations as an alien race try to persuade McCoy to join them. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss the morality of telekinesis. Responding to a plea for help, Kirk, Spock and McCoy visit the Platonians to treat their Philosopher King, Parmen ( Liam Sulli...

The Tholian Web was the ninth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with Kirk trapped in interspace while the hostile Tholians attempt to trap the Enterprise . In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss crisis leadership and the effect of poisonous space on relationships. Responding to a distress call from the USS Defiant , Kirk and crew find that ship adrift with the crew all seeming to h...