Beyond the Final Frontier - A Star Trek Podcast

This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby rank their favourite two-part Star Trek episodes — no season premieres, no finales, and a "part one and two" rule that gets stretched, bent, and openly mutinied against within minutes. Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect Nazi holodecks, moral event...

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 | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect Jeffrey Combs' glori...

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...

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...

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 tho...

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 o...

This week on Beyond the Final Frontier podcast: Rich, Ian and Toby bring the pew pews as they rank their Top 7 Star Trek Space Battles , from photon torpedo skirmishes to fleet-shaking showdowns. Expect a few predictable picks, a couple of surprises, plenty of nebula-set chess games, and a number one that may or may not have been unanimously agreed before a single phaser was fired. Let us know you...

Lock in coordinates and engage! BFF welcomes a special guest as Rich, Ian and Toby are joined by Trekker extraordinaire Sean Ferrick of Trek Culture ( youtube.com/@TrekCulture) (open.spotify.com/show/1wrqDG8mOTlshuZCYanhUV) (whatculture.com/topic/trekculture) – to pitch their very own brand-new Star Trek TV series. Four hosts, four shows, one increasingly thinly veiled audition reel for Skydance....

  Engage! Rich, Ian and Toby tackle one of Star Trek 's most enduring obsessions in a tech-heavy episode, ranking their top seven pieces of Trek tech from across the entire franchise – plus beaming over to the London Science Museum's 60th anniversary Star Trek exhibition for a debrief. Let us know your thoughts on our rankings, what you think we got wrong, and what you'd like us to cover next in t...

We're back, baby! Rich, Ian and Toby launch season two of Beyond the Final Frontier with a double-header: a candid post-mortem on the cancellation of Starfleet Academy , and a full ranking of every season-two opener across the entire Star Trek franchise. Let us know your thoughts on our rankings, what you think we got wrong, and what you'd like us to cover next in the comments, email us at beyondf...

In our season one finale Rich, Ian and Toby bring the inaugural run of BFF to a close with a comprehensive roundup of the second half of Starfleet Academy season one, reflections on our own first season as a podcast, and a bonus review of the new Star Trek: Voyager video game. Let us know your thoughts on Starfleet Academy and what you'd like us to cover in season two in the comments, email us at...

In this very special episode of  Beyond the Final Frontier , we're thrilled to welcome the wonderful Gates McFadden – Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Dr Beverly Crusher – for a celebration of her career and a countdown of our favourite Crusher episodes. Let us know your favourite Dr Crusher moments in the comments, email us at beyondffpod@gmail.com or find us on Instagram and Facebook. And while...

In this special episode of Beyond the Final Frontier , we're joined by the legendary Jeffrey Combs – Star Trek' s ultimate chameleon – for a wide-ranging conversation about his iconic roles across the franchise and a deep dive into our favourite Star Trek alien species. Let us know your favourite Star Trek aliens in the comments, email us at beyondffpod@gmail.com or find us on Instagram and Facebo...

In this episode of Beyond the Final Frontier, we delve into the complexities of the Prime Directive in Star Trek, exploring its implications on ethics, morality, and the consequences of interference. Let us know your favourite Prime Directive moments in the comments, email us at beyondffpod@gmail.com or find us on Instagram and Facebook. And while you're at it, please rate and review the pod to he...

This episode we give our reactions to the first half of season one of Starfleet Academy - "Beta Test", "Vitus Reflux", "Vox in Excelso", "Series Acclimation Mil" and "Come, Let's Away". What do you make of the latest Nu-Trek show? Let us know in the comments, email us at  beyondffpod@gmail.com or find us on Instagram and Facebook. And while you're at it, please rate and review the pod to help us g...

In this special Valentine's episode of "Beyond the Final Frontier," hosts Rich Matthews, Ian Spelling, and Toby Weidman delve into the romantic themes of Star Trek, discussing their favorite love stories across various series and films. The conversation kicks off with a light-hearted banter about the nature of romance in Star Trek, leading to a countdown of their top romantic episodes. Each host s...

Assistant Film Professor at the University of Birmingham, Dr Chris Nunn , joins us to discuss Trek at its most analytical, when it takes on contemporary social issues garbed in 23rd, 24th and 32nd Century uniforms.  What are you fave social commentaries on Star Trek? Which social issue did it do best? Racism, fascism, sexism or a different ism entirely? Let us know at beyondffpod@gmail.com or find...

It gets all timey-wimey on BFF this week, as we look at our favourite episodes that showcase that old Trek staple, time travel.  Which temporal Trek tribulations are your fave? Let us know in the comments, email us at beyondffpod@gmail.com  or find us on  Instagram  and  Facebook . And while you're at it, please rate and review the pod to help us grow our Star Trek community. Every week our intrep...

We offer our hot take on the brand new Star Trek series, STARFLEET ACADEMY! Has Nu-Trek dished up Dawson's Fleet or is this the bold new frontier for Trek? Have a listen to find out. And what do you think? Let us know in the comments, email us at beyondffpod@gmail.com or find us on Instagram and Facebook. And while you're at it, please rate and review the pod to help us grow our Star Trek communit...

This is a biggie as we pick our favourite seasons from across the whole of Star Trek... with a nice big controversy when we get to our number ones, so listen to the end to hear if Toby's head does actually explode!? Definitely worth a rate and review this one. Do you agree and what would be your faves - Discovery S3, TNG season 1, Voyager season 7? Let us know at  beyondffpod@gmail.com or find us...

Happy 2026! As we enter the 60th anniversary year for Star Trek, we warp into the new year with the episodes that made us cry, in our first reader-requested themed episode. And as we navigate life, death, love, family and friendship, we finally find Toby's feline kryptonite... And what would be your top picks? Let us know at beyondffpod@gmail.com  or find us on  Instagram  and  Facebook . And whil...

Happy Holidays! A quick episode to lead us into the festive period where we look at Holiday episodes in Star Trek before we take a brief break to energise back into action in January. And what would be your top picks? Let us know at  beyondffpod@gmail.com  or find us on  Instagram  and  Facebook . And while you're at it, please rate and review the pod to help us grow our Star Trek community. Every...

Most drama needs conflicts and most conflicts need baddies... Not Star Trek! Some of its finest moments are not about villains but about situations, problems and obstacles to overcome. So what are our favourite Star Trek episodes WITHOUT villains? Find out in this week's episode... And what would be your top picks? Let us know at beyondffpod@gmail.com  or find us on  Instagram  and  Facebook . And...

Which Star Trek has the most funnies? Who gets more laughs - Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham or Pike? This episode we look at the episodes of Trek that make Rich, Ian and Toby giggle the most. And yes, there are Tribbles aplenty. But what would be your top picks? Let us know at  beyondffpod@gmail.com  or find us on  Instagram  and  Facebook . And while you're at it, please rate and r...

This episode we're joined by author, journalist and editor Paul Simpson, a fellow ex-official magazine captain, to dissect all things Romulan.  For more from Paul please check out his prolific website: https://scifibulletin.com/. But what would be your top picks? Let us know at beyondffpod@gmail.com or find us on Instagram and Facebook . And while you're at it, please rate and review the pod to he...