Fascinating? - A Star Trek Podcast

Now that our Star Trek journey is complete we are taking on a new challenge - the cult 90s sci-fi classic Quantum Leap. With more than 90 episodes over five seasons - and a reboot due later this year - there's plenty to get our teeth into. We'd love to have you along for the new show. Episode 1 is now in this feed, but to continue receiving episodes you will need to subscribe to The Leap Home on your podcast app. We're also sharing every episode one week early on our YouTube channel, Columbo...

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 discussion continues in the comments below and please keep in touch with us on Twitter, Facebook and...

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 Warner) to high level peace talks. After a tense dinner, things escalate quickly when the...

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 the Klingons, Federation and Romulans, Kirk and the Enterprise-A crew are recalled from shore leave and sent...

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 hijacked in the previous movie. Meanwhile a probe playing whalesong advances on Earth, threatening to end...

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 crew of the Enterprise return to Starfleet mourning the death of Spock. Meanwhile, McCoy begins to...

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 Commander Chekov (Walter Koenig). Commandeering their vessell, the Reliant, he sets about twin goals of...

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 of the Enterprise away from Commander Decker (Stephen Collins) and sets an intercept course, stopping...

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 keep in touch with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where we're @trekpodcast. You can listen to...

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 and Dr Janice Lester (Sandra Smith) very ill, despite the attentions of Dr Coleman (Harry Landers). With...

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) who is guardian of an unusual time travel device. Trapped separately in the past, Spock and McCoy meet...

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 lava-covered planet, the Enterprise crew are surprised to meet President Abraham Lincoln (Lee Bergere) who is...

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 for high art and intellectual pursuits, but their misconceptions are shattered when they arrive to collect a vital...

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 mythical planet of Eden by Dr Sevrin (Skip Homeier), Adam (Charles Napier) and their group. With Chekov...

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 engulf the Enterprise, Kirk, McCoy and Spock visit a planet rich in the substance. There they meet Flint...

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 entity characterised by it's coloured lights. After Lt. Mira Romaine (Jan Shutan) is strongly affected, Kirk tries...

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 of a woman we later learn to be a projection of Losira (Lee Meriwether), the last inhabitant of the planet. Meanwhile,...

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, however, he finds himself not in the council chambers as expected, but still aboard the Enterprise, with...

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 its enigmatic occupant, Lokai (Lou Antonio) of the planet Charon. Resolving to take him to Starbase 4...

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 soon find themselves captured by renowned Starfleet captain and the most recent inmate to arrive, Garth of...