Spocklight Podcaster

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 E…

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 t…

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 ent…

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 t…

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 fr…

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 discu…

In the latest edition of ‘Spocklight at the Movies’ we examine Danny Boyle & Alex Garland’s 2007 Sci-Fi epic, Sunshine, featuring Star Trek: Discovery’s Michelle Yeoh, as just one of the glittering ensemble cast, that also includes Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Mark Strong, Rose Byrne and Benedict Wong. We discuss the fact that Danny Boyle was willi…

For our very special 100th Podcast, Liam and Matt explore Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry’s various attempts to move away from Starfleet during the 1970s with four sadly unsuccessful Pilot episodes: Genesis II (1973) The Questor Tapes (1974) Planet Earth (1974) Spectre (1977) We review the shows and decide whether we would have given the greenl…

We’re joined by Agent Scott from the Spy Hards Podcast to declassify Star Trek: Voyager 2-Parter, Year of Hell. Scott tells us how he was a Star Trek fan from birth and why he’s fallen out of love with the franchise in recent years. Then we break down this iconic 2-Parter, as we praise Kurtwood Smith’s guest Villain performance and Janeway’s consta…

Our most frequent Guest, Netflix Animation Story Supervisor, David Trumble, returns to Spocklight once again, this time to discuss everyone’s favourite Radio Psychiatrist, Frasier, specifically Season 11, Episode 3 - The Doctor is Out, guest starring Sir Patrick Stewart. David opens up as to how he and his own Brother, related to the Frasier/Niles …

We're joined by Tom Salinsky of the wonderful Best Pick podcast to explore a film that almost definitely didn't win any Academy Awards, 2001 Cop Action Thriller Satire, 15 Minutes, starring Robert De Niro, Ed Burns and our focus Captain Benjamin Sisko himself, Avery Brooks. We discuss the abundance of Star trek connections within the film including…

In a very special episode dedicated to new Star Trek Fan Production, Ambush, we’re joined by the Writer/Director of the film, Greg Lock, alongside Cinematographer, Editor and visual effects supremo, Thomas Saville and David Trumble who plays Terik in the film. We discuss the origins and inspirations behind the film, the pre-production and filming p…

Good News Everyone! This episode, the Spocklight crew take a deep dive into the world of Matt Groening's Futurama as we tackle Star Trek Original Series reunion episode, Where No Fan Has Gone Before. PLUS! Stick around at the end of the episode for a special sneak preview of new Star Trek Fan Production, Ambush. As usual you can find SPOCKLIGHT on:…

The Spocklight crew go back to where they belong - Lower Decks, as we review the second season of the adult animated comedy of the Star Trek Universe. We trace the various character arcs over the season and discuss that cliffhanger in-depth whilst speculating what awaits for Season 3 and the future of the show but will Liam make good on his threat …

Liam and Matt are joined by Writer of Channel 5’s Blood and ITV’s Hollington Drive, Sophie Petzal, to discuss Star Trek Voyager episode, Macrocosm Sophie tells us why this was a pivotal Trek episode for her growing up, Liam makes the case that Kate Mulgrew deserved a better action adventure after clearly spending plenty of time in the gym for the e…

Singer/Songwriter and Star of one-woman musical, The Geek Shall Inherit, Hattie Snooks, joins us to discuss all things Reginald Barclay as we analyse Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, Hollow Pursuits. We discuss fan reaction to the episode and the character of Barclay, examine the psychological reasons behind his Holodeck fantasies and pick a…

Liam, Matt and Paul reunite round the mic for the first time since March 2020 for this very special Star Trek Draft episode of Spocklight as we each pick our own Starship, Crew and Villain to create a brand new Trek movie/TV Pilot storyline. BUT who will emerge victorious?! Dear Listener, it's up to you! Once you've listened to the episode, head st…

In a special Halloween episode of Spocklight, Empire Magazine stalwart, Chris Hewitt, returns to the podcast to examine Jeremy Saulnier’s 2015 Horror-Thriller, Green Room, starring Patrick Stewart and Anton Yelchin. We break down the movie asking the big questions - Did Tad deliberately send The Ain’t Rights to their doom? Would Darcy and his Neo-N…

For our 5th anniversary travel back in time with us to the first year of Spocklight as we present a selection of the best moments from our Star Trek movie reviews and ranking with special guests Adam Johnston (The Composer of our theme tune and Host of The Pretending with Dice podcast), Greg Lock (Director of Star Trek Fan Film, Ambush), Tom Stock …

As part of our tributes to legendary Filmmaker, Richard Donner, who we had the honour of interviewing on the Podcast in 2017, we make good on our promise to him to watch and discuss what he considered to be one of his most unfairly overlooked movies, Inside Moves. We explore this 1980 hidden gem from Donner's filmography, praising the incredible le…

With Paul waylaid by the possibility of football coming home, Liam and Matt welcome Cam Smith from the Spy Hards and Subspace Transmissions podcasts to discuss one of his favourite episodes of the often overlooked Star Trek series, Enterprise. Cam tells us the origins of his Star Trek fandom and his own experiences of hosting panels at the Star Tre…

Boyd Hilton of Heat, Empire and Pilot TV, returns to the podcast to discuss iconic Star Trek episode, The City on the Edge of Forever, and his love of The Original Series in general whilst calling James Dyer a bellend a lot. We break down the episode discussing the success of its emotional core, Harlan Ellison’s original vision, how the story went …

Back in 2017 we sat down to interview the legendary Director of Superman, The Goonies, Lethal Weapon and The Omen, Richard Donner, who sadly passed away earlier this week at the grand old age of 91. To commemorate the great man we decided to re-release the Interview with a newly specially recorded tribute from ourselves. Join us as Dick shares anec…

We’re joined by Petros Patsilivas of the Caged In Podcast for one last ride as we put the pod into 5th gear to tackle Fast Five or as it was known in the UK, Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist. Liam explains how ‘Fast Five’ rejuvenated the series with the help of “Franchise Viagra” Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Matt dissects why the Furious films have become…

The Spocklight crew take the turbo lift down to the Lower Decks to examine the entire first season of this new adult animated comedy iteration of Trek. It’s Phasers at Dawn as Liam, Matt and Paul discover they have severely differing opinions on the show. Paul connects with Boimler and tells the origins of the Willson effect, Liam reveals his seeth…