Star Trek Podcast | Standard Orbit - The Original Series | Trek.fm

Star Trek III 30th Anniversary. A lot of times, the third movie in a franchise gets a bad rap. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew look back on The Search For Spock for it's 30th anniversary, discussing our first times seeing it, what we like about it, and how it might undo The Wrath of Khan. We talk about the odd-number-movie rule and if it's accurate, and even compare the movie to Alien3.

It turns out that 1999 was a big year for science fiction franchises. Not only did people finally get a new Star Wars movie, but three homages to Star Trek saw wide release that year. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew look at three movies that came out 15 years ago: Trekkies, Free Enterprise, and Galaxy Quest. Join us as we open up this time capsule and explore the conventions of the mid-Nineties, Mark Altman/Robert Meyer Burnett's not-really-biopic about nerds finding love in L.A., and the best movie about actors being mistaken for their characters since The Three Amigos!

Arena Commentary. Events from The Original Series don't get mentioned much in the later series, so when they do, it's a big deal. When The Sisko wanted to talk to Kirk about battling the Gorn on Cestus III, it gave the impression that perhaps "Arena" was his favorite classic Trek. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew bring you a commentary for this fan favorite. We talk visiting the Vasquez Rocks, the aspect ratio of the Enterprise viewscreen, and the concept of trench warfare vs meeting the enemy face-to-face, among a myriad of other subjects. And don't worry, you don't have to be watching the episode to enjoy our talk!

D.C. Fontana. If Gene Roddenberry was the Founding Father of Star Trek, then D.C. Fontana was the Founding Mother. In this episode of Standard Orbit, we explore D.C.'s trek from secretary to script editor to writer to story consultant to show runner. We discuss her 10 episodes of The Original Series, her post-TOS episodes, and even touch on her non-Trek works. Find out more about this possible inspiration for a certain Mad Men character!

Star Trek 2009 Fifth Anniversary. It's hard to believe that it's been five years since Star Trek was rebooted by J.J. Abrams. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew celebrate the fifth anniversary of Star Trek (2009) by having Matt Hansen join us to discuss this controversial movie. We cover our thoughts before it came out, our first experiences seeing it, and what we think about it today. Join us as we make the most shiny and reflective podcast you've ever heard!

Dr. McCoy with Larry Nemecek. If Kirk was the meat and Spock was the potatoes, then Leonard McCoy was the grumpy broth that held them all together. Now, finally, the good doctor is getting his due. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Drew and Mike are joined again by Larry Nemecek to discuss the original Enterprise’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. McCoy. We find out why Larry loves him so, share our favorite Bones scenes, and reveal how McCoy is finally getting the fan base he deserved from the beginning.

Star Trek Continues with Larry Nemecek. No one seems content with the 80 episodes of The Original Series that we ended up with. Everyone wants more, even if they have to make it themselves. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew are joined by Larry Nemecek to talk about Star Trek Continues and Larry's part in it. Find out more about how this continuation of TOS is being made, and even a bit about other fan projects you might never have heard of.

Season One with @FirstTimeTrek. Believe it or not, there are some people out there who have yet to see Star Trek. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew talk to Andi—a.k.a. "FirstTimeTrek"— who has been live tweeting her experience of watching Star Trek for the first time. We talk to her immediately after she finished Season One of The Original Series, so don't miss this unique point of view on TOS having seen only the first 29 episodes! We talk about her favorite stories and characters, and how she manages to make her tweets stand out.

Montgomery Scott. Every ship needs an engineer, and every engineer wishes they were a miracle worker like Scotty. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew discuss the always faithful Montgomery Scott. We cover him across the ages and parallel universes, with and without mustache, even comparing him to a Xenomorph from Alien for some reason. Find out all about the redshirt who defies all odds!

IDW Ongoing Comic Comparison: Where No Man Has Gone Before. Between the first two J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies, IDW started publishing an ongoing comic of the continuing adventures featuring this new version of the old crew. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew discuss the first two issues of this series, based on the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before." They compare show vs. comic, point out some of the more interesting differences, and find that not everything has changed as much as you'd think in this new universe. Plus, in listener mail, you can hear Mike's episode selections for his Star Trek 50th Anniversary Party.

Amok Time Commentary. The music is just one of the dozens of great things about "Amok Time," Spock's voyage home to get married. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew are joined by Colin from Melodic Treks to finish their crossover on "Amok Time" by doing a commentary on the episode. Don't miss the soup throwing, fish spawning, and epic fights to the death, and that's just in the commentary!

The Enterprise. Star Trek has been helping shape the design of the future for almost 50 years. One of the many iconic things that came out of The Original Series is the design of the lead ship, the Enterprise. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew discuss Kirk’s various ships named Enterprise. From the classic design to the movie refit to the most recent iteration, no ship is left unturned. We also discuss the interiors and how the bridges of the various ships might have been able to configure themselves to their crew.

Marathons for New Viewers. With 80 episodes plus six and a half movies, The Original Series can be daunting for first-time viewers. Where does one start? In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew go through their suggested ten-story marathon for beginners—some obvious, some not so obvious. Whether someone has never seen any Star Trek or doesn't know where to start on The Original Series, there's something here for everyone.

Where No Fan Has Gone Before Commentary. The Original Series may have only trekked on television screen for three seasons, yet there are a surprising numbers of homages to such a short-lived voyage in various movies and television shows—a nod to the impact TOS has had on popular culture. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew bring you a commentary for one of the most overt homages, the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before." Find out what happens when you get (almost) the entire living cast of TOS in (almost) the same room, while sending them to the year 3002… where Star Trek is show forbidden!

God-like Aliens. For just three seasons on our TVs, Kirk and the crew seemed to run into a lot of all-powerful beings. In this episode of Standard Orbit, Mike and Drew talk about the gods of The Original Series, what powers they had, and how Kirk defeated them. They also discuss how forward-thinking TOS could be before immediately taking two steps back!