Beyond the Final Frontier - A Star Trek Podcast

Rich Matthews, Ian Spelling, Toby Weidmann
  • 5.0 (9)
  • TV & Film
  • Updated weekly

'Beyond the Final Frontier' brings together three storied Star Trek veterans for an ongoing mission to celebrate the vast Trek universe. Host Rich Matthews, former senior editor and 20+year contributor to the official Star Trek Magazine and current Trekademic, is joined by his bridge crew: the renowned Ian Spelling, entertainment journalist who has covered Star Trek extensively since the late 1980s for the New York Times, Starlog Magazine, and the official Star Trek Communicator, before editing StarTrek.com for a decade, and Toby Weidmann, former editor of the official Star Trek Magazine, BAFTA comms wizard and launch editor of the official Walking Dead Magazine. Each episode, our trio shocase and discuss favorite episodes, themes, characters – everything Trek! – in depth, sharing insights from their decades of experience covering the franchise. From beloved moments to Trek history and developments in the modern era, plus occasional special guests joining the voyage... Grab your tricorder and prepare to beam aboard as we boldly go Beyond the Final Frontier!

  1. 31 Aug

    BFF#43: Star Trek is 60! Top 7 TOS quotes EVER ranked!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby mark 60 years since the first transmission of Star Trek: The Original Series with their top seven lines from TOS,. beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram @beyondffpod | Facebook /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect three lists that overlap far more than any of us expected, starting with McCoy and ending with a choice none of us could argue with. Along the way: why "leave any bigotry in your quarters" reads differently in 2026, the tolerance-versus-acceptance argument it sparks, Spock's warning about serving under computers landing harder now than it did in 1968, and Kirk on humanity as a most promising species... as predators go. Toby makes the case for "The Corbomite Maneuver" as the philosophical heart of the whole franchise and offers a reading of Kirk's final words in Generations that Rich did not see coming. Rich explains how "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer" earned him a high school detention, and why he (wrongly) talked himself out of the obvious number one. Plus: the synagogue origin of the Vulcan salute, whether Scotty really can't change the laws of physics, and the tangled question of who actually wrote the opening monologue. Like, rate and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and pass the pod on to a fellow Trekkie – it genuinely helps us grow. Beyond the Final Frontier is a Star Trek podcast with Rich Matthews, Ian Spelling and Toby Weidman. Join us on Patreon at BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier. Original music by Alex Weidmann, opening monologue by Sissy Jones, artwork by Russell Seal.

    BFF#43: Star Trek is 60! Top 7 TOS quotes EVER ranked!

  2. 31 Aug

    BFF#42: Top 7 Star Trek Duos!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby count down their seven favourite duos from across the whole Trek-verse – and one of them hobbles his own list with self-imposed restrictions before he's even started! Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect a top seven that Deep Space Nine tries to swallow whole no matter how hard anyone fights it, a debate about the difference between the best duo and your favourite duo, an extended Jeeves and Wooster tangent that sends the American host off for a nap, a serious question about whether Geordie is fully functional, and a number one that one host flatly refuses to narrow down. Plus: THOSE teddy bears with six-inch fangs... Let us know what we got right, what we got wrong, and who made your seven! Don't forget to like, rate, subscribe and share! BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

    BFF#42: Top 7 Star Trek Duos!

  3. 24 Aug

    BFF#41: REVIEW! Strange New Worlds S4 Eps 1-5!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby give their mid-season verdict on Strange New Worlds season four, scoring the first five episodes out of 10 – and one of them divides the hosts more sharply than anything they've reviewed yet! Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect a debate about a season that's swinging big on gimmicks but not always on story, a horror episode that splits the room down the middle, an argument over whether the supernatural belongs in Trek at all, some free film-studies lecturing from Rich, and scores that get revised live on air. Plus: THOSE puppets... Let us know what we got right, what we got wrong, and where your scores landed! Don't forget to like, rate, subscribe and share! BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

  4. 17 Aug

    BFF#40: Top 7 Star Trek TV Directors Ranked!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby step behind the camera to rank their Top 7 directors of Star Trek TV episodes – and one of them spends the entire episode racked with guilt over the stone-cold legend he left off his list (only for another host to crown that very man his number one)! Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect animated series to be ruled out on a technicality, a suspicious surplus of white men (it was the 80s), trailblazer Gabrielle Beaumont, the myth of "two takes Frakes", a director so mysterious the internet has little record of him, and a spooky three-way tie at number three. Plus: Ian's mortifying tape-recorder disaster on the set of The Masterpiece Society, why Aaron Spelling is (probably) no relation, and the director who married his third wife at 90. Let us know what we got right, what we got wrong, and who we criminally left out! Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

    BFF#40: Top 7 Star Trek TV Directors Ranked!

  5. 10 Aug

    BFF#39 - Top 7 Dreams & Nightmares on Star Trek!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby head into the Trek subconscious to rank their Top 7 dreams, nightmares and fantasies – and immediately start arguing about what actually qualifies as one, disqualifying several stone-cold classics before a single pick has been made! Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect "rules quibbling" on an industrial scale (Ian's list of seven somehow reaches 13), hard numbers on which series dreams the most and which one doesn't dream at all, false awakenings, an evil clown, Cirque du Soleil, holodeck Freud and more. Rigoletto, Fellini and Polanski all get name-checked, so consider this your culture for the week! Let us know what we got right, what we got wrong, and what you'd like us to cover next. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

    BFF#39 - Top 7 Dreams & Nightmares on Star Trek!

  6. 2 Aug

    BFF#38: VEGAS BABY – DR TREK IS BACK! Top 5 Canon Retrofits with Larry Nemecek

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: On the eve of Star Trek's biggest 60th birthday party at the Rio in Las Vegas, Rich and Ian pack their tricorders for Sin City and our trio mark the occasion by welcoming back fellow Khaaaan-goer, the one and only Larry "Dr. Trek" Nemecek, for a countdown of the Top 5 canon retrofits, those moments when Star Trek (sometimes...) quietly reached back into its own past and rewrote it. Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect a proper deep dive with the author of the Next Generation Companion into the fine art of the fudge: the in-universe repair jobs, the rules quietly redrawn behind the audience's back, and the contradiction the franchise has pointedly decided it will never, ever explain. Plus a number one that reframes rather more than a single episode. Let us know what we got right, what we got wrong, and what you'd like us to cover next. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! Get more from Dr Trek at: https://larrynemecek.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@LarryNemecekTrekland  BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

    BFF#38: VEGAS BABY – DR TREK IS BACK! Top 5 Canon Retrofits with Larry Nemecek

  7. 13 Jul

    BFF#37: We review the JJ Abrams' Kelvin Star Trek movies!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Rich, Ian and Toby beam into the Kelvin Universe to tackle J.J. Abrams' big-screen reboot trilogy – Star Trek (2009), Into Darkness and Beyond – debating the good, the bad and the Khan of it all. Engage(!) with us: Email – beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram – @beyondffpod | Facebook – /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect lens flares, red matter, and a black hole's worth of timeline debate — from a recast crew that shouldn't have worked (but did) to a villain reveal that definitely didn't fool anyone. The trio go deep into the weeds on what the reboot got gloriously right, where it stumbled into the warp core, and whether Beyond was the course correction the franchise deserved. Plus: strong opinions on Karl Urban's McCoy, and at least one hill somebody is prepared to die on. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

    BFF#37: We review the JJ Abrams' Kelvin Star Trek movies!

  8. 6 Jul

    BFF#36 - Top 7 Double Episodes of Star Trek!

    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 horizons, a pirate ship, a legendary interrogation scene, and a genuinely heated three-way stand-off for the number one spot that ends with accusations of hindsight, nostalgia bias, and someone being politely called wrong on air. Plus: unexpected Hugo Award trivia and a fan-mail story that actually paid off. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe! BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER sees three entertainment journalists, who have written about Star Trek for decades, bringing their extensive geek-universe knowledge and longtime camaraderie to the podcast world. Each episode, Rich, Ian and Toby explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal Trek favourites to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom.

    BFF#36 - Top 7 Double Episodes of Star Trek!
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5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

'Beyond the Final Frontier' brings together three storied Star Trek veterans for an ongoing mission to celebrate the vast Trek universe. Host Rich Matthews, former senior editor and 20+year contributor to the official Star Trek Magazine and current Trekademic, is joined by his bridge crew: the renowned Ian Spelling, entertainment journalist who has covered Star Trek extensively since the late 1980s for the New York Times, Starlog Magazine, and the official Star Trek Communicator, before editing StarTrek.com for a decade, and Toby Weidmann, former editor of the official Star Trek Magazine, BAFTA comms wizard and launch editor of the official Walking Dead Magazine. Each episode, our trio shocase and discuss favorite episodes, themes, characters – everything Trek! – in depth, sharing insights from their decades of experience covering the franchise. From beloved moments to Trek history and developments in the modern era, plus occasional special guests joining the voyage... Grab your tricorder and prepare to beam aboard as we boldly go Beyond the Final Frontier!

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