Beyond the Final Frontier - A Star Trek Podcast

Rich Matthews, Ian Spelling, Toby Weidmann

'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. 20h ago

    BFF Tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart

    Continuing this sad(dest?) week for Trekkers around the globe, we celebrate the life of Sir Patrick Stewart, Jean-Luc Picard himself, with a conversation about this beloved man, his varied and inspiring work and our personal recollections of meeting him. RIP and thanks for making it so, Sir Patrick. Please make a memorial donation to: Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund https://alzresearch.org/giving/ and Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources https://alzfdn.org/donate/ Normal episodes resume on Tuesday with TrekCulture's Ellie Littlechild joining us to rank the top 5 Captain Janeway episodes.

    BFF Tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart

  2. 6d ago

    Tribute to Walter Koenig

    On this sad day for Trekkers everywhere, we celebrate the life of Walter Koenig with a conversation about the man, his work and our personal recollections of knowing him. RIP and thanks, Walter. Normal episodes resume next week with TrekCulture's Ellie Littlechild joining us to rank the top 5 Captain Janeway episodes.

    Tribute to Walter Koenig

  3. Oct 19

    BFF#49: Top 7 Holodeck Episodes on Star Trek!

    In this episode of Beyond the Final Frontier, we step into the holodeck (and the holosuite) as we count down our Top 7 holodeck episodes from across the franchise. From TNG to Lower Decks, we take in Moriarty’s fight for sentience, Barclay’s escapist addiction, Captain Proton’s pulp heroics, Nog’s road back from war and a Bond-style romp or two - and with Toby’s predictions for Rich and Ian’s number ones sealed on a scrap of paper, will he prove himself the pod’s resident Sherlock? Let us know which holodeck adventures you’d program 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. As three entertainment journalists who have written about Star Trek for decades, Rich, Ian and Toby are bringing their extensive geek universe experience, longtime camaraderie and in-depth behind-the-scenes knowledge to the podcast world. Each BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER mission will see our trio explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal favourite stories, characters and themes to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom. Expect deep-dives into beloved moments in Star Trek history, extensive breakdowns of developments in the modern era and occasional special guests from the Star Trek cast and crew to provide even greater insight.

  4. Oct 12

    BFF#48 Top 7 Underrated Star Trek Episodes!

    In this episode of Beyond the Final Frontier, we go hunting for hidden gems as we count down our Top 7 underrated Star Trek episodes from across the franchise. From TOS to DISCO, we span the known universe in our selections - and will we manage to embody Gene Roddenberry's no-conflict vision of humanity in the future? Nope. :) Let us know which overlooked episodes you’d champion 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. As three entertainment journalists who have written about Star Trek for decades, Rich, Ian and Toby are bringing their extensive geek universe experience, longtime camaraderie and in-depth behind-the-scenes knowledge to the podcast world. Each BEYOND THE FINAL FRONTIER mission will see our trio explore a unique topic from across the Trek-verse, discussing everything from their personal favourite stories, characters and themes to the ongoing cultural impact of the science fiction phenom. Expect deep-dives into beloved moments in Star Trek history, extensive breakdowns of developments in the modern era and occasional special guests from the Star Trek cast and crew to provide even greater insight.

  5. Oct 5

    BFF#47: Enterprise @ 25! Our Top 7 Star Trek ENT eps!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier, our intrepid Trek trio celebrate 25 years of Star Trek: Enterprise by counting down their top seven episodes of the NX-01's voyages. Expect fierce debates, a few rule-bending ties and one controversial number one... it would appear not everyone on the bridge is reading from the same star chart. beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram @beyondffpod | Facebook /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier 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.

  6. Sep 28

    BFF#46 – Strange New Worlds S4 REVIEW!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier our intrepid Trek trio review the second half of season four of Strange New Worlds and give their overall score of the entire fourth outing for Pike and crew - and it would appear hull integrity has been severely tested this time out of spacedock... beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram @beyondffpod | Facebook /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier 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.

  7. Sep 21

    BFF#45: Top 7 Uniforms in all of Star Trek!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier our intrepid Trek trio pull on their fanciests outfits to pick the best of the best of Star Trek Starfleet uniforms. Do you know your skant from your monster maroon? Your jumpsuit from your dress duds? The boys warp through which series and movies have produced their favourite Trek togs across the whole franchise. beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram @beyondffpod | Facebook /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier 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#45: Top 7 Uniforms in all of Star Trek!

  8. Sep 14

    BFF#44: STLV Report, Fandom & Conventions!

    This week on Beyond the Final Frontier: Toby takes the chair and puts Rich and Ian on the spot about Star Trek fandom, fresh off the 60th anniversary convention in Las Vegas. beyondffpod@gmail.com | Instagram @beyondffpod | Facebook /BFF: Beyond The Final Frontier Expect three men who have all professionalised their fandom trying to work out whether they can still just be fans. Does a "true fan" have to love every show, or is one enough? Rich draws the parallel between fandom and religion from his PhD research and admits he's never much liked a congregation, Toby explains the "journalist first, Star Trek fan second" line that got him the editor's job, and Ian goes back to a black and white TV, a salmon shirt, and DeForest Kelley picking him out of a crowd. Along the way: Gates McFadden dancing with a fan who'd paid a thousand dollars for the moment, the Walmart checkout that turned into the best thing that happened to Rich at a con, and a closing question with no comfortable answer: with Academy cancelled and Strange New Worlds winding down, does the franchise boldly go, or bank the nostalgia? 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#44: STLV Report, Fandom & Conventions!
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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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