What makes for a good Trek Podcast?

[Lord Garth]

What makes for a good Star Trek Podcast? What does it come down to?

Banter?
On-air personality?
The topics that are covered?
How varied they are?
Does it matter more if they're covering the latest stuff, as opposed to something older?

What makes a good podcast, to you?

 

[Kor]

Music and sound clips, and hopefully more than one person (co-hosts, host and interviewees, etc.). When I'm listening to a podcast that's nothing but some guy droning on and on for half an hour, I kind of lose interest, even if it's a fascinating topic.

Kor

 

[Lord Garth]

I'm thinking about putting together a Podcast. Thinking about it. I'm not necessarily saying I'll do it. But I think I could pull one off.

But it has to be as entertaining as The Golden Gormaganders I put together, or I don't want to do it. And the last thing I want to do is regurgitate what else is out there.

 

[marlboro]

Implied nudity and lots of swearing.

 

[Lord Garth]

Implied nudity

I think I'm good-looking, but...

 

[The Old Mixer]

Music and sound clips, and hopefully more than one person (co-hosts, host and interviewees, etc.). When I'm listening to a podcast that's nothing but some guy droning on and on for half an hour, I kind of lose interest, even if it's a fascinating topic.

Kor

I think that can vary. I found Ron Moore’s BSG podcasts to be highly entertaining, and he usually did those alone. I often listened to them without having the episode on.

 

[Lord Garth]

Ron Moore also has the advantage of being the co-creator of the series. So he'd have insights almost no one else would. They were entertaining though.

Especially the Scotch.

 

[Lapis Exilis]

I listen to a LOT of podcasts. Some of the best are one person: Lore, for example, or You Must Remember This. Some of the worst are based on what I think the hosts hope is banter, but is really just some folks sitting around talking about their opinions of some piece of entertainment without any particular point of view or any attempt at choosing a tone. If you're going to do a Trek podcast it's got to be more than that. Both of the above podcasts tell interesting and weird stories from history (one with a creepy focus, one with a "forgotten histories of Hollywood" focus) and both have a distinct tone. What do you have to say about Trek that's fresh, unique, and interesting? Will your pod be serious and intellectual? Silly and funny? What stories do you want to tell? What's your point of view on Trek?

 

[Lord Garth]

If you're going to do a Trek podcast it's got to be more than that. Both of the above podcasts tell interesting and weird stories from history (one with a creepy focus, one with a "forgotten histories of Hollywood" focus) and both have a distinct tone. What do you have to say about Trek that's fresh, unique, and interesting? Will your pod be serious and intellectual? Silly and funny? What stories do you want to tell? What's your point of view on Trek?

Intellectual but fun about it at the same time.

I have a definite point of view on Star Trek. I'm staunchly pro-23rd Century. TOS and DSC are neck-and-neck as my favorite series. I also like TNG, DS9, and VOY but to a lesser extent. Yet I'm also still interested in the Picard Series. I've long wanted Star Trek to take the Prestige TV format and I'm glad it's finally happening now. I also have a lot of posts on the overall evolution of Star Trek. I wrote the Golden Gormaganders in the DSC Forum, the link to which is in my signature.

I'm not going to go over old episodes, meaning pre-2017, unless they tie into Discovery, the Picard Series, and whatever else. I like to deal more with themes in the series in general. Characters. Trends. Speculation about what might happen next. I also do "What Ifs" sometimes.

I think we need more Pro-Discovery Podcasts and I think, as a TOS Fan, I have a unique perspective. It would counter the idea that Old-Schoolers hate the new show en masse. And I want to counter/rebut the critiques of the show that I think are wrong...

... overall, though, I want to keep the focus positive. I want to build things up. Not knock them down. Also makes me different in that too many Online Trekkies are negative and bashers. I want to get away from that. I can acknowledge shortcomings but that doesn't mean they detract from my overall enjoyment.

 

[Lapis Exilis]

Heh. I remember going to my very first Con in 1985 - TNG had been announced but wasn't airing yet and the haters were already lined up. I'd personally love a Pro-Discovery pod, especially from the POV of a TOS fan. I checked out your link and your tone is great. I think there's a lot of material in looking at themes Trek returns to over and over in new forms, and Discovery does a lot of that, not meaning characters and other fan-wank, but key concepts like other-ness and identity. Ash was like a study in other-ness and identity - you could do a whole thing on his arc compared to the big Kirk and Spock identity stories like Enemy Within and This Side of Paradise. Plus, I'd just love to hear some interesting analysis of Discovery. Go for it!

 

[Yassa Justice]

Banter
On-air personality