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The Random Redshirt Podcast’s hosts Zach & Chris bring you celebrity guest interviews, movie and show reviews, and discussions on all things science fiction from Star Trek to Star Wars and everything in between. They even discuss a little pop culture! Join them for deep dive discussions and many laughs!
165 Episodes
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We sat down with the legend himself, actor Michael Ironside, to discuss his life and career. Michael is a world renowned actor with well over 300 film and television credits throughout his incredible career. He has played some of the most memorable characters in some of the most iconic franchises of all time. From Scanners to Total Recall, Top Gun to Starship Troopers, The Next Karate Kid, Stargate SG-1, Seaquest DSV, Terminator Salvation, the voice of Sam Fisher in The Splinter Cell video game Franchise, V, and so much more.
Our latest Spotlight Series episode brings us to TNG's "The Wounded", highlighting Captain Benjamin Maxwell. After being fired upon by a Cardassian ship, Captain Picard is told that a Cardassian outpost has allegedly been destroyed by a Federation ship, the USS Phoenix under the command of Captain Benjamin Maxwell. He is ordered to do everything necessary to keep the peace treaty with the Cardassians in tact. With the help of Miles Edward O'Brien, the Enterprise attempts to stop Captain Maxwell from going rogue, in an effort to avoid starting another war.
Our Spotlight Series brings us to TNG's "The Drumhead" and a focus on Admiral (retired) Norah Satie. When a potential security leak and sabotage is discovered on board the Enterprise, Starfleet brings Admiral Satie out of retirement to help with the investigation. What follows turns into a "witch hunt" of sorts as Admiral Satie turns the investigation into a trial of a crewman that Picard reminds her is innocent until proven guilty. Conspiracy and paranoia run rampant until Admiral Satie explodes. Is Admiral Satie one of Starfleet's Finest or Starfleet's worst? You decide!
We continue our new Spotlight Series "Starfleet's Finest?" by jumping into Star Trek The Next Generation. The season 7 episode "Pegasus" gives us one of, perhaps the most toxic Admirals we will meet in our series, Admiral Erik Pressman. Coverups, intimidation, withholding information, and violations of long standing treaties are just some of the issues Admiral Pressman brings with him to the Enterprise. We Riker's past and the weight of his decisions catch up to him, ultimately affecting how Captain Picard views his first officer. This episode brings us everything this Spotlight Series is about....and more!
We continue our "Starfleet's Finest?" Spotlight Series with The Original Series episode "Court Martial". Our focus character for this episode is Commodore Stone who has the incredibly difficult task of being the Presiding Officer in the case of Captain Kirk versus the Enterprise's computer. Kirk's decision in the moment, which we are led to believe results in the death of a crewman, is picked a part in court due to the supposed overwhelming evidence from the computer showing the decision that he made. There's just one problem...Kirk is adamant that the computer is wrong. How does Commodore Stone handle the situation involving the Captain of the Starfleet's flagship? Is he able to stay objective in the face of uncertainty? We discuss all that and more!
We're kicking off a new Spotlight Series entitled "Starfleet's Finest?". The title of our new series is a little bit misleading. Over the course of the new series, we will look at some of the best, and worst, that Starfleet has to offer. That's right we will be taking a look at some of the Admirals and Captains that made appearances across the Legacy Star Trek series (TOS-ENT), discussing their impact on the crew, leadership, individual character, morals/integrity and more. For the first episode in the new series we're starting with The Original Series episode Doomsday Machine, looking at Commodore Matthew Decker as he attempts to get revenge on the massive machine that not only destroyed entire worlds but killed his entire crew on the U.S.S. Constellation. During this series especially, we want to hear from you! Tell us your thoughts on each of the Admirals and Captains we highlight in each episode!
We've been talking about discussing the Alien Franchise for quite some time and we're finally bringing the Xenomorphs to the podcast! Alien is an American science fiction horror and action media franchise created by screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, which began as the 1979 film Alien. We discuss the franchise as a whole, our favorite Alien movies and what struggles the franchise has had. Is this the greatest science fiction / horror franchise of all time? Let us know!
We are thrilled to welcome the insanely talented musical composer Nami Melumad to the show. Nami’s work includes some things you may have heard of….including Thor Love & Thunder, Dream Productions (part of the Inside Out Franchise), Star Trek Prodigy, One Fast Move, and so much more. We certainly recognize her creative genius in the amazing music she has given us in Star Trek Strange New Worlds. This year she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of their 2025 class. In 2023 she was nominated for and won The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL)’s David Raskin Award for Emerging Talent for her score on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! We are huge fans of hers and we hope you enjoy our sit down with her as we learn more about her career, the music composition process and much more!
We wrap up our 2025 Sci-Fi Halloween special with our annual recommendations of what Science Fiction you can watch to get you in the mood for Halloween and give you some alternatives to the usual gory monster/thrasher movies this time of year. From Star Trek to Dr. Who, The Alien Franchise to lesser known movies like Disney's Black hole, this list is sure to give you lots of options to have a fun and enjoyable Science Fiction filled Fall/Halloween season! Be sure to check out this year's Halloween Series episode deep dives (Star Trek TNG's "Genesis" & Battlestar Galactica's "Valley of Darkness) on our YouTube channel and your favorite podcast platforms!
The second episode of season 2 of BSG brings us a terrifying episode with dark hallways, dead bodies, blood, a boarding party of Cylon Centurions human remains and an underlying feeling of unease. If this episode isn't meant to watch on Halloween, we don't know what is! With Adama in critical condition, Col Tigh must lead the Galactica through one of its scariest moments yet as he sends the Marines and other members of the Colonial fleet to cut off and destroy the Centurions before they reach critical areas of the ship that could lead to the entire crew being vented into space. This episode is sure to keep your heart racing from start to finish!
We're kicking off this year's Halloween Sci-Fi Series with a very spooky and creepy episode....Star Trek The Next Generation's "Genesis". When Picard and Data return to the ship after disarming a torpedo, they discover the is Enterprise adrift, without main power, and something has happened to the crew...something truly frightening. The crew has begun to de-evolve. Dark hallways, animal noises, jump scares and incredibly scary creatures makes this episode a true must watch sci-fi/Star Trek episode to watch on or near Halloween!
Our Section 31 Spotlight Series comes to an end as we finally discuss the controversial Section 31 movie. We discuss the movie as a whole, give you some of our expectations of what we think SHOULD be in the movie and break down our thoughts including things we liked and didn't like. This movie certainly has had fans in an uproar. Is that uproar warranted or not? Join us as we find out!
Our last Section 31 Spotlight Series episode before we review the Section 31 movie continues where Enterprise's "Demons" leaves off. Paxton, the self-proclaimed leader of Terra Prime, forces Trip to help fix the array in order to shoot it at Earth. He gives all aliens 24 hours to leave Earth as Archer and the Enterprise race to Mars to stop him from completing his objective. T'Pol and Trip face the fact that their daughter, Elizabeth, doesn't make it in an incredibly emotional ending scene.
Well we've reached the end of season 3 of Strange New Worlds. The season finale brings back the evil Vezda, who still inhabits Gamble's body. This time, however, the creature has now transported itself down to Skygowan to control the alien species that inhabits the world.....oh ya he makes them gouge out their eyes. We see Spock and Kirk mind meld in order to "sync" close enough to fire phasers to open the door back to Vadia IX. We also get an "Inner Light" type sequence between Batel and Pike, amongst other memorable or forgettable moments (depending on how you look at it). We certainly had some very strong thoughts on how the season ended.
Episode 9 of season 3 gives us a Lt Erica Ortegas forward episode as we see her volunteer for a solo mission in a striped down shuttle to fly around and study the affects of the strange phenomenon in the region....because that makes complete sense, right? Good thing Erica is mechanically inclined because she will need those skills after she is pulled into a wormhole that appears out of nowhere and sucks her close to gas giant somewhere else in space, stranding her on a small lifeless moon.....or is it lifeless? She runs into an unexpected fellow crashed pilot and what ensues is both funny and dramatic. Certainly a wonderfully written episode that has us loving Erica Ortegas even more!
Episode 8 of Strange New Worlds brings us back to another light hearted episode with four of the crew (Pike, Uhura, Chapel and La'an) turning into full fledged Vulcans. Oh ya and the half Vulcan....Spock! There's just one problem...Pike, Uhura, Chapel and La'an don't want to turn back to themselves. What ensues is oddity, hilarity, and any many eyebrow raising moments that will make you go...."Fascinating".
Episode 7 of Season 3 of Strange New Worlds gives us one of the most unique episodes of Star Trek that the franchise has seen. The episode gives a traditional Star Trek story but wrapped up in a documentary, led by Beto Ortegas. The beginning of the episode shows, what appears to be, a very slanted view of what Starfleet is by Beto as he asks very difficult questions about Starfleet and their mission and purpose. Characters are interviewed and we see events unfold through the lens of this documentary from the Starfleet Archives.
Kirk returns to Strange New Worlds, having been newly promoted to 1st officer, gets his first real shot at the Captain's chair....there's just one problem....he freezes. As the Scavenger ship or "Destroyer of Worlds", as it is referred to by La'an, appears we see a very Death Star like explosion of the planet that the U.S.S. Faragut has arrived to survey/explore. What ensues is a version of Kirk that fans are not used to seeing. Is that bad or good? With a surprise twist, this episode will keep you guessing. From incredibly advanced aliens to Pelia's use of the 1980s telephones, to phenomenal writing, this episode really packs a punch! We have some strong thoughts on the use of Kirk and how this Kirk compares to the Captain Kirk we all know and love.
Strange New Worlds "Through the Lens of Time" takes us to the halfway point already...can you believe it? When Chapel, Dr. Korby, Spock, La'an, Uhura, Ensign Gambel and Beto Ortegas beam down to start work on an archeological dig, things go awry quickly. Locked inside what appears to be a temple or palace, the crew finds themselves separated with no way out. Strange New Worlds brings us back to horror meets science fiction within incredibly intense and creepy episode as the away team attempts to find their way out without ending up like the skeletons the find when they first enter the structure. We got some serious vibes from a familiar yet terrifying science fiction/horror movie from the 90s starring Sam Neil!
Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 4 brings us a very whimsical Holodeck style episode with a "Who Dun it?" murder mystery. La'an is chosen to help test out the holodeck with the program and settings of her choice. She decides to put together a mystery from the collection of her favorite novels "The Amelia Moon Mysteries". What ensues is a satire of Star Trek and, specifically, TOS as she tries to figure out who killed the studio head, Tony Hart. He is responsible for helping create the show "The Last Frontier" (an obvious spoof of TOS as mentioned above). What ensues is sure to make you question what exactly you're watching. Oh ya...and there's a twist! We are joined in this episode by special guest Ken Purdie (Zach's cousin-in-law).
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