TrekRanks Podcast

There is nothing quite like a classic Star Trek episode with all your favorite characters dressed in period costumes for whatever crazy reason. And there is nothing quite like a classic TrekRanks topic like the "Top 5 Episodes with Everyone in Period Costumes." This one could not be any more fun, with our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and Trek experts Jamie McGregor and Ryan Riddle going wide and far for Episode 239 of TrekRanks with their period costume definitions and choices. Formal dress not required for this great episode of TrekRanks.

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Bring on the genres! Check every box! Have some fun! That's the name of the game in the fourth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, where absolutely no topic is off limits. And now, in our usual TrekRanks style, we break it all down with the "Top 5 Strange New Worlds Season 4 Moments" where we get deep in our favorite production design elements, creative MVPs, characters, episodes and more, for what was both a cohesive, but round-robin season of Star Trek. Just the way our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and experts Jenn Tifft and Abby Sommer like it.<...

It's classic TrekRanks in all its forms this week as we take on the "Top 5 Coolest Character Names," and fair warning: this one goes off the rails early. Which is probably how it should be for a topic that is all about those cool names, monikers and designations in Star Trek that have adorned literally thousands of characters from TOS to Starfleet Academy across 60 years. Our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Alex Perry and Debbie Moltisanti, gets deep into the lore (and a little bit of name-calling ourselves) to break it all down. This is one name...

What makes TNG … TNG? That's the target of this week's TrekRanks as we get into the "Top 5 TNG Vibes," the fifth of our deep dives into the original five live-action legacy Trek series. Our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and TNG experts Lee Hutchison and Duncan Barrett take their vibe choices in quite a few unexpected directions on this one, leaving no "carpet" unturned in this analysis of arguably Trek's most popular ever series.

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It's a return to our fun "abstract series" in which we truly get deep into dissecting what we love about Star Trek and this week it's all about "Abstract Phaser Blasts!" (We have no idea what it means either! Which makes this episode even more fun than you can imagine!) Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Josh Zeller, Paige Thatcher and Hauke Fischer cover the spectrum of hand phasers, ship phasers, random phaser-like energy blasts – in making their picks from all across the 60-year history of Star Trek. This one is truly (wait for it) … a blas...

You can always find something new on TrekRanks, and this fun topic opens up a whole genre of possibilities for future shows. This week it's the "Top 5 B-List Aliens" in Star Trek, with host Jim Moorhouse and serious Trek experts Carlos Miranda and Katharine Robinson. Lots of different elements in play for deciding a topic like this (who's on the A-List? Who's on the D-List? And who is in that B-List sweet spot! This one is more fun than a game of choose the changeling (are they B-List?), so join us as we branch into some new TrekRanks territory.<...

Everyone loves that sweet spot of a classic mediocre Star Trek episode, and for the second time now on TrekRanks, we dive deep into a celebration of Trek mediocrity with the "Top 5 Mediocre Episodes II." It's mid-level, mid-tier, mid-table joy in all its glory in this first-ever TrekRanks sequel. Our panel of host Jim Moorhouse, Bill Mann, Simon Foster and Kelli get deep into their personal mediocre mindsets for this fun partner show to Episode 187, which also covered a ton of delightful mediocrity.

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We got your back on this week's TrekRanks as we breakdown the "Top 5 Ride or Die Characters" in Star Trek. There is a lot of ground to cover in this great topic and our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Alex Perry and Amy Arrant each approach it in a unique and personal way to finalize their lists. The results are picks that range from major, upright characters you might expect to some deep-dive characters with reputations of disrepute. This is another fun one!

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"Weddings" wasn't quite big enough for us this week, so we said "I do" to opening up this topic to include the "Top 5 Marriage Moments," making it a massive canvas, even for TrekRanks. From weddings to proposals and honeymoons to philosophical discussions on co-habitation, we have it all covered with our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Abby Sommer and Foz Rotten. This is a fun one to commit to. 

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This one is kind of hard to explain, so not sure we are going to even try. But it's episode 230 of TrekRanks – the "Top 5 Episodes that Would Hurt Most to Only Watch One More Time." With a title that long and that confusing, our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Charlynn Schmiedt and Craig Main are bound to come up with a bunch of unique Prime Directives (and they do!), but in the end the conversation is lively and fun and stays (mostly) focused on all the things we love about Star Trek! Let's call this one an...

The first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is truly special from top to bottom and we joyously break it all down in our usual TrekRanks style this week with the "Top 5 Starfleet Academy Season 1 Moments." From the introduction to Trek of Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti to the sheer youthful enthusiasm and vigor of the new cast and cadets, this show aced every test thrown its way. Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guest Jenn Tifft and Michael Bentley cover the entire SFA syllabus with their picks (and also commiserate on the bad timing of learning...

It's classic TrekRanks this week as we tackle the "Top 5 Loudest Episodes" in Star Trek history in a fun, bombastic topic in which you better keep your hand on the volume of your podcast player of a choice! Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Ryan Riddle and Jonathan B. get loud and broad with their definition of "loudest episodes" in a cool companion piece podcast to our previous show on the "Top 5 Quietest Episodes," way back on Episode 152. And the best thing about this episode (spoiler alert) is that it is also a mini-Starfleet Academy Season 1...

Starfleet's very own "miracle worker" is celebrated this week on an extremely special episode of TrekRanks. It's the "Top 5 Scotty Episodes" as we highlight one of the most popular characters in the history of Star Trek, portrayed now across TOS, the Kelvin Timeline and Strange New Worlds by James Doohan, Simon Pegg and Martin Quinn. From b-story, third-in-command triumphs to engineering heroics, our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and uber-Scotty fans Jenn Tifft and Daniel Martin have every corner covered of this deep-dive analysis. The haggis is surely in the fire for this one!

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We celebrate a true legend of Star Trek this week with a deep dive into the "Top 5 Jeffrey Combs Moments." There is no one more revered in the Star Trek fandom for his unique skillsets and broad range through more than 50 on-screen appearances, and our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Adam Hunault and Mike Rittenhouse celebrate it all via his portrayal of nine major characters across four different series. We've been waiting a long time to tackle this one, so follow along and let us know your favorites from Jeffrey Combs' vast catalog!

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We are commemorating the launch of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy by diving deep into the Top 5 "Coming of Age" Episodes in Trek lore. Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Teresa Jusino and Todd Kehoe discuss those key episodes and moments where characters move through life – often from childhood to adulthood – while learning "coming of age" really never stops throughout a lifetime. This one will have you thinking about Trek in new and different ways.

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It's another classic "Scenes in Trek" topic as we head into white out conditions to take on the "Top 5 Scenes in the Snow." Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Debbie Moltisanti, Chris Burris and Adam Sanders, "make it snow" in melting their way through a very narrow list of options for this cool Trek topic. (Meaning: there aren't a whole lot of scenes in the snow in Trek, but we think we have them all covered!) The challenge for you is to let us know if we missed any!

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We love just picking episodes on TrekRanks and that's what we do this week when we set our sights on the "Top 5 One-Word Episode Titles." It's that simple. It's pure TrekRanks! What are your favorite "one-word episode titles" in Star Trek history? We all know episode titles hit different in the world of Star Trek – they just do – and we get into exactly why that is as our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Josh Zeller and Geoff Owen relay their personal Prime Directives and make their picks covering everything from deep cuts to popular favorites.

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For Episode 222 we had to do something unique, since everyone knows how much we love numbers and statistics on TrekRanks. So for an episode with three "twos" in the title, we are finally doing the "Top 5 Duos" (a topic we also can't believe we haven't yet tackled). In this TrekRanks classic, our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and expert guests Kimberly Lawler and Paul Edinger list their favorite pairings and duos of characters from Trek's great history. Nothing cute here. This isn't about 'ships or bromances or a nebulous definition of "duo" – this one is about the great character pa...

"You can't be afraid of the wind" and you can't be afraid of the new TrekRanks as this week we salute the heroic captain of the NX-01 Enterprise with our "Top 5 Archer Episodes." It's a deep dive episode of TrekRanks that traverses the temporal cold war to bring you all of Archer's greatest moments from "Broken Bow" to "Terra Prime." Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Michael Angie and Melanie get deep into the defining actions and motivations of Starfleet's original captain – the one who set the standard for all who followed. This is a very sp...

It's another "everything goes" abstract topic on TrekRanks as our expert panel tackles "Abstract L," labeling luminous locations and lightships of all sorts that randomly begin with the letter L. This is TrekRanks at its abstract finest! Led by host Jim Moorhouse and guests Alex Perry, Claire Little and Ken Reilly, literally anything is on the table in this fun "flash ranks" episode recorded live at STLV via a temporal anomaly. Log in and let's fly!

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"Do not pass Go! Do not collect $200!" But do make sure you listen to this episode of TrekRanks covering the "Top 5 Games and Gaming References" throughout the history of Star Trek! From Kal-toh to Kadis-kot to Kotra (try to keep those three straight!), our Trek panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Jenn Tifft, Caleb Dorsch and Patrick Carlin have a great time spinning the wheel and rolling dice and shuffling the cards on all the fun gaming options featured in Trek. This one is a stone cold TrekRanks classic. One of our favorites! Game on!

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The third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was an incredible mix of big swings and rotating genres that now receives the TrekRanks treatment with our patented breakdown of the "Top 5 Strange New Worlds Season 3 Moments." You can rest assured that our expert panel of Jim Moorhouse, Sam Nelson and Amy Arrant loved this season's mélange of interesting styles and commentaries, and they cover it all with a range of picks including everything from Gorn body horror to Trelane the Wedding Planner to those pesky Metrons.

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We unlock another classic episode of TrekRanks with the "Top 5 Locked-Door Moments." Whether it's a door you are trying to get through or a door you have locked behind you, this is the kind of fun, unpredictable topic you will continue to find only find on TrekRanks. Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Lee Hutchison and Kelli cover a ton of locked-door territory, from the literal to the metaphysical in this great topic.

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We are doing it again. It's another crazy TrekRanks live show from Las Vegas, and this one is a sequel to the show we did on Episode 166 featuring "The. Best. Deaths." On this week's TrekRanks live recording it's Episode 216 and the topic is even more rowdy with a breakdown of "The. Best. (Fake.) Deaths." This is a fun one for our host Jim Moorhouse and our massive panel of eight guests, including Star Trek experts Alex Perry, Claire Little, Ken Reilly, Matt Hansen, Jamie McGregor, Thad Hait, Carl Wonders and John Krikorian, as they power through 45 rapid fire selections...

It's a TrekRanks classic. This week we shine the spotlight on the "Top 5 Episodes Nobody Likes But Me." It's those episodes that you've realized over the years, "Oh, I really like that episode, but I don't think anyone else does! What's up with that?!?" It's those episodes that for some reason they've connected with you, but not the masses. Our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and Trek experts Bill Mann, Arielle K. and Beverly Falls go deep into the Trek oeuvre to pick and defend some unbelievable choices. This one you can't miss.

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On this week's TrekRanks we get up-close and personal with some of those off-beat, hard-luck, put-upon characters with a deep dive on the "Top 5 Sad-Sack Characters" in Trek. It's a celebration (mostly!) of those maybe slightly out-of-place characters who sometimes deservedly and sometimes undeservedly get a bad reputation. Our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and experts Claire Little and Rick Everson have a fun time breaking this one down with some deep cuts and top shelf choices!

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On the surface, this topic might look like a kids' game, but in practice, the "Top 5 Hiding Places" in Star Trek is one of the broadest topics you can tackle. From objects and individuals to ships and whole planets, there is no limit to the amount of things being hidden in Trek, both tangibly and metaphysically and via cloak – the hiding just never ends. Our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and experts Katharine Robinson, Todd Kehoe and Dan Briggs, definitely go deep in defining their picks and ultimately you are going to be glad you found this TrekRanks to li...

We go with our gut instincts on this week's standout episode of TrekRanks, breaking down the "Top 5 Visceral Episodes" in Trek. It's all about instinct and raw emotions on this deep dive into the dark recesses of some of Star Trek's most impacting moments and episodes. But hey, we have a lot of fun, too! How could we not with an A list panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Jenn Tifft and Jamie McGregor. This one covers all the bases as both dark and fun! Join us … if you dare!

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In the history of Star Trek there have been 185 episodes that begin with the word "The," and on this week's TrekRanks, for absolutely no reason at all, we are breaking down our "Top 5 Episodes that Begin with The." Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Deb Moltisanti, Adam Sanders and Anthony Moltisanti each come up with their own reasons for how they made their picks, but one thing was consistent throughout – there is no doubt that many of the greatest episodes in Star Trek history being with the word "the." This one is a surprising TrekRanks classic.

We get deep into the lore of Deep Space Nine by talking about a variety of episodes that are not DS9, but feel like it! It's the "Top 5 Episodes that Feel Like DS9" on this week's TrekRanks, continuing our ongoing series of popular "Feels Like" topics. There are probably more shades to DS9 than any other series of Star Trek, and our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Carl Wonders, Peter Hong and Nate Perkins cover them all by picking episodes from across the Trek lexicon – everything from TNG to Strange New Worlds. Join us in the Ga...

Our Abstract Series returns with an absolute classic. This one is as abstract as it gets! It's "Abstract Color Blasts!" on this week's TrekRanks! What's an "Abstract Color Blast!" you ask? Well, listen in and figure it out with our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and expert color analysts Ross Webster and Anika Dane, who come at this topic from every angle. One thing we learn for sure is that an "Abstract Color Blast!" can literally come from anywhere and be anything in Star Trek! This is a colorful conversation you will not want to miss!

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It feels fitting that the first Kelpien in Starfleet is also the first character from the new era of Star Trek to get the TrekRanks character deep dive treatment as this week we jump all the way to Kaminar to take on the "Top 5 Saru Episodes." Brought to life by the legendary Doug Jones, Saru embodied the emotions and hope on display throughout five seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, never wavering in his duty to Starfleet. Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and First Flight podcast duo Abby Sommer and Chris Chaplin sense the coming of a whole...

It's a classic TrekRanks deep dive on the "Top 5 World-Building Episodes" in the history of Star Trek, where we breakdown the stories, details and moments that helped establish the expansive universe that we've all known and loved across the past 60 years. Our panel of host Jim Moorhouse and expert guests Alex Perry and Carlos Miranda get into the nooks and crannies of both the big and small world-building moments that have helped establish Star Trek as the modern mythology of our times.

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It's maybe the most expansive topic in TrekRanks history. In a return to our ongoing "Scenes in Trek" series we tackle the "Top 5 Scenes on a Bridge." And in Star Trek, as you know, a whole lot of the show takes place on the bridge! Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Charlynn Schmiedt, Kimberly Lawler and Foz Rotten have a great time covering this massive topic with heavy hitters, deep cuts and some emotional wallops. It's another TrekRanks classic!

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We all have those episodes we've seen a bunch of times, but every time you turn it on, for some reason it feels like you are watching it for the first time. And that is what this week's TrekRanks is all about. It's the Top 5 Episodes that Always Feel Like a First-Time Watch! Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Paul Edinger, Todd Kehoe and Kelli recorded this one "FlashRanks" style, with about 24 hours to prep their choices. We cover a lot of ground on this extremely fun episode of TrekRanks – that I'm sure you will want to...

Pack your bags! Because on this week's TrekRanks we are visiting your "Top 5 Dream Destinations" in Star Trek! It's the locations in the Trek universe where you want to visit or see in person or take a vacation, however you define your Prime Directive. Our expert LCARS panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Chris Burris and Craig Main cover everything from planets to space stations to museums across the Alpha, Gamma and Delta quadrant! Make sure your interplanetary travel documents are up to date for this fun episode of TrekRanks!

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Peldar joi, everyone! It's time for a festival celebration at TrekRanks as we take on the "Top 5 Bajoran Episodes" with our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Brooke Horton and Duncan Barrett. Since their debut on The Next Generation, Bajorans have provided some of the most layered and contextualized storytelling in all of Star Trek, and this episode gets deep into the cultural, religious and historical context Bajorans have provided throughout Deep Space Nine and beyond. This one includes quite a few hot takes, just like your favorite hasperat, made with the most tongue-searing, spicy brine!

This week's TrekRanks is all about the "Top 5 Crash Landings" in Star Trek as we attempt to to navigate our shuttle safely through some kind of magnetic disturbance in the atmosphere or through an ion storm or a weird orbital displacement shift - and guide our crew to safety. Our expert panel of host Jim Moorhouse and guests Paige Thatcher and Sebas de Toma steer us through every variation of crash landing in Trek, uncovering more than a few fun trends, tropes and surprises.

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We are getting dark and dirty on this week's TrekRanks as we maneuver down some of Starfleet's back alleys to uncover the "Top 5 Treacherous Bastards" in the history of Star Trek. Our expert panel is packed with unsavory characters, including host Jim Moorhouse and guests Ryan Riddle and Michael Bentley, as they get into the underbelly of the influences that have motivated so many of our picks. This is a fun episode that also goes deep … into treachery!

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We celebrate episode 200 of TrekRanks with perhaps the most wide-open topic in the history of our show. Which means we are covering more Star Trek ground than ever! This week we enter a stable temporal fissure to revisit many of the fun topics in our illustrious past with TrekRanks Potpourri 2.0 with host Jim Moorhouse and our expert panel of Alex Perry, Jenn Tifft and Abby Sommer. As you know, the TrekRanks catalog has no boundaries – from "Scenes in Trek" to "Abstract topics" to "Character Moments" and "Season Recaps" – and this week each member of our LCARS panel picks five of th...