Simon: My podcast listening background!

Hi guys
The reason I have written this blog is so that I can continue giving you a better understanding of who you're listening to, in my last blog I spoke about where my passion for science fiction stemmed from!

Whereas in this blog I would like to give you a better understanding of where my affection for podcasting comes from. I'm hoping to achieve this by, explaining to you which podcasts I have listened to, and why they have inspired different elements of The Engage Podcast!!!

The first podcast I listened to (and subsequently Jamie listened to) was Make It So Podcast, from the Simply Syndicated network.
Due to this podcast is the main reason why your able to listen to The Engage Podcast. Because after Jamie had listening to a quite sizable number of their episodes he said to me one day "Si, why don't we do a Star Trek podcast?!". Which lead after two long years of development and an awful lot of time and effort to The Engage Podcast.
Make It So is my inspiration for the joviality and juvenility elements of TEP as I have listened to episode's of Make It So more times than I would like to count! All due to the fact that each and every show is enjoyable and entertaining, due to the conversations and hilarious tangents the hosts (Richard Smith and co) get onto! Making it a podcast well worth listening to!!!

The second podcast I would like to mention is the Trek Mate Podcast, as they are a podcast I am very fond of. Oddly though they weren't 'on my radar' due to their podcasts, that only happened when we were at DSTL 2012.
Through they're many Fan Panel's (with the lovely Trekkie Girls) and through their DVD box set competition flyers. The flyers lead me onto a quite interesting tangent!

At the convention they were giving out flyers promoting their current DVD box set competition. In the competition each flyer had a unique code on it, which you could type into their website giving you the chance to win a DVD box set of a Star Trek series of your choosing.
I got home after the convention and typed it into their website! A month goes by and I get an e-mail explaining that I had won the prize, which you can imagine was an absolutely surprise to me! If you don't believe me just listen to Trek Mate: A Star Trek Podcast – Episode 45: Star Trek London Wrap Up.

Once I listened to that initial episode I was hooked, as (in their old format) they had a section of the show I always enjoyed listening to...I am of course talking about the Quiz. Which they always called Stump The Quizmaster, as they had a very clever and unique way of hosting it! Have a listen to see what I mean!!!
I think Stump The Quizmaster was an inspiration to me due to the complexity of the quiz, and because of the competition between the hosts (Wayne and co). Both elements added an extra and unexpected layer to each show, making it more enjoyable to listen to!
Although they've changed the format to their shows I would still recommend listening to the Trek Mate Podcast!!!

The third podcast I would really like to mention is the Mission Log Podcast. The hosts of the podcast (John Champion and Ken Ray) has reinvigorated a lot of fans passion for the franchise around the world (including mine) by analysing each and every episode and film.
At this point it sounds no different than any other podcast around...but they look for what I like to call "The Three M's". Which stand for the Morals, Messages and Meanings within the episode or film they are examining.
At the time that I write this they are making they're way through Season 1 of The Next Generation, after watching (and analysing) the whole run of Star Trek: The Original Series and The Animated Series. On top of that they have also watched (and analysing) all the Original Series six films right up until Undiscovered Country!
The Missions Log Podcast is an inspiration to me, because it allowed me to see a different side to a franchise I've lived with for most of my life! Giving me a chance to view the film or episode from a more balanced (and informed) point of view. As you can imagine being balanced and knowledgeable are two quite traits to have when your in charge of a Star Trek podcast!
It is my hope to bring this to the podcast via "The Three M's"!!!

The third podcast I would quite like to mention is Starbase 66, which is another podcast brought to you by the Simply Syndicated network! This podcast is a general Science Fiction and speculative fiction podcast. Which combines a lovely mixture of Science Fiction with real science. This is because part of their team used to work for United Space Alliance (one of NASA's primary contractors). So when they do the News at the beginning of each show you know that the real science is super accuracy!
It is for this reason that they are an inspiration to me, because I want to attempt to bring the balance between our Science Fiction and real science news to the podcast!!!

The final podcast I would quite like to mention is First Contact The Next Generation Introcast from The Spoilist. Which is a recent addition to my playlist (first episode debuted on the 12th of April 2013).
This podcast is like a mixture of the Mission Log Podcast and The Make It So Podcast. As Andrew, Alex and James analysis each episode of The Next Generation (currently doing Season 2) with an unequivocal element of wit in each and every show, making it a podcast worth listening to!
This is (by part) due to the fact that James hasn't seen any Star Trek before. It is because he's a new fan of the franchise (and the series) that he is able to watch it 'blind'. Giving him a unique perspective on the show. Combine that with the combined Star Trek Universe knowledge of Andrew and Alex...and you've got some very interesting discussions!
It is for this reason that they are an inspiration to me, because I want to try and bring a balance between our analysis of the franchise and the friendship between the three of us...like they do on the First Contact The Next Generation Introcast!!!

I would just like to point out that I haven't mentioned all of our Podcast Fraternity friends (unfortunately). So I would like to thank all the podcasts for their support since we launched back in October!
We really appreciate it!!!

I hope you found this blog post interesting!
This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out!

Simon: My science fiction background!



Hi guys
In the hopes of giving you a better understanding of who you're listening to, I thought I would help giving you an idea where my love for science fiction grew from!
It means that I will have to travel back in time, which has the risk of crossing into my own timeline (let's just hope I don't contaminate it!).
I know I've already used this trick before in the Convention Guide Post...but I thought it works quite well last time!

As you can imagine, I'm going to make a few changes to the formula...so instead of traveling in the Tardis (sorry Doctor Who fans) I'm going to be using the Enterprise-E (my favourite star ship) traversing through time via the Slingshot effect!!!



As some of you may be aware I had a quite turbulent childhood. Because during that period in my life I was being bullied at Primary school and my parents were getting divorced.

Which drew me towards science fiction and the positive morals, messages and meanings (thank you Mission Log Podcast) it has!

I think the first place I would take the ship back to is around 1993-1995 where...

my first encounter with science fiction starts! Although it's with a set shows originally produced in the 1960's...I am of course talking about Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Stingray!



These three shows were repeated in the early nineties paving the way for my love of the genre!

Trivia: My favourite Thunderbirds craft is Thunderbird 2!

With they're bright colours and they're wonderfully simple filming techniques interested me straight away! I think the fantastic craft they use (in particular Thunderbird 2) formed the foundation for my love of starships and their design!

Moving forward a few years to 1997, where I got to see...Star Wars! As in his ultimate wisdom (which is debatable!) George Lucas decided to remaster and re-release Episodes IV through VI in a Special Edition box set (which we owned). My love for starships and their design grew once again...when my Mum bought me multiple Galoob Action Fleet starships, which I imagined 'flying' them home in my hand! Along with those I also managed to get The Death Star Playset. To my knowledge they are all still in our loft!!!

 Trivia: My favourite Star Wars character is R2-D2!

Moving towards the noughties to around 1998. This is when the science fiction genre started to make an impact on an young impressionable Simon Cordell, as this is when I saw my first Star Trek: The Next Generation. I watched it every Wednesday night on BBC2 at 6pm, this lead me to buying Star Trek video's (which are still in our loft).
Around this time I also caught glimpses of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Thursday nights and Voyager on the Sunday nights.

Three years go by and we are introduced to  a new form of Star Trek, in the form of Enterprise! Not on the friendly Aunty Beeb (BBC) this time...but to Channel 4 where it ran modestly until the season four finale in 2006.

Trivia: Don't bring up "These are the voyages..." with Jamie, as it doesn't exist to him!

Trivia: Phil's favourite character is Marvin the robot!

Then another few years pass...until 2005 when The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was released in the cinema's. To me and Phil, this was something we had to see!
As both of our Dad's had heard the radio plays when they were younger, and encouraged us to see it. So I think we went and saw it in the cinema  (I can't remember...Phil?) and loved it!

We loved it so much, that we bought The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Trilogy of Four: A Trilogy in Four Parts, and then travelled up to London in order to visit the Science Museum's exhibition on the film.

2005 was also the year that  I was formally introduced to another British science fiction classic Doctor Who.


Trivia: The Tenth Doctor is my favourite!

It's not until 2006 when my love for Star Trek is rekindled, after painstakingly introducing Jamie to the Star Trek franchise! This took quite a while as Jamie had his own preconceptions about science fiction. Once that happened Though his subsequent discovery and enjoyment of the series meant that I could relive the thrill of exploring the franchise for the first time!
As I was initiating a new Trekkie I thought it was about time I reviewed some of my old preconceptions about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Voyager. So we (me and Mum) started to buy the DVD box set's to both, which I watched from start to finish. This is where my 1998 conceptions evaporated.

Three years later (2009) a new form of Star Trek is revealed with Star Trek '09 (or if you prefer Star Trek XI). The first of the Abramsverse films, when I saw the film (3 times in total) I was always struck by the drastic changes made in the film. To point that I was just speechless, due to all the thoughts running around my head surrounding all the implications from the film!

The other amazing thing to come from this film is the fact that I managed to finally introduce Phil to the Star Trek franchise through by this film and playing Star Trek Online! Once again I felt the thrill of discovery coming from Phil!

A year (2010) goes by and another science fiction series arrives, this time it's the remake of V! A very overlooked series, which is well worth a watch...although I have got to admit that I've only seen the first season. Apart from that, I'm really glad I can add another 'string to my science fiction bow'!

2011 is when I finally got to see a series I was longing to get many hands on...I am of course talking about the remake of Battlestar Galactica.
Which (unlike the V remake) is a series that is not overlooked. if you haven't seen this series then definitely check it out, as you won't regret it at all!!!

Another twelve month's passes by, landing us in 2012. This the year that I finally saw the Remastered Star Trek: The Original Series Season three and Star Trek: The Animated Series.
Just like everyone else I assumed that season three was a lost cause...but watching it, and then hearing what morals, messages and meanings John Champion and Ken Ray got out of them. I don't think it deserves the reputation it has been given over the years!
The same is said about The Animated Series, as everyone think's it isn't part of cannon...but why not? It's got as much right to be a part of cannon as any other show! Well worth a watch, even if you only see it once!
This was also the year that the three of us attended Destination Star Trek London, which was absolutely amazing! It is hopes that at some point in time you'll be able to hear our 'practise' episode covering the event!!!

Going back to last year (2013) the big event that occurred in the Abramsverse was Star Trek Into Darkness, which...again I saw 3 times in total! This was the first Star Trek film I'd seen in the cinema with Phil and Jamie making it quite a big event for us. We were able to see it the second day of release, making us very excitable!
Just like Destination Star Trek London 2012, we recorded an episode giving our thoughts on the film. Which we hope you'll be able to hear sometime in the near future!

What can I say about 2014...well it's been quite a year!
In February I went alone to Destination Star Trek Germany in Frankfurt, which was absolutely awesome and amazing! If you were unfortunate not to go, then you missed out big time!!!

Met up with the lovely Trekkie Girls (hi girls!) while I was there, and ended up 'briefly' on stage at the Trek Radio's Transmitting Trek: Taking Entertainment to the Final Frontier talk on the Sunday. Once I got home we recorded an episode giving my opinions on the convention. Which we hope you'll be able sometime soon!

Last month we also attended Destination Star Trek 3, where we hosted our Borg Fan Panel (see The Engage Podcast at DST3 part 1) with the aid of our first 'Honouree' member of the podcast Neil Green (hi Neil!).

On the same day we also launched podcast, by covering all three days of the event...again will an episode giving our thoughts and feelings on the convention (see The Engage Podcast at DST3 part 2).

I hope you found this blog post interesting!
This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out!