Ceti Alpha 3: A Star Trek Podcast

The Nerd Party

Darren, Daniel, and Phillip are marooned on Ceti Alpha 3 with only their expansive knowledge of Star Trek, and a sense of humor, to keep them alive. Join the trio as they discuss 50 years of Trek TV series and feature films.

  • 1 hour 22 minutes
    356 - Second Star to the Right
    So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

    It's been a long road, starting from 2016, with the first episode of Ceti Alpha 3. The trio now find a way to escape from being stranded on their planet and their endless discussion of all things Star Trek.

    Join the discussion as they look back at previous discussions, from what if Thomas Riker was in season seven of 'The Next Generation'? to writing their own new series starring Starfleet admirals playing space golf. Darren, Daniel, and Phillip also look to the Star Trek future, their podcast journey through the Kurtzman Era of series, and how fun it is to always talk Trek.
    17 January 2025, 9:28 am
  • 56 minutes 48 seconds
    355 - Lower Decks Season 5
    Lower Decks' Last Season

    Another Star Trek series has come to an end. It's odd to think how many Star Trek shows, post-Discovery, fought for our attention. But the third "new" Kutzman-era series has now officialy ended with the finale of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

    The trio portal through the last few episode of the season, sharing what made them laugh, the many reference to Trek trivia, and how that last episode hit them. How did this animated show affect the franchise we all love?

    Speaking of finales - the trio also announces that this will be the penultimate episode of Ceti Alpha 3. The next episode will serve as the last for this trio, both under this banner and as podcast hosts who have been talking Trek for over a decade.
    10 January 2025, 10:03 am
  • 45 minutes 44 seconds
    354 - Indigenous Reman Day
    Holidays in the Star Trek Universe

    As 21st Century Earth approaches the festive season, the trio ask - what are the holidays of the Star Trek future?

    Throughout many series, we have seen small references to our current holidays. How are they celebrated by Starfleet personnel? Has the meaning changed? And outside of Terran culture - what holidays have we seen on screen? And what others must also exist?

    Join us in a celebration of holidays past, holidays present, and holidays yet to come!
    20 December 2024, 4:38 am
  • 1 hour 7 minutes
    353 - Movie Poster Review
    Star Trek Movie Posters

    What better discussion to have on an audio podcast than the review of Star Trek visuals?

    The trio takes a journey into the wayback machine to review all the movie posters from the 13 feature films in the franchise (6 TOS, 4 TNG, and 3 Kelvin-verse) - with a bonus add-on for the upcoming "Section 31" TV movie. How were all these movies advertised? Especially in the age when movie trailers could only be found at movie theatres? What "spoilers" did the posters give? How much did they lie to us? What could have been improved? Which ones remain your favorite?

    Make space on your wall and join the discussion about Trek's movie posters.

    (Source for images: Trekcore - https://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/) 
    13 December 2024, 9:31 am
  • 46 minutes 27 seconds
    352 - Favorite Characters
    New-New Trek Favorite Characters

    With Trek fans "of a certain age", it can be tempting for your list of favorite characters to be cemented from the 1990s and earlier. In order to shake things up, the trio look at post-JJ films era of television series and pick their favorite characters from "Discovery," "Lower Decks," "Prodigy," "Strange, New Worlds" and "Picard". Which characters stand out the most from each series? What about "secondary" characters who we enjoy? Do any of this "new crop" of adventurers take the place of our old top 10 favorite characters? Who did we wish we could see more of?

    Log into Paramount+ and let us know your top 5 characters from the 21st Century-produced shows.
    6 December 2024, 9:39 am
  • 56 minutes 12 seconds
    351 - Trekvember is Not a Thing
    Georgiou and Disco Season One

    "Star Trek: Section 31" will arrive January 24 of next year, centered around the Mirror Universe version of Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). The trio revisit the introduction of both versions of the character, the "Prime" Captain Georgiou and the "Mirror" Terran Emperor, in the first season of "Star Trek: Discovery."

    What did we think of both of these characters? What meaning did they have for Michael Burnham? Would we have like to see more or less of each version? How do their first impressions predict what we may see in "Section 31"? What does a Burnham-less Georgiou look like?

    Join us as we board the vertical transporters of the USS Shenzhou to revisit season one of Disco and the introduction of the Georgiou character. 
    29 November 2024, 8:46 am
  • 56 minutes 20 seconds
    350 - Wrapity-uppity
    Lower Decks Season 5 Catchup

    The final season of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" began this month - a bittersweet moment for the animated series.

    The trio look at the first four episodes - looking at what made them laugh and what portents may have been dropped about how this show will end. They  focus on each character, their remaining storylines, and whether the remaining episodes will be more in the spirit of "The Next Generation" or "Deep Space Nine."

    It's so hard to say goodbye - but join them as they enjoy "Lower Decks" final episodes.
    15 November 2024, 9:14 am
  • 57 minutes 41 seconds
    349 - Star Wars Andor
    Mirror Universe - Star Wars: Andor Overview

    The trio enter the Mirror Universe to become a dedicated Star Wars group - looking back at the first season of "Andor."

    With season two of Andor expected in 2025, three years after the first, the trio looks back at this revivial of Star Wars on TV. Disney+ brought Star Wars to streaming with "The Mandalorian". It was then followed up with "The Book of Boba Fett" and "Obi-Wan Kenobi". Some fans felt that there was still something missing - and then came "Andor" in 2022, a perhaps unexpected prequel series to the film "Rogue One."

    This 12-episode series centered on Cassian Andor and his reluctant entry into the Rebellion. The trio look at the stories, characters, and structure of this series that earned critical acclaim. Does "Andor" live up to all the hype? How is it different from both the series that came before and after? What were the most memorable parts? Join us in this ... Star Wars? ... discussion.
    1 November 2024, 10:26 am
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    348 - Prodigy Season Two Recap
    Star Trek: Prodigy Season Two Overview

    The kids are back! "Prodigy" has been on a wild road - there was a substantial break between the first and second halves of the first season, then it was unexpectedly cancelled and then dropped from Paramount+, and then there was a quest to find someone to host a second season (which had already mostly been completed). But Netflix finally took on this young audience-targeted Trek animated series in 2024 and premiered the second season (after an errant French slip-up). What do we think?

    The trio look at how the kids are doing, from new storylines, returning Voyager-era characters, new enemies, and how a bigger number of episodes (compared to other 21st Century shows) allows for different storytelling. From the Voyager-A to the temporal headaches of a returning USS Prodigy, from two-parters to a shocking way to end the season (series??) ... and then there's Wesley Crusher! There's a lot to cover and more to hope about the future of this series. 
    25 October 2024, 3:01 pm
  • 58 minutes 42 seconds
    347 - Trek 3.0
    If we were in charge of Star Trek...

    It's not the new year yet, but the trio are ready to look to the future. With the sale of Paramount still not quite official until 2025, and the renewal of some series, the cancellation of others, and the development of even others - it's time for a brief thought experiment.

    What if we ran Star Trek?

    As the helm of the franchise has gone from Gene Roddenberry to Rick Berman and now to Alex Kurtzman, it's now our turn. Do we keep current projects going or start from scratch? What platform will the future of Star Trek be carried on? Should we concentrate on movies or TV series? What new ideas will keep the franchise going for the next generation?

    Join us as we sit in the big chairs and imagine our own version of Star Trek's future.
    18 October 2024, 8:51 am
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    346 - Ten Episode Voyager Season Four
    Whittling Down Season Four (VOY) to 10 episodes

    The trio continues their series of chopping down the longer 1990s seasons of Star Trek into the 2020s average ten-episode limit. This time "the victim" is season four of "Star Trek: Voyager," also known as "when Seven of Nine joined the show."

    The season begins with battling Species 8472 with the Borg in "Scorpion, Part II" and ends with "Hope and Fear," when the surprising (and suspicious) new starship Dauntless appears to take them home. These episodes also feature the Paris/Torres romance, the introduction of the Hirogen, and begins Seven's journey into humanity. Will your favorite episode make the cut? Will two-parters be split up? And how many episodes does "The Killing Game" count as???

    Join us as we whittle down season four of Voyager!
    27 September 2024, 8:16 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App
© MoonFM 2025. All rights reserved.