It's All Been Trekked Before

*It's All Been Trekked Before*is a podcast created and produced by It's All Been Done Presents entertainment network. It is a *Star Trek* rewatch podcast in which the hosts watch all official *Star Trek* television episodes and films in (mostly) release order. It began with the 1960s unaired pilot "The Cage," and claims it will continue until there is no more *Star Trek* to cover.

This show is released every Thursday morning, and except for planned breaks between seasons, has never missed a release. A couple of special episodes have been released on different days, though most of those also come out on Thursdays. Production usually runs several months in advance, with the breaks allowing the backlog to build back up when it runs low. Episodes are recording on varying days and times based on the hosts' busy schedules.

Beginning with episode 137, some episodes were Patreon exclusives, numbered as part of the regular run but not released on the public feed. There have also been exclusive clips and extended episodes on Patreon.

Originally edited by Jerome Wetzel, Chris Allen took over editing duties in early 2018 and continued for about two years. In February 2020, the job reverted to Jerome.

## **Hosts**

The show is primarily hosted by Jerome Wetzel and Stephen Woosley, who have appeared in every regular episode (though Stephen has sat out some of the special episodes, and Jerome missed one). Keith Jackson has done most episodes, and has become the de facto third co-host. Each has holes in their *Star Trek* knowledge, though all enjoy the franchise considerably.

Jerome is often called Jimmy by his friends, and goes by the name Jimmy-Jerome on this podcast.

### **Guest Hosts**

Other people have contributed as well. Early on, Amanda Iman was usually on the podcast. She stopped appearing mid-way through the Original Series. Colleen Dunne, Stephen's wife, and Marianne Dean Jackson, Keith's wife, have been frequent guests, Colleen especially early and Marianne especially later in the Original Series. Other guests rotate on and off as they desire, and range from *Trek* newbies to lifelong fans. No celebrities or people connected with the production have been invited on, with only friends of the hosts appearing.

Barbara Barnett, executive editor of Blogcritics Magazine, provided commentary on batches of episodes throughout the Original Series in one-on-one conversations with Jerome. Those were released in between regular episodes.

## **Segments**

There are several regular segments in just about every episode. The main ones are Fashion and Alternate Episodes. Each episode is also ranked within its season, seasons are ranked within their show, and shows are ranked against one another. All hosts, including guests, pick a crush of *Trek* they found particularly enticing that week (excluding series regulars) and those picks reset every season. In *TNG*, an annoying character of the episode was also named, after ranking Wesley's annoyance.

## **Seasons**

The podcast is broken up into seasons that somewhat coincide with seasons of the show, with a six-week break between each. The first four seasons covered the three years of *The Original Series*, while the fourth focused on the full, two-season run of *The Animated Series*. Season five will be a mini-season made up of the first four *Star Trek* films and a bunch of specials, before season six starts on *The Next Generation* Season 1.

It is expected that future *Star Trek* films will be part of the season of television episodes they were released within, and overlapping franchise offerings will find the podcast bouncing back and forth, following the air date order. This may change where seasons break, as the production isn't sure it can handle two full seasons of television without a break to bank more episodes.

The hosts have also stated that *The Orville* will be included, despite not being an official *Star Trek* series.

### **Season 1 - *The Original Series* Season 1**

Season 1 premiered January 5, 2017 and ran for 36 episodes, ending with a season overview on August 24, 2017. It covered "The Cage" and all twenty-nine episodes of the first season of *The Original Series*. (The two-part "The Menagerie" was released as a single episode.) Barbara contributed four episodes, covering roughly 1/4 of the season at a time.

The 4th episode was an Inauguration Day special, as the hosts discussed how Donald Trump's presidency conflicts with ideals of the franchise. The 27th episode featured an interview conducted by Stephen and Samantha Stark of Vito Pandolfo, Managing Principal of 5th Epoch Games. They talked RPGs and other games, including *Trek*'s contribution.

Following the season, but before the start of Season 2, special episodes covering the premieres of *The Orville* and *Star Trek: Discovery* were released.

### **Season 2 - *The Original Series* Season 2**

Season 2 premiered on October 12, 2017 and ran for 31 episodes, ending with a season overview on May 10, 2018 . It covered all twenty-six season two episodes of *The Original Series*, and Barbara again contributed four installments, discussing roughly 1/4 of the season at a time. One episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles," was recorded like at OGP's West Grandview Fringe Festival.

Between episodes 13 and 14, a review of the *Black Mirror* episode "USS Callister" was released. Between episodes 19 and 20, Jerome and Andy Batt released a discussion on the full first season of *Star Trek: Discovery*. Unlike in other seasons, these episodes were not numbered within the season.

During the six-week hiatus following Season 2, Stephen and Jerome released special episodes on all three Peter Pan *Star Trek* records of audio stories released in the 1970s.

### **Season 3 - *The Original Series* Season 3**

Season 3 premiered on June 21, 2018 and ran for 29 episodes, ending with a complete series overview on January 3, 2019. (The season overview came out the week prior.) It covered all twenty-four third season episodes of *The Original Series*. This time, Barbara did three episodes, discussing 1/3 of the season at a time. One episode, "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," was recorded live at OGP's West Grandview Fringe Festival.

No special episodes were released during this season. Between this and the following season, though, two specials were released concerning the 1976 film *Freaky Friday* and the series *South Park*, especially the episode "Spooky Fish."

### **Season 4 - *The Animated Series***

Season 4 premiered on February 14, 2019 and ran for 23 episodes, ending with a complete series overview on July 18, 2019. Although *The Animated Series* aired two seasons, the second was only six episodes and the combined total of installments was twenty-two, so the podcast handled it as a single season. Barbara Barnett did not return, hence why the season is only one episode longer than the number of episodes. There was again one live episode, "The Pirates of Orion," done at MadLab theatre as part of their *Friday Night Afterwords* series.

### **Season 5 - The Early Films**

Season 5 premiered on August 15, 2019 and ran for 9 episodes. There was only a three week before and two week break after this season, which covered the first four theatrical movies, as well as five specials concerning *Star Wars: A New Hope*, *Quark* The Complete Series, *Star Trek: Phase II, The Best of Trek,* and *Futurama* "Where No Fan Has Gone Before." This mini-season has no recap or overview episodes. The final episode of the series, the one on *Futurama*, was released exclusively to Patreon donors.

The decision was made to hold *Star Trek V* and *Star Trek VI* for release mid-*The Next Generation* seasons, as that is when they came out in theatres.

### **Season 6 *The Next Generation* Season 1**

Season 6 premiered on October 31, 2019 and ran for 26 episodes covering the twenty-six installments and a season wrap-up. "Encounter at Farpoint" was covered as a single episode, and an extended version with an extra twenty minutes was released to Patreon donors. The last couple episodes were recorded virtually due to the coronvirus pandemic, and video versions of the season finale and season wrap-up were released on Patreon.

Two live episodes were performed, one part of MadLab theatre's *Friday Night Afterwords* and another at OGP's *West Grandview Fringe Festival.*

Three special episodes were released between seasons six and seven, covering *Star Trek: Picard Season One* with Andy Batt (and a video edition was released on IABD Presents' YouTube channel), the *Extras* "Patrick Stewart" episode, and *Family Guy* "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven." The *Family Guy* installment featured the entire cast of *TNG* guest-starring, and the podcast's coverage was exclusive for Patreon donors.

### **Season 7 *The Next Generation* Season 2**

Season 7 premiered on June 11, 2020 and ran for 26 episodes, covering the twenty-two installments, a season wrap-up, and a review of *Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,* which hit movie theatres during the airing of this season. Special in-season releases included a discussion on premiere of *Star Trek: Lower Decks,* as well as a full-season wrap-up of the animated show.

All the episodes were recorded entirely virtually, with the hosts watching the episodes on their own, due to the coronavirus pandemic. This season was recorded in just a few months, much faster than previous runs. There were no live episodes. Towards the end of the season, the podcast began releasing unedited video versions of the show on YouTube exclusive to Patreon donors.

Several special episodes were released between seasons seven and eight, including coverage of the book *Star Trek: Imzadi* by Peter David, the film *Airplane 2*, and *The Twilight Zone* episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and its remakes. The *Twilight Zone* episodes were Patreon exclusives.

### **Season 8 *The Next Generation* Season 3**

Season 8 premiered on December 31, 2020 and ran for 27 episodes covering the twenty-six installments and a season wrap-up.

All the episodes were recorded entirely virtually, with the hosts watching the episodes on their own, due to the coronavirus pandemic. This season was recorded in just a few months, much faster than previous runs, with most of it done before it premiered. There were no live episodes. All episodes were released in unedited video form to Patreon donors, in addition to the regular free audio podcast.

Several special episodes will be released between seasons eight and nine, including a review of the Netflix series *The Most Toys* that dealt with *Trek* collectibles, a review of the film *Enemy Mine*, and discussion on *Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back*, the last of which will be a Patreon exclusive.

### **Season 9 *The Next Generation* Season 4**

Season 9 premiered on August 12, 2021 and ran for 27 episodes covering the twenty-six installments and a season wrap-up.

All the episodes were recorded entirely virtually EXCEPT the season finale and wrap-up, with the hosts watching the episodes on their own, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those final two episodes were recorded live in late June 2021, with the hosts finally back together. This season was recorded in just a few months, much faster than previous runs, with most of it done before it premiered. There were no live episodes. All episodes were released in unedited video form to Patreon donors, in addition to the regular free audio podcast, including video for the in-person recordings.

Several special episodes will be released between seasons nine and ten, including a review of *Ren & Stimpy* "Space Madness," the film *Dude, Where's My Car?,* and the *Star Trek* 25th anniversary special.