Cal, Martin, and Eileen boldly tackle the most controversial season of Star Trek - the one which made television history and broke cultural taboos - that's right, Season 3!

It's a season filled with memorable moments, from the first appearance of Klingons (sans forehead ridges) to the infamous Turnabout Intruder, but the one that stands out above all other is Plato's Stepchildren, featuring the first interracial kiss on TV between Kirk and Uhura, but amidst the social commentary and taboo-breaking moments, is Season 3 actually any good? That's what our intrepid crew seek to answer while acknowledging how TOS defined the archetypes which would later give us TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise and more.

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Cal welcomes author, editor, blogger, podcaster, karateka, musician, and all around hoopy frood, Keith R.A. DeCandido to OH!Cast.

Keith describes the franchises he grew up with - Heinlein, Le Guin, The Hobbit, and of course, reruns of Star Trek in the 1970s - and how his love of these led to him becoming a writer.

Now, Keith has written for some of all of our favourite franchises - Doctor Who, Buffy, Alien, Farscape, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Command & Conquer (though we don't have him to thank for the greatest moment in video game history).

One of the most important things for Keith when writing is getting the character voice true to what has been established - "if you're writing Jean-Luc Picard, he has to sound like Patrick Stewart". He talks Cal through his creative process and how he ensures the consistency and authenticity while telling his stories his way.

Keith's website is HERE

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Cal and Kenny welcome Eliza Haze to the Hebridean Hammerlock

Eliza is a rising star in the US independent wrestling scene, having debuted in late 2017.

Hailing from New Mexico, though billed from Woodstock like all good flower children, Eliza mixes psychedelic energy with an explosive in-ring style. She's also a sweetheart too!

Cal, Kenny, and Eliza explore her journey through the indie wrestling world and the moments that made her realise that she was on the right path, and she shares stories from herwork with DCCW, SWF, AWWA and more.

You can check out Eliza's Instagram HERE

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

It's the biggest episode of OH!Cast yet - we're only talking to the legendary Doug Bradley!

Cal, Kieran, Kenny, and Hereward couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Doug to the show and it's a celebration of horror, humour, and fandom.

Doug explains the romanticism that drew him to coming on the show (it wasn't just Hereward's puzzle box!), and talks about the origins of the Cenobites' now famous nicknames. He talks about his longstanding relationship with Clive Barker, dating back to Liverpool in the 1960s, and how this led to him agreeing to join Hellraiser without a moment's hesitation, and how this became one of the defining roles of his career, leading to a crossover media moment with his surreal appearance at the 1992 VMAs.

There's a lot more packed into this interview and we're not going to spoil it all here. Suffice to say, it's a must listen for horror fans, cult media fans, and general followers of geek culture.

If you decide not to listen, well... your suffering will be legendary - even in Hell!

Doug Bradley's website is HERE

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Cal and Graeme are back with another Hammerlock episode and it's a fun one!

English independent wrestler, Charlie James joins the show for one of the funniest interviews we've had. Charlie is very new to the UK wrestling scene but has channeled her obsession with technical wrestling along with her background in comedy into a character that is gaining traction.

After discovering wrestling during the pandemic, Charlie has trained alongside some of the best in the business (Kanji!!!), and is hugely influenced by the likes of Zack Sabre Jr in her quest to do "weird, spooky stuff with arms and legs".

It's not just Zack Sabre Jr's wrestling that is an inspiration, but also his openness about his politics (and penchant for naming things after UK comedies). Look, just trust us when we say that Charlie was a wonderful guest, and you should listen to the episode, then if you're able to, go support your local independent wrestling company!

Charlie's instagram is HERE

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Something special on this episode of OH!CAST - Cal and Alena sit down with acclaimed comic artist Georges Jeanty.

Georges has drawn some of the most beloved franchises, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to Firefly, Star Wars, and more. He explains how his visual storytelling style was influenced by film directors, and describes the collaborative dance it takes between writers, authors, artists, editors and fans to make a successful comic-book adaptation.

Georges also discusses paying it forward - mentoring and developing new talent within the comic industry, exploring how you help new artists flourish within the boundaries of existing properties and franchise rules.

Georges' website is HERE

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Cal hosts author Ian Doescher, who has adapted Star Wars into a Shakespearean style, bringing the Galactic Empire and the Globe together in one delightful mashup.

Ian talks about the thematic similiarities between Lucas' series and the Bard's work, with Star Wars central stories of the corruption of power, family conflict, ambition, and tragedy; as well as the challenges of adapting iconic lines into Elizabethan language. It's heartwarming to hear that both communities embraced Ian's project, as we know that both can be fiercely protective of their respective media too.

Beyond Star Wars, Cal and Ian chat about Ian's work in adapting other classic literature, and collaborating on a political satire covering Trump's first two years in office.

If you ever wanted to know how Shakespeare inspires and remains relevant to modern storytelling, this interview will pull back the curtain.

Cult media never sounded so highbrow!

Ian's website is HERE

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Chapters:
00:00 Shakespeare Star Wars: How the Mashup Began
12:40 Science Fiction Fandom Meets Shakespearean Verse
25:10 Cult Media Mashups and Retro Storytelling
38:55 Children’s Books and Creative Side Projects
47:20 Shakespearean Political Satire
58:29 Quick‑Fire Shakespeare vs Star Wars Round

Another Wrestlemania is in the bag, and your Hebridean Hammerlock wouldn't be doing it's job if it didn't have a look at what it brought.

From the disappointment of night one, through the redemption of the second night, Graeme, Cal, Kenny, and newcomer Chris, watched it all and like all good nerds on the internet want to complain about it and praise it, possibly not in equal measure!

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to WrestleMania
10:02 Unsanctioned Match and Entrances
20:02 AJ Lee’s Return and Women’s IC Match
25:30 Match Analysis: Seth vs. Gunther
41:36 Cody’s Entrance and Character Evolution
47:49 Night 1: Disappointing Matches
57:08 Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
01:09:05 Intercontinental Title Match
01:16:47 The Violent Match
01:33:40 The Demon’s Entrance
01:42:11 Jade Cargill vs. Rhea
01:50:34 CM Punk’s Return to WWE
02:05:05 The Main Event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk
02:29:17 The Future of WWE Talent

It takes something special for Hereward to come out of cold storage these days, but one mention of talking about Double Dragon and we couldn't keep him away!

Hereward and Graeme heap praise on Yoshihisa Kishimoto's legendary side-scrolling beat-em-up which not only defined the genre, but had the sort of legacy most games can only dream about. Meanwhile, Cal plays on an emulator (one day, he might even manage to do the back elbow successfully on purpose!).

We take a look at the history of the genre, and detour into other favourites like Golden Axe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Turtles In Time, Final Fight, Streets of Rage, The Simpsons Arcade, and X-Men Arcade. We also bring the full nerd discussion of arcade cabinets and their inner workings, and the groundbreaking music of Double Dragon too (not two)!

It almost saddens us that this is retro media - it's still as fresh and fun forty years later, but this is OH!Cast at it's finest - pure joy and love for a game that might not be flawless, but is peerless.

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Cal, Graeme, Kieran, and first time co-host, Ralph launch a new retrospective show - Smeg Hebs.

For the benefit of that one person on YouTube who implied we had made a mistake in our show title, we really didn't. It's a pun, you see. "Smeghead" is a phrase associated with Red Dwarf, but since we're in the Outer Hebrides, we took the first part, and added the common contraction for Hebrides 'Heb'. It's actually pretty clever. Just like Red Dwarf.

Anyway, now that's out the way... it's season or series (another YouTube commenter took umbrage at that) 1 of Red Dwarf! It's where it all began, and quite frankly, they're dead, Dave.

All of our links are here: https://taplink.cc/ohcast
Official OH!Cast Merch: https://oh-cast-shop.fourthwall.com
Email the team: [email protected]

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Red Dwarf Season 1
• 29:26 Influence of Red Dwarf on Language and Music
• 36:27 Casting Choices and Character Development
• 43:21 The Quirks of Red Dwarf
• 49:07 The Last Human Being
• 57:11 The British Humor Influence
• 01:15:11 Quiz and Wrap-Up