The Post Atomic Horror is a podcast dedicated to reviewing Star Trek. The entire franchise, that is, episode by episode. They are currently working through Discovery and Picard as they become available, having already completed The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise and even The Animated Series, as well as all the movies. They are currently the most comprehensive Star Trek podcast ever produced, as the first and to date only one to review every single episode and movie of every series, as well as several books, comics, and video games.
The show is hosted by Seattle writer Ron "AAlgar" Watt and his stalwart Canadian associate Matt Rowbotham, often with one of a rotating stable of guests from around the world. A typical episode of the podcast covers two Star Trek episodes, each having a short, humorous summary followed by a discussion/review, and a selected quote. There are also supplemental episodes where the hosts will answer viewer mail, discuss the current season as a whole, and talk about broader aspects of Trek, and biannual crossovers with the now-defunct Doctor Who podcast Drunken Time Travel, where the hosts challenge each other to review other sci-fi/fantasy series, including Pushing Daisies, Voyagers!, Sliders, and of course Doctor Who.
In the time period between Discovery and Picard, the hosts reviewed a number of other genre shows. When there is no Star Trek available, they now record Kids Love Batman, a DCAU review podcast.
The show can be found on iTunes, or on the web at postatomichorror.com
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This podcast features examples of:
- Alternate Character Interpretation : Several.
- Bashir is an upper-class twit with an incongruous thick Cockney accent. (A reference to the hosts' other show, Sarcastic Voyage.)
- On TNG, Worf is a Cloud Cuckoolander who doesn't know who Wesley is, doesn't believe the ship has shuttlecrafts, and locks his son in the closet on weeks he doesn't have a role in the plot. This died down a little on DS9, where the new joke became that he is a stick in the mud.
- Inspired by an episode where people kept telling Sisko numbers with no context for the viewer, they began to characterize Sisko as incapable of doing basic arithmetic.
- Butt-Monkey : AAl and Matt really hate certain characters, and love to criticize them. Chekov gets the worst of it, and is frequently maligned even after the original series ended.
- Keiko O'Brien gets a lot too, due to the writers frequently writing her as shrewish and demanding, to the point where a Post Atomic Horror listener wrote an Irish drinking song about "Keiko O'Brien, Miles O'Brien's terrible horrible wife." They are always complementary of the actress, however, and make sure to note any time she is written well, a consideration which Chekov never got.
- Taken up to Eleven on Voyager where Neelix, Chakotay, and Harry Kim are the frequent targets of scorn. Harry Kim, particularly, with his status as the ship's "special boy" gets the most vitriol.
- And then, of course, there's Gene Roddenberry, who, due to his
Anvilicious writing, skirt chasing, and autocratic management style, is not held in as high esteem by this show as he is by many others. To the point where they started calling him "Bad Gene" to differentiate him from Gene Coon ("Good Gene").
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin : A common feature of the "Alternate titles" segment. Also, "Irish Gav".
- Musical Episode : Never a full episode, but they've had a few fan-written songs, and Irish Gav does love to review the occasional episode in poetic form.
- Nonindicative Name : The hosts don't hesitate to point out when an episode title appears to have been chosen at random. They tend to refer to any vaguely titled episode as "Eye of the Beholder", after a TNG example.
- Running Gag: Several.
- "There are no gay people in Star Trek."
- "Never forget. Wesley killed a guy."
- "Counselor Troi has a chocolate mother."
- Nicknames for characters, including "Nails" and "Bill" for Riker, and "Bever" for Dr. Crusher.
- AAl hates episodes where chairs are made on the holodeck, or anywhere else.
- Ensign Sad Sack, an extra on the Animated Series with a hangdog look, who gets all the worst details.
- Armus, the titular Skin of Evil, is depicted as a friendly and well meaning dork.
- One taken up mainly by the show's guests is ending an episode summary with a variation on Scotty's famous "They'll be no tribble at all" line.
- Matt is Paul Rudd, or so he will randomly claim.
- "QUAAAAAAAARK!!"
- Gul Dukat calls everyone "Major". Garak calls everyone "Doctor".
- Major Kira doesn't give a DAMN what you think!
- Neelix frequently and inexplicably loses vital organs ("Oh no, my —-"), and he gets hair and other bodily fluids in all of his meals.
- Ensign Wildman is almost always referred to as Ensign WIIIILD Man!
- Chakotay is a loaf of bread, or a plank of wood.
- Recurring guest Brian Lynch attempts to sneak in references to his favorite forgotten 90s show, Deadly Games.
