Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating on Their Late Night Show ‘Star Trek’ Podcast

Simile Photography Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating

Fans of “Star Trek” know Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer. The two actors brought to life the characters Chief Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, and Chief Engineer, Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker III for four seasons on “Star Trek: Enterprise.” Fans know that these characters were an invaluable part of the crew and became beloved by all who watched the show.

What fans of the show might not know is that Keating and Trinneer have become very close friends. In the 20 years since the end of “Enterprise,” the duo have worked together through multiple Trek conventions and remain great ‘mates’ — as Keating says.

Welcome to ‘Shuttlepod’

It was because of this friendship that Keating and Trinneer thought a podcast about their days on “Enterprise” made sense. After being inspired by some of the other celebrity shows that cover “Star Trek,” most notably “The Delta Flyers,” which is hosted by Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) and Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), the friends decided to give it a try. 

“I think that we determined that it was a good idea to have a voice, for one, our relationship as characters and friends,” said Trinneer in a recent interview that he and Keating did with Heavy. “To represent the show and who we are as people… we thought that there was some value in that.”

Their show, “The Shuttlepod Show,” officially launched on February 20, 2022, with an episode featuring John Billingsley, known to all as “Dr. Phlox.”

The ShuttlePod Show: Episode One

“We’ve been not only castmates for a long time, but we’ve been dear friends for a very long time,” Trinneer said to Keating. “And for this episode, you came to my house. Welcome in. Come in, have a chat about what what you’re doing and what your experience was, and how your life is going and off of ‘Star Trek.’”

Trinneer said they will focus mainly on “Enterprise” to start but eventually broaden the show’s focus onto the other Trek shows and films. He also said that they plan to shine the spotlight on folks who have been inspired by “Star Trek” in some way, which affected their life or career.

“Astronauts… engineers… anything in the world that has to have some sort of circular relationship to the show,” said Trinneer.

“We’ve met many of these people at the conventions,” said Keating. “They come up to our tables — and these are some really smart people — from MIT and the like, and they say that our show inspired them. And we’re old enough to for them to say that!”

Keating and Trinneer said that fan participation is a significant focus of their show. In each episode, they take questions directly from the audience. Fans are encouraged to send their questions to the show via a web form located at the bottom of the ShuttlePod Show website. 

They also participate in Trek trivia, as asked by producers Erica LaRose and Mark Cartier. Some of their guests, like Gary Graham, did not fare so well with the trivia. LaRose also asks Keating, Trinneer, and the show’s guests fun questions like choosing just three things to take to a desert island.

‘A Vulcan Walks Into A Bar’

Keating noted that his trivia scores will only improve, as he’s been binging “Enterprise” during the past few weeks. He said that rewatching the show has made him a bigger fan of the hard work they put in during those four seasons.

“I have not looked at a frame of it in 20 years,” said Keating. “I’ve got to tell you — I totally get it now. I can’t wait to finish our show and go back and watch [the other series]. I’ve been told to watch the first two episodes of ‘Next Gen’ and get into about Season 4. I’ll see. Maybe I’ll do the whole damn thing.”

“If we’re going to be what we hope we want to be… I hope that this show catches fire and that Connor and I can be something like late-night ‘Star Trek’ chat show hosts,” said Keating. 

The Shuttlepod Show is available now on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Google, Spotify, and more. Fans can also subscribe to the show on YouTube. For more information, or to submit questions to the show, visit their website. 

Special thanks to “Enterprise” expert Tami Matthews for assistance with this article.

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