The Problematic Gaze

Hello Gazers! This week we're boldly going where we've occasionally gone before: into the wonderfully strange universe of Star Trek. Following a recommendation from listener Fiona, we beam aboard the final episode of the original series, 1969's Turnabout Intruder, a story featuring body-swapping technology, interstellar jealousy, and gender politics that have aged about as well as a pint of milk left on the bridge of the Enterprise.Before tackling the episode itself, we explore Star Trek's fascinating journey from ratings disappointment to cultural phenomenon. Cancelled after just three seasons, the series found new life through syndication, conventions, devoted fandom, and enough influence to inspire everything from mobile phones to space exploration dreams.We then dive into Turnabout Intruder, in which Captain Kirk and former lover Dr. Janice Lester exchange bodies through a mysterious "life energy transfer." Janice's motivation? Her bitterness at being excluded from command opportunities in Starfleet because she is a woman. What follows is part science-fiction thriller, part gender commentary, and part accidental time capsule of late-1960s attitudes.Along the way, we discuss the episode's portrayal of female ambition, the persistence of the "hysterical woman" stereotype, echoes of the "mad woman in the attic" trope, and William Shatner's memorable performance choices once Kirk finds himself inhabiting Janice's body. We also ask whether the episode is critiquing sexism or simply reproducing it, sometimes in the very same scene.Thankfully, the conversation also celebrates Star Trek's wider legacy: its diverse casting, progressive social allegories, technological predictions, and enduring ability to inspire generations of fans. Because for every baffling decision made in Turnabout Intruder, there are a million reasons why Star Trek remains one of the most influential and beloved television franchises ever created.Set phasers to analysis. This one's a fascinating, frustrating, and very problematic journey into the final frontier.Click here to follow us on all our socialsDon't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.  And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Click here to listen to Dr Lee and Dave on the Everyone's A Little Queer PodcastHello Gazers! This week’s Problematic Gazette begins in the traditional fashion: with unexpected background noise, minor technical chaos, and the startling discovery that we had somehow planned our Pride Month content for July!!After owning our spectacular scheduling error, we discuss why Pride still matters in 2025. From rising homophobia and online "straight pride" arguments to the quieter burdens of shame that many LGBTQ+ people continue to carry, we reflect on why visibility, community and celebration remain as important as ever. Along the way, Lee shares a moving diary entry from Kenneth Williams written in 1966, whose observations about loneliness, identity and being reduced to a joke still feel painfully relevant today.Elsewhere, we discuss Russell T Davies' increasingly unsettling drama Tip Toe and explain why it feels less like fiction and more like a warning siren with a production budget. We also chat about our recent appearance on the Everyone's a Little Queer podcast and the conversations that followed.There are listener messages, fascinating chart trivia involving Abba Gold's seemingly immortal presence in the UK Top 100, and considerable excitement over Madonna launching Pride Month with a free Times Square performance and new music. Plus: more love for Rivals, an unexpected It's a Royal Knockout reference, and yet more evidence that popular culture is far stranger than either of us remembers.Happy Pride Month, everyone. Even if it took us a little longer than expected to realise it had already started.Click here to follow us on all our socialsDon't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.  And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Click here to watch along to our YouTube Party Playlist featured in this episode!Hello Gazers! Break out the bunting, inflate the balloons, and check the expiry date on the party snacks — The Problematic Gaze has officially reached its second birthday and 100th episode of our main show!Broadcasting live from the grand ballroom of PG Manor (capacity: two hosts and a worrying number of themed playlists), we celebrate the milestone with listener questions, musical memories, and a journey through a YouTube mixtape that quickly reminds us just how strange popular culture used to be. Along the way we revisit songs that somehow made it onto the radio despite lyrics about underage romance, obsessive surveillance masquerading as love, and enough cultural appropriation to keep a university seminar busy for a fortnight.The celebrations continue with a deep dive into controversial adverts from decades past, including chocolate campaigns that definitely wouldn't survive today's focus groups, aftershave commercials fuelled entirely by misplaced confidence, and drinks adverts that somehow became embedded in the national consciousness. As ever, nostalgia proves to be a dangerous place.We also answer Gazers questions about how we choose topics, our favourite and least favourite episodes, standout performers from the films and television we've covered, dream movie-night selections, and what our lives look like away from the microphones. There are quick-fire dilemmas, unexpected revelations, reflections on coming out across different generations, and a heartfelt discussion about why we started the podcast and the wonderful community that has grown around it.Plus: laughter, memories, occasional emotional sincerity, and enough birthday chaos to power us through the next hundred episodes. Thank you for listening, thank you for your support, and thank you for proving that being problematic is always better together.Click here to follow us on all our socialsDon't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.  And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello Gazers! With our 100th main episode and second birthday approaching faster than Dave can buy unnecessary items in Soho, this week’s Problematic Gazette is a gloriously unedited soundcheck special from PG Manor.As bunting plans reach critical levels, we dive into Netflix’s three-part Kylie Minogue documentary, covering everything from her Neighbours beginnings and chart domination to health battles, heartbreaks, reinventions, and the ongoing Tension Tour. Naturally, this leads to the sort of intense cultural analysis you’ve come to expect from two men who could happily spend an hour discussing Kylie’s catalogue.Elsewhere, we recount a lovely Soho catch-up with Matt Baume and an LGBT history tour, while Dave reports from the front lines of retail confusion and Dr Lee shares details of a late-night date followed by the inevitable consequences of being no longer twenty-five. We also reflect on the passing of Michael Keating and Judith Chalmers, discuss the indignities of approaching fifty, and compare notes on surviving a British heatwave armed only with caffeine and misplaced confidence.Plus: upcoming viewing plans including Star City, Ponies and SNL UK, praise for Race Across the World champions Joe and Kush, frustration at reports surrounding the Southport riots, and increasingly frantic preparations for the centenary celebrations. Will there be cake? Will there be bunting? Will either of us remember what happened in episode one? Tune in and find out.Click here to follow us on all our socialsDon't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.  And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello Gazers! As a heatwave hits the UK, we're getting HOT HOT HOT! We conclude Sex Month by sliding dramatically across the interrogation-room floor into 1992’s Basic Instinct — a film containing ice picks, cigarette smoke, deeply suspicious therapy ethics, and more uncrossed legs than Brighton Pride!This week we unpack Paul Verhoeven’s gloriously trashy erotic thriller, from its Hitchcock and noir inspirations to the infamous Sharon Stone interrogation scene that launched a thousand paused VHS tapes and at least three decades of cultural arguments. Along the way we discuss Michael Douglas once again playing a man who absolutely should not be trusted with police authority, the spectacularly chaotic sexual politics of the early 90s, GLAAD protests, and whether the film is genuinely subversive or simply what happens when several powerful men are left unsupervised with cocaine and studio money. There’s also a nostalgic Culture Corner dive into 1992 Britain, chart hits, and the end-of-series exhaustion that comes from spending four weeks analysing the male gaze while slowly becoming victims of it ourselves. Plus: ratings, disagreements, existential dread, and a tease for our upcoming 100th-episode birthday spectacular.Click here to follow us on all our socialsDon't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.  And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.