Lights, Camera, ACTION FIGURES!

Y'know what... thank god Playmates came along to drain my wallet now Eaglemoss has disappeared. I mean, what other Star Trek stuff would I have ended up buying? I dread to think.

The first wave of figures includes Saru and Burnham as seen in season one of Discovery as well as Picard, Riker and Data as seen from season three of TNG. Rounding out the eight arrivals we have a trio from The Wrath of Khan. There's Khan himself and, as we'll dive into here, Admiral Kirk and Captain Spock.

Now, while the TNG characters come in suitably retro '90's packaging, Kirk and Spock arrive in new styled boxes bearing the visage of each as well as the Star Trek Universe logo.

The boxes are nice to look at and well presented with each bearing a side tab to indicate who is in the box plus the usual blurb on the back insisting you purchase the other options available.

But these are never going to stay in the packaging in my house so don't expect this to be a hands off review in any respect. Let's take a look at Admiral James T Kirk for starters.

As with the TOS phaser, this is not going to give you Diamond Select levels of accuracy. For one the scale is significantly smaller but this in no way detracts from what is actually a decent reproduction of Kirk in his monster maroon uniform. 

Packaged up with a phaser, 23rd Century PADD and tricorder, Kirk is certainly ready for an away mission. The accessories themselves are just grey, unpainted moulded plastic although they do have a good level of detail so that is a positive.

The figure itself is really what we're here for. With 14 points of articulation there's not a lot you can't get him to pose for - that is if you can manage to keep the accessories from falling out of his hands.

The uniform is very well presented, including the rank pins on shoulder and sleeve as well as the service length pips and bars. There's the gold admiral trim along the front flap, the gold Com badge and belt buckle too for good measure. On the back we have the flap catch attached but missing the black centre of the xxxx. Again there's some minor painting issues around the black of the belt where it's been marked in over the base maroon colour. UPDATE: Thanks to the keen eyes of Marcelo Carvahlo though I am pointed towards one inconsistency - the flap should not extend around from above the delta - only from the centre line of the collar. WHOOPS Playmates!!!

Ok, some of the painting on these small details isn't exhibition level but let's just bear in mind that these are toys at their heart and are designed more of rough and tumble play than standing on display in a vacuum sealed case.

Everything is very posable - feet, hands, elbows and even the head can be moved fairly flexibly. Kirk's eyes do give me the creeps though as he's permanently giving a side stare. What I have noticed as well is that the physical features here are a lot less shiny and also much more in proportion to the bodies. One of the lasting memories I have of the original Playmates line is the oversized hands (bear with me on that one when we come to Spock) and larger than necessary heads. 

Likelihood was that they were larger to add in the needed refinements to distinguish Neelix from Chekov (extreme example) facially. Technology has certainly moved on with the figures now scaled more to their respective sizes so Picard for instance isn't as tall as Riker.

But back to Kirk before I digress once again. He also comes with a display stand which is a huge let down. The older stands had at least some detail and looked the part. This one is, in keeping with the accessories, just a moulded piece of grey plastic. However, if you're not using Kirk to battle Khan you'll want him attached to it or he'll be constantly falling over.

Then there's Spock. This is, unbelievably, the first Spock I've ever had as a figure and he infuriates me.

That's not logical I'm sure you'll be saying but for what reason did he have to be giving the Vulcan salute permanently?

Now I think this is a great reproduction and in the scale it's a marvellous recreation of Leonard Nimoy's features but that hand bugs me. The bodies (thanks again to Marcelo for pulling me up on this one) are also slightly different. Spock noticeably thinner while Kirk is more season three TOS than early season one!

Again there's some colour bleed where the base red is still visible on the rank and Starfleet emblem but I really do think they're as near as dammit when it comes to making this recognisably Spock. The eyebrows, the haircut and even the lines of the face are spot on. Thank goodness too that Playmates chose to go with a more focused gaze on the Vulcan than his superior.

Given that one hand is fixed into the Vulcan salute (which looks damn awkward when positioned), this means that only his left is available for accessory duty. With Spock there's a handheld scanning device and a clunky The Motion Picture/The Wrath of Khan tricorder but that's not the big draw.

In keeping with the theme of the figure Spock forgoes a phaser and receives the radiation suit gloves as seen towards the end of the second Star Trek movie as he valiantly tries to repair the Enterprise. 

Partially split towards the cuffs, the gloves do slide particularly well onto the figures hands and does, thankfully, cover that salute. One problem. However I look at it I'm thinking they're just a little too big, making Spock look like he's wearing two novelty foam hands. Worse, as one of my friends noted, he looks like he borrowed them from Sonic the Hedgehog.

It does force you to end up placing one of his hands behind his back if you're not a fan but it does also exude a certain Spock-ishness once you do. For note, the arm joints do seem to be a lot stiffer than the leg ones. When I was posing both of these the legs tended to try and head off in their own directions from hip, knee and ankle while it felt like trying to prize a Ferengi off latinum to move the elbows.

Ok, so it covers the hand and is a nice nod to the movie. It's also different because these are a lot softer plastic and  (shocker) in white with sliver highlights so they're fairly accurate to the movie. All you need now is a piece of plastic and you can recreate one of Trek's greatest scenes in miniature.

Reflecting on the more chunky 90's editions, these new Playmates figures are fair better proportioned and much more malleable than ever before. I'm not totally convinced if it's been 100% successful given the smaller heads but overall it looks to be an improvement and I'm keen to see how the line progresses. Surely the DS9 figures will be in the later uniforms? Will we get numerous Kirk variants? What about Enterprise? So many things to come as long as these first releases are a success... how could they not be? 

More Playmates reviews to come soon!

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Mr Spock's Little Book of Mindfulness

What with The Wisdom of Picard from Simon and Schuster, HeroCollector have also gone for something quirky in Mr Spock's Little Book of Mindfulness.

But don't go all out thinking this is some sort of in depth self-help manual because it's taken with a light-hearted approach right across from the words to the free-style illustrations which provide a very individual look to this new publication.

Running to just over 100 pages (116) and nine chapters, Glenn Dakin - recently involved with the brilliant Quibbles with Tribbles - has returned with a book to help us all be that little bit more Vulcan in our lives. 

Offering up advice and direction from the universe's most famed pointy-earred hobgoblin (just quoting McCoy peeps!), Spock's experiences in life are right at your finger tips should it come to Self-Acceptance, Truth (Vulcans always tell the truth nor do they bluff...honest), Family, Love, Change and more. But don't be taking this all too seriously because there is without question a very tongue-in-cheek approach to the writing and certainly the Quentin Blake-esque illustrations placing Spock in some less than logical and emotion-free positions. Every one has real life to it and doesn't fail to raise a smile - the enjoyment is turning the page to see what he'll be up to next. 

The research from Dakin is once more excellent with the author diving into not just The Original Series but probing into the furthest corners of The Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Country and past that into the realms of Discovery to uncover just the right words of wisdom and guidance from Spock. Nothing in here from the Kelvin Timeline which does make you wonder if anything from that path made any sense...!!!

Anyway, I digress slightly because not only does Dakin relate these quotes and sections to our everyday lives (Vulcans don't have social media...) but flips it all around to demonstrate that sometimes the logic isn't always perfect or works out as planned (the needs of the many...or the one) and cleverly weaves in a bit of a deep dive into Vulcan philosophy and their own background as a race including The Animated Series because hell, 

This is one of those books that seems to give in different ways each time I come back to it. I'd err on the side of reading a bit a day rather than piling through and taking in each section at a time as you will end up thinking back to particular episodes, instances and phrases - but don't worry if anything eludes you as Glenn Dakin has also included a handy quote reference section at the end which will align you to the right episode or movie for further details. 

Mr Spock's Little Book of Mindfulness is one of those volumes that sticks in your mind and not
just for the title. It can be a little whimsical in its narrative at times but the whole is such an engaging read with real love for the franchise permeating every page and word because Dakin manages to balance the line of keeping it tonally light while both honouring the legacy and poking that little bit of fun at the franchise with the twists and turns woven into Spock's story - for continuity fans you'll have a whale of a time I have no doubt. 

Being a Brit too means that, for me, the humour in here works that much more successfully than a good chunk of the jokes did in Lower Decks and for that, I can guarantee I'll be diving into this Little Book for many occasions in the future and hope to see more of Glenn Dakin's work be it the written word or cartoon very soon!

Mr Spock's Little Book of Mindfulness is available now from HeroCollector HERE priced £11.99

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SDCC - Discovery

You might be forgiven that Lower Decks and Picard overshadowed the news from the Discovery camp however it probably had more to announce than the other two combined.

As you may remember (SPOILERS) the crew have now jumped around 1000 years into the future to secure the data contained within Discovery's computers which will mark a major change in the direction of the show for its third season.

SDCC revealed that the crew may not have all ended up in the same place and that Terralysium wasn't their final destination. The cast itself will be adding David Ajala as Cleveland Booker who will be setting the cat amongst the pigeons (shake things up) with his arrival. 

Several new shots from filming in Iceland had emerged since SDCC but plot details other than the new arrival in the cast and that it's going to be in the far flung future have been kept a close secret. The only thing I can be almost certain of is that it'll pick up right after Such Sweet Sorrow since Burnham is still in the Red Angel suit.

That said, the Short Treks will be returning with six new adventures to bide us over until there's new Discovery. To our delight these will feature Pike, Number One and Spock with the trailer confirming this straight off. There will be three live action shorts featuring the trio plus two animated shorts and a final one which will spin into Picard.

Now it also appears that the two animated shorts will not be in the style of Lower Decks but will instead focus on Discovery to answer some questions left over from season two. The six announced titles are... 

The Girl Who Made the Stars

I'd suggest this is the one in which Pike is captured and attempting to escape. His cellmate seems to be a Starfleet officer too but is unwilling to help. More of the trailer is devoted to the following pair...

Q&A

Money's on this one being the Ensign Spock and Number One discussion in the turbolift. Trailer details for this show the pair stuck in the transport tube just as Spock comes aboard for the first time. All sorts of questions - what OS does the ship run and most importantly, does Number One like eggplant? I would see this as being the highlight of the six even if the stuck-in-alift trope is a very old and well used one. 

The Trouble with Edward

The trouble with...tribbles? Man-eating ones at that if the trailer is to be believed with a whole pile of them devouring an individual. One lab breach later and they're all over the ship featured although that doesn't seem to be the Enterprise as there's a different captain at the head of the conference table and this might be whom Pike is speaking to right at the end of the minute and a half clip compilation. There's some interesting shots in here - the floor of Tribbles in the corridor, a girl bizarrely devouring a small furry tribble...could be a first diversion into mild horror/comedy?

Ask Not

Possible animated short - no footage of either animated installment was shown.

Ephaim and Dot

As previous - suspect it's the other animated short.

Children of Mars

Might this be already filmed and ready to go as a tease in to Picard or is it going to be aired after season one closes out? Given the secrecy around the show I'd rather not put money on any option here.

The variety of the Short Treks is incredible, hopefully explaining loose ends, offering up new ways of telling Star Trek stories and even perhaps laying foundations for the next big thing from the franchise. They provide a snapshot of the universe and if there's anything to learn from the initial group of four we had during the Discovery season one/two gap, it's to expect the unexpected and that everything, no matter how insignificant or off the wall, might actually have a goddamn point for being there - even if we're categorically told that it doesn't!!!

What do you think to the new Short Treks and what would you like to see from them?

Catch up on our three SDCC 2019 posts HERE

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Press Reveal: The Red Angel S02 E10

Episode ten of Discovery’s second season is its most linear storytelling of the year.  

Focusing purely on the Red Angel narrative (as you might have guessed from the title), the episode kicks off with Airiam’s funeral and the revelation that it seems the enigmatic being appears to have exactly the same signature readings as Michael Burnham. 

Could it be that she and the Red Angel are, shock, horror, gasp, one and the same?!   From the fact that this is pulled from nowhere fairly early into the story you can immediately guess that this is ultimately the least likely explanation and luckily by the end credits we finally have an answer to this season’s greatest conundrum.   

But that;s not all. Section 31 are back but this time Leland and Georgiou return to Discovery to deliver a lot of damn important plot information in one especially big chunk. Seems that the Klingons were dabbling in time travel which prompted the Federation to have a go which in turn led to the recruitment of Burnham’s parents (specifically her mother) to work on their version of the project.   

It's a rather emotional hour for Sonequa Martin-Green this week since she has the loss of Airiam to cope with followed by the reopening of old wounds. Section 31's Leland is also more key to their murder than we had been told and cleverly this all brings Burnham’s story full circle back to her recovery by the Vulcans following the murder of her parents by the Klingons who were bent on recovering their time crystal. She plays it well, keeping it all in check but there are visible chinks in Burnham’s shell this time and a close encounter with Tyler then allows a lot of buried emotions we’ve not seen since last year return to the surface.  There's so much mistrust and discomfort in this episode it's a screaming example of a story that would never have happened in the days of Roddenberry; the conflict of Burnham and Tyler is just one element with the Stamets/Culber relationship also taking a beating and providing Georgiou with at least a minute of entertainment.

The Red Angel isn’t one of this season’s biggest highlights for me aside from the galactic reveal in the dying seconds. Why? Because it unloads a ton of exposition around time travel and future interference all in one truckload. While absolutely necessary for the show and to move the story forward it’s dropped in one slab about 15 minutes in and if you have any sense you’ll work out the twist in a split second. It is very, very talky since we as the audience have to be led from A to B to C and perhaps we are signposted and hand-held a little too much here. Could we not have spread some of the info dump over a couple of stories? 

Oh - and Project Daedalus? Yep, it's the Red Angel; a time travelling suit created by Section 31. Didn't see that coming however when it all unravels it's not actually that unexpected; it kinda makes sense.

What the crew do come to realise is that Burnham is the link to the appearances and when there’s not been an incident to deal with, the Red Angel has arrived in time to save Michael so she volunteers as bait in a trap to ensnare the traveller.   

The Red Angel does utilise the larger cast with great effect, allowing the underused Stamets and the regenerated Culber in much stronger positions. While Cruz’s doctor has been very out of the picture until his rescue from the mycelial network, Stamets seems to have been on the backfoot for a lot of the season potentially because the spore drive and in turn the network itself have barely been utilised in favour of the Spock storyline.

Episode ten is an exposition heavy piece for the first half, but when we arrive at the Project Daedalus test site with the plan to restrict and capture the individual within the Red Angel suit it does kick into a second gear.There's a technobabble heavy explanation of how this all happens involving micro-wormholes, tethers, forcefields and the like but nothing can prepare you for the final revelation of the episode. We were all wrong (or were we?) and when the deactivated Project Daedalus suit deposits its occupant on the deck its more than we could have expected.

Discovery's strengths are played on here with the main plot well developed and every main character getting some meaty scenes. Culber and Stamets are definitely well served but I'm concerned that Tilly is now just becoming comic relief and a caricature rather than a serious crewmember - I mean, would you have her serving on this ship because she's starting to seem like a liability and she has no idea of Starfleet etiquette at all. Did she go to the academy?!

The Red Angel does go as far as to answer one of the season's biggest questions yet with four episodes still to go we have the imminent apocalypse of the universe to contend with as well as finding out just why the occupant of the suit read as Burnham. I don't want to post the answer but it's got to be something to do with time travel hasn't it....?

What are your predictions for the end of season two? Drop them below and share our article to help add to the conversation.

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Final Tease for Season Two?

Another adrenaline-filled trailer has arrived for Discovery's second season making it look even more filled with action and adventure than ever before.

There is a great responsibility at hand

But is that a good thing and should we be getting excited over a season of Star Trek that has the potential to rock out more action, explosions and fast-frame cuts than ever before?

I'm torn between a rock and a hard place on this one because I really want to give Discovery the chance to impress but all we seem to be receiving is something akin to that infamous first Star Trek Beyond trailer that had us all questioning just what direction the Kelvin Timeline was heading. Luckily there were other teasers after that which reassured us it wasn't all Beastie Boys and big bangs but we're now awfully close to that January 2019 premiere date and these previews seem to be horribly devoid of any good, solid character moments - ironically something that the three (soon to be four) Short Treks have actually excelled at on every occasion.

The major additions in here are the discussions around the Red Angel and the appearance of the eight red lights at points in the galaxy which signify some sort of major event which can only be a Bad Thing if ever there was one. Is this the Borg returning? Absolutely not and I would like to think the Powers That Be are intelligent enough behind the scenes not to have to pull something like that - although I would believe that there will be a twist in here somewhere.

What do I have against this trailer? It's full of short quippy lines, soundbytes and pumped action sequences that make it look visually amazing but gives very little idea to the depth or quality of the story. Will this season betray the loss of Nicholas Meyer, Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg and even Bryan Fuller to the nth degree? Will it be clear who was guiding the boat towards the Star Trek philosophy? Will I be proved completely wrong and actually this is all just a damn fine piece of marketing to appeal to (yawn) the masses once again?

Surely Discovery isn't doing too badly with the announcement that season two is extended to 14 episodes plus all these new shows that keep appearing out of the woodwork to expand the catalogue.

So to this Red Angel and rather than analysing every frame yet again I want to pic up on a few pointers that come out of this latest set of sequences. I'm suspecting that the mention of canon and that the second year will answer a lot of questions intimates to me at least that the Red Angel has to be linked into the larger Star Trek universe in some way. Is this a creature from canon that we have already met and if so what is it? Rejac for instance?

Cue too shots of the season one interpretation of the Klingons (including L'Rell) engaged in either combat or a training regime but without any real context in this tease. Spot as well that we have both Admiral Cornwell and Lieutenant Ash Tyler reappearing for season two with the latter ending up back on the Discovery bridge in Starfleet combat gear.

So this Red Angel's appearance means that, so says Chilled Spock, "someone or something is going to end all sentient life in the universe." Now that's a tall order and clearly doesn't happen since everything is still around and lovely for The Original Series ten years later. Now I know this should be about the journey but that's a big ask to make the viewer wonder if the ultimate fate is going to happen or not - and you kind of know it won't. Is it Spock that we see at the beginning of the new trailer scribbling away on the floor of what might be an asylum?

This angel showed me an apocalyptic vision...someone or something is going to end all sentient life in the galaxy.

Also another line in there is Burnham's "looking glass" quip which suggests more universe-hopping for the Discovery but to where? Mirror Universe again or another spur in the Star Trek multiverse?

Also there's some shots hinting at a new enemy for the crew but if you flash back to previous trailers you'll quickly realise that this is Georgiou in full body and head armour. What does intrigue me with all this is how they've resurrected the Section 31 links that were hinted at right back at the beginning of season one and then seemingly left to dangle. What is the covert organisation's interest in the Red Angel and the prophecy that Spock unveils?

Captain; ten sentry ships on an intercept course!

What do these ships have to do with the Red Angel? The Klingons? Anything? What we do know is that they've turned up in every trailer so far is there must be some key point to their inclusion in the show - or maybe they're just in the first few eps...

Again the trailer ends with the smiling Spock but only after we see that there will be conflict between him and Burnham which will only be escalated due to his heightened emotional state which is spotlighted by Pike's closing remarks.

Is that a smile I see on your face?....Welcome to Discovery.

Sunk into the trailer we also have Saru out of uniform in several shots which could suggest more links back to his origins or some away mission that sees him in great peril plus there's a lot more of Tilly and Stamets dealing with a blob-like airborne mass that has appeared in all the trailers to date. At a point this substance seems to be inhabiting the newly promoted Ensign Tilly; might this be a link back to the mysterious blue glowing material that disappeared through her uniform at the end of the first season? Could there be some seasonal continuity going on here and might that have something to do with the micellial network.

Just to close out perhaps the weirdest elements do link into this arc of the narrative with the Discovery appearing through a wall or on some sort of three dimensional viewer in a blink and miss it sequence.

Season two comes across as being a lot more random and "out there" than we received with the first 15 episodes. It seems more experimental relying less on the established Klingons for its setup and this time exploring more intricate lore and characters (still no Sarek...?) from the franchise in a new and I would hope, fascinating storyline.

We have just a month to go until Discovery returns and I'm loving the fact that we have very little substance to what is coming. There are the bones of the story but I like the fact a lot is being left to interpretation to hype the anticipation for the new year.

What do you think season two holds for Discovery? Comment below, like and share!

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Tilly’s Runaway

The first 15 minute Short Trek landed at the beginning of the month shortly before a brand new Discovery season two trailer.

So why not combine them into one Super SKoST post? Why not indeed.

Being only a quarter the length of a ‘regular’ episode of Discovery, Runaway sees Ensign Tilly’s day take an unexpected turn when a strange alien interrupts her lunch.

Able to cloak herself, Po is a Xhean who is trying to escape her own world for some - initially - unknown reason. 

The whole look of the show seems to have experienced something of a minor revamp with the visuals of the Discovery herself plus those of the shuttlebay both from space and internal are a definite shift up in terms of quality. Even for a 15 minute tease, this really does mean business.

As promised, Runaway does indeed tell us a bit more about the character of Tilly with her facing a holographic communique from her mother professing her lack of support for her recently promoted daughter.

Runaway therefore seems to be examining the innate abilities of both Tilly and the stowaway Po who both doubt themselves and their capabilities. Tinged with a few moments of humour, this Short Trek offers a little action but ultimately is all about the interaction between Mary Wiseman and Yadira Guevara-Prip. 

The two are fairly different in demeanour but ultimately realise there's more in common between them than they might expect. The neat factor here is how Xheans are connected to their planet since both were born at the same time making their homeworld effectively their twin.

A steady story, there is a twist at the end to the tale but what I found was that I left watching this one thinking about how it will all link in to the bigger arc of season two - if at all?

Track through it and there are the references to Xhea's importance because of the dilithium mining and also because of Po's incubator which recrystalises the valuable fuel source. I can't see this being a throwaway line or piece of plot given how much emphasis there was placed on virtually every line and shot in season one of the show (so what were the black badges all about by the way....?).

I would think that there will be at least a reference back to this incident although how Po managed to stay totally hidden on Discovery and how Tilly managed to commandeer a transporter to send her back home is utterly flummoxing and probably best to ignore as a ridiculously big plothole.

Mary Wiseman is super-watchable in the Tilly role with all the quirks and nuances of her character back in the fore. The communique with her mother at the start probably tells us the most about Tilly because of the way in which the two relate. I believe it says a lot about how the newly minted Ensign behaves since her mother seems to be such a dominant, controlling and disapproving parent!

Runaway does exude quality ahead of the January 2019 return of the series. The crisp feel of the short and even the minor details such as Po's horizontally blinking eyes demonstrate that there's nothing being left to chance and everything is being fully realised. Everything must have a point!

Talking of having a point...we've all seen the latest trailer huh? Well for once I watched it and thought about whether or not there was much point spending hours pouring over every frame because, let's be fair, everyone is talking about the final shots of Spock replete with beard.

Starfleet is a promise. I give my life to you; you give your life to me. Nobody gets left behind

But there is actually more to this trailer than just the final few "oh my" seconds. As with the first trailer there's a lot more spacesuited antics from the crew and you can only hope that these exterior scenes are more in number than we saw in the first season. If you recall the trailers made a lot out of the space walks when there were only actually a couple of minutes focused on it (admittedly very key minutes...!).

Pike is a major focus for the trailer with him appearing both in command yellow and the Discovery uniform throughout the two minutes of footage. He's in command but how much of the ship will be left might be debatable since we have shots of Burnham carrying an injured Saru through the corridors as panels and lights explode around them.

What the trailer does tell us is that Discovery is being dispatched to find the source of seven signals which are spread out across the galaxy. Cleverly these signals have also been woven into the poster for the season and are linked not only to something called the "Red Angel" but also to Mr Spock. There will be a return for Mira Sorvino as Amanda since she is seen visiting Discovery and discussing Spock's adventures with his adopted sister.

This Red Angel would appear to be the centrepoint for the main story of the year and while there was speculation it might be the return of the Borg and maybe this figure is the Borg Queen I would strongly disagree since that would diverge the universe more rather than bringing it all neatly together as we have been told this second batch of episodes will attempt.

Now, one of the last things that we saw from season one was the cut scene of Mirror Georgiou being approached by a member of Section 31. It teased that the alternative version of the Shenzhou captain was likely to return and here (0.51 seconds in) she indeed does. Georgiou is in hiding or undercover, shifting her image from an alien to the visage of Michelle Yeoh - and that hint of Section 31 is back with (shocker) an insert of Yeoh holding the black badge - pay off - as well as her turning up, fully leather clad and honing her inner Intendant with Pike and Burnham on the Discovery.

Interspersed with the new clips we have more of the flying pods, more spacesuit walking thrugh alien ruins as well as that haz-mat style tunnel being led by some forms of aerial drones but it just gets better with two other things.

One is the shot of the Klingon D7 cruiser on a lovely green schematic for just a moment and the second is the return of the Klingons. 

Since Georgiou was last located on Quo'noS it makes perfect sense that we would end up back there. In a shot I spotted of Jonathan Frakes directing one of his two instalments this season, Shazad Latif was in shot which confirms his return to the show and here we know that L'Rell will also be back - but there are other Klingons in the mix too.

Suiting up and now with added hair it might seem from what we see in this trailer and it's incredible to think that adding just that one thing makes them look a lot closer to the image we have that was first introduced in The Motion Picture.

Making another first appearance in the Discovery era is Rebecca Romjin in command colours as Number One. A role filled originally by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry for The Cage, Romjin only gets a brief introduction on screen here but I am really intrigued as to how they will bring her into the story and for how long since we only see her in the Enterprise yellow.

So next question - what the hell is Stamets pulling out of Tilly with that giant gun thing? Is it related to the spot of liquid that fell on her in the closing scenes of season one? Will it all link back? Does it have any relevance to that mighty machine that the crew are standing around on a planet surface? Is that in turn linked to the Red Angel? 

Lots of questions raised in these two minutes and some only very briefly dabbed at with a few key shots. In fact the remaining minute of the tease is made up of more explosions and chasing through asteroid fields in the Discovery pods before the final big kick which is the reveal of an (shock horror gasp) unshaven Spock being awoken.

It's fair to say that fandom went into a bit of meltdown over this but really?! It's 2018 and we have to move on. Discovery is always going to be different...production values...scripting...look....smell...can we not just accept that it's not 1966 anymore?

Ethan Peck is going to be playing one of the youngest versions of Spock ever seen and who is to say what he's been going through and what's been happening since this an unknown portion of his life. This Spock is a junior officer, inexperienced and just beginning to make his mark. We'll almost certainly see quite a different Vulcan to that as portrayed by Nimoy or even Zachary Quinto.

In the trailer Spock is being transferred to a medical unit (to or from?) and being awoken from his sleep - but to what and for why is this all happening? For me the trailer only really throws up some big questions two or three times and relies on a lot of footage that must be from the first couple of shows.

Only the Red Angel suggests the link for the season that will draw the characters together - but what's it all about...?

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