The Enterprise Project: Revell in the Progress (warning - there's not a lot)

She's out of the box, plastic has been debagged and I've started!

I'm hoping that this won't be a five year mission in itself but I've managed to make a mark on the building of the Revell USS Enterprise from Star Trek Into Darkness.

Nor is it a massive step forward but I'll be giving a proper (and videoed) update at the end of the week chronicling my venture into the world of plastic model construction.

So far I've only tackled the Revell 752 colour (or "G" as it's labelled on the instructions). While it's a great colour on pictures it goes on like water and starts setting like sticky glue in about five seconds. A second coat on all these parts is definitely required. Just wanted to assure everyone that I'm not avoiding it - I received all the paint on Father's Day!

Apologies for the use of Sunday tabloid newspaper here (left) but you might be able to see that I've painted the blue onto the inside of the nacelles and deflector dish rather than on the outside - there is method to this madness and I'll explain in the update video.

This week I'm hoping to have a lot of the white painted with at least one coat. I'm painting most of the parts while still on the sprues to avoid fingermarks although a couple of the bits (above) have come off of their own accord. I've also decided that not being the world class modeller that I would wish to be I will be painting the basic scheme which is probably what a lot of Star Trek fans who want the kit but haven't done something like this before will be intending to do. It did take a bit of time to find out which clear sections were to be painted in this electric blue shade. Just be careful as it can bubble if it goes on too thick or quick.

I doubt that during the painting phase there will be much drama however those are likely to be famous last words. I won't be rushing so don't expect huge leaps in progress. I want to get this right and give you a good story of the work as I assemble her!

The Finest of the Fleet: The Makings of a Great Starship

Should we rate Starfleets ships by the amount of firepower they pack and how big the explosions they cause are? In my opinion; No. There are better ways to measure a great craft and thanks to reading a recent piece on What Culture, I think I'll take up the challenge and have a look...

The article in question, while massively overusing the word "badass" did make me think of a couple of things as I clicked through the pages. While I have mixed feelings about the choices on the list, it got me thinking about what makes a great starship? Is actually being "badass" such a great thing when referring to Star Trek which, fundamentally, is supposed to be about exploration, seeking out new life and boldly splitting infinitives for five years (or three if you get axed)?

What makes a starship something that you look forward to seeing on the screen in an episode or a movie? Is it firepower that makes them memorable or is it something they did or were involved with that makes them simply awesome.  I've run down some examples to help me along the way to see if we can access the greatest starships in the history of the Federation (that we know of).

Straight away lets get back to our roots as there can be only one "great" design if we're honest with ourselves. That honour has to go to the original Matt Jeffries designed Constitution Class vessel that took the crew through 79 episodes of The Original Series. It's the design that influenced everything after it. The basic principles would be revamped in the movie era Enterprise as well as the later Excelsior, Ambassador and Sovereign Classes, to some degree the Galaxy Class and even in the style that formed the basis of the USS Vengeance in Star Trek Into Darkness. Of course JJ Abrams would have the original updated as the central vessel for the 2009 reboot just for good measure proving just how important that style was to the franchise.

It's a brilliant concept that also brought about the transporter to avoid landing her among other things. It was the backbone of Starfleet throughout The Original Series (namely because it cost less to reuse the model or buy kits from AMT) and survived a few fairly lethal encounters. Whatever generation of Star Trek we're watching there's always something in the styling of a Starfleet vessel that brings you back to the beginning. Impressively the upgrade that the class received in the movies made it even better many would argue, confronting even more serious threats from the Reliant and Khan and later a cloaked Klingon Bird of Prey. Inside the style of the bridge reflected the slightly militaristic direction of The Original Series and the films where reds and whites were replaced with metallics and greys - with the exception of Star Trek V which looked as though the Enterprise had jumped about 75 years of decorating evolution. A true classic and an icon of science fiction. There's one in the fleet museum y'know (Relics) so it must be important!

While it is physically similar, the Excelsior Class we first saw ready for field tests in The Search for Spock is truly one of the landmarks of the whole of the franchise. While the Constitution Class bowed out in The Undiscovered Country "The Great Experiment" would become the 24th Century workhorse as the Constitution Class had in the 23rd. It would show up in numerous episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine as well as three movie appearances. The last of these, with some additional bodywork, would be as the Enterprise-B. Altered so as not to damage the fabric of the original Excelsior model, this silhouette would  only appear again in the Deep Space Nine episode Paradise Lost as the USS Lakota. 

Minus the controversial transwarp drive it turned out to be a pretty decent starship and hinted at the shapes of things to come with its larger, more streamlined hull and advances in technology. In her day the Excelsior Class was the sign of the future and the first in the chain to link the designs of The Next Generation to The Original Series.

Staying with a theme, the Enterprise-D chalks up on my list not because of its design but because of its purpose. The shape of the ship harks back to the classic saucer, secondary hull and nacelles that both the Excelsior and Constitution classes displayed but they were flying in more hostile times when the threat from the Klingon Empire and other species was a lot more severe. Times changed and the Galaxy Class reflected this. The smoothed styling belayed a certain calmness in the fleet but inside was the clear distinction that made this a seminal Starfleet craft. Reflecting the more explorative and apparently less dangerous nature of The Next Generation, families were now onboard and the ship was designed around more luxurious desires and requirements. Effectively a spacebourne city where its crew wanted for nothing it mirrored the time in which it was designed in the real world - the 1980's and the affluence of the period. Fitting that it's replacement would be a much more compact battleship as the 1990's evolved and in the Star Trek universe the threats that appeared to have faded away returned and new ones arrived. 

The Galaxy Class was limited in numbers. According to early reports and the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual there were only six constructed but over the years we would see more than that number in the battle scenes of Deep Space Nine alone. To date we've seen Enterprise, Yamato, Odyssey, Venture, Challenger (Timeless) and there must be a Galaxy somewhere. According to Memory-Alpha there are 10 Galaxy Class ships in the battle to retake Deep Space Nine featured in Sacrifice of Angels which suggests the initial six were supplemented at some point with another batch of at least seven. Looking back, the class was far from perfect, suffering shield failures, dodgy holodecks, warp core breaches and three of the class ended up destroyed in the space of seven years - and if it was such a safe universe with a ship for exploration filled with husbands, wives and children for the long journey ahead why would you need to make it separate in two and have a Battle Bridge? Would you want your kids on here given the safety record?! 

Anyway, it seems that the realisation that families in space was not a good idea with the Galaxy Class vessels used to act as lead ships for battle groups in the Dominion War. This belays that they could easily be switched to different roles however their styling continued to announce that this was not their best suitability. A factor that the Sovereign Class clearly mirrored in its more military, minimalist, family-free concept. The reason for omitting that class? It's an evolution of form and also the Sovereign Class never really had anything unique about it in the big scheme of things - and can you recall ever seeing a second ship of this class on the screen?

The Constitution Class is a great because of its classic and influential design, Galaxy Class opened up the path to long exploratory missions but if we were to look back at the blog which inspired this piece, I would have to agree that the USS Defiant is definitely a "badass" - and I promise that's the last time I'll use that word here. Simply an awesome ship that went against every single concept of design and form that the Enterprise of the original show had laid down and started from scratch. It was compact, heavily armoured, fast, overgunned and overpowered and built for war. Cleverly a line of dialogue in The Search, Part I covered that minor issue, noting that the Defiant had been built to counter the Borg threat and had been mothballed once it had passed. It's firepower was soon on show and totally different to anything before. 

The phasers punched holes in the opposition from the first time she decloaked in anger and the Defiant also received quantum torpedoes to deal with whatever came in its way. There would be at least two other escort-class vessels seen in Deep Space Nine - the Valiant and the Sao Paulo which would be renamed as the Defiant when the original was destroyed by the Breen. It came close to an equally strong pummelling at the only encounter it ever had with the enemy it was designed to beat - the Borg. For me this is one of the ultimate starship classes. Unique, unusual and one of the selling points that made the third Star Trek series a cut above.

If we're sticking with unique, the USS Prometheus was certainly that. Featuring in just one episode of Voyager and also glimpsed in the final shot of the final episode of the final season of the same show, I would add it to the list of great starships because, like the Defiant, it pushed the boundaries. The quad-engines were nothing new because we'd seen them before on the Stargazer in The Battle during The Next Generation's first season and neither was the more elongated shape. Aside from the fact it managed to get stolen by the Romulans it's the only Starfleet ship that can split into three distinct vessels during Multi-Vector Assault Mode. The Enterprise-D could separate into a battle section and a saucer section lifeboat but these three ships were all controlled from the bridge of the primary hull. The bridge was somewhat spartan in comparison to other Starfleet vessels but additional sets were never the most detailed or "crewed" during the TV shows. The fact Message in a Bottle was one of the finest Voyager episodes certainly helped ensure that this would be a highly memorable ship that remains utterly unique across over 700 episodes. 

Talking of Voyager I begrudgingly have to add it to this list of the best starships in Star Trek's history. Why? It adapted. Over the seven seasons the Intrepid Class ship was stranded in the Delta Quadrant it underwent some serious modifications, gained a super-shuttle and got blown to smithereens more than once. Let's not forget that Voyager was a test bed for a lot of new technology including bio-neural gel packs, variable geometry (folding) warp engines which, apparently, meant that it could get away with going above that clumsy, plot-killing Warp Five Speed Limit and received the odd Borg upgrade along the way. Not only did the ship end up with Borg alcoves in a cargo bay but also used the technology to develop an astrometrics lab. The ultimate upgrade however had to be the ablative armour and transphasic torpedoes she received in Endgame. 

Small she may have been but Voyager did well to survive seven years in the wilderness and encountered situations that even a Galaxy or Sovereign Class ship might have cowered at. Add to that time travelling  the odd fleet of Borg cubes, being stolen or boarded and even facing off against another similar Starfleet vessel, the Equinox. Voyager actually hints at the future designs of Starfleet vessels (which the Equinox and Enterprise-E also indicate) - more compact, efficient, saucer and secondary hull directly connected without the "neck" section. Certainly more sleek than its predecessors but still able to pack a punch the Intrepid Class . Also it had the neat trick of being able to land which almost trumps the ability to separate into lots of bits. For adaptability there can be no question that this class and one lone ship in particular easily win. They probably also win the award for losing the most shuttlecraft ever.

So there we have a fairer selection perhaps - a legendary design, the workhorse of the fleet, the explorer, the warship the one-of-a-kind and the Boy Scout starship. Each includes features which mark it out against the rest and also are present in many respects in later vessels - especially in the form of the Constitution Class. These vessels in my opinion are the best examples of Starfleet design and operation across the whole franchise. I had considered adding the Steamrunner Class in here just because from a design point of view it's a complete break from anything else. No other ship even comes close to its design but aside from that and appearing in a few battles in the background it's not made its mark. Surprised I didn't include the NX-01? While it was "the first" it's design in the Real World was due to the nature of the original Enterprise of Kirk's era and therefore I skipped it. Sorry if you were looking for it!

I would have liked to include the Dauntless due to its quantum slipstream drive and just cool design but that wasn't really a Starfleet vessel (grrr) although it pretended to be. The Vengeance was a beast in every sense of the word and considering how much it was lauded it lasted barely an hour of screen time before taking a plunge to Earth. That's not good in terms of future development!

Again though you can see the design links which would "suggest" the Starfleet heritage of the Dauntless in her lines and even while stupidly big, angular and overgunned, the Vengeance is merely an adaptation of the alternative universe rethink of the original Constitution Class design. In comparison to the ships on the blog that inspired me, I think this is a better reflection of abilities, function and style rather than focusing solely on how much firepower a ship has which was not the point of Star Trek. Hopefully I have provided a good range of the "greats" and why they stand out above the rest.

So is there a class or ship I've missed that had a big impact on the Star Trek universe and deserves a place here? Is there one I've missed or is this a fair reflection on the various incarnations of the franchise?

So Who Were You Again? (2)

The second in our series of cast legends is a man who stands within one of the rare breed of actors.

Thomas Kopache is not the most obvious addition to this Hall of Fame but he does so in style. He is one of the Ultimate Elite who have acted with every single generation of the franchise. Active in the Star Trek universe between 1992 and 2004, Thomas Kopache is a true veteran of Trekdom.

For the third in this series I'm potentially looking at covering two actors who appeared in two/three roles each on one slide. Not sure how that'll work out but I'll have a go!

A Certain Continuity: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Six

I've come to the end of the sixth year of The Next Generation. One to go.

With season five I managed a few episode pieces but time and Star Trek news have been against me which meant only Schisms and Chain of Command were given a run out in blog form. With my attention turning to the 1993/94 season very soon, I'll be using that time to reflect back on some of the things and themes that made the series tick for me over the course of 178 episodes.

But for now let's look at the last 26 episodes that I've powered through, accompanied in my watching by my one and a bit year old son. Start 'em early....

While the fifth year turned experimental and delved into some quite personal issues as well as coping off-screen with the death of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, I was never the greatest of fans. At the beginning of the sixth season the first two episodes originally left me incredibly cold and worried as to where the year was going to be heading. Time's Arrow had provided a thrilling conclusion but the season opener was a massive comedown from all the set up of the previous year. Indeed, there had been a lot of escalation and only 45 minutes to conclude the story which could maybe have done with a third part to ensure that it didn't come across as rushed as it did. While on the re-watch it's not a bad episode it's not the way you would hope to start a season. It's very convenient and when Data turns up as if by magic I still find myself cringing. 

While a return to Realm of Fear made me realise it's not as hokey as I first thought, it's not until Relics that we see any sign that this season has promise. I would go as far to say that not since season two had I experienced such a mediocre start to a year of The Next Generation. Relics is undoubtedly one of the classics of The Next Generation's entire run and a personal favourite. It is still the only episode of Star Trek I have ever watched more than once in the same day. Schisms isn't a high profile episode yet it does manage to reaffirm the average nature of the early season with True Q, Rascals and The Quality of Life close by doesn't help. Now I'm not saying they're rubbish, just less than you would expect from a show that's heading into its sixth series.

Maybe the point that this is the first season completely without the influence or guidance of Gene Roddenberry; how would the final two years have turned out if he'd still been around to oversee (and would we ever have seen Gambit make it past draft status?!). When you look at the quality you might question what had happened in the hiatus because it's a very slow start as though the show is trying to reaffirm itself with the Scotty driven Relics as the head and shoulders above those first dozen-or-so episodes. It's a different tack and that's more evident when you read the season notes in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion by Larry Nemecek. The opening of the sixth season was designed to be more experimental and away from the "soap opera" of the fifth. Sadly time constraints meant that they had to produce the latter half at speed and waiting for stories to develop wasn't an option. Odd because I actually think that once the series bedded down and had the pressure of deadlines to meet it becomes a much better and more concentrated animal producing some superb installments and much more watchable TV. Experimental is good but the early part of this year might be just pushing that boundary even for Star Trek. Perhaps it's something to do with retaining that "believable" factor. Also notable after only a few episodes is the sudden absence of Alexander, Ro and Guinea who all vanish after Rascals. In fact so does Keiko so this appears to be some sort of midseason send off of sorts  

While the stories themselves at this stage might not have been making waves there was a lot more going on within them. Character development seems to take a Moon-sized leap. Secondary characters such as Dwight Schultz's stammering Barclay get flesh to their transporter-phobic bones and while Man of the People is easily contender for worst episode of the season it gives Troi a decent level of screen time not being overshadowed by her mother and giving the Betazoid something more to do than sit at Picard's left hand or worry about some kid's feelings. A Fistful of Data's also allows Sirtis to spread her wings a bit and when not restricted to the role of counsellor she really gets to shine - i might as well add Face of the Enemy in here too since its all about Troi and adds weight to that exact point. This experience comes in more than useful by season's end and the visit to the time frozen Warbird in Timescape. She's an expert, don't you know. 

When Marina gets some space she's more than capable of running with it. The more you think about it, doesn't it become apparent that this is Troi's best year? Character development and finally her own Starfleet uniform courtesy of Captain Jellico in Chain of Command can't be such a bad thing - add to that it's a Lwaxana-free year and things are definitely on the up.

I've talked about Chain of Command previously in Some Kind of Star Trek so I won't go over it again suffice to say it's one of the stronger two-parters in The Next Generation most likely helped by being mid-season rather than having its conclusion unwritten before the return from holiday. This re-watch even made me review my grumbles with the later Birthright duo which we'll come to in due time however I seem to be getting well ahead of myself here!

While the previous year had been about hitting some big moral issues, the writing staff appear to refocus here and look at the existing crew in more depth than ever before. The above shows how much breathing room Troi was appreciated and Worf, likewise gets to be our guide into the Klingon culture both in the Birthright two part story and the later Rightful Heir. What this second one shows is that continuity was being honoured and events were not being seen as one offs as soon as the Enterprise left orbit. Ship in a Bottle also carried this theme with the return of Moriarty from season two's Elementary, Dear Data. It also had an absolutely brilliant twist that even when I see it now still gives me a smile. This second appearance from Holmes' nemesis and Daniel Davis is definitely well overdue (and allegedly because of legalities with the Conan Doyle estate).

The distinctly dodgy Aquiel doesn't quell too many fears (but still not going to beat Man of the People) that this isn't holding up as a season; don't tell, but the dog did it. It's not until the Troi-centred Face of the Enemy that we really see the year finally finding its feet. A good story, Sirtis at her best chewing out a Romulan commander and genuinely being in danger for once. What this makes you realise is perhaps how gimmicky those early shows are in the '92-'93 season - just think back to how many of them seem like "neat" ideas - transporter has creatures in it, crew turned into kids, holodeck malfunction - or reliant on past characters (Scotty, Q, Barclay, Moriarty). Was there a genuine concern that they had nothing new on the boards? Continuity is a big factor - Face of the Enemy references Ambassador Spock's underground movement and Tapestry finishes off the story first mentioned back in season two's Samaritan Snare which led to Picard to gain his artificial heart. Later episodes would open up old romances (Troi and Riker in Second Chances) and the return of both the Borg and Data's brother, Lore at the end of the year. Rightful Heir even manages to link back to Birthright and that's only a few stories distant.

This unexpected second visit to the Enterprise by Q is probably his best outing since Q Who? . With the withdrawal from such heavy handed themes and stories that we experienced at this point in the previous year it does seem that the cast are enjoying themselves a lot more with their characters. We learn a lot about Picard here as well as in Chain of Command although it's a more somber affair there with four lights. That brings us to the Birthright tale which, even though it's better than I remember still gives me one niggle - it's a two part story yet Data's dream programme is only worth building on in the first 44 minutes?! I remember hoping that the conclusion would expand on the speech his vision of Soong gives and we got nothing....and we had to wait until Phantasms (personal favourite) in the following season to get any kind of next step in the story. That would be the second and last time we'd get to experience the wonders of Data's sleeping state for ourselves. This was a great departure for the character and I'm surprised that it wasn't expanded on further. The remainder (more accurately the majority) of the two-parter is Worf 100% and importantly one of the biggest episodes to talk about the background of the Klingon people while also fleshing out some of the security chief's background. In fact it's another instance of series continuity as we're reminded of the Khitomer Massacre - the first reference since Redemption I think. In the 90's it wasn't something that captured my attention but now I can see the value of the story and how it strengthens the character of Worf.

Talking of character strengths - if Tapestry wasn't a step in the action direction for Picard then Starship Mine certainly was. As well as being Tim (Tuvok) Russ' first Star Trek appearance it's The Next Generation's blatant take on Die Hard. As an adventure installment it's great for the captain to get something to do and for the senior staff to also be placed in a seemingly impossible position. Commander Calvin "Hutch" Hutchinson provides a memorable, if short-lived guest role as well as providing Data with an excellent opportunity to explore "small talk". Picard gets a good run at the end of the season with Lessons next up and the captain getting the girl - and Beverly a few uncomfortable conversations along the way. It could well have descended into major chintz but the story remains sensible with a real threat to the romance where you're not too sure if everything will come right in the end. Just to juxtapose the position though against Kirk, it's Commander Daren who chooses to ditch the relationship rather than Picard. Perhaps his second life/death episode with Q earlier in the season had a profound effect on Jean-Luc?! While we're at it, it's amazing what a movie budget can do to your stellar cartography department...!

While Lessons gives us a lighter breather, he's back cruising the universe in The Chase looking for clues. Certainly an episode that raises the temperatures of many a Star Trek fan with its explanation of why so many races look the same, The Chase brings Romulans, Klingons and Cardassians together for what was, at the time a rare occasion - by the time we got to the end of Deep Space Nine seven years later such an occurrence was all but common place each week.

It's only towards the end of the season that Riker gets some screen time with two outings nearly as the "Picard Trilogy". Frame of Mind and Second Chances are securely focused on the first officer and are far from easy episodes for the XO. He's trapped in the prison of his mind and then upstaged by...himself. Can't be good and how he's not been committed by the end of season six is a hard question to answer. While we're seeing all these returning plotlines and familiar characters season six remains firmly encroached in the arena of good characterisation and interesting stories rather than taking a step onto its soapbox and moralising. 

One character I do feel sorry for is Beverly. Still to tackle the "interesting" ghost tale that is Sub Rosa she gets her nose put out of joint by Commander Daren, plans to resign during the incident with the metaphysical shielding in Suspicions and then to add insult to injury she's on the business end of a Romulan disruptor in Timescape. We all thought Geordi got a bad deal sometimes. This is one of my favourites of the year and got watched a lot when I was younger. I'm always amazed that this is the single The Next Generation episode to feature a runabout and that the rear section used here was never seen in Deep Space Nine for which it was built on this show's budget. It's classic Braga and must have been a nightmare to film considering the temporally-twisted plot. Who can forget the bizarre moment of Picard drawing a smiley in the smoke of a warp core breach?

Season six is a much better slice of The Next Generation than the 26 episodes standing on either side. Not brimming with classics it does manage to bring two memorable nemeses in the form of the Borg and Lore. Indeed, this is almost the perfect way to end the season that we're already noted brought back a lot of The Next Generation's recurring characters. The reintroduction of the Borg through the opening of the sealed door was just brilliant and at this time we didn't know that these individual Borg were Hugh's fault. Data's exploration of emotion is long overdue but it's certainly not the approach he might have hoped for and the second part would only emphasise the darker side of the android's nature. As a season cliffhanger it ticks the boxes but just as with Time's Arrow, it would be tragically let down by a poorly conceived conclusion. When the Sons of Soong join together, you damn well expect them to at least bother the Federation at the least... Rewatching this season i recalled the excitement i felt when I first saw it around 20 years ago. It's lost none of its appeal and has probably gained a little bit over time. There's a good mix, only a couple of clunkers that you can easily get past and a bulk of high quality material that I think has aged well and was great to experience in full this time around. How the final batch will stand in comparison I will find out shortly. Let's hope it's faired just as well...

So Who Were You Again?!

This is a first attempt at anything like this so I welcome all feedback!

While I was watching an episode from The Next Generation recently I realised that there are so many actors who have appeared in multiple episodes we just don't remember who they are, when they appeared, what happened to them or where they showed up next. This made me get out Excel and start cataloging these repeat offenders across time, series and episodes to bring the ultimate guide to their not so subtle reappearances. It's a bit of fun and is intended for simple information and reference as well as a learning curve for me.

I'm intending this as a series within Some Kind of Star Trek with one a week to highlight some of those great returning cast members and who better to start with than one of the more prominent who managed to work with four casts and play three different races over a period of 20 years (and counting).

As I said, I'd welcome any feedback on this format as I'm hoping it will evolve over the course of time through additional input and some self-taught lessons on content and aesthetics! For the record it's Eric Pierpoint showing up in Liasions that spurned me on to produce this series. You can blame him with pleasure!

Profile picture from Memory-Alpha

Go Figure: Kirk and Spock in Action

Kirk and Spock are certainly getting a good airing in the last few months and you have to suspect that Star Trek Into Darkness has something to do with it.

Alongside the  "Kirk vs Khan" and "Spock and Horta" sets, come two more posable action figures from the ever impressive Diamond Select Toys range with these two available as 7-inch TRU-exclusives. It seems that the toy giant is getting a good deal from Diamond Select recently as they are also carrying a special range of the Legacy Minimates that we featured recently. Here's the extract of information from the press release:

"...Kirk and Spock each feature ball-jointed necks and shoulders; pivots at mid-bicep, wrist, waist and mid-calf pivots; and hinged elbows. As with the upcoming Star Trek Select versions (referring to the Kirk/Khan and Spock/Horta sets), the hands, heads and legs are interchangeable between figures, allowing for greater variety in posing. Each figure comes with an exclusive terrain base, and the two bases fit together to form a continuous display..."

Effectively these are the Kirk and Spock figures from the diorama sets minus bases and settings but we can hope that if these great collectibles are a success there will be more in the pipeline - so get buying!

You would think that the 20th anniversary of Deep Space Nine for one would provide a great window in which to release some more figures and expand on the limited range that hit shelves a few years back and I'm crossing fingers that the comment in the press release above is an indication that this will happen. I for one would love to be able to stand a Garak, a Weyoun and a Jem'Hadar next to my Sisko, O'Brien, Worf  and Martok. Voyager certainly could do with a range of figures from Diamond Select and with all the current hype when would be a better chance to highlight the quality of their range? I suspect this is just driving me towards a piece on my small collection of figures. One to stick onto the calendar!

Ok - also we've been given (unusually) the packaging shots as well for the new pairing and it's standard issue. although it only mentions these two figures. Again, this makes me think that we could get a full set of the original crew before they expand to other series with the packaging limited and designed around these two just in case sales don't hit projections. As a side thought we did have Picard standing astride a downed Borg recently which could be a water-testing release to see if there's still life in  The Next Generation.

Considering how much focus there is on the classic crew of either Roddenberry or Abrams universes it would mean they don't have to take a massive leap initially. The notable absence of the three subsequent series could make you think that there isn't that much faith in the Star Trek universe as a product line across all its incarnations but Diamond Select are welcome to prove me totally wrong and I hope they do however there are no immediate plans for more figures after those pictured here, the diorama sets, and Picard.

So look for both figures now in Toys R Us stores across North America (yep, if you're in the UK once again we're not getting them) and find them soon on toysrus.com!

Star Trek: VHS: A Trekollections Curveball (Part I)

In the days before DVD and blu-ray, there was but one way in the UK to get your quickest fix of Star Trek.

VHS videos from CIC were that answer, Two episodes per cassette with, more often than not in the case of The Next Generation, a blurry shot or three from the featured episodes on the case, a brief bit of story blurb and cleverly a lot of the two-parters were split over two volumes to ensure maximum spending and much reduced shelf space if you were only buying select episodes. Now these were also the days when the season would air in the US in September/October and the first VHS cassette would arrive on the shelves of Woolworths, Boots or WH Smiths in February the following year. In today's media savvy world where you can expect the latest episode the following - of not the same - day as it's aired in the States to be on SKY that's just unbelievable. How did we manage and without the internet to get a fix?!

We just did! That's the answer! 

Being a teenage student when The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager were being released my budget was finite. My first foray was actually the 25th Anniversary box set of the first five films and the 25th Anniversary Special but what I really want to focus on is the wonderful material that presented itself with the series releases as featured above. I never bought any of the Original Series video releases because I'd seen a lot of them on terrestrial TV. I would eventually get some of the 60's series on the re-releases which, if you got the full set, read "We are the first to reach this far..." which I believe is a Spock quote from The Corbomite Maneuver. The rear of each tape carried three stills and episode details and was nothing spectacular. To start me off, probably unintentionally, my grandparents bought me Encounter at Farpoint and some of the first season before I got started on expanding the collection myself. 

Now don't get me wrong, DVDs and blu-rays are a far sight cheaper - £12.99 for two episodes on VHS vs 26 episodes for £12 on DVD is a no-brainer really - but there was a certain anticipation about getting down to the shops and seeing the latest releases. Oddly I'm not looking at the episodes themselves here but the box they came in. They were magnificent examples of 80's, 90's and 2000's art. The Next Generation effectively followed the theme set by the Kirk and co. era. Simple box art accompanied by a shot taken from one of the featured episode on the front, two more stills on the back from Story A and Story B with some microscopic synopsis of each into the bargain. Each VHS box was numbered from 1 to 89 and this number coloured to reflect the series it was from (I recall season one was white, three pink, six red and seven orange).

When you look at each first volume from each of the seven seasons (and All Good Things...) you start to see minor changes - Riker gets a beard drawn on for season two, Crusher is replaced by Pulaski and then reappears for season three, Troi gets a new hairdo, Geordi, Worf and Wesley get some new clothes. Season three sees the uniforms gain collars and Beverly gets a new picture. For the fourth season, Guinan appears and Wesley changes into his ensign uniform. Season five means Picard changes into his captain's jacket ensemble, Data gets a picture change while Alexander and Ro also squeeze into the picture. Troi also gets a costume change to grey. Season seven maintained the picture but for the final volume everyone (who was still alive) got their older versions featured on the cover - definitely the early days of photoshop and I remember being shocked at how bad it looked.

Don't get me wrong, it was exciting to get to the shop to see what was featured on the box and what clues you could work out from the stills but some of them were just bad. The worst offender was the season one volume which featured The Last Outpost - someone forgot to pick the image with the blue screen edited to the swirling atmosphere of the alien world Riker is standing on...! Another classic blunder had to be the cover for Descent which totally gave away the big cliffhanger. Well done, CIC. It also seemed they got the blurriest of screenshots possible to produce the videos but in the 80's and 90's it was all about working out what might be happening...!

When  the series was re-released I didn't purchase any of the volumes which had four episodes per cassette (that's a lot of fast forwarding to get to the one you want to watch if it's the last one!) and the box art was more graphic artist than photo as seen here with the first volume of the show. While more expressive of the stories contained and less reliant on a headshot which was a favourite of the original run, they just seemed a bit wrong, outdated and out of place. 

While I was having a sort out I also found two magazine/flyers for one of the box sets that pervaded The Next Generation universe following its departure from TV in 1994 (there was also a Data box set I have failed to mention). Of all the series that came and went, this was probably the one most plundered for VHS re-releases over the years after. There is a second - the compressed movie box set - shown here but it was a dire release which meant that the even numbered films were all second on the tapes aside from First Contact which got its own volume. Bad planning there! Anyway, this set focused on two episodes from each of the main cast as a celebration of 10 years of the show (1997). There are a couple of clunkers in here to fill up the space but on the whole this is very much a best of The Next Generation. As with a lot of the special editions it seemed to be more about shifting boxes than it was about presentation (see the movie box set here for additional proof). Very basic packaging and artwork with non of the splendour we were seeing at this time on Deep Space Nine. Also note the error on the Riker volume - the second episode was The Pegasus and not a second helping of The Next Phase! What you did get extra was a Patrick Stewart documentary. On that I can't comment as I've never seen it but I doubt it was directly linked to the series. Please don't try and order as I suspect the lines have been closed for a couple of years at the very least...

When Deep Space Nine came along it was a big change. Gone were the dodgy headshot stills from the episodes, replaced by classier shots of the crew (for season one) blended with the wormhole and a third of the eponymous space station. Beyond the Final Frontier and From the Makers of The Next Generation were the accompanying slogans which almost seemed to be begging you to purchase them and seemingly apologising for their nature in the same phrase. Anyway, this wasn't everything that was great about the Deep Space Nine cases. The backs now carried a cast shot of the crew and the movie style Starfleet delta badge (to season three) alongside the two episode synopses. An additional piece and something I had a list of a while back in more annoraky days, was a quote from one of the episodes. I can only now remember "It is the unknown that defines our existence" from Emissary. Not bad after 20 years mind. That wasn't the end to it though.

Each of the Deep Space Nine volumes was more than just a cover. When all the volumes were lined up from Emissary to What You Leave Behind there was one long scene that featured planets, ships and the station. Cracking open the case, each box also featured a character profile of someone starring in one of the two featured stories including some minor stats on first appearance and stardates. Emissary and Way of the Warrior however were different - the former was also released with a special ten page collectors booklet while Worf's arrival was marked by not just a fundamental design change but also a foldout cover with information on the Klingons and Cardassians. There seemed to be a lot more thought in the design of these sleeves and the whole experience of getting new Star Trek, even down to some of the rather poor posters you could collect tokens to buy during the season (three and four mainly) or sign up to the newsletter which provided news on upcoming releases (I'll talk about them next time).

Seasons one to five added stardates to the front of every case, some of which were made up as not every episode included one, leading to Our Man, Bashir being held on 49300.7 (work it out!). Aside from the random switch to season/volume numbering from The Search, the design remained very similar for six years bar a change in the angle of the station and shades of blue/black/grey around the featured character. The back too remained the same on the whole although the cast photo was updated and the film era badge (odd choice to begin with) was replaced by the First Contact combadge. Season six saw the removal of the stardate from the front of the cases as Voyager also got a VHS makeover. 

The final season did away with almost everything and I wasn't a big fan however stunning some of the images created were. CIC introduced a bizarre triple photo of Sisko, Worf and Kira that made no logical sense. Each volume from 7.1 to 7.12 including the aforementioned artistic image related to one of the two episodes included that had no recurring thematic element except the triple portrait and series title. The interior of each box retained the individual profile layout of the previous six seasons although the final volume, 7.13, had a reversible cover to give either a "movie style" one-off image or retain the themed picture as shown above. Of all the series box art they produced, the Deep Space Nine volumes were easily the best because of the extra information and the more unusual ones that occasionally cropped up in the first six seasons - each of the final year was a unique pic and so not quite as awe inspiring when you saw it!


My favourites from the run have to be the images selected for Trials and Tribble-ations,  Call to Arms and Sacrifice of Angels. At some point at least two of those have ended up as phone wallpapers or lockscreens. Minor note on volume 5.3 above which you can't see is that they got the science and support services badges the wrong way round. These were great images and the times when there was an unusual picture you knew it was for a special reason or a season highlight (also see Tears of the Prophets). Anyway, I had a lot of the Deep Space Nine volumes piled up and they got a lot of watching over the years. Of all the shows it's the one I connected to the most and easily spent the most on. Scary to think that each one cost as much as a full box set now and we were only getting 88 minutes of Star Trek for the price - but that was the cost of seeing it first!

Sensibly before I parted with them a year or so back, I managed to scan a few of the interior sleeves in to show the character profiles they contained. Here are a couple I selected. The detail inside was usually confined specifically to the featured stories which only gave away what might be involved. It was almost like a written trailer for the episodes.

Season One Duet inner sleeve focusing on episode character

Season Four Our Man Bashir inner sleeve

What The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine did have in common was that they both carried (for some time) a good five minute trailer for Star Trek including clips from The Original Series, the movies as well as Picard and Sisko's era. It was always a challenge to work out which episodes managed to get snipped to feature in this. I think it faded out in the middle of season three of Deep Space Nine to be replaced by a trailer for Star Trek: Generations and whatever else they happened to find that was franchise related thereafter, namely Star Trek First Contact and Insurrection I think which was the last Star Trek movie I purchased on VHS the same day as I bought What You Leave Behind - even worse I think it was a couple of days after Christmas. Strange how you remember these things after a few years...

In Part 2 of this special Trekollections I'll be looking over Voyager and Enterprise as well as the Paramount Home Entertainment newsletter.

This article was originally published on United Federation of Planets and is shown in updated format here.