Picard: The New Stuff

Stepping down and choosing to spend retirement at the family vineyard hasn't worked out quite the way he planned. 

Confirmed with a January 24th 2020 (Amazon Prime) launch date, New York Comic Con was the venue to see the brand new trailer for the upcoming Picard Star Trek series. 

Now reviews of trailers tend to go on shot by shot but looking at this one there’s a sprinkling of new mixed in with action shots, reaction shots and phaser shots.

"Would you like to finish it, Captain?"

"I don't know how."

"That is not true, sir."

1. Data 

Opening with vistas of the vineyard, we focus in on a figure painting - it's Data. Dressed in full The Next Generation uniform, the Soong type android is painting a faceless, hooded woman and asks the approaching Jean-Luc to finish the image. Hes also dressed in the uniform from the same era complete with captain’s pips. 

Now if memory serves, this would only have been filmed a few weeks back since we know Patrick Stewart had implicitly stated he would not be wearing a uniform in this show however it had come to a point where he realised there was no way around it. I don't think speculation is too applicable - this has to be some sort of dream sequence/suggestion that will ultimately link into the bigger picture.

It also appears that Starfleet/the Federation are developing what look like Soong type androids which would link in to what we saw in the first trailer of B-4/Lore in storage. The red suited, blank stare wearing bots definitely have a similarity to the ageless(!) Data - might their existence be a reason for Picard to get a bit upset with the admiralty?

Also here's one for you - the whimsical naming of the androids seems to have returned - the one in the pic above is F-8....F-Eight...Fate? Isn't this a huge clue as to their nature?

2. The New Crew

Again we see the arrival of Dahj (Isa Briones) at the vineyard which could prompt Picard into visiting Starfleet headquarters and having it out with one of the admiralty. Purely conjecture here since this trailer is definitely out of sequence and doesn't specify this. We also have Picard looking up Michelle Hurd's Raffi Musiker who is living in a remote location that is awfully familiar - maybe because it's Vasquez Rocks and has turned up in many a TV show over the years let alone Star Trek. Note too that Jean-Luc has taken Raffi a bottle of Chateau Picard (just next to the green plant)...

We have some new shots of the remaining crew - Doctor Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) joining the crew as well as (I think) her lab and science complex(?). Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabera) and Elnor (Evan Evagora) appear in quick flash shots. Rios is flying his ship with heads up virtual controls which is pretty nifty while the latter is seen gearing up for combat wielding some large Romulan bladed weapon. I'm shocked that more isn't being made of these new characters and they feel very sidelined in this trailer but given the appearances of other longer loved individuals I can understand where the hype would be centred.

3. Seven and Hugh

Few little clips of the Borg splattered in here. There's that broken Borg cube once again plus a blink and miss of a Borg arm piece (below). Now in the background of this first shot we can see a lab and what appears to be the remnants of an attack of some sort - could it be that these Soong androids are being combined with Borg tech? Is this the same lab because I think it is...

The biggest new arrival here though is Jonathan Del Arco's Hugh who is seen leading Picard and Dahj at one point and also glimpsed having a sneaky look around a corner. The makeup for Hugh is a lot less intrusive than we saw in The Next Generation with his implants resembling those on Seven with a few apparent open scars on his face but none of the large elements from before. 

I would guess over 20 years pieces have become useless, deactivated or irrelevant leading to removal. Seven as noted is back too. At one point toting two phaser rifles (green burst so potentially Romulan) and then seen cradling a lifeless body. The suggestion this is Chakotay is, frankly, garbage but it could be a freed Borg? Someone that Seven has been looking for perhaps? 

Ryan does appear to have quite a wide range of aspects to play as the "new" Seven and not just her more relaxed speech. We know that she will be around for several episodes and given that filming is now over I believe that more of her work from later in the series is included here.

4. The CG

New shots of San Francisco at the end of the 24th Century and also a lab/science complex plus more to mention in...

Note the solar panels on the bridge and the much less cluttered side of the bay - lot less buildings and more in line with the high-rise angles of Into Darkness perhaps?

5. Space...

The first shots of the new hero ship which may or may not be called La Sirena are here - and they're all arse end shots giving us no real sense of what this one looks like. We can tell that it's got a reddened hull and a more industrial feel than we got from the Enterprise and as a merchant vessel this is to be expected.

Maybe the bigger surprise is that we have Romulan Birds of Prey in action against the hero vessel. By this time those ships are around 200 years old(?) but what's to say they weren't in operation during The Next Generation but we never saw them on the front lines because of their age? Absolutely no reason whatsoever.  Sadly though it doesn't help identify what the third ship in the photo below is...!

The inclusion of the Romulan ships plays well against the nod to the Borg and indicates that there will be a good split of the story focusing on these two huge spacefaring powers whom have both had their fair share of society changing events.

During the opening "Data dream" sequence as I'll refer to it for now there are inter-cut shots of alien craft attacking an undetermined installation. These ships are also responsible for the attack we see right at the end of the trailer with the large satellite/craft exploding as one flies past.

"I came here to find safety...but one is never safe from the past."

6. Picard

Down the list but yes, the dog IS called Number One and wakes Jean-Luc at his home. We can all rest easy now.

His return to Starfleet Headquarters sees that junior officer having to check his name while we get a shot of a holographic recreation of the Galaxy Class USS Enterprise before Picard is reminded that he's no longer a part of the galactic organisation and is forced to depart and find his own means of completing his new adventure.

"We have an obligation to investigate."

"There is no WE, Jean-Luc."

"Admiral, I am standing up for the Federation; for what it still should represent!"

"This is no longer your house, Jean-Luc...Go home."

Conscripting his crew must be the first step to making this mission a reality. We know from the trailer he needs their abilities but why these particular people? Why Elnor? Also why isn't Harry Treadway (Narek) not featured here?

"The past is written but we are left to write the future."

We do get to see Picard practicing his fencing skills one more time - ironically the last time this was utilised as part of an episode was I, Borg back in season five which was Hugh's first appearance.

Also showing up is Picard's First Contact era combadge - now 20 years old and surpassed by the latest Starfleet technology. For me this is a spin on the Insurrection scene where Jean-Luc removes his badge and rank pips symbolising his decision to take on a personal crusade. Here it seems he is standing up for what he believes the Federation should be representing by putting it back on, possibly following a conversation with an individual whom I am as yet unable to identify...

7. The Rikers

"Dad..."

"What?!"

"Come out here!"

"Stop yelling!"

"It's Jean-Luc Picard!"

OK, it's THE highlight of the trailer. The return of Will Riker and Deanna is what makes this two minutes of footage feel so complete. Appearing to live in a house very similar to the one Kirk had in the Nexus, Will has definitely retired from Starfleet. Now check the cast list out on IMDB and you'll spot "Kestra" listed who was Deanna's sister from Dark Page in The Next Generation (played by Kirsten Dunst if you recall) so logic would suggest that this is the name of Will and Deanna's daughter who we hear but don't see in the clip.

Like Picard they have retreated away from technology and space-faring to a more sedate lifestyle. Information leads me to believe that these shots must be from later in the series but how they are brought into the story has not yet been revealed. 

Marina Sirtis' time on screen is fleeting with only a welcoming hug for Jean-Luc while Will gets a little more time with his former captain. It's bits that we knew would be happening but to see them onscreen is such a lump in the throat moment. Let's hope that their inclusion isn't limited to sitting by the lake reminiscing over past missions.

"Thank you for not trying to talk me out of all this."

"Believe me I know better."

What do you think to the new Picard trailer? Does it tell you anything new? What's your take?

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Assimilated Voyager: The Official Starships Collection Bonus Edition

Lurking in the dark recesses of Eaglemoss’ bonus editions is Assimilated Voyager.

Swiftly becoming one of the most featured ships in the collection, this is the fourth variant of the lost Intrepid Class starship following on from ‘normal’ Voyager, Armoured Voyager and Warship Voyager. I think only Nebula and Miranda classes are giving it a good run otherwise!

The core of the model is the same build that we saw way back in issue six with the basic Voyager replica. The shield grid lines, the hull colour and the bulk of the Starfleet detail remains identical to that ship. That being said it means that the jarring errors have also managed to transition across to this edition; the panel lines are washed out due to the colour and it still feels slightly sloppy on execution.

The main attraction on the hull are the Borg upgrades with the sweeping sides of Voyager caked in black and green markings to represent the tech however it just looks a bit blotchy and would have definitely benefited from an XL step up to really allow the detail in the circuitry and glowing Borg equipment to be seen for its full effect.

The cover of the magazine shows all of this in abundance with the tech finely detailed and applied to the hull more than seeming to be "splodged" onto it if you'll pardon the rather untechnical description. Across the primary hull the two sides are a mirror with only slight nuances and the same goes for the Borg tech attached to the top of the warp engines.

Along the spine there is some side-to-side variation but being able to determine any components is a thankless and near impossible task.  From afar this variant looks pretty cool and offers a twist on the basic design but close up it's a much more messy affair.

For some reason even the reaction control thrusters to the rear of the primary hull have lost their rusty red colour for the black of the upgrades and perhaps the biggest faux pas is to leave the bussard collectors unpainted!

On the underside - well, apart from two black Borg tech marks near to the forward RCS thrusters on the primary hull there is absolutely no difference to the issue six edition. Cleverly the whole of the top section - the metal bit - has 90% of the upgrades attached to it while the plastic underside and engines have only a small amount.  Watch out too for the gaping side join around the pylons and shuttlebay; it's a big one and I'm a little disappointed here that it isn't as smoothly concealed as one might have hoped.

The detail of the un-Borged underside is as you would expect and have received from the original and the Warship Voyager variant  - there is zero additional detail although the panelling and two tone grey colour combo is well painted. The phaser strips stand out well against the lighter grey hull which is then finished with twin pennants on the bottoms of the warp engines, curves at the ends of all the phaser strips and a simple black ship registry at the front.

Even down to the red markings around the warp core ejection hatch you can't complain about the detail on the ventral side of Voyager, nor can you be disappointed with the spruced up, lighter blue-backed deflector dish sitting out at the front of engineering. 

From this perspective it does feel like Voyager has received a bit of a tidy up however I wouldn't be planning on displaying her upside down given that the big selling point here should be the fact it's ASSIMILATED Voyager. 

The stand at least continues with the adjustment from gripping the shuttle landing pad to sliding around the rear of the "spoonhead" hull and balances Voyager amidships in a much more comfortable pose than we first received it.

The bonus edition magazine is split simply into two major sections. The first deals with the events of Scorpion with a leaning more towards Part II since this is when the upgrading of Voyager's abilities were performed so that it would primarily be able to function in fluidic space. 

The images tend to highlight the detail contained within the hull augmentations completed by the Borg and seem only able to take away what little credibility the model had with each page. In fact it also suggests that some of the colour shading particularly in relation to the lifeboats is well off-palette adding to the bland finish that seems to exude from Voyager and reduces its visual effectiveness.

The second half of the magazine focuses on the creation of Species 8472 (the Undine if you're an Online player) and how the creature evolved within the computer from first design right through to being the franchise' first proper CG alien nemesis. There had been other attempts at CG creatures (Macrocosm's parasites) but this was the first attempt at going all out and realising an alien on a larger scale. It's a great read to see how the design evolved and how it was made to be so obviously not a man in a suit even for the facial closeups.

The magazine does provide a lot of background material around the introduction of Species 8472 and precisely how Voyager was upgraded by the Borg to take on this new and powerful threat from outside our universe.

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Aron Eisenberg

We awoke this morning to the tragic news that actor Aron Eisenberg had died at the age of just 50.

Taking on a variety of roles since the late 1980's it would be the dawn of Deep Space Nine in 1993 that would probably bring the most attention with his casting as a young Ferengi thief in Emissary.

Unnamed at the time and referred to only as "my brother's boy" by Quark, Nog would be named during the first season and be a recurring character right up to the finale in 1999.

Of all the main and recurring cast, Eisenberg's Ferengi arguably had the biggest character arc from that young thief to schoolboy, to Starfleet cadet and finally ensign before experiencing the trauma of war and losing his leg at AR-558 in the final year of the show.

It's virtually impossible to discuss the distance that Eisenberg took Nog - only a recurring character - with out mentioning The Siege of AR-558 and then his coming to terms with the incident with It's Only a Paper Moon. In fact it's rare to find episodes where the recurring cast were given the A storyline to run with as we saw in this instance; rare and a demonstration of how much those behind the scenes believed in Eisenberg and Nog.

But Nog was not just about this moment from the seventh season but also about the humour he brought to the show plus the key relationship that was developed between Nog and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton with whom Eisenberg hosted the 7th Rule podcast) and the negativity they faced for a Ferengi/Hoo-mon friendship. Truly, Nog was one of the great roles that evolved on Deep Space Nine hence his frequent return to the show and the love of the character from the writing room who wanted to do more and more for the first Ferengi in Starfleet.

I was fortunate enough to see Aron at both the First Contact Day 2016 event and also at Destination Star Trek in 2018. He remained an engaging personality on the stage, bouncing off J G Hertzler at the former event and then mixing it up with his Ferengi co-stars Armin Shimerman, Max Grodenchik and Leeta actress Chase Masterson during the Friday press conference and then again in full makeup over the weekend.

At First Contact Day I had the chance to interview Aron Eisenberg and was amazed at the passion he had for the series and the franchise in which he had also played a young Kazon in Voyager's Initiations as well as the voice of Nog in Star Trek Online. The stories he related about the effect he had seen from his work in It's Only a Paper Moon especially with veterans is something that has stayed with me. Even though he had potentially told the story many, many times, he made it feel like it was the first time he'd related it and is to this day one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure to talk to about Star Trek since I started this site. 

It's a great loss to this world and to Star Trek that we will not be able to see Aron again at events and hear about his memories and exploits on set and in the years since Deep Space Nine ended. 

RIP Aron Eisenberg - you will be missed.

You can read the full Aron Eisenberg interview from April 2016 here.

At time of writing, the GoFundMe page started to help pay funeral expenses had already surpassed its $10,000 target

The Core: News and Opinion September 2019

It seems like an age since I've dropped a piece on Some Kind of Star Trek just to have a good old chat.

Y'see there's been a lot going on in the news, a lot of things to review, read and test out which has meant that in recent months the site has been a tad overloaded with product and not with discussions on the Star Trek universe.

However, in a week that's seen the franchise win it's first ever Emmy for Outstanding Makeup and three Saturn awards - Best Streaming Science Fiction, Action and Fantasy Series plus Best Actress in Streaming Presentation for Sonequa Martin-Green and Best Supporting Actor in Streaming Presentation for Doug Jones it seemed like a good time to just drop thoughts onto the page.

The internet is constantly alive with rumour. Twenty-five years ago you would have had to scour a magazine for news which would be 80 - 90% accurate but with YouTube channels pumping out all sorts of spoilers and rumours it's good to know that Star Trek is flourishing better than ever with these awards and is certainly nowhere cancellation or in dire trouble as we might be led to believe.

Picard itself has now finished principal photography and is months from arriving on our screens. In fact, today is the 32nd anniversary of the first airing of Encounter at Farpoint and where the franchise is now is at least a quadrant away from the synth-tracked, spandex days of that pilot episode. We will of course be getting to see Riker, Troi, Data, Seven and Hugh Borg all back on screen but there's no Michael Dorn for season one even though his signature was on a clapper board marking the end of the shooting schedule.

Whether he'll drop by in season two we don't know although I'm 100% convinced now that the Worf series will not be happening because of the choice to head in directions new with Picard. What has come to light via a cast jacket is that the new ship for the series might well be called the La Sirena and that Riker and Troi's daughter could even be appearing - but hey, conjecture, conjecture, conjecture.

What has been taking up some time while I'm waiting for Picard is Attack Wing. Rumours of its imminent demise seem to have been far too early with a trickle of card packs over the last year and now the arrival of two long-awaited faction packs highlighting the Borg and The Animated Series. 

My love for the game has continued unabated for some time now and any chance to grab some of the earlier wave releases has to be taken - so far my best picks have to be the USS Equinox and the Hideki Fighter Squadron. Both have been played to some sort of success as part of larger Federation and Dominion fleets although I seem to end up on the losing side more often than not. Even a test run using the Borg pack utilising the included first part of a two part scenario ended in a rather crushing defeat for my Scout Cube and USS Voyager against a significantly more weighty Assimilated Target Prime and Borg Sphere - please bear in mind that my opponent was seven years old...but does that make it any better or worse a defeat...?

Playing Attack Wing does mean that on occasion you do need some extra players and for the last year I've encountered a few of them through the local Star Trek group. Born from the will of James Smith, the Stoke on Trent Star Trek Club has gone from strength to strength if you will allow the age old cliche.  Funnily enough the article I wrote over five years ago in regards to the death of Star Trek groups in the UK is still one of the most popular pieces on SKoST. In there I bemoaned that there seemed to be a lack of groups especially in the Stoke area but now that's quite the opposite and with more Star Trek on the horizon this could well just be the beginning.

Running memorabilia nights, the odd Attack Wing battle, quiz evenings and mini-screenings, the club has near trebled in membership in just over 24 months with a lot more to come. I've even managed to drag my dad down a few times and it looks like he'll be a regular soon enough if only to serve as Chief Engineer to any ailing AMT model kits or Eaglemoss Scimitar's that need some care and attention - and a dab of superglue. That said, the group now has its very own club starship in the shape of the USS Reginald Mitchell named after the Supermarine Spitfire designer who was born locally.

Now meeting monthly, the club is thinking a lot more about what to do in the coming months and for 2020 - any groups out there that have some good meeting ideas let me know because it's definitely growing!

We will be attending Destination Star Trek next month in force and a report on that event plus some chats with creators, bloggers and more are planned. Fingers crossed this year that time is kind to us!

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First Ones In: Attack Wing Hideki Class Attack Fighter Squadron

One more long sought expansion comes in the tiny triple form of the Cardassian Fighter Squadron.  

Comprising of three Hideki class ships this is one of the three fighter squadrons available for the game and the last one up for review.

Given these are the smallest items in a range of small ships, the detail on the trio is pretty decent. Each is recognisably a Hideki Class ship with a sandy base coat and a darker brown top coat to pick out the ridges and finery. Again given the size the painting of the highlights is surprisingly clean and defined with all three looking identical. Credit to Wizkids, these could have been abysmal however they've managed to pull off a good result to start us off.

The 1st Wave Attack Fighters initially operate with a six for attack, no defence, one hull and no shields. As with the Federation and Romulan fighter wings, these stats alter as a hull point is eliminated changing both the way the fighters play as well as when due to the decrease in the skill score.

Basic Actions are Evade and Battle Stations with the chance to field up to three of the included Fighter upgrades. During the roll Attack Dice step one of those upgrades can be disabled to increase your attack by one die. Useful to use early on when you can pound in some seven die Combat sessions and cause serious damage quickly. 

That might suggest that the speed four maneuver is going to be pressed into service early to make the most of this opportunity. The squadron can tap into a full set of banks and sharp turns at speeds one and two with banks available with speed three and just a straight on with four. The Come About 180 degree turn is available at the cost f an Auxiliary Power Token at speed two. 

Thinking of their effectiveness early rather than later, the Hideki wing are a first strike weapon to be utilised early and potentially sacrificed early too for the sake of the larger, stronger ships that should be backing them up.

The generic version of the fighters retains the two basic Actions but drops a Squadron Token (starting skill of four) and costs 20 points versus the named option priced up at 24.

For two points you can equip Photo Lock-On which lets you Target Lock during the combat phase of the game if you've not already locked on. Effectively its a very late played free Action benefiting from knowing where your opponent is going to end up before locking on. For two points it's worth a shot early on.

Second and for just three points comes in Flanking Attack which operates at the extremely close quarters of range one. Its one of those situational ones that will happen if you plan it out. Flanking Attack can be used if you have a friendly ship attacking a ship that is also in your forward firing arc. If you’ve not unleashed hell you can add the amount of attack dice equal to your amount of squadron tokens left to that friendly ship’s attack. Potentially that's up to five extra dice from the squadron which could easily take one attack into double figure dice rolling.

Three cards offer upgrades for your Dominion/Cardassian fighters for a cost of four points. Cover Fire balances the pack nicely providing a defensive bonus to add the number of dice equal to your current primary weapon value to counter an attack. Now its apparent that a lot of these cards are at their maximum effect right in the opening gambit of a game - high attack, high defence early on.

Second in this little group is Support Ship which adds the usual benefit for these Fighter Squadrons of cheating death one final time. Acting as an additional life, it adds a chance to get even or get out of there. Understandably you can only have one equipped!

Third is Escort which is disabled to target a friendly ship within range one. Sacrificing the fighters' attack, the chosen ship can defend with the same number of defence dice as the Fighter Squadron has ship tokens on it's card. Good to see this is reusable as, along with the Flanking Attack you would want to be using this to its full ability early on to support your larger ships in battle.

Two five point cards kick off with Break Formation which means you can disable the card and immediately attack during the Action phase of the game but only if you are not within range one of a friendly starship. This free attack will let you roll up to three attack dice although it does also specify that the attack role must be one less die than your normal attack. Both of these points will need to be considered but this gives you the chance to stick in an early attack which might come in handy later in the game as your points start to fall.

Aft Disruptor Wave Cannons  lets you fire the main weapon backwards for another disabled card cost. Only one of these cards can be equipped to your squadron although it's something that can be reused. Problem here would be what would you want to reactivate and what to use because so many of the upgrades carry this feature.

Finally in this pack we have the incredibly expensive Galor Class Phaser Banks. This one costs a whopping seven points and benefits from being continuously in use during the game with no discard or disabling restrictions. Only available for the fighters and only allowing for one set to be placed on your fighters, the power this upgrade adds is of major benefit. Able to target ships in the full one to three arcs, it also adds a die to your primary weapon attack from the word go transforming that initial six dice attack up to a seven. 

The included mission scenario, Break Formation is a two player, 200 point battle with one player having to field the Hideki squadron equipped with the Break Formation card. The opposing Federation/Klingon force is attempting to activate the minefield in front of the wormhole (as per A Call to Arms from season five's explosive finale of Deep Space Nine). Each round a mission token is added to their pot to indicate the speed the minefield is being closed off. Both players can win the tokens with the Cardassian/Dominion player picking them up for attacking an enemy ship when not within range two of his or her own fleet or performs the Break Formation ability listed above.

The fight for the tokens can end in one way - total dominance by a single power.

The 1st Wave Fighters pack is an incredibly opportunistic set of upgrades which can, tragically, only be used with these ships. It also seems to suggest that a lot of these upgrades need to be used early for maximum effect virtually signalling that flying these is a suicide mission into the unknown. Having properly looked over the cards it's clear that these fighters were designed to be on the front lines and the first into a combat situation to make the most of their opulent offensive and defensive strategies before taking a more hit-and-run tactic as the stats even out.

Balanced with a great set of cards pertaining to the whole operation, these fighters seem on paper to be the best of the three wings released and definitely an expansion to consider taking into any battle for the Dominion.

Coming soon - reviews of both The Animated Series and Borg Faction packs!

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