2016 - Things to Watch in Year 50

Whoo hooo! Here we are, the final post of 2015 and in our now annual fashion, here's my thoughts on what 2016 - the 50th anniversary of Star Trek - will bring...

Looking back at my predictions at the end of 2014 I got a couple right. There was a trailer for the third movie, we had Green Lantern crossovers in the comics and we got confirmation that the Enterprise-A would make it into the Official Starships Collection. As for 50th anniversary announcements there were very little - a cruise, a special - oh and the news that we'd be getting a new TV series. Talking of anniversaries there were a few hookups of the Voyager cast celebrating 20 years but with the imminent 50th I think a bit of shine was taken off this event.

In regards to fan series, Star Trek Continues smashed it out of the park, bringing two new episodes to the screen with The White Iris and Divided We Stand, both of which were excellent stories. We're still waiting for The Holiest Thing from Star Trek: Phase II/New Voyages which only produced Mind Sifter in 2015. A story produced for an anthology many moons ago, it was a very different spin that brought Brian Gross to the show as the "new" Kirk.

The novels from Simon and Schuster did indeed head into more singular territory after the five book The Fall  series but we did get the third and fourth Seekers stories but the big hitter this year had to be Sacraments of Fire taking us back to Deep Space Nine. In terms of reference the long awaited Costumes book landed and was without question one of the best tomes to come out of the franchise since the Deep Space Nine Companion. Saying that I also think a worthy note has to go to the Captain Kirk autobiography "edited by" David Goodman if only for the note that I stormed through it on a weekend (now there's an endorsement). One final point from 2015's want list -  can we get Deep Space Nine in HD sorted this year?

While not everything did come to fruition,  what were my Star Trek highlights of 2015?

In terms of Some Kind of Star Trek I posted our 400th article and celebrated three years in existence. I managed to chat to Garrett Wang, Starships Collection master Ben Robinson and Larry Nemecek (and fanboyed out both times). The Starships Collection delivered the Enterprise-C plus the magnificent ECS Fortunate and has gone from strength to strength improving quality on the models every issue. Shame the customer service isn't as good as the build quality. Oh and there was that rather adventurous 30 day challenge in October.

One final highlight is having some fantastic and loyal readers and friends who have shared, commented,  written and on occasion hacked a few posts to bits for me when  it wouldn't quite work so thank you to all of you including: my wife, Melissa, for putting up with my constant Trek talk, my son Joshua for knowing all the starship classes on sight at age 3, my Dad for indulging me, Rob Gibson,  Damien Devlin,  Tiffany Groves,  Chris Groves,  Aaron Gallo, the Engage Podcast, the Geek Podcast, Mark Thwaite, Matt Goddard, James Patrik, Nils Walter Khan, James Rye, Dan Adams, Dan Foster, the team at Star Trek Anthology, Tim Hitchin from Esdevium, Rhedd Lewis, Kate Barber, Paula M Block,  Mark Cushman, Una McCormack, James Swallow,  Wil Ross,  David Limburg,  Katie Postma and Elicia Basoli from Disruptor Beam.  If I've missed you off I'm soooooo sorry but your help has been much appreciated in the last 12 months. 

So that brings us to 2016. What can we expect from the biggest anniversary in Star Trek history??? What are going to be the big things I can guess at? 

1. Star Trek Beyond

After a trailer that made it look like The Expendables rather than Star Trek we are promised that the finished product is more in line with the ethos of The Original Series than the miss-hitting Into Darkness. Simon Pegg has aired his views on the action-heavy Beastie Boys blasting 90 seconds we received a couple of weeks ago. Without question we'll be getting a few months of trailers, posters, (viral campaign?) and a lot of other promo work ahead of the July release. Am I excited? Yes because it's Star Trek on the big screen. No - because it's Star Trek on the big screen and we know what happened last time. There's a lot of promise from Pegg but having spotted the Enterprise getting obliterated AGAIN my level of optimism did diminish. For now though, I remain on the fence but other events in the world of fan films may also have a more direct and financial effect. More on that shortly.

2. The TV Series

Is this actually bigger and more important news than Beyond?

Twelve months from now we will be in a total frenzy. We will know the cast, have probably seen the ship, know the plot of the pilot and most likely the number of episodes in the first season. In fact we'll be weeks if not just days away from the premiere of the first new Star Trek series since Enterprise launched in 2001. The bad feelings already coming from fans when not even a frame has been shot is just ridiculous. How you can pass judgement on a show that's not been made is crackers. How big will this be? I don't know. I think it will have a huge audience for the pilot even if that's just because of the way in which CBS are planning to show it but I'd like to kpee fingers crossed that this is the dawning of a new age for the franchise in it's 51st year.

Tick list if you're reading this, Mr Kurtzman - space, final frontier, continuing voyages, Starship Enterprise. Job's a good 'un.

3. Fan Series

I have zero doubt that Continues will wow us all once more with Come Not Between the Dragons which is due Spring 2016 and for the last three years I have always flown the flag for both that webseries and Phase II however I'm very, very excited about three other projects that we'll be seeing more of in the new year. 

I could note Renegades too but after the first one I'm somewhat sceptical and reserve judgement until a more suitable time. In terms of the other big hitters we've seen fizzle a bit, maybe one day we'll hear more from Equinox and Captain Pike but for now there are a few which are gathering pace and interest.

First there's the much-hyped Axanar which will finally make its long-awaited appearance, we need to address Axanar. I had hoped we'd be getting some more footage but recent events have potentially sealed its fate for 2016 as the production team swap the bridge of the Ares for the law court. I hope there is an amicable solution to this which will shone favourably on both parties. For the moment though fans seem particularly anti-Paramount and CBS which could have implications on both Beyond and the 2017 series. However, will anyone outside of the hardcore fandom actually give a monkies and boycott "official" Star Trek? (thanks to +JamesRye for that point).

Second there's Horizon that will launch in February and finally there's the high concept Anthology set to explore three different aspects of the franchise. We're probably going to see Challenger and maybe early work in Mother in 2016 and I know how much passion and work the team is putting in. Must do a review of that trailer very soon... Good luck to all!

4. Merchandise

To say there's going to be a lot is the most stupid thing I could write but well, there will be. There are a couple of items I'm really looking forward to seeing. The Megabloks USS Enterprise looks far superior to the buildable version of the Into Darkness flagship. In terms of a model, the Weapon Zero game piece for Attack Wing has gone top of my "must have" items as both a keen player and collector. In terms of novels, I think that the next in David R George III's Deep Space Nine series, Ascendance, will be a must-read this year after the way in which he left us all hanging at the end of Sacraments of Fire.

On a side note I'm also looking forward to hearing the new soundtrack to Beyond from Michael Giacchino. His work on Into Darkness was easily the best thing about it and I don't expect to be blown away by any of the merchandise that will be associated with Beyond unless it's very, very special.

And finally, for the first time in 15-odd years there will be a brand new, updated edition of the Star Trek Encyclopaedia. Covering the whole history of the franchise it's more than overdue since the last edition only just covered Voyager let alone Enterprise. Can't wait for its arrival.

5. First Contact Day

Maybe a little Brit-centric this one but 2016 will see possibly one of the best Star Trek event lineups in the UK EVER (exception of Destination of course)  at this fan funded convention. Here we go; franchise actors Garrett Wang, Robert O'Reilly, JG Hertzler, Aron Eisenberg, Nana Visitor, luminaries  Larry Nemecek, Doug Drexler, Battlestar Galactica's Richard Hatch, Renegades' John Carrigan, Babylon 5's Claudia Christian, authors  Una McCormack, James Swallow... Oh and we'll be there too alongside media partners Star Trek Risa, Visionary Trek,  the Geek Podcast,  Trekzone and the Engage Podcast.  Three days of total Trek out in Telford. Book NOW. For those on other continents it might be the 50th Anniversary cruise or the Las Vegas conventions which will be floating your starship in 2016 but for us on this side of the water, this will be the biggie.

6. Timelines 

I cannot wait for this. Having been granted a short chat with exec producer Rich Gallup and following the story as Timelines has developed this is sure to be the Star Trek game of the year. Play virtually any character in numerous versions from across the franchise on board one of many ships and make the game what you want it to be. It's different,  it offers a ton of options making no two games and no two players have the same game.  Gowron as your doctor?  Sisko as ship's counsellor? Intendant Kira as your bartender? You can Make It So.

Graphically there seems to be nothing else close in the mobile gaming sphere even though Trexels gives you space and one on one combat to a degree. Watching the character, ship and mechanics evolve and be revealed has been really interesting since this team genuinely appear to have listened to fans and garnered a lot of information from their testing process. Timelines is as near to "the real"  thing as you'll get on a phone or tablet anytime soon and I believe this could mark a big change in the way Star Trek games have to be produced in the future. We won't accept second rate!

Let's just keep our fingers crossed there's no game to accompany Beyond after the last travesty and that the arrival of Timelines in January is everything we could hope for.

So there's my six things to watch out for in 2016. What are you looking forward to? What will your highlight of the year be?

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Returning to Enterprise - that isn't Enterprise: Tower of Babel

Now for a guest review from friend of SKoST Tiffany Groves. This time we're tackling Tower of Babel by Christopher L Bennett and while I wasn't thrilled with its predecessor, here's another take on the series...

This is the second book in the series of Rise of the Federation and before I go any further, I must warn you that this review does contain SPOILERS!!

The story continues on from A Choice of Futures and the focus of this novel is the struggle to bring the Rigel System into the fledgling Federation. This is no easy task as the diversity of its inhabitants and trading practices continue to be at odds with the newer Federation values. It’s obvious that Bennett has done his research here and drawn on various Star Trek television programmes, films, books, comics and the like to create his compelling cast. 

One particular example are the ‘Zami’, Rigellians that bear physical similarities to Vulcans (note - not a dissimilar thread to the recent The Original Series novel Crisis of Consciousness), their name derived from the ‘Zamiar’ (Rigel IV in the Decipher Code Role Playing Game) Despite this attention to research, I felt that the characters were still rather two dimensional. This isn't necessarily the author’s fault as source material for this rather unknown and unrepresented time zone is limited.

A much better portrayal is afforded the more familiar characters though and his depictions of Archer, Trip, T’Pol and Reed are very well rounded the author makes good observations of familial gestures and expressions which make you feel that you are reuniting with old friends. There are also references to the past which regular Star Trek viewers will find re-affirming such as the Xindi attack on Earth.

The novel’s focus however does seem to be mainly non-Federation, Reed and T’Pol given more of a back seat in favour of newer Starfleet officers (Sam Kirk and Valeria Williams) and whilst their development is intriguing, Archer seems almost to be an afterthought with very little to do!

Bennett’s easy writing style draws you in to the novel straight away and although there is a lot of socio-political content, he manages to interweave the subject rather nicely with the other elements of the plot so we are not subjected to eye watering pages of political blurb!! 

I do feel overall the central plot was somewhat lacking. There were several minor plot lines introduced throughout the novel, the affect of which, didn't occur until nearly halfway through the book. 

The author risks losing his readers at this point, unfortunately, once the main threat was identified, Bennett seems to lose pace and the structure of the story falls apart with loose ends tied up far too neatly for my liking. 

I do feel that writing within the confines of established lore has made the author perhaps too comfortable with this knowledge. It could be argued that this has made him slightly lazy with the plot? But flaws aside, I did enjoy reading this novel and it was very easy to immerse yourself within the familiar surroundings of Star Trek and it’s characters. Will I read the third book in the series (An Uncertain Logic)? Of course I will!!

Thanks to Tiffany for her time to review the novel. I suspect we'll be seeing her back with a review of the next Enterprise novel fairly soon...

Fan of the Enterprise continuation? Not fussed by the expanded prequel or cautious about it's angle?

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Supanova 2015 from the Inside

Please give a big SKoST welcome to +James Patrik as he leads us into the world of the convention from the perspective of the fan and the stall-holder - and in Australia!!!

Supanova – one of three gargantuan sci-fi conventions held in Melbourne each year. It's day one, and the fans have arrived in droves to meet the some of the actors from the original Star Trek series.

I work here; rather, I am an exhibitor working at a stall as part of a team selling collectables. 

Right now I’m waiting in line with the rest of the fans. It’s not so bad – there are only a couple of people ahead of me, so it shouldn't be long now. 

I glance around the room, taking in the sheer enormity of the event. Over the next 48 hours, approximately 50,000 people will make their way into the Melbourne Showgrounds like costumed pilgrims seeking autographs and action figures. For everyone else, it’s a circus – a day of fun and frivolity – but for me it’s a day of work, and this is my lunch break.

The queue lurches forward again. A couple more steps. In spite of the vomiting butterflies in my stomach, I take a moment to realise just how tired I am. Unbeknownst to the average convention attendee, these conventions are often hard work. Exhibitors arrive two days beforehand and join an army of hi-vis vest wearing men and women unloading trucks and setting up stalls.

This fluorescent army keeps working right up until the doors open on the first day. A strange electricity hangs in the air in anticipation of the day ahead. I’ll always remember seeing the waiting crowd for the first time - thousands of people restrained by glass doors, just waiting for the right time. It was quite a sight, and one that filled me with excitement and terror.

The line is moving again again, I reach for my pocket to check on my trading card – it is still safe – encased in its hard plastic toploader. Others have glossy photos signed, but I prefer the cards. They are smaller and I can stick them on my wall.

The anticipation finally too much, I nervously begin bobbing up and down on my toes. Up ahead, I catch a glimpse of a familiar face, a face that cannot possibly be real. 

My heart skips a beat.

In spite of my fatigue, I'm still energised. I have always loved sci-fi conventions. The costumes, the colours, the general over-stimulation. In fact, ‘Cosplayers’ have now become integral to these events. Walking attractions in themselves, they spend the day patiently posing for photographs.

These shows are the only time I get to talk to other fans outside of the internet. Each interaction quickly becomes a heated debate about the current season of Doctor Who or an angry review of the latest Ninja Turtles film. Cheesy as it may seem, I feel I’m among my own kind. Sci-fi fans are passionate, knowledgeable and warm. Though they are strangers to me, we are united by a common love, a shared history and a million nerdy conversations.

And so here I stand, in line with my brethren. Behind me, a green Power Ranger and a girl dressed as Deadpool compare tattoos.

“Next!”

A man up ahead beckons me forward as I nervously fumble for my trading card and place it down on the table in front of me. And there he is – the great man himself - George Takei.

Sat before me, his eyes are piercing and clear, his hair a little greyer than I expected, but there is no mistake – George Takei is right in front of me!

It is a moment frozen in time. This man – through books, VHS tapes and comics – has been a part of my entire life. The realisation is staggering, and the world seems unreal as he sits across a table from me breathing the same oxygen.

George picks up my trading card to inspect it. My mouth feels like it’s filled with peanut butter, but I manage to say hello. His brow furrowed, he reaches for his spectacles and gingerly slips them over his ears, now squinting at the card I have placed before him. 

I freeze. 

What could possibly be wrong? Does he not want to sign my card? Everyone else is having photos signed. I start to panic.

“Great. I've pissed off Captain Sulu”.

And then it happened – with a practiced flourish he signs my card, offering me a smile and a single word of approval in his familiar iconic baritone.

“Outstanding!”

I shake his hand and politely say thank you as I suppress a childish squeal and return to work, clutching my signed card.

The next day, I had the good fortune of also meeting Walter Koenig, who like his contemporaries is sporting a little more grey these days, yet is still recognisably Chekov. A little less shy this time, I decide to try some witty banter.

“You were one of my action figures when I was a kid”.

Koenig smiles.

“I take great pride in that young man." he replies quickly, himself a toy collector.

He too signs my card and sends me on my way. As I return to work, I ponder the iconic nature of these two men. Takei and Koenig – for me, no longer mere actors but pillars of my youth and a reminder of my 24 years spent trekking. As I write this, the world still mourns Leonard Nimoy, and I wonder if I will ever again have the chance to meet an original series actor.

The convention ended, my feet sore and my body exhausted, I return home and inspect my treasured autographs once again. The items themselves aren't important; they are merely props with which to tell this story – proof that one day, not too long ago, I got to meet Sulu and Chekov for real.

It's a Strange Thing....

Never has wearing a Star Trek bathrobe looked so intriguing and dangerous - and there's not even a red one in sight.

From the minds of Alrik and Beth Bursell comes Strange Thing, an independent production that has done particularly well in the last year or so.

Running at just under ten minutes, Strange Thing follows the events in one moment of a Star Trek.
couple's lives when a mysterious door appears in their apartment. But the big thing here is that producer and writer team of Beth and Alrik are huge fans of

Explained Alrik who was one of the leading people in this 100% independent production; "So I grew up with Star Trek like so many other people of my generation, watching The Next Generation with my parents right before I went to bed and so on.

"When I met my wife one of the first things I noticed in her apartment were her Uhura and Dr.McCoy action figures. On our second date she asked me if I wanted to go to the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas in four months and lo and behold we did, dressed in our star fleet uniforms, me as Riker and her as Nurse Chapel. She has always been a bigger Original Series fan and I'm The Next Generation all the way but we still enjoy both the series together. 

In the initial set-up scenes we get to see the couple going about their evening activities, watching a movie and heading off to bed. There's some great, natural dialogue between the couple attired in their Star Trek robes drinking a morning beverage from their Star Trek mugs.

"Before we made Strange Thing we would wear the Star Trek robes featured in the movie every day." said Alrik.  "When we came up with the idea to make a movie about a doorway appearing in a couple's living room, I thought it was very important to have the lead character based off on my wife because she would totally want to open the door. Originally the husband was also going to be a big nerd but we decided to layer in hints of him being less into Star Trek, to create more conflict and give him a reason to resist opening the door."

That hint is there in his apparent reluctance to previously to wear the command bathrobe but the connection to the franchise doesn't stop there. On screen you'll spot a Borg mug or a glanced Spock action figure but the real inspiration comes from something a lot more familiar and certainly a lot more dangerous (in the Star Trek universe) than ceramics or plastic! 

"Once we had the beginning of the short worked out, I quickly decided that I wanted to base the monster off of the creature from The Next Generation episode, Skin of Evil in which Tasha Yar dies. That was important episode for me as a kid and re-watching it as an adult I came to enjoy it even more."

The mysterious door seems to be a gateway to another, rather foresty location/universe/dimension where our female protagionist confronts a familiar looking entity. It's not a terrifying short film but the acting, the buildup and the great gloopy ending are wonderfully paced and shot from start to finish. I suspect that the sci-fi/fantasy edge will appeal to Star Trek fans as well as general genre followers but it's as much about the relationship as it is about the CGI creation which viewers will be anticipating.

"Once we shot the film we went to the Star Trek Convention in San Francisco to promote the kickstarter and handed out fliers to hundreds of Trekkies (my wife even got one in the hand of Brent Spiner).

Alrik and Beth were married right after they made the movie and had only returned from their honeymoon a couple of days before the convention.

"Taking the film around Film Festivals has been a blast and there is almost always one Star Trek person who can name the episode that inspired the ooze monster. The film plays really well at Sci-Fi festivals but also really well at more broad film festivals where it is the only genre film, just most of the references and memorabilia go over peoples heads!" added Alrik. So far the film has been to 18 festivals in all, including Toronto After Dark and the Morbido International Film Festival

So what was my impression of Strange Thing? Aside from the Star Trek references and influences I was really impressed. It's short, sharp, to the point and a great production all round. The acting of the two leads playing Jake and Kris is wonderfully realistic and I believed their relationship. Having the first piece set up their dynamic played not only to help us get to know them but also just to lull you into a false sense of security before the main event.

The scenario is as far-fetched as they get but that's what makes it all the more interesting to watch and even though I know it's influenced by Skin of Evil I was getting hints of The Thing and The Abyss in there as well. Having so many unanswered questions certainly leaves this open for a (longer?) sequel perhaps but even if that never happens then Alrik and Beth have provided a short which will play havoc with your imagination - heck, I've already run up a feature-length followup in my head.

"Now that I am releasing the film I am hoping it can get out to a wide audience of Trekkies and Non-Trekkies alike. It was a real long process to get the film made and everyone who worked on it dedicated so much blood, sweat and tears into the project, I feel like it's my duty to get it seen by as many people as possible.

I would urge film fans and Star Trek fans to take a look at Strange Thing.  You can take a look right now by following THIS LINK.

If you've watched it, what did you think?

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Predicting 2015

The New Year is drawing every so close and it's been a great year for Star Trek with news on the 50th anniversary, sublime new episodes from some of our favourite fan series - but what do we expect from the next twelve months? Here are some of our wants, predictions and maybe, on occasion, totally unsubstantiated suggestions.

1. Star Trek 3 Trailer

Jason Lin is now the name on every Trekker's lips following the announcement that he will be directing the Robert Orci produced third movie in the rebooted series. Does this mean excessive slo-mo, big explosions, tons of pacey inter-cuts and minimalistic dialogue that does nothing to explore the characters or are we going to get a film that really pushes the boundaries and screams Star Trek all over. Well, Orci's no longer involved with the writing so all of that could be out of the window however since he is producing you have to take all of that with caution - I think his ideas will still get in there somehow. Big plus point for the new director though is his total non-association with the franchise before this point as well as his substantial experience directing ensemble casts which means McCoy, Sulu, Scotty and Chekov might get more than lip service.

Anyway, 2015 will undoubtedly give us our first teaser trailer and set photos from the next movie which will be premiering on July 8th 2016. Lots of Klingons please and minimal time-travelling Vulcans requested. How Nimoy and Shatner will appear is still to be unveiled but with the news that the script was causing all sorts of havoc we can bet that's causing some of the issues. Maybe we'll even get a cheeky little poster too...

2. 50th Anniversary Celebrations

No-brainer seeing as we have 18 months left until the biggest anniversary in the show's life thus far. Will we see the news of a huge, mind-blowing convention in the US? Will we get the reveal of Destination Star Trek 4? These are turning into the must-attend Star Trek events and would definitely crown 2016 in style. Where would DST be this time after two London trips and a Germany? France? Spain? Couple this in with one or two of the expected releases and other anniversaries we'll be noting here and this could turn into a superb event.

Might we also expect a final reunion of all the surviving cast from The Original Series including any of the recurring crew that served aboard the most famous ship in the fleet? I think it's time.

3. Deep Space Nine in HD

With the conclusion of The Next Generation's polish-up this would be the perfect continuation and something fans have been begging for since HD took Picard and crew to a whole new frontier. So far the Nor Class station has only been seen in Birthright, Part I and looked damn fine under the microscope. We can only imagine how amazing the Defiant or a Jem'Hadar warship might look...just imagine the battle scenes in Call to Arms in high definition. That one episode left us all wanting more and we'd like to believe that 16 years after What You Leave Behind aired we could be left with the ultimate collection for the show. Dribble....

4. Starships Collection

Heading for 90 issues we're now just short of the halfway point and there seems to be no stopping this model-bearing juggernaut. What would we like to see in 2015 from these guys? Well, we know just what models will be released and what specials we can expect but how about some news of what they'll be doing beyond that? What's going to be the big draw to keep us buying? How about announcing the Enterprise-A or the Jenolan? Or why not give the fans a starbase such as Regula One? I would stretch the suggest that the sixth special will also get announced and be the Narada in keeping with the JJ-centric focus of the more expensive additional releases. However we all know just how many headaches all those spines and fins are causing the Eaglemoss design team.

5. Another "Unexpected" Crossover

Following Doctor Who and Planet of the Apes, surely 2015 owes us another off the wall crossover in the Star Trek universe? Battlestar? Transformers? Dare we suggest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The possibilities as they say are endless but the trend seems to be to link in with something big and current. That said, might we even tempt that there could be a Star Wars crossover given that a certain seventh episode is due out at the end of the year?

6. Fan Series to Lead the Way

Axanar is set to leap into full production this year as is the long-delayed Equinox. However let us not forget the conspicuously absent Renegades from Tim Russ and co. A lot of fans seem to be disgruntled by the fact this has all but disappeared off the radar with no updates for some time on either the Facebook page or the team's main site. 

Horizon also posted a new trailer in the last few months so let's hope that this innovative project, set in the Archer-era adds more depth in 2015. Already we've been impressed by the work the team have put into the story right from when we saw the first shots of the original trailer and then that class first scene teaser.

Last year we were raving about a few of these shows and not all of them delivered. Both Phase 2 and Continues aired two brand new episodes which were spectacular and we know that in 2015 we'll at the very least be getting the long delayed The Holiest Thing - an episode of Phase 2 which should have aired in February this year. I'd think we'll get another two Continues shows into the bargain and we can only guess at the leaps forward these shows will make. In fact only this morning Grant Imahara (Sulu in Continues) tweeted that he was learning lines for the next ep...

7. On the Bookshelves

More on the twists and turns of Bashir's career please! We've had the first proper Deep Space Nine novel for nearly two years in The Missing plus Disavowed in a very short space of time. Surely there's even more mileage in the continuing adventures/expanded Star Trek universe!

The missions of Kirk and co will thrive in one offs but the real exciting stuff has to be the fallout from, ironically, The Fall. There's a chunk of unanswered questions that we need to see closed off and have discussed before as part of the book series review. While this isn't a prediction we'd be wrong to think that there won't be another strand added to the tapestry that is ever evolving thanks to the pens of David Mack, Una McCormack and a host of other talented Star Trek scribes. Oh - and we're looking forward to seeing the Enterprise-E back out exploring the galaxy. Not that we didn't like the recent story arcs but let's step back to the final frontier and some exploration.

8. And Finally, Voyager

January 2015 marks, incredibly, 20 years since the arrival of Caretaker on the now defunct United Paramount Network. Rick Sternbach has been championing the show's anniversary on his wonderful Facebook page and let's hope there are some little special events to mark this significant anniversary. From the speed that I'm hammering through Deep Space Nine I reckon I might hit my January 16th target to watch the pilot episode. Could there be a full cast reunion on the cards? Some literary retrospect? Might we get more of the Voyager cast adding their weight to the ongoing worlds of Star Trek Online? If this all does happen then I will be thinking Deep Space Nine has been even more criminally overlooked. 

What are your thoughts for 2015? No doubt we've only scratched the surface with a few ideas...

Funko Goes Next

When Entertainment Earth's email landed this week I almost didn't read it.

Glad I did though as they anounced the latest Funko Star Trek figures which are slated for a March 2015 release and I for one can't wait.

Already we have the original crew with an Orion Slave Girl, a Klingon and an Andorian (no Khan?) but from next year you'll be able to step into The Next Generation era with the Picard crew and they are simply brilliant.

Picard, Riker, Data, Geordi, Worf and Troi all receive their very own vinyl figures but at the moment there's no Dr Crusher or Wesley which we think should be a special double-pack. Clad in their third season uniform variations (Troi in her season four and onwards grey onsie) from the show these are just begging you to part with some cash and can be pre-ordered now. La Forge and Troi are actually my favourites here as they do offer something a little varied in style. But for me it's the non-crew additions to this release which really excite my Trekdar.

First up there's the armour clad Klingon with a Worf-like countenance (if a bit more grey in the beard) holding his bat'leth and ready to do some honoury stuff.

However, all of the above are eclipsed by the Must Buy Locutus (or Lo-CUTE-us) of Borg. Trekdom everywhere probably skipped a heartbeat when they saw this one. The outfit is superbly screen accurate including that "red dot" laser and the armature piece. This one could be the best recreation in the Star Trek vinyl figures range to date - sold out on preorders? Probably. We've included some large images of the announced range below for you to enjoy. I have to ask if we'll see a Romulan soon in this range as I suspect a Ferengi and a Cardassian will be staples of the Deep Space Nine release that would be the obvious choice next (Garak please!). 

The new The Next Generation range are available for pre-order now from Entertainment Earth HERE. Go on, order the set.

Eaglemoss and the Final Thirty

Official Starships Collection

But first a couple of little Eaglemoss updates just to warm you up for the Main Event.

It seems that the Official Starships Collection site has now added the upcoming USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E to the flick through previews on the home page - just one more little tease of this much awaited model. On their Facebook page there's also been the addition of a sneak peak plan view of the Vor'Cha due out in just three weeks time.

While that's going on there, Entertainment Earth have dropped on two magazine cover images for issues 25 and 26 due out in August. I'm very excited about these two. The first, the USS Prometheus is more confirmation of just how Voyager managed to get the coolest Starfleet ships. I suspect that this will not be separable into Multi-Vector Assault Mode as seen in Message in a Bottle and if it does come in several pieces I would suggest contacting Eaglemoss for an immediate replacement.

The next image is for the Tholian cruiser (22nd Century) and therefore from the prequel Enterprise series. As regular readers might have picked up, The Tholian Web is my all-time The Original Series favourite episode and for the time being this is going to be the closest I'll get to having the craft from that story. While the latter issue 26 might not be as hotly anticipated as the USS Prometheus, these are still two fairly well known craft which will be welcomed to any collection.

Which leads nicely into something that I have been discussing recently with +Nils W. . The first forty issues of the collection are now set in stone via the Official Starships Collection page (see below for the expected release dates table). However after that it's still something of a mystery. Reviewing the Memory Alpha initial projection list of the full 70, there are a couple of ships that were expected later which have already been released or are due in a matter of months. So, with a quick bit of juggling, here's what we see as the thirty that are still to be confirmed by Eaglemoss.

What we've also managed to deduce is that with the additional release of one special every quarter, there could well be another seven larger scale craft due to compliment the range working on the basis of one coming out every eight regular issues. If we stick to the 70 issues that means the collection will run until April 14th 2016 in the UK with, surprise, surprise, The Original Series NCC-1701 most likely being the final edition (projected currently but come on....has to be...). The Memory-Alpha provisional list is actually missing the Nausicaan Fighter too so it comes in a little short when you start working out the numbers.

There are also a line of notable absences from this list and we think there should be a campaign to ensure that at least the ones here are included in the range - let us also be reminded that the 70 issue figure could well be their original intention which could be adjusted due to demand. In that case we could be looking at 100 or more maybe!

So here's the provisional list that is still to be confirmed. I've included all of the ones omitted from those officially announced on the site.

• Raptor Class
• Breen Warship
• USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C
• Borg Queen’s Vessel
• Hirogen Warship
• T’Plana-Hath
• USS Enterprise NCC-1701-J
• Son’a Command Ship
• D5 Class
• Jem’Hadar Battleship
• Malon Export Vessel
• Federation Mission Scoutship
• Scimitar
• USS Relativity
• Goroth’s Starship
• USS Kelvin
• Son’a Collector
• Xindi-Reptilian Ship
• Suliban Cell Ship
• Phoenix
• Fesarius
• Steamrunner Class
• Xindi-Aquatic Cruiser
• Vulcan Long Range Shuttle
• Saber Class
• USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
• Romulan Bird-of-Prey (23rd Century)
• Federation Holoship
• Scorpion Class
• Norway Class
• USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Specials-wise I think we can say that the USS Vengance is a given and should be out about the same time as the Xindi-Insectoid craft. Following that are we likely to see a K-7, Regula One or a Spacedock? For note the specials seem to be appearing on 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 64.

Anyway, focusing on the last issues, as we've said, there are some massive omissions, some of which have been identified already. Some are great but others are a bit iffy - in fact there are ones in the provisional list above which we could easily substitute.

• Species 8472 bioship (cool idea...special?)
• Borg Cube (yes please - the free one is OK but this is one to consider or a special)
• Cousteau 
• Galileo (see below)
• Aeon 
• Hazari Vessel 
• Karemma Starship 
• Species 6339 Starship 
• Centaur-Class 
• D'Kyr Class 
• Laneth's Starship 
• Negh'Var 
• Romulan Science Vessel 
• SS Botany Bay

I really don't think it will finish at 70 given the blatant holes and missing craft but then there are some that should be here - and are even missing from the "extras" list. Some of these suggestions aren't that memorable and I don't think I'd be upset if the Hazari, Karemma or Species 6339 ships were omitted. At some point the line has to be drawn (who said that now....???) so here are our five essentials that must, repeat MUST get into the final 70 and aren't at the moment. Some are from the list of suggestions but others haven't even made it that far. Eaglemoss, you'd better be listening up now!

USS Pasteur (Olympic Class)

Could well have been the subscribers special model instead of the USS Enterprise-D from All Good Things.... A metal sphere section clearly here and a magazine covering alternative futures as well as the designing of the model developed from the original designs for the Kirk-era USS Enterprise of The Original Series. +Nils W. is backing this one to the hilt and I don't blame him. Missing this classic would be a dishonour even the Klingons would be embarrassed by. It's not even on the suggestions list here. Rubbish. 

Galileo Shuttlecraft

Considering that the runabout gets included in the first 40 why aren't we seeing at least one entry for the short-range personnel craft? I'm not suggesting that we do the whole range but maybe just the original design from The Galileo Seven. Forgetting its inclusion would only make it even more obvious and with the real ship's recent restoration project completed there will never be a better time. Fans probably wouldn't be concerned to miss out on the shuttle from Star Trek V or the multitude of designs from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.

Negh'Var

Either as the version seen in The Way of the Warrior or as the future Klingon warships from The Next Generation's finale. How could the Klingons not get this ship included when the Jem'Hadar manage three entries on the list? It's one of my favourite designs and seeing it only included as a side point note is a great shame....However, might I tempt a suggestion that it could be slotted into one of the Specials slots? There's a thought and I reckon that could work.

SS Botany Bay

trekcore.com

"Marooned for all eternity at the centre of a dead planet...." Hell yes. Why would you not include this is we have to have the Vengeance as a special edition? Nuts. This is one of the classics and The Original Series doesn't get enough coverage as it is in the range (mainly due to the infamous light dot to represent a ship far away). Most, if not all, fans would at least maim if not kill to see this in the final list. Imagine this as a special perhaps - a whole mag dedicated to Khan - and we mean the good one.

Kazon Warship (Predator Class)

Not the greatest of enemies featured in Voyager but they were the first and as such should be represented in some form. Maybe only the one entry is necessary and in that case let's plump for the large Kazon ship that caused a few issues in Caretaker. It's a curve ball but if we're having to stand some of the randoms suggested then this has to be higher up the priority ladder for sure! It's not special material but Voyager fans shouldn't be short-changed.

Is there a ship that you know isn't being included in the range or even mentioned as a suggestion? Maybe it's time to start getting the campaign up and running to ensure your favourite design doesn't get left on the page. Drop your comments below and let us know your thoughts! Would the ones we've selected be among your choices? Are there any you would remove?

1. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D (29th August 2013)
2. USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (movie refit) (5th September 2013)
3. Klingon Bird-of-Prey (19th September 2013)
4. Enterprise NX-01(3rd October 2013)
5. Romulan Warbird (17th October 2013)
6. USS Voyager NCC-74656 (31st October 2013)
7. Klingon K'Tinga battlecruiser (14th November 2013)
8. USS Excelsior NCC-2000 (28th November 2013)
9. USS Defiant NX-74205 (12th December 2013)
10. Borg Sphere (26th December 2013)
11. USS Reliant NCC-1864 (Miranda class) (9th January 2014)
12. Akira class (23rd January 2014)
13. Jem'Hadar cruiser (6th February 2014)
14. Cardassian Galor class (20th February 2014)
15. USS Equinox NCC-72381 (6th March 2014)
16. Ferengi Marauder (20th March 2014)
17. USS Dauntless NX-01-A (3rd April 2014)
18. Bajoran Solar Sailor (17th April 2014)
19. USS Stargazer NCC-2893 (1st May 2014)
20. Klingon Vor'cha class (15th May 2014)
21. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E (29th May 2014)
22. Krenim Temporal Weapon Ship (12th June 2014)
23. Nebula class (26th June 2014)
24. Xindi insectoid ship (10th July 2014)
25. USS Prometheus NX-59650 (24th July 2014)
26. Tholian ship (7th August 2014)
27. Romulan Bird-of-Prey (21st August 2014)
28. Maquis Fighter (4th September 2014)
29. Jem'Hadar Fighter (18th September 2014)
30. Nausicaan Fighter (2nd October 2014)
31. The Valdore (16th October 2014)
32. Runabout (30th October 2014)
33. Cardassian Hideki Class (13th November 2014)
34. Vulcan Surok Class (27th November 2014)
35. Klingon Bird-of-Prey (22nd Century) (11th December 2014)
36. Oberth Class (25th December 2014?)
37. Andorian Cruiser (8th January 2015)
38. Delta Flyer (22nd January 2015)
39. Romulan Drone (5th February 2015)
40. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B (19th February 2015)

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The Eaglemoss Official Starships Collection is available from newsagents priced £9.99 (UK) every fortnight. You can also subscribe by clicking on the link in the sidebar and head there now to secure your ships.

All images in this article from Memory-Alpha (unless stated)