Let's Take a Reality Trek (Into Darkness)

"You think the rules don't apply to you because you disagree with them" - Admiral Pike

The media machine for Star Trek into Darkness has ramped it up again with the continued evolution of the mobile app for Android and iOS (when the damn thing works that is) and the stunning, first ever motion poster featuring a smouldering London and the rumbling tones of "JH" aka Benedict Cumberbatch (removed as it got annoying).

Great idea and I've seen there is also one in existence for The Wolverine but that's off topic! It's a great new concept and was the first real clue that London was going to have a a starring role in this new production thanks to the inclusion of the Mayor's Gherkin (and it's not as interesting as that initially sounds).

"You have any idea what a pain you are?" - Pike

"I think so, sir." - Kirk

Over the weekend we also got "Teaser Trailer Two" and under the circumstances I think a more apt name for it is the "Kirk Teaser" as it's pretty much 70 seconds of scene setting for the Enterprise captain. If you've missed it, here it is for your enjoyment.

I would at this point have delved into what we learn from the new trailer but we've already got a lot of answers thanks to the 28 minute previews that have been set up worldwide. Now that's how to tease your fans and make them want more! Of course it could also be Abrams realising that it's a rubbish film later on and continuing to build the super-hype so no one will notice underneath all that lens flare. From what we've seen I doubt it's that catastrophic although there is a lot more of an action/adventure theme than I would expect from a Star Trek movie set in the Prime Universe (but more on that in a bit).

"By now all of you will have heard what happened in London..."

We now know for certain that the scenes of Kirk and McCoy running and jumping into the sea are from the early part of Into Darkness and that the Enterprise is hidden under the waves below. We can pretty much conclude that the clips of Admiral Pike verbally dressing-down Kirk are from his meeting with the captain following his blundered mission on that same red planet. Why Kirk decides to go after John Harrison is still undetermined although we get some sinister posturing from Cumberbatch albeit brief - in fact he's virtually non-existent in this trailer bar about three seconds.

"Jim - the beach is THAT way!" - McCoy

What else is new though? There's a new scoutship sequence which I would suggest is set during the quest for Harrison and there are some nice shots of Scotty double-taking against a fish; Uhura kitted up for an away mission and Spock doing that building jump...again. Overall the bulk of the trailer is focused on Kirk going through some kind of transition process - a mission, a failure and the chance to redeem. Perhaps it's not that there is a specific reason for him going after Harrison except that it is a chance to get back his command. Apart from that it's familiar territory with more repeated clips of the Enterprise creating a bow-wave in San Francisco and what I still think is Starfleet Command/Academy bearing the brunt of a saucer impact following the crash.

"Punch it." - Kirk 

While not physically in this trailer, the 28 minute previews have answered one important question that I've been musing over since Day One. We've finally found out that Peter Weller is Admiral Marcus and therefore, one would believe, Carol's dad. So there goes my super-twist that he's the baddie and Harrison is just a minion! But then who's to say that John Harrison will turn out to actually be John Harrison all the way through or that he's Weller's minion?! Over analysing this new burst of dribble-inducement seems pointless but something more (I thought anyway) interesting came to mind that I wanted to talk about in relation to the direction we're heading in with the Abrams reboot universe.. In part it's due to the trailer that this thought was sparked, it's also thanks to that stunning new poster, an unsettling feeling within the Trek online community and some apparent revelations about Abrams feelings towards the franchise. 

"We're gonna do this we gotta do it now!" - Sulu

This week, a new friend of mine, George Silsby, from the Star Trek: Starfinder audio series, reminded me about the graphic novel prequel series that's out to buy at the moment and how it might be more relevant than we think - and could even bring it back into the realms of (dare we say it) CANON. Are we going to see the destruction of this Enterprise and the arrival/recommissioning of Robert April's Enterprise that's mentioned in passing? Countdown to Darkness also notes that April had Alex Marcus as his first officer on that ship. The dots are slowly joining up! My friend from Starfinder is also postulating that Harrison is Garth of Izar. I'm inclined to agree that he's not Harrison but whether it's Garth is another thing. We'll have to put a bet on this!

It could be Harrison is a youthful version of April (reduced aging or from the past?) for instance, as we know there's some kind of aging thing going on in the first 9 minutes previewed a few weeks ago? What about Harrison being a member of April's crew as I'm pushed to think there has to be a connection to the oft-mentioned officer and in the first trailer we ever saw, Harrison was carrying April's Gatling Gun. George also mapped out the concept that with the arrival of Miss Marcus we could be getting  something involving the Genesis device. Now that would be pretty impressive and would offer the chance at life from lifelessness? Is Genesis the cure that Harrison indicates in the nine minute sneak-peak? The secret to rebirth/youth? I also think that with all these plot possibilities that are flying around, JJ will have enough material for the next six or seven films in the reboot universe. TV series later? Doubt it if this film does any good. Next film for 2016 and the 50th anniversary? Very good possibility according to Den of Geek and it would mean that it would be sooner than the four year window we've had since the first film. With Abrams moving to Wars from Trek it would mean a step back to (exec) producer while he focuses on the series that he's admitted to loving a lot more.

Anyway; conjecture, rumour mill, conspiracy theory...move on....

"He's a fugitive and I want to take him out." - Kirk

The consensus over the reboot series is mixed to say the least. Do we see it as canon given that it diverts from the prime universe and how is it classified? Do you enjoy it as an entertaining film or should it just be seen as a complete standalone? I don't believe that there is clean cut answer to it and it's pretty much each to his or her own. However, I'm going to wade in with a few thoughts. I can accept that STID is Star Trek or in the very least that it is BASED on Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek. The grip is that while Nero kinked the timeline in 2009's reboot, surely there should be some kind of crossover bar the appearance of Prime Spock. To keep the fans happy it can't be screwed with completely and yes, I understand that this is one person's interpretation bit there are some fundamental principles that need to be maintained otherwise it becomes diluted and a pale imitation of the very thing it is hoping to bring to a new audience. 

"I believe in you" - Admiral Pike

The new films are heavily focused on the action element and character and themes seem to have been sidelined but this indicates something more about today's cinematic experience. However this week Damon Lindelof has come out saying that Into Darkness is "about family" which seems a bit of a cop out frankly given the issues Trek has covered from day one - wasn't this what the first one was aboout too?! Sadly "issues" are not what today's media-savvy audiences are desiring hence it's about tech, 3D, effects and jaw droppers because that's what puts bums on seats if you'll pardon the expression. Now here's the funny thing - if it wasn't for a fist fight and a demand by the network for less cerebral concepts which led to the unprecedented commissioning of the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", then we wouldn't have Trek and the thought provoking science fiction that came over the course of the subsequent series. So just as Roddenberry did to get that first year commissioned so Abrams has gone back to basics and the fact we have a sequel is proof it worked. The wonder is as we in for more of the same or can we hope that Into Darkness recognises the fan base and points more firmly towards keeping with the Great Bird's universe. Problems is that everything I keep seeing makes me go 'wow' and want to see Into Darkness because it looks action packed and amazing as a film ut not necessarily because it's got Star Trek taped to the title.

"Come on; it's going to be fun!" - Kirk

However a series of clips and soundbites gives no idea what it will be like feature length although we've seen some good feedback off the previews that it LOOKS stunning. (Notice where I'm going here?!) This is where the whole poster grumble came in. It looks brilliant. I love the concept and it's certainly made the trailers interesting seeing the Enterprise skirting the atmosphere, crashing into San Francisco or rising up from the ocean as if reborn from the waves and certainly contrasting to its later plummet Earth-wards. Yet wasn't the whole reason for the transporter because they couldn't work out how to land the ship in the 60's? Is this where we start to think it's not exactly what it should be and that Abrams really has just decided to do his own thing and thoroughly retrofit Trek with the intention of attracting a new audience for the 21st Century? In 2009 we even had the Enterprise built on Earth which clearly goes against canon but we have to remember that the opening five minutes of the first film in 2009 effectively gave JJ free licence to do what he wants. Maybe that's just what we should do! Perhaps we should view it as fans of Batman, The Avengers, Superman or even Doctor Who?

"...Told you we'd fit." - Kirk

"I'm not sure that qualifies." - Spock

Everyone has their favourite way it's been done and reasons why. Over the years they've all seen multiple reboots and re-imaginings (11 times and counting for The Doctor!) but the basics of who is involved and the setting remain although the details surrounding it alter. We can grumble all we want or go along and enjoy it. For the foreseeable future it's the only new Trek were going to get and that has to be a reason to support its continued success. But then JJ comes out with comments suggesting thus is the only Star Trek he wants people to remember. For a generation that might be the case, but Roddenberry's vision was that humanity had put aside it's differences for the greater good, each adventure had some kind of theme or a story which helped explore one of his family of characters etc - so does the plot point of an attack on London, and supposedly by a member of Starfleet really ally itself to that? When we see it's based on Star Trek should we be reading that it's using characters and associations but it's not really the original? A bit like BMW building the Mini if you will. Or Disney doing Star Wars.....?!

"Ready to swim?"

Is JJ really trying to make a new generation aware of only his vision of the franchise and, as LeVar Burton suggested recently, ignore all that's been or will be. This cannot and will never be the ONLY Star Trek that exists and you can't just dismiss everything that came before - you can't ignore over 700 episodes and 10 films! This is the history that JJ is willing to throw away because it's not his vision and now he can with that neat little "Nero" trick. Let's be fair it's allowed some massive poetic licences as we've already recalled and I'm still not totally hot on the Spock and Uhura romance to this day - unsurprisingly we're going to be getting more of that in May. So can we really be happy with changes to a certain style of storytelling where we didn't get product placement from Nokia or music provided by the Beastie Boys? Is there more of this to be seen Into Darkness and is this a sign that we're heading into a new frontier of product placement ala James Bond? Please. No.

"I hate this!" - McCoy

"I know!" - Kirk

As a movie series so far the reboot has been good fun, certainly high-octane visual entertainment of the highest quality, but it will never replace the original series or anything from the Roddenberry/Berman vision. The essence is there but do you come out of the cinema or finish watching the DVD and release that there are more layers to it? I'm not sure it's been designed in that way. Star Trek (2009) may have inspired something of a new audience but JJ needs to remember that if it wasn't for the millions of fans who've supported and followed Star Trek since 1966 (or earlier!) then he wouldn't have a film to make; let alone a sequel. The majority of his audience will be from that long-term fanbase and not from one single two-hour blip four years ago. Let's face it, a lot of fans were (and I include myself here) ravenous for new live-action trek and seeing as it had been four years since the corpse of Enterprise had been removed from the air with THAT damp squib of a final episode, we were going to take whatever we could get - no doubt JJ knew that this would be the case and as long as it had "staples" of the franchise he was onto a winner... I hope George Lucas just keeps hold of those reins a little more tightly which is something I touched upon previously when I considered we might have been a little heavy-handed towards JJ in light of his new role within the Star Wars Mouse House. Interestingly they've just pulled Clone Wars to move the focus onto the next trilogy and I would think that in line with this we can be fairly certain Trek won't be going televisual for some time as even concepts from Michael Dorn (Captain Worf) and Jonathan Frakes have been vetoed in favour of keeping the Enterprise firmly on the cinema screen.

"Tell me this is gonna work."

Now before I start chewing my own arm off with all this postulating let's wrap this all up. The way this franchise is going reminded me of a quote from Deep Space Nine's "Crossover" as spoken by Major Kira to her mirror universe counterpart - ironic that an installment dealing with a different reality would provide a great line that can so easily apply to this new imagining of the classic crew:

"The players are all the same. They just seem to be performing different parts." - Kira

So once the credits roll at the end of this film will we no longer  accept it as Star Trek in its pure form? Will we remember JJ's Trek films as great cinematic action experiences and a footnote in the larger Trek mythos? The box office will only tell part of the tale as will DVD and Blu-ray sales, merchandising revenues and potentially any further big screen outings; the passage of time will record the rest although I suspect that Prime Trek will win out. No doubt it will outlast us all as a certain starship captain once said, "Let's make sure history never forgets the name, Enterprise" - and I would guess that now applies to whatever universe or reality you prefer...

Star Trek: The Original Series: Devil's Bargain

A new world, the return of a race from the TV series and the Enterprise  placed on a frantic mission to save a world from destruction. Welcome to the latest novel from Tony Daniel and Simon and Schuster.

Having re-educated myself with David Mack's Cold Equations trilogy and the Next Generation universe, Tony Daniel would provide my first taster of The Original Series in book form for some time. Oh - and beware, there may be SPOILERS!

Set during three and a half years into the USS Enterprise's five year mission under the command of Captain Kirk, we find the crew and ship called to the world of Vesbius to evacuate the population before an immense meteor collides with their planet and lays everything waste. Trouble is that they aren't that willing to leave for reasons which become clear and it's up to Kirk, Spock and the crew to come up with a solution that will remove the necessity to relocate the Vesbians.

This is a TOS adventure by numbers and fits perfectly with the scenarios we're familiar with from the classic TV series. On more than one occasion the crew had to deal with the classic "meteor impact" drama, naming "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" and "The Paradise Syndrome" I had very mixed feelings because of what seemed to be a retread of past adventures but I pressed on. For the first 60 pages I found it quite difficult to get into. The usual suspects are all there and to give Tony Daniel his dues, his representations of the original series crew are fairly good but their relationships seem more akin to the films than the original TV series. In the early scenes on the Enterprise bridge there is an extremely relaxed atmosphere and asides made by Chekov that would not have been out of place in Star Trek VI. McCoy is extra crotchety and Mr Scott is more often than not simply referred to as "Scotty" which seems way too informal at this time. It is as though Daniel is bedding himself in before tackling the meat of the story.

That initial 60 page section feels very much like set up. We have the introduction of the guest cast and the peril their world is facing. We are presented with Trek standards here; a government figure (Chancellor Faber), Kirk-attracted woman/chancellor's daughter (Hannah) and cynical/slightly shadowy figure with no  doubt secrets to tell (Major Merling). In a sense Daniel has absolutely captured the feel of those original episodes just in that arrangement of people and I'm sure you can come up with at least three examples where this happened. The additional spin in Devil's Bargain is racism which is experienced initially by Spock from Merling and is coupled with the activities of the Exos terrorist group who are active on the planet. Their role within the larger arc has mixed literary results but we'll come to that in a bit. While Kirk in particular makes himself at home on Vesbius, we learn about their world and the troubles they are facing from both internal and external forces.

It is when we discover a potential solution that Devil's Bargain steps up a gear and, ironically, sends us away from the very world the Enterprise is attempting to save. The solution it has to be said is unique and I have to applaud Daniel as it becomes clearer here that while we get original series staples in the characters and, to a degree, the situations, he has gone that slight step further so we're not expecting more of the same. The reintroduction of a much loved being from the original series is definitely what makes Devil's Bargain different from the other "meteor-danger" stories from the TV series. No - I'm not going to say because it is a welcome arrival to the book when they do appear and that's part of the enjoyment.

The shame of the matter is that while this is a brilliant concept they are quite limited and I'm also not entirely at home with how their civilisation is described or naming process explained.  From their original appearance it seems that this creature has been softened a little too much and lost some of its appeal It's a personal feeling more than anything but one I became acutely aware of throughout the novel.

The release of Daniel's novel couldn't have come at a better time though as it deals with a Trek stalwart theme in the form of genetic engineering. Cue copious amounts of Khan Noonien Singh references and associations from beginning to end. Given the hankering for the possibility that Khan is part of Star Trek into Darkness, Daniel has timed it's release almost to month on month perfection. 

You're probably starting to get the feeling this isn't a TOS novel that pushed my buttons if you'll pardon the expression and admittedly you're right to some degree but it's not all doom and gloom! When we get further into the book the characters of Kirk and Spock are brilliantly written and at times my mind had slipped into 'Shatner' mode. Spock is dealt with very well and proves a vital conduit to allow communication with Vesbius' saviours. Spock, perhaps with his relationship to the "special guest star" achieves the most visibility within Devil's Bargain but while there are many twists and turns within his story, there can be no doubt where he will end up at the end of the story. What we can look for and I suspect Daniel realised this, is "how" Spock deals with situations and how he will end up at the inevitable point at the conclusion of the book. For future writers of The Original Series novels I would recommend that their writings should focus on that "how" element because there can be no doubt who will survive - after all, he's not wearing red. 

Sadly none of the other cast receive quite so much depth even though Mr Scott and McCoy do manage decent levels of page space.There are certainly some great incidents which mean  Sulu and Chekhov also get in on the action and the former even has to confront some of the racist jibes that Spock faces early on once again from Merling who seems to uniquely display this action thoughout.

Biggest gripe here? Kirk and Hannah Faber, the daughter of Vesbius' governor. Too much and much too soon. Within minutes of meeting they are locked into a deep and meaningful relationship which I find difficult to swallow as Kirk's one true love is, of course, the Enterprise. His previous marriage to Miramanee is mentioned but it not only reminds us that Kirk was at that time "Kirok" due to memory loss and that her world was also under threat from a meteor. The description of some of their encounters also seemed a little over-detailed as one of the strengths of TOS was the hint of what might have occurred and not showing/describing what did. This subtlety is lost within the relationship that develops and Hannah as a character holds no resonance for me as a reader.

While we regard Kirk as a bit of a ladies man this makes him out to be a bit of a pervert and bed jumper which will not appease long time Trek fans. Considering that, the way their love develops to the conclusion of the book seems a little cut and dry. We know that Kirk will always choose his career over a relationship so why even bother building it up when readers will potentially not believe his motivations from the start. Sadly for Hannah this dilutes her role as a senior figure within the Vesbian society and makes her incredibly two dimensional and not much more than Kirk's conquest. What does bug me is that while I can grumble about this book for a good while I still enjoyed it but would definitely not term it as an essential page turner. 

I did find it interesting but every time I want to offer praise I get drawn towards something that knocks it back again. The climax and revelations we would hunger for just don't deliver here even with our "special guest star" whom the Enterprise is dispatched to collect. The terrorist group who plague the opening sections on Vesbius are dealt with very easily and I'm actually surprised in some instances that it takes as long as it does to work out who they are.Indeed, one of the figures at the end is barely seen for the duration before he is revealed as key to  a larger part of Vesbius' story.

Pacing was another problem I just couldn't get to grips with here. It all seemed to be over too soon and with very little fuss, even down to the Kirk/Hannah relationship. With a few more pages we could have seen the finale evolve with a little more drama than I think is provided here. While not the greatest of Star Trek novels it was a pleasant diversion and, if nothing else, demonstrated that Daniel is very at home with the formula that made TOS work. If you're looking for something to fill a good few evenings and allow some reminiscing over Kirk and crew in their early days then I would say Devil's Bargain would prove an ideal candidate.

Star Trek: The Original Series: "Devil's Bargain" is available from Simon and Schuster priced £6.99; ISBN 9781476700472

Audio Frontier: Star Trek: Starfinder

When I was asked by the guys behind Star Trek: Starfinder to review their pilot episode,  "The Back of Beyond" I was filled with excitement and Fear.

While this is brand new Trek in an audio format and therefore a brilliant experiment I was terrified that saying anything which didn't involve superlatives would result in me being hunted down and fed to their pet Targ in very, very small pieces. Luckily I was reassured by writer/director George Silsby that this would not be the case - so wish me luck.

Set during the early 2400s and more significantly in the time frame populated by the Starfleet of Star Trek Online,  we are privy to the first mission of a new crew aboard the Odyssey Class starship. Starfinder. Essentially that's what this first 59 minute instalment is about; an introduction to this scifi audio experience and within it we meet an incredible array of characters who will be our guides through the evolution of the series. It's difficult to know where to start in fact as there are so many. We have an synthetic AI captain with the memories of several experienced captains to make him the ideal commander,  a Romulan first officer, a Breen security chief, an Andorian Aenar who is linked to a liberated Andorian Borg (certainly a duo my interest is peeked to see more of),  MACOs (Military Assault Command Operations) and a sprinkling of 155 Jem'Hadar accompanied by their Vorta supervisor, Alura. Alongside these diverse individuals there are a plethora of Star fleet crewmembers who help flesh out events in episode one - and one of them has a link to the shadowy Section 31. Still with me?! Good.

I've been fortunate enough to have some time to sit and listen to Starfinder uninterrupted and this is possibly one of the things that the ST:S team need to consider going forward. Running to nearly an hour is a big commitment for an audio series listener.  Lopping it down to 44 mins as per a standard TV Trek episode could be the way forward as at times it did feel as though we were getting rushed from one incident to the next to fit everything in under the one hour mark.  There are a lot of characters introduced and if you are listening to it in bits it might become quite confusing. The first fifteen minutes put us into contact with the majority of the list above and more as well as several pieces of key plot and background exposition around the ship, the mission and the crew themselves. While I thoroughly enjoyed this take on Star Trek from the beginning I felt that "The Back of Beyond" could have done with double length treatment just to allow the characters room to breathe and not feel that we're having things pointed out for the sake of them being said. 

There's a lot of chopping and changing in this hour as we meet everyone and get snippets of information about their characters that will (I hope)  be explored in episodes to come. From an action point of view this is brilliant as you really don't get the chance to be bored by anything that's happening. The one time that does stand out as some great potential for the relationships on board the Starfinder is between the Breen security chief and the MACO Trill Naveera. You can feel the hatred bubbling under and let's hope this gets a fair amount of time dedicated. However, one of the strengths that I felt TNG and DS9 handled well and could be something for the writers to develop over the course is to provide longer scenes that flesh out the crew naturally. I suspect there's a good deal of talent and enjoyment among the actors here and it would be great to see them properly chew through my headphones so to speak.

Before you worry that an audio Trek series is just going to be one long talk, don't. The Starfinder series kicks off with a number of key action sequences. There's an attack on the Starfinder as they enter the unexplored Outback and later on an away mission to an M-class planet old with less than welcoming inhabitants. These are both well handled considering this is a first attempt and you can feel a lot of work has gone into the production to ensure that we can feel the tension and suspense as events unfold. We get Tholians and Klingons as part of a two-for-one battle, again introducing us to more characters as I understand the Klingons will be returning. How their relationship with the Starfinder crew will go is yet to be seen as the two ships explore the mysterious Outback and the planets and lifeforms contained within it.

In the respect of the away mission, it seems to be over in minutes and that includes other pieces that link directly to what is happening on the surface. I would have loved to see more of this mission rather than have the crew planted straight into danger. There are a lot of different elements into this sequence and here the quick changes between involved parties does work well - but I wanted more! Have to say though, the solution dreamed up from Captain ANN-D (Artificial Neural Network version D) nicely nods the hat to one of the prior generations of Trek but I'll let you find that out for yourselves. In fact that brings me nicely to my next point.

Actually, it's a niggle.  The acting is fine and there's some white noise on the mixing but that's not what I'm here to look at. Those issues will be dealt with in time as cast and background crew become more familiar with their roles,  the script and what can be done to make a smooth audio production. However, there is a mass of character intros which just seem packed into a very short time and then we have a quickly executed mission. Perhaps with an expansion into "pilot length" and a two-part split there could have been the chance for some longer introductory sequences with less "forced" explanations of character motivations and backgrounds. Ideally the arrival at the Outback could have slotted nicely into that "cliff-hang" position as we're even told its a two week trip to get there from Deep Space Nine. Script-wise it's a good job overall and will progress as the show develops and other writers are involved - potentially I'd suggest being aware of the occasional colloquialism slipping in! 

As a secondary note I was granted access to Starfinder some first two mini-sodes and a teaser for the second episode. As things go I'll warn you that the following section is specifically about these three audio files so if you don't want to know, look away now! 

Introducing agent T'Kayla and her timeship and the half-Vulcan Sadera in the first mini-sode there's some nice referencing to a certain JJ-verse. T'Kayla's mission will undoubtedly bring her into contact with the Starfinder as it dallies with the temporal anomalies of the Outback. It's hard to review two minutes where it's a dialogue between two individuals but here we do get a nice teaser which works well in that format. The second mini-sode introduces us to Lieutenant Valor who is the deputy security chief. Nicely we get to see events from the first episode from a slightly different perspective in another part of the ship. The friction between the MACOs and the Jem'Hadar is again touched upon here so there's clearly a bigger plan in action. This is a very personal log which provides some excellent exposition of this new character - and means there's another potential story thread for us to follow if the previous mini-sode is anything to go by. I'm sure we can count on her Vulcan relationships coming into conflict with those she will have with the crew of the Starfinder. 


The trailer for episode two gives some great hints at whats to come - more Breen, more T'Kayla, more action, more conflict and more temporal happenings. So when can we get to hear this?

I'm quite excited to see where they will end up when compared back to this initial effort and all the signs point towards this being a great success because you can feel the passion for the topic from everyone involved. There is a drive to succeed and I for one will be proud to say I was there from the start of this, I suspect, epic adventure.

Episode One of Star Trek: Starfinder; "The Back of Beyond" is available for download now. 

Cold Equations Book Three: The Body Electric

David Mack's conclusion to the Cold Equations trilogy is both epic and brave - and there might be spoilers!

Brave because there are no Tholians,  Gorn, Breen or mention of the Typhon Pact; epic because this really is the ultimate mission for survival. Very little of the Alpha Quadrant gets a look in here and if you're looking for "more of the same" then this is certainly a curve ball I didn't see coming to round off David Mack's latest three-book foray into Trekdom.

If it wasn't for the ongoing tale of the resurrected Data and his search for the Immortal, you could be forgiven at times for thinking that this is a standalone novel. That thread is in greater evidence here than before and certainly more than in Silent Weapons so if you were wondering where it had gone, never fear.  While there is a larger threat and storyline played out in The Body Electric, you cannot help but be reminded of the events and narrative that have reintroduced us to Data 2.0. The overall arc has very much been the story of his return and the quest that he takes on to locate Akharin (aka Emil Vaslovik aka the Immortal). This was almost skated over in the previous novel with scant reference to the arc until the last few chapters which essentially set up this finale.

As I've said, if you're expecting something similar to Silent Weapons then you'll be surprised. as The Body Electric is different again showing that Mack is a dab hand at at least three genres and is not fond of sitting back and allowing his readers to get too comfortable or dug into the rut of "same old, same old" storytelling. The Persistence of Memory was autobiographical for the most part; Silent Weapons a political thriller and here in The Body Electric it's all about action and (Im)mortal danger. The stakes have, to use a cliché, never been higher.   

Finding a terrible galaxy-destroying machine at the heart of the Milky Way, Traveler Wesley Crusher returns to the Enterprise seeking help to save civilisation from imminent destruction when he is left with no other option and abandoned by his associates. While all this kicks off at one location, Data makes contact with the Fellowship of Artificial Intelligence in order to gain access to the Immortal, Akharin. Mack takes us to the very heart of our galaxy for the climax to the Cold Equations trilogy. Changing the style of novel maintains the focus and has kept this series from becoming stale. Here the story elements are drawn together from different locations to the arena where the showdown for this saga is ultimately set - and the centre of the galaxy can be no bigger a stage!

Now I'll give Mack this; until their mention right at the end of Silent Weapons I had completely forgotten about Noonien Soong's visits from the Fellowship of Artificial Intelligence. In The Body Electric we really get to understand their significance within the overall framework of this trilogy and what their ultimate goal is. The android characters we meet are wide and varied; tentacled, bipedal, tread-rolling, multi-eyed and exceptionally loyal to their cause. Once more the benefit of the written page allows Mack to create much  more than we would have been able to experience on the screen which in turn gives these stories something of a cinematic quality - the writers of a few Enterprise episodes could have learned a thing or too from this.

Tyros, the second-in-command(roid) we have met before, attempting to lure Soong to their ranks in the pages of Book One. Now we see him as the right-hand to Gatt, a more hard-line android who has, shall we say, been through the mill. I loved reading the sections where these two characters were present as they aren't maliciously evil and, as Tyros points out, it's more about obsession. I found Gatt quite interesting namely due to his beliefs and determination. Gatt's path through the novel is certainly one of the more interesting and is perhaps not what you might expect. Tyros however doesn't come across quite as sinister or shadowy as he did in The Persistence of Memory and it's a shame that this is lost, possibly due to the nature of the story more than anything else - at some point we had to "get to know" him.

In relation to this pairing, Mack handles several duets through The Body Electric and there are certainly a few to explore.  While Silent Weapons highlighted the bond between Picard and Crusher, Mack goes to town with Worf and the captain being the only ones to seemingly slip the net. Central is the relationship triangle of Data, Akharin and Rhea McAdams. The way in which these three deal with each other while in the company of the Fellowship is crucial to the book and to bring about a conclusion to this piece of Data's rebirth. This is a Data determined to succeed with his own goals especially where family is concerned (make sure you take note of the prologue, readers). If that's not enough for you then there are a few secondary stories building on this relationships theme. . We have seen Taurik and T'Ryssa Chen before, but I'm not sure if their story brings much to the novel overall. It acts as a distraction from the intensity of the main plot but whether it's necessary at all is debatable as the arc story and the danger posed by the Machine are more than enough here to fill out near-350 pages. In some ways this additional "C" story feels like filler which is interesting as I didn't get that sense with either of the previous books. It is all wrapped up well but I would have preferred Data's search for the Immortal to have taken a bit longer to build up and intensify. The way in which it all happens early on just seems a bit easy! I had expected there to be more time spent finding Akharin and travelling to the Machine (as it is called) but there seems to be a lost opportunity to explore what Wesley has been doing and some more investigative workings from our favourite resurrected android. The speed at which Data locates the Immortal is break-neck especially when you consider that it looked like it was going to be a long process going by the investigations he was undertaking at the beginning of Silent Weapons.

As with the previous books, readers will hopefully be drawn in by the wealth of cross-referencing to Trek of days past.  At some point within The Body Electric we are pointed in the direction of TNG (very, very important),  DS9 and the original series and it's movie sequels (very, very, very important).  All credit to the author here as everything is slotted in and has a use.  As I've noted before it's all important and don't forget a thing.  It's likely to be significant further down the line! What we also get here is the return of Wesley Crusher and I have to take Mr Mack to task here because I didn't find him annoying! In fact I enjoyed reading the character and it felt like there had been a maturing period since we last spent any time with him on screen (I would class that as TNG's "Journey's End" rather than the fleeting appearance in Nemesis although we are reminded of that here). He's all grown up and acts as a major driving force to get this story moving. He's learnt a lot but we don't get the arrogance that plagued his last TNG visit. Time has changed him to a more reasonable individual who, it has to be said, has been perhaps modelled just a little on Wil Wheaton - if only in physical appearance - but you can still imagine the old Wesley at times, especially when he's speaking to Beverly, mother to son.

It's very hard not to divulge too much of this book without ruining potential enjoyment of the trilogy because there are so many strands from Books One and Two that are tied up here, as well as a few from some time earlier and any reference would surely give it all away. I would say that there is one part of the concluding section of the book which I wasn't too thrilled with and after the amazing roller-coaster that we've been through over the course of 900 odd pages I did feel a little bit let down while still in some ways expecting that something like this would be on the cards. While I'm mentioning this, I'm not sure whether we needed a blink-and-miss appearance by Q early on. A visit that forms the snapshot taster page at the start of the book. A little misleading to what is coming perhaps and it left me wondering if he would be turning up at some point even though it is made clear he has been left unable to intervene by the Continuum,

Now hopefully I've managed to avoid wrecking the plot and your enjoyment of The Body Electric.  If you've not read any of the previous books  I thoroughly recommend you do so before attempting this final narrative. I've even put in an order for the Star Trek: Destiny omnibus to help bring me back up to speed. Right. The overall opinion bit. It's a good conclusion to the trilogy and leaves enough open for Mack or other authors to continue the expanded universe saga, developing a wealth of characters who could end up in their own novels given further development. I preferred the political nature of the second book over both The Persistence of Memory and The Body Electric. What swayed it for me was the disappointment that nothing was made of the discovery made at the end of Book two in the following volume. I still prefer Secret Weapons as a story and would rate it as the best volume out of the three as the omission of that central story factor greatly affected my judgement over the final book. There should have been some kind of follow-up but I guess that wasn't in the big plan. So, The Body Electric, good, but like many an odd-numbered Trek movie, it left me wanting for that little bit more. May be the next book from David Mack will answer some of those niggling questions and I certainly look forward to finding out.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations Book Three: The Body Electric is available now from Simon and Schuster priced £6.99 ISBN 9781451650747

You can read my review for Book One: The Persistence of Memory and Book Two: Silent Weapons now at Some Kind of Star Trek

Cold Equations Book Two: Silent Weapons

Silent Weapons picks up a short time after the events of Book One, The Persistence of Memory and from the off this is a very different beast to its predecessor.

Now before we go any further - SPOILER ALERT. If you haven't read the first book, be warned as I WILL be referring to it during this review!

While The Persistence of Memory skipped through time to provide the autobiographical narrative of Doctor Noonien Soong, this is a much more linear affair but much more complicated in the nature of the plot. It does require a bit more concentration to keep track of events right from chapter one - yep, David Mack kicks this sequel off with a lot of balls in the air and the art here is very much in the catching.

I was hesitant as to where this was going to go as Book One really left things open for interpretation. After getting into the heart of the book at about 150 pages I realised that it's as close as Star Trek could come to a taut political thriller. While the Vaslovik plot is carried over from the first novel in the trilogy, it spends a considerable amount of time on the proverbial backburner in favour of political machinations which I found to be more interesting but we'll come to that in turn. Book Two focuses more on the discovery of the android factory from the concluding section of The Persistence of Memory and the way in which the Breen are utilising this find for their own devices. There are numerous locations for the action, namely the Breen homeworld, a control centre for their acquired androids, a secret conference on Orion and then the Enterprise itself. Now you know that at some point they will all come together, the fun is in working out just how Mack will achieve this by the last page. I can assure you it does and - well, I'm not going to ruin it! I will say that it's a "thinker" and you need to be on your toes to keep up with who is doing what, where, when and how otherwise you might be in a big narrative mess by about page 160. 

My interest in this novel was piqued more than with the first not just for the multi-faceted thriller but also thanks in no small part to its supporting cast. The Gorn, one of my favourite alien races in the franchise (kudos for that, Mr Mack), are heavily featured and we get name-checks for the Tholians and the Tzenkethi too as part of the shadowy Typhon Pact. Even the Romulans manage an appearance to remind us that they're still a power to be reckoned with in this quadrant. I hope that Mack utilises the Gorn again in the future and that we get to see the Tholians in action and not just as a technology reference.

Reading this purely on my journey back and forth to work could have been a nightmare due to the strands that Mack lays out but I kept up with a couple of flick-backs to earlier chapters and previous pages so it was well worth it. Occasionally there are plot reminders from the cast which helps keep you in the picture. Everything has a purpose (as we know!) and no action is there for the sake of filling a page. As with my first review I don;t want to give too much away as it would ruin the experience that I was lucky to have upon opening chapter one - needless to say the Breen are up to no good here and Data gets implicated very early on, bringing the Enterprise to the Orion homeworld. Some of the initial chapters might seem irrelevant in some of the details described and you are left wondering - but persevere and you will not be disappointed. If there's one thing I'm learning from David Mack is that everything has a purpose!

One thing that I do enjoy within Mack's work is that he just loves playing with known Star Trek concepts. It happened in The Persistence of Memory and it's in action once again here. We're reintroduced to Captain Morgan Bateson, formerly of the USS Bozeman and it was impossible NOT to think of him as anyone other than Kelsey Grammer in "Cause and Effect" from The Next Generation. Orion was never visited in the multiple TV series but Mack builds on his visual impressions littered into Book One and fleshes them out further, even to the point of taking us deep into their slums and teaching the reader about the nature of their society. Fascinating stuff but my hat truly has to come off for his insights into the Gorn who have only managed two story appearance across the five series and ten films.  In particular their view of art is intriguing and I was quite envious of how Mack has established their culture, hierarchy and motivations within this story. While you would think it would be enough to focus on providing an insight into just the one race as part of the narrative, don't be deceived as the Breen get their own fair amount of page time in which we learn much more about the structure and taboos of their society while we watch them unfold their plans section by section.

Twisting thriller into mystery into action, Mack weaves the after-effects of The Persistence of Memory into this new story with deadly androids doing their masters' bidding, secretive Breen and even the UFP President thrown into the soup for good measure - one gripe; why did the President's bodyguards have to verge on the cliched CIA-style agent with dark glasses and a suit? Minor point but it's the 24th Century....! 

This new Data is something of an oddment and whenever I was reading this character I felt about as uneasy as Geordi - it's Data but it's not. The memories are there but this is Data version two and while you can see the character is there, if only through the absence of contractions in his speech, he feels different just in the way he carries himself through the narrative and on more than one occasion I made myself question who this character was. David, if this is part of the plan, I applaud you because it worked. The "new" Data is centre-stage for a good portion of this novel as are Picard, Geordi and Worf and all four characters are well defined and seem to work better within this story than they did in Book One. While the latter three characters are familiar the resurrected Data really is intriguing and slightly eerie. Indeed  it is his predicament which drives the story initially and the trail of crumbs and events from that which power the story along.  The pacing is great as we move from one set piece into investigation, to diplomacy, to private moments and then back into action once again - there's no let up so if you have to put this book down beware of what point you take a break - what you've just read may be very relevant in a few pages time or you might need to recall it in a few chapters!

Anyway, a lot of this book as you will have gathered, is focused on androids and Soong-type androids to be precise. They instill a great deal of paranoia into the story because you just don't know where or when they will turn up, what will happen when they do and whether or not they will succeed in their actions. Some of the descriptions of their actions are brutal and we can see that they are focused solely on their mission's goal. The androids are expendable but there is definitely more to them than you first think considering what they are capable of doing and who is in control of their minds. Manipulation is the name of the game.

Alongside the main story is a sub-plot revolving around Picard and Crusher which does link into the main thread at one point later on. I felt this was a particularly effective thread as it dealt with the nature of their relationship as a family and as shipmates. Mack drops in a note about the age difference between La Forge and Smrhova at one point - because these guys aren't getting any younger and it does waft up scents of nostalgia because of the length of service we have seen the main characters over. 

The Jean-Luc/Beverly plot reminds us that they are human and that at some point things have to change, especially as the captain is no longer single and there are important matters to consider for their future and the safety of his son. I'll be interested to see if this transitions into the final book, The Body Electric. I'm also fascinated to know how the Vaslovik plot is going to be continued in the finale as we have effectively skipped over it from the first few chapters of Silent Weapons. It was the reason for Data's presence on Orion but other things got in the way!

Overall I probably enjoyed this story much more than I did with The Persistence of Memory, possibly because I understood a bit more about the expanded Trek universe and also because the first book had "broken" me back into the TNG universe. Looking back, the first novel is very much a set up piece which lays a lot of seeds and possibilities for the second book and doubtless the third will bring all the threads together neatly (I say that now!). Not a book to pick up on its own but if you've pounded through the first book this is certain to satisfy your curiosity and leave enough questions unanswered (again) to ensure that the concluding book is an essential purchase.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations Book Two: Silent Weapons is now available  from Simon and Schuster ISBN 9781451650730 priced £6.99

All Grown Up: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Five

I've always considered there to be two eras to The Next Generation - the pre-Piller years of '87 to '89 and the remaining five seasons from '89 to '94.  Of the latter, season five is the one I approach with the most trepidation and following my re-watch over the last couple of months I still hold the same view.  

Of the "later" Piller years I find this to be the most uneven batch of episodes.  There are some out and out classics in here that would make it onto everyone and anyone's top list of TNG episodes and possible even a few that would challenge for some of the best installments ever but they are slightly tarnished by those they sit alongside and more-so than other seasons. 

So what's this season about? Originally I was going to call this blog Mortality and Morality as Sarek dies ("Unification"), Worf dies ("Ethics"), Geordi and Ro "die" ("The Next Phase"), Data 'dies' ("Time's Arrow"), everyone dies over and over again in "Cause and Effect" and that's just the main cast! You're hard pressed to find an episode where someone isn't on the verge of death or ending up on the slab during this year - and then there's the morality bit. The dangers of addictive gaming ("The Game"), homosexuality and conformity ("The Outcast"), mental rape ("Violations"), euthanasia ("Ethics"), enforced parenthood ("New Ground"), slavery ("The Perfect Mate") and dealing with horrific trauma ("Hero Worship") all get an airing this season but there seem to be chunks of these more serious and personal stories through the season providing that uneven keel and perhaps making it quite a hard series to access in some respects.

So what did I actually like about Season Five?  Quite a lot if I'm honest.  While it is uneven in places, it's still a cut above TNG's first two seasons. More importantly the fact that it's willing and able to tackle such difficult subjects through the year shows that TNG had really come of age. The first two years of the child learning to walk were distant memories, seasons three and four marked the show making itself stable, polishing the finish and then embarking on season five as a grown up; well experienced and prepared. However the placing of the more thought provoking episodes to the action-orientated installments could have done with a little bit more planning but on the whole it's a good effort.

The opening conclusion to "Redemption" was never going to live up to the hype of the previous season's cliffhanger but it's still an enjoyable start to the year. Commander Sela arrived and returned Denise Crosby to the Trek fold, popped up again in "Unification" - and then was promptly never seen again. It's OK but there was much better to come - virtually from the next episode when we encountered Picard in his trendy new captain's jacket and Darmok, at Tenagra of course. For me this was the real sign that TNG had grown up, as was the introduction of the semi-regular character, Ensign Ro in the eponymous episode. Semi-regular is perhaps a bit strong for Ro as she only made a series of fleeting appearances from here to "Preemptive Strike" right at the end of TNG's seventh year (mental note that I should do something about her in the future). The promised conflict wasn't to the levels that we would see from Major Kira in DS9 but her arrival did add a different edge that the Enterprise hadn't seen since its inception in 1987. It also introduced us to the Bajorans - a race whose actions and involvement with the fish-like Cardassians would affect the back stories of the two series that followed.

Indeed, as a year for "big" events such as the creation of the Bajoran back-story  they were pretty massive - and all I need to say here is Spock and probably "The Inner Light". The latter of which is, of course, rated as one of the great TNG moments. No question can be made of Patrick Stewart's performance here and no matter how many times I've watched it I still get a bit of a lump in my throat at the end. The story has everything that Picard can't have and all in less than 25 minutes. In the case of the former, what can we say - the return of a legend and finally a point where TNG became comfortable with its past. For more on this one, I would refer you to my recent blog on the seminal two-parter.

It was quite a season for returns in fact. The Crystalline Entity came back (and shattered), Sarek came (and went), Sela turned up (and went twice), Wesley came back (twice), Lwaxana appeared for her customary story and wouldn't be back until season seven (luckily); all that was missing was Q - but he would receive two installments the following year to make up for his notable absence. Another returnee who would be sticking around in the same "recurring" vain as Ensign Ro was Worf's son, Alexander. He would pop in and out over the course of the next two seasons and a few occasions on DS9. Alexander had the enviable ability to age at a phenomenal rate and also sadly gets lumbered with a heavy weight family stories this season. While they aren't my favourite installments by several country miles they do provide a lot of development for Worf as he becomes more comfortable with parenthood. Out of the whole cast he's probably the most used character this year however the shame is that the stories he is provided with are either Alexander related or honour related which is a shame because in other seasons we see much more to the character than these two facets which he becomes bogged down with in season five.

Brannon Braga is definitely one of the heroes of this season from a writing perspective. While "The Game" is a fair segment his real highlight is the mind-bending repetitive "Cause and Effect". Jonathan Frakes also deserves a fair amount of praise here for the direction here. It can't have been the easiest to work on especially as the whole episode effectively happens over and over again. Somehow Frakes comes up with something slightly different for each cycle to keep the audience attention and keep the story fresh each time. This is probably one of my favourites along with the classic "Darmok", Ronald D Moore's "The Next Phase" (which we would see a twist on in season seven) and "Conundrum" - if I'm not mistaken this was a few years before Buffy dropped Dawn into its fold without any explanation. It's also a wonderful occasion for the cast to play out of character and add a new "regular" for 30 minutes. Worf decides he's captain, Data mans Ten Forward and the mismatched Riker and Ro take their relationship to another level. If it had been made in the first two seasons it would have been an instant classic but dropping as it does in the middle of the fifth, it's overshadowed by others mentioned here. Still, one that is certainly on my "To Watch Again" list for the future.

I've mentioned it already but there are some highly moralistic episodes in season five, perhaps more than any other year of TNG. While this gets a bit of a drag later on, it's not the lowlight of the year. That honour has to be shared between two installments later in the year. First, "Cost of Living" , for the amusement park and mud bath sequences as well as the double hit of Lwaxana Troi and Alexander in the same 45 minutes. Way too much for me to deal with as I'm not a flag waver when it comes to Deanna's mother. I will watch them but it's against preference. I find this a particularly grating story that does damage to the character of Worf in some respects and is another Alexander/Worf family story where they have some issues to resolve in their father/son relationship. Writing this now I think this is why I'm not a great fan of this year. There's a lot of schmaltz and that goes for another story too.

Then there's the misfire that is "Imaginary Friend". While the story is solid enough I think the tragedy is that it is built around a young girl, Clara, who is not one of the cast and as such the emotional bond that has been built over years isn't there. In essence what happens to her isn't going to have much effect on the series on the whole. A nice little space filler but a shame when compared to some of the shows surrounding it. Kids are great; I'm happy to admit that, but the writers of TNG never really got to grips with them and in these two pieces it is very evident. Honestly, I feel a little sorry for Brian Bonsall getting lumbered with some of the scripts here in season five. Luckily he got "Rascals" and "A Fistful of Datas" in the following year which made up for it.

These are probably the only two episodes I could point to as being disappointing in the 91 - 92 season. My re-watch has discovered that "Unification" is a lot better than I remembered and "The Masterpiece Society" is a far better story than I thought aged 15. While we're mentioning that, it's also worth dropping in "Violations" - what a great story and so well played out. It's something a little edgy for TNG and the whole cast do a superb job with a great script from  Pamela Gray and Jeri Taylor. Not a bad result I would say considering this was a season I was not overly enthused to start watching again.

Getting later into the season the final four episodes are back-to-back brilliance; fast paced and jaw dropping sci-fi. The Borg are back; Geordi and Ro get to walk through everything in the budget-smashing "The Next Phase" and then there's the oft mentioned Picard-fest of "The Inner Light". However I must reserve my favourite moment of the entire year for the pre-credits sequence in the season finale, "Time's Arrow". While you just know it will be a cliffhanger and that there is absolutely no hope that the conclusion is going to do the first part any justice it contains one image that has stayed with me for many years and totally shocked me when I first saw a picture of it in the Star Trek Chronology (blast from the past!). It is of course Data's head on the ground in a cave under San Francisco. Apart from the face of Locutus on the Enterprise viewscreen at the end of season three I don't think that there's another image in TNG history that is burned into my mind as well as this one. I still get a chill seeing it now!

So what's next? Well, season six and the conclusion to Data's time-travelling predicament. Now I enjoyed season five but I have quite fond memories of its successor as all fans do. Will they be the same this time around and what episodes will cause a change of heart?

Oh - and what the HELL is going on with Riker's hair in Season Five?!