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Review — STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Season 2 on Blu-ray

TrekCore Staff
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Review — STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Season 2 on Blu-ray

Review by Ken Reilly and Jim Moorhouse

It’s been six months since the USS Discovery crew solved the mystery of the Red Angel, defeated Control’s takeover of Section 31, and warped into the far future… but this week, the second season of Star Trek: Discovery has beamed down on physical media for the first time.

Debuting on region-free Blu-ray today in North America — and landing in Europe beginning November 18 in the UK — the newest season of the Trek franchise comes home in a four-disc set that includes not only all 14 episodes of Discovery‘s sophomore season, but nearly four hours of behind the scenes interviews and deleted scenes, plus four episodic commentary tracks featuring new insights from the show’s cast and production leadership.

Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) examines Spock’s red signal map. (“New Eden”)

· Disc 1 includes “Brother,” “New Eden,” “Point of Light,” and “An Obol for Charon.”

· Disc 2 continues with “Saints of Imperfection,” “The Sound of Thunder,” “Light and Shadows,” and “If Memory Serves,” along with the first Short Trek, the Saru-centric “The Brightest Star.”

· Disc 3 holds “Project Daedalus, “The Red Angel,” “Perpetual Infinity,” and “Through the Valley of Shadows.”

· Disc 4 closes the season with “Such Sweet Sorrow” and “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2,” the Tilly Short Trek “Runaway,” and the two largest documentary features.

The “red angel” appears above Essof IV. (“The Red Angel”)

As noted in our first preview of this collection, only two of last year’s four Short Treks are included here — those most connected to the Season 2 storyline — with “Calypso” and “The Escape Artist” left out.

With the continuing run of short episodes running through January 2019, we’re hoping that a ten-episode Short Treks collection, covering all of the 2018 and 2019 run of episodes, might be announced in the new year.

Saru (Doug Jones), center, at home with his family on Kaminar. (“The Brightest Star”)

In addition to the standard release rolling out internationally, there’s also a special Steelbook edition (which we showcased back in September) which nicely pairs up with last year’s Season 1 set.

Featuring artwork including a debossed metallic rendering of the Star Trek: Discovery logo, the now-familiar “Red Angel”-themed Starfleet delta key art, and the ship itself on the rear, the Steelbook contains the same on-disc content as the standard edition of Season 2.

Available through Best Buy in the US, through Zoom in the UK, and through Amazon in various international territories, hopefully this Steelbook variant will continue to be an option for future Discovery seasons so collectors won’t end up with mismatched designs.

Like last year, the video quality is certainly a step up from the compressed picture seen on CBS All Access and Netflix streaming presentations. The switch to anamorphic widescreen for Season 2, along with the refined space VFX shots which thankfully dropped the annoying haze seen in Season 1, all make for a much more pleasant viewing experience on Blu-ray.

Along with the video improvements, the set also brings English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio, and a collection of standard foreign language tracks (German, French, Italian, Castilian, and Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital).

Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, Italian, German, French, Castilian, Japanese, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian,  and Swedish — but no Klingon this time around.

Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and Tyler (Shazad Latif) look down on planet Boreth. (“Point of Light”)

At some level, when it comes to special features and extra material provided on home video releases, it’s all been done before. That’s certainly true on the Discovery Season 2 Blu-ray release, which includes nearly four hours of special features — plus several episode commentary tracks.

Of course, just because the features don’t revolutionize the format does not mean they aren’t a valuable addition for Star Trek fans who love behind-the-scenes access into how their favorite shows are made.

Without question, the Season 2 value-added material (VAM) on this release is much improved over the Season 1 release. Understandably, the material does not touch on any of the behind-the-scenes machinations regarding the showrunner changes mid-way through the production, but it certainly more than makes up for that fact with a scope of content that basically leaves no creative stones unturned.

That all being said, let’s break down the ten Season 2 documentary features:

Designing Discovery  (17:47)

Dense feature, covering virtually the entire season, on the amazing production design work from the likes of Tamara Deverell (production designer), Matt Middleton (art director) and Franco Tata (lighting designer). Covers everything from new Section 31 sets to Kaminar to the first-ever on screen look inside a Klingon home (one of the cool factoids dropped in this piece).

Highlight: Detailed tour of Discovery’s season two shipboard sets by Jody Clement (art director).

Quotable: “We make a joke that it’s not just Discovery sets you’re coming to, it’s Star Trek City.” Olatunde Osunsanmi (executive producer)

Prop Me Up (8:55)

Prop features rarely disappoint, especially when you are getting detailed looks at everything from L’Rell’s new tajtlq blade, to Saru’s Kelpian knife, to Ash’s AI tentacle (that wrapped around his head in “Light and Shadows”).

Highlight: An up-close-and-personal look at the new Section 31 phaser and it’s telescoping barrel.

Quotable: “Working on Star Trek is an honor. It’s exhilarating. It’s terrifying. There’s a lot to live up to. Every day is a joy.” Mario Moreira (property master)

Dress for Success (15:59)

The costume department takes center stage, led by the incomparable Gersha Phillips (costume designer), who takes the viewer through the aesthetics of her season 2 Klingon and Vulcan designs, as well as her Discovery-style Enterprise uniforms. The feature also includes a fun look at Rebecca Romjin (Number One) having her costume fitted.

Highlight: All those amazing Section 31 costumes for Emperor Georgiou in Season 2 pop off the screen as Phillips discusses her inspiration for the character.

Quotable: “It’s amazing. Every time I think I have a favorite outfit, then another one comes. And then another one comes. We’re just watching the wardrobe grow.” Michelle Yeoh

Creature Comforts (15:17)

Interesting look at the key designs of the season, including Talosians, Kelpians (shirtless!), and Klingons (with hair! And a baby!), but ultimately this vignette doesn’t go far enough into an examination of some of the new creature designs created especially for Season 2.

There’s no mention of the amazing Ba’ul or the other-worldly mycelial pod, which you would think Alchemy Studios (and Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page) were excited to sink their teeth into.

Highlight: The Saurian creation is seen in detail for the first time, including a very clever design element in the mouth and jaw that allows actor David Benjamin Tomlinson to emote through a full-head make-up.

Quotable: “Star Trek means a lot to me and if it were to look bad on camera, I will be more than happy to stop. Because it’s Star Trek. If it’s something that doesn’t get caught now, it is going to be imprinted forever.” James MacKinnon (make-up effects department head)

Creating Space (10:11)

A visual effects recap of Season 2 that mostly focuses on the space pod launch from Brother, as well as the massive VFX requirements for Such Sweet Sorrow (red angel space jump, Burnham’s time travel jump, massive space battle).

The piece also touches on the design of the AI nano bots and Leland, but unfortunately we only get one brief shot of The Red Angel sequence shot at the massive Hearn Generating Station set location in Toronto.

Highlight: The vignette opens with shots from a visual effects spotting session with Alex Kurtzman (executive producer), Jason Zimmerman (visual effects supervisor) and Olatunde Osunsanmi (executive producer) walking through detailed instructions on the look of the final VFX for “Such Sweet Sorrow.”

Quotable: “The full CG shots were over 80, and usually we average about 15 full CG shots per episode.” Ante Dekovic (visual effects supervisor) on the massive undertaking of finalizing the VFX for Such Sweet Sorrow.

Putting it Together (43:04)

A lengthy, detailed treatise on the work that went into crafting the season two finale, Such Sweet Sorrow. Kurtzman has said many times that he wants to eliminate the line between film and television in their production work, and this 45-minute feature focuses on what that truly means.

The initial story for Such Sweet Sorrow began as a regular one-hour finale, but quickly transformed into a two-part episode because of the amount of story the producers were trying to wrap up – and set-up – to close out the season.

The feature begins with a focus on director Olatunde Osunsanmi going through all the stages of production, one meeting after another, and eventually transfers into the post-production work of the editors, sound engineers and ADR specialists – and it’s a fascinating how-to on producing modern television.

Highlight: The piece includes behind-the-scenes footage of more than half a dozen meetings (scheduling, visual effects, special effects, stunts, tone, editing, and more) and interviews with dozens of behind-the-scenes experts (from assistant directors to score engineers to re-recording mixers).

Quotable: “Everybody loves what they’re doing. And they love being there, and love being part of this world. It is really a big family. We all support each other in an extraordinary way. You want people to bring what’s special about them to the table. It’s the secret sauce.” Alex Kurtzman, summarizing the way in which the below-the-line Discovery crew works together.

The Voyage of Season Two (55:45)

An entertaining, if not formulaic, hour-long feature that goes through the storytelling highlights of the entire season, episode-by-episode. While there may not be much brand new content here, it’s an enjoyable, tight recap of a complex season of Trek, and features expansive interviews with cast and crew.

Highlight: Interviews with directors like Marta Cunningham, Hanelle M. Culpepper and Maja Vrvilo add a vitality and freshness to the piece, as they are not seen prominently anywhere else on the disc’s features.

Quotable: “I love what she’s bringing to Trek, because so many people have said, ‘God, she’s just so real. She’s such a real flavor to the show.’ And I love that. I love that our cast keeps expanding. Her delivery and her acting style is so different from everyone else’s, and that’s what’s so great about her, that she really does feel real, and she just grounds the show.” Alex Kurtzman on Tig Notaro joining the cast in Season 2 as Jett Reno.

Enter the Enterprise  (10:32)

A fantastic, detailed piece on the work done by Tamara Deverell (Production Designer) and her team in designing and building the Enterprise bridge.

Highlight: Seeing the production contrast between the sets in development and the finished product, excellently showcased through the special feature.

Quotable: “There are so many different places you can put the camera, particularly because the set that Tamara built didn’t have a bad angle. So how do you bring them in? I decided on the lift doors open and the three of them walk out. And we’re in a three shot and then we pull back and we’re in a wider shot, and we continue to pull back and now we see the whole bridge. And I’m hoping it feels like an iconic moment, because it’s a big moment.” Olatunde Osunsanmi (executive producer) on his task of introducing the bridge set with Pike and crew as the director of Such Sweet Sorrow.

The Red Angel (13:09)

A complete deconstruction of the red angel, the main protagonist of the season, and the complexities that went into the design as not only an elaborate costume but a complex prop and concept.

Highlight: An interesting collaboration between Mario Moreira (property master) and Gersha Phillips (costume designer) is featured in the piece, showing how the final suit came together.

Quotable: “When Alex Kurtzman said, ‘I want a time traveling angel in this season, what’s it going to look like?’ all eyes pointed to me, because I’m kind of the resident nerd around here.” Mario Moreira

Gag Reel (07:08)

A typical gag reel, which is to say it is a complete joy. (And contains several outtakes from Season 1, too, as a bonus.)

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Also included are a few deleted and extended scenes from across eight episodes the season, with more than 20 minutes of new content that unexpectedly add to each story, something that is certainly not always the case with cut scenes.

In the case of “Through the Valley of Shadows,” one of the series’ strongest episodes, the six minutes of deleted scenes impressively make the episode even better.

Lt. Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) and Burnham take a tomato. (“New Eden” deleted scene)
  • “New Eden” (4:56) —A mixed bag of four deleted scenes, highlighted by an interesting extended cut of Tilly’s investigation of her former classmate, May Ahearn. A cut scene with Tilly and Stamets talking about grief would have made a great addition to the episode, too.
     
  • “Point of Light” (4:13) —Two strong deleted scenes feature a brief conversation in the turbolift between Saru and Burnham (that references the growth in their relationship since the Shenzhou), and a more comprehensive look at how May has infiltrated Tilly’s mind. Both scenes feel deeply Star Trek and most certainly add to the episode.
     
  • “Light and Shadows” (1:25) — A few additional seconds of footage slightly extends a conversation between Burnham and Amanda about Spock’s whereabouts.
     
  • “Project Daedalus” (0:31) — Short turbolift scene with Admiral Cornwell adding a little more information for Captain Pike and Saru regarding Discovery’s approach to Section 31’s headquarters.
     
  • “The Red Angel” (1:05) — An excellent extended walk-and-talk between Pike and Culber that includes a very cool half-finished visual effects shot that circles the ship before sliding into a corridor where Pike is asking Culber for his help.
L’Rell (Mary Chieffo) and Tyler (Shazad Latif) share a moment. (“Through the Valley of Shadows” deleted scene)
  • “Through the Valley of Shadows” (6:16) — It’s hard to fathom why any of these five amazing deleted scenes were eliminated from the final edit of a streaming show with no time constraints. All five of them, totaling more than six minutes, are excellent and add to the motivations of every character on screen. This is already a superb episode of Star Trek, but it’s amazing to think it could have actually been even better.
     
    The cuts include an awkward, but welcome scene with Spock, Burnham and Ash in a turbolift that absolutely should have made the final cut of this episode. Same for a scene with L’Rell beaming on board Discovery as “chancellor, instead of a prisoner.” From there Stamets and Reno go back-and-forth to set-up her visit to Culber to discuss her “injured” finger, and Tenavik challenges Pike to see the difference between “theory and practice.”
     
    The final deleted scene is a corridor conversation with L’Rell and Ash that adds to their complex relationship. L’Rell really gets short shrift here by having her extra scenes eliminated.
     
  • “Such Sweet Sorrow” (1:28) —Two more strong, short scenes that would have added to the episode, including Georgiou coming to Stamets for help in containing Leland, and Spock and Burnham exchanging a soft moment on the bridge about their futures.
     
  • “Such Sweet Sorrow, 2” (0:20) —A brief add-on to Tilly’s heroics in a Jefferies Tube in which she says, “Not today! Today I am a science beast!” Another scene that would have been a nice addition to the episode.

Finally, in a bit of a throwback to the ‘olden days’ of home media releases, there’s a hidden special feature Easter Egg tucked away on Disc 3 of the Discovery set.

Navigate over to the ‘Special Features’ menu, select ‘Creature Comforts: Season 2’ and then navigate using the LEFT directional button on your Blu-ray player’s remote, and a hidden Starfleet delta will appear as access to the secretive segment.

Chat in the Make-Up Trailer (6:37)

This video Easter Egg showcases an amazing conversation between Discovery prosthetic wizard James MacKinnon and actor Mary Chieffo (L’Rell) in the series’ main make-up trailer, where MacKinnon regales Chieffo with stories from his 30-plus year make-up career, spanning across seven different Star Trek productions.

He speaks in reverence of his “mentor,” famed Trek make-up auteur Michael Westmore, his love for the lineage of some of the franchise’s most famous alien make-ups, and shares an embarrassing moment from his time working on one of the Trek feature films.

It’s a wonderful bonus segment to round out the Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 featurettes.

Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes contributes to the “New Eden” episode commentary.

Unlike the Season 1 set, this year we have a set of four audio commentary tracks for episodes across the season, featuring behind-the-scenes details and insights from cast and crew.

“Brother” — Sonequa Martin-Green (Burnham) and producer Alex Kurtzman
This strong episode commentary is basically on overview of production 101 for Discovery and covers an array of broad topics regarding the entire season, as opposed to a conversation that just dissects the episode… and that’s a good thing in this season-opening context.

“New Eden” — Director Jonathan Frakes and Anson Mount (Pike)
A solid commentary for an amazing episode, but it ultimately isn’t as fun or as informative as you might expect, probably due to the fact that Frakes and Mount were not in the same room when they recorded. The best elements of the commentary, though, come when the two Trek icons are celebrating the work of their counterparts, focusing much of their praise on Mary Wiseman and the subtle work of episode guest star Andrew Moodie.

“Through the Valley of Shadows” — Anson Mount (Pike) and Ethan Peck (Spock)
An actor’s commentary – by actors, for actors, as Mount and Peck focus on the hard work and long hours their entire cast puts in. The two actors keep it pretty straight and direct, praising their co-workers and spending time zeroing in on how they approached their iconic characters. It’s a cool, laid back conversation.

“Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2” — Director Olatunde Osunsanmi, writer Jenny Lumet, executive producers Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurzman
A glimpse inside the writer’s room is what this commentary feels like, and it’s easily the most fun and chaotic on this release as everyone riffs off of each other with humor and acerbic wit.

Lumet has not been heard from publicly much before this recording, and she is hilarious. Additionally, Kurtzman teases some Season 3 ideas and addresses retconning in a thoughtful way. Added bonus? Everyone learns how to pronounce Olatunde Osunsanmi’s name.

If you think the new Star Trek: Discovery — Season Two Blu-ray set is for you, you can order directly through the links below. In the meantime, here’s a selection of season-spanning screencaps of the Blu-ray episodes for you to explore.

 

Star Trek: Discovery
Season 1 Blu-ray

Star Trek: Discovery
Season 2 Blu-ray

Star Trek: Discovery
Season 3 Blu-ray

Two Captains, One Destiny — STAR TREK: GENERATIONS at 25

Alex Perry
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Two Captains, One Destiny — STAR TREK: GENERATIONS at 25

On November 18, 1994, Star Trek: Generations premiered in theaters in the United States, the first movie featuring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation following the show’s series finale earlier that same year. Directed by David Carson, from a script by Ron Moore and Brannon Braga, the movie went on to gross a respectable $120,000,000 worldwide.

It is probably safe to say that Generations is not a movie that features highly on many people’s lists of their favorite Star Trek movies. And fans are not alone in seeing the film’s flaws; there has been plenty of critical introspection from the writers and producers about why Generations failed to resonate as strongly with fans as the series finale, “All Good Things,” also penned by Moore and Braga. Look no further than Moore and Braga’s commentary track on the Generations DVD for honest self-criticism about their work.

Moore and Braga have complained about strict edicts from the studio about what the movie must contain, a general sense of exhaustion diving into production of the first Next Generation feature before the show’s television production had even wrapped, and struggles with figuring out the ending for the movie that required extensive reshoots of much of the final confrontation between Picard, Kirk, and Soran on the surface of Veridian III.

Fans complain about reused visual effects, significant plot holes to the story (why didn’t they use the Nexus to go back much earlier to stop Soran?), the bizarre Picard family sequence in the Nexus, and whether Captain Kirk’s death did justice to the character. Many of those criticisms are fair.

But at the movie’s 25th anniversary, it’s time for a reconsideration of the merits of Star Trek: Generations. Here are five reasons why Generations deserves another look!

The Enterprise-D Never Looked So Good

Star Trek: Generations is a gorgeous movie. The Generations design team faced a number of challenges with utilizing the Enterprise-D sets from The Next Generation movie.

First, the sets had been designed for viewing on the square television screens of the era, and not for a widescreen movie presentation. Second, after seven years of use the sets were beginning to show their age. That largely did not matter for the standard definition television sets of the early 1990s, but on the big screen it mattered a lot.

For the next movie, this problem would be solved easily; the Enterprise-D was destroyed in Generations and so the Enterprise-E sets could be designed to be both widescreen and big screen friendly. But for Generations, it required a combination of steps: redesigning certain sets like the main bridge, and lighting the sets very differently from the TV show.

And the results are magnificent. The Enterprise-D never looked better than it did in Generations, thanks largely to production designer Herman Zimmerman and cinematographer John A. Alonzo. The Enterprise-D’s main bridge gains more scale and visual interest with the addition of a new level for the center seats — similar to the presentation of the bridge in the episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise” — and new consoles to port and starboard.

But the Ten Forward scenes, as well as the scene between Picard and Troi in the captain’s quarters, are the real standouts. The lighting is so different that you would almost be forgiven for thinking they are entirely different sets, bringing out new features and personality to the respective spaces.

Moving to the big screen also allowed for the creation of a new Enterprise-D set to help convey the ship’s scale and technological advancement; the cavernous Stellar Cartography lab.

Given the constraints the production team were working under getting The Next Generation television production ready for their first movie, they absolutely knocked it out of the park. Generations looks great.

Descent to Veridian III

Generations also features one of the most cinematic scenes in Star Trek history, the crash of Enterprise-D saucer section. Say what you will about the plot holes of the battle that preceded the destruction of the Enterprise — a 40 year old Klingon Bird of Prey is really able to take out the Federation flagship? — once this scene is in motion it is gripping, intense, and cinematic.

As described above, the decision to destroy the Enterprise-D was largely a practical one that allowed for the construction of all new sets that could be specifically designed for the needs of the cinema, but the production necessities for an eighth Star Trek film does not detract from the fact that it is an amazing sequence.

Some of my favorite moments of Star Trek involve seeing the crew of a Starfleet ship being good at their jobs. And we get a lot of grace under pressure in this scene, including the rush of the crew to evacuate the star drive section, which finally gives you the sense that the Enterprise is inhabited by over 1,000 people, to Doctor Crusher and her medical crew continuing to care for patients after evacuating them from sickbay, to the bridge crew remaining at their posts as the ship is literally crashing around them.

And it would be impossible to discuss this sequence without also crediting the incredible model work involved in filming the saucer crash sequence. Yes, Generations is rightly criticized for some reused effects shots like the exploding Klingon ship first created for The Undiscovered Country, but it is not praised enough for the incredible visual effects it does have.

The Enterprise saucer section crash lands onto the surface of a planet, and we see the whole thing play out as it leaves a massive scar across the surface of the planet. The shots were achieved by constructing a model of the Enterprise saucer over ten feet in diameter, and building a large diorama of the landscape around the ship as it touches down. It was an incredible feat of model making that would be entirely rendered with CGI if the movie were made today.

Introducing the Enterprise-B

Generations fills in the final gap in the Enterprise lineage up to that point, revealing the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B in all its glory. To that point, fan knowledge that the Enterprise-B was Excelsior class was based purely upon the Enterprise ship models displayed on the wall of the Enterprise-D observation lounge.

The ship, which was modified from the original Excelsior studio model by John Eaves, is revealed at the end of an artfully suspenseful opening credits sequence following a bottle of champagne through space as it crashes onto the hull of the Enterprise-B for its dedication ceremony.

And even though Captain Harriman comes off in this movie unprepared for his posting, I enjoy any time we get the lineage of the Enterprise fleshed out a bit further. It was also a nice touch, in a movie that has a number of themes about time and family running through it, that Hikaru Sulu’s daughter Demora serves aboard the ship.

And while it may not be directly tied to the movie itself, Harriman’s character undergoes a serious rehabilitation in the Star Trek novels. I highly recommend checking out David R. George III’s Serpents Among the Ruins, a Lost Era novel that tells the story of the “Tomed Incident” that was alluded to during The Next Generation. The book has a starring role for Harriman, in which he acquits himself far more admirably.

Tolian Soran: A Good Villain

Star Trek movies have frequently struggled with their villains. But Malcolm McDowell’s performance as Tolian Soran is underrated by fans. Soran is a tortured soul driven to extreme actions by his grief. This is a universe that dealt the El-Aurians the worst hand imaginable; assimilation by the Borg and destruction of most of their race. Some chose to deal with their grief by seeking out those they could help, like Guinan.

But inevitably, there would be those El-Aurians who would be driven mad by anger or grief, as Soran is. And seeing the implications of that, for such an otherwise intelligent race to be bent towards evil ends, is a scary one. Though they hardly share a scene together, Soran’s slide into darkness merely reinforces why Guinan is such a great character, because faced with exactly the same set of choices she dedicated her life to helping people.

The movie’s best relationship is also not between the two characters on the poster, Picard and Kirk. It’s the relationship between Picard and Soran, as Picard gets a firsthand look at what becoming consumed by anger and grief over the recent loss of his family and heritage can do to a man. The interplay between Soran and Picard on Veridian III on the nature of time, revenge, evil, and the Borg is great, thoughtful dialogue, that largely gets ignored in the rush towards the big action sequence and the reveal of Kirk.

“You can make a difference.”

While there is plenty to be disappointed about in the meeting between Picard and Kirk, and Kirk’s eventual death at the end of the movie, there are also some fantastic exchanges that drive right at the heart of these two men and, despite their many differences, the things they share in common.

“Don’t let them promote you, don’t let them transfer you. Don’t let them do anything that’ll take you off the bridge of that ship, because while you’re there you can make a difference,” Kirk tells Picard after they ride horses together through a very Southern California-looking Idaho countryside.

And ultimately, this is the essence of what both men share; a deep and abiding devotion to the ideals of Starfleet expressed through command of a starship. Kirk, who at this point in his career has been captain, admiral, and then captain again, is able to impart the wisdom upon Picard to understand the place he values being the most.

The upcoming Star Trek: Picard series will show us something of what happens after Picard does relinquish the center seat for the admiralty, and I hope we will get some kind of reflection upon that choice and whether Kirk’s advice was borne out. Given Picard’s unhappy retirement from Starfleet after becoming admiral, it seems that it might.

Star Trek: Generations is not a perfect movie, by a long shot. But there are lots of good reasons to give the maiden voyage of Captain Picard and crew on the big screen a second look. And what better time to do so than on the movie’s 25th anniversary?

Prelude to PICARD — Retro Review: “Reunion”

Alex Perry
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Prelude to PICARD — Retro Review: “Reunion”

Before he commanded the Starship Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard was the captain of the deep space exploration vessel, the U.S.S. Stargazer, on an incredible twenty-two year voyage.

Now Picard is reunited with his old crew for the first time in over a decade, on a mission to see his former first officer installed as ruler of the Daa’Vit Empire.

The reunion turns deadly when a ruthless assassin begins eliminating the U.S.S. Stargazer crew one by one.

Picard’s present and former shipmates must join forces to solve the mystery of the Captain’s past, before the killer strikes again…

We’re counting down to the January 2020 return of Jean-Luc Picard by revisiting some of the pivotal stories about the beloved Starfleet captain from across the last three decades of Star Trek: The Next Generation published fiction.

Welcome to the next entry in our retro review series Prelude to Picard!

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1991 marked the first release of a hardcover Next Generation novel: author Michael Jan Friedman’s introduction to the crew of Captain Picard’s first command, the USS Stargazer, a group of characters that would later return in several subsequent stories under both the Next Generation and Stargazer print titles.

Star Trek: The Next Generation — Reunion is set somewhere around the third or fourth season of the television series, and catches up with the Enterprise-D during its assignment to transport one of Picard’s old Stargazer colleagues — Morgen of planet Daa’V — back to his home planet. Morgen, now a Starfleet captain, is set to be crowned leader of Daa’V, a small but strategically power near the Federation and Klingon borders.

Along for the ride, to participate in Morgen’s coronation, are a number of Picard’s fellow Stargazer veterans, including ship’s doctor Carter Greyhorse, Australian communications officer Tricia Cadwallader, first officer Gilaad Ben Zoma, security chief “Pug” Joseph, and navigator Idun Asmund.

In my review of The Valiant, which was published after Reunion — but in the chronology of the series, was set long before — I was a bit critical of some of the characterizations of the Stargazer crew. That objection still holds having read Reunion, where the characters work much better as their older selves than as their younger incarnations.

Carter Greyhorse is a more interesting character as a broken man who projects his blame for his partner’s poor life choices onto others. Watching him become that man — his complete obsession with the Klingon-raised human helmsman Gerda Asmund — is just not as enjoyable. Likewise for Gerda’s identical twin Idun Asmund: as a lone character dealing with the death of her sister and the shame she feels for her sister’s crimes, she’s fascinating. As a younger woman, with that twin, less so.

Reunion is a classic murder mystery whodunnit, with a spatial anomaly twist. The book feels a little overstuffed — part of the drama involves the Enterprise being caught in a subspace slipstream that catapults the ship to high warp, and they must determine how to get themselves out of… in addition to several attempted murders of the Stargazer crew.

But ultimately, some of the convenient plot points aside, this is a very fun novel that feels like a mid-series episode of The Next Generation. Now that we’re into reviewing books that feature Picard but fall during the run of The Next Generation, the other characters get room to feature as well.

Reunion has nice subplots for La Forge and Guinan, a long with both Beverly and Wesley Crusher in the first in-depth exploration of the story behind Jack Crusher’s death. Its most fun subplot, though, involves Riker romancing one of the Stargazer crewmembers. The characterization of Riker is pitch perfect and could have been drawn directly from the screen.

For Picard, the reunion with his Stargazer comrades is bittersweet. A lot happened to this crew — they spent 22 years together aboard the ship, lost some major members of their family along the way, and ultimately lost the ship too. Each of these characters has changed and grown in the intervening years, but their bonds of fellowship remain strong.

A major character who is pivotal to the book but ultimately not present is Jack Crusher. The character is imbued throughout the novel; Picard sees him in his dreams, Beverly initially avoids the Stargazer crew in order to keep from being reminded of her dead husband, and Wesley seeks them out for precisely that reason.

In addition, one of the more touching subplots of the novel involves the Stargazer security chief Pug Joseph, who carries a secret shame about the death of Jack Crusher that has given him addition issues.

Over the course of the three novels we have so far reviewed, we can begin to see manifest itself the reason so many Star Trek fans have become devotees of the books. Reunion was published in 1991, Valiant in 2003, and The Buried Age in 2007, yet they fit together seamlessly.

Reunion references the final departure of the Picard and Greyhorse from the ruined Stargazer; a scene that Christopher L. Bennett shows us in real time in The Buried Age. Many of the plots paid off in Reunion are retroactively set up in Valiant, and the continuity over all three novels is tight.

Even though there are only two authors at work here, that’s easier said than done over several editorial changes and 16 years of time between Reunion and The Buried Age.

It has been a particular joy of fans of the Star Trek novel line to find these connections between each of the stories, which ultimately deepen our appreciation for the on-screen source material. And a huge credit to the authors to even make the effort to keep their own works consistent, let alone with the works of other authors in the line.

Reunion is a fun little adventure, which kicked off a lot of storytelling around Picard’s tenure aboard the Stargazer. So far, except for a few minor references in The Next Generation episode “The Battle,” Michael Jan Friedman’s work has largely informed our understanding of that two decade period of Picard’s life.

There’s lots to explore, including six books specifically part of the Stargazer series, which if you like the characters in this book and Valiant I recommend exploring further.

Chronicle Collectibles Debuts STAR TREK Captains Busts

TrekCore Staff
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Chronicle Collectibles Debuts STAR TREK Captains Busts

Star Trek licensee Chronicle Collectibles — who have brought fans such eclectic offerings as the Trek line of liquors, the upcoming two-foot Enterprise-D model, and a collection of Original Series cat characters — are back this week with another new product announcement: large-scale busts of some of Starfleet’s greatest captains.

Revealed today for planned delivery in late 2020, half-scale busts of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (from his time aboard the Enterprise-D) and Captain Christopher Pike (as seen in Star Trek: Discovery) are now available for preorder, each measuring over a foot tall and weighing more than six pounds.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard is sculpted with the likeness of actor Patrick Stewart in a polyresin material and painted with a faux bronze finish, and is expected to measure 13″ x 9″ x 7″ in its final form (approximately 1:2-scale), with a six-pound weight, and is available to preorder at Chronicle’s website for $149.99.

Captain Christopher Pike is sculpted with the likeness of actor Anson Mount in a polyresin material and painted with a faux bronze finish, and is expected to measure 14″ x 9.5″ x 7″ in its final form (approximately 1:2-scale), with a six-pound weight, and is available to preorder at Chronicle’s website for $149.99.

Each of these two character busts are projected for fulfillment in the latter half of next year, with deliveries to preorders expected in the third quarter of 2020.

STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS Review — “Ask Not”

Claire Little, Executive Officer (In Charge of Radishes)
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STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS Review — “Ask Not”

“Ask Not,” the latest Short Trek — and the last of them to feature major players from the Enterprise crew — is a small package upon which big expectations have been placed. Pike’s in a bind, we meet a vibrant new character, and maybe – just maybe – we get an answer about that Pike series we’ve all been hoping?

Well, maybe not. To get that big question out of the way, no, there’s no announcement in today’s new mini-sode, and we don’t go to credits with a splashy “Captain Pike Will Return!” message. Almost immediately after Anson Mount debuted as the Enterprise captain in Discovery’s second season, viewers began calling for a standalone Captain Pike series.

Captain Pike (Anson Mount) turned mutineer? (CBS All Access)

As Discovery’s second season came to a close, I took the improbability of a Pike show in stride. Yes, I’d love it, but it’s not going to happen, I thought. However, after seeing Pike, Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) reprise their roles across multiple Short Treks, I started to wonder: could CBS really be teasing a Pike show? Apparently not… or at least not today.

Clocking in barely eight minutes, “Ask Not” is the shortest Short Treks entry to date. Even so, the episode uses its time well, squeezing in a lot of dialogue and introducing us to an interesting new character.

The plot of “Ask Not” seems pretty straightforward: Cadet Thira Sidhu (Amrit Kaur), on post in Starbase 28 inventory control, is interrupted by the rumble of weapons fire and the sudden appearance of an elaborately hooded, shackled prisoner. I’m honestly not sure what to make of the decision to spend Starfleet’s research and development time on building remote-controlled, computerized gimp masks, but hey, whatever floats the Corps of Engineers’ boat.

She knows what you’re thinking about this one. (CBS All Access)

The brig is unavailable, and the small inventory room is the only place to stash the prisoner, soon revealed to be none other than Captain Pike (Anson Mount). Left under Sidhu’s watchful eye, Pike demands to be released, appealing to emotion, urgency, Sidhu’s career ambition, and eventually Starfleet regulations. The cause of the attack on Starbase 28 is frankly rather convoluted — deliberately, I suspect — but suffice it to say, it involves a distress call from Sidhu’s husband’s ship, the USS Bowman, angry Tholians, and a cowardly admiral.

Even with her husband’s safety at risk, Sidhu doesn’t budge; Pike is her responsibility and she’s not letting him go. Tensions come to a head as Pike, making a move for the door, finds himself facing a phaser-wielding cadet, moments from stunning the captain into submission. Just before Sidhu can fire on Pike, however, the ruse is revealed: this whole thing has been the final evaluation before getting her dream internship assignment, the Enterprise.

“Your orders carry no weight.” (CBS All Access)

This shouldn’t be a surprise to any longtime Trek viewer, as Starfleet has a long history of scaring people into demonstrating their competence. While the famed Kobayashi Maru command simulation (seen in The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek ’09) as the most well-known example, there’s also the difficult bridge officer’s test taken by Deanna Troi (“Thine Own Self”), as well as the almost-traumatizing “psych test” administered to young cadet potentials as seen back in “Coming of Age.”

Once Pike and Sidhu beam over to the Enterprise, the pair are greeted briefly by Spock and Number One before the captain escorts the newly-assigned cadet to her post in the ship’s main engineering bay. While visually interesting, the engineering set we see in “Ask Not” doesn’t feel to me like a reimagining of the classic Original Series sets the way the bridge and corridor sets do.

DOT-7 drones work away in the Enterprise engineering section. (CBS All Access)

Instead, I see nods to the vertical warp cores of the 24th century — and maybe even the ‘futuristic boiler room’ aesthetic seen aboard the Kelvin Timeline film’s Enterprise, like the industrial spaces created from filming in real-life manufacturing and research facilities.

So now we’re back to the end — and the series announcement that wasn’t there. I’m sure there’s more than a little confirmation bias at play here, given that I sat down to “Ask Not” expectant that a Pike series would be revealed, but “Ask Not” would have been a perfectly serviceable mini-pilot.

We meet a new character with a backstory and a future, and we’re graced with the Pike-era ‘holy trinity’ (Pike, Spock, Number One) even if it’s just for a moment, getting us all set to take our posts aboard the Enterprise alongside Cadet Sidhu!

Or, at least, I’m ready to beam aboard.

Cadet Thira Sidhu (Amrit Kuar) is ready for warp speed. (CBS All Access)

Stray observations:

  • Interestingly, the glass inset panel in the Starbase 28 inventory control room’s door seems to bear the trademark angular flourishes of the Terran Empire. Perhaps this is a set piece reused from Discovery’s time in the Mirror Universe last year?
     
  • During the rigorous back-and-forth banter between Sidhu and Pike, a number of familiar Starfleet regulations, including:
     

    • Directive 010: “Before engaging alien species in battle, any and all attempts to make first contact and achieve nonmilitary resolution must be made.” (VOY: “In the Flesh”)
       
    • Regulation 191, Article 14: “In a combat situation involving more than one ship, command fell to the vessel with tactical superiority, should there not be a higher ranking officer present.” (VOY: “Equinox”)
       
    • The “little known” and “seldom used” reserve activation clause. (The Motion Picture)
  • Seen earliest in Star Trek: Enterprise, “Ask Not” marks the first mention of another classic Star Trek alien race in the Discovery era: the elusive Tholians.
     
  • First spotted in the early moments of “The Trouble with Edward,” an Enterprise officer wearing a ‘skant’-style uniform can be seen passing through the engineering bay.
     
  • While we’ve only seen the Enterprise so far, the simulation display panel shows a graphic with two Constitution-class starships docked at Starbase 28.

The “Short Trek” lineup for 2019 continues next month with a double-header of new animated Discovery-era tales! First is “Ephraim and Dot,” where a mycelial tardigrade encounters a DOT-7 repair drone stationed aboard the Enterprise.

(The name “Ephraim” comes from the original concept for the Discovery tardigrade creature, when it would have actually been a crewmember aboard ship, using that name; the repair drones seen in the Discovery Season 2 finale are coded DOT-7s.)

…and second is “The Girl Who Made the Stars,” a 3D-animated story tying back to the ancient African legend which Michael Burnham described in the opening moments of the Discovery Season 2 premiere, “Brother.”

“The Girl Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot” will debut together December 12 on CBS All Access in the US and the CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada; plans for additional international availability remain unknown at this time.

New Photos, Trailer for New Pike SHORT TREK, “Ask Not”

TrekCore Staff
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New Photos, Trailer for New Pike SHORT TREK, “Ask Not”

2019’s run of Star Trek “Short Treks” continues this week with third and final entry featuring the USS Enterprise crew, following October’s “Q&A” and “The Trouble with Edward” — and this time, it’s Captain Pike in the spotlight.

“Ask Not” rounds out the three planned Enterprise-crew shorts, and focuses around Captain Pike (Anson Mount) during a crisis, separated from the USS Enterprise and imprisoned by a lone Starfleet cadet under perilous circumstances.

This episode features guest star Amrit Kaur as Cadet Thira Sidhu, who finds herself at the center of Captain Pike’s misfortune. Check out all the new photos from this week’s tale above!

Here’s the video preview for this month’s “Short Trek” tale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAOy3PMdYh0

ASK NOT — When an attack on Starbase 28 leaves a surprise prisoner under Cadet Thira Sidhu’s (Amrit Kaur) watch, she is faced with making a decision that may threaten her standing in Starfleet.

The episode was written by Kalinda Vazquez and directed by Sanji Senaka, and serves as the final entry — at least, as far as we know — in the Discovery-era Enterprise crew adventures.

The “Short Trek” lineup for 2019 continues next month with a double-header of new animated Discoverytales: “The Girl Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot” will debut together on December 12.

“Ask Not” debuts this Thursday on CBS All Access in the US and the CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada; plans for additional international arability remain unknown at this time.

Prelude to PICARD — Retro Review: “Vendetta”

Alex Perry
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Prelude to PICARD — Retro Review: “Vendetta”

The Borg — half organic being and half machine, they are the most feared race in the known galaxy.

In their relentless quest for technological perfection, they have destroyed entire star systems, enslaved countless peoples, and, in a single brutal attack, decimated Starfleet’s mightiest vesels.

Only a final desperate gambit by Captain Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise crew stopped the Borg from conquering the entire Federation. And now they have returned.

Answering a distress call from a planet under attack by the Borg, the U.S.S. Enterprise crew meets Delcara, the lone survivor of an alien race the Borg obliterated. Blinded by hatred, Delcara seeks the ultimate revenge — the complete destruction of her race’s executioners.

But the U.S.S. Enterprise crew learns that Delcara’s vengeance carries a terrible price, for once unleashed, the destructive force she commands will annihilate not only the Borg, but countess innocents as well…

We’re counting down to the January 2020 return of Jean-Luc Picard by revisiting some of the pivotal stories about the beloved Starfleet captain from across the last three decades of Star Trek: The Next Generation published fiction.

Welcome to the next entry in our retro review series Prelude to Picard!

*   *   *   *

Before Seven of Nine, before the Borg Queen, before Star Trek: First Contact — and even before “I, Borg” — Peter David’s 1991 giant novel novel followed “The Best of Both Worlds,” growing the mythology of the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation — Vendetta, putting Picard and the crew of the Enterprise right back in their sights.

The events of the book are set sometime during the back half of the fourth season of The Next Generation, when the wounds of Starfleet’s destruction at Wolf 359 and Picard’s assimilation as Locutus are still relatively fresh in the minds of the Enterprise crew.

In the opening act of the book, the assimilation of a planet by the Borg is stopped… by a Planet Killer, similar to the one destroyed by Captain Kirk’s Enterprise back in “The Doomsday Machine.”

The Planet Killer, which Vendetta reveals was originally built as a weapon to defeat the Borg by the Preservers, is piloted El-Aurian survivor Delcara, who saw two homeworlds destroyed by the Borg and has been driven mad with thoughts of revenge. Picard, who had an ethereal encounter with Delcara as a cadet at Starfleet Academy that left a strong imprint upon him, is dispatched to investigate this new enemy of the Borg.

Finding that the cure may be worse than the disease, given the Planet Killer’s destruction of innocent populated worlds in its quest to hunt down and destroy the Borg, Picard sets out to stop the destruction on both sides. Meanwhile, the Borg have selected a new voice to replace Locutus: a hapless Ferengi who stumbled across a Borg armada sent to confront the Planet Killer.

With the help of two other starships, and featuring cameos by Lt. Commander Shelby and Doctor Pulaski, the Enterprise must face down not only a Planet Killer, but three Borg Cubes at the same time. What a ride!

Vendetta is a shockingly bold novel for 1991. Given that, at the time, there was a strong mandate from production that the events of the books should not interfere or change in any way what was depicted on screen, Vendetta is well ahead of its time.

Weaving together multiple elements of canon – the Borg, the Planet Killers, Guinan, the Preservers – into a rip-roaring narrative that thunders along from beginning to conclusion is the kind of feat we would expect from more recent novels (see the “Destiny” trilogy for example) than the more staid editorial regime of the early 1990s.

But here it is; bold, loud Vendetta gives the fans exactly what they wanted (at the time): more Borg.

Through Vendetta, we get some significant additions to the mythology of the Borg themselves. Not everything totally lines up with what was established about the Borg in later canon, but it’s surprising how well this novel holds up given only “Q Who?” and “The Best of Both Worlds” had aired at this point.

The book is also not afraid to explore ground that later Star Trek series would also cover. One key subplot of the novel involves rescuing and de-assimilating a human female who has spent many years as a Borg — sound familiar?

Unlike Seven of Nine, though, the story of Reannon Bonaventure is not a happy one. The Borg of Vendetta are as menacing as we ever see them, a totally malevolent force who steal the souls of those they assimilate. Not all Star Trek has succeeded at paying off the idea that the Borg are scary — Star Trek: First Contact is most successful at it on screen — but Vendetta sure does.

If there is one disappointment to this book, it is that Picard does not spent too much time grappling with his own experience with the Borg. Given that his trauma as Locutus is so close in time to when this book is set, a little more reflection from the character about going up against the Borg again so quickly would have been welcome.

We do get some great Picard moments — facing down the Ferengi Borg in a brutal combat scene, for example — but Picard’s journey in this novel has less to do with the Borg and more to do with romantic feelings for Delcara.

Delcara mostly works as a character, though the love story between Picard and Delcara feels pretty forced. She is obsessed with her vendetta against the Borg, but in a pitiable way more than coming off as a straight villain. As a result, the final fate of her and the Planet Killer, accelerating to warp 10 and being stuck in an infinite time loop, is a solemn ending more than a jump for joy moment.

There certainly are some fist pumping moments in this book, as well as some really cool concepts to visualize. Pitting a Borg Cube against a Planet Killer is such a neat concept, but it is also one that could have been executed like bad fan fiction.

Vendetta is definitely not that; it balances being a celebration of the best of The Next Generation up to that time with telling a thoughtful story on right and wrong, and whether the ends justify the means.

If Reunion felt like a good episode of The Next Generation, then Vendetta feels like a great TV movie. David gets the characterizations of our heroes just right, is not afraid to pull toys out of the canon toy box and set them against each other, and holds the reader’s attention through the whole course of this complicated, but ultimately very fulfilling story.

REVIEW: Eaglemoss STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Worker Bee

Claire Little, Executive Officer (In Charge of Radishes)
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REVIEW: Eaglemoss STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Worker Bee

We’re back with another look at one of the newer entries in Eaglemoss / Hero Collector’s line of Star Trek starship models, and this time we are headed back to the 23rd Century for the arrival of Star Trek: Discovery’s worker bee service craft!

Debuting in the early moments of “The Vulcan Hello,” the Discovery-era worker bee’s design draws directly from the maintenance pods seen in the classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey — featuring that other spaceship called Discovery — but I see some Blade Runner spinner in there too, and even a dash of Ripley’s P-5000 Work Loader from Aliens.

Two worker bees assigned to the USS Discovery. (‘Despite Yourself,’ ‘Runaway’)

The worker bee’s highly distressed paint scheme certainly contributes to the Blade Runner feel of the model, which is notably over-distressed compared to the digital worker bees we’ve seen on screen. I’d argue, however, that the distressing here adds needed detail to a large model with a lot of smooth, flat surfaces — a ‘cleaner’ worker bee would be less interesting to look at at this scale.

In addition to the distressed metal paint scheme, the worker bee’s exterior paint includes a number of designation labels, all of which are clear and well positioned and indicate that this particular bee is assigned to the USS Discovery — of course, the Shenzhou also had a bee or two in its cargo bay. Finally, the black and yellow caution striping on the trailing edge of the Bee gives a nice pop of color to an otherwise grayscale ship.

The worker bee model feels as if it’s almost entirely made of plastic; the lower hull section is die-cast metal, but most of it is covered by the plastic undercarriage and arm structure, leaving the only exposed metal in the back of the model. That said, the distressed metal paint scheme is very successful and disguises the plastic well.

The model also has quite a few large canopy windows, with significantly more window area than the average ship model. The windows are clouded enough to give a sense of depth and reality to the shuttlepod’s interior, but are still transparent enough to allow you to look inside the craft. The bee’s interior has just the right level of modeling detail for the windows, including the pilot’s and copilot’s seats and details on the side wall bulkheads and back hatch.

Given how close the seats are to the front bubble canopy — and how well you can see them — a bit of color would have provided some nice contrast to the all-gray interior.

The arms are cleanly modeled, and while I wasn’t expecting them to move, the worker bee is a model that would be an especially good choice for articulation. Alternatively, molding one or both of the arms in a slightly bent position instead of having them extend straight out would give a sense of movement to one of the few models of a ship that actually moves.

Like the smaller Star Trek shuttlecraft models, the worker bee’s display stand is a flat platform — rather than a ‘grip’ style like most of the model releases — which makes for a rather delicate mounting scenario. I don’t recommend displaying this one on a surface that’s uneven or likely to get bumped, since the only think holding the model to the display arm is a small ridge of plastic on an otherwise flat square.

At nearly 7 inches long, including extended arms, this model is clearly not to scale with the other shuttlecraft releases in the Official Starships Collection line, but is consistent in size with the other models released as part of the Discovery subscription series.

If you’re a Discovery or shuttlecraft completionist or are looking for one of the more unusual Starfleet designs to display on your shelf, the worker bee is a good choice. It’s available now to collectors in the US for $54.95, and can be ordered in the UK for £34.99.

Be sure to check out all the latest news on the next wave of Official Starships Collection releases out of last weekend’s big panel at the Destination Star Trek convention, and stick around for our next reviews on some of 2019’s models!

Prelude to PICARD — Retro Review: “The Buried Age”

Alex Perry
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Prelude to PICARD — Retro Review: “The Buried Age”

Jean-Luc Picard. His name has gone down in legend as the captain of the U.S.S. Stargazer and two starships Enterprise.

But the nine years of his life leading up to the inaugural mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise to Farpoint Station have remained a mystery—until now, as Picard’s lost era is finally unearthed.

Following the loss of the Stargazer and the brutal court-martial that resulted, Picard no longer sees a future for himself in Starfleet.

Turning to his other love, archaeology, he embarks on a quest to rediscover a buried age of ancient galactic history…and awakens a living survivor of that era: a striking, mysterious woman frozen in time since before the rise of Earth’s dinosaurs.

But this powerful immortal has a secret of cataclysmic proportions, and her plans will take Picard—aided along the way by a brilliant but naive android, an insightful Betazoid, and an enigmatic El-Aurian—to the heights of passion, the depths of betrayal, and the farthest reaches of explored space.

We’re counting down to the January 2020 return of Jean-Luc Picard by revisiting some of the pivotal stories about the beloved Starfleet captain from across the last three decades of Star Trek: The Next Generation published fiction — welcome to the next entry in our retro review series Prelude to Picard!

*   *   *   *

Christopher L. Bennett is an extremely talented Star Trek author, and 2007’s Star Trek: The Next Generation — The Buried Age shows him at the absolute top of his game. The Buried Age is a book of The Lost Era, a series of novels charting the largely unexplored period of time between Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and “Encounter at Farpoint,” the premiere of The Next Generation.

Bennett uses his book to tell the story of a period of Jean-Luc Picard’s life between starships Stargazer and Enterprise.

Beginning with the destruction of the USS Stargazer in 2355, this book charts the nine-year period in Picard’s life between abandoning ship in the Maxia Zeta system (a tale recounted in “The Battle”), and taking command of the USS Enterprise-D in the Next Generation pilot episode

The Buried Age has a number of stories wrapped into one, but each are in turn both captivating and absolutely riveting. Following the destruction of the Stargazer, Picard is court-martialed — as referenced in “The Measure of a Man” — and prosecuted by his former lover, Phillipa Louvois. After suffering the loss of his ship and a humiliating court martial that ultimately cleared him of all wrongdoing, Picard effectively leaves Starfleet to pursue an academic career in archaeology.

Following a tip from Guinan, whose role in the novel is largely to help push Picard back to Starfleet — and the Enterprise, to ensure he would be in a position to travel back to 19th Century San Francisco and meet her for ‘the first time’ in “Time’s Arrow” — the captain sets off on an archeological expedition to discover evidence of an ancient race from millions of years in the galaxy’s past, when an unexplained galaxy-wide cataclysm caused most sentient life to be extinguished.

With a little help from Lieutenant Kathryn Janeway — this book is chock full of great cameos that do not feel out of place — Picard finds a stasis field containing several preserved aliens from that era. He rescues one, an ancient alien who is near immortal belonging to a race called the Manraloth. Lacking her memories, Picard names the empathic alien Ariel (after “The Tempest” – this book is also chock full of great Shakespeare references), and they ultimately begin a relationship while trying to determine her origins.

It all begins to unravel, however, when — with the help of Starfleet — Picard and Ariel set off to find more of her people trapped in stasis fields across the galaxy. They succeed, but at a terrible price: Ariel has been deceiving Picard for some time. Her species, the Manraloth, once managed a galaxy at peace with itself, but in their hubris they caused a major cataclysm that destroyed most of the Manraloth and much of the sentient life in the galaxy.

Determined not to allow the Federation to repeat their mistakes, and convinced of their own superiority as near-immortals who once shepherded the galaxy to a long lasting peace, Ariel and the Manraloth become convinced that the only way to avoid other races repeating their error is to effectively end their space programs and encourage them to become supplicants to the Manraloth’s advanced knowledge and technology.

Picard, who feels deeply betrayed by Ariel, becomes obsessed with finding and stopping the Manraloth. Ultimately, Picard learns a number of important lessons about himself, with help along the way from a curious android Starfleet officer named Data, and a Betazoid counselor named Deanna Troi. By the end of the novel, Picard has rediscovered his purpose in life, love of exploration, and sense of duty to Starfleet, and takes command of the Enterprise as it embarks on a deep space assignment.

So much about the personality of Jean-Luc Picard as seen in the first few seasons of The Next Generation is explained by the events of this novel. Picard’s aloofness with his crew, and particularly his distance and lack of desire to engage in romantic relationships, are explained by the deep wounds inflicted by Ariel’s betrayal. He shared a deep emotional and romantic relationship with her, and it seems clear that Picard needs significant time for those wounds to heal.

It is also a fascinating experience to see this character who, for the vast majority of The Next Generation is so confident and assured of himself, laid low and exploring career options other than Starfleet. This novel significantly builds out where Picard’s deep knowledge and love of archaeology derive from, and how he was able to stay so informed on the subject despite more than two decades of starship command.

Bennett has always been the master of weaving real science into Star Trek science, and he capably does so here with aplomb. His storytelling always benefits from mixing the two, making the Star Trek universe feel the most real that it ever has. Bennett is also the undisputed master of getting stuck right into the Star Trek canon, knocking down continuity problems with ease.

If you’re as much of an obsessive detail-oriented Star Trek fan as I, the little Easter eggs embedded throughout this novel are an absolute delight. However, there are also plenty of fascinating original ideas, races, and planets that The Buried Age never feels like fan fiction.

Where Star Trek: Picard appears to be readying to tell us the story of a Picard who becomes disillusioned with Starfleet at the end of his career, The Buried Age tells the story of a Picard who is disillusioned with it in his prime. Ultimately, though, the character and his commitment to Starfleet is strengthened by the events of the novel, and sets him up well to transition from losing his ship to being assigned as captain to the most prestigious ship in the fleet.

The Buried Age is a fabulous book. In addition to being a great character study for Jean-Luc Picard, it is a gripping story that stretches from one side of the galaxy to the other, and uses science and history to tell a book that is full of smarts, heart, and adventure.

I highly recommend you give this a read if you’ve never read it, and give it a re-read if you have!

Hero Collector Unveils Next Wave of STAR TREK Models

Ken Reilly
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Hero Collector Unveils Next Wave of STAR TREK Models

This morning at the Birmingham, England Destination Star Trek convention, our friends over at Hero Collector spilled the beans on a whole range of upcoming Trek model products set to debut over the next few months — and here’s an entire breakdown of everything you can look forward to from the Eaglemoss Official Starships Collection as we move into 2020!

After sharing their plans for a number of additional ships back at the August Star Trek Las Vegas convention, the Hero Collector team today unveiled a first look at over two dozen new models on the way, from the standard subscriber-sized ships to the larger XL Starships collection, and more in between.

Some of the newly-announced models were on display as early prototypes at the convention, where our correspondent Ronan O’Flaherty managed to get some in-person photography for today’s report.

Starting off, we got our first look at the next text releases from the smaller subscription-sized line of models, covering many eras of Star Trek television. First is the Tamarian Cruiser (#166) from The Next Generation’s “Suddenly Human,” followed by the Axanar Cargo Vessel (#167) from Enterprise’s “Fight or Flight,” a Suliban Freighter (#168) from “Future Tense,” and Kes’s shuttle (#169) from her return to Voyager in “Fury.”

Staying in the Delta Quadrant, we’re also getting the Tsunkatse Arena Ship (#170) from the Voyager episode of the same name, followed by a Denobulan Medical Ship (#171) seen in “Cold Station 12,” the Xindi Insectoid Fighter (#172) from Enterprise Season 3, and the Arcos freighter (#173) from TNG’s “Legacy.”

Rounding out the subscription announcements is the very first ship seen in Star Trek: Enterprise, young Jonathan Archer’s toy ship (#174) from “Broken Bow,” and finally, the Pakled freighter Mondor (#175) from TNG’s “Samaritan Snare.”

The line was extended to 180 ships in total back in August — leaving five models yet to be announced — and today, it was confirmed by the Hero Collector team that #180 will be the final entry in the subscription line, with no further extensions expected.

Six more entries to the “bonus” model release line have also been revealed this weekend, starting with the SS Conestoga (Bonus #20) from Enterprise’s “Terra Nova,” designer John Eaves’ Enterprise-era Klingon D4 cruiser concept ship (Bonus #21), a Cardassian weapons platform (Bonus #22) from the final season of Deep Space Nine, and the 21st Century space probe Friendship 1 (Bonus #23) from Voyager’s similarly-titled “Friendship One.”

The Original Series era hasn’t been forgotten, as the “upside down” USS Reliant concept (Bonus #24) arrives next, followed by the first version of the USS Enterprise seen on screen, Captain Pike’s Enterprise (Bonus #25) from “The Cage.”

We also got a look at three previously-announced “special” releases — and one new one — from today’s panel, starting with the Son’a Flagship (Special #19) from Star Trek: Insurrection, followed by a gold-plated USS Enterprise-D model (Special #20), and the Vulcan Long-Range Shuttle (Special #21) first revealed back in August.

The new special announced today is one that many collectors have been waiting for, the Vulcan lander T’Plana-Hath (Special #22), which brought the contingent of Vulcans to post-World War III Earth in Star Trek: First Contact.

The large-scale XL Starships line got another set of reveals today, with a few that had been mentioned at New York Comic Con in early October. The Klingon K’t’inga Battle Cruiser (XL #18) from Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the second alien starship in the line, followed by the Universe-class USS Enterprise-J (XL #19) from Enterprise’s “Azati Prime.”

The next two reveals were new announcements, with the first a surprising choice: the three-nacelled “dreadnaught” Enterprise-D (XL #20), seen in the future timeline in TNG’s series finale “All Good Things…,” a ship previously modeled as new-subscriber gifts.

The final XL Starship announced today is the Crossfield-class USS Discovery (XL #21), last seen hurtling 930 years into the future at the end of Star Trek: Discovery Season 2.

As of August, the XL Starships line was only expected to run for 22 issues, so there’s just one last ship left to reveal… and the team announced near the end of their panel that we’ll also be seeing an XL-sized edition of the Walker-class USS Shenzhou in 2020.

Will there be any more XL models in the future? We’ll have to wait and see.

Speaking of Star Trek: Discovery, we got our first in-person look at some of the upcoming releases inspired by that show, starting with the Section 31 Stealth Ship (DSC #22) and Federation Lander Pod (DSC #23) from this past season, the Klingon DasPu’ class (DSC #24) from Season 1, and the Section 31 drone fighter (DSC #25) from the climactic battle at the end of Season 2.

We’ve known about the second Discovery special for some time — the ISS Charon Terran flagship (DSC Special #2) — but were able to get our first hands-on look at the model thanks to its presence at the Hero Collector show booth.

The next Discovery special, announced for the first time today, is the Section 31 Headquarters space station (DSC Special #3), seen in this season’s “Project Daedalus” episode.

Finally, following August’s announcement of a Star Trek Online model subscription program, the first two ships in that line have been revealed: the Gagarin-class starship (STO #1), followed by the Chimera-class starship (STO #2).

Phew! That is a LOT of new product coming from Hero Collector over the next several months — as always, they’ll be available to fans in the UK first, followed shortly after in the United States — and we’ll continue to bring you reviews of some of these new releases as we get our hands on them!

In the meantime, here are a few in-person videos of some of the new models on display at Destination Star Trek in Birmingham, courtesy of YouTuber IrishTrekkie:

What announcement has you most excited from today’s reveals? Let us know in the comments below!

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