Star Trek: Discovery has much to make Trek fans do a double-take — but who would have thought that one of those twists would be making Harry Mudd a reputable part of the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery — Succession #2?
The unexpected nature of this show is also reflected in this issue. My thinking might be a little out there, but follow along with me and see what you think.
The story so far: Emperor Georgiou is dead (as far as the Terran Empire knows, anyway), and Michael Burnham – the Mirror version – is thought dead just the same. However, this Burnham is actually in hiding, patiently waiting for the moment to take the throne back from her petulant cousin, Prince Alexander.
A clear representative of his family, xenophobic, maniacal and bent on removing the bulk of non-humans from the alien worlds within the Imperium, and it’s only Michael Burnham who can stop him.
There’s an inherent complication in the premise of this story. If Burnham is the opposite in nature to the one in the regular universe, then it’s obvious that she is set to take the throne for her own personal ambitions. After all, her conversation with this universe’s version of Harry Mudd — a humanist and rescuer of alien refugees — seems not only cooperative, but almost compassionate.
In fact, Burnham has a degree of ruthlessness, but she is calm, reasoned, willing to work with aliens and while aiming for the seat of power, her intentions actually appear somewhat honorable. But what are Michael Burnham’s intentions? It’s clear she means to take the throne, but I’m puzzled at what she means to do with it.
In my opinion, that’s what makes Mike Johnson and Kirsten Beyer’s story distinctively different from the television show. The Mirror Universe is deceptive in that one would assume writing a story set in it proceeds from the basic notion that the main characters are simply evil twins of their counterparts in the regular universe. Writes itself, right?
Not so. We forget that the secret to writing a good drama is the strength of the characters. If they are predictable, we lose that sense of wonder, and are able to easily foresee what the ending is going to be — where’s the entertainment in that? Beyer and Johnson have brought a new sense of curiosity to these characters, and given their relative novelty on television, they also have a great deal of flexibility to define them further. And, as we have already established in previous reviews, this is now canon.
The possibility that Burnham could actually be a redemptive character is what drives me to read this story. We know that in “Mirror, Mirror,” Commander Spock was intrigued by ‘our’ Captain Kirk’s logical supposition of creating an empire that would sustain itself by adopting constructive principles. In that moment, the Mirror Universe had a potential champion for good.
Is that where Burnham is heading? It makes some sense, as in the regular universe she is Spock’s adopted sibling. Perhaps he influenced her in some way in this universe? It’s only a theory, but in this story, we see her murderous cousin is intent on wiping out alien species, along with flashbacks to her harsh upbringing as the adopted daughter of the Emperor.
There’s also a third threat growing, in the form of the newly installed captain of the ISS Shenzhou, Captain Airiam. All these other dangers seem to indicate that perhaps Burnham’s attempted acquisition of the throne isn’t the real threat at all.
While we contemplate this theory, let’s take a look at the covers for this issue.
The primary cover is by Angel Hernandez, who also provides the interior art for this book as well. I’m a big fan of Hernandez’s work, but I have to say, I really appreciate an artist who can pull double duty doing cover and pencilling of a book. There’s also a greater connection between the cover and story that I think adds to the quality of the issue.
Cover ‘B’ is a photo cover, and while I don’t normally care for these, Discovery is still a new enough show that the episodic production photos aren’t yet too familiar to most people. This shot is a gorgeous image of Emperor Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) in full command of the empire, from “Vaulting Ambition.”
Elizabeth Beals, whom I admit I am not too familiar with, brings us the retailer-incentive ‘A’ cover. It has a somewhat softer impression of Phillipa Georgiou, and evokes a near fantasy level of interpretation. It’s quite striking.
The retailer-incentive ‘B’ cover is by one of my favourite artists, Declan Shalvey. It’s a wonderful rendition of the Imperial flagship Charon, of which I was quite taken with in the show. Shalvey has been doing a lot of vessels lately, and I’ve been very fond of his work. I have to say that this cover is my favourite.
Overall, I’m quite fascinated by this story. Johnson and Beyer are a good combination of talent, each with their own specific expertise. They’ve been able to bring a new dimension of appreciation to this show and I’m quite intrigued at the possibilities this story can offer.
Make sure you grab a copy, have a read, and share your thoughts in the comments below!
Whether you have crates full of Playmates action figures in your garage or just a few fleeting memories of owning Star Trek toys, there is much to be enjoyed from the Trek-centric episode of The Toys That Made Us, the documentary series by producer and collector Brian Volk-Weiss.
The show returns to Netflix today with four new episodes, including one that boldly goes where no toy collection has gone before!
I come to this show with a lot Star Trek toy experience. My own toy journey starts young – I became a fan around the age of five or six, while The Next Generation was at its height and Playmates Toys was beginning to distribute the first set of what would go on to be over four hundred action figures. For my sixth birthday, I coveted — and received, hooray! — the Playmates bridge playset for the Enterprise-D. I’ve been hooked ever since.
If you’ve seen any of the previous episodes of the series, they are roughly hour-long episodes telling the toy history of various franchises; the first run of episodes which debuted in December touched on Star Wars, Barbie, G.I. Joe, and He-Man.
The Star Wars episode in particular is worth a watch for anyone who’s ever had an interest in that franchise and the merchandising it has spawned — and while the Star Trek franchise has never reached the giddy heights of Star Wars merchandising, there’s a great story to tell about Star Trek toys that, while frustrating, gives significant insight into the history of the franchise.
The story of Star Trek toys is not the triumphal story of the little company that could, in the case of the smash success of Kenner in launching their Star Wars toy line. Instead, the Star Trek story is one of varied successes, failure, and a lot of missed opportunities — but one sharply edited and told in a quite compelling fashion. Plus, unlike many Star Trek documentaries, it’s full of licensed Trek footage from both television and film entries in the franchise, along with several vintage Trek product commercials.
The episode focuses significantly on the first three decades of Original Series merchandising, from the first products released by AMT and Remco, through the Mego years, and the lead-up to the beginning of the Playmates run. The licensees that became known to Trek collectors starting in the 1990s — from Galoob, Playmates, and Art Asylum, to this decade’s Eaglemoss and McFarlane Toys –are only featured in the last ten minutes of the forty-odd minute episode.
Period commercials, from licensees such as Mego (above) and Playmates are featured.
The episode takes a long look at those products released in the earliest years of the franchise, starting in the years after the show had become a success, but before licensees were required to make products that bore even a passing resemblance to the show. Unlike today’s tightly-managed product line managed by CBS Consumer Products, this early era led to such tie-in absurdities as the infamous “Spock helmet” and other products with Star Trek labels that had nearly no connection to the franchise.
Companies like Remco re-purposed their existing products with Star Trek labels to clear inventory from their warehouses, a practice known as “label slapping,” resulting in a decade’s worth of ridiculous products bearing the Star Trek name. It is a lot to fun to learn about these products, what they were, and how they came to be.
The primary focus of the episode focuses on mid-1970s licensee Mego, the first company to produce Star Trek action figures and play devices that bore at least a passing resemblance to those on the show. Mego, and its colorful owner Marty Abrams, saw the potential in the Star Trek license and capitalized on it for much of the 1970s. If you ever owned Mego products, like the large action figures of the crew of the infamous Mission to Gamma VI playset, you will find a lot to love about this episode.
Three of history’s more unusual ‘Star Trek’-branded releases.
The story of Star Trek toys is also a story of failures and missed opportunities, and it’s tough to come away from this episode with the same sense of triumph as with the Star Wars episode. The episode includes a look at the inability of licensees to time the release of Star Trek toys with the popular movies — famously, there were no toys for The Wrath of Khan — along with the Mego bankruptcy, and the failure of Galoob’s Star Trek: The Next Generation line (something we also explored in our 2013 interview series), and the subsequent shift to serving the Star Trek collector market.
As a result, there’s a strong sense of wistfulness and a “what might have been” feeling that underpins much of the episode. But even with the focus on the franchise’s merchandising failures, The Toys That Made Us’ feature on Star Trek toys — and the series at large — remains an engaging, polished, zippy trip through the history of some of the favorite toy lines of days gone by.
While some of you more hardcore collectors might be disappointed that there aren’t many closer examinations of some of our favorite products from Trek‘s past — my treasured bridge set appears only briefly! — you won’t want to miss this thoughtful examination of the successes and failures of Star Trek toy history.
Digital scans of the ‘Discovery’ cast — L’Rell, Burnham, T’Kuvma, and Saru — at McFarlane Toys.
All eight episodes from the first production year of The Toys That Made Usare streaming on Netflix now (presented as ‘Season 1’ and ‘Season 2’), with today’s newest batch of specials covering Transformers, Hello Kitty, Lego, and of course, Star Trek.
The series has also been picked up for a second production run, sure to cover many more of the famous toy lines of years past, in a future release.
The rapid-fire pace at which Star Trek: TNG — Through the Mirror is being published is going to spoil me for other Star Trek comics!
The excitement in this series has to be the most prevalent feeling a devout Next Generation fan will experience, as Scott and David Tipton have addressed a lacking need in Star Trek canon – the existence of a Mirror Next Gen tale. At last, the question has been answered: what will the enlightened crew of the Enterprise-D do when confronted with their materialistic and scheming counterparts?
I think that’s the big draw to this story. If there was a message that Gene Roddenberry wanted to manifest in this version of Star Trek, it was how advanced in character he believed the human race could become in the 24th century. The entire premise of the original Mirror Universe concept is to remind the viewing audience how backwards we were in our values, (and to an extent, how we still are). What would they do? Pit their values of guile and honour against each other.
Through the Mirror #4 rides on the coattails of that sentiment, and accomplishes a lot in a very quick amount of time. We have already been introduced to the crew of the warship ISS Enterprise in last year’s outstanding Mirror Broken tale, but that was just to get to know the characters of this ‘evil’ ship and crew and see what the differences are.
Playing by the rules, giving an enemy fair quarter — despite strategic advantage — and upholding a set of fixed values even in the face of adversity? That’s the Jean-Luc Picard we know. But enforcing loyalty through fear, ensuring his safety by playing one enemy off against the other and knowing the value of resources? Well, that’s a different Picard all together.
Even though these two men have different ambitions and personal values, they are evenly matched in both cunning and resolve. We’ve only known the latter for a short length of time, but Scott and David Tipton have written a story that makes sure we know him well.
In the first story of this issue, drawn by Carlos Nieto, we finally get to learn the ISS Enterprise captain’s master plan. We also get insight into how his crew has been able to cross the barrier between the two universes and of course, that’s related to the information undoubtedly obtained by Commander Data’s hunt for the former Emperor Spock — the main through-line of “Ripe for Plunder,” the secondary tale painted by epic talented artist J.K. Woodward.
There are a few moments in this book that really stand out. They’re minor, but they are evidence of just how much Scott and David have been able to squeeze into this book in such a fast amount of time. The first is the discovery by Mirror Barclay of just how disrespected his Federation counterpart is. The fury he evinces is so unlike the Barclay we know, yet completely understandable. It’s a very familiar detail that would resonate strongly with loyal TNG fans, and completely gains their acceptance.
The second detail is the speech patterns of Inquisitor Troi’s dialogue. Written with the same inflections and mannerisms of the Troi we know, you can almost hear the quasi-European blend of accents in your mind. It’s another aspect to this book that makes the ISS Enterprise’s crew so authentic. As a self-appointed expert on all things Deanna Troi, it’s a safe bet that this detail was not lost on me.
Finally, a minor but amusing detail: on page 16, the Mirror Riker is resting his leg as the captain declares their plan out loud. In a fit of victory, Riker raises his fists in unity. However, loyal fans will recognize the pose as what has been affectionately referred to as the “Riker Maneuver.” (If you didn’t catch that, hand in your commbadge!)
The end of the first story brings us to the face-off between the two crews that we have been waiting for – and a penultimate cliffhanger leading into the final chapter of this story. I am unsure of how the Tiptons will end this cataclysmic confrontation, but I’m damn eager to get to the issue next week and learn how!
While we are anticipating the end of the story, let’s take a look at the covers for this week’s issue.
Cover ‘A’ is the next partition in J.K. Woodward’s glorious tapestry of work, I’ve seen this thing in its entirety and each panel is just another slice of amazing. In this one we have the two La Forges faced off with two Wesley Crushers beneath them. It’s safe to say that this is my favourite cover out of them all.
Cover ‘B’ is by Carlos Nieto and shows both engineers in combat with each other. The Mirror Universe Geordi is standing over his counterpart with an enormous shoulder-mounted energy weapon. Colours are by Jason Lewis and it’s an extremely vibrant piece.
The retailer-incentive ‘A’ cover is a photograph of Commander Will Riker. It’s a photo that’s taking away an artist’s work, and as you know, I’m not a fan of photo covers.
Retailer-incentive ‘B’ comes from Peter McKinstry, a new discovery for me, and I am loving his work. As much as I enjoy this cover, I’d love to see more of his work on interiors. I certainly hope that IDW sends some more love his way!
Finally, the convention-exclusive cover (not pictured) is, like the previous ones, a black and white variant on Woodward’s cover. It’ll be a challenge for some ambitious artist to apply colour to it — but I’d love to see someone take a crack at it!
All in all, this is a successful story that manages to communicate a vast amount of information in a limited number of pages — and the fact that this tale is being dished out in weekly releases makes things even better.
Still, like every other reader, I’m waiting for the memorable confrontation that is about to come. Watch for my review of Star Trek: TNG — Through the Mirror #5 next week!
Back in March, we reported that Star Trek Online was getting a runabouts’-worth of Deep Space Nine cast members back for their 25th Anniversary “Victory is Life” game expansion which debuts next month — and this week we had the opportunity to chat with Trek actress Chase Masterson, who returns to Federation space to reclaim the role of Leeta.
In our conversation, we explore what one-time barmaid — and now wife of Grand Nagus Rom — is up to in the nearly two decades since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine concluded its on-screen adventure, as well as touch on several other topics close to the actor’s heart.
TREKCORE: One of your two Star Trek Online characters, Mirror Admiral Leeta, is the leader of the Terran Empire. Is she a bit more fun to play than the other versions of the character, such as “our” Leeta, or the holographic version of Leeta?
MASTERSON: Great question. All three are very fun to play in a different way. As we know, Mirror Leeta is ferocious. She would eat the Borg Queen for lunch, and still be hungry.
She stops at nothing to have power and control, and that’s absolutely the opposite of regular Leeta, who knows that the real power is in love. So it’s interesting to see how truly opposite these characters are, and diving into the purity of each character is what’s fun. So they’re equally fun, just in completely different ways.
Mirror Leeta is purely evil, but pure evil is always based on insecurity, right?
TREKCORE: She’s also very uninhibited as well, and that’s got to be a lot of fun to play, I’d imagine.
MASTERSON: Yeah, she breaks loose, and that is a lot of fun to play. I think regular Leeta is fun to play because she is so truly pure and has so much compassion, but not in a pushover way. Not in a soft way. You’ll find in this expansion that Leeta stands up to Quark, again, and is capable of holding her own. For all her grace and dignity and elegance, Leeta is very strong. So I think you’ll see more of that in this expansion set and it’s fun.
TREKCORE: Is there any change we’ll see Mirror Leeta encounter any of the prime universe’s Rom or Nog?
MASTERSON: Oh my gosh, what a fantastic idea! We don’t know if Mirror Leeta will ever meet up with Rom or Nog, that would be an incredible storyline. That would really be about the ultimate showdown, the ultimate battle, the ultimate good vs. evil.
But I will tell you, in the meantime, that this current expansion set is really wonderful is that regular “prime” Leeta does get to work with Rom, Quark, and the Ferengi again. We team up for a really cool adventure. There’s a lot at stake, and we’re basically trying to enact justice.
I don’t want to say too much more than that, because I don’t want to give too many surprises away, but you’ll see us being adventuresome and brave in a way you haven’t seen the Ferengi, particularly Rom and Leeta, being brave before.
TREKCORE: As a singer and voice acting artist, what are the challenges of vocal performance as opposed to live-action performance? Is it more liberating?
CHASE MASTERSON: Yes, it’s very liberating in a sense. One thing I love about voiceovers is that you don’t even have to wash your hair (laughs). It’s fun to have the freedom of literally being whoever you want to be, and not having your looks impact that in any way.
It’s really fun to find the freedom in a character. Working without visuals can be very freeing and that’s a great way to see it, and thank you for that.
TREKCORE: You also do voiceover work as Vienna for Doctor Who audio dramas. How do you compare Doctor Who and Star Trek fan bases?
MASTERSON: There’s a huge amount of similarity in the two fan bases. They’re equally passionate, which is a huge part of the fun for us. It’s a joy of seeing the fans just dig into both of these shows, with the cosplay, and it’s just so joyful. It really is energizing.
It’s hard to think of being at a convention for 12 to 16 hours a day, 3 or 4 days in a row and feeling energized after that. But you guys do that for us, you give that to us.
TREKCORE: It goes both ways, I assure you!
MASTERSON: Thank you, and I see that in the gaming community too. Star Trek Online has got such a great community in terms of the fans that interact with each other, and the characters that interact with each other. That’s a really big part of this particular game; the love for Star Trek within this world.
It’s very much community based. That’s very energizing for us to see.
TREKCORE: Regarding Star Trek Online, do you have a wish list for your characters going forward?
MASTERSON: Wow, I’m always for characters going boldly into a place we think they wouldn’t go. I’m always for characters having huge surprises. So that’s what I love, like in this expansion set, that Leeta is part of something very risky and brave. She’s not just a Ferengi wife.
Let’s not forget, Ferengi women aren’t even supposed to wear clothes. That’s how subdued they are, under-the-thumb of the male Ferengi Empire. Leeta, as a Ferengi wife, particularly in the work ahead, we’re seeing empowerment. And that’s the one thing that I hope for, and that I see happening.
So I have reason to hope for that in the future. Empowerment.
TREKCORE: Which also fits into tour anti-bullying charity, Pop Culture Hero Coalition.
MASTERSON: It really is the message of Star Trek; it’s about empowering each other, empowering ourselves and realizing that things aren’t always as they seem. It’s a wonderful theme of Trek.
TREKCORE: When you first began your Star Trek journey, did you ever imagine that your involvement with it would still be going on so strongly years later?
MASTERSON: I honestly never imagined. There is more passion for this show, particularly for Deep Space Nine, than I or any of us could’ve possibly predicted. Although I will tell you this; part of the reason that I got on Star Trek was because I knew about this fan passion and I knew that there were extensions of it.
I knew that was the type of show this is, where the fan passion was multi-tiered and ongoing. I’ll tell you this, I knew that because I was in an acting class with Jonathan del Arco, who played Hugh the Borg on TNG. This was before I was on the show.
While he was going Next Gen, he would come to class and tell us about these conventions where he got to go and meet people who were fans of the show, and I thought, “Wow, that’s the show I want to be on.” To be a part of such important stories and to go meet the people who make it possible, which is you guys… the fans.
That’s what I wanted, so I made it a point to meet the casting director. I auditioned for one other role, and based on my audition for that other role, they wrote the role of Leeta for me. So in a certain sense, I got into this purposely because of all that Star Trek means.
But this is even more than I could’ve ever predicted, and being part of the game is such an essential part of that. People have asked us for such a long time, “Will there be a Deep Space Nine movie?” And we’ve had to say, sadly, no. But Star Trek Online takes the place of that.
We get more of each of these characters, we get their ongoing storylines, and we get to live in the world of Deep Space Nine, instead of just watching it. I can’t tell you what a treat it is to be a part of this game, and how I just love it. Current players and new players will really love what’s happening in Star Trek Online.
TREKCORE: And, as opposed to a two-hour movie, this is an interactive experience; a deeper experience than a movie could ever be.
MASTERSON: Yes, very well-said. You get to make decisions in this Deep Space Nine. You get to be a part of the action, which is so fun. And so well-made, too. I was looking at the game, both with friends and in the office and the way you move through the Promenade
The way you move through the hallways and parts of the space station, it really feels like you’re there. They pay such attention to detail. And the modeling and art is so good. You have to see it, it’s incredible.
TREKCORE: It’s the closest thing we have to a holodeck, right?
MASTERSON: The reason I created Pop Culture Hero Coalition is because I truly see bullying and oppression as the main problem in the world. Bullying and oppression can lead to lifelong pain, and that impacts the choices that we make and our identities. The issue of oppression is the same, whether it’s kindergarten bullying, grade school, middle school, high school, or workplace bullying or relationship bullying or racism, or misogyny or war.
It’s all undue oppression. It has no place in society, and it would be a whole different world, and people would make entirely different choices in their lives if we could live in a world with more empathy — so I created this coalition because I feel that the stories in pop culture are truly transcendent.
That is why these stories these stories are the highest rated at the box office, (and) the most well-loved stories of all time. It’s why science fiction is so popular. These stories ring in our hearts that inclusion is the key and that justice is the key; using these stories to lead people, and to create empathy and justice in the world is, to me, an easy fit. And if we can start with people early, teach these lessons in schools, in ways that kids find relatable with fun stories.
Not with finger-pointing, but with an element of relatability and fun we can change the world.
TREKCORE: How has the Coalition changed your own life?
MASTERSON: I think this is something that Trek fans can relate to, and the more you think about these stories the more they become a part of you. The more we focus on empathy and inclusion, the more we’re likely to think in that way.
TREKCORE: I’ve seen the fan-scape change quite a bit.
MASTERSON: Well, the geeks are inheriting the Earth, and it’s about time! Insofar as our energy is rallied to make the world a better place, don’t you feel that, right after you’ve watched something really inspiring? I think those are the times when you think, “Gosh, I can do that. I want to be a hero too.”
Working on this coalition every day and focusing on empathy and inclusion every day, it has changed me. It’s made me more compassionate. Compassion and empathy are like a muscle; the more you use it, the more you have access to it and the stronger it gets. We can do that in ourselves. We can actually teach ourselves to care, more and more.
Caring takes place on a lot of different levels. A lot of people care emotionally, but they don’t care actively. When we focus on using empathy and compassion and inclusion like a muscle, it does get stronger. Our tendencies tend to get more empathetic as we practice empathy. That’s how it changed me and I’m very grateful for that.
I find my responses being more likely to be more compassionate which I wasn’t always, in the early days of my life and my acting career, I didn’t have the set of values that I have now, that I hope I have now. So it’s just a really interesting way to look at our own hearts and see who we are as people, and what are values are in the world, and what we want to leave the world with.
We can create change, not just in the world, but in ourselves.
Star Trek Online’s newest expansion, “Victory is Life,” debuts for PC on Tuesday, June 5, and will follow for console players later in 2018.
The annual Licensing Expo trade show kicked off in Las Vegas today, and like in previous years, Star Trek merchandise licensor CBS Consumer Products has a massive display booth for potential and existing licensees to meet with the company to plan the next year of Trek products.
While they are also responsible for licensing products for Twin Peaks, The Twilight Zone, and other such properties, CBS Consumer Products’ big hitter of course is Star Trek, and now that Discovery is known to the world, the company made the series their main driver for the 2018 show.
On display was plenty of Star Trek: Discovery artwork, including Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham at the forefront of the overhead display (seen above), along with large posters of the series’ crew throughout the booth.
Photos courtesy of Floyd Lu (left) and Lew Halboth (right).
In addition, the entire Season 1 cast of Discovery got a spotlight display in the entryway to the CBS both, in the form of a large backlit graphic poster — making sure that if the giant series logo hanging from the ceiling wasn’t a giveaway, visitors were entering Discovery country (with a guest appearance from the Deep Space Nine cast).
Photos courtesy of Lew Halboth.
Besides the fanciful artwork, CBS of course had a great deal of Discovery merchandise on display — both large and small — for potential vendors to see the vast array of products already being released for the series.
In the rear of the booth, a series of display cases hold a mix of Discovery props (as seen previously at San Diego Comic Con and STLV in 2017), as well as some current merchandise already on the market (including novels, pins, phone cases, shirts, and Eaglemoss’ Discovery and Shenzhou models).
Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
Also of interest are two products that haven’t been seen “in person” before this week’s show — and one that we’ve not seen at all, making it’s debut at the Las Vegas expo.
First is the 1oz silver Star Trek: Discovery coin, featuring Michael Burnham on the front in full color, and an engraved USS Discovery on the back. If you’re a collector, the Perth Mint manufactures and sells this coin at approximately $160 each.
Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
Brand new to us, however, is this wild Commander Saru bust on display in one of the rear cases, which looks to be about 7″-8″ tall. It’s been reported to us to be from Gentle Giant Ltd., a licensee who first made a splash in Trek at Comic Con last year, with their 3D-printed Klingon Torchbearer display.
We don’t have any information on this product yet, but we’ve reached out to Gentle Giant and will update you when more specifics on sizing, pricing, and release may be available.
Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
In addition to all the smaller Discovery merch on display, CBS also had the giant $9,000 USS Discovery model from Anovos on display in the center of the booth, which first made a public appearance back on a February episode of After Trek.
Anovos 'USS Discovery' Model
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Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
Photo courtesy of Lew Halboth.
The first season of Discovery might be over, but with the push seen here it’s clear that CBS is only in their first wave of Discovery tie-in merchandise — with much more likely to follow as the series continues into its second year.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek product news!
I always felt that Star Trek: The Next Generation was always missing a Mirror Universe episode. To me, it was a bit of a disappointment that Captain Picard and Commander Riker never got to experience inverted versions of themselves.
There are a number of reasons why I am unabashedly enjoying this series, but I’d like to just focus on two for now. We’re up to the third chapter of TNG: Through the Mirror by David and Scott Tipton, along with artists extraordinaire, J.K. Woodward and Josh Hood.
The first reason why I’m loving this series is that it’s a completely accurate rendering of not only the mirrored characters, but also their motivations. These are the characters that I would expect to see had a televised Mirror story in the TNG setting been created.
Let’s look at Picard. Picard is calculating, motivated by the security and welfare of his ship. He expects complete efficiency from his crew, holds their respect and is a cunning strategist in battle. What’s great about this description is that it can apply to both Picards on either side of the dimensional divide, but that only adds to its accuracy. From the Mirrored side, Picard ensures that his ship is secured through brutal raids, preying on passing ships unawares and, as we have seen in the previous two issues, is now extending that method of resourcing to the other universe.
Riker, on the other hand, instead of being the loyal and supportive first officer we know, intent on protecting his captain, the alternate Riker is a strong-armed thug who is clearly waiting for the right opportunity. He knows the captain will eventually make a mistake that he can exploit for himself.
My shameless favourite though, has to be Inquisitor Troi. Maybe I’m just hopelessly smitten by ‘bad girls,’ but this Troi is far from the sensitive and caring empath we know. The Mirrored version we meet in this series is deceitful and subversive, fully capable of employing her empathic abilities for not only personal gain but to render enemies helpless. She is a brilliant accomplice to Picard’s plans and her character is definitely my favourite character in the Mirror Universe.
It’s the guileful extrapolation of these character personalities that really holds my attention and it’s completely fair to say that the Tiptons’ interpretations of them are exact and perfectly fit my expectations.
My second reason for loving this series is its structure. Divided into two sections, the ‘A’ story looks at the after effects of the incursions from the ISS Enterprise crew (from the perspective of the USS Enterprise crew). It’s a larger story than its ‘B’ counterpart, drawn by Josh Hood this time. The last two ‘A’ stories were drawn by Chris Johnson.
We see the progression of the USS Enterprise crew making minor discoveries: a duplicate crewman in the first issue, security footage of their doppelgangers in the second issue and then, the third issue deals with a cunning plan to actually infiltrate and lure the USS Enterprise to prearranged location to presumably capture it for further replacement parts.
Their intelligence on the USS Enterprise is slight out of date, which gives rise to questions about how they obtained their information in the first place. With my curiosity piqued, I was perfectly primed for the encounter between Inquisitor Troi and Commander Riker from the USS Enterprise. (Hands down, the best three pages of the book.)
Story ‘B’ shows us Data’s continued hunt for Emperor Spock, set a few months earlier from the first story. It’s a slower pace and it has less pages, so it has a constantly interrupted feel to it — but it’s painted by J.K. Woodward, which means that all is forgiven.
It’s a good guess that this story explains how the crew of the ISS Enterprise know about the alternate universe. It makes sense as we know Spock would still be alive by the time of The Next Generation, and I’m very curious to hear what his rationale for self-imposed exile is and what happened after he lost the throne.
The covers this time around are more thematic and appeal to me, given my favourite part of the book.
Cover ‘A’ is a pair of parallel portraits of Riker and Troi. I especially love the nuance of sinisterism in Troi’s face. J.K. Woodward is a master of emotional expression and it almost looks as if Mirror Troi is staring daggers at her ‘sweeter’ twin.
Cover ‘B,’ drawn by Josh Hood, almost has the same exchange of emotions. Inquisitor Troi is staring around a corner at a happy Deanna and Will. There’s a sense of jealousy and hatred in this image and it’s wonderfully evocative of the exchange we see in the story.
The retailer-incentive ‘A’ cover is just a photo of Worf. I’ve said my piece about photo-covers in the past and I don’t want to repeat myself.
The retailer-incentive ‘B’ is by Peter McKinstry, and is a gorgeous rendition of Counselor Troi. Again – Troi is clearly the dominant theme in this book and that makes me very happy. McKinstry’s art is definitely awesome. I’d love to see him add to the interior pencilling in a future issue to get a sense of his story development skills.
Finally, there’s another Convention Exclusive cover (not pictured), which is simply a black and white version of Woodward’s ‘A’ cover.
This is a marathon of Trek comics. With an issue coming out every week, it’s a real testament to the creators of this book that they can manage to maintain a story of such high quality and, well, Trek-ness.
It comes down to the characters. It’s clear that both David and Scott have the measure of the characters from TNG well understood, as we can relate and appreciate not only how they react in this story but also how their mirror versions do. That’s an accomplishment of merit, to be sure.
Like I said, I always felt that TNG was missing a Mirror episode, but thanks to the Tiptons, J.K. Woodward, Josh Hood and all the other creators involved in the production of this series, I don’t feel like that any more.
Watch for my review of Star Trek: TNG — Through the Mirror #4 next week!
Star Trek writer/director Nicholas Meyer has been involved with the franchise for over thirty-five years, dating back to his first role helming Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — and in he was involved in the early days of Star Trek: Discovery during Bryan Fuller’s tenure as showrunner on the series.
While he’s remained credited in the series in a ‘consulting producer’ role through the first season of Discovery, we really haven’t heard from Meyer in the months since Fuller’s departure from the project, as his role with the show seems to have diminished (or ended) since that time.
Almost a year ago, Meyer hinted towards another Trek project he was supposedly working on — a non-Discovery project — to TrekMovie.com in an interview from last June, which sparked much interested in the fan community:
Meyer: One thing that has nothing to do with Discovery is that I am working on another Star Trek project, but I can’t discuss that either.
TrekMovie: Are we talking more feature film because as far as I know, there is only one television project, I assume.
Meyer: You can assume.
Since that tantalizing statement, fans have wondered what exactly Meyer meant — perhaps a second television series, or a film, or even something on the literary side of the franchise? — but it’s been radio silence from Meyer regarding the situation ever since that interview was published… until now.
Meyer with DISCOVERY writer Kirsten Beyer in 2016.
Last night, speaking to an audience at the University of California, Irvine, at a public “Shakespeare and Star Trek” discussion, Meyer shared details about his Trek project for the first time — and thanks to exclusive coverage from this event, we can share his comments with you.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: A while back there were reports that you might be working on a ‘Star Trek’ miniseries, is there any truth to that, if you’re allowed to say anything about that?
MEYER: No, I can say something. I was hired to write a stand-alone ‘Star Trek’-related trilogy, [details of which] I can’t discuss or I’d have to kill you. [Laughs] I was writing it for CBS [All] Access… but at the moment CBS is at a war with Paramount/Viacom [about merging].
They’re in a power struggle which turned really nasty this past week when CBS decided to sue Viacom. So I don’t think my project is going anywhere in a hurry, because everything is on hold while they sort out this merger business. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
The “re-merger” of CBS and Viacom/Paramount under one roof would bring all of Star Trek‘s ownership back together again — as CBS manages the franchise’s television rights and the Viacom/Paramount theatrical film side of things.
The project, as Meyer mentions, is likely ‘on hold’ not due to the question of the Star Trek franchise’s status, but the overall corporate situation which doesn’t seem like it’ll be resolved anytime soon — and with the financial commitment that something like a new Trek production would surely require, it isn’t a surprise that things would be placed on pause until this kind of high-level structural situation gets resolved.
Meyer on the STAR TREK II set with William Shatner.
For obvious reasons, CBS isn’t commenting on the ongoing merger situation — they would not address questions on the topic in their early-May corporate quarterly earnings call, and president Les Moonves is even skipping today’s annual press event breakfast at the Upfronts for the first time as “the number of questions he could not answer outweighed the number he could,” said CBS Entertainment head Kelly Kahl to the assembled press — so we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out between the two corporations.
As for the Trek side of things, well, Meyer clearly is sticking to secrecy about his project, but these new comments are sure to stoke speculation about what he might be working on. A “standalone trilogy” could cover any variety of storylines, including the rumored (but not confirmed) Khan tale, but the writer remains tight-lipped about the details — but if and when more specifics become available, we’ll certainly bring you them here.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for all the latest in Star Trek news!
May brings the beginning of the end for the 2017-2018 television season, and it’s the time of year where studios and networks around the television spectrum are kicking off their awareness campaigns for their shows — along with series actors, writers, producers, directors, and members of every other part of the production team — for the annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
The annual awards ceremony doesn’t occur until mid-September, but the industry takes this time each year to launch huge marketing efforts to get their people and properties in front of Emmy voters, to score the coveted nominations in acting and production categories — and this year, Star Trek: Discovery is part of the mix thanks to CBS’s efforts to get the freshman series a shot at this year’s ceremony.
Promotional screener DVD sets of Discovery’s first season have begun to beam down to members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Emmy Awards’ honorary organization, as part of the studio’s push to bring the newest Star Trek series into critical conversation during the annual nominating process.
A common publicity move for most Hollywood television productions, these screeners are mailed out to give potential Emmy voters a look at the series and advertise the various categories in which the show has been submitted for Emmy consideration by CBS — and of course, includes plenty of positive pull-quotes from different publications.
This year, CBS Television Studios has submitted Discovery for consideration in the following categories (as identified by the screener packaging):
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Sonequa Martin-Green (Burnham)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Doug Jones (Saru), Jason Isaacs (Lorca), Anthony Rapp (Stamets)
Shazad Latif (Voq / Tyler), Wilson Cruz (Culber)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Michelle Yeoh (Georgiou), Mary Wiseman (Tilly), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell)
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
‘For Your Consideration’ DVD screeners. (Image provided by Reddit user hotdoug1.)
They have also submitted the series for additional categories, which will be part of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards which will be held prior to the Primetime ceremony this Fall:
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
James Frain (Sarek), Rainn Wilson (Mudd), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Jayne Brook (Admiral Cornwell)
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special
Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes
Outstanding Visual Effects
Outstanding Production Design For a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Music Composition For a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
Outstanding Cinematography For a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)
Of course, submitting for consideration is by no means a guarantee that the series will be officially nominated for the Emmys, but it’s promising to see CBS put their weight behind the show as the industry nears awards season.
We’ll find out Star Trek: Discovery gets an official nod from the Television Academy in one or more of these categories when the official nominee list is revealed June 12.
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Through the Mirror #2 hit the shelves this Wednesday and the crew of the Enterprise-D are still puzzled over the existence of the duplicate Lieutenant Jones that Worf encountered on the facility on Naia IV.
Of course, this involves a lengthy interrogation and a completely confused Worf when it turns out that the ship’s computer revealed that Lieutenant Jones had been at his duty station for the last seven months.
Before more about this issue can be discovered, however, the Enterprise receives a distress call from a damaged Andorian battlecruiser – and the mystery continues.
I’m enjoying the unique way in which this story is developing. It’s obvious to the reader what’s going on; clearly the Mirror Universe Enterprise crew have discovered a way to breach the dimensions and raid “our” side for much-needed materials and supplies. But the fun in reading this story is watching the prime universe crew put the pieces together and solve the mystery themselves — and it’s just as enjoyable to see the Mirror crew learn about this strange new universe at the same time.
The story is divided in two as with the first issue; present and past are both presented separately to share perspectives of the discovery on both sides of the mirror. The prime universe, as drawn by Chris Johnson in this issue, allows us to watch the reactions of the captain and crew of the USS Enterprise as they uncover evidence of security breaches, raided ships and impossible duplicates of themselves showing up on security footage.
The second story, set a few months prior to first story, is spectacularly painted by J.K. Woodward and shows the lead-up to the ISS Enterprise’s slow discovery of the existence of a parallel universe.
The clear point of this structure is to eventually bring the two sides to an inevitable meeting. But how each side gets there is definitely half the fun. For instance, Riker and Picard’s reactions are truly entertaining when they are presented with their first evidence of a parallel universe. But it’s the second story, titled “Ripe for the Plunder” that really catches my attention.
Considerably shorter — since painted stories take more to prepare than traditional comic illustration — the action revolves around Data and his investigation into the time of Emperor Spock. His detective work takes him to a mysterious jungle planet, Spock’s last known location.
The other half of the fun is picking out the tiny Easter eggs that are evidence of the fun that Scott and David Tipton are having in crafting this book. For example, on page 9, I want to know if the crewman off to the right of the panel (beside Commander Data) is a cameo appearance by Scott Tipton? Without glasses, of course. Also, the information broker in J.K. Woodward’s story is the same shady character from whom Dr. McCoy tried to purchase transport to Genesis in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
But characters like the librarian at Imperium Alpha — gotta love that twist on Memory Alpha — are difficult to identify and I wonder if that’s Woodward having fun too? While she just may be a stock character, she bears a strong resemblance to Majel Barret Roddenberry. I also can’t ignore the glowing figure in between both Rikers on the cover for next week’s issue either.
Is that a teaser about Spock in traditional Vulcan Kohlinar garb? There’s a lot of mystery on the part of the creators woven into this book which is enough to make me want to go back through the pages and see if I’ve missed anything else. Like, was that a Gorn guard? And who are the unknown men in robes who Data encounters? It’s good that there is only a week to wait for issue #3!
Cover ‘A’ is wonderful rendition of the parallel Datas facing each other. This is actually part of an entire tapestry-sized project that Woodward showed on his website and social media, a truly amazing piece of art when you see its entirety. These covers serve as slices of excellence and truly capture the intentions and ambitions of this comic.
I’m always stunned by the clarity and accuracy of Woodward’s work. It walks the line between being completely realistic and still managing to convey a sense of fantasy that captures the attention and imagination of the reader. This is clearly my favourite cover.
Cover ‘B’ is a scene from the interior action as Riker and his away team board the Andorian battlecruiser and are attacked by a surviving Andorian crewmember. Lots of action in this scene and Chris Johnson does a good job of conveying its intensity. I also like seeing covers that are representative of the story; it makes for a more enticing read.
The retailer-incentive cover ‘A’ is a photograph of the lovely Marina Sirtis in her role as Counselor Deanna Troi. I’m never a fan of a photo on a cover, even though Sirtis never fails to capture my attention!
The retailer-incentive cover ‘B’ is a wonderful portrait of The retailer-incentive cover ‘A’ by Peter McKinstry. I was introduced to this artist’s work last issue and am quite taken with it. I expressed last week that I hope that IDW keeps this artist on their roster as he is certainly gifted, particularly with Star Trek.
The convention-exclusive cover (not pictured), like last week’s, is a black and white version of Woodward’s ‘A’ cover. This is definitely would prove to be a great project experience for some aspiring colourist at a convention, at least that would be my aim for it.
The game is certainly afoot in this issue. The mystery deepens and we are drawn along as crews on both sides make their discoveries about their respective counterparts. It’s going to be an exciting three more weeks as we continue to learn more of the surprises the other universe has in store for both crews of the Enterprises!
Watch for my review of Star Trek: TNG — Through the Mirror #3 next week!
Red Storm Entertainment’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew virtual-reality team game, set aboard a starship in the Kelvin Timeline Trek universe, debuted in 2017 for various VR gaming platforms and allows players to work as a team fighting battles and strive to succeed as Starfleet officers.
Before last year’s public launch, the company expanded the game to include a classic Star Trek mode, allowing players to take control of an Original Series-era Constitution-class starship… and now the game is venturing forward to the 24th Century with a new Galaxy-class Next Generation expansion!
Announced today on the official Playstation blog, Red Storm Entertainment’s Hunter Janes explained some of the major components of the new TNG-era upgrade, from uniforms and avatars to starship mechanics and the addition of alien opponents like the Romulans and the Borg.
We added the Enterprise (NCC-1701D) bridge and rebalanced our game to accommodate its new capabilities, we replaced the engineering position with a new role called “Operations” on the 1701D bridge (it’s now my personal favorite position) which focuses on crew management and maximizing ship buffs, we’ve added Romulans, we’ve put in the Borg, created TNG-era uniforms, gave players the ability to make their avatars Soong-type androids, put in new shield modulation and precision phaser fire mechanics, took a pass through our play spaces so that more solar systems will be utilized by Ongoing Voyages (our randomized Starfleet mission generator), and added two new Ongoing Voyages (“Resistance” and “Patrol”) complete with new voice work and unique mission mechanics.
Oh, and we also threw in some fan favorites such as a fully functional Planet Killer, complete with deadly anti-proton beam. So yeah, we’re adding a lot, and we think fans (old and new) are going to really have a great time playing through it all. A lot of very talented and smart people worked very hard on this, and I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve accomplished.
The structure of “Resistance” was heavily inspired by classic rogue and roguelike games, which I think do a great job of driving tension, and challenges the player to travel across space to retrieve scattered anti-Borg prototypes to fight off a Borg Cube that’s happily assimilating and slaughtering everything in its path.
Along the way, crews are faced with randomly presented challenges that have to be completed with the knowledge that every second spent brings the Borg Cube ever closer. Warping to another solar system will buy you time, and each prototype successfully collected will provide you with a new tool for fighting the Borg… but each time you face the Cube, it’s adapted to your tactics and becomes ever more powerful. And the Cube gets very mean, very quickly.
You can read a lot more about what’s coming at the PlayStation blog post. The Star Trek: Bridge Crew expansion for Next Generation gameplay debuts for PlayStation VR players on May 22, though the rollout for PC players is not expected until later this year.
Order Star Trek: Bridge Crew for PS4 & PlayStation VR!
