Trek humorist Robb Pearlman’s great new Where’s Waldo-esque book Search for Spock is in stores now, and we’ve got a chance for two of our readers to win your own copy from TrekCore and our friends at Cider Mill Press!
Check out our review of this great book — and once you’ve done that, enter to win your own copy by simply answering the question below in our comments:
From “Amok Time” to “Lethe,” we’ve had 50 years of Star Trek stories about our logical friends from 40 Eridani, and we want to hear about your favorites!
Make your entry below, and two lucky winners will receive a winner notification on November 23!
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What a finale! “Into the Forest I Go” was a barnstormer of an episode, capping off the first chapter of Star Trek: Discovery in style. The previous episode, “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum,” also gave us an insightful character episode, diving deeper into the personality and attitudes of Saru while advancing the larger Klingon War plot into the midseason finale.
Evasive Pattern Beta Nine
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” scribe Kirsten Beyer is a huge Star Trek: Voyager fan, and has penned a number of fabulous Voyager novels (that you should absolutely ready if you have not already).
Her love for Voyager was demonstrated in that episode in the choice of evasive maneuvers by Captain Lorca while trying to defend the USS Gagarin from attack by the Klingons. Evasive patterns Beta Two, Beta Four, Beta Six, and Beta 140 appeared in episodes of Voyager.
“A bird-of-prey cannot fire when she’s cloaked!”
Kol, in his attempt to take control of the houses of the Klingon Empire, has been trading cloaking devices for loyalty. These cloaking devices have the same rules as in previous shows, namely that a ship cannot fire while it is cloaked.
Later, in “Into the Forest I Go,” the sound effect heard when the Klingon Ship of the Dead decloaks is very similar to the effect used for Commander Kruge’s bird-of-prey in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
USS Muroc
Admiral Terrell tells Lorca in “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” that in addition to the destruction of the USS Gagarin, the USS Muroc was ambushed.
Muroc was a Vulcan sub-commander who escorted Vulcan Ambassador Soval to mediate a cease fire between Vulcans and Andorians in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Cease Fire.”
Away Mission
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” gives us our first true away team — or should we say landing party — for Star Trek: Discovery, and like in previous shows the First Officer leads the mission accompanied by several department heads.
While that might not make a lot of sense from a real-world perspective, it’s how Star Trek has done it at least as far back as Star Trek: The Next Generation!
First Contact
Lt. Commander Saru is a first contact specialist, and takes the lead in making first contact with the Pahvans in “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum.”
We have had references to the Prime Directive and General Order One in previous episodes, but this is the first true call out to First Contact and the protocols that Starfleet has developed for conducting it in Discovery.
“The needs of the many…”
Burham and Tyler, while discussing what their futures hold after the end of the war during “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum,” trade off the famous phrase from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan that has become something of a Vulcan aphorism in the Star Trek universe.
T’Pol and Soval also reference the Vulcan saying in Star Trek: Enterprise episodes “The Council” and “The Forge.”
PetaQ!
L’Rell, in her conversation with Admiral Cornwell in “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum,” calls Kol a petaQ! The famous Klingon insult, which marks its first use in Discovery in this episode, dates back to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Defector,” and since has appeared frequently throughout subsequent Klingon appearances.
Cadet Decker
During “Into the Forest I Go,” the intercom pages Cadet Decker to the ready room. Could this be Will Decker, briefly Captain of the USS Enterprise during the extensive refit after her five-year mission? The timeline might align!
Legion of Honor
Following the destruction of the Klingon Ship of the Dead and finding a way to break through the Klingon’s cloaking technology, Captain Lorca is informed in “Into the Forest I Go” that he will receive the Legion of Honor, a Starfleet commendation.
Doctor McCoy and Lt. Commander Data are both later recipients of the Legion of Honor.
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With the show growing more confident in itself and developing its own mythology, the number of references to previous Star Trek shows has decreased. As a result, we combined the two episodes together for the purposes of this article.
We can’t wait for Star Trek: Discovery to return on January 7 and see what happens next.
Star Trek: Discovery composer Jeff Russo has gotten a lot of praise for his score for the series, and many soundtrack aficionados among the Trek fan community have been wondering if we’ll get his Discovery music available for purchase: and that answer is yes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgdzZ-_69g0
Responding to a few fans on Twitter over the past few weeks, Russo has confirmed that his Discovery score will be released sometime in the future, though no specific record label or release timetable has been specified.
Here at TrekCore we’re certainly part of the we-love-soundtracks crowd, so check back for more news on the first Star Trek: Discovery soundtrack release as more information becomes available!
Star Trek: Discovery comes to a compelling if somewhat predictable mid-season conclusion as the ship and crew find themselves somewhere after hacking the Klingon’s cloaking capabilities, destroying the sarcophagus Klingon ship, rescuing Admiral Cornwell, and taking one last failed spore-jump to Starbase 46.
I’m going to forego a more lengthy synopsis and just go ahead and address the elephant in the room, and the identity of Lt. Ash Tyler. Many fans have decried the theory of Tyler-is-Voq as something akin to a spoiler alert; in truth, it has been nothing more than just that – a theory, and a pretty compelling one given the clues.
And although “Into the Forest I Go” doesn’t resolve the theory directly, it certainly lends more meat to it, especially given the mysterious abuse flashbacks, L’Rell’s expected reunion with him, and her vow to “never let them hurt you” when Tyler asks her, “What did you do to me?”
One could certainly argue that Tyler’s PTSD flashbacks when confronting L’Rell revealed nothing more than moments of torture, and not body-altering surgery. But one has to ask: if Tyler was so cherished by L’Rell during his captivity, why would she allow him to be pointlessly and dangerously mutilated, as those flashbacks seem to indicate, unless there was some purpose to it all.
The show to this point has continued to raise more questions than answer, which makes it as much a frustrating experience to watch as a captivating one. It’s at least clear now, with L’Rell aboard Discovery as a prisoner (or defector), we’ll be heading down a path to better understanding Tyler and who he is.
The writers have taken great pains to keep L’Rell front-and-center in the Klingon portion of the story. Now that’s she finally aboard Discovery (something that she wanted anyway, lest we forget), it would be an awful waste not to have her reunion with Tyler really mean something in the overall story. And, too, unlike other well-perched characters up to now (Georgiou, Landry, Kol), L’Rell has been able to escape certain death on more than one occasion. She’s been shot twice and imprisoned for offenses and is still chugging along. There has to be reason for that.
Honestly, when it comes to Tyler, I’d be content at this point if he turns out to be exactly what he is – just Ash Tyler. He’s proven himself to be a wonderful companion for Michael Burnham. His intimate scene with Burnham where he describes his experiences as L’Rell’s prisoner is one of the best the show has given us, owing in no small way to the superb performances of both Shazad Latif and Sonequa Martin-Green.
To this point, Discovery has been lean and plot-focused with few incidental character scenes. Burnham and Tyler have provided heart to what is essentially a dark and nervous show. It would be a shame to lose that for the sake of a buzz-worthy plot twist.
Lorca (Jason Isaacs) stares at the Klingon Ship of the Dead. (CBS)
Jason Isaacs continues to play Lorca with precision and Lorca’s talents as a manipulator are evident. For a show that advertised itself early on as one that would not be captain-focused, Discovery has been remarkably interested in Lorca. When Lorca is called to Starbase 54 to accept the Legion of Honor for his work destroying the sarcophagus ship and protecting the Pahvans, one has to wonder if Lorca even trusts his superiors at this point — especially given Cornwell’s earlier threats to relieve him of command — and may even welcome the “unexpected” detour into an alternate reality.
And it can’t be just coincidence that we got a close-up of Lorca monkeying around with the spore drive coordinates just as the Discovery took its last jump of the episode.
For all its terrific character moments – of which Discovery has never been in short supply – “Into the Forest I Go,” as an action episode, is frustratingly flat. What should have been a tense nail-bitter of a show is undone by some fairly pedestrian directing, especially aboard the Klingon ship, and a surprisingly subdued musical score.
Let’s hope that Discovery doesn’t settle into the feared whole-note approach to scoring that became something of an affliction during the series’ Rick Berman era.
By moving Discovery away from the Klingon war, at least temporarily, and into a Voyager-like uncharted realm, as shown at the episode’s conclusion, Discovery is finally taking flight with the promise of exploration and compelling encounters.
The final debris-field scene may not have offered the kind of eye-popping visuals to merit a cliffhanger, but it – along with all the show’s unresolved mysteries – do keep you wondering what will happen next.
Star Trek: Discovery returns January 7 with “Despite Yourself.” Watch for our Canon Connections for “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” and “Into the Forest I Go” this week, and keep checking back to TrekCore throughout the hiatus for more Star Trek: Discovery coverage!
In the same vein of Pearlman’s earlier works, Fun with Kirk and Spock and Redshirts Little Book of Doom, this book is appropriate for both adults and children. Even as an adult without any children, I found a lot to enjoy!
Search for Spock most closely resembles the classic Where’s Waldo? series, but with a Star Trek twist. Instead of Waldo, the reader is searching from Mr. Spock, who is hiding among each double page spread crowded with many different characters.
The pages are colorful, vibrant, and joyful. I found locating Spock in some of the settings was pretty challenging, particularly “A Mob Scene” and “The Crowded Side of Paradise.” Spock does not always appear in his Starfleet uniform, and some parts of the page spreads suffer a little from a soft focus, but when you finally find Spock it’s clearly him.
The page settings mostly take inspiration from classic episodes of Star Trek, with a few other cool ideas thrown in, such as a page spread set at a Star Trek convention. This setting was one of my personal favorites, with many characters and vignettes familiar to any fan who has attended a convention.
In addition to Spock, there are a number of Easter eggs spread across each page. The final page at the back of the book has a checklist of all of the Easter eggs hidden throughout. I’m still working my way through finding all of them!
There are so many that I don’t want to spoil, but one I particularly enjoyed because he’s one of my favorite characters was spotting Lt. Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager hidden among a scene on Vulcan — see if you can find him in the preview image below!
There are a few nods to the wider Star Trek canon spread around the book, but this is mostly an Original Series book in its content.
Overall, Search for Spock was a lot of fun. If you have kids, you’ll particularly enjoy working together to try and find Mr. Spock, and if you’re an adult, it’s fun to find all of the references to various Star Trek episodes. Robb Pearlman clearly loves Star Trek, and brings his signature wit and charm to every project that he has worked on so far.
Star Trek publishing has really stepped up its game in recent years in releasing all kinds of books that appeal to different audiences, including younger audiences. I applaud them for their courage in publishing non-traditional books that go beyond the standard reference works, and encourage fans to seek them out.
If you liked Search for Spock, you should check out:
Fun with Kirk and Spock by Robb Pearlman – Pearlman’s first whimsical exploration of the Star Trek universe tells the story of famous episodes of the Original Series in a satirical way that appeals to both adults and children.
Redshirts Little Book of Doom by Robb Pearlman – See the Star Trek universe through the eyes of a redshirt, for whom nothing can ever seem to go right! This book is also a lot of fun.
The Kelvin Timeline got a serious redesign for Star Trek Beyond, with new Starfleet gear, new uniforms, and even a new USS Enterprise to take Chris Pine and company on their continuing missions — and that means there’s plenty of stuff left over from the first two Trek films that the Prop Store of London is now planning to auction this December!
From the uniforms of Starfleet Academy seen in the 2009 Trek film to the weapons of the Klingons in Star Trek Into Darkness, a wide range of costume and prop selections from the first to Kelvin Timeline films are going up for auction on December 2 in Los Angeles, with nearly 400 separate lots to bid on.
If you’re like us, though, and want a hard copy of the 250+ page catalog, you can order that here for shipment from either LA or London. Our copy arrived this week and we’re happy to add it to our shelf of Star Trek reference works, with hundreds of high-quality, full-color, detailed photographs of the various props and costumes used in the films.
A series of screen-used uniforms, estimated at values of $2,000 – $10,000.
The Prop Store is also running a contest to give away one of two authentic Star Trek (2009) cadet uniforms to registrants of the auction, which you can enter here if interested. They will also be holding a week-long preview exhibition at their LA-area facility in Valencia, CA leading up to the auction on December 2.
Montréal-based voice and dialect coach Rea Nolan has been helping out the Star Trek: Discovery cast all season – from helping British actors Jason Isaacs and Shazad Latif dial in their American accents, to working with Ken Mitchell and Mary Chieffo to master the art of the Klingon language – and recently she had a nice conversation with CBC Radio host Mike Finnerty about her role on the show.
NOLAN: Klingon is one aspect of the job; teaching the actors who are playing the roles to intone the language. We have a translator who is actually a fabulous Klingon speaker – she’s from Canada, she’s from Vancouver – Robyn Stewart, she is considered to be one of the best Klingon speakers walking and talking today.
The language was developed by linguist Marc Okrand, and people who were interested in it just sort of took it and ran with it. Eventually established what’s called the Klingon Language Institute, and Robin is an active member of that Institute. She does the translations. She gave me an in-depth intensive in the linguistic structure; I read the works of Marc Okrand, and it’s now my job to sort of be the interpreter between the written word and what the actors intone.
Your voice is basically muscles moving breath, so the way you move your muscles informs how you sound. It’s unconscious. We spend a lot of energy in early life trying to figure it out. But it very quickly becomes what we call second nature, you don’t think about it.
[Regarding Klingon], some people are natural born talents and other people really have to work at it. “What do you mean, ‘How is my tongue moving?'” So you do specific exercises to get them aware. I might choose a consonant that’s articulated at the back of the tongue, like ‘ga-ga-ga,’ or at the front of the mouth like ‘da-da-da,’ and you know, just even doing those simple things… if you can really feel into how you’re moving your tongue that helps.
Nolan’s entire interview (above) runs about ten minutes, and is a very interesting listen, also touching on working with Isaacs and Latif on their character’s American accents for the show.
A further exploration of Nolan and Stewart’s contribution to the Klingon language aspects of Star Trek: Discovery can also be found in this recent MarketWatch report.
Keep coming back to TrekCore for more Star Trek: Discovery news!
Eaglemoss has been rolling out their ongoing Official Starships Collection miniature Trek spacecraft models for several years, and this year they expanded the line — in more than one sense — with their oversized Official Star Trek Starships XL Edition series.
So far three of the classic Trek starships have made the leap to XL status, and today we’ve got a great look at Matt Jefferies’ original Constitution-class Enterprise in its large-scale glory.
Measuring nearly 10 inches in length — about twice the length of the standard Eaglemoss Enterprise — this expanded ship definitely has the heft you’d expect: the entire top of the saucer section, as well as the upper half of the secondary hull is crafted from Eaglemoss’ traditional die-cast metal, adding to the weight of the ship.
The larger surface area also allows for better application of paint and hull markings compared to the 5″ version, with the bold USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701 markings sharp on the upper hull.
That being said, it’s a little disappointing to see that even on a larger model such as this, the application of window markings to sculpted windows are still not always properly aligned.
The Enterprise deflector and nacelle caps are a set of brilliant orange detailing that really pop on the model, though one must be cautions to not bump against the deflector antenna, as it bends easily under slight pressure.
The standard display stand gets its own upgrade as well, larger and sturdier to carry the weight of the larger Enterprise, and the increase size adds to the stability of the model. One thing we’ve noticed about the smaller Eaglemoss ships is their tendency to slip off of their display stand; no chance of that with this larger version.
Be on the lookout for our next Eaglemoss starships review in the coming weeks, and be sure to check out our preview of their upcoming releases from New York Comic Con!
In Eaglemoss’ US store, TrekCore readers can use promo code TREKCORE at checkout for 10% off any ‘Star Trek’ collectible purchase $50 or greater (Starships, Plaques, Binders, Graphic Novels).
ThinkGeek is back with their next set of Star Trek Geeki Tikis from Beeline Creative, and this time they’re jumping ahead to the 24th Century with the first wave of Star Trek: The Next Generation releases.
We reviewed their Original Series set back in September, and like that first release, the initial Next Generation tiki set is a selection of Enterprise crew and alien enemies — Picard, Worf, and Geordi, along with a Borg drone, a Cardassian soldier, and one profit-seeking Ferengi.
Unlike the TOS collection, this set only has two choices with similar bright colors — Picard in red, and the Ferengi in a vibrant orange. The rest of this set are a little muted in color, compared to greens and blues of the Original Series options.
Even the yellow La Forge design is a bit underwhelming; a nice blue Crusher, purple-hued Troi, or green Romulan tiki would work nicely to spice up the color palette. The interiors of the tikis do add a little bit of flair, with an appropriate green for the Borg and a nice blue for the Cardassian.
And speaking of Troi and Crusher, this is the second Trek tiki set to exclude the female characters; while we know Beeline Creative is planning additional TOS and TNG tiki releases, we hope that they’ll be adding the ladies to the line-up next time around.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation tiki set can be picked up at ThinkGeek now.
* * *
…and thanks to our friends at ThinkGeek, we’re giving away a set of both the Original Series and Next Generation tikis to our readers!
One lucky winner will receive all six Original Series Star Trek tikis — and a second winner will receive the set of Next Generation tikis — and one of those winners could be you by simply answering the question below in our comments:
From an Andorian Ale to a Samarian Sunset, the Star Trek universe is home to a wide variety of galactic beverages — so sound off in the comments below and look for our email once the contest window has closed.
Be sure to note if you prefer TOS or TNG tikis in your post!
Contest Rules
Giveaway open to residents of the United States only.
Contest runs through 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, November 19.
Only one comment per user; users with multiple comments will be disqualified.
Must be a registered user of the Disqus comment system with a valid email address.
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The first chapter of Star Trek: Discovery ended last night, with the second half of Season One continuing in January, but the team behind the series is already gearing up to start early work on the second season of the show.
Series executive producer and co-showrunner Aaron Harberts thanked his cast and crew on Twitter, signing off last evening noting that his work on Season 2 of Discovery begins today.
Thanks for watching @startrekcbs@StarTrekNetflix fans. Writers, cast, and crew killed it with this finale. Given that I'm old, jet-lagged, and starting work on S2 tomorrow, I'm off to bed. See you all in January! #StarTrekDiscovery
Now this most certainly does not refer to filming or active production on the next season, but more likely points to story development and early pre-production planning. Full production is not expected to resume in Toronto for some time.
There’s still a lot more to come from Star Trek: Discovery in the coming months, with the back half of the first season returning January 7.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for our final round of Canon Connections for 2017, along with our review of “Into the Forest I Go” this week!
Novel #4:
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Star Trek:
Star Trek Beyond:
The Art of Star Trek:
