We’re on the eve of another Star Trek: Discovery weekend, and while we count down the hours to “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” CBS has not only released the usual plethora of episodic photography ahead of the new episode, but a new preview clip from Sunday’s show is here, too!
DSC 107: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”
As the U.S.S. Discovery crew attempts to let loose at a party, an unwelcome visitor comes aboard bringing about a problematic and twisted sequence of events.
Released through Entertainment Weekly, this clip from “Sanest Man” features Tilly doing her best to get Burnham to enjoy an off-hours party on the Discovery, while Lt. Rhys tries to get a little frisky with the cadet, and Ash Tyler salutes the wounded and lost warriors in Starfleet’s ranks.
Also, here’s a gallery of ten new photos from Sunday’s episode, featuring the return of Harry Mudd — this time to the starship Discovery herself.
'Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad'
1 of 10
Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). (CBS)
Burnham in the transporter room. (CBS)
Burnham: not a party animal. (CBS)
Stamets (Anthony Rapp) seeks help from Culber (Wilson Cruz), Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) and Burnham. (CBS)
Tyler and Burnham armed for a fight. (CBS)
Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) greets Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs).
Mudd and Lorca face off. (CBS)
Lorca and crew stand on the bridge. (CBS)
Saru (Doug Jones) and Airiam (Sara Mitich) on the bridge. (CBS)
Burnham and Mudd chat in the ready room. (CBS)
“Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” airs this Sunday on SPACE and CBS All Access, and hits Netflix Monday, followed by an all new After Trek with guests Anthony Rapp and Rainn Wilson.
The name Star Trek conjures images of faster-than-light spacecraft, holographic crew members, and phasers set to stun. Some of these incredible devices may still be far from our reach, but others have made the leap from science fiction to science fact—and now you can learn the science and engineering of what makes them tick.
Treknology looks at over twenty-five iconic inventions from the complete history of the Star Trek television and film universe. Author Ethan Siegel explores and profiles these dazzling technologies and their role Star Trek, the science behind how they work, and how close we are to achieving them in the real world today.
This stunning collection is packed with 150 superb film and television stills, prop photography, and scientific diagrams to pull you into another world. Brace yourself for a detailed look at the inner workings of Star Trek’s computing capabilities, communications equipment, medical devices, and awe-inspiring ships. This book is one that no fan of Star Trek, or future tech, will want to miss.
All you need to do is leave a comment below, telling us the following:
From replicators to shuttlecraft to dermal regenerators, sound off and let us know what Star Trek technology you’d love to have in your life!
Make your entry below, and watch your email for winner notifications on November 3!
Add TrekCore.com to your ‘safe senders’ list so we don’t go to your spam folder!
Contest Rules
Giveaway open to residents of the United States only.
Contest runs through 11:59 PM Eastern on Thursday, November 2.
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.
While we await the pending arrival of this Sunday’s newest episode of Star Trek: Discovery, “Madness to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” there’s been a number of ancillary material released from CBS sharing behind-the-scenes secrets of makeup design, production, and filming from this past week’s After Trek.
First up, a look at the makeup process behind “augmented human” officer Lt. Commander Airam, that robot-looking officer on the USS Discovery‘s bridge, played by actress Sara Mitich.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajblgnXRJv8
The weekly aftershow also teased out some of the work that went into the “Lethe” scenes of holographic phaser training and corridor jogging from last week’s episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY6A-V5Q5qU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD7mLMXJrcs
An additional behind-the-scenes video was released by CBS today, showcasing the incredible production design and construction process that went into building the Klingon sarcophagus ship on stage in Toronto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBLOVPoQ7Yo
* * *
Keep checking back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek: Discovery news!
Discover the life of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, told in his own words, in the recent release of The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard, by David. A Goodman.
The Picard autobiography follows up on the successful Autobiography of James T. Kirk that was released in early 2015, and for the majority of the book narrates Picard’s life up to the point that he took command of the Enterprise-D.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend that all fans of the character of Jean-Luc Picard or Star Trek: The Next Generation rush to pick up a copy. It’s an easy, breezy read, and provides significant added depth and context to the already layered character of Picard by weaving together all of the references to Picard’s history seen in the shows and movies.
The emotional resonance of the character’s journey on screen is significant enhanced by reading this book.
The underlying theme throughout the book, which picks up one of the themes from the show, is family. At every point in Picard’s life – during his childhood, at the Academy, aboard the Stargazer, between assignments, aboard the Enterprise – he is defined by his relationships to others.
Picard during his earliest days aboard the Enterprise-D. (“Encounter at Farpoint”)
It is established in the show that Picard had a distant relationship with his father, and is estranged from his brother up to the events of the episode “Family,” and the story focuses heavily on the impact that such a lack of paternal or fraternal love has on his life.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in the exploration of father figures in Picard’s life. We see a number throughout The Next Generation, including Professor Galen, Admiral Hansen, and Admiral Quinn, who all have close bordering on paternal relationships with Picard that are expanded upon and contextualized by this story.
The journey that Picard goes on and the choices that he makes to find his family makes the final scene of “All Good Things…” at the poker table even more satisfying, because it really does represent the culmination of a journey for Picard stretching back well before “Encounter at Farpoint.”
Picard’s relationship with the women in his life is also a central theme. While many of his more furtive relationships don’t feature – there are no mentions of Vash or Nella Darren – Beverly Crusher is a central character for a large portion of the narrative, and Picard’s feelings about Crusher and their relationship are explored in much more detail, to an ultimately satisfying conclusion.
With his late brother, Robert, at the family vineyard in France. (“Family”)
There are few stones of The Next Generation canon left unturned in The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard. If I have one criticism, it’s that at times it can seem like Goodman tries a little too hard to stuff as many characters together as possible.
By way of example, Picard’s first posting on the USS Reliant (a deep cut reference to a deleted scene from the extended cut of “The Measure of a Man” included on the TNG Season 2 Blu-Ray) includes four characters who would show up in episodes of TNG – Admiral Quinn, Admiral Nakamura, Fleet Admiral Shanthi, and Captain Walker Keel, as part of a ship with a complement of only 34.
As a result, the narrative can sometimes feel like it’s suffering from “small universe syndrome,” where an organization as big as Starfleet can feel like it includes only a couple of hundred characters because they all keep bumping into one another.
On the other hand, tying all these characters together more tightly increases the emotional resonance of events in Star Trek canon, most notably the Battle of Wolf 359. Seen through Picard’s eyes, the Borg are not just using him to destroy the Federation fleet, but kill friends and colleagues too.
It lays bare the true horror of what the Borg did to Picard more than the show was ever able to accomplish.
Locutus of Borg. (“The Best of Both Worlds, Part II”)
The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard is entirely a standalone book, with very few references to other tie-in media. This story of Picard’s life does not align at all with the novels, but that’s perfectly okay – Goodman gives his own unique and compelling spin on Picard’s life and career that aligns extremely well with everything seen on screen.
We do get a nice IDW comics tie-in at the end of the book, but I won’t spoil it here. There are little cameos throughout for the other Star Trek shows as well, including one well-hidden but very much intentional Discovery reference that it would be easy to skip over. Six strips of gold-pressed latinum to the first person to find it!
Overall, I highly recommend this book to all Picard and TNG fans, even if you’ve never picked up a Star Trek book before. Here’s hoping Goodman’s autobiographies have been successful enough for the publisher, Titan Books, that we can look forward to additional volumes for Sisko, Janeway, Archer, and maybe — one day — Michael Burnham.
If you liked The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard, you should check out:
The Autobiography of James T. Kirk, by David A. Goodman – If the autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard worked for you, it’s actually the second Star Trek autobiography David Goodman has written. The first, The Autobiography of James T. Kirk, gives us the same deep dive on the first beloved Star Trek captain.
Star Trek — Federation: The First 150 Years, by David A. Goodman – Goodman’s first book expanding on the Star Trek canon, Federation: The First 150 Years tells the story of the founding of the United Federation of Planets and follows it through the little explored period of the timeline between Enterprise and the Original Series.
Its initial release came on a pedestal with a short audio clip narrated by George Takei – if you can find one and have the storage space, it’s a cool addition to your collection.
While en route to a top-secret diplomatic mission to meet representatives of two Klingon houses, Sarek (James Frain) is injured and his transport ship disabled by a suicide-bomber who identifies himself as a member of a group of logic extremists who oppose Vulcan-human integration and Federation involvement. Sarek’s distress is sensed (and felt) by Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), who persuades Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs) to mount yet another Discovery rescue mission.
In the meantime, Lt. Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) is proving his loyalty to Captain Lorca and is promoted to security chief aboard Discovery. Lorca assigns him to pilot Burnham’s shuttle through the Yridia Nebula in an attempt to rescue Sarek. With help from Cadet Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Burnham is able to connect with the unconscious Sarek by way of a super-juiced-up mind-meld augment that taps into Sarek and Burnham’s shared katra.
The successful link exposes Burnham to a painful Sarek memory and a dark secret he’s protected: Burnham was never denied admission to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group years earlier, as she was lead to believe; Sarek was required to make a choice between his two non-fully-Vulcan children, Burnham and Spock, and he chose Spock – a decision he never reveal to Burnham.
Sarek (James Frain) reveals his secret choice. (CBS)
Sarek is successfully rescued but his injuries prevent him from resuming his mission with the Klingons on Cancri IV. Standing in for him is Admiral Cornwell (Jayne Brook), who, despite her close romantic ties to Lorca, is intent on removing him from command over concerns for his mental stability. The peace talks end up being a Klingon trap, Cornwell is captured, and the episode ends with Lorca leaving the decision to rescue her in the lap of Starfleet.
This episode is a fine vehicle for Lorca, and Jason Isaacs continues to add layers to a complicated character. The knee-jerk reaction in a review like this is to focus on the Sarek-Burnham plot and that surprise character revelation, but let’s begin with Lorca here. He goes from stern mentor in his early scenes with Tyler, to compassionate and accommodating captain with Burnham, to charming manipulator with Cornwell, and then to paranoid war soldier with a phaser at the ready by episode’s end.
As fans, we’re we’ve grown accustomed over several series to seeing our captains struggle with the aftermath of war or being victims of alien imprisonment. Discovery brings a raw intensity to that familiar captain’s struggle.
When a startled Lorca leaps out of bed and aims his phaser at Cornwell, it becomes especially clear that Lorca is not a well man. But he’s a guy that doesn’t want to lose his command, and he’s not willing to step down, even though it may be in the best interests of Starfleet. His decision to essentially abandon Cornwell to the Klingons (or, as he put it to Saru, leave the decision to Starfleet) may not be the most admirable thing for a Star Trek captain to do, but it makes sense as something his character would do. Cornwell has now become a threat to him and his career in Starfleet.
Admiral Cornwell (Jayne Brooks) is shocked to see Lorca’s (Jason Isaacs) true state. (CBS)
The beauty of Star Trek: Discovery so far is how it has managed to tell personal stories against a very dark backdrop — in this case, war. I’m reminded of what made “Yesterday’s Enterprise” from The Next Generation such a standout installment, and that was a very personal, and redemptive, story about Tasha Yar. That episode also featured the Federation at war with the Klingons, but it all took place in an alternate timeline formed by a temporal rift.
As intriguing as the war timeline was, it was never the real story in “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” It was all about Tasha and her finding a renewed purpose (and, some could argue, a corrected fate) aboard the Enterprise-C as it attempted to restore the proper timeline.
“Lethe,” in the best Star Trek traditions, doesn’t get lost in the muck and dirt of this overarching war story. It’s all about character. We see the friendship and mentorship between Tilly and Burnham continue to grow in a light-hearted scene early in the episode, when the two are exercising. We also, of course, get some significant character development when Burnham discovers Sarek’s secret and confronts him about his decision on that fateful day on Vulcan.
Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner) stands with a younger Burnham on Vulcan. (CBS)
Sure, the mind-rescue plot feels a little too familiar for Star Trek and I’m still not sure I’m on board with the series’ decision to shoehorn Burnham into Sarak’s family tree; there’s something a bit too obvious in terms of fan service and legitimizing Burnham into Star Trek canon. Could they not have created another Vulcan character for this part?
That said, Sonequa Martin-Green and James Frain file fine performances in this episode. Burnham’s expression upon learning she has been denied acceptance is heartbreaking. Burnham’s story is capped by a wonderfully realized scene in the end where Burnham bonds with Lt. Tyler concerning her emotional struggles with Sarek.
That scene with Tyler, however, did raise a question in me. As satisfying as it was, I wondered initially why she chose Tyler with whom to have this personal talk – as opposed to, say, Tilly. Is it because Tyler, like her, is an outsider who was selected and favored by Lorca? Is it because she’s romantically interested in him? Or is it because we need to be clued-in that Tyler will be playing a larger role in future episodes, especially as it relates to his relationship with Burnham?
On the downside, Stamets’ “groovy” scene was a bit too weird for comfort. The show needs to quickly resolve what’s going on with him after his assimilation into the spore drive. I kept getting uncomfortable flashbacks to “drunk”-Data from TNG’s “The Naked Now” or from the Star Trek Generations movie, where Data turns giddy after assimilating his emotion chip.
Tyler (Shazad Latif) and Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) finally connect. (CBS)
And what’s with the food slot on Discovery? I’m not sure it’s a downside, but it’s certainly amusing to hear a replicator respond to a request – in this case, from Burnham – that the order is “appetizing and nutrient-filled”.
It’s worth noting that the “Lethe” teleplay is credited to Joe Menosky, who filed some of Star Trek’s finest episodes during the show’s Rick Berman era, including “Darmok” – a fan favorite that’s often regarded as a high-water mark for The Next Generation.
It’s difficult to see where Menosky’s fingerprints are on this episode, but what we do have is an installment that nicely strikes a balance between its light and dark elements, as some of the better crafted Star Trek stories have always done.
Star Trek: Discovery returns this Sunday with “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.” Watch for our ongoing Canon Connections series to continue later this week as we look for the ties to Trek‘s past in this most recent episode!
Rob Heyman is a freelance journalist and entertainment critic. He is a regular contributor to both TrekCore and The Logbook, where he has written episode reviews of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Voyager, and the Star Trek movies.
At the end of 2385, in a significant shift of its goals from military back to exploratory, Starfleet sent Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew of the U.S.S. Robinson on an extended mission into the Gamma Quadrant.
Tasked with a yearlong assignment to travel unknown regions, they set out to fulfill the heart of Starfleet’s charter: to explore strange new worlds, and to seek out new life and new civilizations.
But now three months into the mission, their first contact with an alien species comes in the form of an unprovoked attack on the Robinson.
With the ship’s crew suddenly incapacitated, seventy-eight of the 1,300 aboard are abducted — including Sisko’s daughter, Rebecca.
But Rebecca had already been kidnapped years earlier by a Bajoran religious zealot, part of a sect believing that her birth fulfilled the prophecy of the arrival of the Infant Avatar.
Does her disappearance now have anything to do with the harrowing events of the past? And for what purposes have these enemies taken Sisko’s daughter and the rest of the missing?
David R. George III returns for his eighth consecutive Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch novel with his latest work, Gamma: Original Sin.
The novel follows Captain Benjamin Sisko and the USS Robinson’s exploration of the Gamma Quadrant. George has written a tightly-focused adventure story that serves as both one of the best standalone novels of his run while also advancing the larger narrative that he initially set up in 2011’s Rough Beasts of Empire.
George has been advancing a rich narrative in his DS9 novels, with a number of compelling threads still ongoing. When he first took over the series, fans objected to the editorial decision to jump ahead four years in the narrative given how many ongoing plot threads were still hanging, and had further difficulty when those plot threads (like the Ascendant storyline) were not immediately addressed.
However, given the long game that George has been playing with these stories, many of the earlier decisions that seemed objectionable have led to bigger and more fulfilling payoffs down the line. The recent conclusion to the Ascendants narrative was well worth the wait. Through George’s work, we are now engrossed in the middle of a sprawling story that rivals the Star Trek: Voyager novel series by Discovery writer Kirsten Beyer for its depth.
Original Sin is a Captain Sisko novel, with a strong focus on Sisko, his wife Kasidy Yates Sisko, and daughter Rebecca Sisko. The story follows two main plot lines – in the first, the USS Robinson is ambushed while exploring the Gamma Quadrant.
During the ambush the starship’s children, including Rebecca Sisko, are abducted. The second story, set six years earlier, tells the story of a previous abduction of Rebecca by a Bajoran fanatic, which had been referenced in previous novels but never shown in detail. There are strong thematic connections between both plot threads, and provide new insights into Rebecca Sisko and Captain Sisko’s relationship with the Prophets.
The Siskos have faced many hardships in their family life since Captain Sisko returned from his time living with the Prophets in the Bajoran wormhole. But despite those hardships — teased by the Prophets shortly before their marriage — they continue to work at their relationship and raise their daughter.
Deep Space Nine was celebrated for its focus on family, and particularly the strong bond between Sisko and his son, Jake. Despite Jake not making an appearance in the book, those themes are continued and furthered here, and I for one continue to root for the Siskos’ success.
The only other Deep Space Nine character that makes an appearance in the novel is Captain Elias Vaughn, a novel character from the earlier relaunch series. Vaughn was a fan favorite novel character who met his demise in the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy by David Mack, and so seeing him in action once again is most welcome.
This is not an ensemble novel, but tightly focused on the Sisko family and their story, and really benefits from it as a character drama.
In addition to the Siskos, the other main star of Original Sin is the USS Robinson herself, a Galaxy-class starship. It has been a long time since a story has been set on a Galaxy-class ship, and George makes great use of its locales. The bridge, the briefing room, captain’s quarters and shuttle bay are featured locations, and it reminds me how much I miss the grand Galaxy-class. Star Trek moved on from her too quickly.
If there’s one disappointment in Original Sin, it’s that the crew of the USS Robinson in the Gamma Quadrant portion of the story continue to be unmemorable. This appears to be a deliberate choice insofar as Original Sin is concerned, because it’s a character drama starring the Siskos, but for future “Gamma” novels it will be likely be necessary for the rest of the crew of the Robinson to become more interesting characters to alleviate the burden from the Siskos.
However, the characters from the Bajoran thread are well developed, including Rebecca Sisko’s misguided kidnapper.
The narrative is deftly handled, and the Gamma Quadrant and Bajoran plot lines are well balanced. In addition, the new alien race introduced by the book are truly alien in a way that you would hope from a novel unencumbered by the realities of a television budget. Their weapons, their home, and their motivations mix interesting new concepts with innovative takes on previous ideas.
Original Sin is a compelling character drama, that teases interesting directions for the series ahead and some of the television series themes, particularly in regards to Captain Sisko’s relationship with his family and the Prophets.
Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for an announcement of a new Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel penned by George, and that he is allowed to continue telling his ambitious meta-narrative.
If you liked Original Sin, you should check out:
Rough Beasts of Empire, by David R. George III – The novel that kicked off George’s run on the series, Rough Beasts of Empire found many of the characters in very different places than we previously left them.
Plagues of Night and Raise the Dawn, by David R. George III – The second and third novels in George’s run follow the involvement of DS9’s crew in the larger political machinations with the Typhon Pact, with devastating consequences. It’s a real page-turner, and the shocking ending to Plagues of Night will make you immediately pick up Raise the Dawn.
Serpents Among the Ruins, by David R. George III – Part of “The Lost Era” series of novels, Serpents Among the Ruins stars Captain John Harriman of the Enterprise-B and tells the story of the Tomed Incident that led to the Romulan Empire withdrawing from interstellar affairs for 100 years.
Great news for all Star Trek: Discovery fans — the freshman series has been renewed officially today by CBS for a second season, confirming a long-expected extension of the newest member of the Star Trek franchise.
CBS made the announcement this morning:
CBS ALL ACCESS RENEWS “STAR TREK: DISCOVERY” FOR SECOND SEASON
NEW YORK – Oct. 23, 2017 –CBS All Access, the CBS Television Network’s digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, announced today the second season renewal of its hit original series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY.
“In just six episodes, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY has driven subscriber growth, critical acclaim and huge global fan interest for the first premium version of this great franchise,” said Marc DeBevoise, President and Chief Operating Officer, CBS Interactive. “This series has a remarkable creative team and cast who have demonstrated their ability to carry on the ‘Star Trek’legacy. We are extremely proud of what they’ve accomplished and are thrilled to be bringing fans a second season of this tremendous series.”
The launch of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY on CBS All Access broke a new record for subscriber sign-ups in a single day, week and month for the service.
The first six episodes of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY are currently available to stream on CBS All Access. All new episodes are available on demand weekly after 8:30 PM, ET on Sundays exclusively for CBS All Accesssubscribers in the U.S. As previously announced, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY will air in two chapters. The final episode of chapter one will debut on Sunday, Nov. 12, and the second chapter, featuring the remaining six episodes, will return in January 2018.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself. The series will feature a new ship and new characters, while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY’s cast includes Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Jason Isaacs, Anthony Rapp, Michelle Yeoh, Shazad Latif, Mary Wiseman, Mary Chieffo, James Frain and more.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout, Living Dead Guy Productions and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Fuller, Heather Kadin, Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts, Akiva Goldsman, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers.
While it’s certainly too early for a timeline for Season 2’s arrival, comments from series producer Alex Kurzman earlier this year hinted toward a likely 2019 arrival.
Stay tuned for more Star Trek: Discovery news now – and for some time – here at TrekCore!
A few months ago, we brought you our review of Eaglemoss’ USS Franklin starship model, warping off the screen from last year’s film Star Trek Beyond — and now, it’s time to take a look at the other two Beyond special releases from the Official Starships Collection line.
First up is the first Kelvin Timeline starship dedication plaque from Eaglemoss’ collection, following the Defiant, Voyager, and all of the starships Enterprise (save for the -C and -D).
Eaglemoss 'USS Franklin' Plaque
1 of 8
Measuring about 6.5″ by 8.5″, this solid ‘polyresin’ wall piece faithfully recreates the screen-seen plaque aboard the USS Franklin, complete with slight kerning irregularities as seen on the film. Our edition also has some slight surface wear on it; intentional or not it certainly adds to the look of the plaque compared to the on-screen version.
It would be nice if these plaques came with some sort of display stand for those who don’t want to wall-mount the item, the rear of the plaque has two mounting points for displaying.
While the original film prop lives on in the hands of Beyond director Justin Lin — after all, the ship was named for his father Frank — this black-and-gold piece is a neat addition to any Kelvin Timeline fan’s collection.
Also from Star Trek Beyond is the Altamid swarm ship, one of the thousands of small craft manned by the Altamid automated drones of Krall’s army. These deadly two-man vessels, networked together by a cyberpathic data connection, were responsible for the destruction of the USS Enterprise in coordinated attack above Altamid.
Measuring about 7.5″ long, the model’s central core has a base of die-cast metal, textured and detailed like the digital swarm ship; the top of the center section, along with the wings are molded plastic with highlights of tan and black paint.
Eaglemoss Altamid Swarm Ship
1 of 12
While the wings don’t retract, the swarm ship model is nearly as dangerous as its on-screen counterpart; the six pointy tines on the front and rear of the model are solid and sharp, and while it may not be able to penetrate the hull of a starship, it certainly has the potential to damage skin or clothing if you’re not careful.
Krall’s advanced swarm vessel, seen near the end of the film.
That being said, the detail on this model is quite something, and it definitely carries the threatening nature of this ship from film to fact as an enemy vessel — though we’re hoping that Krall’s advanced ship may make its way to model form to complete the Kelvin Timeline bad-guy series.
In addition to these two expansions of Eaglemoss’ Kelvin Timeline collection, the third release of their Designing Starships hardcover reference books has been slated for an early 2018 release — see our review of Volume 1 and 2 here — focusing exclusively on the KT films, and the starships that have sprung to life from the Bad Robot productions.
We’ll be sure to bring you our take on this next chapter of starship design when it arrives!
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).
The newest episode of Star Trek: Discovery — “Lethe” — has just debuted, and we’re sure you’re ready to dive into a discussion on all the events that just took place.
Here’s your place to take on all the new Trek lore this episode brought us, with no restrictions on spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched the episode, that’s your last warning!
This thread will remain open until our episode review is posted, later this week.
In issue #11, Captain Kirk had just been sucker-punched by the shape-shifting Captain Garth and left on Antos IV, while the aforementioned Garth has assumed his form and taken his position as captain of the Endeavour.
Brevity is the order of the day for this story. Though I can say I enjoyed it, I felt like the guest at the dinner table who needed seconds.
I really feel like it needed more. In the last issue, Kirk was trapped fairly easily and in this month’s Star Trek: Boldly Go #12, his escape is just as simple. The actual interaction between Kirk, Garth and his old ship is likewise fairly brief and it just seemed to me that this was a bigger story in planning than what was actually delivered.
Of course, I could be wrong about this, but Mike Johnson is a veteran storyteller and his love for Star Trek is fairly well-established by now. Two issues just seems like an odd number for an arc, even a short one, and there is so much that could have been added to this story. In this story, we see more of Captain Garth and not enough of Garth of Izar.
For example, I wanted to find out more about what the Antosians did to Garth. In the TOS episode “Dagger of the Mind” — when we met Garth in the prime timeline — Garth had a great deal of exposition, talked about the shape-shifting techniques (albeit vaguely) but we learned more about his character.
I’d have liked to have seen some of Garth’s epic starship strategy in combat against Kirk. In the end, it isn’t even Kirk who takes his own ship back, but the pirate Eurydice and her daughter, Thalia with a very cheap and vaguely defined space-pirate trick. However, true to Kirk form, in the end he winds up with more than just his ship. I was grateful for that.
Megan Levens’ art is growing more and more enjoyable with every issue. When an artist is assigned a book for a decent amount of time, the added familiarity with the subject translates to extra proficiency. With her time on Star Trek: Boldly Go, I think she’s developing a greater sense of awareness with the characters and her drawing is becoming more and more fluid. In short, I think she’s having a lot of fun and it shows in her work.
Speaking of art, that brings us to the covers for this book.
The regular cover is by George Caltsoudas. His figures always seem so willowy thin that I find I prefer his stylized, work, particularly when it comes to starships. For me, the more abstract, the better.
Cover B is by Tony Shasteen, coloured by J.D. Mettler. Shasteen captures the sardonic expression of what is clearly Captain Garth playing Kirk, perfectly. Shasteen’s likenesses are truly his strength and putting his work on a cover is a definitely a smart bet.
While I really enjoy his likenesses though, I have to confess that I enjoy the story relevance of his covers. There’s always a hint as to what’s going on in the story and Shasteen really does a good job of selling the book with his cover work.
The Retailer A cover is a photo and we all know how I feel about those! But the B-cover by Cryssy Cheung is a delightful image of Montgomery Scott set against blueprints and technical drawings of the Enterprise and other technological information.
It’s a fantastic cover that almost seems to meld Simon Pegg and James Doohan’s features together; an excellent piece of work that Cheung should be proud of.
When it comes down to it, it’s a fun read. I went back and read it several times and I was struck by how quick a story pace it was. I think it could have stood for another issue at least, in which we could see how good a starship captain Garth really was. A teacher versus student trope is always good story and with Garth’s history, it would have been a good story indeed.
However, the expression on Garth’s face in the holding cell at the Elba Asylum Colony made me think that maybe we haven’t seen the last of Captain Garth. And if so, then I look forward to more of the story unfolding in future issues to come!
Novel #4:
Novel #5:
Novel #6:
