After spending most of the year in Canada, the Starfleet Academy Experience traveling exhibit returns to the New York City area this month, beaming down to the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey starting October 28.
Last year the Academy Experience set up shop at the USS Intrepid museum in New York City, where fans – including our team – had the chance to tour the interactive exhibit, home to a number of screen-used Trek props and costumes, as well as a recreation of the Enterprise-D bridge with video ‘tests’ throughout the presentation.
From October 28 – May 28, 2018, the Liberty Science Center – just a 30 minute drive from New York City – will be host to the next Academy Experience.
In this interactive, immersive exhibition based on one of the world’s most popular sci-fi series, you’ll step into the shoes of a newly minted cadet in the 26th century. As you travel through nine different zones, you’ll receive the necessary science, engineering, medical, and command training to navigate your way from orientation through graduation.
Both Trekkies and non-Trekkies will be engaged by the science behind the science fiction. Learn how Star Trek paved the way for many of today’s cutting-edge technologies—such as a functional tricorder, NASA’s warp drive theory, and experiments involving phasers and teleporters—and even get a glimpse into the future of Star Trek science.
The Liberty Science Center is open Tuesdays through Sundays all year — if you’re in the tri-state area and didn’t have an opportunity to visit the Academy Experience last year, be sure and plan an away mission this time around!
If you’re like me, half the fun of watching an episode of Star Trek for the nth time is the discussion that happens during or after: How well would a universal translator really work? What’s up with synthehol? How much of the infamous technobabble is rooted in real science? How close are we to making the fictional technology of Star Trek a reality?
Quite a few books have been written over the years about the science and technology of Star Trek. Most of them address the science of Trek in one of two ways, focusing either on how consistent (or not) the science of the Federation is with real science, or on how a Starfleet ship would work from a fictional in-universe perspective.
Think Lawrence Krauss’ The Physics of Star Trek for the former, and Rick Sternbach and Mike Okuda’s Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual for the latter.
Ethan Siegel’s Treknology starts off feeling a lot like an updated version of The Physics of Star Trek, covering the familiar ground of the oft-discussed warp drive and transporters. However, Siegel’s book quickly comes into its own once it begins looking at science and technology that isn’t talked about as often. I was surprised and delighted to see that unexpected bits of Trek science such as synthehol, hyposprays, the universal translator, and transparent aluminum – yes, transparent aluminum! – get their own sections.
Treknology also does something else different from existing books about the science and technology of Star Trek: it spends a lot of time discussing the current state of science and technology, and how we might eventually make Trek’s technology a reality. This, ultimately, is the core of Treknology.
It’s not just a book about real science or Star Trek science, but about if, how, and when those two things can become one and the same. The most interesting sections of Treknology are those that extend beyond the basic science and explain how that science is being applied in the real world.
The book itself is beautiful. It’s printed on glossy paper and is large enough to give the 150 full-color photos, stills, and diagrams room to be seen, though not so large as to veer into coffee table book territory. Though plenty of real estate is given to the images, Treknology doesn’t trade pictures for written content; there’s still a lot of text on the 216 pages of the book.
Since I’m not a trained scientist, I can’t comment on the accuracy of the science in Treknology, though I have no reason to question it. I do, however, consider myself to be a trained Trekkie, so I’ll comment on the Star Trek. In the hundred or so references to specific characters, ships, and incidents, I noticed just one minor error (Reginald Barclay’s rank while aboard the Enterprise-D is listed as ensign instead of lieutenant).
I think even Captain Jellico would be okay with that efficiency rating. Both the Kelvin and Prime timelines are mentioned, and all canon series are referenced, with the understandable exception of Discovery.
'Star Trek Trekonology'
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Overall, Treknology is a fun, informative read written by someone who is clearly as passionate and knowledgeable about science as he is Star Trek. If you’ve never read any books about the science or technology of Star Trek, Treknology is a great place to start.
If you have read any of the other Star Trek science books out there and are wondering if Treknologybrings anything new to the discussion, the answer is a definite yes!
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another round of preview photography for Star Trek: Discovery’s next episode!
“Lethe,” the sixth episode of the season, arrives on Sunday evening, which brings with it the return of Ambassador Sarek (James Frain), last seen in “Battle at the Binary Stars” at the beginning of the season.
In addition, Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) finds himself among a new Starfleet crew after being rescued from Klingon captivity by Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs).
Here’s CBS’s logline for the new episode:
The USS Discovery crew is intrigued by new addition, Lt. Ash Tyler. Sarek seeks Burnham’s help, rekindling memories from her past. Admiral Cornwell questions Lorca’s tactics.
Click through a dozen new images from “Lethe,” just released by CBS, which also includes what looks like a return to a Klingon vessel with Lorca and Tyler armed for battle — and Captain Lorca finally putting his butt in that captain’s chair.
'Lethe' Episodic Photos
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Saru (Doug Jones), Lorca (Jason Isaacs), and Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) on the Discovery bridge. (CBS)
Burnham helps gear up a shuttle. (CBS)
Tyler prepares the shuttle. (CBS)
Lorca and Tyler speak before a mission. (CBS)
Lorca and Tyler gear up in the armory. (CBS)
Lorca and Tyler board a Klingon vessel. (CBS)
Tyler and Lorca approach a door. (CBS)
Tyler and Lorca approach a door. (CBS)
Tyler is armed for conflict. (CBS)
Lorca faces off with Admiral Cornwell (Jayne Brook). (CBS)
Cornwell is not happy with Lorca. (CBS)
“Lethe” arrives on CBS All Access and SPACE this Sunday, followed by global release on Netflix this Monday.
Each week that I have sat down to watch Star Trek: Discovery and write down all of its calbacks to the previous Star Trek canon I believe the list is surely going to be shorter than the week before – but this is not that week!
“Choose Your Pain” was chocked full of fun references and shout outs to Star Trek of old, the return of a memorable foil from the Original Series, one Harcourt Fenton Mudd.
Discovery’s War Record
While being grilled by the admiralty as part of a strategy session, Captain Lorca recounts the victories of the USS Discovery since the spore drive was brought online: “In less than three weeks, the Discovery has prevented the destruction of the dilithium mines at Corvan II, broken the Klingon supply lines at Benzar, and routed an attack through the Ophiucus system.”
Corvan II was of course seen in last week’s “The Butcher’s Knife…”, but the other planets are right from Trek’s past as well.
Benzar is the homeworld of the Benzites, who have appeared several times in Star Trek, most prominently in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes “Coming of Age” and “A Matter of Honor.”
The residents of Ophiucus III were name-dropped in the Original Series episode “Mudd’s Women” as having done business with Mudd.
“No, I’m from Iowa.”
Admiral Cornwell says that the Starfleet facility in Jefferson, Iowa has been provided the specs for the spore drive, in anticipation of building (likely) more Crossfield-class starships to supplement Discovery. In Star Trek ’09, the USS Enterprise is under construction on the ground at the Riverside Shipyard in Riverside, Iowa, approximately 180 miles from Jefferson — and of course, Iowa is the home of one James T. Kirk.
Klingon D7 Battlecruiser
The Klingon ship that abducts Captain Lorca is identified by the shuttle as a D7 battlecruiser, likely a forerunner to the D7 that appeared in the Original Series, though appears to share few design similarities.
The Captains of Canon
In an attempt to self-evaluate his performance as acting captain, Saru asks the computer to list Starfleet’s most decorated captains.
In addition to the dearly-departed Philippa Georgiou, the list includes Captain Robert April, who previously had only been seen in The Animated Series and now fully enters canon; Captain Jonathan Archer, who commanded Enterprise NX-01 in “Star Trek: Enterprise”; Captain Matthew Decker, later seen as a Commodore in “The Doomsday Machine”; and the current captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Captain Christopher Pike.
Harry, for Short
Captain Lorca comes face to face with trader Harcourt Fenton Mudd in Klingon captivity.
Mudd, who references his wife Stella, shares a number of similar tics and flourishes to the character’s previous appearances in “Mudd’s Women” and “I, Mudd,” and the same roguish streak that would lead him to a life of crime 10 years later when he is encountered by Captain Kirk and crew.
Boldly Going, Etc.
Spoken by Mudd as part of his criticism of Starfleet’s philosophy, the use of the term of “to boldly go where no one has gone before” has been heard twice before outside of the famous Star Trek voiceover – by Zefram Cochrane in the Enterprise pilot “Broken Bow” (to whom the line is likely originally credited in-universe), and Captain Kirk in his final log entry in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
It was also seen – using the classic Trek “no man” phrasing – on a plaque in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
The Right Number of Organs
When Lorca is taunting L’Rell about her sexual relationship with the captured Ash Tyler, he makes reference to humans not having “the right number of organs” for her.
While there’s never been any canon commentary about a Klingon’s reproductive system, we do know from discussions in the Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager that Klingon anatomy is full of redundancy, with members of the species having twenty-three ribs, two livers, an eight-chambered heart, three lungs, and even redundant neural function as well as multiple stomachs.
“Do you want this to become violent?”
According to the Stamet’s testing monitor, Zaldan DNA is incompatible with the tardigrade genes that allow it to access the mycelial network and travel across the universe.
Wesley Crusher encountered a Zaldan as part of his Starfleet Academy entrance exams in the Next Generation episode “Coming of Age,” with the webbed-fingered species thriving on insults and confrontation.
The Daystrom Institute
Cadet Tilly recommends accessing the secure database at the Daystrom Institute to keep searching for compatible matches to tardigrade DNA.
The Institute, named for noted scientist Dr. Richard Daystrom, was previously only referenced in association with the 24th century shows, but apparently also exists in the 23rd century while Daystrom is still alive and active.
Rather than being named for Daystrom as many have speculated over the years, it seems that it may have been founded by the scientist himself.
“Eugenics experiments are forbidden!”
While human DNA is apparently compatible with the tardigrade’s genes, it is mentioned that genetic manipulation is forbidden on Earth, long-established in Trek canon from the Original Series through Star Trek: Enterprise.
This is a reference to the Eugenics Wars and Khan Noonien Singh, who at this point in the timeline is still in cryo-sleep adrift in the SS Botany Bay.
Though it is never legible on screen nor called out in the dialogue, a later ship called USS Buran would meet with a similar fate to Lorca’s ship… destroyed at the Battle of Wolf 359.
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In addition to all these tips-of-the-cap to Trek past, there was one massive source of historical references in a Starfleet map of the Klingon front, showing off a plethora of well-known locations throughout the galaxy – right out of Geoffrey Mandel’s Star Trek: Star Charts map reference book.
Rura Penthe – The Klingon prison planet most prominently seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and the Enterprise episode “Judgment.”
Morska – The location of the Klingon outpost that interrogated the Enterprise as it tried to surreptitiously cross Klingon space to rescue Captain Kirk from Rura Penthe in The Undiscovered Country.
Mempa – The site of a major battle during the Klingon Civil War seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Redemption, Part II.”
Beta Lankal – Another strategic location referenced during the Klingon Civil War during The Next Generation episode “Redemption, Part II.”
Khitomer – The eventual location of the signing of the Klingon/Federation peace treaty known as the Khitomer Accords, and the site of the peace summit featured in the final act of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Station K-7 – A starbase near the Klingon border visited by the Enterprise in “The Trouble With Tribbles.”
Acamar – A non-Federation world near the Klingon border visited by the Enterprise-D in the episode “The Vengeance Factor.” The Gatherers, a nomadic race of Acamarians who resist the global peace on the planet, will harass Federation worlds and possessions in the 24th century before the Enterprise intervenes.
Starbase 157 – In the 24th century, Starbase 157 receives the final distress call of the starship Lalo, which was under attack by the Borg in The Next Generation episode “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I.”
We can’t wait to see what else Star Trek: Discovery’s writers bring to the table in this weekend’s new episode, “Lethe.” Keep your eyes peeled for more canon connections in the future!
After successful execution of Discovery’s newly enhanced spores-based drive system, Captain Lorca is ordered by Starfleet to assume a low profile in the war effort for fear the Klingons may now have Discovery on its radar following its actions at Corvan 2.
Lorca is soon captured by the Klingons, however, and held prisoner, forcing Saru to take command of Discovery and mount a rescue of his captain. In the meantime, Michael Burnham is learning the new drive system is harming the assimilated tardigrade. Her pleas on the creature’s behalf put her at odds with a desperate Saru, who is determined to assert his newfound authority and use the tardigrade to rescue Lorca, despite its weakened state.
Lorca manages to escape the Klingons’ clutches with help from a fellow human prisoner, Lt. Ash Tyler, who served aboard the U.S.S. Yeager at the Battle of the Binary Stars. The two steal a Klingon Raider and make their way back to the waiting U.S.S. Discovery, where they are safely beamed aboard — and after taking on a terribly risky experiment to get Discovery out of Klingon territory, Paul Stamets is seeing double…
Saru (Doug Jones) and Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) bond over the thoughts of Georgiou. (CBS)
What we have with “Choose Your Pain” is a powerful and compelling installment that’s certainly the best of what Star Trek: Discovery has so far shown us. It’s also one that’s certain to divide fans over its harsher and more violent approach to Star Trek storytelling (we do, after all, get Star Trek’s use of “fuck” in dialogue used twice in the same scene).
If you need an example of the freedoms now afforded an aging series like Star Trek in a more flexible, streaming-service platform, this episode is it. “Choose Your Pain” is a pretty intense episode, by Star Trek’s television standards. Necks are broken; faces are bashed.
There was a time when Star Trek episodes like Next Generation’s “Chain of Command” (with its Picard torture scenes) and “Conspiracy” (with its parasite ingestion and head explosion) were all the talk around the water cooler for their level of ground-breaking Star Trek violence.
Those days are long gone. Standards change, and what we can stomach as viewers in terms of gore has also changed. The question is – how much is too much when it comes to graphic content in Star Trek? Was it gratuitous for Cadet Tilly to exclaim how “fucking cool” Stamets’ research is — and then have it backed up by Stamets himself — in their shared scene in this episode? Or is context the real arbiter in these instances?
It’s a dilemma Star Trek will continue to wrestle with as it adapts to the sensibilities and expectation of modern audience.
Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) chooses Lorca (Jason Isaacs) to face Klingon torture. (CBS)
Back to the episode. “Choose Your Pain” is so dense with subplots, it’s a pretty remarkable feat that it all comes together as well as it does. It’s refreshing to see some real physical action for the Klingons after several episodes of talk. It’s also good to see Saru getting something meaty to sink his teeth into.
It’s become something of a cliché in Star Trek to test its secondary characters with a shot at the hot seat for an episode or two. Star Trek: The Next Generation featured several examples of it, to varying degrees of success — the best being Riker’s battlefield promotion to captain in “The Best of Both Worlds” and Geordi’s turn at command in first season’s “Arsenal of Freedom.”
Although Saru hasn’t given us much personal backstory so far, his struggles with command resonate because of his established conflict with Burnham and his stated desire to protect his new captain and prove himself as a first officer.
Lorca faces off against L’Rell (Mary Chieffo), showcasing her English skills. (CBS)
There’s a lot of about Lorca we don’t know and it’s pretty clear that Star Trek: Discovery is intent on peeling back the layers of his backstory, piece by piece.
In this episode, we learn that Lorca previously commanded the U.S.S. Buran, which he destroyed and escaped from during a battle with the Klingons. Some fans have floated theories that Lorca is actually from the Mirror Universe, explaining his combative behavior and all-around atypical Star Trek captain’s demeanor — but while executive producer Alex Kurtzman has confirmed that Discovery will be crossing dimensions sometime this season, we’re more of a mind that Lorca is just hardened by the ongoing Klingon conflict than anything else.
Speaking of mirrors, Stamets’ decision to sacrifice himself as Discovery’s tardigrade-by-proxy is a bit of a groaner. For a second you’re wondering if he was being killed off in the same sudden, warning-free way Landry was dispatched in last week’s episode — but of course it’s a fake-out, with the scientist coming back to life after his trip around the galaxy… and it appears his experience has created some kind of hiccup in the universe, as evidenced by episode’s final scene with Stamets’ mirror reflection.
Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) at home with Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp). (CBS)
What seems particularly intriguing at this point is the possibility that Lt. Tyler is a Klingon masquerading as a human – namely Klingon torchbearer (and T’Kuvma acolyte) Voq.
This theory is being discussed heavily in fandom after this week’s episode, and while I’m not going to spend much time digging into every each clue here — though the credited man behind the mask, Javid Iqbal, has never done a single moment of publicity for the series, and actor Shazad Latif originally being cast as a Klingon — a strong narrative clue comes from “The Butcher’s Knife…” when L’Rell tells Voq that in order to move forward with his next mission, he sacrifice “everything.”
This could imply his giving up his identity as a Klingon for that as a human spy, much like undercover Klingon Arne Darvin from the classic episode “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Let’s not forgot also that L’Rell was commanding the Klingon ship that held Lt. Tyler prisoner, who was kept alive because of a suggested relationship with L’Rell.
Beamed aboard DISCOVERY, there’s nowhere Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) would rather be. (CBS)
Overall, “Choose Your Pain” is a standout installment that sees all of its primary and secondary characters given a nice piece of story pie, working effectively as a team. The ending, where Burnham gives Saru the telescope willed to her by Captain Georgiou, is a touching scene that nicely counterbalances the darker and more violent points of the episode. It also introduces the expected path toward reconciliation for Saru and Burnham.
Burnham and Tilly’s release of the tardigarde back into space is also a sentimental callback to Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Encounter at Farpoint” coda where that episode’s ‘jellyfish’ creature is released from captivity after being exploited for its energy-producing capabilities.
Kudos also need to given to Jayne Brook as Admiral Cornwell — interestingly, an officer who is also a psychiatrist by training, revealed during After Trek — and Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd, who is introduced in Discovery as a more sinister and angrier version of the persona seen in the classic series… and we haven’t seen the last of Harcourt Fenton Mudd.
Star Trek: Discovery returns this Sunday with “Lethe.” 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.
First up is the starship Discovery itself, as the Crossfield-class vessel gets a feature pin for the newest hero ship in the Star Trek fleet.
Three new characters from the USS Discovery crew also join the pin collection, with Captain Gabriel Lorca, Lt. Paul Stamets, and Cadet Sylvia Tilly beaming aboard.
In addition, the first character variant pins have arrived, with Michael Burnham’s new hairstyle and silver, no-insignia sciences uniform, and Commander Saru in his new gold command uniform.
The new pins are in FanSet’s web store this morning for $5.95 each, along with all the previously-released Star Trek: Discovery pins in their collection.
You can also sign up for FanSets’ specialty Discovery “episode pins” at EpisodePins.com.
Well, there is a soothing wave of nostalgia that engulfs me whenever I turn a page in this book, and New Visions #18 — What Pain it is to Drownalready gushes a sense of a return to my living room in the 1970’s where I would most excitedly watch an episode of my favourite sci-fi show for the 29th time. What a glorious time for television that was.
But there’s also the joy of anticipation in discovering what new twists and details legendary comics creator, John Byrne, has in store for us in this comic; another medium that has brought me a great deal of happiness.
I look forward to reading this book simply because I think that there’s a great deal of joy in enjoying a well-assembled story about a franchise that has given me a great deal of entertainment in the last fifty years.
Fifty-one years, actually… that’s a lot of joy.
The story in this particular issue is about an insane alien that employs a specially treated type of water that can survive space and is used as a ravaging weapon that literally drowns planets in a twisted scientific experiment in search of redemption. I ask myself, how does Byrne come up with these ideas?
It’s a grandiose and romantic premise that not only fits the original concept of Trek, but also the classic perception of science fiction that was present in literature of the time. Modern science fiction concerns itself with plausibility and a deeply-rooted connection to the conceivable science of the time.
Back in the sixties, there was more of an emphasis on the story recipient’s willing suspension of disbelief. You accepted a story and didn’t worry too much about the science because where was the fun in that?
Star Trek threw caution to the wind when it came to matters of science and technology and so does Byrne. It explained, but in a pseudo-technical way that tied into all sorts of different scientific theories that were newly proposed. Transporters were a deus ex machina that were acceptable because of the theory of converting matter to energy and channeling that energy into receivers.
Was it detailed? No, but did we care? No, it was just a really cool way of getting off the ship and it was excitedly received with open arms. Get on with the story was the maxim, and we did.
Future iterations of Star Trek got increasingly serious with theoretical science and more was added that was clearly more advanced than the 1960’s progenitor, but also tackled issues of ethics, history and culture that were also real and socially challenging to their respective decades. That is the stuff of real story-telling and Byrne does not disappoint with his tale of far-fetched sci-fi and the guilt of a lone survivor of a long-dead species, while still paying homage to its original incarnation.
In terms of discovering new twists and angles, that’s when we look for the distinctive features of Byrne’s innovation. My favourite Star Trek novels were by those authors who wrote more than one adventure for Pocket Books, like Diane Duane or Vonda McIntyre. They would create unique and recurring characters who fit well into the Trek universe as well as the story, but also left their own individual contribution to the milieu.
Byrne does the same in his books. A few issues ago, Byrne introduced a three-dimensional holographic imaging system for the engineering monitors. It was an acceptable and logical technology that would be foreseeable in the 23rd century but it also made sense to the story. In this issue, Byrne gives us a new type of environmental suit.
There are two aspects to this type of technology that herald Byrne’s skill: first, he designs the suit from scratch using his developing talent with Photoshop or whatever software he’s using. It fits with the 60’s futuristic vision of the Sixties. Second, he also modifies, and with obvious great patience, existing stock still-footage of the original cast to account for the new costume additions. I don’t know if people appreciate that amidst the dismal pining for John to return to penciling his own stuff that I’ve read here and there on the internet.
This is a new period for Byrne and I’m appreciating it very much. I’m sure Star Trek and comic fans appreciate it too.
There are other hallmarks of Byrne’s own design though that also shine through. I am thoroughly in love with the new version of Grace Lee Whitney, aka Janice Rand, in this revisiting of the series. Not only has she advanced in rank, but she even has a new hair-style and looks great in sciences blue. Gone is the quintessential beehive hairstyling of the sixties and in its place, is what John fondly refers to as a “bob.”
It is most assuredly, “dug”… and that’s an in-joke.
But even in the background, if you look closely, there are little details that Byrne has clearly put there for not only a greater sense of verisimilitude to the original series, but also to satisfy his own inner-Trekkie’s perspective of the Trekverse. On page six, I’m quite sure that is Ensign Marla McGivers walking past Scotty’s engineering station on the bridge.
McCoy’s lab is an innovative addition to Sickbay and seeing Captain Kirk comfort a gay man after the loss of his partner is a feature that shows this to be an original creation rather than the simple continuation of the series. I’m also sure that flooding the Enterprise was no mean feat either.
The moralizing that was so characteristic of Star Trek is also present. As Kirk considers state of the alien’s mind who created such a weapon, we feel sorrow for the alien, despite the damage and loss of life he has incurred. Kirk, Spock and McCoy pause for reflection of this event and almost, as if on cue, my mind starts playing the closing theme music that signifies the end of another great episode.
Two covers: the standard (left), and a New York Comic Con exclusive (right).
It is as close to the real thing of watching a new television episode as one can get, folks. Unless CBS decides that they’re going to invest in an Original Series redux that continues the missing two years — and I’m not counting TAS for the purposes of this thread of thought) — then we can look forward to John Byrne continuing them for us.
The newest episode of Star Trek: Discovery — “Choose Your Pain” — 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.
For the philosophical among us, I sometimes subscribe to the notion of Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan,” in which he imagines the worst of humanity’s characteristics are the dominant ones that define our existence.
Man is indeed a ‘brutish creature’ that demands the oversight of a tyrant with absolute power who knows what’s good for us.
… and that brings us to the Mirror Universe of Star Trek.
Star Trek: Mirror Broken is a re-imagining of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future in that in another universe, the peace-minded and explorative Federation has been replaced by the war-like Terran Empire that seeks to expand its influence in known space and assert its dominance.
Of course, die-hard Star Trek fans are aware of this. Originally presented in the 1967 episode “Mirror, Mirror,” the ideals of Roddenberry’s universe were inverted in that tale, and gave fans one of the first concepts of a dystopian future set against the optimism of the Federation.
In retrospect, that’s a brilliant concept. Not only does it validate the vision that Roddenberry already had, but he also showed what he thought was the possible outcome, should Humanity condone its continuation of petty, materialistic values.
Still, it’s a little disturbing to conceive of what we could lose before we gain it.
Of course, that’s the scary thing that writers Scott and David Tipton and artist J.K. Woodward frighten us with in Mirror Broken #4. These creators take the 1980’s concept of Star Trek and turn it into something that is its accurate inverse (not reverse, mind you) that challenges and disturbs our concept of the comforting and dependable Star Trek: The Next Generation.
In short, it’s bad Star Trek — well, not bad in the sense of its quality, but bad in the sense that the reader needs to think about the ‘wrong way’ that our Captain Picard and crew would go about achieving an objective. He is the dominant force that keeps his crew in thrall, not out of a sense of devotion but out of a recognition of his power and ability to rule well. If you can get that in your head, then you are definitely in the right mode for appreciating this perverted, yet thoroughly enjoyable iteration of TNG.
You just need to look at the tortured and warped version of Guinan to get that concept. I’m sorry… was that too much of a spoiler? Well, take a look at the hinted twisted relationship between Picard and the imprisoned El-Aurian, and you tell me. Guinan doesn’t have the friendship of this universe’s Picard, instead she is his prisoner.
But there is still the idea that her advice and guidance is indispensable to Picard. There will be undoubtedly more to this but in the meantime, the haunting image of Guinan staring out from a small portal in a storage cube is a ripping, incisive one that reminds us of the powerful and intimidating nature of this iteration of Picard.
At this point in the series, Picard and his assembled crew have taken the Enterprise. It’s a war machine – there’s no doubt about that. Gone are the 1000-plus crew roster and the families that were brought aboard and in their place is a skeleton crew of devout Picard loyalists who are able to run the ship with double shifts and a load of former Jellico lackeys offloaded to a prison colony for… insidious research.
The warship Enterprise, with its central phaser cannon, 360-degree weapons array and superior shielding, is ready to take the failing battle against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance to a new level.
But first, it has to go through Starfleet to prove its mettle. Forced to battle three other Imperial starships (including Picard’s own Stargazer) who seek to place Picard and his crew under arrest for the theft, there’s an incredible battle sequence that makes one reconsider her appreciation for the power of a Galaxy-class warship.
The Enterprise effortlessly shrugs off their attacks, but before anything else can happen, the Imperial Starfleet vessels are surrounded by an entire fleet of Cardassian and Klingon ships looking for a fight. What an awesome place to end, because you know that the next issue is really going to challenge J.K. Woodward’s talent to portray an epic and dynamic space battle.
But starship combat aside, it’s the philosophical underlining that really shines forth. When you look at this iteration of Picard, the Tiptons’ manage to accurately convey that this is the same Picard who strategizes, empathizes and appreciates the limits of his enemy of the prime universe series.
However, when presented with encounters, crew issues, etc., the reader soon sees Picard respond to these encounters with either a brutal or completely self-motivated reaction in that whatever is best for his piratical crew and ship is the surest way for his ship to defeat all-comers is what they should be shooting for.
Covers by J.K. Woodard, Jen Bartel, and George Caltsoudas
Despite their fear of him, the crew will readily accede to his authority because of his demonstrated success. He is a capable ruler who can achieve what he sets out to do. That makes him an authoritative and accepted ruler. They want a piece of his inevitable victory, which is exactly how the Tiptons have presented this character. He’s a winner, regardless of how evil or self-centered his intentions are, and that is the centre of this universe’s premise.
We can all benefit if we work together. But if we settle for intrinsic self-motivation, then only a few of us succeed. That’s the message behind Roddenberry’s original incarnation of the Mirror Universe and it’s a principle that the Tiptons and Woodward brilliantly reinforce here in Mirror Broken #4.
Is this Trek? You’d better damn well believe it is, and that’s a philosophy that I will readily adhere to.
The most recent episode of Star Trek: Discovery, “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry” was a fascinating exploration of Star Trek’s themes, gave us lots more information about the Discovery’s spore drive, and featured a reappearance and continuation of the story of the Klingons in the wake of the death of T’Kuvma.
And as always, there were plenty of connections to the broader Star Trek canon. Let’s explore them!
Matter Synthesis Complete
The episode begins with a great shot of a close up shot of the matter synthesis device in Burnham’s quarters as it is replicating a Starfleet uniform.
The device is likely a precursor to the replicator seen in later incarnations of the series, capable of replicating any kind of matter.
Battle Simulation
When First Officer Saru and Burnham exit the turbolift, they find the captain and bridge crew engaged in a battle simulation with two Klingon birds of prey.
Battle simulations have appeared before in Star Trek multiple times – the Discovery’s bridge crew performed only slightly better than Tuvok’s trainees in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Learning Curve!”
Birds of Prey
The Klingon ships attacking the Discovery during its battle simulation are identified as Klingon birds of prey, which are equipped with wings in the same swept-down position as the most common iteration of the bird of prey seen in earlier Star Trek shows.
Corvan II
The Corvan star system, which appears on the Star Trek: Star Charts as near the Federation/Klingon border is home to the Corvan gilvo, which by the 24th century has become an endangered species.
The creature appears in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “New Ground.” Perhaps the reason the Corvan gilvo is endangered is related to the dilithium mining on the planet, or perhaps a consequence of the Klingon bombardment?
Faces of the Federation
The logo of the United Federation of Planets, which appears before the distress signal from Corvan II starts (left, above), is the same logo as that which appears on the front cover of Franz Joseph’s 1975 Star Trek: Star Fleet Technical Manual (right) – with male and female faces in profile.
Transporters in Crimson
While Federation transporter beams operate in a golden-white hue during the 22nd Century, Klingon transporters have been colored red for decades of Trek production, dating back to Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
In “The Butcher’s Knife…,” both Kol and L’Rell beam across the stars on bright red transporter beams in keeping with the Empire’s technological traditions.
Discovery Dishware
When Captain Lorca receives a transmission from Admiral Cornwell, he is eating. The plate has the name “USS Discovery” embossed around the side, echoing back to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country where both the USS Enterprise and the USS Excelsior have dinnerware embossed with the names of their starships.
Tellarite Features
Dr. Culber chastises Lt. Stamets for having an agitated conversation with Captain Lorca while he is trying to fix his broken nose, and tells Stamets that he if he does not hold still his nose will end up looking like a Tellarite.
Tellarites are one of the Federation’s founding races, and have very distinctive noses!
Two Truths and a Trek
The old Star Trek tradition of characters rattling off lists of people, historical events, or places that include two grounded in reality and one fictional recurs in this episode.
Captain Lorca asks Lt. Stamets if he wants to be remembered in the same breath as the Wright Brothers, Elon Musk, and Zefram Cochrane, the first call out to the inventor of warp drive thus far on Discovery.
A Feast Fit for a Klingon
When Voq and L’Rell return to the sarcophagus ship with the dilithium reaction chamber from the USS Shenzhou, they find that Kol has won the loyalty of the rest of the crew by providing them with food and supplies that they desperately need.
The feast that Kol lays on for the crew is reminiscent of Klingon feasts from episodes past, including “A Matter of Honor.” We think we spot pipius claw on the menu, plus a barrel of bloodwine to go with the meal.
Holographic Farewell
In this episode we learn that Captain Georgiou recorded a holographic last will and testament for Burnham, designed to be delivered in the event of her death.
The message, which Burnham views at the end of the episode, hearkens back to other Star Trek characters, such as Tasha Yar, who did the same. The crew of the Enterprise-D viewed Yar’s holographic last will and testament after her death in the episode “Skin of Evil.”
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We can’t wait to see what else Star Trek: Discovery‘s writers bring to the table in this weekend’s new episode, “Choose Your Pain.” Keep your eyes peeled for more canon connections in the future!
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