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Sonequa Martin-Green to Lead STAR TREK: DISCOVERY?

TrekCore Staff

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December 15, 2016

Breaking news out of Toronto’s STAR TREK: DISCOVERY this evening: the lead role in 2017’s Trek revival appears to have finally been cast, and it’s a familiar face from one of the most popular shows in the United States.

Variety and The Hollywood Reporter report that Sonequa Martin-Green, best known to US audiences as Sasha Williams on AMC’s monster hit The Walking Dead, will be taking on the central character in DISCOVERY, though little at this time is known about that role past Bryan Fuller’s comments earlier this summer (“a lieutenant commander… with caveats” known as “Number One”).

Martin-Green, 32, is an Alabama native and has also had recurring roles on ABC’s Once Upon a Time and CBS’s The Good Wife before joining The Walking Dead in 2012. Both news outlets also report that she will continue to remain a series regular on the cable zombie drama while leading DISCOVERY, as the two shows’ production schedules do not conflict – The Walking Dead has wrapped for the current season (and should Sasha survive the year, work on that show will not begin again until next summer).

In addition to today’s casting reveal — which has not yet been officially announced by CBS — STAR TREK: DISCOVERY also stars Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Rapp, Doug Jones, Chris Obi, Shazad Latif, and Mary Chieffo.

Keep checking back at TrekCore for more news on the upcoming series!

STAR TREK: VOYAGER Joins Trek’s 2017 DVD Releases

TrekCore Staff

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December 14, 2016

93

STAR TREK: VOYAGER Joins Trek’s 2017 DVD Releases

Much like Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, both headed back to DVD in North America this Spring, the final series to rejoin the home media parade in 2017 has been announced – Star Trek: Voyager beams back to DVD with single-season and full-series collections on March 7, 2017.

Here’s a look at the seven individual season cases, each carrying over the content and features of the 2004 collections (save for the Best Buy bonus discs):

…and this is the new full-series box set, with the now-standard Epik Pak cases and slipcover.

These new designs, just like the DS9 collection revealed earlier this month, will certainly be a much more convenient and sturdy upgrade from 2004’s neon plastic, which had a tendency to split and crack if not handled just so.

voy-2004-dvds — The original North American VOYAGER DVD sets.

Preorder this new DVD set through our links below!

Star Trek: Voyager A Vision of the Future	Star Trek: Voyager Complete Series on DVD	Star Trek: Voyager A Celebration

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Lands Three Klingon Roles

TrekCore Staff

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December 12, 2016

106

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Lands Three Klingon Roles

Some breaking STAR TREK: DISCOVERY news has just beamed down from CBS – the new series now has three additional actors in the cast roster, and all three will be warriors of the Klingon Empire!

In addition to actors Anthony Rapp, Doug Jones, and Michelle Yeoh announced previously this month, DISCOVERY has now doubled the public cast list.

Chris Obi will star as T’Kuvma, the Klingon leader seeking to unite the Klingon houses. Recently seen in the revival of Roots, Obi has also played a role in Bryan Fuller’s American Gods and will be seen in 2017’s Ghost in the Shell cinematic adaptation.

Shazad Latif will star as Kol, the Commanding Officer of the Klingons and protégé of T’Kuvma. Latif has also been seen on such shows as Penny Dreadful, Black Mirror, and MI-5.

Mary Chieffo will star as L’Rell, the Battle Deck Commander of the Klingon ship. Chieffo’s resume seems to be somewhat shorter than the other cast actors so far, with little big-name credits under her belt.

Stay tuned for more STAR TREK: DISCOVERY casting news as it becomes available!

Trek Comics Review: “New Visions #13”

John Kirk

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December 12, 2016

2

Order New Voyages #13

How many times did James T. Kirk wantonly violate the Prime Directive?

Well, it’s not like I’m not expecting a serious answer to that question; after all, that would take the fun out of the character, wouldn’t it?

However, while I am sure that some die-hard Trek fan will most certainly be willing to send me the full accounting of incidents in the TOS canonical record, this is just one just one of the many endearing traits of this favourite starship commander that is effortlessly and deftly illustrated in the latest of IDW Publishing’s Star Trek: New Visions – The Hidden Face.

It’s clear in this book that legendary comic creator, John Byrne, knows Star Trek – and Captain Kirk. It’s established in his track record with IDW’s other stellar Trek comic collections. But for Byrne, this is more than just his profession – this is the love of a true fan who knows his fandom intimately well.

In fact, I’d venture he was one of those fans who used to record episodes on an old tape recorder so he could play it back whenever he wanted. I was one of those kids too – I get it. How else were you going to memorize the dialogue?

The Hidden Face is a story of the ephemeral Kirk. When the Enterprise rescues the survivor of a crippled, primitive space vessel, they discover that the occupant is far from grateful to his benefactors. In fact, he is even offended by their presence. With a visit to the space-farer’s planet, it is soon revealed that the source of his ingratitude is based on his own culture’s taboos.

Yet this doesn’t stop Kirk from trying to open communications with this race or even trying to convince them that they are wrong.

The Prime Directive – well, it’s just a thing, you know?

As much as we, in this age of political correctness and open-minded attitudes, may rankle at the thought of violating another species’ racial or cultural values, it was this type of pioneering, “cowboy-diplomacy” attitude that marked Kirk’s success – and charm. Despite bungling his way through first contact situations, he relied upon the conviction of doing the right reason rather than the right process; definitely a hallmark of the 1960’s series.

There are other markers in this book that identify the time that classic TOS was born into. Spock makes reference to one of the cities’ of the rescue victim being similar in pollution levels to New York, without noting which century.

Kirk also makes reference to Alexander Dumas’ “The Man in the Iron Mask,” a classic piece of fiction that was adapted to film three times within the 20^th century and a story that history-loving Kirk would have easily evoked. Of course this is something Kirk would know. It’s these subtle indicators that make Byrne not only a creator of his time but demonstrate his natural and easy affinity for Trek storytelling that make this book so successful.

Of course, throughout the story, Kirk still also manages to display his dignity, his sense of fair play and his easy, nonchalant relationship with the other characters. He relies on Spock’s knowledge, he trusts McCoy’s conscience and he knows that Mr. Scott can provide him with any technological advantage he can imagine.

All these elements are there in this story and Byrne’s love of this fandom is instrumental in displaying them in a casual, masterful manner. It’s this expertise that is responsible for imbuing this book with the same flavour as a fan would expect in turning on her television set to watch a re-run episode from the 1960’s.

Of course, the question that needs to be asked is: how long can Byrne sustain this effort? It must take an immense amount of time to not only write the story, but search for the appropriate images he needs for his artist’s eye to arrange in the right position.

Then there’s the fact that some of the frames require editing for item insertion and the creation of those original images to begin with. There’s definitely a lot more roundabout activity in the creation of New Visions #13 than in a straightforward drawing role, of which Byrne is a master.

So – I wonder how many more times Kirk can violate the Prime Directive?

New STAR TREK ONLINE 'Agents of Yesterday' Giveaway!

Uncategorized

Bob Stutzman

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December 10, 2016

5

Congratulations to the fifty winners in our STAR TREK ONLINE “Agents of Yesterday” Giveaway!

Michael A., Chris R., Dilton T., Brandon B., Rob V., Joe R., Ben L., Jason Z., David C., Jim N., Ogame T., Richard B., Alexander H., Matthias P., Lee M., Philip H., Evan V., Ronnie C., Adrien P., Tomte K., Byron P., John M., Jannik L., Thomas S., Mihajlo B., Gabriel F., Chuck C., Florian H., Otto K., Sebastian R., Christopher G., Steve M., Timothy F., Maria P., Simon L., Joey B., Alexandre M., Michael V., Matthew R., Dawn R., Tristan R., Arty R., Valentini A., Steve, Anyanka H., Rafic V., Tanya M., Rachael J., Jim G., and Lee J.!

To celebrate the launch of Star Trek Online’s new expansion, “Agents of Yesterday,” TrekCore has teamed up with Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios to give away Temporal Agent Starter Packs!

Each pack includes several items to help you create a brand-new Temporal Agent, including two temporal ships, torn uniforms from the original Star Trek series, an 0718 Bridge Officer and the official title of “Temporal Agent.”

Each pack contains:

Tier 1 USS Enterprise (Constitution-class): a durable, versatile ship, it handled a variety of missions, including exploration, first contact, research, and system defense.
Tier 6 Temporal Battlecruiser (Paladin-class): it features a potent weapons platform, and a number of sophisticated maneuver systems make the =a remarkably agile vessel for its class.
TOS Torn Uniforms: the classic Original Series uniforms worn and torn from battle.
0718 Cyborg Bridge Officer: a cyborg with a specialty in computer systems.

“Agents of Yesterday” sends players on a mission to save the future by protecting the past. The expansion allows players to create a brand-new captain from the classic Star Trek series, the quintessential television show that gave way to one of the most popular science-fiction franchises of all time.

Captains can explore planets taken directly from the show, while commanding one of several 23rd Century starships, including the classic Enterprise starship and many other designs inspired by the classic aesthetic. All of the Star Trek timelines and universes collide when enemies threaten to destroy the past, calling for the recruitment of Star Trek Online’s bravest to become Temporal Agents and defend our very existence.

“Agents of Yesterday” introduces an exciting cast of characters, voiced by beloved Star Trek actors. This includes the original Star Trek series’ Chekov, played by Walter Koenig and Montgomery Scott, voiced by Chris Doohan, son of James Doohan.

The expansion also features Admiral Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, reprised by Chase Masterson and Temporal Agent Daniels from Star Trek: Enterprise, played by Matt Winston.

Actor Joseph Gatt will also make his Star Trek Online debut as cyborg crewman 0718 from Star Trek Into Darkness. In addition to a new cast of characters, “Agents of Yesterday” also introduces a new specialization tree and new task force missions.

A full list of the expansion’s features include:

New Episodes: Players can access the new tutorial section to start their journey as a Captain from Star Trek: The Original Series and experience over a dozen new missions.
New Starships: “Agents of Yesterday” includes over a dozen new starships from every era, from the famous 23rd Century Constitution-class Cruiser to the 31st Century Chronos-class Temporal Dreadnought.
New Specialization Tree: After becoming a Temporal Agent, players can manipulate time to ensure the timeline is protected against those trying to destroy the past.
New Special Task Force Missions: This new feature allows captains to team up with other members of the community to take on all-new challenges in space and on ground.
An All-Trek Cast: The expansion features Chekov, Daniels, and more characters straight from the TV shows and movies voiced by the original actors.
New Universe to Explore: “Agents of Yesterday” features content, actors and themes from the Kelvin Timeline, the universe in which the 2009 and 2013 Star Trek films are based.

To enter the contest, just email us your name and email address by July 20, 2016.

We’ll select fifty names from all entries received to win one Temporal Agent Starter Pack each. Those winners will be emailed the in-game code and instructions how to add the pack to your Star Trek Online account.

Good luck to all!

REVIEW: Deep Space Nine — “Rules of Accusation”

TrekCore Staff

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December 6, 2016

2

REVIEW: Deep Space Nine — “Rules of Accusation”

On the space station Deep Space 9, Quark’s Public House, Café, Gaming Emporium, Holosuite Arcade, and Ferengi Embassy can’t legitimately be called an embassy until the Grand Nagus—namely, Quark’s brother Rom—dedicates it as such.

Not that Quark really cares about Ferengi protocol, but a well-publicized dedication ceremony will naturally draw people to the bar. Everybody loves a good open house—free appetizers, half-price drinks, door prizes, etc.—all of which Quark can write off as Embassy expenses.

It’s a win-win situation, with him on both sides of the win. There’s even a plan to display the original scroll of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition—which no one has seen for decades given that it’s been held in protective storage—and charge patrons by the minute to look at it up close.

Nothing, of course, could possibly go wrong with this big plan. Absolutely nothing at all…

In general, the post-series shared continuity stories of the 24th century Star Trek novels have been a treasure of the Trek book line. We’ve been able to witness the continued adventures of our heroes long after their respective series have ended, and in many cases, we have seen those crews evolve in new and unexpected ways.

The Deep Space Nine book series is no exception. In recent years, various characters have moved on to new assignments, new characters have arrived to take their place, and even the station itself has been replaced with a new, state-of-the-art facility.

However, sometimes it’s nice to return to a more familiar situation, and that’s what writers Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann endeavored to do with Rules of Accusation. Because of where in the timeline they set the story, Block and Erdmann took advantage of the fact that some familiar faces were visiting the station. Odo is aboard, temporarily stranded on this side of the currently-closed Bajoran wormhole, leaving him free to interact with a whole host of familiar Ferengi faces who have arrived on DS9 to celebrate the dedication of the Ferengi Embassy to Bajor, also known as Quark’s Bar.

In order to properly celebrate and lure high-paying customers to the event, Quark decides that a public display of the original Ferengi Rules of Acquisition is just what is needed. However, it is soon discovered that the supposed original on display is a forgery. Shenanigans ensue as the characters attempt to discover what happened to the original Rules of Acquisition, a search that ends up in some unlikely places around the quadrant.

There are a couple of moments that stand out to me in particular: first, when taking on the assignment of investigating the alleged theft of the Rules of Acquisition, Odo changes his form into his old Bajoran uniform and goes into investigator mode. Finally, near the end of the story, Rom temporarily resumes his old duties in Quark’s Bar, and he and his brother share a look of fond remembrance that was actually quite touching.

odo — Odo steps back into his investigator role to find the stolen Rules of Acquisition.

I really do enjoy the expanded continuity of the current Star Trek novels, but there are times I yearn for stories that feel like the episodes of the shows did. In that respect, Rules of Accusation succeeds. It is a lot of fun to see these characters back in familiar roles, and the story itself is a lot of fun with a resolution that I did not see coming.

Alex Kurtzman on Recent STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Casting

TrekCore Staff

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December 5, 2016

77

Last week, CBS finally announced the first new members of the STAR TREK: DISCOVERY cast – Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones, and Anthony Rapp – and in a new interview with IGN, producer Alex Kurtzman shared his thoughts on each actors’ addition to the franchise.

Regarding famed genre actor Doug Jones, taking on the role of alien Lt. Saru:

Doug Jones, you know, one of the greatest. What he did in Pan’s Labyrinth has embedded itself in my mind forever. What you want to do when you’re creating a creature of some kind is cast an actor who has the ability to pull off the bulk of it in a practical way and that requires a real understanding of movement.

On Anthony Rapp, playing scientist Lt. Stamets aboard the Discovery:

I’ve been a fan of Anthony’s for a long time. He’s just a brilliant actor. It’s always just about how do you find actors who are, it’s always who’s right for the part, but it’s also there’s a lovely diversity that Star Trek has always been about.

As we build the cast, because there are still a lot of parts to cast, we were excited that people seemed to be so excited about our first three choices.

And finally, Kurtzman discussed Yeoh’s role as Captain Georgiou of the Shenzen:

I will not give you one detail about the show other than to tell you that I think that Michelle gets to play a part that has so many dimensions to it and is so perfect for where we want to go over the course of the season and maybe even beyond.

With filming on the new series expected to begin after the holidays, it’s likely we’ll be hearing more on the STAR TREK: DISCOVERY crew in the coming weeks – stay tuned.

Packaging Roundup: DEEP SPACE NINE, ENTERPRISE, BEYOND, and THE RODDENBERRY VAULT

TrekCore Staff

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December 3, 2016

22

Packaging Roundup: DEEP SPACE NINE, ENTERPRISE, BEYOND, and THE RODDENBERRY VAULT

After a week full of new Star Trek DVD release announcements, we’ve now got a look at some of the next wave of Trek packaging artwork for some of these upcoming releases.

First up, on the heels of the Star Trek: Enterprise DVD re-release, CBS has now listed the first North American full-series Blu-ray box set of the show, set for debut in February in this flashy new design:

The region-free UK edition, available to purchase in the USA for over two years, is still available and priced under $60 – almost half the cost of this new box set edition – and will contain all the same discs and video content as the 2017 box. While this new art may look great, we recommend giving your budget a break and going for the UK box.

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine hits store shelves once more this February, and we’ve also now got our first look at the upcoming DVD box art for both the single-season and full-series collections.

The new sets will arrive in traditional DVD clamshell cases, while the seven-season box will mirror the Next Generation DVD box from earlier this summer: two Epik Pak jumbo sets and a third case for the final season.

ds9-full-blu-v2 — DEC. 10: An updated look at the full-series box artwork.

We may have some quibbles with the case artwork – an odd mishmash of Season One photos used throughout the season sets, and no sign of Julian Bashir on the (still-in-progress?) Epik Pak cases – but there’s no denying that the full-series box design is just gorgeous.

A vision of the station seen through one of the Bajoran Orbs makes this new release something we just need on our shelves.

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December’s Star Trek: The Roddenberry Vault Blu-ray set is set to arrive in about a week and a half in North America, but fans in Germany have already begun to receive their preorders – including the Amazon.de-exclusive Roddenberry Vault Steelbook edition.

We’ll have our review of the new set soon enough – in the meantime, you can check out our interview with Vault producer Roger Lay on this new release!

Thanks to Roman for providing TrekCore these photos!

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Finally, a new Jaylah-themed Star Trek Beyond Steelbook is new available in Germany – exclusively to Media Markt – featuring a rendition of Sofia Boutella’s unique character poster on the cover (and lenticular magnet), along with that lovely captains’-chair poster artwork on the interior.

Photos via the HiDefNinja.com forums.

Which of these new designs is your favorite? Sound off in the comments below!

Bryan Fuller: “I’m Not Involved” in DISCOVERY Production

TrekCore Staff

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December 2, 2016

129

Bryan Fuller: “I’m Not Involved” in DISCOVERY Production

Former STAR TREK: DISCOVERY showrunner Bryan Fuller, who left the role back in October, elaborated today in a new Newsweek interview that he’s at this point, totally out of the show’s leadership team – despite his ‘executive producer’ title.

It’s a bit different than the October story, first reported by Variety, that Fuller “will still be involved in breaking stories” for the new series – today’s comments seem to indicate that he’s no longer involved in that as well.

It is bittersweet – but it was just a situation that couldn’t be resolved otherwise…so I had to step away.

I’m not involved in production, or postproduction, so I can only give them the material I’ve given them and hope that it is helpful for them. I’m curious to see what they do with it.

[If there’s a second season,] they have my number and if they need me I will absolutely be there for them.

Fuller elaborated on his reasons for leaving the series, connecting his departure to his ongoing involvement in the upcoming American Gods television adaptation and the timetable CBS laid out for DISCOVERY development and pre-production.

I could not do what CBS needed to have done in the time they needed it done for Star Trek.

It felt like it was best for me to focus on landing the plane with ‘American Gods’ and making sure that was delivered in as elegant and sophisticated a fashion as I could possibly do.

He did say, however, that he believes CBS shares his vision for the new series, and that team overseeing the show will align with Star Trek‘s established legacy.

Creating [Discovery] and getting to the heart of what the important themes were to me as a Star Trek fan— how do we get along with people who are different than ourselves? How do we find common ground? How do move into the future together?

Those themes were implicit in the scripts that I wrote before I left, and the storylines [planned].

We’ll see how that works out when STAR TREK: DISCOVERY debuts next May.

Netflix ‘Offline Viewing’ Includes All STAR TREK Television

TrekCore Staff

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November 30, 2016

16

Netflix ‘Offline Viewing’ Includes All STAR TREK Television

In other Trek media news, Netflix has released a long-awaited offline viewing mode for many of their streaming titles, allowing users to download compressed versions of their catalog without an active data connection – and all six Star Trek television series have been included in their downloadable listings.

New updates released today for Android and iOS versions of the Netflix app have launched this functionality in the United States – and presumably other regions, though we’ve not tested outside of the USA.

nf-offline — The updated Android app, featuring the new Netflix video download option.

If you’re a regular visitor to TrekCore, you know we’re huge proponents of physical media – we love our remastered Blu-rays and the DVD editions of the other Trek selections, and of course Netflix doesn’t include the dozens of hours of bonus material or audio commentary tracks – but this will surely be a convenience for those of you wanting to binge on the Roddenberry universe without running up your mobile bill.