World premiere of Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage Tour
celebrates five decades of Star Trek
Set to beam down to Royal Albert Hall this November
Five decades of Star Trek will be celebrated at the Royal Albert Hall in a stunning new show featuring the most iconic footage from the legendary films and TV series – as the unforgettable music is played live on stage by a concert orchestra.
The world premiere of Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage takes place at the famous London venue on 1 November 2015, before beginning a tour of American concert halls next year.
Lucy Noble, Director of Events at the Royal Albert Hall, said: “We are boldly going where no other venue has been before: staging a massive Star Trek extravaganza that draws on 50 years of legendary TV and film to create an unmissable evening for fans.”
The lavish production will include a live symphony orchestra accompanying footage beamed in high-definition to a 40ft screen, including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and many more.
Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage is presented in conjunction with CineConcerts, CBS Consumer Products and Paramount Pictures. Justin Freer, producer and founder of CineConcerts, said: “The Star Trek franchise has for many years been an important and meaningful part of our culture in so many ways. This exciting concert experience featuring the greatest music and visuals spanning five decades will be an extraordinary and memorable event.”
One lucky TrekCore reader — who can be in London on November 1 — will win a pair of tickets to either the 2:30PM or 7:30PM show in the central stalls, the best seats in the house.
All you need to do is reply to this post in the comment section below, and answer this question:
Take your pick from any of the six Star Trek television shows, or the twelve films, and we’ll choose one random entrant to win free admission to the concert!
Contest Rules
Contest runs through 11:59 PM GMT on Wednesday, August 26, 2015.
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; ‘guest’ users or users with invalid email addresses are excluded from this contest.
Winner will be contacted via email to arrange tickets with Royal Albert Hall.
Well, that day many of you have been waiting for has finally arrived: the remastered edition of Star Trek: The Next Generation has finally rolled out to Netflix. Over the past few days, USA-based subscribers to the popular streaming service have been seeing the ragged, VHS-quality episodes of the celebrated series slowly update to the wonderful, high-definition restorations we’ve been talking about for the past three years.
While both Amazon Prime, Hulu, and iTunes have each carried out season-by-season upgrades to HD, each several months after each Blu-ray release hit store shelves, it appears that Netflix is following the same model as their HD rollout of The X-Files earlier this summer — wait until the project is completed, and replace the whole series at once.
There are still several episodes that have not yet been updated, but there are upgrades in place now from every season — so those gaps are likely to be filled soon. Additionally, this appears to be limited to subscribers in the United States (for now, anyhow); no news yet on an international rollout.
While having the high-definition remasters available on Netflix is certainly wonderful for convenience’s sake, the presentation is still below Blu-ray quality. Of course, the biggest drawback from the streaming package is the lack of the dozens-of-hours of bonus features newly produced for the spectacular Blu-releases.
If you haven’t purchased the sets yet and still had it on your to-do list, we really recommend that you still make the purchase in the future, because as we’ve repeated over the last few years, Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-ray is the gold-standard in Trek home media.
Look at that — the same raised collar with black piping, shoulder padding and seams. It seems clear now that new costume designer Sanja Hays has definitely reworked the classic Trek uniform shirts across all department divisions.
Here’s a direct link to ScreenCrush’s photo of Pegg in the new uniform, showing the modifications — including darkened underarm panels.
What do you think about this new look for the Starfleet crew? Tell us in the comments below!
Order Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 Blu-ray today!
We reported back in April that director Justin Lin was bringing a new costume designer aboard for the third Trek film, his Fast and Furious collaborator Sonja Hays, and today we’re seeing the first of her creations in the ScreenCrush photos.
Note: The photos/screencaptures have been removed at the request of the copyright holder.
Additionally, ScreenCrush also managed to nab some video of the action on set, showing the cast reacting to — and in Chris Pine’s case, interacting with — a fully-CG environment to be added in post-production.
First, let’s talk about Sofia Boutella‘s character, and alien that TrekCore exclusively reported as sporting the “long, white ponytail” seen here.
As we also reported back in July, her alien look certainly does make the actress, who normally has a much different look, hard to recognize — sporting silver contact lenses and a full head of makeup and hair extensions — but Boutella certainly brings a striking ferocity to this character, even in the still photos.
Also, that hatch she’s climbing out of has English writing — so that might be the crashed starship we’ve seen already.
Chris Pine and Anton Yelchin were also seen at the Kent Hangar Field set, wearing some brand-new Starfleet excursion outfits — the source of that close-up Starfleet patch photo Justin Lin released on social media back in June.
An artist’s rendering of the new Starfleet excursion outfit, by @mara_morana.
These two are covered head-to-toe in brand new costumes, from the gold-shouldered jackets down to the heavy-duty boots on their feet, including a utility belt for communicator and tricorder storage, and a leg holster for their phaser pistols. One other reveal here: Anton Yelchin’s Chekov finally gets off the Enterprise as part of this landing party!
We also get a very interesting first look at what seems like a redesigned Starfleet duty uniform, as Simon Pegg climbs his way out of this set piece in a brand new red top.
With the high collar and darkened side accents, this new version of the duty uniform is in some ways an odd cross between the classic Original Series tunics and the Next Generation jackets designed by Bob Blackman — something unexpected, for sure — along with what looks like a modern-day smartwatch.
We’ve got a bit of a hodgepodge of STAR TREK BEYONDnews items to bring you today!
First up, Omaze has released the newest video from the set, with John Cho and Zoe Saldana. The second two winners were also revealed; and Winner #5 will be announced in the next week.
There’s only a few days left in the To Boldly Go contest, and only one spot left in the walk-on role drawing — so donate today if you want a shot at the prize!
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Freelance sculptor and artist Marc Opdycke, who was brought in to STAR TREK BEYOND for some creature sculpting work, shared a photo of a Bad Robot crew T-shirt provided to the team.
https://www.instagram.com/p/6iFQhjLvNP/
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Zachary Quinto spoke to MTV News during his Hitman: Agent 47 press tour this week, about working on the sequel with director Justin Lin after J.J. Abrams’ departure.
Invariably there’s going to be a different vibe when you remove someone as gregarious and outgoing and talented as [J.J. Abrams].
But Justin [Lin] has come in with this really interesting and confident energy that’s a little bit more reserved and a little bit quieter, but also very powerful and really sure-handed. He knows exactly what he wants this movie to look like and that’s really exciting.
He also commented on having his co-star, Simon Pegg, be the one writing the script.
It’s been incredible to have Simon be so integrally involved in the story because he knows us all so well and he knows our characters all so well. We don’t have to walk very far if we have any questions or concerns about stuff in the script!
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur are back, picking up three months after the stunning events depicted in New Frontier: Blind Man’s Bluff.
Calhoun’s search of Xenex has failed to find any survivors, and now he is bound and determined to track down the race that killed them—the D’myurj and their associates, the Brethren—and exact vengeance upon them.
His search will take the Excalibur crew into a pocket universe, where he discovers not only the homeworld of the D’myurj, but another race that shares Calhoun’s determination to obliterate his opponents. But is this new race truly an ally…or an even greater threat?
Order The Returned, Part 2:
Continuing directly from last month’s first chapter, August’s The Returned, Part 2 finds Captain Calhoun and his crew in the pocket universe, seeking out the D’myurj homeworld on a mission to rescue the Federation captives being held there.
Having found a D’myurj ship with nearly the entire crew murdered, Calhoun discovers their attackers: the Dayan. A single D’myurj survivor is found aboard the disabled vessel and brought to the Excalibur. After agreeing to help the Dayan seek out and destroy the D’myurj, Calhoun learns from the rescued alien that the Dayan may be an even greater threat.
The underlying themes of this book are much more complex than it would seem at first blush. It wasn’t until discussing the book with Matthew Rushing on the Literary Treks podcast that I came to really appreciate the depth of the story that Peter David is telling here.
Mark McHenry returns…
In the classic episode “Arena,” the Gorn seemingly commit a wanton act of mass murder in their attack on the Federation colony on Cestus III. At the end of that episode, we learn that the Gorn thought that the Federation was the invader, and they were merely protecting their own people from what they perceived as the violent encroachment of the colonists.
In many ways, the issue faced by Calhoun with regards to the D’myurj is similar to a classic Star Trek trope: the idea that the motivations of aliens are more complex than we humans (or people of the Federation) give them credit for.
Similarly, it seems that the D’myurj attacked the Xenexians in order to preserve their own species, which is in danger of being wiped out by the Dayan. While still a horrible crime, Calhoun finds that their motivations may not have been what he thought they were.
As usual, the quirkiness of the New Frontier universe is present on every page of this novella. Peter David’s prose is always a pleasure to read, and I definitely enjoyed the juxtaposition of the harsh nature of the Dayan and their almost soft-spoken manner when dealing with Calhoun and his crew.
Robin Lefler and Mark McHenry’s story on New Thallon continues here as well, with McHenry gaining planetary fame due to his seemingly god-like powers. There is also a surprise guest star who makes his identity known at the end of the book. Those of you who have read the story will know why I’m excited to see this mystery character and Mark McHenry come together…
London-born actress Lydia Wilson is the newest member of the STAR TREK BEYONDcast, according to a new report in Variety this afternoon.
While mostly seen in British television roles over the past few years — including guest spots on Black Mirror and Misfits — Wilson made her feature-film debut in with a small role in 2010’s Never Let Me Go. Her most widely-seen performance, however was in 2013’s About Time, where she played the troubled sister to Ex Machina‘s Domhnall Gleeson.
Wilson is the fourth cast member to be announced outside of the regular Enterprise crew, joining Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella, and Joe Taslim.
It’s nice to see another woman join the film’s cast, as the gender balance has been pretty lopsided so far, with Boutella and Zoe Saldana as the sole female stars in the male-dominated film (since it’s still unknown if Alice Eve will return as Carol Marcus).
Lydia Wilson’s role is still unkown at this time, but as more information is revealed, we’ll have it for you here.
Order Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4 Blu-ray today!
Today, we’re unveiling several new collections full of other press kits for The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager in our image gallery! We’re not only talking about folders full of paperwork — though there are a few of those, of course — but things like Next Generation-filled Halliburton briefcases and Deep Space Nine television sets too!
Click on the links below to be transported to each show’s press kit collection:
Do you own any press kits that we’re missing — especially from Star Trek: Enterprise — or can you provide better photos of some of the kits than what we’ve already got? Shoot us an email or sound off in the comments below!
SCIENCE GONE MAD! Bizarre sensor readings lead the Starfleet scout ship USS Sagittarius to an alien world where efforts to harness a dangerous and unstable technology have thrown the laws of probability out of balance.
Now, events that might have occurred only one time in a trillion are happening constantly—to deadly and dazzling effect.
A PLANET IN PERIL! As disasters and miracles multiply globally at an ever-increasing rate, it’s up to Captain Clark Terrell and his crew to shut down the experiment-gone-wrong before its storm of chaos causes the planet’s destruction.
But the odds against their success—and their survival—might be too great to overcome.
Order Long Shot:
When Star Trek: Seekers was first announced, I was very excited. I had absolutely loved Star Trek: Vanguard, and another series by the same authors featuring some of the same characters was an exciting prospect. The first two books, Second Nature and Point of Divergence weren’t bad. I enjoyed the story well enough, but it felt like there was something missing. It didn’t quite have that one-two punch I’d come to expect from the authors of Vanguard.
Still, I loved the premise of Seekers, including the fact that it represented a return to “one and done” style stories. I really do love the interconnected stories of the post-Nemesis novels, but the idea of having exploration-based “planet of the week” stories on occasion is very welcome.
So, with all of that said, what did I think of Seekers: Long Shot? In short: I loved it.
It is in this novel that I feel these characters have really found their “voice” again. I really enjoy the dynamics between the characters. Captain Terrell is fast becoming one of my favorite lit-only commanding officers, and the relationships between characters such as Theriault and Dastin, and between Ensign Taryl and Torvin brought a smile to my face as I read this novel.
I think this series sets the record for novel-only characters, with the only “canon” character being Captain Terrell. This doesn’t hurt the story in the slightest, as I found myself empathizing with every character on the Sagittarius and genuinely concerned about their personal stories.
Clark Tyrell, who would later meet his fate in ‘The Wrath of Khan,’ is the only canon character.
Another aspect of Long Shot that I really appreciated was the lack of a villain. These days, it seems that a story can’t be told unless there is some kind of villain bent on universal domination or a madman out for revenge or a manipulative evil genius attempting to gain power.
Thankfully, this novel breaks with that tradition, instead giving us a “man vs. nature/expanding field of weirdness” type story (it’s Star Trek; that’s totally a valid category). In some ways, it reminded me of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the only Trek film in which the crew isn’t fighting some oppressive evil enemy (The Motion Picture sort of gets a pass as well).
This smaller adventure gives the author time to focus on great character development. The quadrant-spanning sweeping epic adventures are great, but I feel like they sacrifice some of the smaller stories due to their scope. This smaller, planet-of-the-week adventure really lets us get into these characters’ heads and see what makes them tick.
There is not a single character in this novel that I didn’t like, and the story itself was compelling and fun to read.
These ‘probability fields’ are remeniscent of DS9’s “Rivals” — may the odds be ever in your favor.
As far as the plot goes, the idea of a probability field affecting the outcomes of random chance was a fun concept to explore on a planetary scale. I wonder if the small “gambling devices” seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine second-season episode “Rivals” operated on a similar principle? It was interesting to see this idea writ large, and the true consequences of mucking about with probability. I’m curious who initially set the “trap” for the people of this world. Perhaps they are an antagonist we will meet in future Seekers adventures?
Blink and you’ll miss it: David Mack continues his tradition of including little “easter eggs” and in-jokes for readers to find. My favorite? A subtle reference to the “Thanks, Obama!” meme.
Final thoughts:
Like so many Star Trek novels, it is a love of the characters that really makes this story shine. David Mack has created a group dynamic that is a hell of a lot of fun to read. Combined with a fun, high-stakes adventure, Seekers: Long Shot makes for a great read. I’m very interested to see where these characters go in the future, and where certain relationships will end up.
There’s really some great character development her for the small crew of the Sagittarius, which gives me a lot of hope for the future of Seekers — and with an already-excellent year in Trek lit to this point, it is no small praise to say that Long Shot is my favorite novel of the year so far.
Another day, another bit of STAR TREK BEYOND news out of Vancouver, where the guys at Vertical Viewing spied a shot of continued construction at Kent Hangar Field — and what looks like a downed Federation starship.
Photo by @vancitychris_ from August 15.Photo by @yvrshoots from August 15.
Based on the design of what can only be a Starfleet viewscreen, this has to be some kind of Federation ship (or at least part of one) dressed in a severely damaged state and seemingly on a planetary surface.
AUGUST 15 UPDATE: Our pal Bob Glassford comes through again with several more photos from the site of the downed starship, showcasing some much clearer views of that viewscreen frame and the surrounding construction including what looks to be a peak into a ruptured corridor!
For comparison, here’s a few shots of the Enterprise main viewer from the last two films:
So what do you think? Is this some other ship in the Federation fleet, or do you think this might be the Enterprise itself in a state of total disaster?
Five decades of Star Trek will be celebrated at the Royal Albert Hall in a stunning new show featuring the most iconic footage from the legendary films and TV series – as the unforgettable music is played live on stage by a concert orchestra.
