Trek Comics Review: New Visions #4

Patrick Hayes

-

December 27, 2014

Our Trek Comics editor Patrick Hayes returns with a review of this month’s issue of IDW Publishing’s Star Trek photobook comic series New Visions.

Order New Visions #4

Kirk is startled as he’s surrounded by his puzzled bridge crew. This image would be puzzling for readers as well were it not for the ghostly outline of Harry Mudd around the captain and the title “Made Out of Mudd.”

This infamous villain made a teaser-cameo in the previous issue, now wearing a body that made him resemble Kirk, so I’m happy to see John Byrne focus on this character this time around. I love the faraway look on Jim and the other characters look great in different poses of alarm and disbelief. A nice selection of individuals and emotions to convey what lies within.

Two complete tales in this issue, including a two page teaser for the next installment.

The main story is the 39 page “Made Out of Mudd.” Tau Delta IX, a shuttle comes in for a landing. Its pilot is Captain James T. Kirk. Approached by a lieutenant asking to see his flight clearance, Kirk produces a phaser and stuns the officer. Making his way to the communications center, all the while muttering to himself in uncharacteristic dialogue, Kirk promptly phasers everyone.

He makes a few adjustments to some computers and waits for a recording to finish, but is interrupted by a security team who recognize him. Surprisingly he raises his hands and asks to be arrested. I went into this story expecting shenanigans involving Harry Mudd that have been done by countless other writers in novels and comic books.

Mudd is a character that evolved into easy laughs with his last appearance in “I, Mudd,” but he was much more cunning in “Mudd’s Women.” This latter incarnation is the Mudd that John Byrne uses in this tale and he’s much more enjoyable. There are also two other major antagonists form other episodes in this story that increased the tension and sent the story spinning into unexpected and highly enjoyable areas: I was floored to see the first individual on Page 10 and the other on 24 had me yell out, “Yes!”

I admit to being very mixed to how the story’s title character ends up. It fits in absolutely perfectly with the story and leads to some fun closing dialogue, but the visual makes me wonder if this was pushing the humor too far. This is a minor speed bump for me, as I enjoyed every other part of this outing.

The second tale is a four pager introduced as Star Trek: Klingons.

There is a title stated but that would spoil what occurs. To discuss it as vaguely as possible, I loved this. It’s been mentioned as an aside in another series, but to see it occur was great. I was pleased as punch to have three familiar faces in this story. I loved the line, “Ah-hh…Now there is a most satisfying sound!” The conclusion is equally satisfying with the final eight words being a hilarious coda on the entire affair.

The first story was the perfect mix of fun and thrills featuring some surprise appearances, the second story finally shows an event that has serious overtones for a particular race, and the tease for next issue has me as giddy as a schoolboy in anticipation. This issue misses a plus grade because of the final page from the first story.

As with previous issues, this photoplay by John Byrne uses images from classic episodes, as well as those manipulated by the artist or those that are new. I’m always eager to get a new adventure of Kirk and company in this format because it’s like finding a lost issue.

My favorite shots of the captain include Page 2, panel two; Page 5, panel seven; Page 8, panel one; the contrast between panel three and five on 11; and panel four on Page 38. Also a highlight was the person in the final panel of Page 10; panels four and seven on 14; the first panel on 19; and the top of 32.

It’s also a delight to see the individual on Pages 24, 27, and 33 – 37. I just have to see that person smile and I’m grinning with him.

Also impressive are the created images by Byrne. I’d swear I can make out Kirk’s face through the window of that landing shuttle on Page 1, but I’d have to go High Anxiety on it to be sure. The communications department on 3 and 4, Dr. Hamilton’s office and the Sick Bay on 5, the setting and device on 13, the shadow work on 22, the bridge on 24, and more excellent shadow work in the sixth panel on 30 are all superior locations.

Bottom line:

Every Trek fan should have every issue of this series, including New Visions #4. With each new tale from the Original Series it’s impossible to resist getting caught up with the action and heart of that series. Always recommended.

Build a Custom STAR TREK: TNG Borg Blu-ray Box (Pt. 1)

TrekCore Staff

-

December 25, 2014

30

Build a Custom STAR TREK: TNG Borg Blu-ray Box (Pt. 1)

We’ve got a couple of custom Blu-ray artwork designs to share with you, to help showcase your Trek collection — and we’re starting today with a first look at a massive do-it-yourself Next Generation collection box set, by TrekCore contributor Justin Olson!

Justin Olson’s custom Borg Cube Blu-ray collection

If you’re anything like me, odds are you followed CBS’s superlative TNG remastering project from the very beginning when it was first announced, all the way back in September of 2011.

You may have even purchased — with great anticipation — every Next Generation Blu-ray disc released, from the original Next Level sampler disc all the way through this month’s final Season 7 set. By now, if you’re one of the die-hard collectors, you’ve likely got all 13 Next Gen sets on your shelf.

As we’ve reported, a complete-series “Full Journey” box set has been released in both Australia and the UK, though it’s missing the five standalone discs released in North America and a few other regions over the years.

If you’re only interested in the seven-year packaging, you could buy it like those who have waited until now to own the series — it is region free, after all — but that’s a major purchase if you’re only looking to upgraded your disc cases.

Bottom line: if you like what you’ve already got, but are looking for a classy-looking way to store the great Next Generation Blu-rays, read on!

Inspiration

About two months ago, as the street date for the final two TNG Blu-ray sets loomed ever closer, I became intrigued with the idea of creating a custom box set for all thirteen releases. Doing some preliminary research, I quickly found images of a limited edition Region 2 DVD set for TNG (that came with a clock!), and a Region 4 DVD set for Voyager, each designed like Borg cubes.

It soon became apparent that making a version of these sets for the TNG Blu-rays might actually be achievable. The goal was to design and build something that looked at least as good as those releases and not cost an arm and a leg — or at least, not more than the typical cost of a single season of TNG on Blu-ray. Also, I wanted to make sure this design would have room for the Next Level sampler, as well as the standalone discs.

After a little digging, I found a high resolution image of a Borg cube on Ex Astris Scientia that, according to them, originated on Drex Files, the eponymous blog that was run by Star Trek makeup and visual effects artist Doug Drexler:

Much of the credit here goes to Mr. Drexler for making this image available in the first place, as I would not have been able to create as detailed and realistic an image of a Borg cube without it as the basis for the artwork you see below.

Designing the Set

I began to modify the Borg cube image, trying different looks, shifting the overall tone toward blue, adding a dark vignette around the edges, etc. I knew that, rather than appearing dormant and deactivated, I wanted it to look as if it were alive and lit from the inside as it appears on the show.

Outer shell design

I also added some bronze hues on the outer surface to better mimic how the model’s paint job appears in the new remastering. In particular, TrekCore’s striking new Blu-ray screencaps of the landmark double episode “The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I & II” were of great help.

Unfortunately, no entirely accurate vectorized version of the series logo is available online (that I could find, anyway), so I had to start with a pair of freely available Next Generation title fonts. Working on each letter separately, I carefully positioned and adjusted them as best I could over the design currently used by CBS on the official Blu-ray packaging as a guide.

But that only got me so far, so I had to convert the text layers to shapes and modify them further as paths, all while keeping it vectorized so it would stay sharp at any size.

Test render for internal design

I next tried to track down the various corporate logos (the website Brands Of The World came in very handy here) and other familiar home video symbols and copied the lengthy disclaimers and copyright notices found on the backs of the official TNG Blu-rays.

Some logos were ever so slightly different than what was freely available (like the Paramount and CBS logos), so I modified them to make them look as accurate as possible.

Designing the Booklet

Lastly, the episode guide booklet I wanted to design as a companion piece. Booklets such as these are helpful additions to box sets I think, and are often sadly overlooked in many Blu-ray releases in North America. While I’m the kind of fan who knows the episode titles by heart and can tell you which season a particular episode can be found in, I haven’t yet memorized what Blu-ray disc houses which episode.

It’s true that CBS does provide a listing of disc contents on the reverse of the artwork found inside of every season, but what if you haven’t decided what episode you wanted to watch yet, let alone what season? Wouldn’t it be helpful to be able to search through a booklet that contains all the episode titles along with their loglines?

The creation of this booklet was fairly straightforward, as I’d done a lot of the work already, having designed custom TNG episode inserts and guides since Season One came out, both with lists of disc contents and ones with episode summaries.

Inside this 18-page booklet you’ll first find a nice cast photo, along with information about the show that appears on the official Star Trek website as well as brief crew biographies of the senior officers (also derived from those found on the official site).

The season specific disc contents and episode summaries can be found on page 3 through 16 of the booklet. The summaries come from Paramount Television’s decades old highlight listings for each episode — summaries that are still used to this day on CBS’s website — though I’ve condensed them somewhat in certain cases to make them fit on a single line.

Each season has two pages of information. On the left side you’ll find the aforementioned disc contents; on the right you’ll find the episode summaries.

The last two pages of the booklet list the six standalone, feature-length Blu-ray releases and the special features that can be found on each disc.

Next: Build your own Borg cube collector case!

“Fast and Furious” Director Justin Lin Lands TREK 3

TrekCore Staff

-

December 23, 2014

72

**DEC. 23: Trek 3 now has a release date: July 8, 2016.**

News is breaking this evening that Justin Lin — director of the last four Fast & Furious films — has been tapped by Paramount Pictures to take the wheel on 2016’s Star Trek 3 in the wake of Bob Orci’s departure earlier this month.

Lin, who built up the Fast & Furious franchise into a $2 Billion global juggernaut for Universal Pictures, was originally set to direct the upcoming Bourne Legacy sequel with star Jeremy Renner. That film, however, was delayed when news broke in September that Matt Damon would be returning to do a new Jason Bourne film, which freed up Lin’s schedule to fit Trek 3 into his plans for 2015.

Additionally, Lin is now the first non-Caucasian director set to take on a Star Trek film — the biggest step Paramount has yet taken to secure their desired global box office domination for the 2016 release.

Source: Deadline Hollywood, Variety

REVIEW: Temporal Investigations — “The Collectors”

Dan Gunther

-

December 22, 2014

0

REVIEW: Temporal Investigations — “The Collectors”

The dedicated agents of the Federation’s Department of Temporal Investigations have their work cut out for them protecting the course of history from the dangers of time travel. But the galaxy is littered with artifacts that, in the wrong hands, could threaten reality.

One of the DTI’s most crucial jobs is to track down these objects and lock them safely away in the Federation’s most secret and secure facility. When Agents Lucsly and Dulmur bring home an alien obelisk of incredible power, they are challenged by a 31st-century temporal agent who insists they surrender the mysterious artifact to her. But before they know it, the three agents are pulled into a corrupted future torn apart by a violent temporal war.

While their DTI colleagues attempt to track them down, Lucsly and Dulmur must restore temporal peace by setting off on an epic journey through the ages, with the future of the galaxy hanging in the balance…

Order The Collectors:

I am a huge fan of Christopher Bennett’s Department of Temporal Investigations novels.

The first book, Watching the Clock, was published very shortly after I began writing my Trek Lit reviews. I remember that novel being one of my most-anticipated reads that year, and it definitely did not disappoint. I enjoyed Watching the Clock immensely, and when the second book was announced, Forgotten History, I was over the moon. Again, Bennett delivered a quality work based on an exciting and unique premise.

This time around, rather than a full novel, we are treated to an e-book exclusive novella. December’s new DTI entry, The Collectors is an adventure centering on our hapless duo, Dulmur and Lucsly, introduced in the wonderful Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-ations.” Although this format is much shorter than the typical paperback novel, there is a lot going on in this story.

Dulmur and Lucsly are drawn into a time-twisting adventure with one of their counterparts from the 31st century, Jena Noi, and eventually end up millions of years in the future, where they confront a race of beings who are attempting to preserve all extinct species from every time period across the galaxy. These “Collectors” come under attack from a timeline that has been corrupted due to our characters interfering with one of their collection units. Trapped millions of years “uptime,” the three agents must set right what has gone disastrously wrong.

Whereas the previous two novels featured cameos and larger roles for Star Trek personalities besides the members of the Department of Temporal Investigations (for example, Janeway and others from the 24th century feature in Watching the Clock, while Forgotten History features the TOS crew quite heavily), The Collectors focuses solely on the DTI and other uptime counterparts of the agency.

I feel as though this particular format gave Bennett the freedom to maintain this focus. I may be wrong in this assumption, but it seems likely to me that for a full-size novel to be marketable, it would need more “anchors” to the wider Trek continuity in order to attract readers. In this smaller, more “niche” format, it’s possible that the author is able to have more freedom to tell a “smaller” story.

This, of course, makes me incredibly thankful that this format exists. I truly enjoyed this story, and I am very happy that we are able to read stories like this from the more obscure corners of the Star Trek universe. In fact, I would be in full support of a Department of Temporal Investigations e-book series. Maybe not as prolific as the prior Corps of Engineers series was; one story a year would be plenty!

Watch for a moment near the climax of the story in which two extinct species come together to form something from the nightmares of paleontologists and Starfleet officers alike. Pulling this off in a way I didn’t think was possible, Christopher L. Bennett had me crying with laughter at one particular moment. I don’t want to give it away, but you will know it when you read it!

Final thoughts:

At the heart of The Collectors is a debate between two opposing ideals: constancy and conservatism versus fluidity and change for the sake of change. Which is better?

It is interesting that the character of Lucsly, a man notorious for his desire to maintain the status quo including his unassailable belief in the one true unadulterated timeline, is the one to come to the conclusion that everything must eventually change and move on. The eponymous Collectors are concerned with the preservation of what was with no thought given to the changes they themselves have instigated.

Star Trek TNG S7 Blu-ray: Deleted Scenes, Part I

TrekCore Staff

-

December 20, 2014

11

Star Trek TNG S7 Blu-ray: Deleted Scenes, Part I

We’ve finally reached the release of TNG Season Seven on Blu-ray, and once again, we’ve been awarded a plethora of never-before-seen deleted scenes! Just like the cut footage from Season Four, Season Five, and Season Six, all of these new scenes have been rescanned from the original film negatives, just like the remastered episodes from which they were cut.

On the Blu-rays, each cut sequence is featured in context with clips from the final episode, and we’ve got a full breakdown and analysis of the first scenes below.

Episode 7.01: “Descent, Part II”

Scene 16: Data talks about his new-found emotions.

Brent Spiner channels Star Wars’ Yoda for a bit in this first cut scene:

“LOVE IS NOTHING MORE THAN THE ABSENCE OF HATE. JOY IS THE ABSENCE OF FEAR.”

This section of dialogue was removed as it is a bit redundant, reinforcing Data’s new ‘evil’ persona under Lore’s control. While it certainly highlights the change in the android’s persona, the deleted line doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense.

Episode 7.01: “Descent, Part II”

Scene 56: Riker and Worf spring Troi and Geordi from their holding cell.

This scene is brief, but answers one lingering question from the “Descent” finale: just how did Troi and a wounded La Forge escape from captivity anyhow?

In the final edit of this episode, Data takes Picard away for testing, the all of a sudden Riker and Worf show up, phasers blasting — and Troi and Geordi seem to be forgotten about until everyone is back aboard the Enterprise! It’s nice to see that there was at least an attempt to tie up this loose end in the original teleplay.

Episode 7.02: “Liaisons”

Scene 24: Worf is awoken in the middle of the night by Ambassador Byleth,
who demands a tour of the ship’s arboretum and science labs.

Worf just can’t catch a break after being assigned to guide Ambassador Byleth around the Enterprise, and we learn in the ending of “Liaisons” that Byleth’s antagonistic nature was only part of a cultural test used to learn about new species.

While it’s amusing to watch Worf scramble to meet yet another one of the ambassador’s unending requests, had this scene been left in the episode it would have likely been one too many jokes at Worf’s expense.

Episode 7.03: “Gambit, Part I”

Scene 2: Troi’s undercover work is dangerous, but that won’t stop her from having fun.

As the alien bartender tries to guess why Troi is looking for the unnamed criminal — later revealed to be a missing Jean-Luc Picard — the Betazoid plays up her role as a danger-seeking mercenary.

This clipped line adds a little bit of humor to the seemingly serious take on Troi’s hunt for her bounty, and it’s fun to see Marina Sirtis throwing herself into the part.

Episode 7.03: “Gambit, Part I”

Scene 7: Riker and Crusher come to terms with Picard’s death.

Trying bravely to keep her emotions in check, Beverly explains how she used a “multi-base progression” to match the recovered DNA to Picard’s medical records, and theorizes on how the remains became so badly damaged. Riker keeps his words to a minimum, clearly not knowing what to say in such a dark time.

In the final version of the episode, this entire scene is replaced with Jonathan Frakes’ somber “Acting Captain’s Log,” describing how Crusher positively identified Picard’s DNA in the remains found in the seedy bar. While this was likely a decision made to save time, it would have been nice to see some of Beverly’s reactions to the death of her longtime friend in the final edit.

Episode 7.03: “Gambit, Part I”

Scene 11: Yranac, the Yridian trader claiming to know how Picard died, tests Riker’s limits.

This is an extended version of the final confrontation between Riker and Yranac seen in the aired episode. As Riker asks more and more detailed questions, trying to identify the mercenaries who killed his captain, Yranac keeps putting up walls between himself and the truth about the barfight that resulted in Picard’s death.

We also see more of Riker’s threat to turn the trader over to the Klingon Empire, where the Yridian has several open warrants. He’s clearly frightened of being sent into Klingon custody, and he talks about how the Klingons treat their prisoners in this cut section of dialogue.

These edits are again simply removals made for time, as there’s no vital information being removed — the cuts tighten up the conversation and reduce some unneeded duplication.

Episode 7.03: “Gambit, Part I”

Scene 49: As Baran reveals his plans to raid a Federation facility,
Picard tries to save the outpost while not blowing his cover.

Baran describes his planned timeline for an attack on a Starfleet base, and Picard rightfully warns that the outpost will still have time to call for reinforcements. Baran thinks their mission will be fine, but his crew begins to voice their doubts about the upcoming assault — and Picard does his best to stoke the fires of discontent.

While it’s nice to see more of Patrick Stewart in his “Galen” cover identity, this conversation doesn’t add that much to the overall episode. It’s more of Baran and Picard sniping at each other, trying to get the crew to pick sides in their miniature cold war. Fun, but unnecessary.

Episode 7.04: “Gambit, Part II”

Scene 17: Riker improvises quickly, trying to stay on Baran’s good side.

After Baran learns repairs to his ship’s engines will take longer than he would like, he turns to Riker to speed things up — but Riker deftly chooses to side with the ship’s frazzled engineer. Baran then looks around for Galen, and sends Riker to “kick him out of bed.”

We already know that Baran has come to trust Riker — more than many others on his crew — so this is one more example of cutting footage that does nothing more than reiterate the status quo. No big loss.

Episode 7.04: “Gambit, Part II”

Scene 25: Baran learns his Klingon contact has been detained by the Enterprise,
and “Galen” blames Riker while casting doubt on Baran’s plan to raid the starship.

This extended conversation gives us a little more insight on why Baran was so willing to risk his crew to get to the Klingon courier, revealing that he received the Klingon’s scans of the missing artifact weeks ago. Baran also spells out more of his plan to board the Enterprise and recover the stone relic, to which “Galen” provides plenty of doubt.

This dialogue would have been nice to keep in the final edit, as it’s one of the livelier shouting matches the two-parter produced — but again, there’s nothing that important here that couldn’t have been removed for time, so it had to go. [td_smart_list_end]

There’s plenty more to come, as we’ve still got twelve more episodes worth of deleted scenes in Season 7 — stay tuned!

	Order Star Trek: TNG Season 7 on Blu-ray!		Order TNG's "All Good Things..." on Blu-ray!

Hands-On Photos: Australia’s TNG Blu-ray Box Set

TrekCore Staff

-

December 15, 2014

39

Hands-On Photos: Australia’s TNG Blu-ray Box Set

Much like the United Kingdom’s Amazon UK exclusive, Australia is also debuting a version of the “Full Journey” TNG Blu-ray collection this week, available on December 17 — and we’ve got the first look at their box set today!

Unlike the somewhat cumbersome set released in the UK — made up of two gigantic DVD cases stuffed with over forty Blu-ray discs — Australia’s release is a much more manageable collection of the seven individual seasons of The Next Generation, housed in a nice glossy slipcase.

The “Full Journey” collection is available down under for $250 AUD at JB Hi-Fi, Australia’s main source for Star Trek on Blu-ray.

Thanks to reader Mat Rowe for sharing the above photos!

. . .

So which do you prefer? Australia’s streamlined collection pictured here, or the UK’s jumbo-sized disc collection? Do you prefer keeping each season separate? Sound off in the comments below!

First Look at the “Full Journey” TNG Blu-ray Set

TrekCore Staff

-

December 14, 2014

38

First Look at the “Full Journey” TNG Blu-ray Set

Paramount UK’s exclusive “Full Journey” Blu-ray collection, featuring all seven seasons of The Next Generation, is making its way to buyers this weekend, and we’ve got the first photos available of this 41-disc collection!

Inside the box itself, the set features two jumbo-sized, DVD-height plastic cases, which contain twenty-three and eighteen Blu-ray discs each. Thankfully, the set has none of the previously-feared cardboard sleeves, which means that these discs will be well protected in this collection.

Each giant disc case contains a listing of each disc’s content.

Finally, the set also includes a season-by-season summary in a full-color booklet.

. . .

Special thanks to Amazon UK reviewer The Blue Flash for providing TrekCore these shots!

Order Star Trek: The Next Generation
“Full Journey” Complete Series
Region-Free Blu-ray Box Set!

Frakes on STAR TREK 3: “Nothing I Would Like Better”

TrekCore Staff

-

December 12, 2014

52

Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Jonathan Frakes has become one of the franchise’s most prolific alumni directors, along with Roxann Dawson, LeVar Burton, and Robbie McNeill — but it’s the actor’s experience directing Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection that’s catapulted him into this week’s Star Trek 3 conversation after the announcement that Roberto Orci is no longer set to direct the upcoming film.

I’d like to thank @EditDroid77 for firing up #BringInRiker Let’s make it so…..

— Jonathan Frakes (@jonathansfrakes) December 12, 2014

A Twitter campaign to bring Frakes into the Trek 3 director’s chair — #BringInRiker — has caught fire this week among Trek fandom, and even the actor best known as Will Riker has something to say about it.

Bring in Riker! I’m all over it! I already contacted J.J. [Abrams]; I’ve got my agent trying to stir the pot at Paramount. I would love that job!

Unabashedly, I would be great at that job, and I’d love to do it. We’ll see. I’m trying to keep a lid on how excited I am about the possibility, knowing it’s such a long shot…

…but there’s nothing I’d like better.

Listen to Frakes’ whole conversation with Seattle reporter Charlie Harger here:

Source: Komo News Radio

REVIEW: The Original Series — “Foul Deeds Will Rise”

Dan Gunther

-

December 11, 2014

3

REVIEW: The Original Series — “Foul Deeds Will Rise”

2288. The U.S.S Enterprise-A is on a vital peacekeeping mission in a remote solar system beyond the boundaries of the Federation, where two warring planets—Pavak and Oyolo—are attempting to end years of bitter conflict.

Crucial peace talks are being conducted aboard the Enterprise, even as Starfleet weapons inspectors oversee the disarmament process. Losses and atrocities on both sides have left plenty of hard feelings behind, so Captain James T. Kirk has his work cut out for him, even as he unexpectedly runs into a disturbing figure from his past: Lenore Karidian.

Twenty years ago, the deadly daughter of Kodos the Executioner tried to kill Kirk, but she has since been declared sane and rehabilitated. Kirk wants to give her the benefit of the doubt and a second chance at life, but when a mysterious assassination threatens the already fragile peace process, all clues point toward Lenore–and the future of two worlds hangs in the balance.

Order Foul Deeds Will Rise:

Can a murderer be rehabilitated? To what extent do past actions have an impact on future behavior? Or, more specifically, what impact do those actions have on the perceptions of others when it comes to behavior?

These questions and more are examined in Greg Cox’s new Original Series adventure Foul Deeds Will Rise.

Lenore Karidian, the daughter of the infamous Kodos the Executioner, is working as a Federation aid worker on the devastated world of Oyolo in the midst of peace talks between that planet and neighboring Pavak. Captain Kirk invites Lenore aboard the Enterprise in an attempt to put past demons to rest, but when the Pavakian representative is discovered to have been killed, Lenore becomes a prime suspect.

Given her past murders of seven innocent people, as well as her attempted murders of Lt. Kevin Riley and Captain Kirk himself, it is somewhat understandable that she becomes a target of inquiry.

This is the one area in which the logic of the novel kind of falls apart for me. I have a hard time accepting that Captain Kirk would so quickly invite Karidian aboard. While hindsight is 20/20, and there is no way Kirk would have known that the murders would happen, I still believe that allowing Lenore aboard the Enterprise was very irresponsible. Perhaps I’m simply not as “good” or forgiving as Captain Kirk.

Even if Lenore is not responsible for the murders, her mere presence serves as a distraction in the investigation, diverting attention away from other possible suspects. I found myself agreeing with Kevin Riley, now a Federation ambassador: allowing Lenore Karidian aboard the Enterprise while the sensitive negotiations were taking place was a mistake.

This minor nitpick aside, Foul Deeds Will Rise was very enjoyable on several levels. Whereas most Original Series novels are set during the classic five-year mission, this one is set two decades later, in the period between Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Greg Cox, the ever-impressive font of Trek continuity knowledge, continues his tradition of making numerous small references to events in the lives of the Enterprise crew.

Setting the story during this period serves to widen the pool from which his references can be drawn. Additionally, setting the novel in this period lends a feeling of freshness to the story. Not many stories use this time period, and a change from the norm is always welcome.

Greg Cox uses a number of literary devices to very good effect in his novels, including a very apparent Chekhov’s gun, which in this case, turns out to be Chekov’s sneeze! Watch for Pavel Chekov’s allergic reaction to be a seemingly minor inconvenience that turns out to have a much larger impact on the plot!

Speaking of Chekov, it was a lot of fun to see him in his role as chief of security in this novel. Although he supposedly had this role in the films, we never really got a chance to see him shine in the job. The closest we got was Star Trek VI, in which he investigates the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. However, the entire crew was involved in that investigation.

In Foul Deeds Will Rise, we get a more detailed look at how Chekov has really grown into his role as security chief.

BREAKING: Roberto Orci Out as STAR TREK 3 Director

TrekCore Staff

-

December 5, 2014

95

Deadline Hollywood and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting today that reboot writer Roberto Orci will no longer be directing 2016’s Star Trek 3, a position for which he nabbed back in May.

Deadline’s Mike Fleming, Jr. reports:

Roberto Orci is beaming off the bridge of the Starship Enterprise on ‘Star Trek 3.’ Rampant rumors are swirling and I’ve confirmed there is fire behind the smoke that he won’t be directing.

I even hear that Edgar Wright and others are on a short list to take the job. Orci stays on the project as producer.

This is a major development for a film set to begin filming in the coming spring — and possibly a major setback, as Paramount is pushing to have the film ready for the Star Trek franchise’s fiftieth anniversary in 2016.

TrekCore has heard rumors for some time that the Trek 3 pre-production machine has been having some issues, with reports that the film’s art department was put on hiatus in late October, a shutdown confirmed by Badass Digest’s Devin Faraci today:

[Sources] tell me that the script Orci was working on saw the Enterprise, the Vulcans and a new alien race competing to get a time travel device. The Vulcans want to go back and stop the destruction of their planet, and the time travel schtick is what would allow Chris Pine and William Shatner to share the screen. Is that still going to be the plot of the movie – a MacGuffin that could wipe out the previous two films?

I’ve been in touch with some folks and it seems like the script was one of the problem factors. Paramount shut the production down last month, sending home all the design people while they battled over the direction of the screenplay.

* * *

10:15PM EST update:

I’m hearing the TREK 3 script is dumped, which I’m assuming means McKay and Payne are out as well. Best of luck to those guys, if so.

— Devin Faraci (@devincf) December 6, 2014

Source: Deadline Hollywood, The Hollywood Reporter, Badass Digest