In a season that has spent so much of its runtime teasing the identity and motives of Species 10-C, “Rosetta” finally feels like significant progress toward a satisfying conclusion — but this isn’t because of what happens in this episode, but how.
Despite being right on 10-C’s doorstep, as it were, Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) determines that instead of leaping straight for the hyperfield behind which 10-C presumably lives, the Discovery crew first ought to explore a strange planet existing just outside of it.
Not everyone is happy about this detour, and United Earth’s Captain Ndoye (Phumzile Sitole) is quick to point out that time is of the essence; only 29 hours remain before Earth and Ni’Var will begin to feel the effects of the DMA. But Burnham insists, and with the support of President Rillak (Chela Horsdal), and Discovery’s xeno-anthropologist captain leads an away team consisting of Saru (Doug Jones), Culber (Wilson Cruz), and ship’s pilot Detmer (Emily Coutts) planet’s surface in the hopes of gathering some useful intel on 10-C.
Burnham’s reasoning is sound — that without any knowledge of the immensely powerful 10-C the delegation is likely to fail — but the fact that we’re still working out the basic logistics of first contact this late in the game seems like yet another example of the external pacing of the season negatively affecting the internal events of the story.
That said, I do feel that we get some definite payoff from what the away team finds. Everything about the planet is weird, from its origin as the core of a former gas giant (does this mean 10-C lives in the clouds?!), to Dyson rings around its star, to the huge fossils littering its surface, to artificial structures so unlike anything seen before that they don’t even register to the human eye — or at least to me — as artificial in the first place.
Also weird and unsettling are the hallucinations and sensations of intense fear that ripple through most of the away team. Starting almost immediately with Saru, and then moving to Culber and Burnham, the experience is so disorienting that it threatens to cut the mission short. Thankfully though, the team identifies strange unknown hydrocarbon dust as the culprit. Once Detmer recalibrates the EV suits to filter it out, everything returns to normal.
Now I’ll admit that I’m no 32nd century EV suit engineer or anything, but maybe it’s not a great idea to build a filtration system that only works on known particulates? Not just any particulates? I’m also not really sure how the suits were able to maintain a sealed, pressurized atmosphere if they were porous enough to let in dust or other compounds, but whatever — space science of the future, why not.
Once the team recognizes the huge structure they’re in as a nursery — and the implications that 10-C values and protects at least some forms of life — they decide to give the dust, which is different here, another shot. Whereas outside they felt fear, in the nursery the emotions carried on the dust are those of intense love and comfort.
This information about 10-C’s emotional palette is interesting and valuable, but it’s something I wish we’d somehow found out about earlier in the season. This, and the time spent figuring out how to interpret it, could have been a nice morsel to tide us over had it been revealed two or three episodes ago. It would have given the crew (and the Federation) a secondary puzzle to solve in the background while Discovery was busy chasing Tarka and Book, and also would have helped lessen the “hurry up and wait” element of this episode and, I fear, the next.
That Species 10-C shares many of the same emotions as other species is an important foundation for communication, and also hopefully, for empathy. To them, we’re likely still just ants, but we’re ants with the same complex internal lives as they have. We just have to figure out a way to tell them.
The stopover at the planet also gives Book (David Ajala) and Tarka (Shawn Doyle) the time they need to decide how they’re going to get through the hyperfield undetected. The plan is simple enough: attach directly to Discovery’s hull like a barnacle, and hold on for the ride. But in order to remain undetected, they’ll need to manually install a patch into Zora’s systems, and in order to do this, they’ll need to stealthily board Discovery and sneak around the ship.
This all turns out to be quite easy, actually, and makes for some nice Jeffries tube action, something we don’t see too much of on Discovery. It also gives Book a chance to do a little eavesdropping, and even trick Ndoye into a meeting to discuss their mutual dissatisfaction with the Federation’s timetable for first contact.
Instead of splitting with the Federation, though, Ndoye agrees to Book’s plan — to head directly to the DMA’s power source and disrupt it — only as a backup. Diplomacy must be attempted first, but if 10-C doesn’t react sympathetically Ndoye will back Book’s play.
Tarka also uses a little trickery to clear out engineering (more on that below) so he can have the place to himself while he installs the patch. With the rest of the personnel sent off to fix the replicators he sabotaged — steamed bananas, anyone? — he installs the patch easily but does encounter a problem when Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) returns sooner than he expected.
We learn later that Tarka’s solution was to simply kidnap her and make his escape, and while I can’t say I’m glad Reno was kidnapped, I also can’t wait to see these two in action together next week. Be sure to drink lots of water folks, the dryness will be intense.
OBSERVATION LOUNGE
Tarka distracts the engineering crew by messing with Discovery’s replicator systems, leading the devices to malfunction — the replicators on Deck 5 even start pumping out “steamed bananas,” a delightful reference to our first visit to the USS Cerritos.
Burnham mentions that Saru can speak over 100 languages, which means he’s been adding to his already-impressive 90-plus languages he already knew back in “New Eden.”
This is the 53rd episode of Star Trek: Discovery and I am still not sure where — or what — exactly engineering is on this ship. The room Tarka goes to is called “engineering” and is presided over by Jett Reno, an engineer, but it appears to be the same set as Stamets’ science lab, which houses the spore chamber. So where IS engineering?
It makes sense given Discovery’s two distinct propulsion systems that the ship would have two engineering bays, one for the spore drive and one for the warp and impulse drives, but we’ve never seen the warp core. (I remain confused.)
I eagerly await the addition of those 3D crossword puzzles Dr. Hiria (Hiro Kanagawa) enjoys to my New York Times puzzle subscription.
Stamets’ (Anthony Rapp) wide-eyed reaction to T’Rina (Tara Rosling) asking Saru to the holodeck is extremely gif-worthy.
The writing for secondary characters continues to be much improved after this season’s notably rough start. Detmer discussing her childhood feels like a natural part of the larger conversation, and Adira (Blu del Barrio) and Detmer’s scene together at the bar is also strong.
As Alex Perry so aptly discussed in his review last week, the pacing of this season’s central mystery has been frustrating to say the least. And while by the end of “Rosetta” we still haven’t made this promised first contact, we learn some tantalizing — and most importantly, weird — things about 10-C. Really weird.
Enormous cartilaginous flying creatures who communicate, at least in part, by blowing pheromone-laced dust in each other’s faces weird? That’s actually weird, and alien enough to make all this buildup seem worthwhile — and this, for me, is key to why I enjoyed “Rosetta,” despite it technically repeating some of the mistakes of this season’s storytelling.
To put it another way, if the away team had found the remains of a recognizably-humanoid being — with obvious cultural and architectural parallels — I wouldn’t have been nearly as engaged in the story. Because honestly, after all this waiting, just finding evidence of Species 10-C isn’t in itself inherently interesting or even enough.
It’s what is found that has the potential to rewarding the viewer for their patience, and on this “Rosetta” definitely delivers.
Star Trek: Discovery returns March 10 with “Species Ten-C” on Paramount+ in the United States, and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. Outside of North America, the series is available on Paramount+ and on Pluto TV in select international locations.
The first season of Star Trek: Picard was a literary and poignant treatise on the titular captain regaining his identity and purpose late in life. After seeing the launch of Season 2 with “The Star Gazer,” a fast-paced hour of television that successfully reintroduces the show’s cast and moves them forward into a more traditional Star Trek framework, it’s now apparently time for everyone to “live a little.”
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) quotes Spock, telling Elnor (Evan Evagora) that “Exhilaration enhances the absorption of knowledge” – a perfect description for the energy that new showrunner Terry Matalas has injected into the series as it launches at breakneck speed into its 10-episode second season.
In this first hour alone we get Q, Guinan and a supercharged Borg Queen, as well as a variety of flashbacks and a satisfying mélange of scenes showcasing the return of the main cast — in both unexpected and familiar capacities — as the series picks up a full 18 months after the conclusion of the events in “Et in Arcadia Ego.”
Captain Rios of the USS Stargazer.
Of those reintroductions, the biggest surprise comes as Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabrera), the vagabond La Sirena captain correctly labeled as “Starfleet to the core,” has returned to Starfleet and is now the captain of an updated version of Picard’s first command, the USS Stargazer. The exciting reveal is accompanied by a VFX shot that might be the cleanest, most visually appealing angle of a starship in this new era of live-action Trek.
The overhead flyby is distinct and clear, as well as long — a full 30 seconds! — and provides a crisp look at the detail in the hull that we haven’t always seen since Trek returned to television in 2017.
As for Rios’ previous command, La Sirena is now in the hands of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), who is still a Fenris Ranger and running the ship solo (albeit with the help of one remaining Rios hologram). As for her relationship with Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), that subject’s just briefly touched upon — as Raffi, like Rios, is back serving in Starfleet, where the commander is working closely with Elnor, Starfleet Academy’s first fully-Romulan cadet.
Seven of Nine, new captain of the Fenris Ranger vessel La Sirena.
Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) and Soji Asha (Isa Briones) are together on a diplomatic tour of the Federation to promote the reintegration of synthetic beings into the Federation way of life. The pair are meeting with a delegation of Deltans when Jurati — cleared of murdering ex-boyfriend Bruce Maddox due to “alien-induced temporary insanity” — is summoned to the Stargazer to assist her now-ex-boyfriend Rios investigate a mysterious spatial anomaly.
It is this spatial anomaly that is the fulcrum for the season’s action arc — but happening in circumference to that plot point is some incredibly nuanced character work taking aim at the background of arguably Trek’s most beloved character, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard… and therein lies the key success to Matalas’ relaunch of this series.
As the episode begins, we see a flashback to young Jean-Luc’s arrival at Chateau Picard, where a memory of his mother’s love and encouragement for her “little Magellan” to explore is shattered with glimpses of a dark past that allude to a troubled home, where domestic violence was apparently a part of his life. (This development echoes Patrick Stewart’s difficult childhood and activism working with Refuge, a United Kingdom charity that supports women and children experiencing domestic violence.)
The storyline pairs up remarkably well with what we know about Jean-Luc’s estranged father, a technophobe who sternly disapproved of his youngest son’s choice to join Starfleet. That decision has always been presented as Picard’s desire to explore and reach for the stars, but now it appears there is more to it.
Picard and Laris… before things get awkward.
The experiences of his childhood also seem to be a big part of the reason he has ended up alone, without a deep love beyond his friends and career. This growing revelation is explored in two emotional conversations with his Romulan housemate, Laris (Orla Brady), and lifelong friend, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), making her return to the franchise since her 2002 cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis.
The conversation with Laris seems to be heading toward a romantic encounter until she wonders directly “why he has chosen to be alone,” and if being in the stars “is all he really wants” — leading Jean-Luc to pull away and flashing back to the painful childhood memories of his move to LeBarre and his parents fighting.
Later Raffi wonders, while discussing with Jean-Luc about her desire for something more in her relationship with Seven, whether he or Seven ever “even get lonely.” These pointed conversations lead Picard to seek out Guinan in a much-anticipated meet-up — at her bar in Los Angeles on 10 Forward St., naturally — where they discuss his inability to explore his heart or commit to a lifetime of love.
Guinan tries to get Picard to open up, sensing a deep regret.
Similarly to Laris, Guinan challenges him with a declaration that “his answers are not in the stars” and that “there is one final frontier to come.” The nuance around these conversations seems to be indicating Jean-Luc might finally be heading toward a truly, madly, deeply ending in the ways of love. We shall see.
All of those powerful moments also help frame a mysterious message from the spatial anomaly (“Help us, Picard!”) that pushes Starfleet to summon Picard back into space aboard the Stargazer, with “Make it so” Rios in command. It’s fair to say that the production design inside the Stargazer is every bit as impressive as the outside. The ship’s internal look is immaculate and powerful, a perfect progression from the 24th century design we know so well as we get our first detailed look inside a 25th century starship.
With a staff of Trek veterans working behind the scenes — from Doug Drexler to Mike and Denise Okuda — production designer Dave Blass has led an impressive team in creating the look for this season and if these early reveals are any indication, we are in for a treat for the next 10 weeks. From updated LCARS screens everywhere you look to the comfortable turbolift designs to a modernized but familiar observation lounge, the entire ship jumps off the screen.
Commander Musiker and Cadet Elnor aboard the USS Excelsior.
Once on board the Stargazer, where Seven has joined them, the action rockets to Warp 10 as the strange message for Picard intensifies and a shifting, geometric Borg ship emerges from the rift. The dramatic reveal is reminiscent of the Borg artifact’s entrance at the conclusion of the Picard series premiere, “Remembrance.”That interesting contrast is one of many between this opening episode and the launch of the series back in 2020, with both premieres including Picard speeches, meetings with admirals and heartfelt Chateau departures.
Of those connections, the most telling in this new season is the one about respect. In Season 1, it was established early on that Picard was being received differently by everyone he met. He was not recognized at Starfleet Headquarters, he was rebuffed by peers, and he was told to stay out of things on more than one occasion. (Literally the first person to greet him warmly in the entire season was Hugh, and that didn’t come until the sixth episode!)
Now, after the events of Season 1, Picard has his groove back and is being greeted with respect and admiration at every corner — serving the Federation as the chancellor of Starfleet Academy and being sought out by the big brass to assist with a major problem.
Admiral Picard boards the Stargazer.
With the reveal of that Borg ship, Rios, Picard, Jurati and Seven head to that beautiful new Stargazer observation lounge to debate their next step. Are the Borg actually trying to negotiate entry into the Federation, or is this a last desperate attempt at assimilation from the now-weakened Borg? That answer remains a mystery, but when a new high-tech and faceless Borg Queen beams on board to commence negotiations with Picard directly, she immediately begins to assimilate not only the Stargazer — but the entire fleet of Starfleet vessels that have arrived in support.
With things looking dire, and the Queen about to take control Picard puts the ship into auto-destruct as the crew confusingly reacts to hearing a serenade by French singer Edith Piaf’s song, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” (“No, I Do Not Regret Anything”). As the countdown approaches zero, Picard is summoned by the Queen with the voice of his mother, who tells him to “Look up” as the ship explodes.
It’s a powerful moment that, impossibly, is matched moments later by what happens next. Picard finds himself transported to Chateau Picard where the admiral stumbles to his feet, distressed and disoriented, only to discover that Q (John de Lancie) has appeared.
The irrepressible foe from the heyday of Star Trek: The Next Generation is pissed-off and ready to wreak some havoc, declaring again that “the trial never ends” and welcoming Picard to “the very end of the road not taken.”
“Let me catch up.”
OBSERVATION LOUNGE
Terry Matalas’ influence can be seen in the new opening credits, which now feature an updated version of Jeff Russo’s theme music. The accelerated theme is a great match for the action-oriented tone that Season 2 promises to deliver, but also retains much of the ethereal resonance of the original composition.
In some ways, the new score is jarring in how it paces back-and-forth between many of the idyllic refrains from the first season and the more dramatic pace of the Season 2 updates.
There are just two sly references to Picard’s new status as an “artificial” lifeform, which would seem to indicate that change will likely not be a big focus of the season. In his meeting with Guinan she says, “whether artificial or synthetic,” and then later Jurati greets him with, “You look absolutely positronic,” after Picard makes a joke that “the older these refits get, the younger they look… unlike myself.”
Chateau Picard’s Romulan caretaker Zhaban (Jamie McShane), partner to Laris, died sometime shortly after the events of “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2.”
Picard’s memory of his mother is the first time Yvette Picard has been portrayed on-screen since her illusionary appearance in “Where No One Has Gone Before.”
Yvette makes a passing mention of Picard’s brother, the first time Robert Picard has been referenced since his death in Star Trek: Generations.
It seems like using transporter tech to beam grapes off the Chateau Picard vines is something Robert Picard would absolutely hate — more of that “wretched technology” at work.
ENTERPRISE-era graphic labeling, and other familiar Starfleet graphics, in La Sirena’s cargo hold.
After taking command of La Sirena, Seven of Nine merged all of the Rios holograms into one — leaving only the Spanish-speaking Emmet online, now carrying the skills and programming of all five holos.
Risian wine is served at the Deltan dinner.
Soji and Jurati visit a Deltan colony on planet Raritan IV during their synths-are-okay goodwill tour; this is the first time the bald species has been seen since Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Terry Matalas references his hometown area of Raritan, New Jersey in all his works; the Deltan planet “Raritan IV” covers that nod in this episode, like “Raritan National Laboratory,” the fictional time-travel research facility in Matalas’ 12 Monkeys television series. “Adler-Lasky Temporal Radiation” also references two scientists from that series, Dr. Adler and Dr. Lasky.
Jurati was cleared of all legal charges stemming from her murder of Bruce Maddox in “Stardust City Rag,” since her actions were caused by the telepathic influence of Commodore Oh’s Zhat Vash-inspired mind meld.
Jean-Luc Picard serves as Chancellor of Starfleet Academy, a role first offered to him (a position then called ‘Commandant’) in “Coming of Age.”
Picard gifts Elnor with a copy of Spock’s memoir, The Many and The One,a title no doubt inspired by the Vulcan’s experience in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Starfleet Academy cadets still get those giant pockets on their uniforms.
Starfleet has once again changed up their uniforms, as last season’s design has been replaced by a design inspired by mixing the Next Gen and Wrath of Khan duty uniforms (per series co-showrunner Terry Matalas); the ‘wrap’ style also ties into the uniforms seen in Star Trek: Lower Decks and on the Dauntless crew in Star Trek: Prodigy.
Elnor’s Starfleet Academy uniform has the same grey coloring and hip pockets as Cadet Nog’s outfit, but with a new asymmetrical shoulder yoke.
Elnor is the first fully-Romulan member of Starfleet, but not the first person with Romulan heritage to serve. Simon Tarses was exposed as being a quarter Romulan in “The Drumhead,” and Saavik was originally intended as half-Romulan (though that was relegated to a The Wrath of Khan deleted scene).
Guinan shares that while her El-Aurian species has an extremely long life they can choose whether or not to display signs of aging — a handy in-universe way to address Whoopi Goldberg’s real-life aging since her last appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis.
Admiral Sally Whitley, who visits Picard at his home, is played by actor April Grace, who previously portrayed Enterprise-D transporter operator Maggie Hubbell in several episodes of TNG (and in the Deep Space Nine pilot, “Emissary”).
April Grace returns to the ‘Star Trek’ world, this time as a different character.
Once aboard the Stargazer, Picard wears a new version of last season’s black jacket, this time styled to resemble the shoulder striping of his Admiral duty uniform.
Alien races serving aboard the Stargazer include members of the Vulcan, Trill, and Bajoran species.
When the mysterious vessel appears from the spatial anomaly, Picard looks to Seven for confirmation that it’s Borg… because with his new body, he can no longer hear the Collective’s voice.
Picard sets off the Stargazer’s auto-destruct sequence with authorization code “Picard Zero-Zero-Zero-Destruct-Zero,” a direct callback to Kirk’s code used to destroy the Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Actor Alex Diehl returns as “Harvey,” the non-sentient android at the dark Picard estate; he first played that type of synthetic last season where he appeared as F8 in “Maps and Legends.”
Q makes his first on-screen appearance in the Star Trek franchise since the 2001 Voyager episode “Q2” (following his animated cameo in“Veritas”), arriving to Chateau Picard digitally de-aged before transforming into actor John de Lancie’s current-day look.
The brand new Sagan-class USS Stargazer (NCC-82893).
STARSHIP SPOTTER
Raffi and Elnor are assigned to the starship USS Excelsior, a 25th century successor to the original starship introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; other Starfleet ships mentioned during cadet assignments include the USS Grissom and USS Hikaru Sulu.
The Akira-classUSS Avalon gets knocked for a loop as the green Borg anomaly makes its first appearance in Federation space.
The old Stargazer’s dedication plaque on display aboard Rios’ ship.
The USS Stargazer (NCC-82893) is the first Federation starship to be built using technology gleaned from the abandoned Borg cube seen in Picard Season 1 (“The Artifact,”) something which likely helped the Borg Queen seen in this episode take over the ship’s systems.
Picard’s entrance to the Stargazer corridor allows a brief view of the ship’s shuttlebay behind him; the digital background looks to be a modification of Discovery’s shuttlebay environment — not an unreasonable thing to repurpose for a split-second background shot.
Sovereign, Luna, Akira, Excelsior-class ships and more
Sovereign, Luna, Akira, Excelsior-class ships and more
Sovereign, Galaxy, Inquiry-class ships and more
Sovereign, Galaxy, Inquiry-class ships and more
Sutherland-class from Star Trek Online
Ross-class from Star Trek Online
Gagarin-class from Star Trek Online
Reliant Advanced-class from Star Trek Online
Beyond La Sirena and the new Stargazer, other starships seen in the Federation fleet include several Luna-class vessels (like the USS Titan seen in Lower Decks), an Excelsior-class ship (likely Raffi and Elnor’s USS Excelsior), an Akira-class (the Avalon), multiple Sovereign-class vessels (like the Enterprise-E), and a few Inquiry-class ships (from “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2”).
In the end, this episode is a goldmine of pure Picard content and backstory. The relaunch under the watchful eye of Terry Matalas has made an interesting difference. This season of new Star Trek just feels different, as it relaunches for a wild ride through Q shenanigans, time travel and eventually the Borg Queen.
Star Trek: Picard returns March 10 with “Penance” on Paramount+ in the United States, and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. Outside of North America, the series is available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most international locations.
The newest episode of Star Trek: Discovery — “Rosetta” — just debuted, and we’re sure you’re ready to dive into a discussion about the story!
Here’s your place to take on all the new Trek lore this episode brought us, with no restrictions on spoilers, so you haven’t yet watched the new episode yet, here’s your last warning!
With Star Trek: Picard’s season premiere likely to take most of the fandom’s attention today, we’ll have our “Rosetta” review online by the weekend.
This thread will remain open until our episode review is posted.
We’re just two days away from the premiere of Star Trek: Picard Season 2, and Paramount+ today has released the year’s new official cast portraits — set at a soon-to-be-familiar watering hole.
Today’s photoset from the second year of Picard features the season’s primary cast members (and special guest star) at Guinan’s Los Angeles-based 10 Forward Avenue bar seen in the Season 2 trailer.
This year’s cast includes Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, Alison Pill as Dr. Agnes Jurati, Santiago Cabrera as Cristobal Rios, Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker, Evan Evagora as Elnor, Isa Briones as Soji Asha, Orla Brady as Laris, and special guest star John de Lancie as Q.
In addition, Brent Spiner returns for Season 2 as a new character to the Star Trek universe, one he’s not previously portrayed, however in today’s released images his photos are captioned “Brent Spiner as Alton Inigo Soong” — so make of that as you will.
STAR TREK: PICARD Season 2 — Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and John de Lancie (Q)
1 of 7
STAR TREK: PICARD Season 2 — Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) and Brent Spiner (Alton Soong?)
1 of 6
STAR TREK: PICARD Season 2 — Santiago Cabrera (Cristobal Rios) and Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jura...
1 of 6
STAR TREK: PICARD Season 2 — Evan Evagora (Elnor) and Isa Briones (Soji Asha)
1 of 5
STAR TREK: PICARD Season 2 — Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker) and Orla Brady (Laris)
1 of 5
In addition to these official Paramount-released photos, Entertainment Tonight also got a few more exclusive photos featuring the season’s cast, including one of Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan — we expect them to be released publicly following the season premiere.
Star Trek: Picard returns with “The Star Gazer” on March 3 on Paramount+ in the United States, and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. Outside of North America, the series is available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most international locations.
In addition, stick around to listen to Stephen’s wish for the Starfleet Academy show concept to move forward, and Alex’s theory about what kind of big reveal we might get at the upcoming official Star Trek: Mission Chicago convention in April.
WeeklyTrek is available to subscribe and download each week on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify— and we’ll be sharing the details of each new episode right here on TrekCore each week if you’re simply just looking to listen in from the web.
Do you have a wish or theory you’d like to share on the show? Tweet to Alex at @WeeklyTrek, or email us with your thoughts about wishes, theories, or anything else about the latest in Star Trek news!
Denise Crosby’s legendary Star Trek fandom documentary Trekkies is coming to Blu-ray this spring, as Shout! Factory revisits the film 25 years after its original release with a newly-remastered presentation and more.
While the film is only set to be released on the Blu-ray format, the new presentation will be from a 4K scan of the original film material for a hefty upgrade to the DVD release.
Here’s the official announcement from Shout! Factory:
Get ready to beam up to a galaxy where autograph hounds abound, dentists drill in Federation garb and the debate over “Trekkies” vs. “Trekkers” rages on with the release of Trekkies: 25th Anniversary Edition from Shout! Factory.
Available for the first time on Blu-ray May 24, 2022, the release features a new 4k scan restoration, as well as the new documentary featurette A Trek Back with the film’s narrator Denise Crosby and director Roger Nygard. Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com
Denise Crosby of Star Trek: The Next Generation hosts this often-hilarious documentary about the Star Trek “fan-nomenon.” Featuring interviews with hundreds of devoted fans and such Star Trek cast members as James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, Kate Mulgrew, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner and George Takei, the film creates an entertaining and endearing portrait of the landmark series that has touched the lives of people around the world.
“We’re so thrilled to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of our film with this newly restored edition” said director Roger Nygard. Denise Crosby added, “We can’t wait for fans of this iconic series to re-visit, or discover for the first time, how generations of fans have been brought together via their shared loved of these stories.”
Crosby and Trekkies director Roger Nygard will also partake in a new interview feature, “The Trek Back,” where the pair revisit the film after a quarter-century and discuss how the documentary came together for its original 1997 release.
So far, there are no plans to revisit Trekkies 2, the 2004 sequel documentary which included fans outside the United States; as that movie was shot on early early digital video formats, a traditional remaster would seem unlikely.
Star Trek: Discovery’s fourth season continues this week, and we’ve got a new collection of photos from “Rosetta” to share with you today!
After the Discovery crew made their journey through the Galactic Barrier last week, Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her team visit an extra-galactic planet that seems related to the mysterious Species 10-C.
Meanwhile, Book (David Ajala) and Tarka (Shawn Doyle) catch up to Discovery, but must secretly board the starship to use its systems to capture the DMA’s immense power source.
Here are three new photos from this week’s episode; we’ll update this gallery if Paramount+ release any additional images.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY — Episode 411: 'Rosetta'
1 of 3
Culber (Wilson Cruz), Detmer (Emily Coutts), Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Saru (Doug Jones) in space suits. (Paramount+)
Stamets (Anthony Rapp) briefs the leadership team. (Paramount+)
Adira (Blu del Barrio) speaks with Stamets and Culber. (Paramount+)
And in case you haven’t seen it, here’s the official Paramount+ trailer for “Rosetta.”
ROSETTA — While Captain Burnham leads an away mission to a planet that was once home to the aliens responsible for the DMA, Book and Tarka secretly infiltrate the U.S.S. Discovery.
Written by Terri Hughes Burton. Directed by Jeff Byrd
Star Trek: Picard’s second season finally begins this week, and we’ve got a new collection of photos from “The Star Gazer” to share with you today!
After more than a year has passed since the Season 1 finale, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his compatriots from La Sirena find themselves in new roles, from Starfleet service to a goodwill tour around the Alpha Quadrant.
But when disaster strikes aboard a new Federation starship, this gang’s adventures are only just beginning — as the Season 2 storyline takes them from outer space to planet Earth, across both time and dimension… and with Q (John de Lancie) along for the ride.
Here are sixteen new photos from this week’s episode, plus seven previously-released images:
STAR TREK: PICARD— Episode 201: 'The Star Gazer'
1 of 23
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Laris (Orla Brady) in the chateau library. (Paramount+)
Picard and Laris in his study. (Paramount+)
Picard and Laris in his study. (Paramount+)
Picard and Laris in his study. (Paramount+)
Picard contemplates the past. (Paramount+)
Raffi (Michelle Hurd) and Picard at Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)
Raffi and Picard at Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)
Raffi and Picard at Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)
Raffi, Picard, and Elnor (Evan Evagora) at Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)
Picard and Elnor at Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)
Picard and Elnor at Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)
Picard and Elnor at Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)
Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) and Picard reunite. (Paramount+)
Picard and Admiral Whitley (April Grace) examine a report. (Paramount+)
Picard and Admiral Whitley examine a report. (Paramount+)
Picard reacts to news. (Paramount+)
Admiral Whitley. (Paramount+)
Whitley offers Picard a combadge. (Paramount+)
Picard thinks about the situation. (Paramount+)
Q (John de Lancie) appears to Picard in the alternate timeline. (Paramount+)
Q and Picard in the alternate timeline. (Paramount+)
Q and Picard in the alternate timeline. (Paramount+)
Q and Picard in the alternate timeline. (Paramount+)
And in case you haven’t seen it, here’s another Paramount+ trailer for Picard Season 2, along with a preview clip from “The Star Gazer” which debuted in last week’s episode of The Ready Room — as well as a new featurette with the cast describing where their characters are at as the season begins.
THE STAR GAZER — Starfleet must once again call on legendary Jean-Luc Picard after members of his former crew – Cristóbal Rios, Seven of Nine, Raffi Musiker, and Dr. Agnes Jurati – discover an anomaly in space that threatens the galaxy.
Written by Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas. Directed by Doug Aarniokoski.
Star Trek: Picard returns with “The Star Gazer” on March 3 on Paramount+ in the United States, and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. Outside of North America, the series is available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most international locations.
Following last spring’s Star Trek Legends,the final frontier expands into the mobile gaming arena once more as Vancouver’s East Side Games gets a little animated.. with the Star Trek: Lower Decks crew!
Announced late last week, East Side Games is launching Star Trek: Lower Decks — The Badgey Directive as a new free-to-play mobile game, where players will “join Mariner, Boimler and the USS Cerritos crew as they take on a rogue AI — Badgey — in their attempt to return to the real world!”
Here’s the full game description:
Finally, after yet another tedious duty roster, the Lower Decks crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is ready to party at a Zebulon Sisters concert! Tendi’s even more excited, as this’ll be her first Chu Chu Dance! But first, they need to get through routine training exercises on the holodeck, which Boimler has been entrusted to organize. Boimler? With power? When has that ever been good?
Impatient to get to the dance, the crew try to end the simulation only to find the Cerritos’ computer has been hijacked by rogue AI Badgey. He’s locked them in the holodeck and deactivated all safety protocols – so now Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford and Mariner must work through Star Trek stories, both familiar and new, so they can return to the real world. But be careful – if they don’t succeed, they’ll die for real. And even worse: they’ll miss the party!
THE ENTIRE STAR TREK UNIVERSE IN YOUR HANDS: Star Trek Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive gives you the chance to tap through classic Star Trek stories in the humorous style of Lower Decks. Enjoy your favorite storylines with a fresh funny twist – and maybe even give them new endings!
DEFEAT MAJOR STAR TREK VILLAINS: Every holodeck simulation will see the Cerritos crew facing off with a big bad boss, who must be defeated to get to the exit. Level up your crew with training exercises and mini-games in Science, Engineering, Security and Command!
UNLOCK AND TRADE MORE CREW: It’s not just the Lower Decks crew of the Cerritos here to play – Badgey has a whole array of characters from the Star Trek universe for you to collect and trade! Complete regular events to unlock special characters to bolster your crew!
NEW SIMULATIONS ALWAYS AWAIT YOU: With mini-events landing twice a week and a main event each weekend, there’s always new simulations for you to explore! And you won’t miss out even if you’re busy – you can automate your crew to train while you’re away!
Initially launching on iOS in Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines, the game is also planned for Android users — and is expected to expand to the United States, to the UK, and to other global regions “very, very soon.”
Here’s the official announcement from East Side Games, which also notes that “characters and settings from across the entire Star Trek library” will also appear in the game.
Vancouver, BC, February 23, 2022 – East Side Games Group, Canada’s leading free-to-play mobile game group, announces that it has entered into a multi-year partnership with ViacomCBS Consumer Products (“VCP”) for the worldwide release of a Star Trek: Lower Decks-themed mobile game on iOS and Android.
In addition to the storylines and characters from Star Trek: Lower Decks, the mobile game will include characters and stories from across the franchise, reimagining them for fans through the lens of Star Trek: Lower Decks. The Star Trek: Lower Decks-themed game will be developed by East Side Games (“ESG”), in partnership with VCP, utilizing ESGG’s proven Game Kit-Idle technology, and will be published by ESG. Australian-based video game company Mighty Kingdom Limited (“MK”) will be co-developing the game alongside ESG, providing the project with MK’s franchise knowledge and development expertise. The Star Trek: Lower Decks-themed idle game is expected to launch worldwide in 2022.
The free-to-play mobile game will feature the Star Trek: Lower Decks style and humour to transport players into the Star Trek Universe and will feature characters and settings from across the entire Star Trek library.
More information about Star Trek: Lower Decks — The Badgey Directive will eventually be available on the official TBD website,where interested fans can also sign up for its newsletter.
It’s been three years since the last time QMx unveiled a new Star Trek product — Discovery-era Enterprise crew badges, which to date remain unavailable — and while their involvement with the franchise had thought to be over, this month the company announced that they will be returning to the final frontier later this year.
A new line of papercraft starship models called Qraftworks will be flying out of spacedock in the second half of 2022, with a first wave of eight Star Trek starships represented in the initial lineup — though the “Puzzlefleet” lineup is said to cover “vehicles and props,” so future waves may include more than just famous ships.
Each Qraftworks starship is comprised of several dozen “precision-cut, full-color foamcore pieces,” which require no adhesive or tools for assembly. The first wave of starships touches upon every era of Star Trek history:
Constitution-class USS Enterprise from the Original Series
Klingon D7 Battlecruiser from the Original Series
Constitution-class refit USS Enterprise from the Star Trek films
USS Reliant from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Klingon Bird of Prey from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Crossfield-class USS Discovery from Star Trek: Discovery
California-class USS Cerritos from Star Trek: Lower Decks
Here’s a preview of the first eight ships in the Qraftworks lineup; please note each image is a digital render and not a photograph of the final product.
QMx Qraftworks Puzzlefleet: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) — 65 pieces
QMx Qraftworks Puzzlefleet: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) Refit — 66 pieces
1 of 5
QMx Qraftworks Puzzlefleet: USS Reliant (NCC-1864) — 60 pieces
1 of 6
QMx Qraftworks Puzzlefleet: Klingon Bird of Prey — 65 pieces
1 of 6
QMx Qraftworks Puzzlefleet: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) — 62 pieces
1 of 6
QMx Qraftworks Puzzlefleet: USS Discovery (NCC-1031) — 65 pieces
1 of 5
QMx Qraftworks Puzzlefleet: USS Cerritos (NCC-75567) — 54 pieces
1 of 6
Hopefully, a potential second wave of ships could include vessels such as the USS Defiant, the USS Voyager, the USS Protostar from Star Trek: Prodigy, La Sirena from Star Trek: Picard, the USS Enterprise-E, space station Deep Space 9, the Strange New Worlds-era USS Enterprise, and more from franchise history.
QMX’s Star Trek Qraftworks fleet is set to arrive in the third quarter of 2022, and each model is available for preorder now at QMx’s website for $14.95 each.
As for those Enterprise badges first announced in February 2019?Well, in 2020 the company told us that the products had been placed “on hold” at the time; likely awaiting announcement of the then-secretive Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series — but we’re hearing that now that Captain Pike’s Enterprise series is nearing its launch, we may see them finally arrive to QMx’s active product lineup.
.png){kind=link}