Yet another lackluster Star Trek Day. Yet another youtube video. One episode left of SNW for this season, and Starfleet Academy in 2026 and the as yet unnamed Tawney Newsome Trek comedy sometime after that... All this, coupled with the way CBS was willing to pay off the Orange Shit Gibbon it just feels like a bit of a low after the Trek heights we hit at the beginning of the decade.
But Star Trek is about Hope, and I'm desperately hoping that we see how bad things are, and we come together to make that glorious future that Trek shows us a reality.
Live Long and Prosper!
Saturday, April 5, 2025
April 5, 2063, a mere 38 years from now. I'll probably live to see the date, but doubt I'll be around when we make first contact. Honestly, I'll be thrilled if we can find evidence of life on another planet by then.
But because that's what Star Trek is about, here's to hope! For us, for the future.
The last few years we've gotten some amazing panels and events for Star Trek Day (today). This year, sadly, all we're getting is this video and the Lower Decks season 5 trailer.
It isn't nothing, but it doesn't feel like much, especially given how much is and will be ending this year. Discovery aired its final season. Prodigy got sold off to Netflix, and there's no word on any more seasons. Picard is over (last year). And this is the final season of Lower Decks.
Yes, there's still a lot to look forward to. Strange New Worlds is doing a fine job carrying the Trek banner, and we've got the Section 31 film and Starfleet Academy coming up... but... I want more. I want more Prodigy and Lower Decks specifically. While everyone fawns over SNW, the animated stuff (and DISCO) were doing way more interesting things with Trek, and I want more of that. I'd also love more Short Treks. That's another avenue to explore the Trek-verse without needing to green-light a whole new series for every idea.
Whatever the future may hold, both for Trek specifically, and for the world at large, I remain hopeful. And what is the core message of Star Trek if not that? Have hope. We can do better, we can be better.
The current batch of Star Trek shows have their ups and downs, like all Star Trek shows. Prodigy, the animated show for kids, made in conjunction with Nickelodeon, may be the best of the batch. And yes, you should ignore that it's a "kids" show. This is QUALITY Trek!
It's beautiful
It's 20 episodes per season
It is accessible for non-Trek fans, but has tons of nods and callbacks to prior shows, and ties into the current shows
Season 2 just came out on Netflix at the beginning of the month.
It took me a little more than a week to binge my way through it, and I'm ready to rewatch it all again. If you haven't already, you should go watch it now! If you've seen it, you know how good it is.
Not only is today the day we will make contact with Vulcans, but it's also the day after the premiere of Star Trek Discovery's 5th and final season. While I'm sad to see Disco end, I'm really looking forward to what this season will bring.
It's a weird amazing time to be a Trek fan! There's been so much new Star Trek to enjoy, and so much of it is so good... but we've also got Paramount selling off Prodigy, and with the writers and actors strike going on (Go Unions!) it's unclear what the future holds.
Then again, Star Trek's core message is about hope for the future, even... especially when things are bleak.
For the first time since COVID hit, I'm going to a convention. I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am to be doing this, especially as it's so close. Only for one day, but... I'm excited! Trek Long Island here I come!
I just finished the series finale for Star Trek Picard, and overall, it was a good ending. Season 3 delivered on the promise of being The Next Generation's swan song. It loaded the show with nearly heaping levels of nostalgia. They didn't over do it, but it was a near thing sometimes, and much of the final episode was pure fanservice. And look, I wanted it too, and so for that want, I'm satisfied.
However....
The was the Seven/Raffi relationship was sidelined this season, how little Troi got to do, how Beverly was so entirely focused on her son, meanwhile the emotional anguish of Picard, Riker, and Jack (three straight white men) was placed center stage just feels like a step back, and not in a fun nostalgic way. And then, AND THEN, at the end, with Jack being fast tracked through Starfleet to serve on the new Enterprise as special counselor to the captain? While there is a history of Crusher children getting special attention, the level of nepotism shown was so high they even pointed it out themselves in the show.
While we're talking about the Enterprise, seeing the D in all her glory, with the crew back on the bridge? Honestly, my eyes welled up with tears of joy. Having the Titan-A rechristened to Enterprise-G? I can kinda understand why they, in universe, made that choice. The shipyards were destroyed less than 15 years before, and then with Spacedock and all the other orbital defences destroyed, there probably weren't a whole lot of extra ships being made. (Ignoring the entire fleet of copy/paste ships from the end of season 1)
In spite of the name change, I do hope that we get to see the further adventures of Captain Seven and her crew.
And that mid-credits scene? While I was thrilled to see Q again, I had kinda hoped it would have been Jack's brother instead. I guess if they do continue things, we might get to see him again... as well as Elnor and Soji who I really missed this season.
But now it's onto Strange New Worlds in a couple months! Then more Prodigy and Lower Decks, and a Section 31 movie! It's an amazing time to be a Star Trek fan. LLAP.
This is truly a golden age for Star Trek. We have so many new shows to enjoy, great loving diverse casts who are all thrilled to be a part of it, and creators who clearly get what Star Trek is about.
For 55 years, Star Trek has been bringing the hope of a brighter future. That mission has been a part of my life for basically as long as I can remember. Tonight I'll be celebrating that... that celebration might stretch into tomorrow as it doesn't start till 8:30pm Eastern, but we'll see.
Here's to all that is to come, and the brighter future that awaits us!
54 years of Star Trek, and we're all stuck dealing with a pandemic... But no fear, as CBS has arranged a whole day of virtual activities to allow us all to celebrate together!
This isn't like any Star Trek that has come before, and that's a good thing.
Why is that a good thing? Because the Trek universe is huge, and so few stories have been told. This new show brings us to the USS Cerritos, a ship that specializes in second contacts. This isn't Starfleet's best and brightest, but they're still Starfleet officers, with a bit more room to grow.
Plus? It's funny. And there should be room for comedies set in the Trek-verse. And on top of that, it kicks off 26 solid weeks of new Trek-Goodness! First 13 episodes of Lower Decks, and then 13 episodes of Discovery season 3!!
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While I haven't written a review, I have finished Star Trek Picard, and it was great!
And because we're all stuck inside, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. You can watch it all for free! CBS All Access is available for free for the next 2 months! Go check it out!
I attended the Star Trek Discovery season 2 premiere at Battery Park. I signed up for what I thought I was getting was to see the first episode of the season on the big movie theater screen for free…
What I got what the whole friggin Red Carpet with the cast and directors and composer, swag bag, signed poster, and episode one AND two!
And if I’d have signed up for the 8pm show instead of the 6:30 show, all I’d have gotten was to see the cast briefly, and the first episode.
It was SO MUCH FUN!!
And best of all, the first 2 episodes were great. Seriously well written TV (I only have minor quibbles) and it was so much better than the first 2 episodes of The Orville’s second season... but that's a post for next week...
On this day, September 8th, 1966, The USS Enterprise first appeared on TV screens across the USA. (The Canadians got it 2 days early, lucky S.O.B.s...)
In honor of the day, allow my to share a some pretty pictures of the grey lady herself, as she appears in the newest version of Trek, Discovery!
I'm looking forward to seeing more of her in season 2!
Monday night my bride and I sat down and watched the prequel episodes of Star Trek: Discovery.
Prequel episodes?
That's right. The first two episodes are entirely devoted to setting up the series. The USS Discovery is nowhere to be seen (except in the opening credits). It's an interesting approach, though one taken before. The new Battlestar Galactica did something similar. What Discovery gives us for these first 2 episodes is a re-introduction to the Star Trek universe. The Federation's do-gooder "We Come In Peace" starfleet, the angry war-like Klingons, the Treknology (visually updated for the 2017 audience), and lots of fan service that manages to not overwhelm the story.
Synopsis of the first 2 episodes
We start with some zealot Klingons bemoaning the fragmentation of the Empire and its 24 great houses, and the insidious nature of the Federation. Then we're introduced to Commander Michael Burnham, 1st officer of the USS Shenzhou on a mission to repair a damaged communication relay at the edge of Federation Space. There's a mysterious object that their sensors have a hard time focusing on. Burnham volunteers to pop out in a space suit to check it out. Cool looking space sculpture turns out to be a klingon holy... thing. And there's an angry klingon with a sword on it. Burnham tries to jet away, crashes into the klingon, killing him, and injuring herself while also damaging the suit's computer. She miraculously makes it back to the ship, but is suffering from major radiation exposure. Tells the captain what she saw. Que big f-ing Klingon ship decloaking. Burnham pops off to chat with her foster dad Sarek, who tells her the shady way the Vulcan's dealt with the Klingons in the pre-federation years - shoot first. Captain Philippa Georgiou refuses, as it isn't the Federation way, but they have reinforcements on their way anyway.
Klingon sculpture lights up like a christmas tree. More Klingon ships show up. Zelot Klingon tells the high council that it's time to unify, they're skeptical.
Burnham Vulcan Nerve-pinches the captain in private, takes command, and tells the crew to shoot at the Klingons. The captain countermands the order, and sends Burnham to the brig. Federation reinforcements show up, but they're still outnumbered and outgunned. Space fight that goes poorly for the Federation. The Klingons pull out before killing everyone off. Burnham gets out of the brig before the force-field failure tosses her into space. They concoct a plan to sneak a photon torpedo warhead on board via one of the dead Klingon bodies the flagship is collecting. It works, and the ship is badly damaged. Burnham and the captain beam aboard to try to capture the Klingon zealot. The captain and the Klingon both die, and Burnham is beamed back before she can even try to save her captain. Burnham is then shipped off to jail while the Federation goes to war.
The Federation
So what do we know about the pre-Kirk Federation. It's multicultural, and fairly well matured, but it's been a while since they've been involved in a war, and they're really not ready for it. Their tech is improving, but they're not in a super hurry to retrofit/upgrade their ships. Aside from some skirmishes, including the one that left Michael Burnham an orphan, the Klingons haven't really been in contact since Archer's time.
The Klingons themselves are a fractured people, with each of the 24 houses scheming and fighting each other more than expanding the bounds of the Empire. A small cult of highly xenophobic Klingon-supremacists draws the houses together in order to unite them in a war with the Federation. These are not the Klingons we're used to, but I can see the old Klingon Ambassador from Star Trek 3 & 4, and most of the plot of 6 coming out of these Klingons. Also, a ship covered in the caskets of dead Klingons?!? Love it!
The Look
This may not be NuTrek, but it kinda looks like it. The technology looks fancy and shiny, but it doesn't seem to work as well we it seems to in the TNG time period. Honestly, of everything going on, most of the visual changes don't really bother me. There was no way they were going to make everything look like it did in The Cage. It's been 50 years since that was filmed, technology has gotten better.
The changes to the Klingons appearance... I like less, but I'll get over it.
The uniforms bug me, but mostly because they're going to be such a bitch for costumers to replicate. Other than that, they're pretty...
Final Thoughts
After mulling it over for over a day now, I think I'm a fan. That the show is focusing on a primary character, rather than on a strong ensemble cast is an interesting take. That the main bad guys are 1) Klingons and 2) Stand ins for the nationalist/white supremacists works for me in a way that no prior Trek villain ever has before. I appreciate that the first two episodes were something of a slow burn leading up to a fantastic space battle I thought was a good choice, especially as I could watch one episode after the other. I'd have been less thrilled if I was watching on TV, and then had to switch over to the new CBS streaming service.
I also really appreciate that the main characters were a black woman and an Asian woman. And that they were both friends and colleagues who liked and respected each other, and didn't once talk about a man, except when planning to kidnap the Klingon zealot. I also liked that they disagreed, and talked about it... and that Burnham made a series of bad choices. That the ethics of the choices, and the Federations standing directives are questioned.
Star Trek is at its best when it asks those questions. I hope they keep it up.
One thing I'm not really thrilled with is that they made, on the whole, the Klingons even darker. The main zealot was in fact coal black. That his second was an albino... well we'll see if they can make it work without being painfully racist.
The other issue I had was the fact that Michael (not Michelle...?) Burnham is Sarek's foster daughter... Why? Why Sarek. There's a whole planet full of Vulcans. It didn't have to be her, and it doesn't make much sense given that there has never been mention of yet another sibling of Spock. Did they learn NOTHING from Star Trek V: The Search for God?
On the whole though, I'm looking forward to where they're going, and in hopes that we'll keep seeing Star Trek on the small screen, I'm almost convinced to subscribe to the CBS service to keep watching.
