See what I did there? There’s been a few developments relating to the upcoming Star Trek sequel, so I thought it might be a fun time to speculate a bit. It was recently announced that Alice Eve would be joining the cast in what’s reported to be a “major role.” They’re also saying that Benicio Del Toro is extremely close to signing on to play a villain that fans of the original series would be familiar with — and no, they don’t mean Khan. Finally, there’s now a rumor that one other major role has yet to be cast and is described as being “someone slightly older but related to Del Toro’s character,” or something along those lines. So who could these characters be? I have a few guesses.
I admit, Simon &Schuster’s Trek novels are one my many guilty pleasures. They’re not quite as terrible as my obsession with Koei’s Dynasty Warriors, or Japanese television dramas, but I wouldn’t strike up a conversation on the topic. Still, there are those of us who crave all things Star Trek, and with the next film over a year away, we’ll need something to ease that pain. Enter Rise Like Lions, the latest novel by seasoned-Trek author David Mack. This latest novel takes place in the infamous Mirror Universe.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 27, 2011 in Star Trek
What I like about these Kirk and Spock Christmas Tree Ornaments is that they have a nice sense of style — they almost look art deco, yet are very cartoony and almost toy like. These ornaments are hand crafted by Lisa Penney who is based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Read more…
It looks as though Star Trek 2, as it’s still tentatively titled, finally has a firm release date. Unfortunately for us, it’s over a year away. While I had been holding out hope, I’m not really surprised, seeing as they’ve taken so long to get under way. On the bright side, the film will be shot in 3D, so those of you who aren’t already over that fad, or who’ve recently purchased one of those over-priced 3DTVs are in for a treat. (Protip: Black Friday deals are great, but Cyber Monday is where its at. I recommend scouring Amazon for one if you’re interested.) Some other juicy details leaked out this weekend. Abrams confirmed the rumor that he’s been in talks with Benicio Del Toro for a role in the new film, and announced that composer Michael Giacchino will be returning for the sequel. The script is “finished,” but is currently going through its third draft of revisions. Star Trek 2 will hit theaters May 17, 2013.
With filming just weeks away, new rumors are starting to surface regarding J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek sequel. Early rumors claimed the film would focus more on crew itself rather than pitting them against as single adversary, while others seemed to suggest that the Kirk and company could match wits with a classic villain like Harry Mudd or Trelane. Sources recently claimed that Abrams had approached Benicio Del Toro to fill that void, but we’ve yet to hear anything further regarding his involvement, if it’s indeed happening. This latest rumor, however, seems to suggest that we might even see the return of the Klingons.
Tired of waiting for Lego to officially license your favorite films like Star Trek or Back to the Future? Me too. I had my hopes up when Lego started releasing those awesome Star Wars kits a few years back, but nothing ever came of it. Fortunately for us, the guys at Ichiban Toys have decided to release few custom kits to fill the void. There’s just a catch or two — the sets are incredibly small and extremely expensive for what you get. Don’t get me wrong, they look awesome, but judging by the size of some of these kits, $15 for a Klingon Bird of Prey that only usesaround fifty small pieces can seem a bit steep. That said, they’re all official Lego pieces, so anyone with access to the right ones could probably build it themselves after giving it a close enough look.
Here’s the latest trailer for the upcoming Star Trek: the Next Generation – The Next Level Blu-ray sampler set to be released on January 31st. The trailer starts with the teaser footage released a few months back, and the new content starts around a minute and seventeen seconds in, detailing the restoration process, and showing clips from the episodes included on the disc. You’ll probably notice that the episodes are still in 4:3 format, rather than 16:9, but that’s actually intended. They haven’t really said why, but there could really be any number of reasons, such as unintended crew or equipment being present in the shots, etc. That said, the show is still being completely recomposited from scratch using the original negatives and transferred to 1080p, so it’ll still look amazing. Once again, the sampler will retail for $21.99 and should include five full episodes. It’s been confirmed that the rest of 178 episodes will eventually follow.
An average bunny can live for over ten years — however sadly a Star Trek red shirt bunny might not last more than ten seconds if beamed down to the wrong planet! This cute creature is the handy work of Jennifer Hugon who has a shop on Etsy called Woolykins. Logically her collection also includes a Spock bunny as well: Read more…
If you haven’t heard by now, Cryptic’s Star Trek Online will be making its transition from a traditional subscription-based format to a Free-to-Play platform by the end f the year. The massive multiplayer title launched in February of last year to less-than-favorable reviews. Tragically, everyone found the space combat to be fresh and entertaining, but were quick to dismiss every other aspect of the game. I can’t really blame, though. Away team missions often featured randomly generated worlds that just seemed dull to begin with. Many of the alien species barely resembled their television counterparts, and the scripted encounters seemed hastily written, and poorly executed. Despite its flaws, the game seems to have persevered. Since its launch, Star Trek Online has grown considerably, kept alive through a series of free updates that serve as episodic expansions. While this has managed to keep fans happy so far, the upcoming transition might have a few of you concerned. So, what changes should you expect?
The finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, the last Trek show to grace the small screen, is…let’s say unpopular. It essentially undid the entire series in one fell swoop and took away what wind remained in the show’s sails by having Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, aka Riker and Troi, as guest stars. Turns out Frakes wasn’t a fan of the move either, saying that it felt like a sort of middle finger to Enterprise lead actor Scott Bakula. In fact, Frakes calls the entire experience an “unpleasant memory.” Blastr‘s got the whole story. Frakes comes across as a pretty okay guy in these quotes, but then again, any good Starfleet officer would. Read more…
That’s right, here’s your chance to be featured as an expendable away-team member. Comic publisher IDW and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund have teamed up to offer us a chance of a lifetime. The prize? One lucky fan, along with his or her favorite comic retailer, will be featured as a random “Red Shirt” on a special limited-edition variant cover for an upcoming issue of IDW’s Star Trek on-going series set in the Abramsverse — they’re calling it that, right? The Abramsverse? Not really fond of that name. Any way, starting Wednesday, November 2nd, you can enter by simply writing 300 words or less on why your local retailer is the best, then e-mailing your entry to contest@IDWPublishing.com with the subject line, “Save my Retailer.”
This will either be the most terrifying or magnificent thing you’ll see all day. It’s certainly no “Rocket Man,” but Shatner’s spoken-word cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” could be just as campy — at least, the music video certainly is. I’m not sure how I’d go about explaining the premise, but it starts with a couple who are spending their evening stargazing. Suddenly Shatner’s face materializes in the night sky and everyone seems a little confused as to why, but rather than freak out, they just sort of let him do his thing. There’s some talking carps, a choir of goats, and some other random happenings culminating in Shatner’s latest album, Seeking Major Tom, crash landing to Earth. It’s truly bizarre, to say the least. Any way, if you’re looking to pick up a copy, you can purchase it via Amazon. I should also note, the album’s available in CD, MP3 or vinyl.
While it’s unlikely he’ll just end the show on a whim, Family Guy‘s Seth MacFarlane believes the show may have ran its course — at least, on television. In a recent interview with THR, he admitted that the show should have probably ended after its seventh season but believes the series could make the transition to feature films. While I’m sure a few of you might think the series should have ended long before that, Macfarlane seems to think seven is some kind of magic number. If you recall, every recent Star Trek series, with the exception of Enterprise, ran for only seven seasons each. Speaking of which, MacFarlane also mentioned that he’d love to try his hand at relaunching the Star Trek television franchise; not as an animated series, but as a live-action show. He seemed to have an idea for the series, but wasn’t sure who he’d have to pitch it to, or if they’d even consider giving him the time of day. Still, with the success of the recent film, you’d think a new series wouldn’t be completely out of the question, right? I guess that’ll be for Paramount or CBS to decide.
It’s been a long time coming, but for fans, I suppose its been worth the wait. Both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: the Animated Series are now available for streaming via Netflix. I was already excited about Deep Space Nine, as the series eventually grew on me over the years. Initially, I wasn’t very fond of the characters and while I appreciated the serialized approach to the series, I always felt the scripts paled in comparison to The Next Generation which, at the time the series aired, had been my long-running staple. As far as the Animated Series goes, I never really saw much of it but I’ve never heard any nice things about it either. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing whether or not it’s as terrible as everyone makes it out to be.
China recently unveiled the logo for its version of NASA, the Chinese National Space Administration, and it looks… let’s say it looks a little familiar. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I feel like it looks a lot like what would happen if you mixed the logos for, say, a united federation of planets and a fleet that traveled through the stars. Admittedly, if you have to design a logo for a space program you want to be successful, you could do worse than drawing inspiration from sci-fi’s most beloved space program. Just be sure to give NASA a call when you discover warp technology because, let’s face it, the US space program sure isn’t going to do it. Read more…
So it’s official, StarTrek.com has confirmed the upcoming release of Star Trek: The Next Generation in high definition. The three episode Blu-ray sampler Star Trek: The Next Generation — The Next Level is now set for an official release on January 31st, 2012. Priced at $21.99, the disc will include the full-length version of the series premiere “Encounter at Far Point,” as well as the episodes “Sins of the Father” and “The Inner Light.” All of those episodes are pretty solid choices, but it just means we’ll have to wait until they finish with the rest of the series before we can get our hands on our favorite episodes like “The Best of Both Worlds.”
Back in June, Brent Spiner took part in a webcast where he discussed his recent webseries Fresh Hell. During the course of the interview, he mentioned that he’d love to join his former Star Trek: The Next Generation cast mate Wil Wheaton, and guest star on The Big Bang Theory. Well, it looks like he got his wish; both Brent and Wil will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the CBS comedy. Not many details have been revealed about the spot, other than he’ll be playing the role of himself while attending a party being thrown by Sheldon’s arch-nemesis, Wheaton. An image from the episode has been released, depicting Sheldon, Leonard, Brent and Wil in the same shot, but as to how Sheldon or Leonard scored an invite will remain a mystery until the episode airs on October 13th.
A few days ago, Gameforge uploaded the trailer for their upcoming browser-based Star Trek title, Star Trek: Infinite Space. Set during the third season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the game lets you take control of either Federation of Klingon forces during the brief conflict that followed the dissolution of the Khitomer Accords. From the looks of it, it’ll be primarily a starship combat simulator. Those of you who were turned off by Star Trek Online‘s subscription-based platform might be interested to know that Infinite Space will be free-to-play and should feature multiplayer co-op. In addition, the game’s scenarios have been scripted by series writer Lee Sheldon, and both Denise and Michael Okuda will be serving as consultants on the project. The game is set for release later this year, so keep checking the official site for more information.
It’s been tough for fans of Simon and Schuster’s Star Trek novels. After the lay off of series editor Margaret Clark, and the subsequent cancellation of various Typhon Pact novels, many feared the Pocket Books universe would meet its end. Fortunately, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. At the beginning of next month, Simon & Schuster will be releasing their first original Star Trek e-book exclusive in nearly four years. The Struggle Within will continue the Star Trek: Typhon Pact arc, and will feature characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Tallarians, as well as focusing on the mysterious Kinshaya — the only race that has yet to be heavily featured in a Typhon Pact novel.
The other month we mentioned the possibility of a Star Trek: The Next Generation HD sampler disc releasing later this year. The report claimed the sampler would feature four remastered episodes, and could be used to gauge consumer interest — as if it wouldn’t sell, right? Well, it’s not just a rumor anymore. LeVar Burton recently confirmed that the project was indeed a reality via twitter. In addition, several details have come to light regarding the upcoming project. The sampler, which may be officially announced on the show’s anniversary later this month, is set for release “on or around 12/6,” and may feature the series premiere Encounter at Farpoint. I suppose we can’t complain too much with that choice, but I would have much rather had any other episode from season 3 onwards — Best of Both Worlds, anybody?
For those of you who’ve been holding your breath, it’s official. J.J. Abrams will be returning to direct the next Star Trek film. With so many projects on his plate, there had been speculation as to whether or not Abrams would find time to direct the picture. However, it seems the film’s numerous delays may have been a blessing in disguise, allowing him an opportunity to squeeze the sequel into his busy schedule. Unfortunately, the script still isn’t finished but should be ready by the end of the month. Assuming production starts this winter, the film may be finished in time for a December 2012 release, but with the crowded holiday market, Summer of 2013 is looking far more likely. It’s been a long wait, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it — besides, that cast could only get better with age.
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 10, 2011 in Star Trek
45 years ago today, the very first episode of Star Trek aired on NBC! And what better way to celebrate four and a half decades of classic sci-fi than with ridiculously cute sugar cookies? Daria over at Bakingdom cooked these cookie crewmates up, and provided easy directions (and drool-worthy photos) for anyone who wants to play along at home. Too bad you can’t beam them into your kitchen! Just send a shuttlecraft to the grocery store. Star Trek joke. Happy anniversary, Star Trek. Read more…
