The customising bug returns!

Retro Mego Star Trek action figures are back! And now I have the customizing bug again. There were some very easy and obvious customs that can be created with minimum effort; just a little clothes swapping! This Keeper figure is destined to become a customised Reman ("Nemesis"), hence he's already in a spare Romulan uniform. The barefooted Sarek is a Romulan sans gold helmet (conveniently both characters were played by Mark Lenard), but wearing a spare Keeper's robe, which I have to dye. The Andorian is a holy grail of mine: an original Mego Andorian, now as Commander Thelin from "Yesteryear" (TAS). This figure has faded over 30-odd years to a grey colour - he seemed the best to use for Thelin, who was rather grey in the animated episode.



The commercial figures, as most people buy 'em. Andorian, Mugato, Khan Noonien Soong (an all-new figure in this retro release), Romulan, Keeper (loosely based on Balok's false image and Ruk), and Klingon. Uhura, McCoy, Kirk, Spock, and Scott, all of TOS.



Redshirts on the away team: someone is doomed! Therin of Andor (ie. my fanfic character), Scotty, a blond redshirt (being played by a John-Boy Walton figure from "The Waltons"), Janos the sentient Mugato (or, at least, inspired by the "New Frontier" novels' security ensign), and Uhura. The not-yet-completed customised Reman, Sarek, Thelin, Therin of Andor (ie. my fanfic character), the blond redshirt, and Janos.

Recent ramblings about Star Trek

Here Down Under, we've recently had a rush of William Shatner print media interviews. I originally thought it was just Sydney, but my mother sent me several clippings from Perth newspapers and magazines, all covering the same information. Almost every newspaper, in several states, has carried a variation of his press release about his new autobiography ("Up Till Now") - and every local journalist covering the story for their paper has added mention of the new JJ Abrams "Star Trek" movie, and how Shatner had been a little disgruntled that Nimoy would be reprising Elder Spock alongside a new cast, but at least Shatner was doing well with his TV career, writing career, and his online selling. None of the articles I read were anti-Trek.

Paramount can't buy this kind of publicity. It percolates along - and they haven't even started their own campaign yet.

TrekBBS posters are perhaps overly concerned about public perceptions of the forthcoming movie. They seem to think that Internet complaining and whining about any changes JJ Abrams has forced upon the accepted "Star Trek canon" (what has gone before in decades of aired live-action Star Trek) may scare away the general cinema-going public.

Not a chance. There'll always be Star Trek fans who complain the loudest, but will still turn up on opening weekend, so they can blog about how much they hated it, or how well they boycotted/lied about it.

The "concern" is nothing new. It is precisely what happened with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "ST IV: The Voyage Home". While both films made huge amounts of money, both films angered some fans. A lot. The character interrelationships were supposedly "missing" from TMP, and many complained that ST IV's comedy and science had been "dumbed down" for the masses. But both films received sufficient buzz to draw in the curious general public.

Ditto "First Contact", which polarized many TOS and "The Next Generation" fans (action Picard, supposed mis-portrayal of Zefram Cochrane, too scary for kids, etc) but was still a critical and box office success.

Many Trek fans seem to feel that the general public always thinks that "Star Trek is for basement-dwelling 'dweebs' with no social skills". Well, it didn't stop the general public associating with nerds to see TMP, ST IV or "First Contact".

You know, in my life, none of my non-ST friends, neighbours, work colleagues, kids I teach, or blog readers, think that I'm a basement-dwelling deeb. If they do, it must always be behind my back, and done so well that I never catch them insulting me. I never hide that I'm a ST fan, and I've fielded many curious questions as people have started hearing that there's "a new movie" on its way. Maybe jocks think I'm a "dweeb", a "nerd" or a "droob", but I can't say that I choose to hang around too many jocks, so we don't really know each other.

That the general public hate nerds but love and respect jocks is a crock. I would think that most cinema-goers would prefer to associate with polite nerds (when sitting in the darkened theatre with a group of strangers) than with those who'd rather be off being... active. (Mind you, whoever said that jocks have to hate Star Trek?)

On another Star Trek track...

The final issue of IDW Publishing's "Star Trek: New Frontier" comic (#5) turned up on Thursday. Some fun stuff, as usual, and a little more Arex action, but online fans are complaining that the ending kinda fizzled. I didn't mind this issue, but the art and pace of #4 was probably the best. Perhaps author Peter David was setting up for the next "New Frontier" text-based stories..., or the next IDW comic mini-series?

While I got plenty of NF bangs for my bucks with "Turnaround". My only main concern was imagining how anyone who had no familiarity with PAD's recent NF books understanding what was going on. While I personally enjoyed seeing Morgan Primus, Arex and M'Ress - and a Mirror Universe incarnation of superbeing Mark McHenry - these characters must have presented new readers with many "WTF" moments, if you'll pardon their expression

I guess for those unsure about ordering future NF comic issues, they could wait to hear some amazingly positive reviews of the next NF mini-series, and then there's always Volume 2 of the inevitable IDW trade reprint...

Confusion in the New Frontier?

I'm enjoying IDW Publishing's "Star Trek New Frontier" storyline, "Turnaround" by Peter David, very much but it must be very confusing to anyone who isn't familiar with the long-running book series that David writes for Pocket.

Robin Lefler's mom, Morgan Primus, looking like Number One, Chapel and Mrs Troi is worth a smirk or two in the novels (and her face was obscured by a hand mirror in the Wildstorm one-shot comic), but seeing Number One - er, Morgan - phasing in and out in the new comic issues requires some background knowledge from the books.

Likewise, M'Ress and Arex (formerly of TAS - see below) have just turned up for their NF comic cameos (issue #4) and casual TOS readers (or anyone who's just been reading IDW's various "Year Four" issues) are gonna wonder why they're suddenly in the 24th century.


Art by Stephen Thompson

And hey! We've now finally seen a depiction of Desma the Andorian - she's the new first officer (below) of the USS Trident, introduced a few novels ago.


Art by Stephen Thompson

Number one in comics

Star Trek author Peter David has written a comic mini-series for IDW Publishing that continues his excellent, quirky "New Frontier" novels. It's not his first time contributing to a "New Frontier" comic - "Double Time" (2000) was a one-shot for WildStorm (and later collected as a trade omnibus, "Other Realities" in 2001). The first new issue, "Turnabout, Part 1", is nicely done, and the mini-series promises to show us plenty of the cast additions since the timeline jumped forward three years in Pocket books' "After the Fall" (2004) and "Missing in Action" (2006).

This time, Peter David made sure to show us the face of Morgan Primus! Last time, he hid her face under a towel, and then behind a hand mirror. Of course, she's a dead ringer for Number One, of "The Cage", Star Trek's first pilot - but we knew that! In the books we've heard characters notice a resemblance to Number One (ie. Majel Barrett), Christine Chapel (ie. Majel Barrett), Lwaxana Troi (ie. Majel Barrett) and even the distinctive voice of Starfleet computers (ie. Majel Barrett).

It's also possible the immortal mother of Robin Lefler was also once the immortal Morgan LeFay, of the Excalibur/Arthurian legends (USS Excalibur being the name of the ship upon which Morgan now serves), or maybe it's simply the role which Majel Barrett would have played had "New Frontier" been a TV show!


The enigmatic Morgan Primus (left: "Double Time", 2000; right: "Turnabout", 2008)

Alas, this time there's no Ensign Janos. The sentient mugato security officer's fate was sealed in the novel instalment, "New Frontier: Stone and Anvil".


Janos in Ten-Forward
("Double Time", 2000)

Sunday's magic number: 89.7. Yay!

The (discount) price of fame

A forgotten anecdote from my last vacation: I can't pass through a country town without checking out its second hand book stores, and my recent visit to the south coast town of Mogo netted me an interesting batch of books and collectibles.

An Aussie non-fiction book for kids, about the history of chewing gum(!), has two b/w photos inside: of me showing off my Star Trek gum card collection. The book was written by my friend, Natalie Jane Prior in 2000, as part of her "Ubiquitous Things" series. It's called "Chewing gum: how it fed the gods, went into space and helped win the war".



I was in one of Mogo's second hand book shops in March and they happened to have two remaindered (but mint-condition) copies of the book on display, and for a great price, too. When I approached the woman at the counter, I flipped open the book to the appropriate page and smiled at her. I got a discount on my discount!

So it does help to have a photo; I've tried pointing out my name in the Acknowledgments page of the Star Trek novel "Ex Machina" at bookshop counters, but they're never as impressed, and it doesn't result in discounts.

Perhaps my new aim is to be the next Captain Calhoun and be on the cover of a Star Trek novel. I wonder if Keith Birdsong's neighbour gets mobbed in science fiction bookshops? He even got his own Star Trek action figure from Playmates!