52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 11

Week 11: Architecture

Watercolours on white acrylic gesso primed canvas sheet, with fine-point, waterproof, black Sharpie outlining, and miniature signage in Word (and further reduced on photocopier). As I was inking in the pencil lines, I decided to do an "architectural caricature" of the building, such as seen in those artistic interpretations in pamphlets, hand-drawn maps and prospectuses.

My third ever serious attempt at watercolour: the Number 96 building, Paddington locale of the hit Australian TV soap opera of the 70s. The actual building, Moncur Flats, is at 83 Moncur Street, Woollahra. I sketched and painted this on Saturday evening, after hearing of the passing of Australian actress Wendy Hughes. First thing I saw her in was Number 96, when she played Lucy Sutcliffe's niece, Vanessa Harrison. She shared a very funny bathtub scene with Arnold Feather. After many wonderful stage and screen adventures, she became one of only a handful of Aussie actors to appear in Star Trek: The Next Generation, as Picard's girlfriend, Nella Daren (below) in Lessons.

R.I.P. Wendy Hughes

25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Sydney's cinemas hosted the 25th anniversary of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" event last night. Several venues around Sydney (and other Australian capitals), in fact, and the Dendy, Newtown, managed to fill two cinemas in the one complex. So pleased I'd dieted enough to fit into this old favourite top again! It seemed a fitting sweater to wear.
The cinema showed "Where No One Has Gone Before", which introduces the Traveler (and is loosely based on Diane Duane's Trek novel, "The Wounded Sky") and "Datalore", which introduces Lore, Data's evil brother. Selected by Mike and Denise Okuda as good examples of the greatly enhanced special effects footage for high definition Blu-ray. Also showed some "making of the HD" footage and a preview of enhanced "The Measure of a Man" (Season Two) for which they've added previously cut scenes.
And, I just found out that this fan-printed Data "sloppy joe" from 1988 (artwork by Lana Pennington-Brown) is to prominently featured at the beginning of Chapter 12 in the forthcoming book, "The Complete Unauthorized History of Star Trek" by Robert Greenberger!

Redshirts!

To promote his new Star Trek-esque book "Red Shirts," author John Scazli and publisher Tor created a new song called "Red Shirts" by Jonathan Coulton:

The tribute music video was created by TrekPropGuy.

See more information about the book (and forthcoming audio novel, narrated by The Next Generation's Wil Wheaton), by checking out the link.

Unexpected Honor

Either I missed something, or nobody on TrekBBS had mentioned that there is an original short story, derived from the "Star Trek Online" game events and characters, in Titan's recent "Star Trek Magazine", no 40, Summer 2012.

Captain Va'kel Shon.

Author Christine Thompson continues storylines from "Star Trek Online" and features the handover of the Enterprise captaincy from Data (IDW's "Countdown" comic mini-series), now in his professor role from "All Good Things..." episode of "The Next Generation", to the Andorian, Shon, for the launch of the Enterprise-F. Also clarified is the fate of the B-4 ("Nemesis").

The Gandhis sing "Mr Data"

Ah, Mr Data, how we miss you...

Tarah is coming!

"Star Trek: Enterprise": "Cease Fire". A military conflict erupts between the Vulcans and Andorians over Weytahn, a Class D planetoid near Vulcan, which was terraformed and colonised by Andorians almost a century earlier. We learn that the Andorian colonists were forcibly relocated to refugee camps to enforce the Territorial Compromise. Now known by its Vulcan name, Paan Mokar, the strategically-located base is again claimed by both sides. When the Vulcans announce they wish to discuss terms for a "cease fire", Imperial Guard Commander Shran believes the only person he can trust to mediate such a negotiation is Jonathan Archer. The captain and the Enterprise are called into the fray.

Shran is assisted by a tall Andorian female, Lieutenant Tarah (played by Suzie Plakson). Tarah is Shran's first officer, but is her loyalty in question?

Suzie Plakson, who won many Star Trek fans' hearts as Selar and K'Ehleyr on "The Next Generation" (and a visit Down Under for a rather controversial convention called "Holodiction"), and then as a female Q on "Voyager", notched up her fourth "Star Trek" alien as Tarah.

Last time the Star Trek Props, Costumes and Auctions Board sent me a reminder to come back and check out all the new info, I ended up buying a handsome Pakled outfit. (Not that Pakleds are handsome, but their grotty uniforms certainly are, in that rustic kind of way.)

This time, as I mentioned on Facebook the other afternoon, I did a very naughty thing on Thursday morning. I accidentally discovered the below Tarah the Andorian costume for sale there. Then I accidentally confirmed US shipping with a trader named Federation Surplus and accidentally organized payment via PayPal. Accidentally. Well, it goes so well with the wonderful Andorian general/ambassador's costume I bought via the "It's a Wrap!" eBay auctions a few years ago. (Thanks FedSur, and thanks "Star Trek Props, Costumes and Auctions Board"!)

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE “ANDORIAN TARAH – CEASE FIRE” STUNT COSTUME
"This costume was worn by Tarah's stunt double [presumably Katie Rowe?]. The jumpsuit is metallic copper and blue vinyl with a crimson chest, shoulders and striped accents down the limbs. Around the waist is a brown vinyl midsection, the shoulders are pleated and there is brown cross stitch trim. Worn over the jumpsuit is a black and gray harness with two pouches and a gun holster attached. The harness needs repairing in the back. The accompanying knee high boots are heeled black leather with accents over the toes and around the top section. Also included are black gloves with two fingers. Costume comes complete with costume tag."









Happy birthday to me. ;)

Itchy eBay trigger finger!

After selling 40 Hoyts' "Star Trek" logo aluminium water bottles to my friends at the Playtrek toy collectors' listserv, I had some Paypal funds just sitting dormant and burning a hole in my pocket - and my finger just sorta, kinda hit that pesky, tempting eBay "Buy it now" button.

I had accidentally come across a thread, on the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Board I now rarely seem to visit, about someone selling off a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Pakled costume. With the "It's a Wrap!" eBay auctions no longer running, I keep forgetting to go back there and chat with my fellow costume collectors. It's been to long, but my visit tonight was rewarded!

Now, as a long time Data impersonator in my heyday, a Pakled costume (rather like Data's lookalike evil twin, Lore, wore in "Brothers") was way too hard to pass up. Sadly, I'm carrying enough weight, and am jowly enough, to do the full Pakled these days! (As I found out when I bought my "Enterprise" Tellarite Ambassador costume - and I can wear it without the fat-suit undergarment that came with it!)

From "The Samaritan Snare":

Grebnedlog the Pakled
(He looks for things to make us go - and spend up big.)

The exciting "It's a Wrap!" eBay auctions finished up many months ago now, and I must admit to some withdrawal symptoms. Tonight was chance to grab a fantastic, authentic Trek outfit, at an excellent price, and considerably lower than the seller had paid for it himself two years ago!

The original "It's a Wrap!" listing said:

STAR TREK: TNG "GREBNEDLOG" THE PAKLED FROM "SAMARITAN SNARE"
An elaborate Pakled costume featured in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Samaritan Snare" for wear by Chris Collins in his portrayal of "Grebnedlog". The costume is a series of thickly padded tan and brown elements consisting of texture patterned trousers, a thick woven sweater, a quilted jacket with brown trim and affixed brown leather straps and buckles, a pair of brown painted rubber boots, fabric gloves, multiple brown leather straps with buckles, and a sash with straps. The costumer's tag reads #143 TNG "Samaratin (sic) Snare" PAKLID (sic) – Grebneblog (sic) Chris Collins. This costume is believed to be one of the last two remaining Pakled costumes. Chris Collins is also known for his portrayal of the voices of "Cobra Commander" in the "G.I. Joe" animated series, and "Starscream" in "Transformers".

The late Christopher Collins did his animated voice work as Christoper Lawrence Latta.







Today's photo of the day, to continue the theme: my Pakled customised action figure from the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode, "Samaritan Snare", accompanied by an official Playmates' Lore, from "Brothers":




We look for things to make us go - broke.

Not All Dogs Go to Heaven

I happened to catch this "Star Trek" parody episode of the cartoon "Family Guy" last night, not long before bed. Spotto the Andorian, with his blue antennae, in the audience!



The episode was titled "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven", and the "Next Generation" crew (Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby and Marina Sirtis) provided guest voices, as the Griffin family heads to the annual Quahog "Star Trek" convention.

Hilarious!

RIP Janeway

There is an hilarious debate raging over on TrekBBS regarding the seemingly permanent death of Admiral Kathryn Janeway, late of the USS Voyager, and promoted to an admiralty post sometime before the movie, "Star Trek Nemesis". Janeway's demise happened in 2007 (in "The Next Generation" novel, "Before Dishonor" by Peter David, and soon to be followed up in "Full Circle", the "Voyager" novel by Kirsten Beyer.)

My take on it?

Poor Janeway, the sap, she is dead,
Her katra has gone on ahead,
Of course now her fans want to veto
'Cos the Borg ate her - and Pluto!
Join the Q. Another time, another thread.

They've seen it... They love it!

Digging through a pile of old and fading videotapes recently, I found two prime time TV promotions that my Sydney Star Trek club, the now-long-defunct ASTREX, did for the Nine Network when "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was finally able to make its TV debut (1991, dating by my then-new beard). There had been a twelve-month "video holdback" while CIC-Taft/Paramount released monthly two-episodes-per-tape on sell-thru VHS. This angered the Seven Network, who had held the rights to the original series, and had first bite at TNG. The rights sat unwanted until Nine Network boss, Mr Kerry Packer - a big TOS/TNG fan - told Nine to buy the new series.

Essentially, they had seven of us describe our favourite characters and attributes of TNG. Here are a few screenshots from Promo #1:



Ian: "Data, the android... He wants to be human more than anything else."



Scene from "Encounter at Farpoint"; Wesley Crusher's voice over: "Wow!"



Scrolling text at base of screen: "Australian Star Trek fans discuss Star Trek: The Next Generation."

(Nine Network Australia, 1991.)

Pretty cool, eh? I must learn how to upload to Youtube some day...

The Great Star Trek Viewing Order Debate

Because this a clear example of an FAQ (Frequently Asked Question), I'm putting this example of Star Trek geekiness where I can find it easily for next time.

Someone over on TrekBBS just asked about the differences between airdate order, production order and stardate order when watching Star Trek DVDs...

For a long time, people didn't readily know the "production order" of TOS (The Original Series). The "Star Trek Concordance" by Bjo Trimble (and all other lists of the day) presented summaries of the the episodes of TOS and TAS as they had originally aired in Los Angeles, USA, and then tried an experiment by adding a second list: putting the stardates into order (which really only proved conclusively that stardates, particularly in TAS, were quite random, and prone to typographical errors).

Gene Roddenberry had gone to great pains to say that stardates were really just random numbers, at a whim of time and space irregularities, and only had to be progressing sensibly within an episode, but weirdly, they do often seem to have a weird connection to each other. And fans love weirdness.

TOS was usually made to be viewable in random order and, when the series went to US syndication in the 70s, US TV stations either stuck with original airdate order or total randomness. Then along came "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" - and Alan Asherman's "Star Trek Compendium". He had researched the production numbers and dates and, for the first time, many ST fans could see the order in which the episodes had been made. The TV order they'd all been used to had only came about due to such random factors as late SPFX on some episodes and/or network exec demands ("Give 'em a monster ep first up", ie. "The Man Trap".) When a few fans (and TV stations) started using this "new" order to screen episodes, it was noticed how a few continuity threads suddenly matched up. Uhura's gold uniform episodes suddenly ended up together, for example. "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the show's second pilot was not suddenly a confusing "flashback" episode, but more like an Episode 1.

With Filmation's animated "Star Trek" series (known as TAS), the airdate order in Los Angeles - and Bjo's Concordance - was different to the rest of the country. George Takei was running for local political office when TAS premiered, so a Takei-less episode of TAS had to be run on a certain week in LA, otherwise his opponents could have demanded "equal time" (22 minutes) from the station running it.

By the time of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (and beyond), if an episode was running late due to tricky SPFX, or if episodes were shot out of order (ie. Denise Crosby making another episode after her on-screen death; or "Unification Part II" being made first to fit in with Nimoy's availability), the producers were able to tweak things to keep the screening order okay, continuity-wise. There are a few glitches they glossed over: originally, the realism of the holodeck scenario in "The Big Goodbye" was originally possible only because it had been upgraded by the Bynars in "11001001", but they realised they'd have to screen those episodes out of intended order, IIRC.

Anyway, if you want to recapture the viewing experience of the very first TOS fans, watch your TOS DVDs as presented, with "The Man Trap" first. Hop around your discs if you want production order instead. (The first DVD twinpacks, originally released in the US, had production order, and many TOS diehards - including the people preparing the DVD sets - thought that was a travesty!)

For the rest of Trek, just relax and let the DVD boxed sets screen you the eps as presented.

Frantic times, ho ho ho *

I was worried I hadn't posted this week but since everyone else is probably frantically doing last-minute Christmas things, too, I'll assume no one's looking for new blogs.

In case I don't get back to this until the New Year, Merry Christmas everyone!

I just finished reading the new "Star Trek: The Next Generation" novel, "Before Dishonor" by Peter David. It's a sequel to "Vendetta", which was written many years ago, and allows the author to flex his authorial muscle over the Borg and some key characters from "Star Trek: Voyager", a show Peter David was often very critical about.

I really enjoyed the fast pace of this book; it was only my busy end-of-year work commitments that kept me reading it in more isolated, one-hour chunks - otherwise this was easily the kind of ST novel to which I used to lose an entire weekend. (I recall, with great affection, "The Entropy Effect", "Final Frontier", "Metamorphosis", "Vendetta", "Sarek" and "Stone and Anvil"!)

I've also been updating my web page which celebrates the recent IDW "Alien Spotlight" comic, "Andorians: The Old Ways".

Sunday's magic number: 90.1 - not too bad, especially considering all the yummy party foods on offer this week. Wish me luck with Tuesday's pork crackling.

* Who cares if it's supposedly politically incorrect!

Spotlight on the old ways

IDW Publishing's "Alien Spotlight: Andorians: The Old Ways" comic is out! It is indeed a TNG era story this time. Placed in TNG's seventh year, writer Paul D Storrie presents Ortees Sharad, an Andorian Starfleet officer hitching a ride to Andoria for extended leave. We see him with Troi but, once the Enterprise-D gets him to Andor's moon, it's an all-Andorian blue fest!

Now, anyone who knows me will say I'm biased - or maybe they'll see it as a sign that IDW has done well with the "Alien Spotlights" so far - but I found "Andorians: The Old Ways" to be thoroughly entertaining. The story is strong, the characters have more visual differences than a typical ENT Andorian episode, and I loved some of the background layouts, esp. those using visuals from "The Aenar".

I didn't get the feeling that the story was rushed, and it certainly doesn't stomp over fans' memories of TNG, ENT or Heather Jarman's "Andor: Paradigm" (the Andorian novel in "Worlds of DS9, Book 1"). The lead character is strong and likeable. Fans worried about which approach to the four-partnered-marriage aspect would be taken should be well-pleased, too.



I said on my blog a few months ago that I've probably been waiting for a comic about Andorians since December 1979 (TMP), or perhaps even earlier than that: "Yesteryear" (TAS) on one Saturday morning in the 70s.

Thanks IDW!

The space between... my ears?

I just read the final issue (#6) of IDW Publishing's "Star Trek: The Next Generation" comic mini-series, "The Space Between". Admittedly, I was on the train home coming home from the city, but I was really lost.

This issue made me feel as if I hadn't ever read issue #5, and I know I did - twice! - because that's the one with the Wesley Crusher photo cover and my comic shop can't seem to get any art cover versions from the distributors, dammit.

Issue #6 has me puzzled. Were they saying the main villain was a return of the insect-like "Conspiracy" aliens? Admiral Nechayev under alien control? The Tellarite hiding in the bushes at Starfleet Academy? Or some blond-bearded caterer whom Picard once knew? (I mean, who sent the damned complimentary Bularan canapes at the end, otherwise?)

I've been a big supporter of IDW doing Trek comics - and I'm loving "Klingons: Blood Will Tell", but this particular conclusion leaves me... underwhelmed!

I have to read it all again. But should I have to????

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SUPPLEMENTAL.
Okay, checking back through #5, the bearded guy in #6 is undoubtedly an older Hommun, from the agricultural planet, hence the canapes in #6 (I'd been joking about him being a caterer, but I wasn't that far off). In issue #5 he was lying to hide a mystery about chroniton particles, but was grateful that Picard took more interest in farming than Hommun's own children...

Mmmm. But the links aren't there in issue #6. At all.

"It's... a piece of the Enterprise!!!"

Or so said game show host, Therin of Andor, during the first Harpic Productions extravaganza, Sale of the 23rd Century at a 1985 Brisbane science fiction media convention called Con Amore.

I had a good belly laugh this morning, checking out the latest batch of amazing screen-used "Star Trek" props and costumes on eBay by It's a Wrap!...

It's... a piece of a Klingon vessel!!!




While Tharrah and Therin wrote questions for Sale of the 23rd Century, Tackee, our irrepressible, green Orion slave girl cum game show merchandise model was making a big, light, easily-foldable (into carry-on aeroplane luggage) prop of a piece of the Enterprise (from "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock") so we'd have something hilarious and impressively big to put in the "gift shop" of our "Sale of the Century"-inspired game show. Yes, it was "... a piece of the Enterprise!!!"



I think ours (above left; photo by John Tipper) compares pretty well to the Klingon piece that "The Next Generation" SPFX guys did for the episode "A Matter of Honor"! I wonder where our piece ended up? Perhaps we let our winner, Garfield Barnard, keep it? Maybe it'll turn up on eBay some day?

Blood, fire and the involuntary human

On my weekly, traditional browse through Galaxy Bookshop tonight, I swung past the "G" section to check out if David Gerrold's latest "War of the Chtorr" title was out yet. David was in-store recently, and signed Galaxy's back stock of all his titles; he'd been publishing several new and reprinted titles through Benbella in recent years, so several times books have just popped up there, rather than getting displayed on the "New Releases" shelves.

I was surprised to see "The Involuntary Human": a single, handsome, new David Gerrold 477 pp hardcover omnibus (dated February 2007, NESFA Press) sitting there, that definitely wasn't there last week - and even more surprised to see that this book publishes the complete text of Gerrold's controversial (and axed) "Star Trek: The Next Generation" script, "Blood and Fire" (pp 69-135).

Recently, "Blood and Fire" was rewritten as an instalment of his "Voyage of the Star Wolf" original SF book series, and it was even more recently announced that the story was being revamped as a TOS story for the "New Voyages" fan films. Now fans can finally own a hardcover copy of the original TNG script. (Previously, David Gerrold sold copies in script binding, via the Internet and at conventions, for HIV/AIDS charities. I bought a copy of that way back in 1988, at a New Zealand ST convention at which we were both guests of honour.)

In addition, the new hardcover volume includes: new foreword and afterword to "Blood and Fire"; a preview chapter from his eagerly-awaited, long-delayed, next "War of the Chtorr" title; the original, previously-unpublished version of "Chess with a Dragon"; quotes from his "Solomon Short" limited chapbook; and several fascinating short story reprints from various SF magazines.

But if you want a copy from a bookstore, hurry. "The Involuntary Human" is limited to 1000 hand-numbered, (some autographed, some also slipcased) copies. Mine is #180.

Of course, only a few weeks ago, my weekly swing past the "G" section in Galaxy found David Gerrold himself, preparing to autograph Galaxy's shelf stock of his body of work.

New from IDW: TNG: Strategy

This week brought me the third instalment of IDW Publishing's comic mini-series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between". Set towards the end of TNG's TV run, this story features the intriguing Worf/Troi/Riker love triangle only touched upon by the episodes, and a Romulan vessel mystery that takes its inspiration from more recent Aenar/Andorian/Romulan arc of "Star Trek: Enterprise". For the first time, we get just an inkling that the various issues of this mini-series are thematically linked.

The artwork is perhaps more even throughout this time, although I had very much enjoyed the previous issue - and I continue to appreciate the high quality gloss paper and the sturdy covers of these comics. i'm still not sure how i feel about the multiple covers. At this point in my collecting, space has become a premium, but the "rare" covers, should I ever be tempted by them, work out to be $19 and $29 each. Give me the $8 cover ($US 3.99) any day.

This issue also features sample pages from the upcoming TOS Klingon mini-series, "Blood Will Tell"; I will be buying at least one duplicate, as the first issue will also come in a Klingon dialogue translation. Today I also saw information online about the next mini-series: "TOS: Year Four". It's going to be a fun year!

I've got it covered. I think.

Mark Martinez has set up web pages cataloguing all the new "Star Trek" comics being published by IDW Publishing.

Wow. It's getting harder and harder to decide which cover version to go with for each issue. When issue #1 of "The Space Between" was imminent, I told my comic shop I'd be getting art covers, not photo covers. They did have the retailer incentive covers when I called in to collect my issue, but they hadn't priced those yet, so I was happy to go with the regular one.

For "Blood Will Tell" #1, I really like the first retailer incentive cover, which is the one IDW had been using to promote the mini-series in recent weeks, but I much prefer the Kor photo cover for the Klingon Language Variant than the incentive red-foiled logo cover.

Mmmm, decisions, decisions. I'm afraid my ST collection reached critical mass again a few years ago, so I really can't afford the luxury of (moving house again or) buying four and more copies of every issue just to say I have every cover in my collection.

Isn't also a tad wasteful for IDW to commission so much artwork and then make it so exclusive? I thought these comics would look great, side by side, on the shelves at my local comic store, but standing orders must have exceeded the size of their shipment because none of the issues of #1 even made it to the shelves, as far as I noticed.

The thrill of the hunt! Part 3

It's been a looooooong time since I've been surprised by a "new" Star Trek book, just sitting in front of me on a shelf. It happened to me this week and it gave me a rather nostalgic buzz.

The Internet really spoils things. I mean, thanks to places like Psi Phi and TrekBBS, I know the titles, authors, covers and blurbs of most Star Trek books for months - even years, sometimes - before they turn up.

On Tuesday, I started back in a school library, refreshing those forgotten, cobwebbed corners of my brain that used to understand the OASIS computer database, the Dewey Decimal System, and how many library books could be borrowed by a Year 4 child with a cloth library bag.

Refamiliarising myself with the Enquiry facility of OASIS, I typed in "Star Trek" as a search term - I'd recently donated a hardcover copy of the "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Storybook" by Lawrence Weinberg to the library, which I'd found at a bargain price - and up came a single title I didn't recognise: "Rain May and Captain Daniel", an Australian fiction book for primary aged children by Catherine Bateson (UQP Storybridge Series, University of Queensland Press, 2002). It had a subject heading of "Star Trek: The Next Generation [Television series] - Fiction". Mmmmm...



How I missed it when the book first came out I just do not know. It was even shortlisted in the Children's Book Council of Australia's "Book of the Year" Awards. (My class had studied the picture book "Bear and Chook" that year, performing the story as reader's theatre at the assembly - and our group poster for the library was on the theme for 2003, not just one book.) Had I still been editor of "Scan", I'd have proofread the review, and organised the uploading of said review to our website.

Of course, even finding the book wasn't easy. My first scan of the "B" fiction shelves didn't locate the book, although it did turn up on Thursday. Then, last night, I found my own copy at Dymocks in the city. I was fairly sure they'd have it, since the book is also on the list of recommended reading for the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge..., of which I'm a member of the book review panel! Did I say, "The thrill of the hunt"? Yeah, "the hunt" is supposed to be enjoyable. It's why we crave it. But it's usually the "finding" that overrules all the previous feelings of frustration.

Now, "Rain May and Captain Daniel" is not a Star Trek book per se, but it is about a group of school students, living in Melbourne, Australia, who like (and/or come to appreciate) Star Trek - in all of its TV incarnations. Although Rain explains that she's named after a line in an e e cummings' poem, "Captain" Daniel assumes she was named for Rain Robinson, a guest character from the "Voyager" two-parter, "Future's End". Daniel seems to live and breathe Star Trek, keeps a diary he calls his "Captain's Log" (complete with stardates), thinks of his neighbours as alien colonists, and even knows a counsellor named Diana, just like Deanna Troi of TNG.

These kids identify strongly with the ST ideals and characters, mainly of "The Next Generation" and "Voyager". They support each other through some serious issues, in ways that would make Gene Roddenberry proud. They go shopping for Star Trek lapel pins at the real Minotaur Bookshop, can quote Kirk and Spock as readily as Deanna Troi - and are enthralled when a friend gives them a disk of the downloaded "Enterprise" premiere, long before it was to be commercially available in Australia!

There are a few glitches in the novel: references to Lieutenant Tom Parish (Paris), Counsellor Troy (Troi) and Volcan (Vulcan) three-dimensional chess, but overall the story rings true. In the 80s I knew several primary aged kids who got thoroughly immersed in the Star Trek phenomenon. It's rarer to find them today because the newer ST series screen on free-to-air TV sooooo late at night, and to such an erratic schedule of delays and pre-emptions for sporting events and infommercials.

Some fun quotes from the book:

"I haven't much bargaining power, as the Ferengi would put it..."

After watching the teaser of "Enterprise": "Then there was this dicky music and some credits started to come up." "... The music is so stupid... It completely sucks."

"And she thinks Scott Bakula is a total stud puppy."

From the back cover blurb: "Together these unlikely friends adventure where no one has gone before.

Hunt for it! It's a great little read.

Captain's Log: Supplemental.


US title: "Stranded in Boringsville".

Welcome Schwin!

Schwin the Andorian cook - to a group of Federation archaeologists - turned up in my email box this week, courtesy of a heads-up from Mark Martinez and the generosity of IDW Publishing's Star Trek comics editor, Dan Taylor. Thanks guys!

Previously I had blogged a brief review on issue #1 of "The Next Generation: The Space Between", and it was a tricky review to write because I'd already sent a general response off to the lettercol of IDW's mini-series, so what more could I say? - but then there seemed to be a lot of fan negativity to the artwork of that issue. I certainly hadn't had a bad reaction to it, myself, but suddenly I was reading online comments from people complaining that it would be their "last issue" unless the art "improved".

Their reactions still seem like overreactions to me. And since when is artwork the only reason to buy a comic? Of course, appreciation of comic art is so subjective and, as I said last time, expectations for TV tie-in comics - and the readership of TV tie-ins - are not necessarily the same as comics in general.

As someone who thought the art of issue #1 was fresh, clean and vibrant, I'm not sure "improvement" is the correct term, but I was thrilled to skim through the visuals of issue #2 this morning! I want to spend more time with the story right now, but I'll be late for work!

There seems to be two main differences with the art: firstly, the inked outlines are thinner, which takes away the previous "cartoony" complaints, I guess; secondly, the backgrounds are truly sumptuous! When Picard's archaeology team is outdoors in the rain, the backgrounds blur out slightly, and when they reach shelter the backgrounds sharpen again. Beautiful. Captain Picard gets a rare, coveted opportunity to play archaeologist (or alternatively, archeologist, as my "Macquarie Dictionary" allows), you see. This is a Season Five Picard, in a story set just after the "Unification" Spock-on-Romulus two-parter.

Meanwhile, Beverly Crusher, who was off-frame throughout all of issue #1 (a Season One story), gets to cut a rug on the holodeck, so the backgrounds on the Enterprise-D are richer and more detailed. The holodeck is appropriately moody in night club mode. Her scenes work very effectively as a "B plot" to Picard's story, in the best TNG tradition.

Dan Taylor suggested in a recent interview that each issue of "The Space Between" is fully self-contained, and indeed they are, but he intimated that we may eventually realise that there is an overarching link as well. I'm intrigued!

I hope Star Trek fans continue to support IDW Publishing's Star Trek efforts.

Captain's Log: Supplemental. I finally had the chance to read the story, and I found it very enjoyable, and I didn't anticipate all of the plot twists. The writer uses an economy of words in numerous places, and the main story really hums along. This issue could easily have been an episode of TNG. The characters ring true, and I'm looking forward to see what else this mini-series will cover. Thanks again, Dan!