Amph [NERRRD] Observations, rhetorical questions, comments & 58 Years of Star Trek (General Thread)

I rewatched the last of 2 of 4 episodes of DS9, the Worf kills Gowron one and the Bashir and O'Brien infiltrate Sloan's brain episode. Worf killing Gowron and ascending to the head of the Klingon Empire (for all of 30 seconds) is basically the culmination of his arc that started way back on TNG. Although Gowron totally goes a little bit overtly baddie by the end of it I can buy it if he just wants "glory". Ezri has a pretty blistering takedown of the Klingon empire that it's fading which is kind of needed after all that time. Although to be fair, that's actually a subplot in the episode, the real focus of the episode is Kira and Odo taking of a Dominion station. And it does have sick Odo plot to set up the O'Brien v Bashir vs. Sloan of Section 31 episode which is fairly self contained mind-trip Star Trek episode. I'm always a fan of whenever in Trek they dive into someone's mind or alternate dimension and it turns out to look exactly like the set the show is set on because reasons. Anyway, fun episode.

Also great to hear Star Trek 14 has a new director and someone who did some great stuff. But honestly Trek 14 has had so many damn developments at this time I would like more confirmation of actors and sets being built this time around. Also it'd be a bummer if it kicks the Kelvin cast to the curb, they're actually so great (salary disputes torpedoed the last version of Trek 14). I'd love to see them eventually reach/make Kelvin-verse Undiscovered Country.

 

Huh... Chris Pine was explicitly mentioned in the Deadline article but that has since been removed...

 

Did anybody else catch the announcement that Playmates now has the Star Trek license again? Here's hoping they keep them in the same scale as the 4 inch 1990s figures. There's a lot characters and variants of characters that didn't get made way back when and plenty of new ones who are also very deserving.

 

I forgot that Playmates Toys is still around. They didn’t go the way of ToyBiz or something. Playmates stays afloat because of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle license. It’s a perennially popular toy line. Like being able to print money. In the late 1980s Kenner had the chance to make TMNT toys and gave a hard pass. We’d probably still have Kenner today making Star Wars toys if they picked up Turtles. Then again Kenner probably wouldn’t have neglected to pay LucasFilm the yearly licensing fee keeping their 1977 contract terms for exclusive Star Wars merchandise. Hasbro let the rights lapse which allowed LucasFilm to renegotiate a much more favorable contract. Some reports say those much better percentages on toys helped push George Lucas’s mid-90s return to Star Wars.

Playmates Star Trek line is one for the ages. I never collected them other than a box set of the original series crew. It’s surprising how sprawling a toy line it is. A quick web search says the 4.5” line has over 350 figures in it. For when these were released, 1992 - 2000, if it’s not the largest action figure toy line up to that point - it must be in the top three. Look forward to seeing what the new figures look like. Doubtful the new line reaches 350.

 

I'm waiting for someone to post a "First day of shooting!" IG pic or at least there's actors signed up until I believe it's happening.

 

I have most of the Playmates line from all shows save for a few of the really limited released ones and some of the last sets as those came out when I was a broke college student. I have heard several numbers as to the total number of figures produced, much of this depends upon whether you count the spacecap and trading card figures as separate and even those will vary depending on the assortment.

This line did fairly well despite being something of a manufactured collectible with the numbers on the bottom of one boot and some characters produced far more than others. The death knell was the "Tapestry" Picard, "Yesterday's Enterprise" Yar, and "Projections" Barclay figures which the first two were limited to 1701 made and the Barclay being 3000 made. The scarcity upset collectors who demanded Playmates rectify it. They then made a box set of all three figures which only upset those who had found the original limited figures and, in the end, everybody was pissed off. Paramount had a contract with them through 1998-99 and the number of figures made was curtailed dramatically and they were soon just exclusive to Target stores with the occasional exclusive to a small vendor or publication (NewForce Comics and Toyfare Magazine, respectively) and so these last few are harder to find than the first waves.

I'm hopeful they will retain the same scale. Cost per figure will likely be higher if the scale is kept, but that's what 30 years will do. I'm part of a collectors group on Facebook and there is someone out there with a damn good 3D printer who makes additions to some of the existing playsets (the Enterprise D engineering set from Generations for example) but also other sets that didn't get made at all. I have most of the ships and the playsets too. Ideally, I'd like to be able to display them all in the room in my house I'm setting aside for my Star Wars figures too!

 

I had forget just how many of those Playmates 4 1/2" figures they made! One thing I note about them is that, despite their moulds being quite child friendly and chunky, the character likeness are actually very good.

 

This morning, I saw a note stating that the same studio who did the sculpts for the original run of these figures will be doing the sculpts for this new line. Hopefully this is an indicator that the same size/scale will be kept and not something completely different as was done in 2009 with the Kelvin-verse toys.

 

I'm *really* digging the design of the USS Leondegrance, as seen on a certificate in Picard's archive (and related concept art).


Sort of reminds me of a cross between the Walker and Sovereign-classes. Perhaps not the best design continuity-wise for a ship that's evidently from 2327, but I dunno, I kinda feel like it works as part of some sort of linage from the Walker to the Luna (maybe Walker -> Malachowski -> Leondegrance -> Luna?)

Hey, you ordered it

But then, we've all spent money on things we later regretted; a fair chunk of my steam account is testament to that!

@DarthPhilosopher @TCF-1138 I like 09 and Beyond too. It's really only Into Darkness that I have issues with (though even then I still enjoy it well enough and I'd hardly consider it the worst Trek film).

Ironically, as with TFA I've found myself enjoying both of JJ's Trek films *less* after seeing TROS, though.

 

The general shape is similar to the Walker, but the Leo has a different backside, lacks the weird bars on the nacelles, a saucer "hump" with what appears to by a typical bridge module (rather then an underslung one) and a more Sovereign-style saucer and nacelles. It could plausibly be a refit, but it's different enough that it could easily be a different class as well.

 

Sure you can. It just won't do you any good.

 

The Borg and the episode they were introduced (Q Who) may have been ripped off from Doctor Who, but not nearly as bad as the Overlookers/Hierarchy were in Voyager. They were basically twins of the Sontarans.

 

I think the issue in describing differences beyond the really obvious ones is, outside of the concept art (which differs somewhat from the actual image), the only image of the Leo is a small sketch that lacks in details; for instance it's probably a shuttlebay right at the back of the saucer, but the two indents at the back of the secondary hull could be either two more shuttlebay doors or two impulse engines.

I mean, lacking any concert information you could interpret it either way; personally I find it unlikely that the Walker-class, which was already old in 2249 (how old we don't know, but personally I lean towards it being a contemporary of the Kelvin-type that entered service in the late 2100s), would still be in service almost eighty years later (I suppose it could be a training ship, though; since the certificate identifies Picard as a cadet); yes, Starfleet keeps some designs in service for a long time, true, but that doesn't seem to be commonplace for them as it is with the Klingons.

 

Jeffery Coombs confirmed for Lower Decks season 2

 

Oh my god, did I see that right, a Tamarian?!