Back on topic, it was the fiftieth anniversary of Trek on tv here back in July and the fortieth anniversary for The Motion Picture this month . I read a few more Trek novels over the autumn ( chiefly Vonda McIntyre's Enterprise: The First Adventure published in 1986) and yesterday, I finished watching Season One of Star Trek Discovery on dvd.
Although this series looks wildly anachronistic compared to Trek's first season and the pilot The Cage, I found this slow-burn Netflix show compelling. I can't discuss it in too much detail without spoilers but it follows the adventures of Sarek's ward, Michael Burnham and the war with the Klingons. Just as the bumpy-headed Space Commies-or Space Samurai of the 80s and 90s- changed appearance in TMP, here they have been re-imagined yet again. I was also a little peeved that there was no mention of Sybok, Spock's other relative, although I recognise there are legal reasons that may prohibit it. However, the new tech that powers the Discovery and two hugely entertaining twists in the story ( one reliant upon an extremely influential episode of Second Season OST) distracted me from continuity implants. I will definitely be on board for Season Two.
Interestingly, around the time I began a weekly watch of "Disco", I read a hardback comprising the early issue of the Marvel/Paramount Star Trek Early Voyages series. This comic was cancelled on a cliffhanger almost twenty-one years ago, but the team of Dan Abnett, Ian Edginton and Patrick Zircher certainly delivered a fascinating and involving series for Captain Pike et al,
The first adventure introduces an alien species, the Ngultor who resemble an organic predecessor for the Borg. They also remind me of the Biogs in the original Dan Dare strip in late 70s 2000 AD. The second adventure features the debut of Pike's nemesis, the renegade Klingon, Kaaj and in the third, charismatic Celtic Yeoman Cusack is murdered on Rigel, There's more material inspired by The Cage in the fourth story, where Mia Colt joins the crew to replace the popular Cusack.
In a subplot, Dr. Boyce is arguing with his mysterious voices - I always confused him with Dr. Piper from Where No Man Has Gone Before. Admiral Robert April, from the cartoon series episode The Counter-Clock Incident, plays a major role and there are also exotic crew members, just like the animated series: Moves-With-Burning-Grace, from a Masai colony and Nano, a Lirin from a perfectly balanced hive society. Most interesting of all is Number One, whom we'll return to in the New Year, when I blog about John Byrne's IDW Trek series.
In Early Years, Number One's name is given as "Eure"-something Robbins. (In the volume I have, we don't get to see the full first name. Could it have actually been Euryale, as in one of the immortal Gorgons? And meaning "far-roaming"? Or even Eureka?! )
But in the New Frontier adventures by Peter David, Number One is Lefler, mother of Robin Lefler, Wesley's pal in TNG epsodes Darmok and The Game. David calls Number One's immortal character "Morgan Primus" and as a joke, she appears to be all the women played by Majel Barrett in Trek history. So, to echo Number Six, who is Number One, really?
Timeously, also coming next month, a post on the third and final box set of The Prisoner from Big Finish and one on another set of adventures for Jacobi's terrifying War Master. Other coming attractions include Marie Severin and the new adventures of Jodie's Thirteenth Doctor.
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