Issue 29 of the official Star Trek Magazine arrives on newsstands tomorrow (Wednesday). We have a preview with both covers, interior spreads, and excerpts of an interview with Sir Patrick Stewart (taking TNG and Roddenberry politics), plus David Mack revealing Typhon Pact book series details. Check all that out below.
STAR TREK MAGAZINE ISSUE 29 PREVIEW
Sir Patrick Stewart talks Roddenberry and the politics of TNG
The latest issue of Star Trek Magazine features an interview with Patrick Stewart. In the following extract, he explains how he was pleased to discover that the Star Trek universe allowed for the exploration of themes that not only stretched the viewer’s imagination but encouraged them to think as well…
"Gene Roddenberry was not a political man and he resisted attempts to politicize Star Trek," claims the actor. "Although when Gene died, far too early into the great success of The Next Generation, we were able – under the leadership of our great producer Rick Berman – to work some storylines into it that went in a more overt political direction. Now that did make me very happy. My own political and charitable work has never been a secret and I believe, for example, in embracing difference and individuality. That was Jean Luc-Picard’s philosophy, Charles Xavier’s philosophy, and it also happens to be mine."
This philosophy also resulted in one of the most fondly remembered episodes of the second season of TNG, by both fans and cast members.
"Whoopi Goldberg and I worked a lot on the story of ‘The Measure of a Man,’" says Stewart. "That was a great episode. It was about somebody who had arrived on the Enterprise. They were going to take Data back to Earth, disassemble him and work out how to clone him. Of course Data did not want to go and we did not want to lose him. So a trial was set up and the defense that we presented, and Whoopi Goldberg took great heart in this, was that what was being proposed was a form of slavery. So it was a happy accident to find myself, for seven years, in a series that was dealing seriously with issues like that."
Also rewarding was the fact that Stewart, now firmly entrenched in the Enterprise’s driving seat, was given a bit more input into character and story.
"When I began on The Next Generation I said to Gene, ‘I like to collaborate on the characters that I play and I hope that this will be no different,’" recalls the actor. "However, as time went on I was allowed to produce more and more input into the actual stories. Rick Berman actually had the patience of a saint. I remember when his children were graduating from college they told me that dinner after dinner would be ruined because the phone would ring at their house and they would hear, ‘It’s Patrick Stewart on the line. Again.’ But Rick was the man running the show after Gene passed away and I always wanted to talk to him. Well, kudos to Rick because he never failed to pick up the phone and say, ‘Yes what do you want to speak about now?’ Of course, sometimes he would say, ‘Can I at least finish my dinner and phone you back later?’ before speaking to me for an hour about direction and dialogue. That was fantastic and it was generous to have someone who would collaborate in
that way. It was all part of what made Star Trek so much fun."Read the interview in full in Star Trek Magazine #29, on newsstands and in comic book stores now
Patrick Stewart interviewed in in STM #28
David Mack reveals "Typhon Pact"
This fall Pocket Books returns to new Star Trek novels by kicking off the four book Typhon Pack. In Star Trek Magazine #29, bestselling author David Mack reveals the nature of the Typhon Pact in full in, here is an excerpt:
New Worlds, New Civilizations, New Dangers! The year is 2382, five years before the cataclysmic destruction of Romulus. And in the Star Trek literary universe, the United Federation of Planets finds itself in a more precarious state than any it has known in over a century. Less than a year earlier, a devastating invasion by the Borg Collective laid waste dozens of worlds in the Beta Quadrant between Earth, Qo’noS, and Romulus. Many densely populated Federation colonies and homeworlds were obliterated, as well as those of its close interstellar neighbors and allies. Worlds such as Risa, Deneva, and Khitomer were sterilized of life. In the span of just a few weeks, the Borg slaughtered more than 63 billion sentient beings. It was a catastrophe unlike any in the recorded history of local space.
The crews of three Starfleet vessels proved instrumental in halting the Borg genocide and eliminating the Borg threat from the galaxy forever: the U.S.S. Enterprise-E, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard; the U.S.S. Titan, commanded by Captain William T. Riker, Picard’s former first officer; and the U.S.S. Aventine, a new slipstream-drive-equipped Vesta-class starship captained by the battlefield-promoted Ezri Dax. The end of the conflict with the Borg did not, however, mean an end to its consequences. Quite the contrary, those had only just begun.
More than 40 per cent of Starfleet was destroyed while trying to hold the line and buy time for escaping fleets of civilian ships. Core planets of the Federation and its allies lay in ruins. Tens of billions of sentient beings had become refugees, having fled from homes since vaporized by the Borg. The resources of the UFP suddenly had become scarce, and in the months following the Borg Invasion, its once indivisible coalition suddenly began to sussurate with whispers of secession. At the same time, a new political entity began to take shape. Six interstellar nations with long histories of conflict against, and rivalry with, the Federation entered into negotiations to form an alliance: the Romulan Star Empire; the Breen Confederacy; the Tzenkethi Coalition; the Gorn Hegemony; the Tholian Assembly; and the Holy Order of the Kinshaya. On a world in the Typhon Expanse, they secretly forged a new astropolitical gestalt known as the Typhon Pact. A Cold War era has begun for the Star
Trek universe.
David Mack reveals details on Typhon Pact in new Star Trek Magazine
The new Star Trek magazine also has an article about the U.S.S. Aventine (seen in the above cover) by Marco Palmieri, which also includes an interview with ship designer Mark Rademaker. The article features some of Rademaker’s early sketches as well as "some new orthographic views and a new beauty shot that is also used as a miniposter". Rademaker previews this image on his blog.
Aventine miniposter in new Star Trek Magazine
More in the Star Trek Magazine
Issue 29 of The Official Star Trek Magazine will be on newsstands tomorrow. It comes with two covers, with one available only in comic book shops.
Regular cover
Comic book shop exclusive cover
You can also Subscribe to get all the upcoming issues of Star Trek Magazine.
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I miss the old STAR TREK: The Magazine!
I always thought that Berman deserves more credit. I mean, without him, Star Trek would not be as successful as it was in the 90s and beyond. It is true that his creative input was exhausted over time and he should have left it way before he did, but Berman produced some great televsion. Thank you, Rick Berman.
David Mack RULES.
Period.
I’m so effing psyched for the first Typhon Pact book!!!!
Sure would like them to try another
series set after Nemesis… More
twists and turns, edgier…original perhaps…
#2 Agreed. It’s hip to Berman bash these days, but he was a big factor in giving us 18 constant years of Trek on TV, and TBG’s films. I cherish those years. Let’s not rush to judge too harshly, yes?
TNG i mean…
I agree as well. Berman gave us plenty of great Trek. His batting average with the movies was horrendous, but he always gets a pass from me because TNG wouldn’t have been as great as it was without him. The only thing he and others were guilty of is they simply stayed far too long.
#3:
David Mack ABSOLUTELY rules.
@3, 8: Thirded. His first Vanguard novel absolutely rocked the house — USS Bombay vs the Tholians was THE best starship battle I’ve ever read in a novel, period.
It’s a pity he handed the second novel off to other writers cause the blah-ness of the second novel kind of took the wind out of my sails for that series. :(
That’s a beautiful render of the Aventine! I wish it were bigger — I could use a new desktop background. :)
I think Rick Berman is probably as underrated as Gene Rodenberry is overrated.
Its great to read that stewart was constantly examining picards character and even years into the show was still trying to expand the depth of his character with beman–now that is a professional–no coasting for stewart–it showed too–what a great choice he was for picard–danged i miss tng and/or trek on tv–watched first new stargate universe episode tonite-yuk-none of the people in it are as good as any of the other stargaate series much less trek-ohwell
So the devil who killed Captain James T Kirk has the patience of a saint, that is ironic.
A “Titan” series with Jon Frakes and co. with special appearances by Sir Patrick now and then…exploring this time period..post Borg war..etc would be awesome….pre Romulus destruction ..so no multi universe crap! ..let Mack write it…
I agree it’s nice to hear a good side to Rick Berman. With the wild success of Star Trek (2009), it’s hip to bash everyone involved with the prior Star Trek regime. The new movie did a great job infusing Star Trek with new energy, however, there was a time when Rick Berman was that guy infusing Star Trek with new energy. I agree with #2, his greatest sin was simply staying on too long. I think even he finally realized that with season 4 of Enterprise when Manny Coto was brought on board, but by then, the ship had unfortunately sailed. I enjoyed and loved all the Star Trek shows and movies, and Rick Berman deserves his due credit for a lot of that.
I am also looking forward to the Typhon Pact novels. It seems like ages since I read Voyager: Unworthy and the last Titan book (the last books in the 24th century). With the cancellation of the 4 Abram-verse novels, there has been a dearth of new material this year. The only good thing is that it gave me a chance to catch up on some of my reading. Also, I wish the time period between the Romulan War books was less than 2 years. I’m already starting to forget what happened in the last book.
I know its the cliche to bash Rick Berman which I believe is unfair. I believe the guy worked real hard to keep Star Trek going.
14
You have pointed out the main thing I hate about the media attention of Abrams movie, a mentality that says its alright to hate what came before but not alright to hate the new movie. It is this mentality I hate that annoys me about the new movie, not the movie itself.
I prefer a lot of Berman produced over the new movie but just because I do does NOT mean I hate the new movie. I just don’t see the new movie as the best ever, thats all.
#12
Just remember that Shatner is more to blame than Berman for Kirk’s demise. After all if Shatner did not want to do it, he could have said no just like Nimoy and Kelley did…
Plus, are you sure it was actually Rick Bermans idea to kil Kirk off?
Noting about Harlan Ellison’s announcement that he’s dying …?
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/18440.html
Sixty-three billion sentient beings killed? What kind of future is that?
#16.
Plus, he did have script approval.
I’m not sure the individual responsible for originating it has ever been identified beyond:
“…One of us just kinda threw out, ‘What if we kill Kirk?’ And we all kinda looked at each other and said, ‘Wow. That would be amazing.’ …From that point on, Kirk’s death became part of the fabric of our story, and as a big surprise to us all, there was never a moment where it really came into question.” – Ronald Moore
But it indeed was Berman’s decision to go with it and he did guide the script to completion with that in mind.
19
I guess I just hate the all praise JJ Abrams and must hate Rick Berman vibes that go on.
I just can’t hate Berman for trying his best to keep Trek going.
He tried to keep it going but the fans just complained and complained and as a result we got JJ Abrams movie.
Now its a sin to go against the Abrams machine and that I think is wrong.
Neill,
Rick Berman did a lot of great work, no question. But he also made some dumb choices, such as killing off popular characters (Kirk, Trip etc.) while not doing his homework when he hired Stuart Baird to direct “Nemesis”.
He was good at coming up with ideas as a producer (he co-created “Deep Space Nine”) but when he tried to write ( “Nemesis”, early episodes of “Enterprise” as well as “Insurrection”) it left something to be desired.
As for the bashing, well, I read a lot of J.J bashing, and Shatner bashing on this site. Its the nature of the beast.
16
It was indeed Rick Berman’s (as well as the studio’s) decision to kill off the legendary character. William Shatner agreed to it (but clearly regrets it now) and the writers had to come up with a way to do it. I believe, however, the idea didn’t sit well with Ron Moore and even Brannon Braga was unsure about it. Killing Kirk came about because apparently a group of fans at a convention that Rick Berman went to called for the death of character. Somehow he got the idea that the majority of fans wanted this (it was clearly not the case) and that is what we got. The question is: Why did William Shatner agree to it, when Leonard Nimoy criticized the script?
“Agreed. It’s hip to Berman bash these days, but he was a big factor in giving us 18 constant years of Trek on TV”
No, Berman delivered 18 years of material called Star Trek, that bore very little resemblence to it’s namesake. Some, mostly those unfamiliar with TOS, enjoyed it alot, and that’s cool as it was a decent, though fairly “paint-by-numbers” TV show. Wouldn’t have lasted one season on a major network. But for those like myself, who was looking for the sensibilities and wonderful imaginative adventure and fun of classic Trek, were deeply disappointed. Trek under Berman’s reign was, and remains, it’s own entity… an odd contradiction to the classic Trek that came before. It was like visiting Trapper John MD, long after he left MASH. Same fictional universe, but boy had things changed since he and Hawkeye served in Korea.
Berman’s Trek never delivered Star Trek as I knew it. Yet, year after year, for almost 20 years…the potential was always there. Yet that potential was never realized. Berman’s Trek treaded onward, relentlessly, in the path of solid mediocrity, sadly, never realizing, that the mediocrity was slowly, but surely, smothering his baby to death. Perhaps that inability, or sheer arrogance, to see the forrest for the trees, is the saddest commentary of all. Now Berman is out and JJ is in, delivering the fun and imagination I remember to grateful audiences everywhere.
I couldn’t be more delighted!
#21–A lot of the behind the scenes criticisms of Berman by people who worked with him are sometimes contradictory. Some people say he was too tied to protecting Roddenberry’s vision, while others say he was not protective enough. Some say he was very open to suggestions and flexible, others say he was very rigid and Nazi like in his decisions. I tend to think reality is somewhere in the middle. Watching the behind the scenes of the various series and interviews with cast and crew, I get the impression that he felt he had a duty to protect Roddenberry’s vision, but at the same time was open to expand on that vision as long as it did not contradict certain basic tenets. TNG episode “First Contact” is a good example here. He was resistant to that episode because it was not a Federation centered episode, but an alien centered episode (something Roddenberry did not approve of). However, he was willing to listen to his writers and gave it the green light. It ended up being a good episode as a result.
I don’t think he was perfect. He made some bone-headed decisions. But by and large I liked what he put out.
I think what Captain Neill is pointing out is that the overall feeling is that Abrams is hailed as a hero and Berman is some sort of Antichrist. There have been criticisms of Abrams (some of them unfair), but it seems the Abram supporters shout down and criticize their opinions, while those who defend Berman are morons. It’s not everybody, and I’m all for debate, but I just wish sometimes people can agree to disagree. However, I am not naive. This is the nature of the beast with open threads like this web site.
My overall opinion that Rick Berman and company put out some great shows. They made some mistakes along the way, some of that is attributable to simply being on the job too long and losing some of their creative juices. At the same time, JJ Abrams did rescue Star Trek from oblivion. I generally liked his movie and it ranks around the middle of the films for me.
What I would have preferred is a gradual changing of the guard. Meaning, you have some new people come on board as some older people move on. In this way, you have some fresh insight and perspective while you have some people who have been there a while to maintain consistency. Instead what we had is the entire old regime being dismissed and an entirely new guard coming in. Obviously the changes were going to be drastic and the look and feel of the new movie does not have any resemblance or consistency with what came before. That is my main complaint of the new movie, the lack of consistency in set design, special effects and story telling. Some of what was done before was done well and could have been maintained, while other things that did not work could have been eliminated. But with almost an entirely new group, nothing was familiar.
@12. “Why did William Shatner agree to it, when Leonard Nimoy criticized the script?” – Red Dead Ryan
If I were a gambling man, I’d put my money on Bill may have seen it as an opportunity to right the wrong of the rewrite of TWoK ending or at least that he would have been afforded the same opportunity to return. I’m certain he believed he could make Kirk’s death and/or resurrection resonate far more with the audience than Spock’s.
#23 “But with almost an entirely new group, nothing was familiar.”
I found it very familiar, with TOS. Not so much with the 24th century offerings Berman and company delivered, and that is one of the main reasons I liked it. I felt like a much beloved, long lost son had found his way back home.
@12. “Why did William Shatner agree to it, when Leonard Nimoy criticized the script?” – Red Dead Ryan
If I were a gambling man, I’d put my money on Bill may have seen it as an opportunity to right the wrong of the rewrite of TWoK ending or at least that he would have been afforded the same opportunities. I’m certain he believed he could make Kirk’s death and/or resurrection resonate far more with the audience than Spock’s.
#24.
Oh look the first draft posted. Amazing.
that’s all well and good star trackie, but if you go back and watch the first two seasons of TNG, it’s pretty clear what show they were desperately trying to imitate (even to the point of re-using an episode), and look how that turned out. I love TOS but to say that the new Trek series needed to be copycats is just laughable. There is plenty of junk to sort through in TOS’ 3 seasons, too.
How well does this magazine sell? The Stargate Mag that Titan also published was axed recently due to a diminishing readership. So is STM going to continue into the future?
I just wonder why that those of us who subscribe get the newstand version and not the special cover versions…. why subcribe then?
Its difficult for me to bash any of the big writers. From Gene to Rick to JJ. The dream was kept alive. Let’s not forget all us Fans too! Everyone has done their part, Trek is very much alive and with us all I say is thank you to all. Who had a part in this great feat. Looking forward to Typhon book! Love the cover. Ezri @ Julian! Great couple! Love the ship design too.
@17 “Noting about Harlan Ellison’s announcement that he’s dying …?”
Having read the short article, it sounds a bit drama queen-ish to me. In the sense that Harlan states that he’s dying…well, were ALL dying.
He’s basically saying he’s getting older and tired of doing what he’s been doing. Sounds like the website wanted an attention getting blurb for the title.
Ezri is a captain? I’ll pass.
“Sounds like the website wanted an attention getting blurb for the title.”
Okay, how about this one? Also just wanting attention?
http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=30610
#3, #8 & #9 – Dave Mack rocks AND rules. After the Destiny Trilogy, he’s a Trek god.
#32.
Unfortunately, my father at a similar age, temperament and weight loss, up and died when he “knew” his number was up in a similar declaration. He didn’t have any problems that couldn’t have been managed to give him a good quality 5 more years at least, but he just plain didn’t want to adapt. If he couldn’t live his life exactly as he had in prior decades he had no interest in living and his body obliged. So I take Ellison very seriously.
People do you remember that TNG was created by Gene Roddenberry.
And Berman did his best to keep it alive.
I am adament that a lot of Berman produced Trek is better than the new movie.
How can a 2 hour movie eclipse over 700 episodes anyway?
Blech! These novels remind me of the discussion of Trek/Wars mashup video in the other thread: keep ‘Wars out of my Trek. Best of Both Worlds was a great ep, but it really hath wrought lots of cr** in Trek–re: the big, bad, unstoppable alien invasion of the season. Give it a rest and give us some exploring strange new worlds.
#37- “How can a 2 hour movie eclipse over 700 episodes anyway?”
Because it reminded the mainstream, not the new hardcore fans who came aboard during Berman’s revamped Trek, how fun and exciting the original Star Trek was and how radically different it was from what has been presented as “star Trek” over the past 20 years. TOS and the spinoffs are really birds of a different feather and many prefer the style of TOS to that of TNG and the all too similar fare that followed.
39
You do know that TNG was a very popular show. In fact I still think it got the best ratings than the other shows.
I think fans also forget that TNG was NOT created by Rick Berman, it was created by Gene Roddenberry.
In fact I think Gene had more freedom in his vision with TNG. I love TOS a lot, I have it on DVD and blu ray.
Why do people forget that Gene created TNG.
And those 700 episodes do include TOS. Does Abrams movie eclipse TOS for you?
#25–Star Trek (2009) also did not bear much resemblance to the original series for me either. I’m just one that likes some consistency. I did not mind the story Bob Orci and co. wrote. I thought it was well done, a prequel in a sequel in a reboot. It was an ingenious idea to have a movie that allows much greater freedom for future writing while at the same time falling within the same universe of all that has come before. My problems have more to do with set design and special effects. For example, Starfleet headquarters looked far different in the new movie than it did in Star Trek IV, VI, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise. That is just one example. Of course, the special effects of TNG on to Enterprise were dramatically different than the original series, but that was too be expected. However, in the new movie, their is absolutely no similarity to the other series and movies. Say what you will about the spinoffs, but special effects were not something that I hear many people complain about them.
#40–It’s interesting to note that TNG actually seemed to improve as Gene Roddenberry’s influence waned. I did not start following Star Trek until Star Trek IV came out in 1986. In a way that gave me a more objective view of Roddenberry. He definitely created 2 great shows in Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. I always felt he had a great overall view of how Star Trek should be. However, when it came down to the nitty gritty of writing a single story, he seemed to lose something. Some of the best episodes of Star Trek were episodes others wrote. He had a great vision, but it was others who did such a good job with the details of Star Trek. I’m not putting Gene Roddenberry down by any means. It’s just his strength was his vision and his creation, not so much his writing.
#41 “Why do people forget that Gene created TNG”
I know I didn’t forget it. He wrote and produced Star Trek: TMP and I didn’t like that either. It’s not who created it, but how close does it replicate the imagination, style ,storytelling and fun of TOS. That is the foundation and benchmark that all subsequent Treks are measured against. In that regard, for me personally, TNG never succeeded, nor did the TNG spin-offs that used the TNG as the blueprint rather than TOS.
It does seem that sometimes people falsely attribute Tne Next Generation to being a Berman creation. Early on, Rick Berman was just one of several supervising producers. The first 2 season were very much Gene Roddenberry influenced seasons. I remember reading or hearing somewhere early in the Next Generations run that Gene Roddenberry wanted that show to be different from the original series. That goes back to my comment about his overall vision. I think he realized that a carbon copy of the original series was not going to succeed. He needed to adapt Star Trek for a new generation (if you’ll excuse the pun). Now if you are someone who just likes what the original series showed, then the spinoffs would have no meaning. I’m ok with that. There is enough Star Trek for everyone’s tastes. For me personally, I find that too limiting because you are really limited to just 79 episodes and maybe a few movies that meet that same criteria.
I found things I loved about all the series and 11 movies. What star trackie notes as a weakness for him/her is a strength for me. I liked that each series had it’s own spin. They were all tied together in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek & Star Trek: The Next Generation, but expounded on that vision in their own unique way. So I actually agree with star trackie that the spin-offs were different from the original. It’s just where it did not work for him/her, it did work for me.
And to show Star Trek fans have very differing tastes, my favorite of the films was Star Trek: The Motion Picture;)
43
I agree with you.
I do feel like people are missing out on some great Trek by choosing to like only TOS.
I am a huge TOS fan but there is stuff to love on all the shows, even Voyager has it plus points folks.
I feel I would be missing out if I avoided the spin offs, the same with the latest movie if I had chose not to see it because so much was being changed.
Yes Abrams made changes I was Not happy with but I was glad to see it and glad that I ended up loving the film. But it does NOT eclipse what came before.
Why can’t people just see the new movie as an addition why must some want it to be seen as the only good Trek?
My comments under 43 can work both ways. There are those (some who have posted under this site) that only like Deep Space Nine. Some, like Abrams just liked the original series and The Next Generation. A friend of mine likes the original series and Enterprise (one of the few people I know who like that combination). The point being, Star Trek is vast enough to allow for some to like parts, but maybe not the whole Star Trek universe.
However, I agree with Captain Neill that all the Star Trek shows and movies were great, in different ways. I feel lucky to have the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, 11 movies, an animated series and hundreds of books to feast on. I can watch one Star Trek episode or movie per day and go years without seeing the same one twice.
45 As do I
I have them all to feast upon as well
45
J.J Abrams is a fan of just “The Original Series”. Bob Orci has said his favorite shows were TOS and “The Next Generation”. I think he said that he enjoyed “Deep Space Nine” but not quite as much.
46 Captain Neill
Are you back to repeating yourself and replying to your own posts? I think we get it that you prefer the older Treks to the new movie. Not everybody is going to like the same things you do. I suggest you let it go, man. Because it got annoying about 200 articles ago.
The U.S.S. Aventine looks very awesome. Too bad we won’t see a 24th century ship like that anytime soon in any upcoming “Star Trek” films, though I like the rebooted Trek timeline ships as much as those of the original timeline.
47
No was trying to defend Rick Berman’s work
47
I was not replying to own posts was replying to others
Just seem to agree with certain people about the double standards of fandom.