Best (and Worst) of Star Trek in 2007

As the year wraps up, TrekMovie.com takes a look back and picks the best and worst Trek had to offer over the last year.


TREKMOVIE.COM BEST OF 2007
Counting down here are the top 10 Trek stories and events of the year

10. Star Trek to Mars
On August 4th Star Trek blasted its way to Mars as part of NASA’s Phoenix mission. On board the Phoenix Mars lander was a DVD which included “art, literature, and sounds, all celebrating humanity’s fascination with the Red Planet.” This included the dedication plaque for the Starship Enterprise-D, which in Star Trek lore is to be built at the Utopia Planetia Fleet Yards on Mars. This event, like the recent designing of real mission patches by Trek designer Mike Okuda, shows the continued connection between Star Trek and real science.

9. Star Trek The Tour gets going
It was a long time coming, but details and dates Star Trek The Tour were finally announced recently with tickets going on sale just a few weeks ago. The 50,000 square foot traveling interactive exhibit of Star Trek sets, props, models, motion-simulator rides will visit 40 cities around the country, kicking off in Long Beach California on January 18th, 2008. The tour looks fun and will build the profile for Trek in the general public.

8. Star Trek II finally gets action figures + return of Mego
Last summer in honor of the 25th anniversary of the film, Diamond Select announced a series of fifteen figures from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Although the film is one of the most popular in the franchise it never had a full line of action figures. Plus these new figures have nice touches such as glasses for Kirk and a Ceti eel for Chekov. In addition DST also released 2 ST:TWOK ships. Diamond Select are also to commended for bringing back the classic Mego toys from our childhoods (or your dad’s childhood).

7. Its A Wrap Star Trek Auction
Throughout 2007 CBS Paramount have been auctioning off the remainder of their five warehouses worth of stuff built up over decades of continuous Trek production. In weekly E-Bay auctions managed by Its A Wrap Hollywood five thousand items ranging from props, uniforms, set pieces and some models have been sold to over a thousand collectors, many of whom are fist time collectors. The ongoing auction is likely to last until mid 2008.

6. The Fan Lib Star Trek contest
In a first of its kind event, CBS worked with Fanlib.com to create the Kirk v Picard script writing contest. KvP allowed fans to participate in the creation of a script for a showdown between Kirk and Picard. Fanlib brought in Trek writing vet Andre Bormanis as the judge and Will Wheaton and George Takei as hosts to give the event more high profile as well as giving fans a chance to feel truly involved in creating their own bit of Trek.

5. The Menagerie showings
Although no film was released this year, Trek fans did have a chance to go see Star Trek on the big screen. The airing of the remastered two part episode “The Menagerie” may have been a marketing ploy for DVDs but it was a great event for fans across globe. And it was a nice trial run Kirk, Spock, Pike and the gang who will show up a year from now.

4. Star Trek comics return
In 2001 DC comics sub-brand Wildstorm dropped their Trek license and for the first time since 1967 there was no one making Star Trek comics. But with the release of the six part series “Star Trek The Next Generation: The Space Between,” IDW brought Trek back to comics and then kept it going with the release of three other series (“Star Trek Year Four,” “Klingon Blood Will Tell,” and “Alien Spotlight”). Recently the announced five new series for the first half of 2008 with more to come so it looks like Star Trek comics are back.

3. New Voyages, Of Gods and Men and fan films
For years there have been independent Star Trek fan films, but in 2007 they really hit the big time. In the Summer Star Trek New Voyages released “World Enough and Time” which was truly the first of these independent productions that came close to resembling a professional production. TV Guide agreed by awarding it the “Webisode” of the year. Just last week part 1 of Star Trek – Of Gods and Men featuring Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols was released which also showed that someone besides Paramount can make a serious Star Trek production. Another high point of the year was Daren Dochterman’s “Trek Enhanced” version of “The Doomsday Machine.” 2007 also saw the launch of a number of new smaller scale fan productions showing that this facet of Trekdom is flourishing more than ever.

2. Star Trek Remastered on TV and DVD
The digital remastering of Star Trek The Original Series (aired in syndication) began in 2006, but got off to a bit of a rocky start. In 2007 CBS-Digital seemed to get their bearing (and a better model of the Enterprise) and really made the old show shine again. To top it off CBS decided not to wait until the project was complete and brought out the first season of TOS for HD-DVD/DVD combo. Although it was a bit pricey, the set turned out to be a good one and even came with a free phaser remote control if you also bought a new HD-DVD player.

1. Star Trek feature gets greenlight/Abrams agrees to direct
I bet you were wondering when we would get around to this. By far the biggest and best news of the year was that Paramount greenlit a big budget Star Trek feature film. Most thought that after the disastrous performance of Star Trek Nemesis in 2002 and the cancellation of Star Trek Enterprise in 2005 that Trek was done…at least for a while. But JJ Abrams and his band of merry men (Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk) got Trek back to the front burner at Paramount in 2006. However it wasn’t until February of 2007 that Abrams finally signed on to direct and the studio finally agreed to give him the freedom and budget to bring Trek back in a big way. The second biggest set of stories about the film were the flurry of casting stories over the fall (many of which were scooped here on TrekMovie.com). Most fans have been delighted at most selections, especially the return of Leonard Nimoy as Spock and the selection of Zachary Quinto as younger Spock. Throughout the year Abrams, Lindelof, Kurtzman and especially our friend Bob Orci have been saying all the right things about their approach to respecting Trek’s past while creating an inviting epic movie for a new audience. Over the next year we will learn much more and see if they can pull it off. The next big step will be the release of the teaser trailer on January 18th.

WORST OF TREK IN 2007
Of course it has not been all good for Trek this year. Below are the news items and events that we could have lived without. The following are in no particular order

Startrek.com team fired
In order to cut some costs CBS decided to fire the entire staff for the official site STARTREK.COM. For over a decade the site has been the source for official news and information about one of the biggest franchise’s in the world, but CBS decided that they no longer needed to update it (or could no longer afford it). In addition the way CBS handled it was also not a high point. The staff was only given a couple of hours notice and the subsequent CBS corporate-speak announcements gave little indication as to the future of the official site.

Star Trek Merchandising (aka Star Trek: The Funeral)
Star Trek may be on an upswing, but it certainly isn’t back. One only needs to look at Trek products to see that there is a long way to go. There is still a regular stream of Trek books from Pocket Books, but it is not at the pace it was in years past and this year had just one book each for fans of DS9 and Enterprise plus Voyager fans had to look to the TNG books to find their friends. There were also fewer Hallmark ornaments, fewer calendars. Although Diamond select have released some good figures in 2007, Trek toys still seem to be more of a niche collector item (just compare the availability of Star Trek vs Star Wars in you local toy store). And don’t even get me started on the bears. The only new items seemed to be niche products totally out of left field, including funeral products, golf clubs and slot machines. Let’s hope that with the new movie we can finally see a renaissance in Star Trek merchandising.

Perpetual’s troubles and Trek gaming going nowhere
Another area of Trek that is decidedly weak right now is gaming. Trek fans look longingly at other franchises and the steady stream of games only to see not a whole lot going on with Trek. In 2006 Bethesda Softworks picked up the Trek license four years after Activision sued Paramount to get out of it, but the three games they released in 2006 didn’t exactly light the world on fire. In 2007 they only released only one game (“Conquest” which was pretty good), and have no games announced for 2008. 2008 was to be the year that Perpetual released the MMORPG “Star Trek Online” but that is now pushed to 2009. In addition 2007 has been a PR nightmare for Perpetual with them canceling their only other game in development, news of a lawsuit and rumors that they may move to ‘micro-payments’ for STO instead of the traditional monthly fee (used by virtually all successful MMORPGs like World of Warcraft). Perpetual did recently release the first ever in-game images trying to put to rest concerns that the game was totally vaporware and hopefully in 2008 they can step up and show that STO will be a reality in 2009. Bottom line…Trek gaming is not dead, but it isn’t exactly thriving.

TNG’s 20th Anniversary fizzle
In the past anniversaries in Trek have been big occasions. Both the 30th and 35th anniversary for The Original Series had TV specials. TOS’ 40th in 2006 was a bit lower key, but was tied into an auction at Christies, higher profile conventions, the launching of Star Trek Remastered, a number of special 40th anniversary products and a History Channel special. But when it came time for The Next Generation’s 20th all we got was a new box set of the series with a couple of special features. Some cast members appeared together at various Trek conventions but never more than three at a time and Patrick Stewart seemed no where to be found. TrekMovie.com and the official site did our part to celebrate the event, but in the end it just didn’t seem enough for such a great show and landmark in Trek history. But for one last time TrekMovie.com says happy 20th anniversary to Star Trek: The Next Generation…we remember!

No Star Trek on TV
Although the big news about Trek these days revolves around the eleventh feature film, Trek is primarily a TV franchise. Starting in 1987 Star Trek had a series or two on the air for eighteen years straight. In 2005 that came to an end with the cancellation of Star Trek Enterprise. It appears that CBS (who control Trek on TV) aren’t even going to think about Trek until after they see what happens with the new movie and they will likely wait until we see how George Lucas does with his live action Star Wars TV series which may show up in 2009.

Shatner in Star Trek saga and movie secrecy
The new Star Trek movie may have been the best news of the year, but it also generated some of the most annoying news of the year as well. At the top of that list must be the ongoing going saga that is “will William Shatner appear in Star Trek?” All year long there have been rumors, stories, confirmations, debunkings, accusations, counter-accusations and more. The whole thing has been handled poorly by all parties involved. The saddest part is that even though the film is in production, the saga is still ongoing. Some believe that the whole mess is part of some secret plan, (which it is not) but that brings up the second most annoying part of the new movie…the secrecy. It has become legendary now in Hollywood that the new Star Trek is the most secret project in town. Even the actors are complaining about how they have to go around wearing hoods in enclosed golf carts. Hopefully starting with the release of the trailer this cone of silence will start to be lifted. JJ if this movie is half as good as you guys say it is, then trust us fans with some pictures and scoops and we will be an unstoppable army of evangelists dragging everyone we know to see this movie.

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Well that is it for 2007. This is the last story of the year and as a personal note I would like to thank all of you for visiting and commenting and helping make this the fastest growing and number one site for Trek news on the web. I would also like to thank all the contributors like Chuck, Matt and the Tenutos. Happy New Year to all of you and have a drink on me.

What was your best and worst?
So do you agree with the TrekMovie.com assessment? (unlikely since Trekkies cannot agree that water is wet) What are your favorite stories of 2007? Let us know in the comments below…and how about some of the 99% of visitors who never comment coming out of the woodwork to delurk and say hi.

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Let me be the first to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!

The same to you Harry Baltz and to All of Us, Everyone!

Dare I say first?

Well, I hesitated and lost the slot. I should have gone with my first thought and wished everyone a healthy and prosperous new year! (Bangs head on wall)

so much text

It wouldn’t be a new year without a Harry Ballz” in the “first” chair

Happy new year and thanks Anthony for all the hard work.

why can’t this site be the new official homepage? ;)
did you ever ask cbs?
it’s what i wish to you for the new year :D

lucas makes a sw-series??? well that’s…. interesting. i only have one fear: if ST08 is a huge success, the public will gain interest in sci-fi, which brings lucas more viewers. if ST08 is not successful, public will not take any notice of it – and watch wars anyway. i will never understand why, but star wars is always stealing trek the show… in a way… at least that’s my impression. many friends of mine think that SW and SG are great, but ST is boring. so i would be pleased if there would only be more trek, and no more wars, in the future. that would direct the attention back to real sci-fi! ;)

Happy new year, everyone.

I hate to nitpick on my very first comment, but I am surprised at the exclusion of George Takei’s appearances on the Howard Stern Show. Since the move to Sirius Satellite Radio, Stern and his crew have made amazing radio. But when George is sitting in the studio, the show turns into pure magic. He is so open, warm, funny, and, most importantly, he gets it. He understands what the show is truly about and revels in it Everyone is taken by his wit and charm. I hope he returns to the show often; it is very special when he does.

*El Ghost Host*

My five-year old son has different bears, a Klingon, a Borg, a Ferengi officer, and a Vulcan science officer. I think I got them in Vegas a few years ago. Maybe one day, he’ll actually care, if JJ and team can pull this off!

May 2008 be a good year of fresh starts for all of us who need one, including our old friend Star Trek.

Trek XI is a BIG BEST for Trek in 2007. TOS-R, IMO, not so big.

JJ – Keep the secrecy. Please.

What is wrong with not knowing the plot of a movie before you see it? I know enough to get me in the theatre: Nimoy is in it. Quinto is in it. They’re using the TOS characters. I’m there. I’m secretly wishing that Picard (Stewart) will be in it, but I’m not holding my breath.

It’s a great pleasure chatting with each and every person on this site. I look forward to stimulating conversation and debate leading up to the movie’s premiere in December, 2008!!

It might be the tranya talking, but……I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! :)

There were other things in Trek toys going on other than the TWOK action figures (which ROCK!) that wasn’t mentioned — the return of Mego-style retro cloth 8″ action figures! The original Megos remain the best Trek figure ever made and their return via retro-style figures brings back my fond childhood memories. Even though I wasn’t born when these babies made their debut, there were still enough figures in circulation to be sold at Sears, J.C. Penny and Gemco in the early 80s that I had nearly the entire crew. I carried these things with me from Chicago to San Diego to Hawai’i and back to San Diego. Ah, the things this generation has missed out on.

DID “STAR TREK IV” EVER HAVE AN ACTION FIGURE LINE?

Call me crazy, but I’d love to stick a TREK IV Spock figure on top of my computer at work, complete with white, Vulcan hippie robes and ’80s headband!

Did Playmates ever produce a figure like this?

Also wishing a Happy New Year to all. Got a few bones to pick with the big screen roll-out of “Menagerie.” The theater my wife, friends and I saw it in had a very dark image (like wearing a pair of Ray-bans!) with over-saturated color (skin tones looked a hot orange). And the ticket prices; much higher than a regular feature film for a 40 yr old TV episode!? We were all a bit slapped by that one! Now, I love Star Trek; grew up with it. But this has not always been a franchise that treats its fans well. Bad enough the Creation Cons (and cons they HAVE been, of late) gouge us with overpriced tickets and autographs (compared to even a few years ago), but to overcharge us fans just to watch a TV show in a communal environment? That just plain sucks! Shame on you, CBS and Paramount, for your guilt-less milking of the loyalty of fans! If I’d known of the substandard presentation and overcharging of tickets in advance, I would’ve stayed in and watched my first edition DVD of “Menagerie” (the DVDs; another forum by which to stick-it to the fans with all these damned re-issues! To hell with them; I’ll watch my “lo-def” originals!). May the New Year of 2008 bring a little sanity and generosity to the keepers of the (ever-more expensive) franchise flame! And all my hopes for a great new Trek film! Hope they don’t charge 4 bucks extra to see it!

I believe this might be my favorite web site. Happy New Year Everyone! RED HOUR fast aproaches!! FESTIVAL!

#7

Star Wars is fantasy dressed up like science fiction while Star Trek is the genuine article. In my experience the two franchises have two very different fan bases, and while the casual scifi enthusiast might like both, very few people are passionate about both. They really cater to two different audiences. I honestly think that the success or failure of Trek ’08 will have next to no effect on the Star Wars TV shows, while the opposite is also true.

Happy New Year to All!

Thank you Anthony, for making my 2007 a little bit better.

I hope the new movie is good, I hope “The Ultimate Computer RM is good, and most hearteningly…..

It’s one year closer to the 23rd Century.

Happy New Year and the Best is yet to come!!
I am very proud of all you have done this year
and it just keeps getting better.
Loving You, Mom

Whopppie!!!! 123456!

Best:
Star Trek Remastered
Dochterman’s Doomsday

Worst:
Star Trek XI

The new Star Trek movie is coming out this year! Woo-hoo!

Anthony, what was the final decision regarding the redesign of this site? I like the format as it is, but what about the reformatting of the forums so that anyone can post in any topic they like?

By the way, first for 2008!

Wait a minute! What coast is this site published in?!

So, Stanky, I see you went with NO resolutions this year…..

You’re consistent, I’ll give you THAT…….. :)

Harry Ballz, you are THE MAN!

To all of my new friends here, Feliz Año Nuevo – Happy New Year!!!

The top on my Best of Trek list has to be….

…..TREKMOVIE.COM

And yes, please JJ – Keep up the secrecy!

I wish you all a safe and prosperous New Year and I look towards all kinds of discussions while we hurtle towards December 25th and a new Star Trek movie!

I agree with your list, but one thing should be split up between the “best” and “worst”.

Best, Trek XI being greenlit.

Worst, Abrams and all his buddies being involved with it. Seriously, am I the only person who felt that MI:III sucked? I mean, seriously, I fell asleep during it, both times I tried to watch it. And redesigning classic trek? Not letting anyone know just how drastic the redesigns are? That’s some “Worst of” material, in my opinion.

Sure, it could turn out (and I hope it does) that all the “we’ve redesigned” things is just a big fake out to generate discussion and then in the end it’s a nice, only slightly updated, look.

Happy New Year!
360 days till Star Trek 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will, I understand your point of view, but I’m a fairly picky film buff and even I didn’t hate MI:III, even though I DESPISE Tom Cruise……………have patience and you may be rewarded….. :)

First!!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The growth of trekmovie.com should have been among the “bests” for 2007. :)

I actually think the bears are rather cute. If I had more $, I might even get one.

All in all, a pretty good year for Trek, IMO.

Happy New Year!

The Shatner saga is by far one of the worst of the year.

Became a weekly drama for while didn’t it?

-cs™

New TV Guide says Ricardo Montalban will voice a cow on upcoming episode of Family Guy. Sounds like a moo-ving segment to look forward to.

I won’t UDDER a word against that recommendation…………

No mention of the writers’ strike and the negative impact it may have on the upcoming film?

Happy New Year!
May you all live long and prosper.

“Don’t you just love New Year’s?
You can start all over.
Everybody gets a second chance.”

Yay… I made the list! Thanks!

Happy New Year! :)

I agree that water is wet.

Happy New Year.

Looking forward to this Christmas.

Love this site. Been reading it every day since early 2007. I love how u update it even more than once per day!

#17 Nzorak –

Speak for yourself! Count me as one of the “very few” who loves both STAR TREK and STAR WARS equally, but for different reasons, mainly the epic spectacle of WARS versus the rich characterization (and infinitely better dialogue) of TREK.

I grew up at the perfect time in the ’70s… watching the TREK Animated Series plus the original episodes in syndication, then being blown away by STAR WARS in ’77. Pure ’70s geek nostalgia has a lot do to with my never being able to rid either TREK or WARS from my DNA (much to the mild chagrin of my wife)!

(But it ain’t blind love… let’s face it: The STAR WARS prequels, plus VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE, pretty much stink!)

And that’s the year it was.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

# 17 Nzorak –

One other thing: I’d say the (financial) success of the STAR WARS Prequels (plus BATMAN BEGINS and CASINO ROYALE) had a LOT to do with STAR TREK XI being greenlit!

Plus, let’s not forget that the original STAR WARS in ’77 helped usher in the STAR TREK movie franchise. So like it or not, WARS does have an impact on what eventually gets greenlit in the TREK universe. If the WARS TV series does gangbusters, then we may see a new TREK TV series after all. Sadly, Paramount hasn’t exactly been leading the charge during the last few decades.

Trekmovie.com is really the best Star Trek side created by fans ever. It’s far better as the official side ever was. Congratulations!

Best Star Trek-thing in 2007: 1.) Discovering Trekmovie.com, as I’ve said allready. 2.) The last Star Trek new voyages episode: I hope, CBS have seen this and thinks about a Star Trek Excelsior series. 3.) TOS-R: Some great additions for the existing episodes, the USS Antares for example.

Worst Star Trek things in 2007: 1.) Shatner. I really have enough of him! 2.) Star Trek XI secrecy. I hate it to be left alone in the mist! 3.) TOS-R. I have seen know every ep on DVD, but it seems to me, that they have only a few scenes really remasterd. In most CGi-shots, the Enterprise looks terrible. Phasers looks still very cheesy. Not worth the money (in Germany 149 €!).4.) Cancellation of Startrek.com. I can’t and will not understand this. 5.) My big Polar Light NX-01 model crashed from the table; beyond of any repair.

About the Star Trek vs. Star Wars thing. I like them both, but I think Star Trek XI will have no negative influence for the upcoming life-action Star Wars show. If ST08 rocks, it will do SW some good, if it bombs, Star Wars will not care. The SW-show will be nevertheless a huge hit (for one or two seasons of course). But if GL brings up such “good” actors as the guy played Anakin and such good written storys as Episode 1, the show will be lost after season 3.

The SG-shows are in most cases no good scfi, but they have some energy in it, that makes them entertaining. A new Star Trek show needs a similiar energy, presented by it’s characters. All special effects and action will not save a show, if it’s boring to watch the characters. That was for me the problem with VOY and ENT and sometimes with TNG too. I think, that’s what’s made the first SW-trilogy or TOS so successfull even after 30 or 40 years. The characters of both franchises are full of such an character-energy, that make it a fun, to watch them. I can only hope, that the new Star Trek will transport a similiar energy, to make Star Trek interesing again, but more usefull would be a new tv-show with new characters full of living energy.

Hope you understand, what I mean.

BTW: Happy new year everyone!

TOS Remastered has been a good thing mostly. Too bad it took awhile to develop the right digital model. Too bad they waited to come off the shot-for-shot principal. It would be nice if they added extra SFX scenes to flesh out some of the stories. But overall, I’ve liked it.

As to Shatner, did he have a say in Kirk getting killed off in Star Trek Generations? Or was he thinking that a Spock-like resurrection was in the cards? (His books pushed that idea.)

CBS didn’t buy Paramount to put on of its key assets on the shelf. So TOS remastered, Star Trek XI. The Industry that is Star Trek will live long and prosper.

Happy New Year everyone!

“2007 also saw the launch of a number of new smaller scale fan productions showing that this facet of Trekdom is flourishing more than ever.” Let’s name ’em:

Starship Exeter “The Tressaurian Intersection” is now 75% complete (Jimm and Josh Johnson, Dennis Bailey et al — http://www.starshipexeter.com).

Star Trek Intrepid released “Heavy Lies the Crown” (Nick Cook and crew from Scotland — http://www.starshipintrepid.net).

Starship Farragut released two episodes — “The Captaincy” and “For Want of a Nail”. ( John Broughton, Paul Sieber — http://www.starshipfarragut.com).

All with high production values….

#42 SPB
Lucas took many things from Trek. Remember that Trek existed for 11 years before Wars came out ;)

Happy 2008!

I agree that water can be wet.

But like Trek it can take on many forms.

Trek has always been best when it’s “steamy”!

Happy New Year to all and thanks for all the laughs and insights! This truly IS the best Trek site of all!

Regarding the comment that Star Wars is fantasy dressed as sci-fi, and that Trek is the genuine article. As a fan of both franchises (equally, for different reasons) I beg to differ. Trek is every bit as much fantasy as light sabers and the force. Transporter technology, for example. Utter fantasy. Warp drive, too, is a fantasy method of travel “dressed up” in scientific clothing. Read Lawrence Krauss’ books on the exact subject. Not that one cannot enjoy the lesser of the scientifically viable franchises simply because it’s not plausible. Approaching the speed of light may be possible someday. Exceeding it never will be. Transporting a human being atom by atom across space and keeping him ALIVE (when it is imposible to even gauge the exact quantum state of an atom at any one time) is lunacy; Transporters were created because Trek producers (at the time) couldn’t afford to land the big ‘E’ every week! It’s all the same realm of “science” as light sabers! But don’t fool yourself; BOTH franchises are wonderful works of fantasy. Don’t hold your breath to be beamed up anytime soon! Happy New Year! Best wishes for the new Trek movie!

Under the “Worst of 2007” category I’d place the cessation of the Star Trek-Remastered reviews. What’s up with that? :(