Prodigy round-up: Terror Firma previews, behind the scenes art, and Dream Catcher extra content

This week has delivered the fifth episode of Prodigy, which will now be taking a break until January, so the last for the time being. Continue below to check out previews for the new episode, some cool behind the scenes art from across the series, and extra content reflecting on last week's episode.

There isn't an episode specific trailer for this week's new episode, but there is a new general trailer. This mostly features familiar shots, but does include one tantalisingly brief new scene on a Galaxy class bridge!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nickelodeon (@nickelodeon)

Prodigy round-up: Second season confirmed, behind the scenes art, Starstruck extra content and more

This week brings us the fourth episode of Prodigy, and will there doesn't seem to be a new episode specific trailer for it, there are plenty of other Prodigy updates to enjoy. Continue below for the latest behind the scenes art, extra content based on last week's episode, and more.

First up this big news is that Prodigy has been officially renewed for a second season. They've also detailed the release plans for the rest of the first season, which are not as straightforward as we might have expected, now split into three blobs of episodes:

• The current run will only be continuing for five episodes, with next week's fifth episode being the the last to release this year. 
• A second block of five episodes will then return from the 6th of January onwards. 
• Another pause will follow, with the end half of the season, a further ten episodes, coming at some point later in 2022!

Which means at twenty-episodes this will be the longest season of any of the new Trek series, and going to take it's time unfolding! There's no info on the number of episodes for season two yet.

This week's new episode is Dream Catcher, and here's the blurb:

The crew has their first away mission on an undiscovered planet that manifests their deepest desires, only to realize the planet has desires of its own.

But with a lack of previews that's all I've got to share about that, so onward to behind the scenes... 

Where thanks once more to director and executive producer Ben Hibon we have a cool bit of behind the scenes imagery of the bridge set. Here's how he describes the design:

We had many ideas when we started designing our USS Protostar bridge, but three factors kept coming up; all stations should be facing forward, internal lighting should always indicate its structure, and most importantly - for our kids - it should feel like an open window into space…

Starship miniatures, concept art costumes and props from TOS, The Motion Picture and more, all up for auction

In the coming hours and days two different auctioneers are offering up quite a variety of interesting props, costumes, starship miniatures, artwork and more from across numerous Star Trek TV and film productions, including a lot of items from TOS and The Motion Picture, and more spanning right up to Into Darkness. Continue below to check out some of the highlights.

The most notable item is probably the iconic TOS phaser rifle from Where No Man Has Gone Before, which is coming up for sale later today from Hertitage Auctions in their Hollywood and Entertainment Signature Auction. This large one-of-a-kind prop remains in remarkable condition 55 years on from its creation.

Prodigy round-up: A close look at the USS Protostar, concept art, character images, behind the scenes, trailer, movie-potential, and first episode for free

Prodigy it into it's third episode this week - Though it feels more like the second after the extended two-part start to the series, which you can, for a while, watch for free (more on that below).  Paramount+(ad) have of course been enthusiastically promoting the series, both looking ahead, and reflecting back on the first episodes. Plus several of the production team have shared some really cool behind the scenes artwork. Continue below to check out all the latest from the series.

First up, director and executive producer Ben Hibon shared some great images of the USS Protostar, giving us a chance to really examine the shaping and details of this shiny new starship design. In his tweets he credited designer John Eaves for the "early ideation", the final design to himself and the Nuen Studio team, and the textures to look development designer Nikie Monteleone.

Star Trek Online introduces more Discovery ships and Voyager concept design

Star Trek Online have added several new ships to the game recently, including 32nd and 23rd century designs from Discovery, plus a concept art version of an advanced Oberth class that Voyager almost was. Continue below to check them all out.

First up, from the 32nd century fleet is the Courage class, one of the vertically oriented designs seen in the far future.

Original TOS phaser and other Trek treasures up for auction

This week Heritage Auctions are running their Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction, which includes a number of original production props and artwork from various Star Trek sources. I've previously reported on the huge selection of beautiful Star Trek matte paintings in the auction, so today will have a look at some of the other items, which include some interesting bits from TOS and TNG.

Perhaps the highlight of the entire auction is an extremely rare TOS phaser hero prop. Heritage Auctions have provided a great set of photos of what will surely be of great interest to prop enthusiasts - You'll need deep pockets if you fancy getting it yourself, as this single phaser starts bidding at an astonishing $100,000!

Lower Decks season 2 teaser, plus cool season 1 production art

Paramount+ have released a new teaser video to mark the one-month countdown to the start of season two of Lower Decks. It's only a few seconds long, but packs in LOADS of fun easter eggs in typical Lower Decks style. Plus continue below for a look at some very cool season one production art.

Get in, Ensign. We're going to Season 2. Stream new episodes of #StarTrekLowerDecks starting August 12. pic.twitter.com/9rxYYIIdKd

— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) July 12, 2021

Discovery season three home video extra feature details, plus behind the scenes round-up

Season three of Discovery(ad) is set for home video release in July, and CBS Home Entertainment have now revealed the full line-up of extra features. Continue below to check out the details of those, plus a round-up of the latest behind the scenes goodies shared by the series' crew and cast.

The home video release incudes a number of documentary featurettes, a gag reel, and deleted scenes, but alas no audio commentaries this time around. 

Among the behind the scenes content, the ones that jump out to me are The Voyage of Season 3, looking at how every element of the production adapted to the new future setting, and Kenneth Mitchell: To Boldly Go, dedicated to the actor now living with ALS and how the series built a new character around his wheelchair use.

Here's the full run-down:

Discovery aliens and costumes behind the scenes

The creators of Star Trek Discovery have, following the conclusion of season three, been sharing some examples of their work on the show, including some great looks at the alien make-up and costumes. Continue below to enjoy Vulcans, Andorians, Orions, Xaheans, and more!

First up, a very dapper look at everyone's favourite Saurian, Linus! Make-up artist Shane Zander shared these delightful photos David Tomlinson in character, and getting into character, for his final appearance this season, sporting the new uniform:

First look at Eaglemoss' La Sirena and USS Zheng He

The new series-spanning Star Trek Universe: The Official Starships Collection(ad) is set to launch this April, and Eaglemoss have now revealed the first two models in that collection: Both from Picard, La Sirena, and the USS Zheng He. 

The new collection will eventually encompass all the current live action TV series, including Picard, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds (and presumably the Section 31 show eventually too), and takes the place of the previous Discovery only series(ad) (but continues with that series' bigger than Eaglemoss-classic scale), enabling Eaglemoss to mix and match the most wanted ships from all the current series without having to run separate series for each - Although the series is specifically covering the live action shows, so now indication yet on what becomes of the also-awesome-ships of Lower Decks (and Prodigy when that arrives too).

It all kicks off with lots of Picard ships though, with Disco season three ships due later. The first two are now ready for previews, so continue below to check out some pretty neat looking models.

As the first issue in the series, and the hero ship from Picard, there's a particular abundance of previews for the La Sirena; via Eaglemoss' web-shop(ad) as well as the series subscription site(ad). Looks like a great model, and of course with that glorious red paint job is going to be a particularly distinctive addition to the model ship fleet.

Discovery round-up: There Is a Tide... previews, and loads of season 3 behind the scenes photos

This week brings us the penultimate episode of Discovery season 3, There Is a Tide.... As ever CBS have released previews in the form of a trailer and images from the episode. There's also lots of new behind the scenes content from across the season that's popped up in the last week, so continue below to check out all that, and other Disco updates.

Here's the blurb and trailer for the episode (which you can also watch on StarTrek.com if you prefer):

After capturing the U.S.S. Discovery, Osyraa seeks a meeting with Admiral Vance while Burnham and the crew must overcome unimaginable odds as they attempt to regain command of their ship.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Star Trek on CBS All Access (@startrekcbs)

TNG aliens come back to life

Inspired by some awesome restoration projects, I've gathered together some of the latest TNG behind the scenes bits and bobs I've come across to take a look at a few of TNG's aliens; including some memorable one-shot wonders, and some more established species too. Continue below for some real treats.

What sparked this exploration was seeing some amazing work done recently by Tom Spina Designs, who specialise in restorations and display models and have worked on several Star Trek projects over the years. Their newest creation is a beautiful display of one of the Solanagen-based lifeforms from the episode Schisms. Working with an original costume and mask, they recreated new hands to finish off the alien and then gave it a suitably creepy pose for display. Check it out:

Cool Star Trek miniatures, props, and artwork up for auction from PropStore

This week PropStore are running their Treasures from Film and Television auction, which includes props, costumes, miniatures, and artwork from numerous series, including a lot of really cool Star Trek stuff. Continue below to check out the highlights.

The most eye-catching item on offer is a miniature of the refit USS Enterprise, used in The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock, and The Undiscovered Country. The model is used for close-ups of the engineering hull, with a battle damaged section (patched-up) on one side, and one torpedo tube. The other torpedo tube lights up rather satisfyingly, as do many oft he windows. Which you can see in action in this video:

Dan Curry starship concept art up for auction

Heritage Auctions are currently listing a number of items sourced from Dan Curry, Star Trek visual effects supervisor from early TNG, through DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. The work spans all of those series, and what is mainly on offer are collections of concept art, for various Star Trek starships, locations, and weapons. Continue below to check out some of these fascinating bits of Star Trek history.

The highlight of the collection in my view is the only model on offer, a rough concept for a "Borg Battle Drone". The model is displayed with a little plaque that describes what the ship is:

When conceiving this fighting platform I imagined it would be controlled by biological drone brains connected to the Hive Collective physically imbedded into the space craft.

It was important to reflect the Borg pragmatic approach to engineering.

Function is supreme with no regard to aesthetics. New structures are added as needs arise.

An even more gruesome version of the Borg had it been brought to life! Heritage Auctions attribute this design to TNG, though it's not clear which episode it might have been created for (if any that ever got to production). They also point out the the concept of a growing adapting Borg ship was eventually realised in Enterprise's Regeneration.

Prop Store's latest auction offers Star Trek production pieces from across the universe

Prop Store are today auction of lots of movie and TV stuff in their Entertainment Memorabilia auction, and that includes a huge range of production pieces from all corners of the Star Trek universe. They have some great pieces on offer, including miniatures, matte paintings, concept art, props, and alien prosthetics. I've picked out a few favourites below, although if you want to get any yourself, you'll need to be quick, the auction is in progress today!

My personal favourite is this beautiful study model from the design of Earth Spacedock, from the production of The Search For Spock:

Star Trek Online's new support carriers

Star Trek Online have introduced a new range of "support carrier" ships to the game.

Available in designs from the Jem'Hadar, Romulans, Klingons, and Caitians (the latter the Federation entry), the large ships all feature two hangers, and come pre-equipped with a support frigate and squadron and fighters. In each case those support ships are repurposed pre-existing designs.

The hangers can each support either two support frigates, or six squadrons, if you get hold of more - The latter is a new function that operates a group of smallcraft instead of just one, so each carrier is able to hold six squadrons each, and so are able to deploy thirty-six fighters, plus two frigates.

Continue below to check out the details of each design, plus some other STO ship updates.

My favourite of the bunch if the Jem’Hadar Vanguard Support Carrier, because it's a cracking new Jem'Hadar design:

Discovery Season 3 release date set, plus latest behind the scenes

The much anticipated return of Discovery finally has a date. CBS have announced season three will begin on the 15th of October. They updated their previous teaser video to reflect the new date:

View this post on Instagram

The future is now. Star Trek: Discovery returns October 15 ✨ [link in bio for more details] #StarTrek #StarTrekDiscovery

A post shared by Star Trek (@startrek) on Jul 27, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

This is how CBS describe the season in their press release:

After following Commander Burnham into the wormhole in the second season finale, season three of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY finds the U.S.S. Discovery crew landing into an unknown future far from the home they once knew. Now living in a time filled with uncertainty, the U.S.S. Discovery crew, along with the help of some new friends, must work together to restore hope to the Federation.

The thirteen episode season will begin the week after the final episode of Lower Decks will arrive (which itself will start in just over a week's time in North America), which means we're set for a solid half a year of weekly Trek ahead between the two shows.

While we're thinking Disco, continue on for a look at the latest behind the scenes bits and bobs to hit the web:

Picard behind the scenes: Alien make-up and prosthetics round-up

I've gathered up some of the latest Picard behind the scenes images and info I've come across in relation to the design and creation of the many aliens of the series. There are familiar species and characters here, plus some much more exotic creations. Continue below to check them out.

First up a glimpse at the recreation of one of my favourite Star Trek species, the Andorians. Sculptor Nicholas Rinehard shared these images of their work on the latest iteration of the Andorian antenna. They used a random head cast for the purposes of sculpting, so don't expect to spot this exact Andorian on-screen:

Picard behind the scenes: Sets and locations

Star Trek Picard took us on an adventure spanning multiple planets, quite a lot of places on Earth, and of course a few starships too. Since the series' release, those involved in the production of the show have gradually been sharing their work bringing all those places to life. I've gathered up the latest I've found to explore the work of Picard's set designers and decorators, and location staff. Continue below to check out the worlds of Picard:

I'm going to star with starships, and of course the main ship of the series La Sirena. Picard Set Decorator Lisa Alkofer recently had a great interview with SetDecor, discussing all the sets from the series, giving loads of insights into what was built or decorated, and sharing great behind the scenes photos from several sets. Including these views into the huge La Sirena set:

Star Trek (2009) storyboards reveal unseen and alternate creature designs

Storyboard artist Richard Bennett has been sharing some of his work from the first Kelvin timeline movie, Star Trek, revealing some really cool creature designs, and a cut scene. Continue below to check them out.

This first sequence, which Bennett shared in two posts on his Instagram account, reveals a cut scene where Spock travels through a series of conduits, and encounters a huge snake-like creature, with lots of teeth and tendrils!