First Star Trek: Discovery cast announced

The first three members of the Star Trek: Discovery cast have been announced. The news confirms the rumour of Michelle Yeoh as captain of the starship Shenzhou (although named Georgiou rather than Han Bo), plus two members of the USS Discovery crew, including confirmation of the previously rumoured new alien, Lieutenant Saru. CBS have released brief character descriptions of all three:

 Michelle Yeoh will star as “Captain Georgiou,” the Starfleet Captain aboard the Starship Shenzhou.

Yeoh is probably best known for her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and its recent sequel. She has also appeared in manye other films, including the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, and a few TV roles, including Marco Polo.

50th Anniversary soundtrack collection compiles the obscurities of Star Trek music

La La Land have announced the details of their 50th Anniversary Star Trek soundtrack collection, which has turned out to be a bit of a curious collection of musical odds and ends spanning the franchise.

The set includes new variations of tracks from the previous and pretty comprehensive TOS and movie soundtrack releases, plus the first ever collection of TAS music, soundtracks from the video game Borg and Star Trek: The Experience, plus a varied collection of TNG scores, and a smattering of tracks representing DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise.

Here is the official summary of the collection's contents:

DISC ONE features cues from the original, classic STAR TREK TV series (most of which were released on our TOS BOX SET, but have been sourced from newly discovered elements), as well the oft-requested STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE track “Inner Workings,” (featuring the wind machine more prominently) and STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KAHN’s “End Titles,” (without the narration as heard on previous soundtrack releases.)

DISC TWO showcases the official world premiere release of music from STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES, the beloved 70’s Filmation TV series, as well as original STAR TREK-inspired compositions from Ron Jones, and STAR TREK BORG, a score by Dennis McCarthy from an interactive 1996 movie/computer game.

DISC THREE features previously unreleased scores from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, including such episodes “Coming of Age,” “The Hunted,” “Tapestry” and more, as well as the series’ trailer music.

DISC FOUR contains more unreleased THE NEXT GENERATION, including “Deja Q,” “Elementary, Dear Data,” and others, as well as unreleased demo tracks from DEEP SPACE NINE, and VOYAGER, original score from the famed Las Vegas attraction, STAR TREK: THE EXPERIENCE, and still more!

Posting on the Film Score Monthly forums, producer Lukas Kendall made note of how some of the tracks were selected, and also revealed more soundtrack collections in the works for the less represented series in this set:

Round 2 Models latest Star Trek model kits

Round 2 Models, makers of Star Trek model kits under the AMT and Polar Lights brands, has had a busy year of releases, and already has several kits lined up for 2017. Continue below to check out their latest and forthcoming kits.

Expected in the spring of 2017, all the Enterprises from the 1:2500 scale Cadet Series range have been combined into a single new model kit collection, which will also add a brand new Enterprise NX-01 to the series. The snap-kits are all molded in suitably coloured plastics, and come with pressure sensitive decal sheets, plus display stands.

Michelle Yeoh cast as captain on Discovery

Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

Actress Michelle Yeoh has been reported as the first known cast member of Star Trek:Discovery. According to Deadline, she will play Captain Han Bo of the starship Shenzhou, which will apparently "play a big role in Discovery‘s first season".

Yoeh has an extensive filmography, probably best known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and its recent sequel. She has also appeared in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, and a few TV roles, including Marco Polo.

The casting has not been officially announced yet, but several leading trade press sites have reported the news, citing insider sources, after ComingSoon.net originally broke the story.

According to Variety, the lead role, a female first officer, remains uncast:

...casting has been underway, CBS has been looking for a younger, African-American or Latina actress. The network is not seeking a huge star and would prefer a fresh face for the part.

The casting process for the lead role has spanned more than three months at this point and the show is having difficulty settling on a star.

Between Yeoh, and the intended Number One, it looks like a promising start to a diverse and representative cast, here's hoping that continues as the rest of the cast shapes up.

Fill your home with isolinear chips and LCARS displays

If you ever wanted your home to feel like a little (landed) starship, there are a plethora of new products this year to give it a little 24th century flavour; with LCARS displays and isolinear chips scattered about.

Most of these come from The Coop, who launched a large collection over the summer. The highlight has to be a fully functional isolinear chip (aka USB stick), which even glows when in use.

Star Trek Cats, and other quirky new books

Do you like cats? And Star Trek? Then this is the book you've been waiting for! Due out in February from Chronicle Books, is Star Trek Cats, a curious new take on TOS from illustrator Jenny Parks. Amazon recently added a listing, complete with cover and blurb:

Captain's log: We have entered a galaxy where beloved illustrator Jenny Parks has conjured an astonishingly vivid homage to the original Star Trek series with an unexpected twist: a cast of cats. Featuring a hilarious new take on iconic characters and scenes—from Kirk in the Captain's chair to Spock offering his Vulcan wisdom—this eye-opening adventure stays true to the tone of the classic TV show. Playful, loving, and from a strange new world, Star Trek Cats is the perfect gift for fans of, well, Star Trek and cats.

But that's not all, continue after the jump for a look at a couple more quirky new Trek books on the way.

Latest Star Trek mugs and glasses

Drinking vessels are one of the more prolific of Star Trek products, and lately there have been some pretty creative examples (although mostly mugs ...so so many mugs). Continue below for a look at the latest releases:

From ThinkGeek, we have a set of "planetary glassware", released back in July. The set includes four ten ounce glasses decorated to look like Earth, Vulcan, Romulus, and Qo'noS, plus a Borg Cube shot glass.