Everything Old is New Again

I’ll be honest… I had mostly forgot about this blog.  As you can see below, the last post was almost 5 years ago in September 2016.  

And yet, we live in an era where sequels to properties that have lay dormant for decades come out and bring the characters and stories of those universe back to the zeitgeist.  Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill returned to Star Wars after more than 30 years.  The Incredibles II came out 14 years after the original.  Bill and Ted, Super Troopers, Bad Boys, Zoolander, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mad Max, and so many more went back to the well to varying degrees of success.

Star Trek followed the reboot trend of movies like Batman Begins and Casino Royale with the Abramsverse not-really-a-reboot movies set outside the Prime universe, but stalled out after Star Trek Beyond.  Either because of that less than blockbuster reception at the theaters, or in spite of it, I was surprised when Star Trek: Discovery was announced as a new TV series.  

But not as surprised as I was when Sir Patrick Stewart made the announcement that he was returning to the role of Jean-Luc Picard, almost 20 years after Star Trek Nemesis.  

So in the 5 years since my last post we’ve gone from a box-office “disappointment” with Star Trek Beyond to 3 active Star Trek series (Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks) with 2 more coming in the next few months (Strange New Worlds and Prodigy).

When Star Trek: Picard  started its first season I looked through the various Playmates figures to see if there was anything that could serve as a decent base for Picard in any of his civilian outfits.  Not finding anything that I could use without a total resculpting beyond my ability, I dreamed of Playmates Toys somehow regaining the umbrella Star Trek figure license and making new figures in the same 4.5” style.

 And then they did. 

I’m sure the behind-the-scenes negotiations have been underway for quite some time, but I know I’m not the only one who was totally blown away by the announcement.  Additional information has come out that Varner Studios, the same group that sculpted the original Playmates figures, will be sculpting this new line.  Some folks have taken the image above and adjusted the lighting to get a little better look at who is behind the transporter effects, and the current assessment of the lineup is TNG Data, Discovery Season 2 Burnham and Saru, Pike (in his gold Enterprise uniform, and bearded Spock, and lastly Picard in his black jacket from season one of Picard.  

I can, like many others, only hope that these figures have the same aesthetic as the original 4.5” Playmates figures.  If they change the V crotch and add any articulation like wrist swivels I’ll be fine as long as the basic styling fits in with the old line.  

After I saw the announcement of the new Playmates line I searched out some Facebook groups, and I was amazed to find this:

Somehow, in all the algorithms and logic of the interwebs, this long forgotten blog still had life.  If Jean-Luc Picard and Playmates Toys can do it, maybe I can rise from the ashes as well.