I'm not so sure about this

Sci Fi Wire reports a rumor that J. J. Abrams is considering Matt Damon for the role of a young James T. Kirk in Trek 11.

Abrams to helm Trek 11

CNN reports today, based on a Daily Variety report from last Friday, that J. J. Abrams, director of Mission: Impossible III, is set to direct the eleventh Star Trek film. The movie is aimed for a late 2008 release, and apparently Paramount is going with the "Kirk and Spock at the academy theme." I sure hope they don't mess this up as badly as Berman and Braga messed up continuity with Archer and company—I don't recall any indication that Kirk and Spock knew each other at the academy, nor that they would even have overlapped there.

Titan: The Red King

I recently finished reading Star Trek Titan, Book Two: The Red King, and I must say that I had mixed feelings about the book. I am glad to see Captain Riker getting a book series, and I like the premise of Titan being the most species-diverse ship in Starfleet. I've also enjoyed the presence of the Romulans, including Commander Donatra, in the first two volumes. On the downside, this incredibly diverse crew takes a little getting used to—not the idea of a species-diverse crew, but just the sheer number of new characters to learn about. But then again, there is also a sense of "old home week" run amok, as Titan has been playing host to Admiral Leonard James Akaar, counts Melora Pazlar among its crew, and has now added Tuvok as tactical officer. It's as if the authors are trying to shoehorn in a token character from every incarnation of Star Trek, and that's a little tiresome. Also, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in Ranul Keru's love life, and I hope that future novels in the series will minimize the romantic subplots and play up the space exploration. As for the plot of The Red King specifically, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't all that great either. The explosion of Shinzon's Scimitar tore a rift in space, and the Romulan fleet "fell" through that rift, so Titan, the Valdore, and Romulan convoy (tailed by a Klingon ship) went through on a search-and-retrieve mission. On the other side—in the Small Magellanic Cloud—they found humans with strange evolutionary adaptations (that seem to have developed far too rapidly for real biology) whose culture was split over moral issues related to their long-ago enslavement of indigenous intelligent species. (The mutilated English behind these people's proper nouns got tiresome after a while.) Naturally, the rift turns out to be an even more threatening spatial phenomenon which threatens the entire sector of space. While all of this was fairly predictable, and even a little boring at points, I found that as the clock ticked down on the planet Oghen, I felt a sense of tension and excitement as I hurried from chapter to chapter to see whether Titan's plan for closing the rift would succeed. As Star Trek novels go, it's not the greatest, but it's far from the worst I've ever read. I recommend it, subject to the caveats mentioned earlier.

Deckbuilder update

I just realized today that the Deckbuilder was lacking some of the Archive Portrait cards. Although a number reappear in To Boldly Go as regular cards, a couple (Janeway and Kirk) don't. The Deckbuilder has now been updated to include the Archive Portrait cards.

Deckbuilder correction

I just corrected one small glitch in the Deckbuilder: Phlox's name was misspelled as "Phox." Hat tip to Paul Cannon for informing me of the typo.

From warp speed to webbing

According to a Sci Fi Wire report today, James Cromwell (who played Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact) will play Gwen Stacy's father, Captain George Stacy, in Spider-Man 3.

With destructive power comes Restorative Responsibility

Just a couple of hours ago, Decipher revealed Restorative Responsibility, a Starfleet event-destruction event from the To Boldly Go expansion. I confess to not being fully able to tell what the picture is of, though—is that a side view of the Enterprise hull with serious damage? I'm not sure. At any rate, Restorative Responsibility very nicely fits in with the Starfleet theme of getting out of spacedock fast to do an early space mission. Once you've completed a space mission, you can use Restorative Responsibility to destroy an event in an opponent's core just by playing this card. You're going to have to plan carefully how to use the card, but used well, it could be a powerful event-killer. The downside is that it won't work until you've completed a space mission. The upside is that the "cost"—completing a space mission—is something that, as a Starfleet player, you should be trying to do anyway as a top early-game priority. Restorative Responsibility adds another interesting support card to Starfleet's stable. I can hardly wait to get my hands on these cards ... though first I need to get my hands on my federal income tax refund.

The answer to Hamlet's question

Antos Bareil provides the answer: Destined to Be. Simply put, Destined to Be is the most powerful Bajoran retrieval card yet seen in the Star Trek CCG. For two counters and a discard, you can get anything into hand from your discard pile. For four counters and a discard, you can get anything into hand from your discard pile and keep Destined to Be around to use on your next turn.