25 years ago, perhaps Trek was at a golden age. We had just passed through the glorious 30th Anniversary, when not only did we get two unique and brilliant anniversary specials on screen, we also had one of the best Star Trek movies out there. Trek didn’t rest on its laurels of course, both Voyager and DS9 remained in production throughout 1997, Insurrection was in production, and there were a plethora of books, magazines and other Trek productions in the offing. Truly the best of times.
In 2021, there were certainly parallels For the first time since 1999 there were two Trek productions being broadcast on the same week, and it seemed like there was going to be new Trek every week for most of ’22. With that in mind, lets dig deep and take a deep dive of what Trek had to offer.
Shows: Despite international distribution issues, 2022 delivered the final five episodes of Discovery season 4, 10 episodes of Picard, 9 (and presumably 10) episodes of Prodigy, 10 episodes of Strange New Worlds and 10 episodes of Star Trek Lower Decks, that totals 45 new episodes of Trek in ’22, 55 if you count the fact that the roll out of Prodigy overseas was slower than the rest. While not as extensive as the 52 episodes a year that we had during the peak Trek era, its certainly great to see so much Trek out there again. This should especially be lauded as these shows all had the new challenges of the pandemic. For me, either Strange New Worlds or Picard was the best new Trek of the year, but that’s not to knock everythinhg else. Trek is now a buffet, and I can help myself to a bit of everything and enjoy it all.
It hasn’t all been clear sailing however. The fallout from the International “Trexit” from Netflix dominated various stretches of the year for different parts of the world. The make good of transferring Discovery to Pluto TV was not followed through with Strange New World, with the series 7 episodes in before the UK could legally see it when Paramount+ finally launched in the UK. To make matters worse, when Paramount+ Finally did make its UK debut, only the first three SNW episodes were available. Bizarrely this model was picked up for the European release in December.
While not quite a “show” there have been rumblings of a Star Trek movie, but so far nothing has materialised.
Spin off Content/merchandise
2022 has seen no shortage of cool merchandise, including new Playmates Figures, Nerf Phasers, continued novel releases and video games. In particular, Trek Alumni continue to return to Star Trek online, from both classic and legacy. Star Trek Resurgence, while looking promising, has been delayed.
Conventions
Convention goers were dealt a one two punch in 2022 as Destination Star Trek London was cancelled, and Mission Chicago was also scrapped. Trek alumni have been present at various unofficial events and general comicons around the world.
As 2023 dawns, things look promising for the Star Trek world. As much Trek as there has been this year, there is set to be as much next year. Discovery Season 5 and Picard Season 3 have been announced. Lower Decks Season 4, and Strange New Worlds season 2 are expected. Prodigy season 2 is in production, and hopefully we will get some of that soon. While there will be no narrative movie, the Voyager Documentary “To the Journey” will also be delivered. Meanwhile, we will revisit Khan Noonien Singh in a new Podcast form audio series.
My hopes for 2023 is that we get announcements of 2 or 3 more shows, the successor to Picard and Starfleet Academy and a third show we aren’t expecting. I also hope Paramount will make more fan friendly decisions in 2023!