It thankfully stops short of “meat”:

Such animated characters are composed of solid matter arranged by transporter-based replicators and manipulated by highly articulated computer-driven tractor beams. The results are exceptionally realistic “puppets,” which exhibit behaviors almost exactly like those of living beings, depending on software limits.

Objects created on the Holodeck that are pure holographic images cannot be removed from the Holodeck, even if they appear to possess physical reality because of the focused forcebeam imagery. Objects created by replicator matter conversion do have physical reality and can indeed be removed from the Holodeck, even though they will no longer be under computer control.

Obviously, there is an inconsistency here, as we saw that later holographic characters could not be removed from the holodeck, and therefore must not have been replicated.

I don’t think so - I’ve never been able to find it.

That isn’t actually stated anywhere, but…it kind of has to be true in order for latinum to work.

The Technical Manual explanation is not that replicators create matter out of pure energy - they are a type of transporter that dematerializes raw material and rematerializes it to match a molecular pattern. They are “matter-energy converters” only in the sense that the stream of particles during the materialization process could be called an energy stream.

These replicator system headends are located on Deck 12 in the Saucer Module [of the Enterprise-D] and on Deck 34 in the Engineering Section. These systems operate by using a phase-transition coil chamber in which a measured quantity of raw material is dematerialized in a manner similar to that of a standard transporter.

Instead of using a molecular imaging scanner to determine the patterns of the raw stock, however, a quantum geometry transformational matrix field is used to modify the matter stream to conform to a digitally stored molecular pattern matrix. The matter stream is then routed through a network of waveguide conduits that direct the signal to a replicator terminal at which the desired article is materialized within another phase transition chamber.

Yeah…I think a lot of that will depend on what the actual plot of the thing is, and they’ve been keeping a surprisingly tight lid on that.

The covert mission to destroy Cardassian weapons that Starfleet Intelligence sent Picard, Crusher, and Worf on in “Chain of Command” was probably illegal, but I never hear people complaining about it.

Yeah, I only really thought of them because (a) the Memory Alpha page for “Exoskeleton” mentioned them, and (b) people have been comparing Zeph here to the Borg since images first came out.

Disregarding the Borg, I can’t think of any others.

Zeph has moved into my head, and he’s not moving out.

Star Trek has certainly never shied away from “fun and silly” before. I think it’s good to have different flavours available.

As long as I enjoy this thing, it should be enough for me.

I don’t want to get too excited in this time of contraction in the entertainment industry, but it’s exciting that they’re opening the door to this era.

The presence of a young Rachel Garrett seems to suggest it (she was likely born around 2300, so the movie could take place around 2330).

I don’t know if we’ll see any actual maroons, though - I think they’re operating outside of the Federation.

quick get Sam Witwer on the phone

the Discovery-era

Well, this seems poised to be set sometime after “The Undiscovered Country,” which is actually one of the more interesting aspects for me.

My plan is to go in expecting a goofy action movie, and hopefully I’ll find at least parts of it more compelling than that.

I’ve always felt that the Georgiou character is potentially interesting, and I liked her Discovery send-off. Of the “new” characters, Alok sounds interesting, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with Garrett.

I’m giving myself 50/50 odds of enjoying it.

I clicked hoping for a shot of the “Academy” set and left disappointed, but it’s a neat article regardless. The opening anecdote is great:

Olivia Chow has a model starship in her office.

It’s the USS Toronto, a Parliament-class vessel slightly bigger than her hand. An accompanying plaque features a quote from her husband, Jack Layton, who died in 2011.

“Always have a dream that will outlast your lifetime,” it reads.

Layton, the former federal NDP leader, was a fan of “Star Trek.”

I’d like to know where the model came from - was it a gift?

I swear, they must do it on purpose.

The Mega Bloks license ended in 2018. BlueBrixx was 2021-2024.

Don’t a ton of the episodes deal with life outside the federation, boldly go where no (hu)man has gone before and all that? Hell, DS9 took place on a space station outside the federation…

I think it’s a stretch to say that they do. The primary characters are nearly always Starfleet/Federation characters, and the events of the episodes are generally seen through their eyes, even if they are technically outside the Federation. The main exception would be the DS9 Ferengi episodes, but there’s really only a handful of those.

Risa was part of the Federation. Unless that was retconned with nu-trek or something…

The only reason Risa came up in the article is because the pitch of the new show is that it’s set on a resort planet, and people unfortunately lack imagination and assumed that meant Risa, even though the pitch also said it was set outside the Federation.

This interview confirms that the setting is not, and has never been, Risa.

We’ll see how it all pans out. I feel somehow skeptical that the Federation perspective won’t worm its way in there somewhere.

I’m seeing credible-seeming rumours that Lego has acquired the license, but nothing official yet…

Don’t blink - you might miss it.