Good News for UK Trekkies
After several days of less-than-great news for UK-based fans of Star Trek, it appears they now have something to look forward to…
First of all, we’ve had confirmation that not only will Paramount+ launch on time as expected in the UK and Ireland, on Wednesday 22nd June 2022, but it will launch with the first three episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – “Strange New Worlds”, “Children of the Comet”, and “Ghosts of Illyria”. New episodes will then appear weekly every Wednesday. Unfortunately, this means that viewers in the UK and Ireland will still have to hit that mute button on certain social media tags, as they’ll be several episodes behind the US broadcast (when the channel launches in the UK and Ireland, the seventh episode of the show will have been released the previous week in the US, with the eighth to follow the next day). While this release strategy isn’t perfect, at least they will finally be able to watch the show. Hopefully, this will also mean that, by the time the next series hits screens, they’ll be able to keep up without having to worry about spoilers several months in advance.
Meanwhile, Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits) of TheDigitalBits.com has discovered information to suggest that the 4K releases of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and the long-anticipated Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition will be released in Europe this coming September, with the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies to follow with a 4K release as early as next year. While there is not yet any official listing for these titles, Bill’s source suggests that the releases are on their way. More info can be found at his site, here: https://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/052922-1100
Finally, there’s some good news for UK-based collectors, too. Retailer Forbidden Planet has announced a new exclusive t-shirt featuring Anson Mount as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Captain Christopher Pike. It can be ordered at ForbiddenPlanet.com, here: https://forbiddenplanet.com/357731-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-t-shirt-captain-pike/
While these announcements may not entirely negate the events of the last week, it seems that, on some fronts at least, Star Trek fandom in the UK is being catered to.
DK Sellers has been a fan of Star Trek since his parents sat him in front of the TV, as a child, to watch the TOS episode “The Changeling”, little realising the consequences of their actions. He is a freelance writer, author and co-host of the Hit or Miss: Star Trek and Silver Screen podcasts.