Display MoreIt's time for March's 'cartoon' marathon and this is one a number of folks have been waiting for: we're beginning a study of how Star Trek influenced Wing Commander! The original Star Trek and Star Trek The Next Generation were both enormous influences on many aspects of Wing Commander and we've planned an event spanning two months to study some of them!
Star Trek - The Cage (s1e00): The first connection to Wing Commander is a simple one but since it's a direct call out to the very first Star Trek pilot we thought that was a great place to begin. Secret Ops veterans who played through the actual episodes as they came out may remember that the very first winning password in the game was "Talos IV", a reference to the dangerous planet that Captain Pike and his crew visit in The Cage.
Star Trek - Space Seed (s1e22): The introduction of Star Trek's greatest villain, Khan, has a very literal connection to Wing Commander: Khan's DY-100 sleeper ship inspired a signature design element for all of the Confederation capital and support ships in Wing Commander II. That's right, the 1990-vintage submarine conning tower from the Botany Bay became the common design element between the Clydesdale, Gilgamesh, Waterloo, Confederation and even the unused Crossbow corvette and unnamed frigate!
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Where No One Has Gone Before (s1e06): One of Star Trek TNG's very first episodes was written by the same woman that scripted Privateer 2: The Darkening! Diane Duane penned Where No One Has Gone Before adapting her own original Star Trek novel The Wounded Sky.Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds I (s3e26): TNG's famous season-ending cliffhanger occurs here and it is a VERY close connection to the original Wing Commander team. During that game's lengthy and difficult crunch, the team would break from working only to sleep and for one hour a week to watch the new episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That ended in late June when Best of Both Worlds I aired… and then returned just days before Wing Commander shipped on September 26th with Best of Both Worlds II.
That's right, that long painful summer you remember was literally when they made Wing Commander I! This month we're going to recreate that wait by watching the first Best of Both Worlds and then picking it up in April with the cliffhanger! So JOIN US on Saturday, March 14th at noon Eastern when we'll enjoy them all together! We recommend pajamas and cereal to accompany the chat.
All four episodes are currently streaming on Paramount+. We've uploaded a zip of all four episodes together locally that you can grab in advance if you would prefer to play them locally. You can get that here. Both series are available physically on BluRay.
How do we watch the shows together?
It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Saturday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the shows in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should download their own copies from the CIC and we will count down to play them one at a time together starting with the short at noon EST on Saturday. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!
Will there be custom certificates made for the attendees this time?
Yes.
Once again, no actual cartoon?
Argh. Next month we'll have one… you jerk!
I love these events but want to do better long term planning. Do you have any others coming up?
We do! Here's the upcoming schedule. And if you have any idea for a future lineup, please feel free to suggest it on the forums!
- Marathon 9 - The Final Frontier, Part Two - April 18
- Marathon 10 - Exploring the Armada Sectors - May 17
- Marathon 11 - Back in the 90s - June 13
