Villordsutch reviews Star Trek: New Visions – “1971/4860.2″…
Captain Kirk sets off alone on a mission that will carry him 200 years into his past… but he won’t be alone for long—Gary Seven returns!
In this issue of New Visions John Byrne returns to material which as I child I can clearly recall not overly enjoying. The episode in question was, “Assignment: Earth” and I remember not being a fan due to the feeling – even at the small age – that this wasn’t my usual Star Trek and everybody seemed to be playing second fiddle to the man in the suit. It was only years later did I discover that Assignment: Earth was an attempted spin off/pilot from Gene Roddenberry and it all became clear to me why I didn’t like it – I was being sold another product in my show. Now when I read that Mr. Byrne had plans to incorporate said bad memory into his New Visions Photoplay series, I’ll be honest I wasn’t feeling the most pleased about it all.
However, rather surprisingly John has actually turned this sour note in my Trek history and riffed it back in to make the harmony sing all rather well. Gary Seven is still a being of great enigmatic power, however within this tale – with Kirk – he actually feels more mortal and less pompous than I can recall; JB has given life to lifelessness.
In the initial Photoplay, “1971”, Kirk returns to Gary Seven in urgent need of his help due to an apocalyptic situation caused by the rather obnoxious Dhoraxi, who the Federation were recently at war with. The problem is that certain Dhoraxi members have altered history and manipulated time so that the human race ceased to exist from 1971. Not only this the Dhoraxi have proceeded to eradicate any world that had also joined Starfleet when it formed. Kirk has returned via the Guardian to seek help from Gary Seven as he believes that Ambassador Xahd – the Dhoraxi ambassador on the Enterprise – may know something about what is going on. Both Gary and Kirk discover the Dhoraxi are planning on using the United States nuclear missiles against Russia and they must find a way to stop them. During the battle – to save Planet Earth and in-turn all of Starfleet – we discover how the Ambassador manipulated time to eradicate the human race.
In our second shorter Photoplay, “4860.2”, we watch the Dhoraxi Ambassador aboard the Enterprise and how he manipulated the ship and its engines to complete his plan to eradicate the human race. We also witness how the crew responds and how they handle this bizarre situation, before coming to the aid of Captain Kirk. A rather smart opposite side of the coin tale.
Again the positives far out way the negatives here, as this is a very good issue. It’s clear as the Photoplays go on John Byrne is becoming more and more skilled in his work and the stories are becoming stronger too. However there are a couple of minor problems, these being that I really didn’t like the look of the Dhoraxi nor their weapon as these stood out on the page rather blatantly; personally I would have perhaps used a known enemy of the Federation, though I can understand John Byrne wanting to push his skills. My other problem is more me nitpicking, but Kirk has been wandering around for nearly two weeks in the same clothes yet they look amazingly clean.
Star Trek: New Visions – “1971/4860.2” is a very enjoyable issue and you would do well grabbing yourself a copy today.
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=IWWtOQOZSTI
Originally published July 8, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
