Sir Patrick Stewart 1940 - 2026

Star Trek has lost a true legend. Sir Patrick Steward has died at the age of 86 in Los Angelas after a "a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia." His death was announced on his official social media channels including Instagram.

We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia. He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all. We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.

A son of Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he travelled from the Royal Shakespeare Company to an equally acclaimed career spanning six decades on Broadway, the silver screen and television.

Walter Koenig 1936 - 2026

Star Trek has lost one of its key bridge crew of the Enterprise with the death of Walter Koenig at the age of 90. The actor is most famous for playing Pavel Chekov for Star Trek: The Original Series and the movies. A character remarkable at the time for his Russian origins at the height of the Cold War. 

The news of Koenig died Sunday and was reported by Zachery McGinnis of Galactic Productions who wrote "Walter’s legacy extends far beyond the screen. Through countless convention appearances and interactions with fans, he shared his kindness, wit, and appreciation with everyone fortunate enough to meet him. He understood what Star Trek meant to people and embraced the community that grew around it." Koenig was a Star Trek mainstay on the convention circuit willing to provide a smile, a story and signature to fans for many decades. 

George Takei (Sulu) wrote about his friend, saying “My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today. Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. ...Walter was more than Chekov. He was a writer, a teacher, a thoughtful man, and a loyal friend. To the fans who loved him for so many years, thank you. He loved you too. Rest well, my dear friend. Keep navigating a steady course.” Other Trek alumni tributes here.

Magic: The Gathering Star Trek Set Revealed

The first solid look at Magic: The Gathering - Star Trek set has been revealed via the video below. The set is entirely focused on 60 years of Star Trek, the 33 year card game will make use of renaming existing game mechanics while introducing new ones that are based on the Star Trek universe. 

Even if not familiar with Magic as a game, which is somewhat simple in concept but incredibly complicated in execution (think Chess), for me the main value of Magic has always been the art that is created for the sets and this one is no different as it taps into all many characters, worlds, ships, moments and franchises from the last 60 years that may act as a fun walk down memory lane.

I recommend viewing the video below whether a seasoned player or if only to check out the art. It starts with a couple of minutes with various actors from the franchise discussing the cards with the younger set knowing about Magic and the older set just briefly talking Trek. It then moves into members of the Magic team going over various cards and the mechanics being introduced.

The sets does have very rare signatures cards (250 copies each) from various actors from the franchise including William Shatner and Patrick Stewart but they are only possible to get in Collector Booster packs which often average $80 per pack (~$700 per box of 12 packs) so not really something I recommend aiming for. 

Collecting Magic cards can be expensive, I do not recommend approaching it with a "have to collect them all" mentality but approach it as something that may provide some neat artwork and maybe a game worth learning to play. Or if seasoned player, a way to devise new ways to defeat future opponents. 

Most local card shots and online stores have pre-orders available now for a release date of November 13, 2026. The pre-release weekend starts November 6 and allows you to buy Pre-Release box that lets you play with the set for the first time, check with local card stores for details. If just want to check out the cards, good chance Target, Walmart and stores like that will have individual packs available starting November 13 for around $7 each. 

Amazon also has sets currently for pre-order, be aware prices will flucuate wildly over time and never know if will be cheaper or more expensive. The nature of a collector's hobby. 

Packs: Booster Box of 36 packs | Collector Booster | Collector Booster Box of 12 packs 

Bundles: Star Trek Bundle | Beam Me Up Bundle | Draft Night 

Commander Decks: Federation Fleet | Landing Party | Klingon Fury | We Are The Borg 

Sets: Set of 4 | Collector's Edition Set of 4

Scene Box: Divergent | Enterprise-Q 

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Blu-Ray Set

Now available for pre-order on Amazon is Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Blu-Ray set for release on December 1st on two discs. A DVD or 4K release is not currently announced. The set will contain the ten episodes of the season but no other special feature details have been revealed. This post will be updated once more information is released.

The Center Seat II Out for Star Trek's 60th

Happy Birthday to Star Trek. Five years after it's first season, the second season of The Center Seat documentary is out now for the 60th Anniversary of Star Trek. The franchise official birthday is today as it marks the day the first episode of Trek aired on NBC. The first season covered the TV shows from TOS to Enterprise with Star Trek I to VI. The second six episode season covers the TNG movies and the Kelvin set movies. Both seasons are on YouTube from the Nacelle Company.