Year Four, Issue 4 was the fourth of a six-part comic book miniseries written by David Tischman and published by IDW Publishing in 2007. The story took place during the fourth year of the five-year mission of Captain James T. Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise. It was drawn by Rob Sharp & Joe Sharp and dealt with a society obsessed with television.
Publisher's description
From solicitations: On Viden 9, the U.S.S. Enterprise encounters a planet similar to 21st century Earth, where the population has a never-ending appetite for entertainment, and people will do anything for fame. When Captain Kirk and his crew become media sensations, the competing networks that control Viden's government won't let them leave, unless Kirk agrees to a deadly "finale."
Summary
8,743 television channels were available to the public on Viden. A leading media organization, Trilateral Broadcasting Company, was filming an episode of the sitcom Welcome to the Family when the actor who played 18-year-old Cam sneaked offstage and attempted to flee the studio. A security guard shot him in the back – death was the penalty for trying to break a network contract. Cam's passing was witnessed by a landing party from the USS Enterprise, who were there to facilitate a cultural exchange between Viden and the Federation. An i-News report publicized Captain Kirk's negative reaction to the death, spurring a drop in public approval for Trilateral.
Kirk told Trilateral's president of programming Ted Tinker they were done with their survey mission, but Tinker replied that Viden wanted to see more of them. Tinker had Kirk, Spock and McCoy locked in cells. When the guard Kren asked Kirk for an autograph, Spock was able to apply a Vulcan neck pinch so they could escape. Unfortunately they escaped onto the stage of a live transmission of The Dr. Marv Show. Afterward, Kirk agreed to sign a contract to produce a variety show special, but lamented that he couldn't have his crew tied up on a TV series for five years.
Kirk auditioned Hikaru Sulu, Nyota Uhura, Christine Chapel, Leonard McCoy and Spock for the variety special, but Tinker's assistant Brandon had been reviewing Kirk's budget for the show and realized the production costs were too high. Tinker renegotiated for Kirk to produce a lower-budget reality show about life on the Enterprise. Tinker had bombs attached to cameras throughout the ship. After two weeks without anything dramatic happening, ratings plummeted. At that point, Montgomery Scott cut off the cameras and began dismantling the explosives. The ship left orbit, it's mission completed.
References
Characters
- Brandon • Cam • Christine Chapel • Pavel Chekov • James T. Kirk • Kren • John Kyle • Liza • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Ted Tinker • Nyota Uhura
- Referenced only
- Scott Tipton •
Starships and vehicles
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class) • hovercar
- Referenced only
- Klingon battle cruiser
Locations
- Viden (Stage 112 • Stage 243)
Races and cultures
States and organizations
- Starfleet Command • Trilateral Broadcasting Company • United Federation of Planets • Viden Broadcasting
Science and technology
Ranks and titles
- captain • doctor • lieutenant • president
Other references
- contract • Eden 3 • escape theory • fencing • frab bean • i-News • magician • NewsNow • reality show • remote • sitcom • space station • Starfleet Academy • The Dr. Marv Show • television • variety show • Welcome to the Family • x-ray vision • Vulcan lute • Vulcan neck pinch
Appendices
Background
- Like other issues in the miniseries this issues draws upon the traditions of TOS episodes, in this instance making a commentary on the current fascination with reality TV. It also emulates The Original Series by featuring an entirely Human looking alien race, whose technology and architecture is distinctly 20th century Earth looking.
Charlie Evans making a cameo appearance
- The top panel of page three includes a cameo appearance by Charles Evans from the TOS episode: "Charlie X".
- This is the first Star Trek comic to credit IDW's new editor Andrew Steven Harris, who took over from Dan Taylor when he left IDW.
- The ten pages of editorial content in this issue include a single page advert for the next issue of the Year Four miniseries.
Covers
- This issue was available in three covers; two standard covers, one each by Steve Conley and Joe Corroney; and a third of more limited retail incentive cover, a sketch version of the Corroney cover.
Related Stories
- TOS episode: "A Piece of the Action" – Kirk similarly adapted to the rules of the gangster society on Sigma Iotia II by presenting Star Fleet as an interstellar syndicate.
Images
Timeline
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Year Four, Issue 3 |
TOS comics Year Four |
Next comic: Year Four, Issue 5 |
| Previous comic: Year Four, Issue 3 |
Comics by: David Tischman |
Next comic: Year Four, Issue 5 |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Year Four, Issue 3 |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next Adventure: Year Four, Issue 5 |
External links
- Year Four, Issue 4 article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Year Four, Issue 4 review at Eruditorum Press: "One of the greatest Star Trek stories ever."