No More SOTL Calendars After 2013?

[Therin of Andor]

The Wormhole wrote:

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Trek XI's release saw an increase in Trek merchandise related to the prime timeline. TOS was released on blu-ray, all ten previous movies were released on blu-ray, special DVDs were released containing the best of TOS and TNG. Not to mention most stores had big displays of previous Trek releases on DVD at special prices, and so on. None of this had a nagative impact on Trek XI.

I know that. Video shops were pleasantly surprised when all of their ST boxed sets were doing brisk business after newbies discovered ST (2009).

There's room for two Star Trek continuites to exist together. There's no need to embargo the previous continuity for the sake of a new movie.

Marketing strategies may disagree with you. Abrams copped some criticism that ST (2009) underperformed internationally compared to other franchises. Experimenting with an embargo is not done on a whim.

[Christopher]

How much of this "embargo" is fact and how much is speculation, though? The only context in which I've heard it definitely confirmed is for soundtrack releases. La-La Land had to make sure their TOS box set (which goes on sale tomorrow and is the most amazing thing ever) was out by the end of the year because they wouldn't be able to release it in 2013, and I think the same goes for a DS9 set that's upcoming. But I haven't heard of it happening anywhere else. It's evidently not the reason for the end of the SOTL calendars; from what Drexler has said, that's due more to the state of the calendar industry in general and the abundance of online fan art. And it evidently doesn't apply to the novels, as my manuscript deadline a week from now makes very clear to me. Memory Alpha lists a number of other nonfiction books on the slate for 2013 -- the ones mentioned above, a few craft books, and a reference book called Star Trek FAQ 2.0. The TPB of IDW's TNG Hive miniseries will be out early in 2013. And Blu-Ray releases of ENT season 1 and TNG season 3 are reportedly slated for 2013 as well. Moreover, when I search Google for "Star Trek 2013 embargo," the only relevant result I get is this very thread.

So I just don't see any evidence of an embargo anywhere other than soundtrack CDs. Maybe that market in particular is narrow enough that the competition would be seen as harmful.

[MatthiasRussell]

Without SOTL calendars, I hope there is still money to fund official art of trek lit ships.

SOTL is a terrible calendar, but a great art collection.

[beamMe]

MatthiasRussell wrote:

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... but a great art collection.

Not counting Drexler's own creations though. Such a talented guy, but his renders are on the lower end of the quality scale for these calendars.

[JD]

MatthiasRussell wrote:

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Without SOTL calendars, I hope there is still money to fund official art of trek lit ships.

SOTL is a terrible calendar, but a great art collection.

This is pretty much how I feel too. I don't get it as a calendar, I get it because I really like the artwork. That's pretty much true of all of the calendars I've bought over the last few years. I have the date on both my phone, and my watch so I don't need a calendar to keep track of the days.

[Therin of Andor]

Christopher wrote:

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Maybe that market in particular is narrow enough that the competition would be seen as harmful.

Highly possible. Soundtracks were the first music genre to go CD-only, and then download only, putting many specialist soundtrack shops out of business.

JD wrote:

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I've bought over the last few years. I have the date on both my phone, and my watch so I don't need a calendar to keep track of the days.

I've always bought all of them since 1980. I realised the other day, I hadn't turned a 2012 page over since March, so yeah, I rarely refer to my wall calendar these days.

[newtontomato539]

shanejayell wrote:

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Sounds like it surprised a lot of readers. I like the speculation that Abrams doesn't want 'old Trek' being promoted.

Oohh yeah. The "JJ Abrams is Evil" tm.

[Therin of Andor]

shanejayell wrote:

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Sounds like it surprised a lot of readers.

Calendar readers?

[RAMA]

Reports of the SoTL's death were premature!

http://www.thetrekcollective.com/201...ves.html#links

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...0949.570346103

[The Wormhole]

OH YES!!!

You have no idea how much of a downer it was looking opening my calendar on New Year's thinking this was the last of the series. This is the best possible way to start off a week.

[Avro Arrow]

RAMA wrote:

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Reports of the SoTL's death were premature!

That is awesome news! Thanks for sharing. I'll certainly be picking up the 2014 version, and any future SOTL calendars they produce!

[JD]

Cool. I was disappointed when I they said '13 was going to be the last.

[ChristopherPike]

Just found about this. Fantastic news. I've gotten used to having amazing Starfleet ships in new original universe scenes hanging on the wall each month. Lapsed this year due to SOTL not being as available here for some reason. Although I did turn down that pure Abramsverse option. Printing out my own on A4 from a crappy inkjet wouldn't really be much of a substitute. So the artwork's is really appreciated here.

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I definitely agree with the assertion that as calendars, they are more-or-less useless. Yet because the paintings are so beautiful, they'e still prominently featured on my Christmas wish list, and I make a point of researching where they can be found locally, and what they look like (rather important, this time around, given that 2013 had a change of cover image, on top of there being an Abramsverse* "ships" calendar in the U.K. only adding to the confusion).

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JHHL
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*My reaction to the Abramsverse is along the line of "where are Dulmur, Lucsly, and "Crewman Daniels" when you need them?"

[Therin of Andor]

hbquikcomjamesl wrote:

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I definitely agree with the assertion that as calendars, they are more-or-less useless.

Why not put the calendar into one of those quick-frame acrylic devices?