COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK: 2007 Star Trek Ornaments!

It's Christmas in January! My mother-in-law in Richmond, Virginia, who always hunts Star Trek collectibles for me across the yard sales and flea markets of the state, was upset during the holidays because she couldn't find some of the gifts she had purchased for me.

Let me explain: she has two houses where she splits her time, four daughters, four son-and-laws and a whopping twelve grandchildren to buy gifts for, and understandably, it's hard to keep track of everything. And hey, it's cool -- because I found a package on my porch yesterday morning with...surprise, my Christmas presents inside. Nana came through again. Whoo-hoo.

Anyway, as you can see from the photos, I found in the package three 2007 Star Trek keepsake ornaments from Hallmark, dated 2007 (and one stamped "limited quantity.") My favorite of the three is undoubtedly this amazing ornament from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Battery operated, you "press the button on the base of the ornament to activate the sights and sounds of an epic battle scene from one of the most action-packed Star Trek films ever."

I know this next comment will reveal my utterly geeky nature, but what the heck. I love this ornament in part because of the incredible detail. In particular, Sulu's helm panel and the navigation station are pinpoint accurate in terms of the layout and design of the controls. How do I know? Well, in The Wrath of Khan there's this sweeping pan across the same console on Reliant ("The override, where's the override!"), and when I was sick in high school for like a month (carbon monoxide poisoning from a malfunctioning furnace in our old house...) I watched The Wrath of Khan every day. Over and over. Obsessively. Sometimes I would freeze-frame shots, or watch them in slow motion. So yes, I remember the controls EXACTLY. And so does this ornament. Lovely.

Next up we have gorgeous Lt. Uhura, as played by Nichelle Nichols. Even in ornament form, the lieutenant looks mighty fine in a mini-skirt. She's got that funny little listening device in one ear, and again - the console (from the original series) is very accurately depicted here. Cool!

Finally, there's the three-nacelle Enterprise D from the future, and the final episode of Next Gen, "All Good Things." I also have a Playmates toy of this ship somewhere in storage, I think. This is a cool ornament but I have to admit it bugs me a little that this was supposed to be the design o the Enterprise twenty five-years after the series, but by the time of First Contact, when a new Enterprise was built, this design was scrapped and a totally new Enterprise designed instead. Still, it's a lovely piece to own, and you can "press the button on the bottom of the ornament to see the ship's deflector dish and engines illuminate."

I have so many of these ornaments, going back to 1992, that I need three trees on which to display them. So this was a very nice post-holiday surprise and three terrific ornaments. .