Kevin Dilmore tests out the Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator Arcade Game at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Nevada back in 2013. This is the very machine that would be photographed a decade later when bringing the 2025 Keepsake to fruition.
The cabinet graphics would be recreated by Orville Wilson from art on a brochure for the game. The gameplay heard in the ornament and seen on the display was captured while Kevin played an online emulator of the game.
(No word if a Kevin Dilmore pose-able action figure will be available at a later date.)
We finally get to lay our eyes on the 2025 Hallmark Star Trek lineup and it is spectacular. Nine ornaments in all representing six Trek series! Of course we knew about Prodigy’s Janeway and Picard’s U.S.S. Titan but there is also a big Borg table decoration, TNG’S Guinan, a Lower Decks two pack of Boimler and Mariner, a Star Trek arcade game and even minis of U.S.S. Voyager and Seven of Nine in her plum catsuit! WHEW!!!
We will delve deeper into the individual ornaments later but for now let’s just soak these in…
Miniature ornaments…
With word spreading about Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments’ 2025 assortment, I’m back to share some background on our Star Trek offerings for this year.
Representing Star Trek: The Next Generation, we have Guinan in a pose inspired by her appearance in the season 2 episode “Q Who.” Available in October.
Representing Star Trek: Picard, we have the U.S.S. Titan NCC-80102-A as seen in season 3. Available in October.
Representing Star Trek: Prodigy, we have Hologram Janeway, the U.S.S. Protostar’s holographic training advisor. Available in October.
Representing fan-favorite Star Trek official products, we have a re-creation of 1983’s Star Trek Strategic Operations Simulator Arcade Game in its sit-down “Captain’s Chair” cabinet. This ornament features a lighted display and original sounds from the game. Available in October.
Indulge me in a little elaboration on this ornament. How many of us wanted to own this arcade game? How many of us actually do? Well, as far as I’m concerned, this ornament is the next best thing to it. I still am pinching myself that it actually exists. Keepsake Artist Orville Wilson and Hallmark sound engineer Chris Johnson did masterful work bringing this to life considering the lengths we went for source material. The sculpt is based on dozens of photos I took of a sit-down cabinet on display in the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Nevada. The cabinet graphics were recreated by Orville from art on a brochure for the game I picked up on eBay. The gameplay heard in the ornament and seen on the display was captured while I played an online emulator of the game. I hope you relish it as much as I!
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Star Trek: Lower Decks, we have a two-pack of Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Bradward Boimler. Available in July.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager, we have two miniature ornaments:
—Seven of Nine in a plum variation of her outfit prescribed by the Emergency Medical Hologram, which debuted in season 5. Available in October.
—The U.S.S. Voyager in a scaled-down version. Available in October.
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-part episode “The Best of Both Worlds,” we have the Beware the Borg! Table Decoration. When connected to its included power cord, the cube can be set to either a continuing colorful light display or a light display accompanied by atmospheric sound effects of a Borg cube interior. When the button is pressed, the cube plays a three-act performance of dialogue and sound effects from the episode.
There you have it—our complete lineup for 2025. Or is it . . . ?
U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B (Nexus Damage), Star Trek Generations™ Keepsake Ornament – To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Star Trek Generations feature film, this lighted event-exclusive Keepsake Ornament depicts damage sustained by the U.S.S. Enterprise-B while encountering the Nexus ribbon.—Only 3,200 Produced! $35.
Hallmark at San Diego Comic-Con: This year at San Diego Comic-Con, July 25-28, fans will have the chance to purchase highly sought-after event exclusives and more limited-edition fandom must-haves from both Hallmark booths. All products on display will either be for purchase or sneak peeks!
Hallmark For All Fankind Booth #3348: Variety of pop culture products from sci-fi to gaming to anime and more available for purchase and 2024 sneak peeks on display, plus a button giveaway!
Hallmark at New York Comic Con: The same Six Exclusive Ornaments and Rainbow Brite Exclusive Pin PLUS a Ghostbusters Exclusive Pin will be available at the Hallmark Booth at New York Comic Con, October 17-20. Other on-site activities planned for the event released closer to the date.
Comic Con Exclusive Product Details: The event exclusives will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis at the Hallmark booths when the convention opens each day. Sales permit one of each exclusive product to be sold per person, per transaction while supplies last.
Allotments will be divided evenly each day of the two comic conventions. Additionally, a small quantity of some of the exclusives will be made available for Keepsake Ornament Club Members. For more information on KOC membership, visit Hallmark.com/KOC.
Pros: The detail in the folds and creases of Chekov’s tunic is remarkable, especially given the small scale. It’s a testament to how refined the Storyteller series has become. Cons: No Chekov screams from the agony booth? A missed opportunity for both drama and delight!
Okay, FOR THE RECORD, I had the audio pulled for the agony booth scene. Just imagine the lights on the base swirling as Chekov screams.
SPOCK: Captain, I am pleased that you frustrated Mister Chekov’s plan. I should regret your death. KIRK: Why? SPOCK: I do not desire the captaincy. I much prefer my scientific duties. I am frankly content to be a lesser target. KIRK: Logical, as always, Mister Spock. (Chekov screaming) SPOCK: The agony booth is a most effective means of discipline. I presume you’ve ordered full duration. KIRK: I haven’t decided. SPOCK: Indeed. His act warrants death. KIRK: I said I haven’t decided. SPOCK: That is, of course, your affair.
This is a big moment in the story. It’s our recognizing that Spock knows something is up. But I was told that no one wants blood-curdling screams coming from a Christmas tree.
I’m not sure when the official announcement is planned regarding our 2024 convention exclusives. I’ll say that the announcement likely will be of interest to this group. 🙂
Image from “Mirror, Mirror” showing the absence of the Terran Empire symbol on the saucer section.
In regard to the Terran Empire insignia, I do hear ya but that’s how the licensor was wanting things back then. We were not the only ones in that situation.
Those are fair comments. Not just ornaments but any consumer products produced early in a TV show’s run feel like missed opportunities as time passes. I do have a soft spot in my heart for this one for a couple of reasons. Doug Jones is a great friend of us who work at Hallmark’s booth at Comic-Con International in San Diego, so I enjoyed capturing his character in ornament form. I also got the chance to give one of these to Sonequa Martin-Green when we attended a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas in 2019. She had not seen it before I gave it to her, and her joy was very apparent.
Pike: Our mission? We explore. We seek out new life and new civilizations. We boldly go where no one has gone before.
Uhura: Cool…sir.
Pike: Let’s take her out, Lieutenant Ortegas. Warp factor two. Hit it.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Strange New Worlds” Season 1, Episode 1
What you hear is what you get. 🙂 I was happy to be allowed to pull voices from multiple characters for the audio storytelling despite only Captain Pike being represented in the ornament. I’m looking forward to doing that more.
Spock: You have an efficient intellect, superior physical skills, no emotional impediments. There are Vulcans who aspire all their lives to achieve what you’ve been given by design.
Data: Hm. – You are half Human?
Spock: Yes.
Data: Yet you have chosen a Vulcan way of life?
Spock: I have.
Data: In effect, you have abandoned what I have sought all my life.
{…}
Data: Ambassador Spock, may I ask a personal question?
Spock: Please.
Data: As you examine your life, do you find you have missed your humanity? Spock: I have no regrets.
To be honest, as this predates my current role in ornaments, I thought it would be a series, too. I’m going to look into this as a possibility since we have some milestone anniversaries in the coming years.
Is an ornament without an eye for the hook still an ornament? Well, no, not according to the people who look at these things for contractual and tax purposes. I get the reasoning that it could be hung by the strap but sometimes it’s not that easy; we don’t want it being mistaken for a toy or a non-ornament collectible, which would require different licensing agreements. #TheMoreYouKnow
Myself, I think it looks kinda weird hanging by the strap. 🙂
Dr. Beverly Crusher“Unification II”Captain Christopher PikeU.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-BN.S.E.A. ProtectorSpockU.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 refitThe Keeper
To celebrate Star Trek: The Next Generation, we have two ornaments:
—Dr. Beverly Crusher from the series available in October. This ornament features the Enterprise’s Chief Medical Officer in her lab coat rushing to a medical emergency tricorder in hand. This is the first non-Magic Keepsake Ornament produced of an Enterprise-D crew member since 1997 and it’s certainly time to get back in the habit of doing so.
—Spock and Data in a scene from the Season 5 episode “Unification II” available in October. This ornament features sound from a conversation the two share in the episode that aired in November 1991.
To celebrate the five-year anniversary of Anson Mount assuming the role, we have Captain Christopher Pike from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds available in October. This ornament features dialogue and sound effects from the final moments of “Strange New Worlds,” the pilot episode of the series.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Trek Generations, we have the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B available in October. (Yes, finally.) This ornament features light effects activated by pushing a button.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of GalaxyQuest, we have the N.S.E.A. Protector available in October. Is this a Star Trek ornament? Well, no. Will Star Trek fans want to add this to their tree? Absolutely.
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, we have two ornaments:
—Spock wearing the standard duty Starfleet uniform introduced in the mid-2270s as a miniature ornament available in October.
—The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 refit as a miniature ornament available in October.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the completion of “The Cage,” Star Trek’s first episode, we have The Keeper available in July.
Okay, that’s a fair “con.” I can’t confirm this but I believe this began life as a concept for a tabletop to fast-follow the 2016 To Boldly Go. It might even have had Riker or another character on it, too. Then things got scaled down and it is what it is.
Yeah, someone I know made a bit of a fuss over Chekov being left out of the series. It was a decision that had been made based on lower than anticipated sales, and when that someone learned of the decision too late to help get it reinstated for the following year, that someone threw a fit. That someone said no fan or collector would trust Hallmark to finish out a crew in a series again if we did six cast members without doing at least the seventh (resigned to the likelihood of extending to nine being near impossible). When told later it couldn’t happen because the series had been announced as ended, another fit commenced saying our credibility was on the line here and that fit lasted until a path to adding Chekov—the “inspired by” path—was settled upon.
I can explain! Well, I can at least speak to your contra of the pro et contra. (See? And no one thought my 19 college hours of Latin would pay off.)
When this was in development, I did lobby for battle scarring on the C in stores. The argument against it was presented thusly: Many of these ornaments are purchased as gifts. While a self-purchaser would know why it looked “dirty,” a gift buyer might not know and could pass on the purchase. So we went with the “fresh from Utopia Planitia” version for retail. It took us a couple of years but we finally did set the record straight. 😉
That’s MY fact-based error! Dang it, I carry that as one of my greatest shames. (There are a LOT of them.) I just blanked out Uhura’s appearance in “Mudd’s Women” when I wrote that off the top of my head on a short-notice assignment.
That ornament was produced in 2007 for a speculative Hallmark appearance at Comic-Con International that ultimately didn’t happen. When we went in 2008 only to display, we recognized the opportunity we were missing by not having exclusives. As we planned for the 2009 event, I mentioned that somewhere in our warehouse was a pallet of product we could take to the show. Someone managed to track it down, and thus the exclusive was made available.
The summer of 2008, though, when we believed there would be no future for these ornaments, I was given a handful of the ornaments to donate to an auction for a fundraiser at the Shore Leave convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland. I believe three of them were auctioned. I brought back two of them signed by Nichelle Nichols, who was a guest at the convention. One of the ornaments met a cruel fate when it was dropped and shattered.
So where did the signed ornaments go? I gave one to Anita Marra Rogers because she certainly should have one. The other went to my uncle, who was an avid Keepsake Ornament collector until his passing.
Hallmark Star Trek Ornaments 