All kinds of Star Trek toys have been hitting the net this week. Previews of Playmates products appeared in USA Today, which offered further hints as to some of the props, costumes, and sets. I'm really in love with the bridge playset pictured above, and wish I was six years old so I could sit everyone down in those little chairs. What's pretty cool about this Playmates line is that a lot of emphasis has been put on making the toys affordable and accessible to the wee ones in order to raise a new generation of Trekkies/Trekkers. You have to keep geekdom going somehow, after all.

Not to be outdone, Mattel released a preview of their Spock, Kirk, and Uhura Barbie dolls. This caused a bit of snarking on sites like Sci Fi Wire, who feel this is an indication of how lowbrow the J.J. Abrams film will be. I'm not sure how it spells doom and gloom, as Mattel has done Trek barbies before, and it's not as though merchandising is new to the Trek universe. Maybe it's because it's a "girl" toy over a "boy" one.

And last but not least, IDW's first issue of Star Trek Countdown #1 hit stores this week. You can catch a preview here of the four issue series that gives Nero's origin story. Reviews have been popping up online and wow -- it's hard to believe that the secrey obsessed J.J. Abrams would let so much plot slip, but he has. If you want to see the movie completely fresh, avoid it. If you're too cheap to buy the comic, but want to spoil yourself, AICN and IGN are just two of many that have a blow-by-blow account that I won't post here out of respect for those not wanting to know everything before May. Why not just regress into childhood, and enjoy the toy gallery below?