star trek house of cards

House of Cards

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House of Cards is a Star Trek: New Frontier novella – the first book in the series – written by Peter David . Published by Pocket Books , it was first released in July 1997 .

• 2 Background information
• 3.1 Main cast and recurring characters
• 3.2 Other characters
• 4.1 Timeline
• 5 External link

Summary [ ]

Background information [ ].

• The novella's title does not appear on its cover, where it is identified merely as Book One . House of Cards appears only on the inside title page, and identifies the book in Pocket's backlist.
• The novella was later collected in the Star Trek: New Frontier Omnibus .
• Combined with the other three novellas in this serialized release, House of Cards reached number nine on the New York Times Best Seller List for 3 August 1997 , the serial novel's third week on the list. [1] The serial remained on the list for four weeks.

Characters [ ]

Main cast and recurring characters [ ].

Elizabeth Shelby

Other characters [ ]

House of Cards

Star Trek Book Club

Star trek: new frontier: 1 house of cards.

• Jean-Luc Picard
• Mackenzie Calhoun

Sector 221-G: For the whole of Federation history, this large area of space has been controlled by the Thallonians, a cruel, militaristic race of which little is knownexcept that they rule the other races in their sector with vicious iron hand.Now the Thallonian Empire has collapsed and the systems it once ruled are in chaos. Old hatreds are surfacing. Petty tyrants control deadly weapons. World after world is descending into disorder and self-destruction. The Federation must send a starship to help where it can and report what it finds.

That ship is the U.S.S. Excalibur, a newly refit Ambassador-class starship commanded by Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and manned by Starfleet’s best and brightest, including some old friends from Star Trek: The Next Generation and some of the most dynamic new characters ever to crew a Federation starship.

Join Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before!

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ISBN: 0671013955

ISBN13: 9780671013950

House of Cards

(book #1 in the star trek: new frontier series ).

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Format: Mass Market Paperback

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The opening episode of the adventures of USS Excalibur, in which Captain Calhoun must venture into the domain of the vicious Thallonians. The Thallonian empire has recently collapsed with the result... This description may be from another edition of this product.

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Good star trek, start of a superior series of books, peter david delivers another fast ball down the middle, can't put this book down, the best trek series ever written, popular categories.

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House of cards (star trek: new frontier) - softcover, david, peter.

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Now the Thallonian Empire has collapsed and the systems it once ruled are in chaos. Old hatreds are surfacing. Petty tyrants control deadly weapons. World after world is descending into disorder and self-destruction. The Federation must send a starship to help where it can and report what it finds.

That ship is the U.S.S. Excalibur, a newly refit Ambassador-class starship commanded by Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and manned by Starfleet's best and brightest, including some old friends from Star Trek: The Next Generation and some of the most dynamic new characters ever to crew a Federation starship.

Join Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before!

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

• Publisher Pocket Books
• Publication date 1997
• ISBN 10  0671013955
• ISBN 13  9780671013950
• Binding Paperback
• Edition number 1
• Number of pages 168

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Star Trek: New Frontier, Nos. 1-4 (House of Cards / Into the Void / The Two-Front War / End Game) Audio Cassette – Audiobook, August 1, 1997

• Language English
• Publisher Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date August 1, 1997
• Dimensions 4.25 x 1 x 7.25 inches
• ISBN-10 0671576259
• ISBN-13 978-0671576257
• See all details

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Audio (August 1, 1997)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671576259
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671576257
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1 x 7.25 inches
• #83,551 in Science Fiction Adventures

About the author

Peter david.

Peter David is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous Star Trek novels, including the incredibly popular New Frontier series. In addition, he has also written dozens of other books, including his acclaimed original novel, Sir Apropos of Nothing, and its sequel, The Woad to Wuin. David is also well known for his comic book work, particularly his award-winning run on The Incredible Hulk. He recently authored the novelizations of both the Spider-Man and Hulk motion pictures.He lives in New York.

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Star Trek: Best Book-Only Characters

• The Star Trek novels introduce unique characters like Akaar and Treir, adding depth to the expansive Starfleet universe.
• Characters like Nick Keller and Elias Vaughn bring new perspectives to the post- DS9 era, facing challenging galactic events.
• Mackenzie Calhoun leads the USS Excalibur in a new hero ship series, showcasing tactical genius in the New Frontier books.

Just like the universe itself, the Star Trek franchise is huge and far-reaching, encompassing several television shows, and numerous video games, movies, and books. While many of Star Trek 's most iconic characters appear in various series and films, there are many other great characters who only feature in alternative media sources. For instance, the final frontier has spawned some memorable video game-based characters .

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Yet perhaps the richest source of characters is the now questionably canon series of books that take place following The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine . From fresh takes on classic species like the Andorians and Orions, to some of Starfleet's finest officers, the Star Trek novels are a treasure trove of notable figures.

Leonard James Akaar

First appearence: star trek mission gamma book one: twilight.

• Author: David R. George III
• Publication Date: September 2002

Leonard James Akaar is unique among novel-only characters in that he does, in fact, make a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on televised Trek . "Friday's Child," an episode of The Original Series , ends with his birth; however, the Capellan royal would not be seriously fleshed out until 2002's Mission Gamma: Twilight . By the time of the Deep Space 9 novels, Akaar had risen through the ranks of Starfleet to become an influential admiral with the ear of the Federation president.

Akaar's strategic mindset and steely resolve proved essential in preserving the Federation through some of its darkest periods, including the Borg invasion depicted in the Star Trek: Destiny series. The Starfleet legend may have been born in The Original Series , but the Star Trek novels were where he made his name.

First Appearence: Star Trek: Demons of Air and Darkness

• Author: Keith R. A. DeCandido
• Publication Date: September 2001

Star Trek features many inspirational female characters, from Kira Nerys to Katherine Janeway. However, few are as resourceful or as motivated as Treir , an Orion Dabo girl who transformed Quark's Bar into a highly successful business during the post- DS9 novels. Following her escape from Orion servitude, Treir earned her place as Quark's right-hand woman by implementing a series of radical reforms, including hiring a Dabo boy to attract more customers.

Star Trek: The Fates Of Every Live-Action TV Show's Main Character

Treir may not play a significant role in the canon-shattering events depicted in the Deep Space 9 novels, but this ruthless businesswoman helped to make Star Trek 's prose universe feel like a living, breathing place. If anyone is capable of giving Quark a run for his latinum, it's her.

Nick Keller

First appearence: star trek new earth: challenger.

• Author: Diane Carey
• Publication Date: August 2000

New Earth , a series of six novels that take place between Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan , was intended to act as a backdoor pilot for a new narrative focusing on Commander Nick Keller . In the final novel, Keller takes command of a makeshift starship in order to defend the human colony of Belle Terre from alien attack. Keller was conflicted between overthrowing his inept captain and preserving the lives of his comrades, and it's a great shame that a full series based on the space cowboy's adventures never emerged.

Interestingly, author Diane Carey based Keller's appearance on Scott Bakula, who would go on to play Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise . Keller, however, would make only two more appearances in the Star Trek universe, with both being part of the multi-series Gateways crossover event.

Elias Vaughn

First appearence: star trek: avatar (book one).

• Author: S. D. Perry
• Publication Date: July 2001

Elias Vaughn was a Starfleet officer and intelligence operative who joined Deep Space 9's command staff following the end of the Dominion War . Despite only holding the rank of commander, Vaughn's expertise proved a boon to the Federation outpost, and he played a role in several key events, including the USS Defiant 's post-war exploration of the Gamma Quadrant (depicted in the Mission Gamma sub-series).

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Vaughn was haunted by the death of his wife, Ruriko, and his troubled relationship with his estranged daughter, Prynn. This relationship was complicated by the fact that Prynn was also assigned to Deep Space 9. However, father and daughter were eventually able to reconcile–but not without some bumps along the way.

Christine Vale

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While William Riker's USS Titan has made notable appearances in Star Trek: Lower Decks , the starship's adventures were originally chronicled in a series of spin-off novels. These books featured Christine Vale , a former detective turned Starfleet officer, as Riker's second-in-command. Vale was initially unwilling to take the post, as she disliked the idea of Riker working so closely with his wife, Deanna Troi.

Luckily, Vale took the post, which allowed her to act as a counterweight to any of Riker's Troi-related biases. During her time aboard the USS Titan , she helped to explore the Beta Quadrant and fend off a Borg invasion. Indeed, her record was so good that, following Riker's promotion to admiral, she took command of the Luna -class starship.

Thirishar ch'Thane

From their initial appearance in 1967's "Journey to Babel" and 2001's "The Andorian Incident," references to Star Trek 's Andorians were true and far between. One important detail was disclosed in The Next Generation , however: Andorians have four sexes , with all four required for successful reproduction.

The character of Thirishar ch'Thane (or "Shar") was a response to this premise. Shar served as Deep Space Nine's science officer following the end of the Dominion War, but was torn between his commitments to Starfleet and to his mating group, who wished him to return to Andor. This dilemma was further complicated by a dangerous decline in Andorian fertility, which threatened to cause the Andorians' extinction in the long term. Shar was eventually able to use his scientific knowledge to help solve the Andorian fertility crisis.

The Jem'Hadar are one of Star Trek 's most iconic creations , a powerful race of warriors motivated by their addiction to the chemical ketracel-white. During the Dominion War of 2373–2375, the Jem'Hadar were central to the Dominion assaults which nearly overwhelmed the Federation Alliance.

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After the war's conclusion, Taran'atar , a Jem'Hadar without a ketracel-white dependency, was sent to Deep Space Nine as a cultural observer. Taran'atar's struggle to adjust to the Alpha Quadrant during peacetime makes for fascinating reading, as does seeing the fearsome warrior growing closer to his former enemies. Taran'atar's story takes some strange twists and turns, but he remains a fascinating character.

Mackenzie Calhoun

First appearence: star trek new frontier: house of cards.

• Author: Peter David
• Publication Date: July 1997

In 1997, Pocket Books published the first of Peter David's New Frontier books. While these novels included several characters from TV Trek (mostly notably Commander Shelby from "The Best of Both Worlds" ), they focused on a new hero ship, the USS Excalibur , and a new captain: Mackenzie Calhoun . Calhoun, an alien warrior modeled after Mel Gibson, was depicted as a tactical genius capable of beating Starfleet's toughest challenges–including the infamous Kobayashi Maru test.

Calhoun soon became a fan-favorite, with his New Frontier series including over 20 volumes. The Xenanian captain was even popular enough to be made into an action figure, the only example of this honor being bestowed on a character originating from any of Star Trek 's novels.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek Beyond

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Creation Year 1966

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Star Trek IV Was Originally About Saving Something Much Smaller Than Whales

After the release of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" in 1991, a consensus began to form among Trekkies as to which Trek movie was the best. Most fans agreed that the even-numbered films — "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," and "Country" — were the good ones, while the odd-numbered film — "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" — were the bad ones. This is arguably an unfair assessment, although "Final Frontier" is still often considered the worst in the series, and "Voyage Home" remains one of the most popular. 

Indeed, "Voyage Home," even when not adjusted for inflation, remains the most financially successful "Star Trek" movie released before 2009 . This might seem unusual to a 21st-century eye, as "Voyage Home" was a fish-out-of-water time travel comedy and not a revenge-motivated action flick. 

In the film, Admiral Kirk (William Shatner), the recently resurrected Spock (Leonard Nimoy, who also directed), and the rest of the crew of the now-destroyed U.S.S. Enterprise return to Earth to face the consequences of their actions committed in "Star Trek III." They find the Earth's oceans are being drained by an unknown alien probe looking for humpback whales, a species hunted to extinction a century ago. Using a broken-down Klingon ship, Kirk and co. travel back in time to retrieve whales from the year 1986. 

In the book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years," edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, the makers of "Star Trek IV" revealed that they initially thought of a different endangered species to rescue, namely: the snail darter, a recently discovered fish that was about three inches long.

There be whales here

Nimoy noted that he and producer Harve Bennett initially thought up a time-travel story for "Star Trek IV" and that "we should lighten up. The picture should be fun in comparison to the previous three." Nimoy also wanted the film to be centered on ecology and visited several universities to talk to environmental scientists and futurists to get their immediate concerns about the future. Ultimately, Nimoy said, those conversations spun off into philosophy and theory , leading to some deep consideration about how human contact with extraterrestrials might potentially change notions of religion and sociology. Fun conversations, to be sure, but not quite what Nimoy needed to form a story for a "Star Trek" script. 

It wasn't until he met with a particular author that notions of biodiversity — as a direct story element — began to enter Nimoy's mind in earnest. The director said: 

"In [Edward O. Wilson's] book Biophilia, he tells us we could be losing as many as ten thousand species off this planet per year—many of them having gone unrecorded. We won't even have known what they were and they will be gone. He touches on the concept of a keystone species. If you set up a house of cards you may be able to pull away one card successfully and another card successfully. But at some point you are going to get a card that is a keystone card. When that one is pulled away, the whole thing will collapse." 

Wilson's book is easy enough to find online . 

The "keystone," Nimoy pointed out, could be any species on Earth, and that it was wise to protect them. Throughout the 1980s, the slogan "Save the Whales" was largely touted on bumper stickers and by environmental activists. 

Lo, there was Nimoy's "hook."

The snail darter

Nimoy liked the idea of saving the whales, but there was a bit of a creative difference. Harve Bennett had the idea, according to StarTrek.com , to make the small snail darter the object of the time traveler's hunt. Bennett felt that it would be more poetic if the fate of the Earth rested in the hands (fins?) of an overlooked, seemingly insignificant species. In "The Fifty-Year Mission," executive producer Ralph Winter recalls hearing Nimoy talking about the snail darter, and how it was kind of a terrible idea. Winter said: 

"It was Leonard's idea about saving the whales as opposed to, as he famously said, 'trying to save the snail darter.' Saving whales made it a bigger movie." 

Indeed, saving whales made for a more dramatic story, as gathering them up and transporting them onto a starship required far more elaborate logistics. A small fry could merely be carried in a glass bowl. 

Importantly, though, Leonard Nimoy wanted a lighter tone than the previous movies. He found an efficient ecology story, but he wanted to eschew the headiness of the first film, the action of the second, and the tragedy of the third. Nimoy said: 

"I just felt it was time to lighten up and have some fun. That meant that if we were going to do time travel, the best thing we could do was come back to contemporary Earth, where we could have some fun with our people. They would more or less be a fish out of water on the streets." 

Nimoy's instincts were correct. Audiences loved "The Voyage Home."

Never second-guess again. The new Creator License covers personal projects online and on social media. See details .

Home » Filmmaking » The Costume Design of Star Trek, House of Cards, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding

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The Costume Design of Star Trek, House of Cards, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding

We spoke with costume designer Gersha Phillips about her bold designs for Star Trek: Discovery , all the suits in  House of Cards , and working on  My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Sonequa Martin-Green and Costume Designer Gersha Phillips on the Red Carpet during the Season 2 STAR TREK: DISCOVERY premiere party, held at the Conrad, New York on January, 17th. Photo Cr: Brad Barket/CBS © 2019 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.

PremiumBeat:  The Star Trek franchise is storied. Were you given a prime directive for the look and feel of Star Trek: Discovery ? Or were you tasked to bring the creative team a vision first? How was it tackling something so iconic?

Gersha Phillips : It is a huge responsibility, and it’s an amazing creative challenge. I am so grateful to have this opportunity! We hold the entire genre, the whole canon, and the fans in all of our creative processes and decision-making.

It gives us an opportunity to look into current technology and the future and imagine the possibilities. And it adds a whole new element to costume design! It’s been an inspiring experience.

And it’s also such an honor to think about my designs and my work and my team’s work being included in this iconic series of the Star Trek universe. It’s pretty cool!

I was invited to the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas last year, and it was incredibly surreal, humbling, and amazing to see the Star Trek fans and cosplayers dressed in their versions of our costumes!

Image via Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access).

PB:  When designing for women on the show — it’s been problematic in the past when the female characters were so sexualized (from the original  Star Trek  series with mini skirts to Seven of Nine in  Voyager   wearing body suits and high heels). What was your strategy to devise the sexy without the sexist?  Because the women look amazing, yet unexploited.

GP: I find this part so fascinating. Sexy means something different to every person you talk to, and I love working with that. My goal was to empower the female and male cast equally.

This creative journey gives us a great opportunity to showcase these very personal and culture-based concepts like “sexy” or “power” in terms of dress. We had to imagine what these things will mean far into the future and where we will be in terms of sexual politics, gender, sex, culture, and values. I think we knew very early on that Star Trek: Discovery was a progressive and inclusive show, and one of the major thoughts for me was that the definition of sex and gender would become irrelevant in the future. Working towards a non-binary element to costuming was really important to us, empowering all characters equally.

PB:  You’ve worked on series and on features. We often hear that TV is a writer’s medium and film is the director’s purview. Where do you feel the costume designer enjoys the most creative freedom? Or is it impossible to generalize?

GP: Twenty-two years ago, I would have said designing for film is definitely more creative without a doubt. But Star Trek: Discovery has become a case unto itself as we build 75-85 percent of the costumes on the show, and everyone is involved. I work closely with our showrunners, writers, producers, directors, production designer, DP, VFX, and props. It’s a very creative and collaborative environment to work in, and as an artist, I feel very grateful.

As always, what we do is driven by the scripts. We are so fortunate on this show that we are given a tremendous amount of creative freedom.

Image via House of Cards (Netflix).

PB:  You worked on the second season of House of Cards , which I imagine could simply have been a sea of red or blue ties and dark suits. Obama famously was called out for the audacity of once wearing a tan jacket. How do you find a character’s individual style in a series where political characters have the objective of blending in to remain uncontroversial?

GP: This is an example of the art of costume design — recreating reality even when it’s all navy blue! This is the look of the world of American politics, and delivering anything other than that would have a really distracting effect. You never want the clothing to compete with the script or the world it operates in. As costume designers, we bring characters and stories to life, and we recreate worlds. Some days, it’s Brooks Brothers, and other days it’s outer space in year 2259.

Image via My Big Fat Greek Wedding (IFC Films).

PB:  My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a smash, surprise hit. Your budget had to have been modest — how do you approach style economically?

GP: I love this question because it’s another way that creativity and design work can be impacted — THE MONEY!

Sometimes we have a great budget, and we can explore all sorts of possibilities, and other times less so, and then we get creative; we dig deeper, and sometimes we find gold. Depending on the look of a show, resale designer, used clothing, and rentals can really enhance the character and make the show more believable. This is less about budget and more about feeling and creating a world. It’s a really great topic because budgets are a huge part of our work in costume departments.

PB:  Finally, what do you want producers, directors, and talent to know to make your job more successful and seamless?

GP:  Making a film or a TV series like Star Trek: Discovery is an exciting challenge for everyone involved! For the producers, department heads, actors, and crew — we all work together and do our best. On Star Trek: Discovery we are so lucky to be heard and supported. The producers and directors are wonderful at meeting us halfway in order to serve an amazing final product.

The most important things we keep in mind is to keep the conversations going, be flexible, and trust each other. We all know what we are talking about!

Cover image via CBS All Access.

Want more industry interviews? Check these out.

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• In Sundance Movie Paddleton, Limited Space and Time Yield A Genuine Bromance
• Interview: Christina Kallas on Writing and Directing Multi-Protagonist Screenplays
• Tom Cross, ACE on Editing First Man and Working with IMAX Footage
• Round Table: Three Film Composers Converge on Sundance

Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hey Siri

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Hey Siri

Constructor: Rachel Fabi

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• C-SPAN (29A: "Booknotes" channel) Booknotes is a TV series that originally aired on C-SPAN from 1989-2004. The show was hosted by Brian Lamb, and each episode was a one-on-one interview with a non-fiction author. Transcripts of all 801 episodes of Booknotes are available online.
• SYRIAN HAMSTER (37A: Golden rodent often kept as a pet) Just for fun, I said to my phone, "HEY, SIRI, tell me about the SYRIAN HAMSTER." I learned that the native range of the SYRIAN HAMSTER, also known as the golden HAMSTER, is northern Syria and southern Turkey. In the wild, SYRIAN HAMSTERs are considered endangered, but (as the clue informs us) captive-bred SYRIAN HAMSTERs are often kept as house pets.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• CEREAL BOXES (17A: Breakfast containers that may contain decoder rings) A decoder ring is a simple device that can be used to create or decipher a coded message based on a substitution cipher. In the mid-1900s through the early 2000s, decoder rings were one of the toys that companies included in CEREAL BOXES as marketing items to increase sales of their products. Although some CEREAL BOXES still include toys, it's a much less common practice these days. In reminiscing about decoder rings, I came across a photo of a spy decoder ring that's in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection. It has four figures on it that function as handles. I would like to find a ring like this one in my CEREAL BOX.
• CHU (19A: "Wicked" director Jon) Jon CHU is a director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians . He is directing the two-part movie adaptation of the musical Wicked . The first part of Wicked is scheduled to be released in November of this year. I have seen the musical Wicked multiple times, and will be interested to see how it's adapted for the big screen.
• OPI (28A: Nail polish brand with the color "Como se Llama?") If you're wondering what color OPI's Como se Llama? nail polish is, it's burgundy. "Como se llama?" is Spanish for "What's it called?"
• HEEL (50A: Vulnerable body part for Achilles) Achilles is a warrior hero in Greek mythology. The story is that when Achilles was an infant, his mother held him by one of his heels and dipped him in the river Styx in order to make him invulnerable. His one spot of weakness was his heel that did not touch the water. It is from this myth that we get the phrase "Achilles' heel," which is used to refer to a point of weakness. The Achilles tendon, located near the ankle in the human body, is also named from this legend.
• GAG (51A: "___ me with a spoon!") This clue took me right back to the early 1980s – my high school years! The Valspeak phrase, "GAG me with a spoon!" means, "I'm disgusted." Valspeak is a dialect stereotypical of Southern California valley girls in the 1980s.
• SERIOUS EATS (59A: Food and drink website with the "Food Lab" column) SERIOUS EATS is a website and blog created by food critic and author Ed Levine. "The Food Lab" column on SERIOUS EATS is written by J. Kenji López-Alt, who wrote a book based on the column. Published in 2015, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science , won a James Beard Foundation Award for the best General cooking cookbook.
• BBC (1D: "Call the Midwife" network) Call the Midwife is a BBC TV series about a group of midwives working in London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The show premiered in 2012, and is in its 13th season. In the United States, the show airs on PBS. The series was originally based on Jennifer Worth's memoir about an Anglican religious order founded as a nursing order in 1849, though the storylines have now expanded beyond the memoir.
• ACLU (5D: Org. that defends individual rights) The  American Civil Liberties Union  (ACLU) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization founded in 1920. The ACLU believes "every person in this country should have the same basic rights, and works to "defend the rights of all people nationwide."
• ROBE (6D: Part of an RBG costume) Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) (1933-2020) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death. During her time on the Supreme Court, she was known for accessorizing her black ROBE with beaded or lace collars. Here's some advice from RBG: "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
• CHO (7D: John who played Lt. Sulu in the Kelvin timeline) The proximity of this answer to CHU in the grid made me realize that although I'm familiar with both Jon CHU and John CHO, I've never thought about how similar their names are. John CHO is known for portraying Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu in the 2009 movie Star Trek , which was a reboot of the original Star Trek TV series with a new cast. John CHO also played Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar films.
• SOCCER (11D: Trinity Rodman's sport) Trinity Rodman is a professional soccer player for National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) Washington Spirit. She is the youngest player to be drafted in NWSL history, having been drafted by the Washington Spirit in 2021 when she was 18 years old. Her first season she was named NWSL Rookie of the Year and U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.
• AC/DC (18D: "Hells Bells" band) "Hells Bells" is a 1980 song by AC/DC. It's the first track on their album, Back in Black .
• SPARTA (22D: Rival of Athens) In ancient Greece, SPARTA and Athens were rivals, vying for political dominance. The two cities were the principal parties in the Pelopennesian War (431-404 BCE), each aided by their own allies. SPARTA was the victor of that war. Just ten years later, the Corinthian War (394-386 BCE) helped Athens regain its independence. In modern-day Greece, Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece, with an urban population of over three million people. SPARTA is a city with a metropolitan area of less than 20,000 people.
• PANERA (31D: Chain originally called "St. Louis Bread Company") PANERA Bread began in Kirkwood, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis), as St. Louis Bread Company. In the greater St. Louis area, the restaurant chain still operates as St. Louis Bread Company.
• URSULA (34D: "The Little Mermaid" villain) Two days ago we saw ARIEL clued as [Disney princess who makes a deal with Ursula]. Now URSULA is getting her turn in the grid.
• EL DORADO (39D: Mythical city of gold) There is a legend that tells of a golden city – EL DORADO – located somewhere in the Americas. Stories of EL DORADO were first reported in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, but although many have searched for this mythical city, none have found it.
• ETS (43D: Creatures from space (Abbr.)) This clue reminded me of the E.T.s we saw in last Thursday's puzzle .
• RTS (60D: "___ are not endorsements") RTS here stands for "retweets." Some users of X (formerly known as Twitter) add the statement, "RTS are not endorsements," to their bio as a disclaimer.
• SNL (63D: Punkie Johnson's show, for short) Punkie Johnson has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live ( SNL , for short) since 2020.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• CEREAL BOXES (17A: Breakfast containers that may contain decoder rings)
• SYRIAN HAMSTER (37A: Golden rodent often kept as a pet)
• SERIOUS EATS (59A: Food and drink website with the "Food Lab" column)

Each theme answer begins with the sound "SIRI" spelled in a different way.

This is a fun "sounds like" theme. Although the spellings are all different, the first two syllables of the words CEREAL, SYRIAN, and SERIOUS are all pronounced the same, and all pronounced like the word SIRI. Thank you, Rachel, for this delightful puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers