So earlier this month I received a DM from @StarTrekonPPlus asking if I wanted to receive a special mailer that would celebrate the Season Three premier of Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+. Of course I was interested and I followed the instructions given to RSVP. I was thinking that this would be something that could be sent in a large envelope with a few kewl SWAG items.
Boy was I wrong. And boy am I happy about that.
As you can see from the photo above a very large shipping box arrived. It was very well packaged that it took two of us to safely get it out of the container. As my oldest clamored to find out what was inside, I had the bright idea to start taking photos of everything as we pulled them out so I could share them with you. Here is what we saw before pulling everything out.
My box arrived undamaged. I had heard from some other Star Trek fans that their box had encountered mishaps during delivery which resulted in the poster being bent. Luckily everything appeared OK with my delivery. There was a combination of green paper filler and bubble wrap at the bottom to help protect the items inside. The box itself could easily be used to hold collectables. There was also a card with some details of the cookies with raisins from the Boimler Family Vineyards.
I don’t know why the cookies caught my attention first, but they were the first things that I wanted to look at. These oatmeal raisin cookies will be enjoyed by me while watching the first episode of season three. My family are not big raisin fans so I’ll get to enjoy them myself. These cookies are HUGE. On the back was a list of ingredients and information about Fleurs el Sel, the bakery that made the cookies.
The next item that I pulled out was the Ketracel White-Hot Hot Sauce. “Locally Sourced” from Gama Quadrant ingredients. I also had to snap a photo of the description as it was bottled for Quark Industries. Since my family is not big on hot sauce and it is factory sealed, I can see myself keeping this as just a collectors item. There wasn’t an actual company listed for creating the product, but the ingredients label did state it was distributed by HSH Inc out of North Port, Florida. I wonder if there will be a reference to this hot sauce in a season three episode?
The tye-dye reversible cap caught my daughter’s attention. She begged for this item after I was done blogging about this SWAG. She has already worn it around the house. Created by a company called Simplicity, the tag states that it offers 100% UV protection. Because I won’t be able to resist the puppy dog eyes of my child, I don’t think I’ll be the owner of this for very long.
This special min-notepad had a special message from Ensign Brad Boimler on the last page (see sub-note at the end of the blog). There was no indication on which company created this wirebound notepad. I’m not certain what I’m going to do with this (use or keep as a collector’s item).
Next was a pair of blue Starfleet exercise wrist bands. I could see Mariner wearing these. There was no indication on the package or on the bands of who made them. My daughters may end up fighting over these as they don’t fit my wrists very well.
I haven’t owned a fanny pack in years. I can also see myself using this item on certain occasions. It is transparent so I could use it for carrying items into areas where they need to do quick inspections before entering. Like some of the other items, there was no indicator of who made this SWAG.
One of the things I noticed from other Star Trek fans posting their SWAG on social media is that the poster was random. My poster contained the character of Ensign Sam Rutherford as voiced by Eugene Cordero. As mentioned above, some fans had damaged posters when they opened up their box. Luckily, mine came through with no issues.
Thank you to the gang at Paramount Plus for these kewl items. We had fun unboxing everything and looking things over. I’ve always loved Star Trek: Lower Decks because the writers and artists put a ton of Star Trek Easter Eggs in the show for fans to find. I’ve been eagerly waiting for the third season ever since I chewed out Mike McMahan on Twitter for the tear jerker ending of season two.
Sub-Note: I was just kidding, there is no special message from Boimler in the notebook. Just the thought of a bunch of fellow Star Trek fans scrambling to see if they had missed something made me chuckle. I’m certain my wife will allow you to smack me on principle when you see me.