The nine short films in this collection offer stand-alone stories from the Star Trek universe created as companion pieces for the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery. Ranging in length from 8 to 18 minutes, these shorts come in a mix of styles, approaches, purposes, and inspirations. "Runaway," with Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and a teenage runaway from another planet, provides backstory to a character who returns in the second season Universe while sketching out an unexpected friendship. "The Brightest Star" gives viewers a peak into the origins of Saru (Doug Jones), the first and only Kelpien to join Starfleet, and is a powerful prequel to the episode that brings Saru back to his home planet. The poignant "Calypso," meanwhile, is an original story from author and Star Trek: Picard creator Michael Chabon about a lone pilot (Aldiss Hodge) adrift in space who falls in love with the AI who saves him. The purpose of this project was to open up the possibilities for writers and directors to create stories in the margins of the shows. Thus "The Escape Artist" offers a tale of fan favorite galactic con man Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson, who also directs) with a particularly witty scheme and "The Trouble With Edward" is a comedy of scientific hubris and reckless genetic engineering by an insubordinate protein scientist ("Archer" and "Bob's Burgers" voice actor H. Jon Benjamin) who creates the ecological nightmare known as the tribble. More serious are "Q&A" with young Spock (Ethan Peck) meeting Number One (Rebecca Romjin) in his first day aboard Captain Pike's Enterprise and "Ask Not" with Anson Mount as Pike putting a new cadet through a grueling test. While the latter are the most conventional Star Trek shorts in the collection, two turn to animation for creative stories designed to appeal to kids. "Ephraim and Dot" has kind of a "Wall-E" quality as a tardigrade (a creature that lives in the mycelial network) gets caught up in the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise. It's a comical episode filled with visual gags and references to notable episodes of the original series. "The Girl Who Made the Stars" has more of a storybook quality in its story of young Michael Burnham and her father, who shares a myth to inspire her courage. While not necessarily essential, these shorts will appeal to fans of the new Star Trek series and in two cases offer backstories that followers of Star Trek Discovery will want to see. The production values are strong, the performances good, and all the shorts are inventive and engaging. Both DVD and Blu-ray include behind the scenes featurettes, interviews, and commentary on select episodes. No objectionable language, sexual content, or violence, fine for most ages. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)