That EW article on the new Star Trek movie reminded me to check this site (which a friend had put me onto before RSS was the rage): Star Trek New Voyages (now “Star Trek Phase II”). This is a group of fans who produce indie episodes set just after the original series, with the original-series characters. This is all done with new actors of course.
They had posted two new episodes since I had last checked. (And now, I’ve subscribed to the RSS feed.) Boy was I surprised to discover that they actually got Walter Koenig to play an aged Chekov in episode 2, and George Takei to play aged Sulu in episode 3! They also convinced Grace lee Whitney to reprise the role of Yeoman Janice Rand. And… did they really get Majel Barrett Roddenberry to do the computer voice (in the future)? Or is that just stock soundtrack?
Of course, this is now yesterday’s news. But it’s still news to me, and probably to other old ST fans, most of whom aren’t hard-core trekkies connected into every last bit of ST fandom.
Even though the writing of these indie episodes had me rolling my eyes within 2 minutes of the intro, it was worth sticking them out, just to see these actors’ performances. And actually, not all of the writing was bad. The thing they did with the old and young Chekov was pretty cool. And there were some other good points, too.
But you know what? Watching Walter Keonig perform on-screen, I didn’t feel any reminiscence of Star Trek: The Original Series. Rather, I felt a strong desire to watch Babylon 5 again, because (as you may recall) Walter Keonig played a recurring role in that story line.
I miss Babylon 5, and I don’t yet own the DVDs, because they’re too expensive, what with kids to feed. Maybe I’ll Netflix them.
-TimK
The Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II fan films have their pros and cons (pro: name actors and a $100,000 bridge set; con: glacial pacing). Nonetheless, sophisticated “amateur” productions like these are becoming a truly unique pop culture phenomenon that even the major studios are recognizing. After all, it’s no coincidence that James Cawley–“Kirk” on ST:NV/P2–cameos in the upcoming JJ Abrams reboot of Trek.
If you want to find out more about the world of fan films in general, you might want to check out my daily fan film blog, fancinematoday.com. Also, for what it’s worth, I wrote the first book about the history and future of fan films, Homemade Hollywood, which is coming out at the end of November in bookstores everywhere. The final chapter has extensive coverage of Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II, revealing how it was created and what it means for the future of the fan film movement.
Thanks for the links, Clive.
However, I do feel a little sad that fans spend so much time and energy producing fan films (and fan fiction) rather than making comparable, original indie films (and independent novels). Yes, the marketing would be a bear, but you can take your indie work as far as you want without the fear that Paramount (or some other corporation) will shut you down. I know that the ST:NV/P2 films are free on the Internet, but they should also be available on DVD and maybe even on Netflix. Alas, that’s not ever going to happen, because the concept itself is self-limiting.
Olivia Munn is amazing she should totally take over the Jace Hall Show on http://jacehall.tv, but she should also stay on Attack of the Show then we could see her twice as much.