In the meanwhile, I'd like to say a few things about fan films. Most of the ones I've watched are based on some version of Star Trek. Some of these feature original characters while others portray established ones. Perhaps the two best known series are both continuations of the original series.
These are "New Voyages / Phase II" and "Star Trek Continues". Both had good episodes and not so good ones. "New Voyages" disappeared literally overnight as its creator James Cawley closed the web site and pulled all of the episodes. Some may still be available on Youtube, and I highly recommend my favorite "World Enough And Time" to anyone who likes the original series. "Star Trek Continues" put its next to last episode up for viewing earlier this month. I liked it a lot.
Of the other series I've watched the one I like the best is "Hidden Frontier' which is set in the same time frame as "Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine". The first few episodes are a bit rough around the edges but by the end of the series, the people involved in making it were creating some really good material.
Many of the same people have done spin offs that are audio dramas. The show does have an active website but there seems to be none of the episodes of the show available. There was an effort underway to remaster them but it appears that has been put on hold, pending clearance from CBS in accordance with the new official guidelines.
Again, Youtube may be your friend here, or some of the torrents may still be active, though that seems unlikely.
Most of what else I've seen have been shows that produced only a few episodes. Of these, I recommend "Starship Farragut" and "Starship Exeter". Beyond that, the quality of other series is very much hit and miss.
Now, let me tell you about the single best one I've ever seen. One I watched earlier today. It's on Youtube and if you enjoy the original series, you might really find it worth your time to watch it.
It's titled "The Paradise Makers". This is a 2-part episode with a total running time of 2 hours and twenty-five minutes. I do not wish to give away any of the plot, but I do want to share some general thoughts on it.
First off, the episode is set just a few months into the five year mission. The way the characters behave reflects this quite nicely. There's a short but very nice scene with a character we've seen only seen once before. I don't want to ruin the surprise. I'll just say that it's a nice thing.
The animation is a blend of traditional style and what looks more like computer generated imagery that's pretty realistic looking. I've seen feature films that didn't look this good. As someone with a background in video production, I know that a lot of effort had to be put into this. I also have worked in the field of audio and except for one sequence of about half a minute, the sound mix is quite good to my ears.
I found the film to be well written for the most part. A few lines could have been rewritten to work better, but, you know, no script is perfect. The voice acting is good for the most part, though the voice for McCoy took a little getting used to. I got the feeling that the actor in question needed a little time to get it right, and I can live with the minor imperfection. Both Kirk and Spock are pitch perfect to my ears.
If you are a fan of the original series, you might very well really like this. To me, it truly felt like a very good first season episode of the original series. There was a reference in the comments section about it having been deleted and then uploaded again, so if you have the time to spare, you might want to watch this while you can.
Final thoughts: On a scale of 1 to 10, as a film I rate this an 8. As a Star Trek story, also an 8. There are a boatload of bits and pieces of Trek lore, most of which haven't been seen or referred to since their original appearances. The sound effects are classic. The writer got the star dates right. The animators even recreated both the opening and ending credits perfectly.
I have no idea if the people behind this are unaware of the guidelines CBS has issued for fan films or if they chose to ignore those guidelines. I'm just glad they put such an amazing effort into making it.
To find this just search for the title on Youtube. I did so and found it with no problem.
As always, wishing you well, dear reader.
No comments:
Post a Comment