I must confess that I’m a big Star Trek geek. While that fact alone is sad, I ask for your indulgence as I come by it because of my love for science fiction and quirky television shows from the sixties. Sometimes they come together in one big rush and I’m grateful for reminders of simpler times.
Some of the TV shows that hold a special place in my heart are Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, Lost in Space, Mission Impossible, Wild Wild West, F-Troop, Time Tunnel, The Invaders, and naturally, Star Trek.
As everyone born in the 20th century is probably aware of, Gene Rodenberry created Star Trek and after many years of trials and tribulations, managed to get it on NBC for three seasons from 1966 to 1969. Poor ratings and a lack of faith by NBC and Paramount killed the show after just three years of the five year mission. They regretted it later on as syndication made it more popular than it ever was in the 60s.
There were half-hearted attempts to recreate the magic with a poorly done animated series (the writing was pretty good, but the animation by Filmation made it almost unwatchable) and an almost made but not quite second series in the late seventies that eventually became the first Star Trek movie. Because of the success of that movie, several others were made and new Star Trek series for television followed. None of this has anything to do with what I’m writing about other than as a backdrop for what some dedicated fans somewhere (they never do say exactly where they film from) in New York State have created.
Star Trek: New Voyages, created and produced by James Cawley (who also stars as Captain Kirk) attempts to re-create the original series with all the same characters as played by different actors. So, we have Kirk, Spock, and McCoy along with Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and a host of other original characters in the fourth year of the five year mission. Two (or three counting the pilot) episodes have been filmed and released, with at least three others in the planning, pre-production phase.
The episodes are very well done once you get past Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelly not playing their respective roles. They have re-created the entire bridge set along with corridors, transporter rooms, sickbay, and crew quarters. The special effects are top-notch with the Enterprise never looking better. To see the old girl doing fly-bys, rolls, and quick turns really adds to overall experience.
There are other Star Trek fan films being made (Star Trek Exeter and Star Trek Farragut all playing in the same 23rd century sandbox), but none seem to have captured as much attention as much as New Voyages. Several Trek Alumni have appeared in past and future episodes including; Eddie Paskay, John Winston, Barbara Luna, Malachi Throne, and William Windom. If you don’t recognize some these names, go on over to IMDB.com to check out who they are and what their connections to the original series were. Their current production includes a name that most people will know from Star Trek lore, George Takei recreating his roles as Mr. Sulu. While I’ll wait to see how they manage to have an obviously older Mr. Takei play Sulu, let me tell you a bit about their latest release, ‘New Voyages: To Serve All my Days’, starring Walter Koenig. Yes, the same Walter Koenig that played as Mr. Chekov in the original series. I don’t want to give away the plot, but they weave it in such a way as to make sense using some back story from another (original series) episode.
If I had one criticism it would be that so far they have dwelt too much on plot lines from the original series instead of making wholly new episodes. This is a minor complaint as TSAMD’s was written by another Trek alum well known for her involvement in Star Trek going back to the original series and continuing throughout the years, Dorothy (DC) Fontana.
The episode is available through several mirrors from the New Voyages website. Various formats are supported include QuickTime MOV files. If this is the format you would prefer (as Mac users it’s the easiest to deal with), you might have to hit some different mirrors to get them all. I downloaded all the parts and then cut and pasted them together using QuickTime Pro, though you could do the same with iMovie and then burn a copy to iDVD.
Because of copyright laws, New Voyages cannot sell the episodes without Paramount and CBS lawyers equipped with phasers on kill coming after them. You can however make a donation which goes toward future productions.
If you’re a fan of the original series, do yourself a favor and download New Voyages: To Serve All my Days at startreknewvoyages.com. It’s a fun ride and you’ll be glad you did.
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