Star Trek Does Indeed Continue
by Sybil VascheSomewhere in an alternate universe, a bearded Spock has a serious choice to make; a green Orion slave girl longs for freedom; and Kirk feels guilty about all the women he’s loved and left behind. Somewhere in that same universe the Enterprise is still on a five year mission to explore strange, new worlds and they have a ship’s counselor and the beginnings of a halo deck.
Wishful thinking? Fantasy? Too much Romulan Ale? Happily no; it’s time to get the word out: it’s all happening on the Internet in a place called Star Trek Continues.
Star Trek Continues, (STC) is the idea and love-child of several serious Trek fans who also happen to be actors, writers, venture capitalists, Internet entrepreneurs, tech geeks, and all-around talented film professionals. It’s a continuation of the original Trek, meant to pick up where the 60s series left off but it’s not official and it can’t make money. Each episode is about 45-50 minutes long, and they’re shown on the Internet (from the STC Website). All funds that pay for the show are raised through campaign donations.
All of the original crew members are present, the music is the same, the sets are perfectly detailed as we remember them, even the style of filming – the framing of scenes and use of shadows and close-ups are the same.
Each character is played by the actors in their own style - and it does take a little getting used to. Giving their own interpretation of the role allows the actors to develop the characters in their own way but they still maintain trace elements of the original – a gesture, a phrase, - just to let us know that they understand who the characters are and they know what the fans want. And I think fans want to see the Kirk of our memory take charge of the situation and act in a familiar way, and in certain lighting, Mignogna is a dead ringer for a youthful Shatner.
I found that after watching several episodes I was getting used to the actors and enjoying their portrayals immensely, including Todd Haberkorn who has a very difficult task fitting into the ears of our favorite Vulcan, but I like what he’s doing. (Both Haberkorn and Mignogna do a lot of voices for Anime and video games.)
STC includes some well-known guest actors like Michael Forest reprising his role as Apollo from the original episode Who Mourns for Adonis; Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk), Erin Gray (Buck Rogers), Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica), and Colin Baker (Doctor Who). Along with Marina Sirtis and Michael Dorn from The Next Generation doing computer voices.
The sound stage where all this is filmed is located in Georgia and was built by Mignogna himself and others, (he put up a lot of his own money) and crew members from the fan series Starship Farragut, another Trek spinoff.
Sets from Farragut were to be dismantled after that series was over. So a deal was made between Mignogna and the Farragut crew/company members to move their sets to a new home and thus become a partnership. As the STC folks gain more funding, they produce more episodes and build more sets. (Fans are kept up to date on their Website.) The sets include the bridge, sickbay, those long corridors and even a halo deck. Along with the sets, characters and Trek universe, STC has the use all things Trek, just as long as they don’t make any money.
So far there are 5 episodes, the last one was just released after the ComicCon in Salt Lake City on 9/25/15. All have been meticulously produced with fine acting and writing. They include ideas and themes from earlier shows such as in Fairest of Them All we see what happens to the violent crew of the Enterprise on the other side of Mirror, Mirror.
-
These days with the Internet and the popularity of streaming videos, fans of many shows and genres are making their own universes and posting them for others to enjoy. With STC, we have an excellent example of what happens when all the right people come together in the right place at the right time.
The only drawback, if you can call it that, is waiting for the next episode to be produced. In the mean time, go ahead and explore the STC Website where you’ll find bios on the main characters and production company crew, behind the scenes tours, the essential gag reels and of course drop some money in the kitty (for new shows). And get the word out to other fans: Star Trek Continues!
{ www.startrekcontinues.com }
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Follow Cinema Static on: 
Great Review Sybil! I'll definitely check this out!
ReplyDelete