What I like to call “The Modern Age of Star Trek fan films” was ushered in by three fan series: STAR TREK: HIDDEN FRONTIER, STAR TREK: NEW VOYAGES, and STARSHIP EXETER. Hidden Frontier was the first fan series to become truly prolific, with multiple episodes in multiple seasons and numerous recurring characters and ongoing plot lines that allowed for very different stories in each unique episode. New Voyages, of course, was the first Trek fan series to build sets of such high quality that they were virtually identical to the sets used on TOS in the 1960s.
And then there was Starship Exeter. Filmed way back in 1997, the completed first episode, “The Savage Empire” (you can read all about it here) wasn’t released until 2002, which was still two years before New Voyages debuted in 2004. But 2004 was also the year the Exeter began filming its second full episode, “The Tressaurian Intersection” (you can read all about it here). This episode pulled out all the stops—including fandom’s first-ever 360-degree TOS bridge set (New Voyages‘ set was only a partial 180-degrees). Six years later, that bridge set would be moved from Austin, TX to Oklahoma City and become STARBASE STUDIOS.
Exeter‘s 52-minute long second episode was released in parts—the trailer first and then acts 1 through 4 as they became ready—the final act being released in 2014…ten years after the scenes were shot and nine years after the release of the teaser! But it was worth the wait, as “The Tressaurian Intersection” remains one of the few fan films rated “MUST SEE+” on my Fan Film Factor LIST OF FAN FILMS.
Now the entire collection of screen used props, costumes, models, wigs, fabrics, set dressing, and materials from the production—more than a hundred different items!—are up for auction on eBay. They are being sold only as a single lot with a buy-it-now price of $3,499.99 (or best offer) plus $250 shipping via FedEx or UPS. Here’s the link to the eBay auction page:
The proceeds will be used, according to this webpage, to finance the production and shipping of DVD copies of their documentary film STARSHIP EXETER: Behind The Scenes, by JOEL SARCHET. These DVDs were promised as a perk to numerous small donors who helped to crowd-fund Exeter half a decade before Kickstarter or Indiegogo even existed! So for anyone complaining that it took ALEC PETERS way too long to fulfill the perks for AXANAR, the Exeter donors have been waiting more than a decade and a half!!! However, credit where credit is due for remembering their promise after all this time and trying to make good on fulfilling that promise.
Below are photos of all of the merchandise available, all part of fan film history. There are some VERY nice hand-made props in the batch—certainly worth the money for other productions out there doing TOS fan films. Take a look (and click to enlarge)…
Starship Exeter had a lot going for it. It was a brilliant fan film at the time. Unfortunately, due to the economic recession and Dennis Russell Bailey’s involvement with its production, the series mirrored the same fate that the Exeter did in ‘The Omega Glory’. It is a shame that they did not get around to Filming the rest of their episodes.
It seems the Exeter was doomed from the start.
It wasn’t doomed from the start. Two amazing fan films were created, one of them a true triumph and in the top tier of fan films. I prefer to look at the half full part of the glass rather than lamenting the remaining empty part.
Dennis was not a gating issue with the film, and there’s only one person I know of who constantly beats that inaccurate drum wherever possible. The reality was that reality wasn’t what anyone expected 🙂 which is why the 3rd episode’s shipboard scenes were dropped from the plan to shoot concurrently with “The Tressaurian Intersection”.
I wrote out an entire series of post mortem posts on the TrekBBS on what happened to Exeter and why it took so long to finish (and it DID finish, unlike many fanfilms that shoot and never see the light of day), and trying to lay blame for the protracted post at the feet of the writer—who also did some of the ship VFX—is wildly inaccurate. I should know, I wrote that abandoned 3rd episode and teamed with the director to finish the final act of the film as the Producer of Post Production.
In fact the film is on the brink of 1 million views, almost all of that via YouTube recommendations, since venues since all the Trek sites ignored it when the film when it was finally completed. I’m with Jonathan that that’s definitely a half-full not a half-empty.
—Maurice
I read your excellent series on what happened with the editing, Maruice, and indeed tried to summarize it a bit along with a link to the original TrekBBS post on this early FFF blog:
https://fanfilmfactor.com/2016/01/19/starship-exeter-part-2-the-tressaurian-intersection/
But yes, as far as I’m concerned, you all knocked it out of the part with your second and final episode. And even if that was all there was, it was a true fan film triumph and well worth the 7-year wait. Heck, I was in no hurry! 🙂
Small correction, Jonathan: The $3,499.99 Buy it Now price is *not* a starting bid. Any offer will be considered. But it Now just instantly ends the auction.
Gotcha. Thanks for the correction, MM.
Sure. Would you mind correcting the article, in case people don’t read the comments?
Done.