Category: Blog Entries

Is DISCOVERY the “STAR TREK SHOW ABOUT NOTHING”? (editorial review)

Spoilers, there’ll be a few…but then again, too few to mention

I touched on the question last week: What is STAR TREK: DISCOVERY about?  The original Star Trek and Next Generation were about exploring strange, new worlds and stuff.  Deep Space Nine was about healing the spiritual, cultural, and environmental wounds of a decades-long occupation…both of a race of people and also of a space station that were suddenly thrust into a role of prime importance in the Alpha Quadrant.  Voyager was about getting home.  And Enterprise was about exploring the final frontier for the first time.

But what is Star Trek: Discovery about?

If you watched the first episode of Discovery, it initially appeared that the show would be about Michael Burnham getting ready for her first command.  That went out the window quickly when she attacked her captain.  By the end of the second episode, Burnham was in chains and a war had started with the Klingons.

The third episode establishes Burnham as a pariah, brought aboard Discovery because, well, because she’s awesome?  Because she deserves a second chance?  Who knows?  It’s still early.  So okay, now we’ve got a show about an “awesome” officer who’s been flung down into the abyss of life and is slowly clawing her way back up the Starfleet Jeffries Tube to a place of respect.  Fine…except the show abandons the “pariah” part pretty quickly.  Burnham makes a best friend, becomes a useful part of the crew, and even gets a boyfriend.  Heck, by episode 5, she’s even giving Saru Captain Georgiou’s old telescope and having a “moment” with him.

So, no, the show isn’t about Burnham’s redemption, as she’s pretty much redeemed by a third of the way through the season.  Hmmmm, maybe the show is about Burnham’s voyage of internal, um, discovery and learning to forgive and love herself the way others have.

Nope, way too much else going on in the show for that to be it!

Continue reading “Is DISCOVERY the “STAR TREK SHOW ABOUT NOTHING”? (editorial review)”

The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION II (feature, part 2)

Last week, after releasing the 8-minute TNG-era fan film STAR TREK: DECEPTION in 2013,  British fan filmmaker LEO TIERNEY announced in April of 2015 that he intended to make a sequel.  But first he needed to find a place to construct his sets.  A year later, Leo showed fans his new “studio,” a small garage in an unassuming English village…

With limited space (man, is THAT an understatement!), Leo spent the next several months constructing physical set pieces that could be used as a bridge for BOTH an Excelsior-class starship and a Klingon bird-of-prey.  Leo first installed Klingon-style graphic prints on the consoles and readout screens.

As the weather got colder, Leo spent less time in the unheated garage and more time at his computer adjusting the color (well, he spells it colour) balance to make the lighting look dark and red as a Klingon bridge should.  Now he faced the challenge of making the bridge look like it wasn’t some tiny and cramped garage.  And later on, Leo needed to take those same sets and somehow make them look like the bridge of a Federation starship!

Would he be able to do it?  Read on…

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THIS is what happens when you ask JONATHAN LANE for a FAN FILM FAVOR!

On December 8th, I received an instant message on Facebook from VANCE MAJOR, the creator of the MINARD Saga of fan films.  Vance needed a favor from me.

Vance and I have become pretty good friends over the past year or so…divided only by the distance between southern California and Kansas, but united by our love for fan films and Star Trek, as well as our shared experiences as fathers to wonderful little boys.

Oh, and we’re both fan filmmakers.

Granted, Vance has done waaaaaaay more in that genre than I ever have, and I truly respect his work.  And that’s why I happily agreed to the favor he asked me.

For a few of his final productions, Vance wanted to include brief video clips of some of his closest friends from the fan film community.  One of these was a fan film titled Change (which was released last Friday).  All I needed for the short headshot clip was to look into the camera and say something like, “Comm secure, standing by…” or “Channel encrypted, go ahead…” and then stare at the screen for the next 15-20 seconds.  Then I would upload the video file to Vance who would do the rest, editing the various clips he received from folks into his final production.

Vance said he preferred a late 24th century uniform (final seasons of DS9), but if I didn’t have that style of uniform, I could just wear a black T-shirt and he’d composite my head onto a proper uniform.

Do I have a late-season DS9 uniform!?  Is the Pope Catholic???

(Actually that particular uniform was custom made for me about 15 years ago by none other than GABE KOERNER—yep, the same guy who does VFX for The Orville and just declared that he no longer thinks Alec Peters is a willful criminal.  Hi, Gabe.)

So I went out and bought a blue-colored matte board to serve as a makeshift blue screen background, came home, put on the uniform, set up some lamps, stuck my camera on a tripod, and recorded Vance’s 20 seconds of footage.

I also recorded something else for him—something that, um, well…

Continue reading “THIS is what happens when you ask JONATHAN LANE for a FAN FILM FAVOR!”

JASON ISAACS says fans who said DISCOVERY wasn’t STAR TREK were right! (editorial review)

IT’S SPOILIN’ TIME!!!!

Last week, I wrote a blog that started with a few paragraphs drawing comparisons between CAPTAIN GABRIEL LORCA and DONALD TRUMP.  Let me be perfectly clear: I WAS KIDDING!!!  But apparently, no, I wasn’t…at least as far as the STAR TREK: DISCOVERY writing team was concerned!

In what was probably the most obvious and direct reference to a political issue since Bele and Lokai were each colored half-black and half-white, LORCA/TRUMP says the following things during the most recent 13th episode, “What’s Past Is Prologue”…

I’ve watched for years; you’ve let alien races spill over the borders, flourish in our backyard, then have the gall to incite rebellion.  The Terrans need a leader who will preserve our way of life, our race.

…we together will make the empire glorious again.

Here’s the full scene:

My wife Wendy, who normally doesn’t watch the show with me but just happened to be in the living when this line was delivered, asked me, “Are the writers always this lazy?”

Now that Lorca is the established bad guy, let’s draw a direct line from him to Donald Trump.  It’s not that Wendy and I like Donald Trump or anything.  But seriously, was this kind of dig really necessary?  Should Star Trek be used to take cheap political shots?

Continue reading “JASON ISAACS says fans who said DISCOVERY wasn’t STAR TREK were right! (editorial review)”

CHANCE ENCOUNTER creators announce NEW Star Trek fan film: THE HOLY CORE!

I love Brits who make Trek fan films!  A year ago, writer / director GARY O’BRIEN and co-writer PETER LAIGHT released their first-ever Star Trek fan film CHANCE ENCOUNTER…and fans were blown away.  Superb acting, touching story, well-directed, fantastic costumes and VFX, perfect music, and even custom-built shuttlepod and turbolift sets—it’s a MUST-SEE fan film well worth 20 minutes of your time to watch if you haven’t already.

This entire magnificent production was funded for just £1,862 (about $2,700) raised through a Kickstarter.  And now, Gary and Peter have just announced a NEW crowd-funding campaign (coming in March) to try to raise £7,000 – £8,000 (about $10,000)…well within the $50K limit set by the fan film guidelines.

Speaking of the guidelines, I asked Gary about film length and crowd-funding perks:

We are structuring the script to split in half at the 15-minute mark, and so we are aiming for an overall run-time of 30 minutes for the story. We have yet to decide whether to make that two separate uploads of 15 minutes or not.  That choice will be made much later in the process I think.

As for perks, we will probably only offer wallpapers, scripts, etc.  Our hope is that anyone who donates does so to see the film get made.  The simpler the perks, the more money we can put on screen!

Like Chance Encounter, the new film, The Holy Core, will be set in a time period about midway through TNG, likely 2368 or thereabouts, with a cast of all new characters.  And while Chance Encounter was basically a love story, Gary says…

This time we will touch on several themes, such as scientific pursuit, the roles of religion, and a little hint of romance, too.

The new campaign will start up around March 1 and run through the end of that month.  Filming will likely happen over the summer (once sets are built and cast members selected), and the finished film(s) will likely debut in late 2018 or early 2019.  Obviously, a lot can happen before then, but Chance Encounter stayed pretty much on schedule all though production.

So start saving your pennies (or pence) for a very exciting crowd-funder coming in just five more weeks.  And here’s something to get you in the donating mood…

The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION II (feature, part 1)

Last week, we took a look at the 8-minute TNG-era fan film from 2013, STAR TREK: DECEPTION.  Written and directed by British fan filmmaker LEO TIERNEY, the entire production was completed—including time for pre- and post-production—in under six months using about $1,500 donated by supporters in an early Kickstarter.

One of the most eye-catching aspects of this short fan film was an amazing cockpit set of a Starfleet runabout, constructed from scratch by Leo himself.  It looked incredibly accurate and realistic, despite the modest budget.  The film itself was quite fun to watch and noticeably well-produced, with tens of thousands of views on YouTube.  You can watch it here…

After completing the production, Leo later commented that he would love to follow up on the story in a sequel to see how Starfleet deals with this hidden Klingon base.  But for the next couple of years, there was no mention by Leo of any plans to do another fan fan film.  During that time, Leo helped the fan series Star Trek: Intrepid with some of the VFX for one of their episodes (“Nemo Me Impune Lacessit” released in 2016).  And it seems that collaboration led to Leo getting bitten by the fan film bug once again.

On April 16,2105, Deception fans caught the first hint that Leo was planning a sequel:

I’m currently on the lookout for a large area of space to build a (roughly) full-size bridge, and I could use some help locating the perfect place.

I’ve been keeping an eye out on places such as Gumtree for large garages or offices, but if anybody has any better ideas or locations please let me know! 

I would probably also need a hand when the set construction begins, which won’t be until sometime in the future, but if you’re handy with a hammer and/or own a large garage please let me know as well! 

Ohh, and here’s a quick mock up that I created for the bridge a while back, to get an idea of scale and positions, enjoy!

Although as of this writing, Deception II is still not yet complete (Leo estimates it’ll be ready by May 2018 at the earliest), thanks to a wonderful series of Facebook updates, photos, and videos, I can give you all a peek behind-the-scenes at this eagerly anticipated sequel…

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VOYAGER CONTINUES re-release of “DERELICT” with new introduction!

Last March, DAVID WHITNEY of STARFLEET STUDIOS in Iowa (not StarBASE Studios in Arkansas) released a VOYAGER CONTINUES short film “Derelict.”  It features Harry Kim and Seven of Nine along with a Captain Janeway voice-over captain’s log intro by Liam Holwarth-Mulgrew (he legally changed his name to add the “Mulgrew”) that you will swear sounds exactly like Kate Mulgrew herself.  It’s uncanny!While TOS, TNG, DS9, and even NX-01 era Trek fan films are fairly common, it’s rare to see a fan series that focuses on the USS Voyager.  But David Whitney isn’t afraid to tackle his favorite Trek series and has done an admirable job of bringing the world of Voyager to fan films.  In fact, “Derelict” is his second Voyager Continues fan film.  His first, the half-hour long “Raven” was released in late 2016.

If you haven’t watched last year’s 10-minute “Derelict” fan film before, now is the perfect opportunity.  Last June, David added a new opening credits sequence, which features computer-rendered shots of the Voyager flying through space, created using the fan-developed Star Trek: Excalibur online game.  It also features a number of names in the cast who do not appear in this episode but give a promise of what is to come.  Characters we can look forward to seeing in future Voyager Continues episodes include Tasha Yar, Data, Troi, and Captain Rudy Ransom.

By the way, David is looking for DONATIONS to help make his third episode.  If you want to help him, you can make a one-time donation or sign up for a Patreon by clicking here.

And now, let’s take a look at “Derelict” with that spiffy new intro…!

Has DISCOVERY gotten TOO dark to still be STAR TREK? (editorial review)

There be SPOILERS here!

And now we know.  Well, lots of us already knew.  I’ve written about it repeatedly here and elsewhere.  I and others have debated with those in the fan base who believed that Captain Lorca was simply a tough-as-nails leader who would always put Starfleet first.  In this time of war with the Klingons, we needed someone like Lorca to make the United Federation of Planets great again!

But now we have all, er, discovered that Lorca has been playing us this whole time.  He’s really from the Mirror Universe, and he’s a bad dude.  For those fans who supported Lorca, stood up to defend his disturbing behavior and his dark methods—guess what!—you’ve placed your loyalty in someone who is just out for personal gain and doesn’t care about the UFP or anyone in our Prime Universe.  In fact, he doesn’t seem to care about people from his Mirror Universe either…certainly not women.  “Her name was Ava, and I liked her,” Lorca tells the brother of a woman he’d killed years before.  “But you know how it is.  Somebody better came along.”

Sure, he can be charming and talk crew members like Stamets into doing almost anything.  But Lorca’s been keeping a lot of secrets from all of us, including from the people he leads.  As far as I’m concerned, Lorca’s lust for power trumps anything that might have made him seem admirable in any way…and he’s fooled at least 37% of us all along.

Okay, enough of the fun double entendres.  Let’s start doin’ some reviewin’!

Continue reading “Has DISCOVERY gotten TOO dark to still be STAR TREK? (editorial review)”

AXANAR DETRACTOR changes his mind about ALEC PETERS!

On Saturday, GABE KOERNER, a well-known detractor of Axanar and ALEC PETERS, sent me the following e-mail out of the blue:

I’ve given up on the Idea that the guy is some kind of willful criminal. He isn’t. He’s just a mix of Massively Egotistical and Massively Incompetent which can LOOK “criminal” but it really isn’t.

Yeah, it’s obvious that Gabe isn’t ready to finally stop trying to disparage Alec (frankly, I doubt that Gabe will ever be able to completely let this go).  But this was a HUGE revelation and step forward for someone who, like many detractors, had been calling Alec all kinds of synonyms for crook, thief, criminal, liar, embezzler…the list goes on and on!

At the heart of the most extreme detractor arguments has been a contention that Alec had willfully taken money from Axanar donors to fund a lavish lifestyle of things like jet-setting around the world, eating sushi, paying for health insurance, and buying new tires for his car.  I’ve seen the full Axanar financials—endless pages of spreadsheets!—and I’ve tried to explain about a million times here and elsewhere how this wasn’t the case at all.  It was like trying to reason with jello!

And even if you’re one of those people who thinks the Axanar books were somehow cooked, the fact remains that the goal of embezzling is to come out with MORE money, NOT less.  And yet, Alec Peters has put in close to a quarter of a million dollars of HIS OWN money (generated from the sale of screen-used props from his extensive collection) to fund this project.  Of course, you can argue whether or not a studio should have been leased/built or simply rented, But even Alec himself now agrees that he should have filmed Axanar on James Cawley’s TOS sets in upstate New York as originally envisioned.  So that’s not the point today.

Now personally, I have no idea if any other of the detractors on their various public and secret Facebook groups are now in agreement with what Gabe has just acknowledged…and frankly, I don’t feel like checking those crass and vitriolic places to confirm.  And I don’t really have to.

The story today is simple.  I received an e-mail on Saturday, unsolicited, from someone who is a good friend of, and has been conversing with, former Axanar director ROBERT MEYER BURNETT.  And in this e-mail, Gabe Koerner finally gives up on a long-standing claim that he has clung to that Alec Peters is some kind of willful criminal.  That’s a BIG step forward.

And if Gabe can finally move past such a deeply-held belief—despite the other digs that he still feels he must make—then maybe there is some hope for other Axanar detractors out there.  Maybe…

The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION! (feature)

Back in 2013, LEO TIERNEY of the United Kingdom set out to make a Next Generation-era Star Trek fan film called STAR TREK: DECEPTION.  Most live action fan films set in that time frame either record away teams in outdoor locations or else use green screen composited actors in front of virtual backgrounds…since creating practical sets in the 24th century style is incredibly challenging.

Leo, however, was up to the challenge of building a TNG-era set!  He decided to design and construct an actual Starfleet runabout cockpit set in which to film his actors.  He just needed a little bit of money to do it.  How little?  Well, considering what even the cheapest fan films cost, £500 (about $635 back then) was an amazingly small amount for what Leo was planning.  Ultimately, after a month, his January 2013 Kickstarter took in a little over twice that amount: £1,174 (about $1,500).

Then it was time to get to work…and so he did!  But Leo didn’t simply build his sets.  He also produced a series of behind-the-scenes videos for his donors, showing his progress.  These brief production updates began on the day the Kickstarter ended, and Leo continued to release them like clockwork for the next three months leading to the May 17, 2013 release of his completed eight-minute fan film.

I’d like you to experience that feeling of growing excitement that the donors felt those many years ago.  So I’m going to do something a little different for this blog and share those five behind-the-scenes videos with you, followed by Star Trek: Deception itself.  Then I’ll include a few other special video features that Leo released after Deception was completed.  It’s gonna be a fun blog!

Ready?

Continue reading “The making of STAR TREK: DECEPTION! (feature)”