Author Topic: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...  (Read 3137 times)

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Offline IronDioPriest

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If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« on: December 12, 2017, 01:20:28 PM »
No, I'm not talking about the latest putrid TV offering on CBS "All Access" streaming called "Discovery". Two episodes of that, and I was convinced that the franchise is in the wrong hands.

I'm talking about StarTrekContinues .com

Imagine if your community theater had access to every Star Trek set and prop; every uniform; every costume, make up, and hair design; every special effect; every sound effect; all the original musical scoring; and approval from Gene Roddenberry's son to produce a web series for fun, that actually respects and adheres to TOS canon...

That's 11, hour long episodes of "Star Trek Continues" in a nutshell.

The premise is, the show fills in the gap between the last episode of the original series, and the first film, "Star Trek, The Motion Picture".

What they get right: visually and audibly, it's near perfection. The sets are either original, or designed to exactly replicate the original, so that part is a gimme. The lighting, the scene-framing, the pacing, the script-writing, the dialog, all do a very good job of replicating the original series. I can't stress how having the actual musical scoring underlines the enjoyment of the show. It is used to accent scenes in all the familiar ways that made the music of TOS so iconic.

Performances: that is the weak point. As I alluded to, "imagine your community theater..." The fella that plays Kirk does a pretty good job. Scotty is the best, and being that his last name is Doohan, I'm gonna guess he's James Doohan's son. Spock is meh, and McCoy is pretty bad. That bums be out, because the core characters are what made Trek what it was.

And that brings me to the central thing that is lacking - at least after watching one episode (yes, I'm reviewing an 11 episode series after watching one) - the chemistry between Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley was on-screen magic. So far, these guys don't have it.

But just having "original series" episodes to watch after all these years; all the spin-offs; all the movies; and the meh reboots, and now the awful "Discovery" - I just found it to be really good fun, so I thought I'd share.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2017, 02:21:21 PM »
Yeah, I watched them all too. The last episodes got stronger in my opinion. I was also entertained by the casting.. its sort of a whos who of has been Sci Fi actors:

The first episode, "Pilgrim of Eternity", featured Jamie Bamber (Lee "Apollo" Adama from Battlestar Galactica and Matt Devlin from Law and Order UK) as well as original series guest actor Michael Forest reprising his role as Apollo. Marina Sirtis voiced the computer of the USS Enterprise, an homage to her connection to the original actress, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who portrayed her character's mother, Lwaxana Troi, as well as the voice of the computer in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

For the second episode, "Lolani", Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk from The Incredible Hulk (1978)) appeared as Zaminhon, Daniel Logan (Boba Fett from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones) appeared as Ensign Tongaroa, Erin Gray (Col. Wilma Deering from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) appeared as Commodore Gray and Matthew Ewald (Nicholas Bluetooth from Galidor) appeared as Crewman Kenway.

The third episode, "Fairest of Them All", featured guest support from Asia DeMarcos as Marlena Moreau (played in the original series by BarBara Luna), Bobby Clark as Council Leader Tharn, Bobby Quinn Rice as transporter technician, Michael Dorn as the computer of the ISS Enterprise, and the first appearance of Kipleigh Brown as Barbara Smith (played in the original series by Andrea Dromm). Recurring cast member Cat Roberts (Lieutenant Palmer, played in the original series by Elizabeth Rogers), joined the series as of this episode.

The fourth episode, "The White Iris", featured the return of Sirtis as the Enterprise computer, as well as guest stars Colin Baker (Doctor Who), Nakia Burrise (Power Rangers), Adrienne Wilkinson (Xena: Warrior Princess), Tiffany Brouwer (Femme Fatales), and Gabriela Fresquez, with cameos by Chris Gore and Robert J. Sawyer.

Episode six, "Come Not Between the Dragons", guest-starred Gigi Edgley of Farscape fame. Rod Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, had a cameo appearance as a bridge officer in the episode. Episode seven, "Embracing the Winds", featured Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Beau Billingslea (Cowboy Bebop), as well as the return of Erin Gray's flag officer character (Commodore Gray from the second episode) and Marina Sirtis as the computer voice. Episode eight, "Still Treads the Shadow", featured Rekha Sharma (Battlestar Galactica and the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery). Episode nine, "What Ships are For", featured John de Lancie (three Star Trek series) and Anne Lockhart (the original Battlestar Galactica series). Episodes ten and eleven, "To Boldly Go: Part I" and "To Boldly Go: Part II", featured Nicola Bryant (Doctor Who), Cas Anvar (The Expanse), Amy Rydell (reprising her mother Joanne Linville's role from the original series), and Mark Meer (Mass Effect), with scripts by Sawyer.

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2017, 02:45:42 PM »
If anybody here was gonna be there ahead of me, it was gonna be you Weissy.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2017, 03:47:53 PM »
Harvey over at IMAO.US was there way ahead of me. I watched one cause he posted it ..   Sadly some jerks ruined the fan genre for everyone by crowdfunding a movie and then not delivering forcing the studio to take action, so Star Trek Continues.. won't.  You know the acting on the original wasn't all that good either ... but I too was not pleased with McCoy in this one.  But yeah, these stories could very much fall into Season IV of TOS with original actors and no one would bat an eye ... worth watching  IMHO. 

See also :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQG8X5IHpag
« Last Edit: December 12, 2017, 04:24:02 PM by Weisshaupt »

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2017, 05:22:02 PM »
Sadly some jerks ruined the fan genre for everyone by crowdfunding a movie and then not delivering forcing the studio to take action, so Star Trek Continues.. won't.

Are you referring to the "Axanar" debacle? I had high hopes for that. Actors from the various spinoffs like Gary Graham, Tony Todd, and JG Hertzler were involved, and the pilot looked pretty good. But they ended up getting shut down by Paramount.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2017, 06:17:21 PM »
Wow, I am honestly impressed with Lou Ferrigno’s acting chops in episode #2. He’s come a long way since “The Incredible Hulk”.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2017, 07:06:31 PM »
Is it my imagination, or did the actor portraying McCoy get replaced in episode 3??
 ::thinking::
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Alphabet Soup

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2017, 08:21:29 PM »
Goody - more stuff to watch! Thanks for the heads-up IDP!

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2017, 09:05:11 PM »
Is it my imagination, or did the actor portraying McCoy get replaced in episode 3??
 ::thinking::

He was replaced. The new one is , unfortunately, only a marginal improvement in my opinion.

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2017, 09:24:08 PM »
Is it my imagination, or did the actor portraying McCoy get replaced in episode 3??
 ::thinking::

He was replaced. The new one is , unfortunately, only a marginal improvement in my opinion.

Still a noticeable improvement though. He's just about on par with the Spock actor now - the first guy was way worse. And you're right, they get better as the episodes progress.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2017, 07:31:20 AM »

Still a noticeable improvement though. He's just about on par with the Spock actor now - the first guy was way worse. And you're right, they get better as the episodes progress.

Its an improvement from "Ugh" to "Meh" for sure ( I agree with your original assessment of Spock)
All series seems to ave a settling in period where people find their roles and get comfortable ( TOS is notable for just how short that period was)  and the final two STC episodes I think are the strongest in the series. Mind, it never got to the point where I thought "Wow these are fantastic", but I did get to "Wow, that was on par with if not better than most TOS episodes "

I am disappointed there won't be more - and if the studio  was smart they would reach out to these folks and work something out. The STC was creating nothing but renewed interest and buzz for their franchise.... but  Studios are notoriously stupid 

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2017, 10:54:51 AM »
The more I watch the more I'm blown away by Vic Mignogna as Kirk. It's so obvious that he's making an effort to emulate Kirk in every way his talent allows, but not so obvious that it's painful to watch. It's mostly his visage and physique, and in the way he moves. Especially in the shots that aren't right up close to his face - when he's in scenes that require full body shots - there are moments when you can almost forget it'snot Shatner. And he tries to capture the unique speech cadence of Shatner, sometimesmore successfully than others. But when he nails it, he really nails it well.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2017, 08:40:46 PM »
Binge completed LOL. That went from watchable mediocrity to bona fide Trek very quickly. I think if it had been given another season, some pretty awesome things could have come from it. The characters did gel by the end, and the acting definitely got better. Very happy I came across this.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Alphabet Soup

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #13 on: December 15, 2017, 07:21:14 PM »
Binge completed LOL. That went from watchable mediocrity to bona fide Trek very quickly. I think if it had been given another season, some pretty awesome things could have come from it. The characters did gel by the end, and the acting definitely got better. Very happy I came across this.

I finally got to a position where I could indulge myself. So far I'm impressed - only a couple of wince moments. I really like how they maintained the look & feel of TOS.

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #14 on: December 16, 2017, 02:41:08 PM »
Binge completed LOL. That went from watchable mediocrity to bona fide Trek very quickly. I think if it had been given another season, some pretty awesome things could have come from it. The characters did gel by the end, and the acting definitely got better. Very happy I came across this.

I finally got to a position where I could indulge myself. So far I'm impressed - only a couple of wince moments. I really like how they maintained the look & feel of TOS.
In my Opinion, they hit stride about episode six.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #15 on: December 16, 2017, 02:56:27 PM »
I really like how they maintained the look & feel of TOS.

The sets really are stellar. I was watching an interview with Vic where he explains they originally CGI modeled the Enterprise as a 900 ft ship, and nothing looked right because they were still filming with a 35 mm lens ( virtual)  - they had to scale the model down to 10ft ( like the original) so that the visuals would look right and similar to the 60's show. 

Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: If you're a Star Trek fan, this is hella good fun...
« Reply #16 on: December 16, 2017, 03:17:00 PM »
Yup. That part of it they nailed. I watched the vignette with Vic explaining about editing the music, blending pieces of original scoring with each other, and with new composition that he created himself. That would be my dream job! He did it seamlessly in my opinion!
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson