How many of you out there like Star Trek? I see a few hands. A fellow geek and cool friend pointed me to a couple of things you Star Trek folks out there need to know about. I have been a fan for a long time, I wouldn't say a rabid fan or anything, but I know more than a person should know about Star Trek and still be married (incidentally, you must check out the new edition of Beauty and the Geek, it is very cool.) and I used to watch the shows on a regular basis, well, some of them, I could never get into Deep Space Nine, but I liked TNG and Voyager, and I have seen the Original series and the movies many many times. Actually, I used to go to the movies for my birthday because they always opened that weekend (for a while there it was alternating between Star Trek and Bond movies every year, that was tres cool).
So we have established that I am a fan. But I don’t even come close to some of the real fans out there, the ones that have a hard time distinguishing fact from fiction and feel that William Shatner may just be the promised messiah, that is not me, but God bless those huge geeks because there have been some pretty impressive series to come out of that arena.
I would like to point out two series for two entirely different reasons. The first because of how unintentionally comical, yet impressive it is. The second because it of how totally impressive it is. Both of these web “shows” are self-produced for no other reason than a great love for Gene Roddenberry’s creations. These people are not paid to do what they do (and in most cases this is sometimes painfully obvious) and these series exist to pay homage, which makes them quite the feat really. What blows me away in both cases in the effects. No matter how cheesy any of this stuff is the effects are truly impressive given that this is done out of pocket by a dedicated group of people.
Star Trek: Hidden Frontier
It’s hard to mock these people as they are clearly trying hard but * sigh * seriously? The acting is just brutal by most of the people. Some are passable but I suspect they merely look kind of good next to the truly bad performances. Imagine a grade 3 play performed by full grown adults and you will come close. I watched the first episode of the 6th season (they are now in their 7th “season” with each season being 6 episodes).
What’s tough is that the stories are good, the ideas are there but the delivery is just tough to sit through. Vulcans are supposed to be the only ones who are unemotional (ooooh geek burn). The androgenous admiral made me chuckle for all the wrong reasons, and one chancellor character was doing her worst Ivana Trump impression and looked as though she may have been drugged as she appeared to sort of sway while she delivered her lines. Making matters worse she is having a conversation with a guy who clearly filmed his scenes separately and they were green screened together. Pretty rough.
That said, the space battle was waaaaay beyond what I was expecting. The effects at times rival the TV show, other times you can see the cracks in the façade but seriously I was impressed enough to keep watching. If you watched TNG I recommend you check this out even if it is just once. It was good for a laugh and I will likely check out more. It has a weird draw, like watching a train wreck or an witnessing a disaster, you just have to see how it all turns out.
Star Trek: New Voyages
Now, this one is actually honest to goodness impressive. The effects are top notch, that acting isn’t half bad, and the storytelling matches very well with the original series. * Geek Moment * The original series stated that the Enterprise was on a 5 year mission but the show only lasted for 3 seasons, New Voyages is to be the 4th and 5th years of the series. It has only just started so they have only released 3 episodes so far, but they are very good. How good you may ask? Good enough to draw Walter Koenig, George Takei, and apparently Nichelle Nichols into the production (Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura). Don’t worry they are not trying to play their old characters as though they are the same age. Actually the way they worked in Chekov is ingenious and really shows off the writing chops of the show. My buddy told me the guy writing the series has penned a few Trek novels so that is a good sign (DC Fontana if anyone cares). Takei is in the newest episode and plays a version of Sulu who gets caught in a transporter accident and returns to the Enterprise 30 years older. Good, classic Trek stuff. I was entertained, although some could argue that can be achieved by dangling string in front of me.
What blows me away is the devotion and time these people put in to something they are passionate about. It has actually prompted me to try and ferret out other shows like it but for different series. I am not sure if there are any, but with any luck I may find that much missed 8th season of MacGyver I want to see so badly…
2 comments:
Ya, see McGyver is probably the best thing to happen to the CBC ever. All he needed was his trusty knife junior and a little intellect. Darn right! McGyver could build a starship out of tin foil, Mr. Clean and a bottle of Newfie Screech. No doubt. No doubt in my mind!
I still crack up at the episode where he builds a hang glider out of bamboo, a few tarps and a buttload of duct tape. That was awesome, until I tried and hurt myself hehehe
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