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Star Trek Continues

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Star Trek Continues
File:Star Trek Continues Opening Title Card.png
Opening title card
GenreScience Fiction / Fantasy
Created byGene Roddenberry
Based onStar Trek: The Original Series
Developed byVic Mignogna
Directed byJames Kerwin
Vic Mignogna
Chris White
Julian Higgins
StarringVic Mignogna
Todd Haberkorn
Chuck Huber
Chris Doohan
Kim Stinger
Grant Imahara
Wyatt Lenhart
Michele Specht
Steven Dengler
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersVic Mignogna
Steven Dengler
Running time40-50 min
Production companiesTrek Continues, Inc.
Dracogen
Original release
ReleaseMay 24, 2013 –
present

Star Trek Continues is a fan-created non-canon web series set in the Star Trek universe produced by a non-profit charity — Trek Continues Inc. — and Dracogen (formerly co-produced by Far From Home LLC and Farragut Films). The series is an unofficial direct continuation of the third and last season of Star Trek: The Original Series, whose visual and storytelling features have been reproduced to recreate the same look and feel.

As with all such Star Trek fan productions, use of copyrighted and trademarked properties from the original series is allowed so long as the production is non-commercial.[1] A portion of the funds necessary to produce the episodes was raised through successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, to which thousands of backers contributed.

Star Trek Continues won a Webby Award for "People's Choice - Long Form Drama" in 2016, a Geekie Award for "Best Web Series" in 2014, and numerous Telly and Accolade awards. The series has been very positively received by critics, who have praised the quality of the production and stated that the show has set a new standard for Star Trek fan films.[2][3]

Cast

Regular cast

Actor Character Rank Notes
Vic Mignogna James T. Kirk captain Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise. Mignogna is best known for his voice acting work and is a longtime Star Trek fan.
Todd Haberkorn Spock commander A human/Vulcan hybrid. Science Officer / First Officer, and one of the captain's closest friends. Haberkorn is a voice actor.
Chuck Huber
(Larry Nemecek Eps 1-2)		 Leonard H. McCoy, MD lieutenant commander Chief Medical Officer and one of the captain's closest friends. Huber is also a voice actor.
Chris Doohan Montgomery Scott lieutenant commander Chief Engineer / Second Officer. He is usually referred as "Scotty". Doohan is the son of original Star Trek actor James Doohan, and stars in the role his father previously played. Doohan was an extra in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and portrays the Transporter Chief in the 2009 film Star Trek and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.
Actor Character Rank Notes
Grant Imahara Hikaru Sulu lieutenant Helmsman / Third Officer. Imahara is best known for his work on Discovery's MythBusters as well as the creator of robot sidekick "Geoff Peterson" for the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Kim Stinger Nyota Uhura lieutenant Communications Officer.
Wyatt Lenhart Pavel A. Chekov lieutenant j.g. (formerly ensign) Navigator.
Michele Specht Elise McKennah, PhD lieutenant Starfleet's first full-time ship's Counselor.
Steven Dengler William C. Drake lieutenant Chief of Security. Dengler is also the founder of Dracogen, one of the producers of the series.

Trek alumni guest and recurring actors

Several past members of the Star Trek cast and crew have expressed support for the project and contributed to it.

Actor Character Episodes Notes
Beau Billingslea Vice Admiral Stomm Episode 7 Billingslea played Captain Abbott in Star Trek Into Darkness.
Kipleigh Brown Lieutenant j.g. (formerly Yeoman) Barbara Smith Episodes 3-6, 8- Brown played Crewman 2nd-class Jane Taylor in Star Trek: Enterprise.
Bobby Clark Tharn Episode 3 Clark previously played the Gorn Captain in The Original Series episode "Arena" as well as portraying Chekov's guard in "Mirror, Mirror".
Michael Dorn ISS Computer Voice Episode 3 Dorn played Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and five Star Trek feature films.
Doug Drexler Paladin Episode 1 Drexler is probably best known for his work as an award-winning visual effects artist on Star Trek as well as Battlestar Galactica and Defiance. Drexler contributed VFX for episodes 1-6 of Star Trek Continues.
Michael Forest Apollo Episode 1 Forest played Apollo in The Original Series episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" which he reprises here.
Marina Sirtis Computer Voice Episodes 1, 4, 7 Sirtis played Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager (3 episodes), Star Trek: Enterprise (1 episode), and four Star Trek feature films.

Other guest actors and support

The first episode, "Pilgrim of Eternity", features 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 voices 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)) appears as Zaminhon, Daniel Logan (Boba Fett from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones) appears as Ensign Tongaroa, Erin Gray (Col. Wilma Deering from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) appears as Commodore Gray and Matthew Ewald (Nicholas Bluetooth from Galidor) appears 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) also 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.

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 from the second episode and Marina Sirtis as the computer voice.

Episode eight, "Still Treads the Shadow", features Rekha Sharma (Battlestar Galactica) and is scheduled to be released April 1, 2017 at Fan Expo Dallas.

Production

The cast of Star Trek Continues at Supanova 2014. From left to right, they are: Vic Mignogna, Kim Stinger, Christopher Doohan, Chuck Huber, Michele Specht and Grant Imahara.

After directing an episode of Starship Farragut for Farragut Films, Mignogna proposed to the companies involved in its production to form a partnership to support the development of a new web series, aimed at continuing the episodes of TOS.[4]

A facility of 9,600 square feet (891 m2) was acquired in Kingsland, Georgia, to host the sets of the Enterprise,[5][6] that were built from the original soundstage blueprints.[4]

On March 23, 2012, Farragut Films announced the official cast of the series that, among other professionals, included Chris Doohan, son of James Doohan, and MythBusters' Grant Imahara.[7][8]

Mignogna and the production team recreate the style of the original series in its sets, cinematography, costumes, acting, and storytelling style. They also duplicate the four-act structure used in the original because of the need for commercial breaks. They primarily use the original series' incidental music, as well as the original theme song and credit typography. They film the episodes in 4:3 aspect ratio to duplicate the original series' TV format.[1][9]

The first episode, "Pilgrim of Eternity", premiered at Phoenix Comicon in May 24, 2013 and was released to the public the same day.[10] "Lolani", the second episode, finished shooting in November 2013,[11] with guest stars Lou Ferrigno and Erin Gray. The episode was released online in February 2014 after premiering at Dallas Sci-Fi Expo in Dallas, Texas. Episode three, "Fairest of Them All", began principal photography that month,[11] with a premiere at Supanova 2014 in Sydney, Australia in June 2014.[12] Pre-production on the fourth episode of the series, "The White Iris", began in November 2014,[13] with a release on May 29, 2015 at Phoenix Comicon. The fifth episode premiered on September 25, 2015 at Salt Lake Comic Con followed by a public release on the following day.[14]

According to the ending credits of "Fairest of Them All", a scene of the episode was shot on location at NASA's Space Center Houston, home of the restored life-size prop of the original Star Trek Galileo shuttlecraft.

In early 2015, Star Trek Continues announced the acquisition of the remainder of the Kingsland facility, totaling 18,500 square feet, now under exclusive ownership of Trek Continues Inc. The studio has been re-branded as "Stage 9", an homage to the original series' soundstage at Desilu.

Kickstarter campaigns

After releasing the first episode, funded by Mignogna,[4] new funds for the continuation of the series were raised in part from a successful Kickstarter campaign, humorously dubbed a "Kirkstarter". It was held from October 7 to November 6, 2013, and raised $126,028 from 2,981 backers, surpassing the set goal of $100,000, to cover funding for episodes 2, 3, and 4.[4][15]

A second Kickstarter campaign ran from January 17[16] to February 16, 2015. It successfully raised $214,584, exceeding its goal of $100,000. The sum covered the production costs of episodes 5, 6, and 7, and facilitated the construction of an engineering room and planet set.[17][18]

A third and final crowdfunding campaign - this time organized via Indiegogo - was held in early 2016, raising $199,049. Shortly thereafter, the producers announced that additional private donations to the Trek Continues Inc. charity allowed the company to exceed its fundraising goal of $350,000, thus enabling the production of four additional episodes.

Episodes

Full episodes

No. Title Stardate Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Pilgrim of Eternity"6147.3Vic MignognaSteve Frattarola & Jack Treviño (teleplay)
Vic Mignogna & Jack Marshall (story)		May 24, 2013 (2013-05-24)
An ill and much older Apollo appears on the Enterprise, creating havoc and leaving Captain Kirk with the problem of deciding his fate.
2"Lolani"6154.1Chris WhiteHuston Huddleston and Paul Bianchi (teleplay)
Vic Mignogna & Huston Huddleston (story)		February 8, 2014 (2014-02-08)
Captain Kirk and his crew are torn by the moral dilemmas that arise when they rescue an Orion slave from a distressed Tellarite ship.
3"Fairest of Them All"UnknownJames KerwinJames Kerwin & Vic Mignogna (teleplay)
Vic Mignogna (story)		June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15)
In this continuation of the TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror", Spock confronts Kirk in order to set a more peaceful course for the troubled Terran Empire.
4"The White Iris"6182.3James KerwinJames Kerwin & Chris White & Vic Mignogna (teleplay)
Vic Mignogna & Chris White (story)		May 29, 2015 (2015-05-29)
Kirk deals with guilt from his past while Chalcis, a world that wants to join the Federation, finds itself in danger from a missile attack by its twin planet Eretria.
5"Divided We Stand"6202.1Vic MignognaMarc Cushman & Susan Osborn (teleplay)
Vic Mignogna (story)		September 26, 2015 (2015-09-26)
Kirk and McCoy are trapped in history while the Enterprise fights off mysterious intruders.
6"Come Not Between the Dragons"6257.4Julian HigginsGreg Dykstra and James Kerwin & Vic Mignogna (teleplay)
Greg Dykstra (story)		May 28, 2016 (2016-05-28)
A troubled creature pierces the Enterprise hull, pitting the crew against a pursuer that threatens to tear them apart.
7"Embracing the Winds"6295.3James KerwinJames Kerwin & Vic Mignogna (teleplay)
James Kerwin (story)		September 3, 2016 (2016-09-03)[19]
The Enterprise is assigned to salvage a starship that lost its crew under mysterious circumstances, while Kirk and Spock are summoned to a starbase for a classified briefing.
8"Still Treads the Shadow"TBAJulian HigginsTBAApril 2, 2017 (2017-04-02)
9"TBA"TBATBATBA2017 (2017)
10"TBA"TBATBATBA2017 (2017)
11"TBA"TBATBATBA2017 (2017)

Short vignettes

Before screening the first episode, a series of three short videos, called vignettes, were released from July 31 to November 30, 2012. The first vignette is an extended ending of the last episode of TOS, "Turnabout Intruder", created to present the fan production as a direct continuation of the original series.[20]

No. Title Stardate Directed by Written by Original air date
V1"Turnabout Intruder"5928.5Jack MarshallArthur H. Singer (original 1969 teleplay),
Vic Mignogna (new material)		July 31, 2012 (2012-07-31)
After a temporary swap of bodies occurred between Kirk and Dr. Janice Lester, the captain and the crew resume their duties. This sequence was filmed shot for shot from the original series.
V2"You've Got the Conn"UnknownVic MignognaVic Mignogna & Jack MarshallSeptember 30, 2012 (2012-09-30)
Uhura, Chekov and Sulu have a bit of fun during a night shift but are caught in the act by an unexpected Captain Kirk.
V3"Happy Birthday, Scotty"UnknownVic MignognaVic MignognaNovember 30, 2012 (2012-11-30)
Though Scotty welcomes the arrival of an improved technology, McCoy is not particularly happy about the consequences.

Reaction

Reception

The reception of Star Trek Continues has been very positive, with critics and reviewers highlighting the quality of the production and the resemblance of the episodes with those of the original series. On July 12, 2013, Dan Roth of SyFy's Blastr wrote: "Lots of people try to make fan versions of Trek. None of them look like this."[21] Slice of SciFi's Sam Sloan wrote: "They have certainly raised the bar for independent Star Trek episodic film making",[2] an opinion shared by other reviewers as well.[3] On June 18, 2014, Bill Watters of TrekMovie.com wrote: "Star Trek Continues does deserve the 'Continues' in its title as they do a really strong job at capturing (and yes, 'continuing') the atmosphere of TOS."[22]

On December 16, 2013, about a month after the ending of the Kickstarter campaign, Kevin Pollak's Chat Show published a video interview with Tom Hanks in which the actor highly praises a Star Trek fan production and its "people that recreate with incredibly, startlingly great production values unseen Star Trek episodes", adding that "it looks exactly like the starship Enterprise".[23] Although he could not put a name to the series, he described it citing information compatible with the identity of Star Trek Continues, which motivated the producers and a few sources to assume and claim that the actor was referring to them.[3][24]

On July 31, 2014, Rod Roddenberry attended an official screening of "Fairest of Them All" in Las Vegas and endorsed the project stating: "I do have to say, and I said this after 'Lolani', I'm pretty damn sure my dad would consider this canon. The fact that you do stories that mean something, that have depth, that make us all think a little bit, I really think he would applaud you guys, and I applaud you guys. And, as far as I am concerned, it is canon. So thank you."[25]

The publication Wired has dedicated to Star Trek Continues five videos of its video series Obsessed, that aims to highlight "what happens when people live out their obsessions to the fullest."[26] Obsessed shows Mignogna and other people of the staff explaining to what extent they have paid attention to detail in order to recreate the Enterprise set and the visual style of TOS. The videos have been published from June 13 to July 1, 2014 on the Obsessed website.[26]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result
2013 Lost Episode Festival Toronto Best Feature[27] Won
2013 71st World Science Fiction Convention Best Fan Film ("Pilgrim of Eternity")[28] Won
2014 The Geekie Awards Best Web Series[29] Won
2014 Burbank International Film Festival Best New Media - Drama ("Fairest of Them All")[30] Won
2015 Telly Awards People's Telly ("Fairest of Them All") Won
2015 Telly Awards Online Drama ("Fairest of Them All") Bronze (2nd)
2015 Telly Awards Film/Video Production ("Fairest of Them All")[31][better source needed] Bronze (2nd)
2015 Accolade Competition Webisode ("Lolani") Award of Merit
2015 Accolade Competition Makeup ("Lolani")[32] Award of Merit
2015 Accolade Competition Webisode ("Fairest of Them All") Award of Excellence
2015 Accolade Competition Cinematography ("Fairest of Them All") Award of Excellence
2015 Accolade Competition Directing ("Fairest of Them All") Award of Excellence
2015 Accolade Competition Webisode ("The White Iris") Award of Excellence
2015 Accolade Competition Webisode ("Divided We Stand") Award of Excellence
2015 Accolade Competition Directing ("Divided We Stand") Award of Excellence
2015 Accolade Competition Actor (Vic Mignogna) ("Divided We Stand") Award of Merit
2016 20th Annual Webby Awards Drama: Long Form or Series Nominated
2016 20th Annual Webby Award[33] People's Voice Drama: Long Form or Series Won
2016 Telly Awards Film/Video Directing ("The White Iris") Bronze (2nd)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mignogna, Vic (November 11, 2013). "Star Trek Continues: Interview With Vic Mignogna" (Interview). Interviewed by Eric Norcross. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |subjectlink= ignored (|subject-link= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Sam Sloan (May 26, 2013). "Star Trek Continues – A Slice of SciFi Review". Slice of SciFi. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Court Mann (April 13, 2014). "Expert nostalgia: 'Star Trek' fan tribute sets a new standard". Daily Herald. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Mignogna, Vic (April 4, 2014). "The coolest Star Trek reboot you're probably not watching" (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Franco. CNET. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  5. ^ "Farragut Films Adds to Management Team and Secures Largest Studio of Trek Sets" (PDF). Farragut Films. December 29, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  6. ^ Tim Hornyak (October 10, 2013). "Inside a $40,000 Star Trek fan episode". CNET. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  7. ^ "New Webseries, Star Trek Continues, Announces Cast" (PDF). Farragut Films. March 23, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  8. ^ "Chris Doohan Cast as Scotty in New Star Trek Fan Series". TrekNews.net. March 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Fan Production Star Trek Continues releases first episode". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  10. ^ Steve Crandall. "Phoenix Comicon 2013 To Premier First Episode Of Star Trek Continues Webseries". Star Trek Continues. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  11. ^ a b GustavoLeao (November 16, 2013). "Exclusive: Vic Mignogna Reveals Details for Second and Third Episodes of Star Trek Continues Webseries". TrekWeb. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  12. ^ "Boldly Going to Supanova Sydney and Perth, Star Trek Continues Down Under!". Supanova Pop Culture Expo. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  13. ^ Sloan, Sam (November 20, 2014). ""Star Trek Continues" Gears Up for Episode Four". Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  14. ^ "Salt Lake Comic Con". Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  15. ^ "Star Trek Continues Webseries". Kickstarter. November 7, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  16. ^ Iacovino, Kayla (January 17, 2015). "Star Trek Continues Launches Kirkstarter 2.0 To Fund New Episodes". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  17. ^ "Star Trek Continues 2015 "Kirkstarter 2.0" Reaches It's Goal". Visionary Trek. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  18. ^ "Star Trek Continues 2015 "Kirkstarter 2.0"". Kickstarter. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  19. ^ "Star Trek Continues: Episodes". Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  20. ^ Pascale, Antony (August 6, 2012). "First Vignette From 'Star Trek Continues' Fan Series Picks Up Where TOS Left Off". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  21. ^ Dan Roth (July 12, 2013). "This new Star Trek fan series is the closest we've ever seen to the original". Blastr. SyFy. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  22. ^ Bill Watters (June 18, 2014). "Review: Star Trek Continues, Episode 3: Fairest of Them All". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  23. ^ Pollak, Kevin (December 16, 2013). KPCS: Tom Hanks #190. qqKevin Pollak's Chat Showqq. Event occurs at 2:05:26. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  24. ^ "Tom Hanks had this to say about us on Kevin Pollak's show". Official Star Trek Continues Facebook page. December 17, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  25. ^ "Statement of Rod Roddenberry about Star Trek Continues". Official Star Trek Continues Facebook page. August 4, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  26. ^ a b "Obsessed Video Series". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  27. ^ "Previous Winners". Lost Episode Festival Toronto. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  28. ^ "Film Festival Winners". 71st World Science Fiction Convention. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  29. ^ "The 2014 Geekie Awards Winners & Nominees". The Geekie Awards. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  30. ^ "2014 Awards Winners". Burbank International Film Festival. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  31. ^ "2015 Telly Award". Star Trek Continues Facebook. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  32. ^ "2015 Accolade Awards". Accolade Competition. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  33. ^ https://pv.webbyawards.com/2016/online-film-video/general-film/drama-long-form-or-series
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