Thursday, September 14th, 2006

Sponsored by Looney Labs

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Despite the fact that we're all up to our eyeballs in work here at Looney Labs, I'm finding that I don't really have anything to report on here this week. Given this, and the fact that I've been geeking out on some exciting Star Trek news this week, I've decided to devote this week's entire article to some geeky fanboy ravings. If you dislike Star Trek, you might as well just skip on down to the Thought Residues, as these next eleven paragraphs will contain nothing of interest for you.

Now then, for all you Star Trek fans who are still reading, I'd like to start out by saying that I'm an old-school Trekker. I got into Star Trek in the mid-seventies, before the Next Generation, before the movies, even before Star Wars. I got my start in 1973, and while some fans may argue that it doesn't really count, the cartoon Star Trek series will always have a special place in my heart, because in 1973 I was a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, and those animated shows were the first Star Trek adventures I ever saw. (I'm really looking forward to the DVD release, this fall, of all 22 episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series.)

Anyway, being an old-school Trekker means I have old codger attitudes. I've watched a lot of Star Trek stories (I've seen just about all the shows at least once) and in spite of all the spiffy improvements, I remain partial to the look and feel of the original series' starships, sets, props, costumes, and sound effects. And that's why I'm so excited by the news about Star Trek: Enhanced and Star Trek: New Voyages!

Star Trek: Enhanced is easier to explain, so I'll start with that. It's rather like the Special Edition versions of the original Star Wars movies. All of the original episodes are now being digitally remastered and revamped, and in particular, updated with much better looking special effects. While I'm wary of the issues that surround revisionist works like this (remember everyone, Han Shot First) I must confess that I'm pretty excited by the idea of seeing the classic stories freshened up with modern special effects technology. (Over at YouTube you can see a trailer for the Enhanced edition, and a sneak peek of new sequences featuring scenes from one of my very favorite episodes, The Doomsday Machine.)

But cool as that is, Star Trek: New Voyages is even cooler. The idea is really quite simple: Instead of flashing forward 100 years, or back 100, or onto a different starship, or on a space station, or whatever, what if the original show had simply gone on to have a 4th season? They were supposed to be on a 5-year mission, remember? Never mind the fact that decades have passed and all-new actors must be cast, let's just continue the story right where it left off in 1969.

The New Voyages project has been underway for a couple of years now, and they've finished their first several episodes, but if you've never heard of them before, that's because this is a fan-based effort being produced as a labor of love in a bunch of people's spare time. But don't let that worry you -- they're doing a great job!

Since this is a fan-made production, they aren't allow to sell their creations, however they have been given permission by Paramount to freely distribute their efforts via the internet. The New Voyages website provides various download formats, but being a Mac user I found it easier to watch these via YouTube. (However, since finding all the separate pieces can be a confusing chore at YouTube, I've provided a full set of links below.)

The New Voyages project is led, appropriately enough, by the actor who plays Captain Kirk, named James Cawley. This new Jim Kirk is living out his childhood dream of making his own Star Trek show and playing the Captain himself. James has assembled a talented team of helpers, and together they've recreated a full set of full-sized sets plus plenty of authentic props and costumes. With the goal of producing one new episode each year, New Voyages has just released their 3rd full-length show.

• Come What May: This was their first effort -- their pilot show -- and as such it's impressive and exciting just because of what it is. It has several scenes I really enjoyed, too. But unless you're a bigger geek than me you might want to just skip this one, at least at first. This is the team warming up. [YouTube: Part 1, 2, 3, 4]
• In Harm's Way: OK, now I'm impressed. Really. This episode is incredible. It's a follow-up to 3 classic episodes all at once, and it's just amazing. Rather than spoil anything by talking about it I'm just going to say, go watch it yourself, it's great. (And I'm not the only one who was really impressed with this episode... it also inspired original Trek writer D.C. Fontana to get involved, and she wrote the next episode.) [YouTube: Part 1, 2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1. 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3]
• To Serve All My Days: I haven't actually seen this one yet, but I totally love the premise, which is revealed in the trailer. Remember that classic episode where the team beams back from some strange planet and then suddenly start getting old really fast? Everyone, that is, except Chekov, who is mysteriously unaffected? The episode was called The Deadly Years, and this show is clearly a sequel to that story, because in this episode, Chekov suddenly becomes 25 years older overnight. What makes the whole thing super cool, of course, is the fact that Walter Koenig himself portrays the suddenly-aged version of his character. [YouTube: Trailer]
• Shorts: In addition to full-length episodes, the team is also releasing occasional "vignettes," of which only the first is available so far. It's called Center Seat. Also of note is this Making Of short filmed during the production of To Serve All My Days.

Well, that's more than enough Star Trek Geekery for one week, I should think. Mr. Kyle, please beam me up!

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

PS: That little cartoon starship at the top of this page is just something I doodled in my logbook one day a few weeks ago, because I'm just that much of a Star Trek geek.