Watch ‘Star Trek Continues’ Penultimate Episode: “To Boldly Go, Part I”

The tenth and penultimate episode of the fan series Star Trek Continues is now available.  “To Boldly Go: Part 1” was written by acclaimed sci-fi author Robert J. Sawyer and features guest star Cas Anvar from Syfy’s The Expanse. 

Here is the synopsis –

To solve the ultimate mystery, the Enterprise must return to where Kirk’s five-year mission began.

The episode had a “sneak peek” premiere at New York Comic Con and the full show is now available online.

The Enterprise comes home next month

The series will conclude the Enterprise’s five-year mission with part two of “To Boldly Go,” which will bow on November 13th. 

For more information about the series, click here.

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After all the sturm und drang over Discovery it’ll be a real pleasure to sink back into the simple TOS-style comforts of this show. To be honest STC only really works for me about half of the time, but it does, it works big. Here’s hoping they go out on the high note the cast and crew truly deserve.

I’ve been loving DSC and CONTINUES both. As much as I’d adore an official “Retro-designed” new TREK series, I doubt it would fly for most of the audience.

( That said, I’d love it if DSC snuck in some 1950s/60s-esque hairstyles for the men and women ).

I’m enjoying (with some caveats) DSC as well. But my point was that it’s nice to return to the source and a time when things seemed a lot simpler, even if they really weren’t. Of course, I am getting old. :-)

After seeing the style of DSC 5 episodes in and seeing this episode?
I smiled and thought “How quaint.” at the filming style.
If I, a lifelong Trek fan, thought that, I’m sure the general TV viewing audience would have thought the same thing.
In my opinion, this bores out the reality of why DSC couldn’t remake TOS.
Remember, in my opinion.
It’s worth exactly what you paid for it.

Dennycranium

Do you mean to say that your opinion is worth what we paid for it?

STC is a tribute to, and re-creation of, TOS. A parody, if you prefer, of a show produced 50 years ago. Remarking that STC’s filming style is “quaint” is like going to see a Chuck Berry tribute band, and remarking that, after the Metallica show that you went to last week, the Chuck Berry tribute band’s guitar sounds quaint. Well, duh. And, in any case, the filming style is not the main attraction of STC, but one of its attributes that we appreciate (along with the set designs, costumes, sound and fx). If your first inclination after watching STC is to judge the show based on its quaint filming style, then you’ve largely missed the point. The re-created TOS attributes in STC are truly impressive, but it’s the stories that keep us coming back.

Cygnus,
Yes, I meant my opinion was free. Perhaps, I should have done more editing before I posted.
That’s a great analogy about Chuck Berry and Metallica, I enjoy each artists music, very much. If I were to take your music comparison further, I’d like to use The Rolling Stones as an example. Yes, they are still working musicians and still performing.
If you first heard “Satisfaction” in 1965, chances are you heard it in mono sound on an AM radio.Tonight, in Paris France, the Rolling Stones most likely closed their show with the same song, Satisfaction. You’d have heard it performed on a state of the art sound system and seen the band on storeys high 4K video screens. The band would have been surrounded by back up singers and supporting musicians and Ronnie and Keith would have given us a more “grown up” version of the song, to quote Keith Richards. Had the band come out on stage, hung a speaker over the crowd and a 20″ TV for video, and then performed Satisfaction? How quaint probably would have been the same response from the crowd. That’s why I think DSC made the right choice with their filming style. Using the TOS style, (as much as I like it) would have been a poor choice, artistically and business-wise.
I’ve watched every episode Vic and crew have made. Like broadcast TOS, and other fan films, some were great, some were meh and some were poorly done. I don’t think I missed the point, I understand that it’s the stories that keep one coming back. And “Boldly Go” is an OK effort, for the most part. My biggest concern with STC and STNV storywise (I was AD on several NV episodes) were the CONSTANT sequels to previous episodes. There was no Boldly Going new places. It was more like Boldly Revisit. Yes, that’s great fun, nostalgia wise, but I was looking for something new. Discovery does that for me, while still keeping enough of that Trek “feel.”

Dennycranium

Of course, DSC was never going to be made in a 1960s style of film-making, nor would I have wanted it that way. To re-use the music analogy, that’d be like Metallica playing their songs through 1950s guitar amplifiers. If you want modern, then you watch a modern show. My point is that there’s no sense in criticizing STC for being what it’s meant to be, and what it has accomplished so well: a faithful tribute to TOS.

I’m so in love with Discovery and couldn’t be happier with it, but I’ve always loved STC. It’s like going back to Netflix and watching another season of TOS. They hit all the right notes.

CBS should buy that set, rip out all the blinking lights, put in plasma screens, put in those cool Red Alert strips across the set, update the turbolift like Discovery and then film a couple films showing the Enterprise, Christopher Pike and crew, during the Klingon War. The Klingons have uplifted a culture rich in dilithium crystals once left alone by the Federation and armed them to the teeth. The once primitive race is informed by the Empire that Starfleet allowed an asteroid to smash into their world without doing anything (Prime Directive) and now are on a suicide push against the Federation core worlds or something.. (Decker and the Constellation??).

A lot of the set pieces have been sold off to private collectors. Nothing left to film on.

Not true, the sets are still in place.

Could move it to Vulcan Alberta, CBS could get CND tax credits / funding for doing a little local internet series.

So you’re saying the licensed museum is being used to still film fan episodes? Fascinating.

No, there is a tourist “space centre” there though and annual convention. I know that the town of Vulcan would love some investment. That museum I think moved to Drumheller, which is more of a year round tourist spot (Dinosaur museum). I am in Calgary AB.

It is not.

I must be mistaken. Apologies. I heard that they sold certain pieces off to complete post-production. Thanks for clearing that up.

Two complete TOS sets exist; one in New York, which is now open for tours and special events – the other (this one) is (if I recall correctly) in Texas.

I’ve tried several times to watch these episodes but they’re SO badly acted, pretty much across the board. It’s painful to watch, so I just can’t do it.

What the hell is your glitch bad acting you dont know what the hell good acting is this is an improvement over tos

@Ruben, I think based on your comment we all know who doesn’t “know what the hell good acting is”.

I can’t take seriously the opinion of anyone who says things like “What the hell is your glitch,” and who has no idea how to use punctuation, grammar, spelling, or capitalization. Please try again. Thanks.

I believe you’r confusing with some other TOS fun production. The last episode “What ships are for” was simply awesome. Great storytelling, great acting both by main actors that supporting, but most of all really great writing. The Discovery writers and directors should watch and learn from this guys.
Thank you Vic Mignona and to all the crew of Continues for giving me such emotions.

You are incorrect. I am not confusing it with anything.

You’re confused. Too much Romulan Ale I suspect.

They’re mostly not professionals, and there are a couple of weak links, but the acting really just isn’t as bad as you’re making out. Besides, these productions are made with a whole lot of love for the subject matter, and for many of us that counts for a lot.

Other than the guys who play Drake and Chekov — and maybe you can count Chris Doohan since it’s not his main career — which of the cast are “mostly not professionals”? Judging by their IMDb credits, that’s not even remotely true.

It’s actually like watching more episodes from a lost season of TOS. It’s all perfect really.

@PEB, that’s the point of it. But the acting is still dreadful.

To be fair, the acting on most episodes of TOS wasn’t exactly epic quality either.

I agree David. Everything else about these productions is very well done but the acting is just dreadful, in so many ways. The acting does make it unwatchable.

You can forgive some of the acting once you know what pressure any fan film is under to get an episode in the can.

Chiming in late here, but I disagree with this. Vic Migogna is excellent as Kirk, as is Chuck Huber as McCoy. I’d put Migogna (and yes, this was surprising) around the same quality as Shatner, and Huber only just less than Kelley. Similarly, Wyatt Lenhart has owned the role of Chekhov, surpassing Koenig, and Kim Stinger only slightly underperforms Nichelle Nichols.

Todd Haberkorn as Spock doesn’t approach Nimoy, but who could? He’s still quite good, although my favorite fan Spock was the last guy to portray him on New Voyages.

Doohan is stunt casting, and he’s really playing his father playing Scotty, more than expanding the role. It works for what it is, even if he’s not adding much new to the character.

The only real mis-hit is Grant Imihara as Sulu; there’s something slightly goofy about his interpretation that I find off-putting, and he doesn’t have Takei’s unique voice. But even there, I’m not cringing.

It’s like watching a skillfully shot TV episode, on the original sets, using the actor’s stand-ins. Could never get into them. The episode set onboard the Exeter, however, wasn’t near as distracting.

Wow, the resemblance between Amy Rydell and her mother Joanne Linville is astounding! I thought I was looking at spliced footage from the original TOS series.

Yep, absolutely uncanny. This was a another brilliant ep from the CONTINUES team. I hope CBS one day buys this up and releases it as a companion piece ( Special Extras Features ) in some official STAR TREK DVD box set release. I really do feel like I am watching a continuation of TOS.

Same here, so do I. I felt that from the first episode that was released and I feel it even more-so now. Great work to the crew.

Yeah, the resemblance is amazing. Very attractive lady, and reasonably good in the role.

I thought Paramount had effectively put the kibosh on fan productions???

Not at all. In CONTINUES’ case, they’d raised funds for these episodes before the guidelines came into power, so they are allowed to complete it.

You can thank Alec Peters and his cohorts for CBS unleashing those guidelines, but to be fair to CBS, it’s within their rights to protect their property after the whole Axanar debacle.

Wrong – there is no grandfathering. STC is releasing these with the danger of CBS going after them – but CBS probably won´t risk another legal nightmare.

Wrong. STC filed paperwork with the IRS declaring themselves a ‘Not For Profit’ organization BEFORE CBS filed their lawsuit. Therefore the CBS lawsuit has no bearing at all on STC. They could have continued this series forever if they had wanted to.

Merely because you declare yourself “not for profit” does not mean you’re at liberty to infringe IP. *If* Paramount chose to go after them, they might still have a case. I think Paramount is wise not to. I’ve read that the STC producers view the new guidelines as a safe harbor (i.e., comply with them and you’re clear, but the reverse isn’t true; failure to comply doesn’t automatically mean you’re infringing).

No, STC was allowed to wrap things up, once the guidelines were put into place. Other fan productions were given that latitude as well. So whatever was in “post-production” at the time of Paramount had put out the guidelines, could still be done so as is. After that, every fan production must adhere to the guidelines, or risk getting a call.

While Alec Peters did nothing but antagonize CBS, Vic maintained a cordial relationship with John Van Citters. Because the funds were raised, and the scripts were written, the episodes were allowed. Remember, if one reads the fan film guidelines it said you WOULD’NT be sued if you stayed inside the guidelines. It didn’t say you would if you went outside them. I’m sure the STC fans would have raised the roof if it had

As far as I know Peters was also on a cordial – even working – relationship with CBS until he was sued. There is no grandfathering to productions that were not completely finished and published when the rules came out. That has been a myth for quite some time. It does not matter when the funds were raised. And you´re right, nobody knows what happens if you violate the rules. Apparently, the 15 minute rule seems not to be enforced.

No. In fact CBS had warned Peters on at least one occasion that he was treading on very thin ice, and he chose to ignore that warning. When served with a lawsuit from a multi-billion dollar corporation his response was to post a picture of himself and his team toasting each other over a sushi lunch, also probably paid for with donor funds. Had he rented a production facility instead of using those funds to build a studio he would have ultimately profited from, the AXANAR feature would have been released months ago and none of us would be having this discussion. I was an Axanar volunteer and major donor, but facts are facts.

As to ‘selective enforcement,’ well, that’s certainly within CBS’s rights, even if that’s true, as they own the property.

Several occasions….

northstar,

One other reason for the 15 minute rule to be loose is that we live in an era of advance technology such that a 45 minute episode can be time compressed to 15 minutes for release while everyone who watches it realizes that decompressing it gives an “enhanced” art analysis – wink wink. In other words the technology the industry invented to squeeze in more ads on older longer shows can be used to get around such arbitrary rules.

To give an older example, one can reduce the primitive time compression on the Chipmunk albums to hear the original session “normal” singing voices which makes the songs much longer, i.e. there’s nothing the industry could or can do to stop people from watching something released at 3 times normal speed at one third the rate.

FWIW, in light of the plot of Discovery, I think the lawsuit against Axanar was about more than Alec Peters. Axanar was thematically very, very similar to Discovery, and CBS didn’t want a fan production detracting from their centerpiece.

To be fair…Axanar messed that up for everybody else. To be fair.

To be fair.

To be fair – if it weren´t Axanar, someone else would have crossed the line, as CBS has stated. They were just the tip of the iceberg

But it was Axanar, and not New Voyages, or Continues, or Starship Exeter, or any of the others. Maybe the for-profit studio made the difference, or the paying-out of salaries. So they (and I, as a donor and volunteer) bear that responsibility.

At the end of the day, there was no TV show in production for over a decade, which is when fan productions proliferated. Once the new TV show came into being, the powers that be were bound to clamp down on unlicensed films.

I’m not so sure about that. A huge amount was at stake had Axanar won. It could have been considered that CBS had abandoned their IP by NOT going after previous outings. When Alec sent out the casting call to professional agents it was the last straw. Many agents reached out to Paramount asking about this new film they were making.

Due to Discovery…I’m guessing CBS would have closed all these popular web series down anyway.

Man that was good. STC managed to build a cyclorama, complete with styrofoam rocks and multiple shadows from the studio lights.

I like Discovery but watching this episode of STC was very refreshing. Well done, crew! Looking forward to the next and, sadly, final episode.

And did you catch the way that Mignona channeled Shatner when he said “sabotage?” Brilliant!

I love Mignina’s Kirk. He’s fantastic.

Really enjoyed!!! I’ve been missing the science fiction aspect of Star Trek. Feels like a homecoming.

SPOILERS

Now we have an explanation for James R Kirk.
Good episode and I’m going to miss STC. Despite some plot problems such as Kirk quickly accepting Lana’s shady story, I enjoyed this more than any episode of DSC so far. Looking forward to part two.

Thank You!

I agree with many here. STC is full of love for TOS and continues its spirit, even if it doesn’t demonstrate professional level production- how could it? It’s a pleasure and it warms my heart.
Also, I decided I am in love with Kipleigh Brown.

I think that’s its entire appeal and charm, and why it feels so genuine. It’s deliberately made to look like a lower-budget show from 1970, as opposed to a modern professional series.

TOS was not a lower-budget show, especially if you take the very expensive pilots into account. That’s just a myth.

Sorry — to clarify, I meant that it’s lower-budget than something modern like Discovery or The Expanse.

11 out of 10 Halflings. I am actually angry because of this cliff hanger… and totally waiting for the last…

~Pensive’s Wetness

“Perhaps it’s some kind of sabotaaaaage”. Heh.

That was a good episode, and with a nice cliffhanger

Excellent Episode. This group really show the love and care for Trek. I enjoyed it even more than I have Discovery. Which is not really grabbing me I am sorry to say. Plus with its now dropping F-bombs I cant even watch with the kids anymore.

Lens flares, screaming and F-bombs do not a Star Trek episode make.

Not to hijack the thread, but your kids have surely heard worse on the elementary school playground.

Yes and so did I when I was a kid….so whats your point exactly, that because of that it should be cool?

Fantastic! This and the next episode might become that what “all good things (…)” is for TNG. Return to the first adventure and deliver a worthy series finale which TOS never had! Great! Also some nice references to other episodes (and shows) and hints what might come later.

Some of the acting on STC can be a little dodgy but its heart is in the right place and the people who make it clearly love the original show. The episodes I’ve seen almost all play out like the little morality plays the original was known for (something that would be harder to pull off in a high profile network sponsored production). It definitely served its purpose and provided a good shot of nostalgia for older fans I think. I’ll be kind of sad once the last one is shown.

Because of my love of classic Trek I would rather see a professional production with the TOS design aesthetic instead of Discovery.

You and me both! This is what I wanted Discovery to be!

I have to say this was the first STC episode that I thoroughly enjoyed. Excellent on all accounts. Amy Rydell was amazing – she exactly looked like her mother 50 years ago.

This is 1000% better than Discovery. This is what I wanted Discovery to be. I wanted good, strong Star Trek stories that weren’t an embarrassment and that didn’t ignore 50 years of canon. Discovery is a disgrace.

I love STC. But if Discovery was something like it, it would be laughing stock on TV. STC works because it affectionately reproduces the style of days past on TV. We can see those fights, and the solution for neutralizing the drone, and smile at it, because that’s what would happen in the original show. But this is as cheesy as it gets, and it would go nowhere as a new Star Trek series, trying to appeal to a new audience, which is what Discovery very successfully is.

Discovery a disgrace? Respectfully, I disagree. While STC is an effective love letter to TOS, Boldy Go is an embarrassment to its episodes title. It’s more like: Boldy Been There Before or Boldly Following Up. My biggest complaint about STC and NV, storywise? Too many sequels to TOS episodes. Yes, it was fun to see glowing eyes as nostalgia and recognition, but no new aliens or discoveries. (No pun intended) While you, myself, and many other Trek fans enjoy seeing these episodes the general viewing public would probably tune out.

I’m only 15 minutes into the episode and had to stop to go to work.

I can report, however, that I literally exclaimed “OH MY GOD!” to the empty room I was sitting in while watching those first 15 minutes–twice.

STC had really stepped up their game so far with this penultimate installment. It gives away nothing plot-wise to comment that the new planet set transported me back to 1969 (and that’s a good thing). And the guest players… well, let’s just say that one of my OMGs were for that character.

If they can keep up this pace, these final two episodes will have been aptly named. They boldly went!

Finally real Star Trek.

Spoilers Very well done. There’s sometimes lots going on, and think Kirk would have been more careful regarding the esper — and bristled more at Section 31. He seemed kind of passive (for him) but the show is really good. But an excellent job and kept my attention all through. Thanks.

Have really enjoyed STC, and greatly appreciate the love and effort those folk have put in. They’re family, fellow Trek fans just like all of us. Sure, we’ll all have an opinion on what fires, what misfires; but for me, far more positive to focus on than the few letdowns.

And loving DSC so far too! Keep the Trek coming!

Well done. I loved it. Now that is Star Trek.

Along with the “sabotage” Easter egg I enjoyed the line “He even forgot my middle name” to explain Mitchell putting “James R Kirk” on his tombstone.

I enjoyed the episode, but have my usual roster of caveats. It’s awesome seeing Robert J. Sawyer write a Trek episode (even a fan-produced one), but the final product shows why even successful science fiction novelists who famously adore Trek aren’t necessarily a slam dunk when it comes to writing actual teleplays. The first act is burdened by way too much exposition and clunky dialogue that makes Discovery‘s F-bomb scene this week look like naturalistic cocktail party chatter by comparison. The fight scenes are horribly choreographed and scored throughout, don’t tonally fit with the rest of the show at all, and just come off as cheesy. (Yes, it’s supposed to be TOS, but still.) I myself many years ago had the idea of writing a story featuring humans who had deliberately exposed themselves to the Galactic Barrier to attain Mitchell-like powers, but after seeing it on film it struck me maybe as a little inside-baseball, especially as the penultimate episode of a series whose stand-alone stories very rarely referenced each other.

Still, I’m not trying to dump on the show. There was actually a lot to like in terms of the dialogue and the issues raised once the story found its footing in the second act. Like others here I found Amy Rydell to be an amazing stand-in for her mother. The production continues to impress, with the shots of the Enterprise and other craft putting Trek Remastered to shame. And even though he was never a major character (spoiler alert!) I found Drake’s fate far more haunting than, say, what happened to Landry on Discovery. This is a wonderful love letter to the original series and its fans, and it’ll be a bittersweet day when Part II is released and we have to say good-bye to TOS all over again.

I will be so very, very sad to see the final episode in a couple of weeks. What a marvelous job Vic and team have done with Continues. It truly was as if we got the final two seasons of TOS. I guess the transmissions were somehow lost a few decades in subspace, but now have beamed to Earth at last.

Random thoughts (and *spoilers*)…
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I did not know that Amy Rydell was Joanne Linville’s daughter. Her resemblance to her mom is absolutely uncanny.

Drake’s demise was sickening. But what a series exit… way to take one for the team, Steve Dengler!

I have a dreadful feeling that our late, lamented security chief won’t be the only recurring, guest, or series starring character to perish before the final episode concludes. But if my personal prediction (which I am keeping to myself) holds true, it will be a solid explanation for why a certain Vulcan decided to study with the Kolinahr masters.

Oh and p.s., example #1701 of why Star Trek is such a cultural icon… I misspelled “Kolinahr” when I was typing this just now, and Google Chrome had the correct spelling in its dictionary. :)

I think I know where you’re going with respect to Spock’s motivation for undergoing Kolinahr after the five year mission ends, and would tend to agree with you. It may interest you to know that I had a conversation with one of the New Voyages producers when I worked on that show in 2009 and that they had something similar in mind for their own finale, had the series remained in production.

New Voyages was pretty decent. I particularly enjoyed Walter Koenig’s guest starring episode, and George Takei’s. Those two episodes were fantastic.

What did you do for New Voyages, @Michael Hall?

I worked on the David Gerrold-scripted “Origins,” a Young Kirk story that was sort of NV’s answer to Trek 2009. My duties included set construction, holding a boom mike during the Kobayashi Maru sequence, script continuity, helping to composite visual effects on another episode, and Not Getting Along With David Gerrold. (Oh, and working as a lighting double for producer/star James Cawley, who’s actually shorter and much better-looking than I am, but it did grant me the opportunity to sit in the Captain’s chair. I still have that picture, privately titled “Captain Dork.”)

It was a strange, frustrating experience, but one on balance that I’m glad I had. There was a lot of conflict on the show, which led to what appears to be a permanent rift between James Cawley and STC’s Vic Mignogna, who was guest-starring as Kirk’s father. (I met Mignogna on the shoot and he was personally very kind to me, as was Cawley). Given that New Voyages has pretty much shut down and the amount of time that’s passed I have real doubts that the episode will ever be released, but stranger things have happened; you never know.

The Chekov episode was okay. Fairly weak plot and direction, but the performances by Koenig and Andy Bray were pretty good, and they had nice chemistry together. I do think the Sulu show, “World Enough and Time,” is still the best Trek fan film ever made, though some of the STC episodes come close to it.

I agree that the writing and direction wasn’t very strong on the Chekov episode. I think I just loved to see Koenig back in the saddle again. Now, the Sulu episode was amazing from start to finish.

Michael Hall, I’m very disappointed the STNV episode you worked on wasn’t released. The clips that did escape the editing bay onto YouTube looked very promising. (And for STC fans, the actor who played young Kirk was Matthew Ewald, who guested as the lovestruck transporter officer in “Lolani”.)

Remind me in a few weeks to compare notes with you regarding our theories about the final episode.

Fun! I really enjoyed it despite the uneven performances by some supporting players. I really appreciate this effort and pretty easily get lost in it. What IS it with bad hair pieces and Star Trek? The actors in this have the worst wigs I’ve ever seen (so does Jason Isaacs in Discovery).

Wow. Just, wow. This really felt like an original episode. Amy Ryder is quite good in the role originated by her mother. I got chills at key points in this episode and am so sorry to see the production ending.

I’m going to miss STC, so much. I very much consider it TOS’ 4th season. That is a statement I don’t make lightly. I usually hate fan films and fan fiction.

STC is the fourth season of TOS. The cast is outstanding, the stories are inspired, and we the fans are most fortunate! Paramount can keep their J.J. movies (great actors, crap stories) and the dumpster fire known as DSC. I’ll enjoy STC, and hope that after it’s gone (thanks, losers at Paramount) future “Trek” productions will learn something from how well it was done. I mean, REALLY! STC even brought fan-favorite sci-fi actors back for guest star roles. “Lightning in a bottle”, folks!

This episode is fantastic.

I could list a couple of nitpicks, but at this point, it’d be a trifle.

Neither is there any point in listing everything that’s great about this episode, because it’s pretty much all great. This series has come such a long way. This episode is easily as good enough to be a TOS episode, and it’s better than quite a few of them. I can’t overstate how sad it is to see this wonderful series come to an end, but all good things do. Hats off to Vic, Todd and everyone else at STC. You’ve accomplished something wonderful here, something for the ages. Not only are your stories inspiring, but your dedication and effort and meticulous attention to detail are just as inspiring. I can’t wait for the finale, but in the meantime I’m going to watch this one again.

Best Trek since the “Original” series.

I wish the show was in widescreen.