FanMade: Review Phase II “To Serve All My Days – Night in 69” + New P2 Guest Cast Anouncement

"To Serve All My Days," featuring Walter Koenig and a script by DC Fontana, was originally released by Phase II (then New Voyages) on November 23, 2006. It’s new level of sophistication for home-made Trek sent ripples through the fan film community. Now it has been ‘reissued’ with a special ‘Night in 1969’ edition with new edits, additional footage, new effects, new music…and even a new ending.

REVIEW "TO SERVE ALL MY DAYS – NIGHT IN 1969 EDITION"

While not without its problems, when it was released, TSAMD was definitely the best New Voyages episode, and arguably the best Trek fan film ever made. However, it was eclipsed by their 2007 release of "World Enough and Time" (which this author freely admits is among his twenty favorite hours of any version of Star Trek). Possibly as an attempt to bring TSAMD up to par with WEaT, Phase II has now created the special ‘Night in 1969’ Edition, which had a gala premiere on March 29, 2008 and is now available for viewing online. But, is the 1969 edition better than the original version? The answer is (almost entirely) yes.

Although the edition makes no changes to the actor’s performances, some subtle changes in editing makes most performances feel tighter (the new version ends up running about 90 seconds shorter than the original). As with all fan films, the most challenging part is with the acting, but in TSAMD the main Phase II  cast may have put in their best performances (even better than "World Enough and Time"). James Cawley effectively brings his own version of Kirk to the screen as does John Kelley whose sympathizing Doctor McCoy is made without without imitating DeForest Kelley. Jeff Quinn shows a lot of talent at playing (and looking) like a Vulcan, although sometimes he is not fully convincing as Spock himself. Charles Root’s Scotty is still the weakest link, but luckily "To Serve All My Days" has fewer of the over-the-top Scottishisms of "World Enough in Time." 

As with WEaT, much of the strength in acting comes from the guest cast. John Carrigan brings just the right TOS-era Klingon spirit to his Captain Kargh, and it is nice to see Phase II use him as a regular villain. It is also fun casting to have Mary Linda Rapelye, who played Irina in the TOS episode "The Way to Eden," return to Trek and she delivered a good performance in a somewhat strange role as Ambassador Rayna Morgan. However, it is Walter Koenig’s reprise of the role of Chekov that is the is the best thing about TSAMD. Koenig’s challenging performance makes it very easy to empathize with Chekov’s rapid aging situation, and leaves viewers with the distinct wish that we had seen more of Chekov in past Trek episodes and films. Andy Bray (Phase II’s Chekov) had the difficult task of not only appearing in the same episode as Koenig, but even in a number of (sometimes very amusing) scenes with the original Chekov. Koenig was always able to balance naïveté with ability, Chekov may be young, yet he is a scientific genius and a Starfleet trained navigator. Bray holds his own and is at times a mirror image of Koenig’s 60s performance, but could learn more about that balance.

Bray and Koenig share a moment in "To Serve All My Days"

The most obvious and biggest improvement for the 1969 edition, is the special effects. The original version’s effects felt both unfinished and also anachronistic with The Original Series, even including a movie era Klingon Bird of Prey. Almost all the new effects (including the opening title sequence) were done by Daren Dochterman, who recreates the Enterprise to a degree never seen before in a fan film. His technical and artistic talents make this episode truly feel like a night in 1969, especially in the sequences with the Klingon ships. The one quibble with the new effects would be the new opening teaser sequence (which was the only part not done by Dochterman). The BoP has been replaced with a D-7 and the effects are rendered beautifully, in particular a new shot of Babel.  However, the shaky-cam styled chase in a snowy asteroid environment just seems inappropriate for a 1969-themed episode. Another area worth mentioning is how the Phase II crew seamlessly blend their real and virtual sets together. There are many images or display panels that the average viewer would not know are CGI, and some of these have also been improved in the 1969 version.

New teaser effects sequence, exciting but not exactly ‘1969’

Dochterman’s Enterprise is…perfect

As for the production design, there are no needed changes with the 1969 edition. Producer James Cawley is a well-known Original Series purist and so it is no surprise that TSAMD has excellent (and very TOS) costume designs, sets, props, and makeup. The Klingon makeup and the aging of Chekov are especially well presented. The only complaint is that you don’t get enough of a look at many of the episode’s alien ambassadors. The cinematography is alse well done, although the lighting occasionally seems too dark. TOS is well-known for bright colors, but at times the lighting was more reminiscent of DS9.

Another bonus of the ‘1969’ edition is the use of original Star Trek music from the television show. The music works effectively, adding both emotion and a sense of nostalgia to the scenes. Plus, the authentic soundtrack includes all the best Star Trek sound effects. One unfortunate element that is missing from the online version of the 1969 edition (but shown at the Beverly Hills premiere), is the period commercials and clips from 1969. Apparently there were rights issues, so you will just have to imagine them yourself.

Watch closely or you will miss much of the new alien make-up and costumes

Probably the biggest problem with TSAMD is something that the new 1969 edition cannot fix. While DC Fontans’s script has worthwhile elements, most especially her strong sense of character, the story just doesn’t hold together and fails to feel like an original Star Trek episode. Firstly, the structure of the episode is cumbersome trying to deal with two "A" stories: the Federation Crisis and Chekov aging. And the dire crisis in the Federation economy, which would usually be the primary story, isn’t given the appropriate attention. In the first act, Ambassador Morgan warns "we must find a solution or I am afraid the Federation may not exist much longer." But by the end of the episode, they have only resolved a tangential matter to this crisis, leaving the Federation on the brink of collapse. Will Phase II pick this up again or has it magically solved itself by "World Enough and Time?" Plus, how exactly is there a monetary crisis in a Federation that has moved beyond the need for money?

The second narrative of Chekov’s aging, a sequel to the episode "The Deadly Years," is handled much better. It is an excellent character story with an interesting May-December romance between Chekov and Ambassador Morgan. The 1969 version does add a bit to the Chekov story, with a brief yet poignant flashback sequence to "The Deadly Years." The scenes with the aged Chekov on his own, with Morgan and with his younger self ran the gamut from pain, to love to laughter and were truly a capstone for the character. You can see why Koenig has described it as his ‘goodbye to Chekov.’ The most daring part of the story is how it ended, and here is the one instance where the 1969 version may have actually made something worse. [SPOILER WARNING] As with the original version, we see Chekov die and sort of walk off into the sunset. This created obvious continuity issues, but that is how Fontana and Koenig wanted to do it (Fontana contends that all future instances of Chekov are actually his cousin Sergei). Instead of just ignoring the continuity complaints, or actually reworking some kind of deus ex machina fix, the 1969 version adds a joke at the end of the credits, essentially making everything that preceded a Vodka-induced dream. Although this resolves continuity issues, the audience may feel manipulated and cheated now knowing the episode had no real consequences and (joke or not) much of the emotion of the episode ends up being rendered moot.

A powerful scene, but did it ever happen?

In the end, despite some issues with the story, there was always much to admire about "To Serve All My Days," especially the performances of Walter Koenig and James Cawley. The new edits, music and special effects of the "Night in 1969 Edition" have now brought it (almost) up to the level of the excellent "World Enough in Time." That being said, the ending should have been left intact. This isn’t Dallas; Phase II should continue doing what it does best, tell stories of worth and consequence. 

Watch TSAMD right now: streaming at Dragonfly.

PHASE II ANNOUNCE NEW GUEST CAST

Star Trek alumni and fan favorite BarBara Luna will appear in the next episode of Star Trek: Phase II, scheduled to go before the lens this June at the Retro Films Studio in Upstate New York. Written by Trek author Dave Galanter, from a story developed him and fellow Trek writer Greg Brodeur, “Enemy:Starfleet” will be directed by Kevin Rubio. Guest star BarBara Luna is best known to Trek fans for her unforgettable role as Lt. Marlena Moreau in the original series episode, “Mirror, Mirror.” According to executive producer James Cawley, “[Luna’s] role will be very unlike her appearance in our first episode – it will be much more substantial than her guest appearance in “In Harm’s Way.”

Also appearing in this episode is Kevin Pereira, a Star Trek fan and host of G4tv’s Attack of the Show (AOTS), Pereira will play Lt. Kevin Riley, a role first made famous by actor Bruce Hyde. "Kevin in a mainstay at G4tv,” said James Cawley, “we are exited to have him on the set and I think it will be a blast to have him play another classic Enterprise crewmember.”