FanMade: Phase II Announces “Blood and Fire” Release + Casts a New Spock

the popular fan film series Phase II (formerly New Voyages) has finally set the date for the release of their next episode, "Blood and Fire," Plus Phase II has a new Spock. TrekMovie speaks exclusively to him and executive producer James Cawley.

 

Blood and Fire coming in December
Star Trek Phase II has a Christmas present for fans in the form of “Blood and Fire: part One”, which will be released on December 20, 2008. This is actually the first episode to be released under the name Phase II and the fourth episode from the New Voyages team. The episode features guest stars Denise Crosby (“Tasha Yar” from TNG), Bill Blair and Evan Fowler; and reintroduces the character of Captain Kirk’s nephew, Peter, played by Bobby Rice. "Blood and Fire" was written by Carlos Pedraza and David Gerrold, based on an original TNG script by David Gerrold.

In an official release from Phase II, the episode is described thusly:

The horrific story finds a battle damaged Enterprise caught between an incurable contagion that threatens to overrun the galaxy, the pull of a dying star, and Klingons poised to attack. Like all of the best Star Trek episodes, “Blood and Fire” finds the Enterprise crew facing their own human fears and failings as they have to weigh the costs and decide how much personal risk to take in order to save the people around them.

Gerrold wrote the original story as a metaphor for the AIDS pandemic. The release notes:

The episode is dedicated to the gifted Star Trek alumni the world has lost to the disease: William Ware Thesis, Mike Minor and Merritt Butrick. It was also Gerrold’s intention to challenge the apathy of the public regarding the small sacrifice, yet far reaching power, of blood donations. Based on an original TNG script that was shelved because of the mention of a gay crewman aboard the Enterprise, “Blood and Fire” for Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II honors Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a non-judgmental future with the inclusion of a gay couple as part of the principle action of the story.

There is no date set for Part Two of "Blood and Fire" beyond it being expected in the near future. Here is the teaser and new opening credits:


[ DOWNLOAD LINKS AT P2 SITE]

 
Phase II has a new (new) Spock
Ben Tolpin (who can be seen as Spock in the above trailer), was not able to come back for the filming of the next episodes shot over late October, mostly due to commercial commitments. So James Cawley went out and got himself another Spock, who has a very interesting Vulcan pedigree. Phase II’s new Spock is Brandon Stacy, who has a lot acting experience in TV and film as well as commercial credits. But his most interesting connection is as Zachary Quinto’s stand-in (and double) for the new Star Trek. Brandon joined the Phase II crew for the October shooting of "The Child" and also did all the Spock parts for "Enemy: Starfleet" as well (apparently there isn’t a lot for Spock in that episode).


Quinto and Stacy

Cawley, who had a background role on the new JJ Abrams feature, met Stacy on the set and tells TrekMovie "the third time is a charm, he is already a member of the family and he is definitely a fan." Phase II will actually be Brandon’s third time in a Trek project. He played a villainous Betazoid in the sixth and seventh seasons of the fan series Hidden Frontier. Brandon approached Cawley on the set of the new Star Trek feature as he recognized him from New Voyages (and Cawley confused him with Quinto!). Stacy says that he was honored to take the role, saying "the first thing I did after it was offered was to go out and get a Spock wig so I can look at myself in the mirror and find my inner Spock." Stacy also sounded like a genuine purist when he asked if he would be bringing some of the JJ Abrams Trek into Phase II, saying "JJ is a visionary and phenomenal, but I wanted to put that film to the side and focus on The Original Series, because that is what Phase II is all about."


Stacy as Spock…nailed it!

Brandon Stacy as Spock will be seen first in "Enemy: Starfleet" and then in "The Child," both of which are finished shooting and expected to be released in 2009.

More from Cawley, and "The Child" director Jon Povill, along with new images of their new Deltan, in our next FanMade update (coming next week).
 

More on Phase II at  their official site.

 

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AHH, there’s too many Nimoy lookalikes! AHHH!

dude nice

the connections are astonishing

Released in 2009… yeah right.

Hiring Quinto’s stand in to play Spock has to be the funniest and most bizarre tie-in / coincidence imaginable. I haven’t seen but one frame of the new episode and I love it already!

Haha, next you’re going to tell us they hired an Elvis-impersonator to play Kirk. Oh, wait a minute . . .

Maybe someone will give these guys a real budget and make a television shows that is part of the “Universe A” Trek, instead of “Universe B” Trek, though both are good.

Really looking forward to this. I only started watching the New Voyages, uh, Phase II, productions very recently and was surprised and impressed by the quality. Can’t wait to see more.

I think Brandon Stacey will be a big plus (nothing against Ben Tolpin.)

My God! Now there’s a clone of Leonard Nimoy’s clone running around out there!

I’m a big fan of Cawley’s and am very much looking forward to this release. He and his crew do an absolutely amazing job.

I actually do wish if they were going to include a gay couple in the story they would just DO IT and not make a big deal about it instead of announcing HEY LOOK AT US WE’VE GOT A GAY COUPLE IN OUR SHOW, but it’s good to see that demographic represented.

Of course, if they pull off one too many clones, the next Spock is going to look like Ben Stiller…

looks great , i know i am looking forward to it ,i only wish fan shows did not take so long to make , but i have to remember they are doing it for free so its just amazing the effort they put in.

And James Cawley should use some of his money from being an extra in Star trek 11 to built engineering , sick bay , and the rest of the ship ……lol o.k. not likely to happen , but if star trek experience does reopen, and they are looking to make it more TOS related i think Cawley would be the guy to talk to .

Too bad he didn’t have the clout(?) to get the role. He actually looks better than Quinto.

Star Trek – Attack of the Nimoys.

Well, at least we’ll be getting new “Trek” this Christmas, and not have to wait until May 2009 for “Blood and Fire.”

You have to admit- Brandon looks more like “Spock Prime” than Quinto!!
Better make-up too. Wow! Great job!
Go James! REAL Star Trek lives!

good Lord, they could be brothers

Incredible! Can’t wait to see this. Looks like you CAN have your cake and eat it too. :-)

He looks a LOT better than Spocko #2.

why the name change to “Phase II”? I liked “New Voyages” and never really liked the title “Phase II” even when it was going to be used for the new Trek show in the 70’s.

Um, one doesn’t look better than the other. They BOTH look like Nimoy.

(And can I say for the record: The kid they snagged for PHASE II for Chekov does an absolutely FLAWLESS Russian Koenig! Or is that a “Koenig Russian?”)

Say, shouldn’t this clone be 30 feet tall?

Really looking forward to this ever since the teaser was released. I suppose this makes best of both worlds- we old timers can get our classic fix here, and the new Trek can be anything it wants to be! Great job to all the Phase II crew, and thanks.

Umm….

He DOES look rather convincing as Spock, doesn’t he? Busting on Cawley’s chops not-withstanding, I am SOOOO looking forward to more Phase II episodes.

Now more than ever.

David Gerrold is a great writer, I am just reading his Trek novel “Galactic Whirlpool”

This is GREAT!

Mr Cawley,

In case you read this, I wanted to say great job. You guys do an excellent job of furthering the adventures of these great characters. Keep up the great work.

Ah, finally my question has been answered. ;-)

James and Co. evidently didn’t want me as a member of their official forums (they never approved my registration), so I had no clue what the heck was going on with BaF except for what was posted here.

Last I heard they said they were going to release on Halloween, but guess it’s taken a bit more time. I have to admit I’m an impatient person and wanted it released last year around this time, but I know that it’s all volunteer work and a labor of love.

James and ‘family’, keep up the great work! :-D Can’t wait to see BaF.

5. Haha, next you’re going to tell us they hired an Elvis-impersonator to play Kirk. Oh, wait a minute . . .
————-
No, they hired a Kirk impersonator to play Elvis :-)

Love ya, James! Keep on Trekkin’ and recruiting great cast members!

I Guess this is how the ‘canon’ fans would have wanted the new movie to be like, but after seeing the trailer Im sooooooo glad they won’t get their wish.

Those guys do a really good job considering their resources. It makes me wonder…what if they had done something original? It’d be cool if all that talent and dedication was directed towards taking us somewhere NEW. I like Star Trek, but there comes a point when something has simply run its course.

Let’s see ’em put together something wholly original.

5, Actually James Cawley is a Elvis impersonator. No, I’m not kidding, it said so on his site.

And is it just me, or do some of the New Voyages/phase II crew look more like the people they are portraying than the ones Abrams hired?

Well, that’s because they’re trying to copy the Classic Cast. Abrams is doing the crew at a younger age.

That Chekov actor is starting to grow on me. He seems to have gotten better.

The battle damage reminds me of TUC, & the VOY episode Equinox.

Great.

Now all James Cawley needs do is replace that HORRIBLE, grossly overweight Scotty-with-the-terrible-accent, get over his own ego and hand the Kirk role to someone who actually looks like Kirk and can ACT, and this show might just really be onto something.

James Cawley thank you for my Birthday and Christmas Present. My B Day Is on the 19th of Dec. I have been waiting for this for a long time and Ill Be ready with my Laptop to watch it. Loved the scene you have shown us and Can’t wait to see the Rest.Im a big fan of Phase 2 and Like Mr Cawley im a Purest of Trek. Keep Up the Great Work and James Cawley. May you live long and prosper.

#14 you hit it right on the Head. We are Getting new Star Trek For Christmas. James Cawley you sly dog you. Since we could not have the Movie you are getting us A Phase 2 Episode. Very Cleaver Capt.

Man…Phase II/New Voyages just keep getting better. Keep it up James! Having JJ Trek and Cawley Trek to look forward to is fantastic!

James, do you also do a mid 1970s Elvis? Could that be the basis for TUC-era kirk?

20 – SPB — “And can I say for the record: The kid they snagged for PHASE II for Chekov does an absolutely FLAWLESS Russian Koenig!”

You said it. The visual and vocal resemblance is astonishing!

I saw that trailer before, & that torpedo shot through the saucer still looks distressingly damaging to the Enterprise. l can imagine a few crewmen definitely would have eaten it in that explosion. Nice. (Err, I mean as an effect; not hoping for dead crewmen.)

Oh, and, Stacy does indeed make a good replacement for Spock there, too…

The first time I saw the “Blood and Fire” Spock, I thought it was Kevin Nealon from “The Restaurant Enterprise”. :)
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-restaurant-enterprise/4137346841

Stacy looks like a great choice.

> non-judgmental future with the inclusion of a gay couple as part of the
> principle action of the story.

I wonder how inclusive Klingons are regarding gays on their planet? Now there’s an idea for a story. I challenge you, David Gerrold!

if this is phase II why are we using different uniforms and a refit bridge? thats what phase II would have been. if you werent able to do phase II like it was meant then keep the title as new voyages.

Great news, looking forward to this episode. It’s going to be a loooong month.

Keep it up James.

Nimoy’s shoes are the hardest to fill. I look forward to Brandon Stacey’s rendition of Spock. Quite a casting coup for the show.

Actually, Tolpin remineded me of Chevy Chase from the Original SNL STAR TREK skit from 1975! :)

28 – “I Guess this is how the ‘canon’ fans would have wanted the new movie to be like, but after seeing the trailer Im sooooooo glad they won’t get their wish.”

no, it is not.

it’s interesting that you would assume something like that though.

Finally after announcing an earlier release date. Mr. Cawley please for next years release, give yourself a little more leeway time. Maybe a new episode every December.

Lookin’ forward to it! Cawley keeps the flame burning like no one else!

(I still wish he’d enunciate more, though – sometimes he’s a bit mumbly)

So… there are now enough Spocks to date all the Catwomen, right?

This is cool. you want classic purist trek, we got Phase II for ya, you want big budget reinterpretation, we can do that too, and if you want both, well there is just trek everywhere

Dueling Qunito’s. It just gets stranger and stranger.

Wow! What an X-Mas present. Can’t wait to see! The teaser was absolutely smashing. Now let me see, how many times do I have to get up before Dec 20…

Congratulations to the Phase II team on signing Stacy… this is as good as it gets… well, only Quinto or Nimoy would top it.