Fan Productions

FanMade: Production Updates On Phase II, Farragut, Hidden Frontier & Exeter + Enterprise Production + more

Summer seems to be the time for Fan Productions to do their filming. For this belated FanMade we have production updates from the producers of Phase II, Starship Farragut and Hidden Frontier, including some exclusive preview photos. We also have an update on the Filmation-style fan made animated series and a new Enterprise fan production that is all about action (figures). Lastly there is a rare update on Starship Exeter.






FanMade Follow-up: RiffTrax and Phase II Work It Out

On Saturday TrekMovie.com reported that the former MST3Kers at RiffTrax.com released a comic commentary for the Star Trek Phase II episode “World Enough and Time,” but that STP2 producer James Cawley was not happy about it being available as a synced video download. Today Cawley informs TrekMovie that Rifftrax and Phase II have worked things out and WEaT will be available as audio only.


FanMade: RiffTrax Does Phase II+ Federation One Images + New Audio Dramas + more

There may be no new Trek episodes coming out of CBS Paramount these days, but the fan community continue to take up the slack. This week we have news and exclusive images from the Hidden Frontier mini-series “Federation One” and new releases from Star Trek Odyssey and three different Trek audio dramas. Plus there is a bit of drama going on with Star Trek Phase II and the folks from RiffTrax. Oh…and Space Nazis.


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.


FanMade: Farragut Gets Animated, Phase II Updates Schedule, Hidden Frontier Announces New Series

FanMade has lots of exclusive news and images from the world of fan films. Firstly,  the Starship Farragut team are announcing new animated episodes which will be very much like TAS and feature some celebrity voices. Also Phase II have announced a release date for their ‘To Serve All My Days’ special edition and updated their shooting schedule. Lastly the Hidden Frontier team have announced details on a new mini-series.  


Phase II Premieres 1969 Edition – Report + Pics [UPDATED]

On Saturday in Beverly Hills, the team behind the fan series Star Trek Phase II (formerly New Voyages) premiered the ‘Night in 1969 Edition’ for “To Serve All My Days” featuring Walter Koenig. The original Chekov was there, along with PII star/exec producer James Cawley and much of his cast and crew. TrekMovie.com was there as well…see below for a report along with pictures from the event.


Jeff Quinn To Appear In Star Trek Movie

James Cawley is not the only veteran of the fan film Star Trek New Voyages (now Phase II) who is headed to the big screen in JJ Abrams’ new Star Trek. Jeff Quinn, New Voyages’ first Spock, has also landed a small Trek role. At the Saturday night screening for the Phase II episode “To Serve all My Days – 1969 edition,” Quinn talked to TrekMovie about his Star Trek movie experience.


Review – Of Gods and Men Act 2

Act 2 of the Trek-celebrity-filled independent fan film Of Gods and Men (available this weekend) delivers a dark, yet fun midpoint for this long-awaited production. This second outing is stronger than the first first both technically and dramatically. Now in the heart of the story we get to see the actors (which is OGaM’s strong point) really push the edges on this different sort of Star Trek story. 


FanMade: Phase II Nebula Controversey + OGAM Pt 2 Date + Hidden Frontier/Intrepid Team-up

NEW FEATURE: ‘FanMade,’ the latest of TrekMovie’s regular columns, will focus entirely on fan productions. This week we have news and a controversy around a nomination for Star Trek Phase II (formerly New Voyages), plus Of Gods and Men part 2 has a release date and two popular fan films are joining forces for a special project. And there are some new releases and previews to see.


Roddenberry Considered TOS Prequel For TMP

The guys behind the fan audio production Star Trek The Continuing Mission have put up a very interesting audio interview with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry from July 1976. Roddenberry discusses the creation of TOS, why changes were made between the pilots, the birth of the Klingons and Romulans plus much more. But it is the discussion of early plans for Star Trek The Motion Picture that stand out as most relevant to today’s Trek.


New Voyages Heads To Phase II

The popular independent fan production Star Trek New Voyages is changing its name and changing direction. Starting immediately New Voyages will be known as Star Trek: Phase II, adopting the name of the planned but never produced ‘second Star Trek series.’ Show star and executive producer James Cawley announced the change at the Farpoint Convention in Baltimore on Saturday. Cawley talked to TrekMovie.com about the new name and new direction for the show formerly known as New Voyages.


James Cawley To Appear In New Star Trek Movie + Talks About Visit To Set

EXCLUSIVE: As the creator of the independent fan production Star Trek New Voyages, James Cawley has sought to recreate an exact replica of Star Trek The Original Series, right down to the braid on Kirk’s sleeve and the color of the bridge railing. So it is not surprising that he has been on the skeptical side with regards to JJ Abrams’ Star Trek ‘re-invigoration.’ But a chance encounter on the Paramount lot has turned the purist Calwey around…so much so that he is now literally ‘on board.’ In an exclusive video interview (below) Cawley tells TrekMovie.com all about his new Trek adventure and what he now thinks of Abrams and his new Enterprise.


Interview With Tim Russ

EXCLUSIVE: It has been almost seven years since Star Trek Voyager returned home and went off the air, but just recently Tim Russ (Tuvok) is having a bit of a Trek renaissance. He directed (and appears in) the new independent mini-series Of Gods and Men. Plus he has a starring role as Tuvok in the centerpiece multimedia experience for Star Trek The Tour. Russ talked to TrekMovie.com about his latest Trek work as well as some other projects going on for the busy actor/director.





New Voyages Revamping Koenig Episode

A year ago the independent fan production Star Trek New Voyages released their second episode “To Serve All My Days” featuring Walter Koenig reprising his role of Pavel Chekov. The episode was well received by the fan film community, but was also critiqued for not fully meeting the STNV goal of truly seeming like it was from the ‘4th season’ of Star Trek The Original Series. The STNV are now hard at work creating a new version of the episode to be released this Christmas which they call the ‘Night in 1969’ Edition. “We are making it feel like it came right from NBC in 1969,” executive producer James Cawley tells TrekMovie.com.


‘Of Gods And Men’ To Premiere December 22nd

After many delays the producers of “Of Gods and Men” have finally announced December 22nd at 17:01 EST (5:01 EST) as the release date for part 1 (of 3) of the Internet mini-series. OGaM is one of the most ambitious independent/fan Trek productions to date and is distinguished by having a cast made up almost entirely of professional actors, including Trek veterans such as Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Alan Ruck, Gary Graham and many others. The film was directed by Voyager’s Tim Russ, who also has a part. The OGaM team also announced they will be using the same technology partners that handled the ‘relaunch’ of the recent Star Trek New Voyages episode, after the initial release was hampered by the demand. More information in the latest OGaM newsletter and the official site.


New Voyages Latest Episode Back Online – Team Planning New Episodes [UPDATED]

Two weeks ago the Star Trek New Voyages team premiered their third episode "World Enough and Time" in an Internet streaming event. Unfortunately at the time they were not ready for the demand and it was taken down, but the problems are all sorted out and now it is available for streaming again at a new location (small and medium WMV only…currently limited to 300 simultaneous streams). Plus there is an official bit torrent site up now as well. The STNV team have also secured even better streaming providers which should come online within a few weeks. Now that things are sorted out for WEaT, the STNV team are moving on to their next episodes. Executive producer and star James Cawley talked exclusively with TrekMovie.com about what we can expect next from the popular independent Star Trek production.


A Message from New Voyages’ James Cawley

Some of you may have noticed that both the streaming site for "World Enough and Time" as well as the main Star Trek New Voyages site are down or having problems. UPDATE: StarTrekNewVoyages.com is back up, but MagicTime streaming video site warns that that "World Enough and Time" had to be taken down ‘temporarily.’ While the NV site was down I called James to offer TrekMovie.com to get a message out to the fans…see below


Review – New Voyages “World Enough and Time”

In the interest of full disclosure I must say that I have never been a fan of the so-called Star Trek fan films. Sure I can give them credit for good effort and they seem like they are a lot of fun to do, but in the end they usually are no more impressive than community theater…and often worse. The efforts of the Star Trek New Voyages team have so far been the shining star of this lot with very impressive production design, sets, costumes and even some stunt casting, but to date they have still fallen short of being something that I could consider a professional production due to too many weak links spoiling otherwise good work. This is why I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised after watching latest episode "World Enough and Time" starring George Takei. Although it is not without its flaws, this fourth episode from New Voyages is certainly the best Trek fan production ever made and likely the first that could quality as a truly professional production worthy of the name Star Trek.


VegasCon07 – Russ: Of Gods and Men To Be Released in September

From the Las Vegas Creation Star Trek Convention (Thursday)Tim Russ, the director of the independent fan film Of Gods and Men (and VOY’s Tuvok), told the Vegas crowd that the first part of the anticipated and much delayed mini-series will ‘probably’ be available for download in September. He asked fans to be patient and said that the editors and CGI artists were doing ‘painstaking work’ on the 2nd and 3rd part. However, this is not an official release date. The first part of the mini series is pretty much complete now, but they want to be able to release all three parts over a few weeks…hence the delay. Russ also showed a new version of the full trailer with new CGI effects and it is an improvement over the one on the official site.


New Voyages “World Enough And Time” Premieres Next Month + Mini Review

The next episode of Star Trek New Voyages "World Enough And Time" starring George Takei finally has a premiere date: August 23rd. It will be seen in a live streaming event timed to coincide with the gala premiere at a theater in Beverly Hills to be attended by Takei, director Marc Zicree as well as show creator/star James Cawley. This will be the first STNV episode that will use live streaming (the episode will be streamed again, but will not be available for download like previous episodes). George Takei & Grace Lee Whitney in STNV "World Enough and Time"


Wil Wheaton’s Shatner and Stewart Impersonations

Things are progressing over at the Kirk v Picard Script Writing Contest. They are about half way through and just picked the round two scene. finalists. In a new video Wil Wheaton actually acts out some of the moments from the round one finalists, including part of a scene written by TrekMovie.com contributor James Heaney (wowbagger). Wheaton hams it up, but also pokes some good fun at Wesley.   Is Wil trying out to be the new Kirk? Keep track of the goings on at the Official Blog (run by yours truly)


Guardian Premise Selected for Kirk v Picard ‘Fanisode’ Contest

The votes are in and the ‘Guardian of Forever’ premise is the clear winner and will be the jumping off point for the Star Trek Kirk vs Picard fan fiction contest (I am sure it was the endorsement from TrekMovie.com). Now that they have the device that brings Kirk and Picard together in conflict, mission director Andre Bormanis has set up the first ‘scene mission’ for the writers. The scene starts on the Guardian planet with Kirk and crew dealing with a freaking out Guardian causing serious problems in the space time continuum…and soon enough Picard and the Enterprise D show up. On the official blog for the event, Bormanis explains why he chose to have it start with Kirk. I sincerely hope there are some TrekMovie.com readers who are participating in this event as writers, and even as reviewers (either way you can win some prizes). I should note that after I covered the event in my previous article and interview with Bormans, I got to talking to the FanLib people they asked me to build and run the official blog for the event.


Premise Choices for Kirk v Picard Revealed – Include Khan and Guardian of Forever

The official site for the ‘fanisode’ writing contest ‘Kirk v Picard’ when live this afternoon. ‘Mission Director’ Andre Bormanis has laid out four choices as a possible premise for what has brought Captains Kirk and Picard together. One has Kirk appearing in cryongenic chamber in Picard’s time, another has Kirk and Picard both meet in present day Earth, another has Picard discover Khan (from Star Trek II) has destroyed the UFP in an altered timeline. The most intriguing (and the one leading the polls) involves the Guardian of Forever (from TOS "City on the Edge of Forever") malfuctioning/going crazy and sending out time quakes that bring Kirk and Picard together. The conflict rises from Kirk wanting to destroy the Guardian before it causes more damage and Picard defending it because it is a sentient life form. This set up is clearly made to show character differences between the action oriented Kirk against the cerebral Picard. For more details and voting check out the official site, or watch the premise videos with Wil Wheaton and George Takei. The winning premise will be chosen by June 19th, leading to the first ‘mission’ for potential writers.