(no subject)

[thebitterguy]

I don't have much of a gut instinct. In fact, I really HOPE I don't. Because this Star Trek new Voyages thing fills me with the kind of dread you usually only get in the seconds between when you turn the corner and see a guy standing there with a gun and him pulling the trigger.

And Rod's involved. I don't know how to feel about that. Even if he is offering his blessing (and support, since he's new on the production team), I still don't know how much that amounts to legally. Good kid, he is. I just ain't sure about the wisdom of associating with this operation.

Barring any sort of miracle, it will likely damage the Roddenbery/Viacom relationship.

In all probability, Viacom will probably just roll out of bed, reach out one hairy knuckle, and crush it.

The creative staff seems very genuine, and may perhaps be very creative. So why put this much energy into something even more fragile than normal. I think it's even more dangerous than a normal Trek fanseries, considering that this is pretty much the most direct violation possible of Paramount's IP, and they'll sue you into a corner for much less.

I mean, people put energy into things like Finnegan's Wake and, while you can make judgments about the viability of a web series of that ambition (seriously, is there any?), at least they don't have to worry about some junior barrister deciding to make his name by zapping them.

Unless, of course, he works for a cranky SF writer who's prone to chucking lawsuits at people, but we know there aren't any of those.

Comments

[patricks.livejournal.com]

So, wait, these folks are filming new Star Trek episodes using the original characters but with new (and mostly amateur, I assume) actors in the roles? ::looks doubtful::

[thebitterguy]

That is exactly what's happening. It might be interesting, but something original would also be good.

[patricks.livejournal.com]

Hm, that's an odd approach. Wouldn't there be a pretty big audience disconnect from seeing Spock played by not-Nimoy or Kirk by not-Shatner? You're right, they'd be better off doing something new, or if it has to be Star Trek, inventing their own series.

[thebitterguy]

Right. Hell, even an Original Series era fan show would be cool. This just seems particularly a bad idea.

[etherlad.livejournal.com]

There are a couple of TOS-era shows that don't use the original crew: Starship Exeter (don't have a link handy, but a google should bring it up) is the most well known of those. Having seen their episode, the kitchiness was fun, but I don't know if I really respect them for it. Production values would have to increase dramatically in their next episode for me to care a whole lot.

The New Voyages crew seems to be treating the property with respect. I checked out their pilot episode last night. They're of the opinion that the TOS characters are "classic" roles, like Gandalf or James Bond. Those have been portrayed by many actors in the past, each bringing something new to the role, but the core of the character remains the same. So they're taking that tack with the TOS roles. The actors will bring something new, but the core of the characters will be identifiable. Their relationships will progress as one might expect given this is (supposedly) their fourth year together.

They've gotten a lot of people involved. The guy who played Kyle in TOS played Captain Jeffries. The Academy Award winner for makeup (Driving Miss Daisy) is working with them. The visual effects really look nice. The ships still look like TOS, but don't look like models anymore. And they've mentioned in their forums that they've shown the pilot and have gotten permission to show their second episode to Paramount. They've intimated that if all goes well, this may be an official deal rather than just a fan project.

They're aiming at filling in the gaps between TOS and what was supposed to happen for Star Trek Phase II. They reference future Trek series in the pilot... a lot of the crew have visions of potential future events (most of which will doubtless be featured in additional ST:NV episodes), but for Kirk and Spock's visions, it showed a quick scene from each of the movies ('cept with the new actors). It was really well done. YOu can tell they care.

And apparently the next ep's going to be a lot better.

I'm largely playing devil's advocate here. (: I'm optimistic, but cautiously so. It could still suck.