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Star Trek fan productions

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This article deals with fan-made productions using elements of the Star Trek franchise. Paramount Pictures and its licensees are the only organizations legally allowed to create commercial products with the Star Trek name and trademark. Although fan productions are unauthorized and subject to legal issues a status quo exists between the fans and the studio and the number of fan films has increased.[citation needed] The fan film community has received some coverage from the mainstream media.[1][2][3]


Drama films

Starship Exeter
An online series produced by Jimm and Joshua Johnson that focuses on the adventures of the starship Exeter in the original series era, with production design matching the era. It has been mentioned by the New York Times and Register-Guardian (Oregon).[3][4]
Star Trek: Hidden Frontier
A series with fifty produced episodes, the series centers on the starship Excelsior and its home base, Deep Space 12, as they mediate disputes between various races and fend off attacks from a powerful new alien race, the Grey. Fan Films Quarterly listed Hidden Frontier as one of the ten most pivotal moments in fan film history in its Summer 2006 issue. [citation needed] The BBC in 2006 called the series "the most prominent" Star Trek fan film following Star Trek: Enterprise's cancellation.[5]
File:Poster200.jpg
Heavy Lies The Crown
Star Trek: Intrepid
A fan film produced in Scotland and currently the only Star Trek fan production in the U. K. Intrepid is set in the 24th century, several years after Star Trek:Nemesis, and revolves around the effort to colonise a distant and largely unexplored Sector of the Galaxy. Star Trek: Intrepid was filmed entirely in Scotland and was released on May 26, 2007. GMTV presenter Lorraine Kelly has a brief appearance in Intrepid [6] and the production has received extensive coverage in both national and international media, such as CNN, [7] BBC Radio Scotland [8] The Guardian,[9] and The Scotsman. [10] Intrepid was featured on the UK Sci Fi Channel's Sci Fi 360 video podcast.[11]
Star Trek: The Orphans of War
A short film produced cooperatively by the Intrepid and Hidden Frontier teams, featuring both crews and the villains from Star Trek: Odyssey. The USS Intrepid and the USS Excelsior are assigned to investigate a remote Romulan planet where the Archeins left a significant amount of technology, including automated defense satellites. The set was visited mid-production by Eugene Roddenberry, Jr., son of Gene Roddenberry, who expressed his support for Star Trek fan productions.
James Cawley as Kirk in Star Trek: New Voyages
Star Trek: New Voyages
Co-creators James Cawley and Jack Marshall aimed to complete the original series' five-year mission, with actors cast as Kirk, Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew on an exact replica of the original bridge set. One episode -- "To Serve All My Days" -- was written by D. C. Fontana, story editor on the original Star Trek series and featured Walter Koenig guest-starring as an older version of Pavel Chekov, his character from the original series. Several other actors from the original Trek series have also now signed on to appear in future episodes. George Takei reprised his role of Hikaru Sulu in the third episode, "World Enough and Time", joining the original Yeoman Janice Rand, Grace Lee Whitney. Fan Films Quarterly listed New Voyages as one of the ten most pivotal moments in fan film history in its Summer 2006 issue, and has been reported on by National Public Radio. [12] New Voyages also won TV Guide's 2007 Online Video Award for best sci-fi Webisode. [13]
Starship Farragut
Launched in July 2005, this series takes place during the original series era and tells the story of the crew of the USS Farragut. Starship Farragut was the main focus of a New York Times article on Star Trek fan films.[3] The production crew have signed a cooperative deal with Star Trek: New Voyages.[citation needed] Their first episode, "The Captaincy", premiered at the Farpoint science fiction convention in February 2007.[citation needed] The second episode, "For Want of a Nail", has also been released.
Star Trek: Odyssey
A spin-off from the Hidden Frontier team with its first episode Illiad launched in September 2007. It is the story of the USS Odyssey, a Federation ship which has become trapped in the distant Andromeda Galaxy. With Odyssey's Captain and First Officer dead, along with most of the command staff, Lt. Commander Ro Nevin is forced to take command in order to get the remaining crew home.
Star Trek: The Helena Chronicles
A second spinoff of Hidden Frontier and a sister series of Odyssey. It is scheduled to begin in December of 2007 with its first episode, Sanctuary Lost. The story follows the adventures of the USS Helena which was introduced in Hidden Frontier and is set approximately six months after the first episode of Odyssey.
Star Trek: Dark Armada
The first episode of Dark Armada takes place ten years after the events in Star Trek Nemesis on board the USS Batavia. It was started in March 2005 by film-makers gathered from Star Trek fan clubs in the Netherlands and Belgium.[citation needed] Filming began in January 2006, and an initial episode was released that September.[citation needed] Filming of their first full episode, "Nightfall", is due to start in July 2007.[citation needed] They have had coverage in Dutch newspapers, TV, and radio.[14] Dwight Schultz, who played Reginald Barclay, recorded a video greeting for the project.[15]
Tales of the Seventh Fleet
A new ongoing multi-generational fandom video project covering all time lines, currently focusing on a small destroyer, the USS Justice in the late 23rd and early 24th centuries. Most of the cast are members of Star Trek fan clubs located in New Jersey. Three episodes have been completed, along with other special shorts, the third being released in September 2006. Tales of the Seventh Fleet was one of several productions featured as part of the BBC's coverage of Star Trek's Fortieth Anniversary. [16]

Parodies

Captain's Nightmare
This is a LEGO fan film directed by Jonathan Markiewitz that was featured on BBC Online in celebration of Star Trek's 40th anniversary.[citation needed] The film was inspired by the music composed and conducted by Ron Jones and the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds".
Redshirt Blues
David Rogers' film presents the tale of a space weary security officer on the Enterprise who is sick of Kirk, the ship, and the red shirt he must wear every day. While on patrol, he meets another redshirt on his first assignment and to whom he reveals the truth about redshirts. This film was screened on the SciFi Channel's Exposure in 2001.[17]
Star Trek: The Pepsi Generation
In this 1989 film, the "Ferrari" have stolen all of the Pepsi from Starbase Seven-Up, and it is up to the crew of the Enterprise to rescue it. Captain Picard, along with Doodah the android, Ya Har, Jordashe, Rigor Mortis, Sexx Toii (the Betamax counselor), Ensign Expendable, and Weasley Crushme all leap into action. Along the way, viewers meet the harried Star Trek writing crew and the Ferrari's fearsome leader. This film was featured by the BBC in a series on Star Trek fans.[citation needed]
Star Wreck
A series of Finnish parody movies created by Samuli Torssonen from 1992 onward. The latest film, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, was released in October 2005 and became an internet sensation, having drawn more than four million downloads from the main site alone, making it the most popular film of all time in Finland.[citation needed]
File:StoneTrek.jpg
Stone Trek's USS Magnetize
Stone Trek
A Flash animated series that presents episodes of Star Trek as it might have appeared in the universe of The Flintstones. The series takes place aboard the stoneship USS Magnetize. Characters include Captain James T. Kirkstone, the Vulcano first officer Mr. Sprock, and ship's doctor Leonard "Fossils" RcKoy. The series also includes a running count of redshirts killed in each episode, and fans can write in to nominate themselves to be caricatured as a redshirt in future episodes. The production's website was a Sci-Fi.com "Site of the Week" in May 2001.[18]

Machinima

Borg War
Borg War is a 90-minute animated movie originally distributed as individual short episodes. Footage for Borg War was produced using Trek-themed computer games (a process known as machinima) and then heavily edited to create the final movie, repurposing the games' voiceover clips to create a new plot.[19] Borg War was nominated for two "Mackie" awards by the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences.[20] An August 2007 screening at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas was the first time that CBS/Paramount had approved the screening of a non-parody fan film at a licensed convention.[21]

In production

Star Trek: Das Vermächtnis
Denise Crosby visited their new Next Generation-style bridge set for Trekkies 2.[citation needed] By July 2005, nearly $30,000US had been spent on the sets.[citation needed] The film, which will include an English dub, is planned to be roughly 60-90 minutes long.[citation needed]
Star Trek: Of Gods and Men
A three-part series directed by Tim Russ and starring several Star Trek stars, including Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig.[22]

Trailers

Bring Back Kirk
When Captain Kirk was killed in Star Trek Generations, fans started the "Bring Back Kirk" campaign. The original Bring Back Kirk teaser trailer was released in 2001 and became popular at conventions, such as the 2003 Starfleet Ball and Brazilian Trek Con at Sao Paulo.[citation needed] A second trailer, released in March 2004, was mentioned in Star Trek Monthly and The New York Post's Starr Report.[23][24]

The attitude of the Star Trek copyright and trademark holders toward fan works has varied over time. In early 1996, Viacom sent cease and desist letters to webmasters of Star Trek fan sites that contained copyrighted film clips, sounds, insignia, or other copyrighted material.[25][26] In the lead-up to the release of Star Trek: First Contact, then-president of Paramount Digital Entertainment David Wertheimer stated that Viacom was targeting sites that were "selling ads, collecting fees, selling illegal merchandise or posting copyrighted materials."[27] Under threat of legal action, many Trekkies shut down.[27]

Jennifer Granick, a San Francisco criminal lawyer who went on to champion cyber rights, felt that the unofficial sites should be covered by the fair use doctrine in U.S. copyright law.[25] In a 1998, UCLA associate professor Howard Besser claimed the entertainment industry as a whole was, and cited Viacom's actions toward Star Trek site webmasters as an example of, "exploiting concerns over digitization and attempting to reshape the law by strengthening protection for copyrights holders and weakening public rights to access and use material."[28]

Star Trek fan films have, until recently, operated in an informational vacuum, since Paramount has made few official statements regarding their existence. Fan filmmakers have generally kept a low profile, hoping not to draw attention to themselves. However, with the demise of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005, the fan film community began drawing more attention in the media [29] [30], and even a certain amount of recognition [31] from the entertainment industry.

Star Trek: New Voyages, one of the more prominent fan series, has established an understanding with Paramount over the years which resulted in a set of guidelines being verbally agreed on: [32]

  1. No profit can come from the film.
  2. It cannot be shown in festivals or at conventions or any other venue where money is charged for admission either directly for the film or the event itself.
  3. It can only be a free download and cannot be offered in lieu of a "donation".
  4. Paramount must be properly credited as the owner of Star Trek-related intellectual property.

References

  1. ^ Suellentrop, Chris (2005). "To Boldly Go Where No Fan Has Gone Before". wired.com. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Kimmel, Daniel M. (2005-07-31). "Enterprising fans captain 'Trek' spinoffs". Variety. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  3. ^ a b c Hakim, Danny (2006-06-18). "'Star Trek' Fans, Deprived of a Show, Recreate the Franchise on Digital Video". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  4. ^ Taylor, Lewis (2006-10-03). "Trekkers invited to beam down to festival". The Register-Guardian. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  5. ^ Savage, Mark (2006-09-06). "Where no fan film has gone before". BBC. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  6. ^ "Captain Kelly". GMTV. 2006-09-06. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  7. ^ "Homemade 'Star Trek'". CNN.com. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  8. ^ Calder, David. "Star Trek episode made in Dundee". BBC Radio Scotland. Retrieved 2007-07-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ Scott, Kirsty (2006-06-28). "Fans boldly go on after axeing of Star Trek". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  10. ^ Gilchrist, Jim. "Beam Me Up". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007-07-02. {{cite web}}: Text "2006-07-04" ignored (help)
  11. ^ "Sci Fi 360 Episode 16". Sci Fi Channel (United Kingdom).
  12. ^ Mann, Brian (2006-07-22). "NPR: Star Trek Fan Films Live Long and Prosper". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  13. ^ Patterson, Thom (2006-12-20). "Star Trek DIY: Fans make their own 'Webisodes'". CNN. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  14. ^ "Project Dark Armada". Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  15. ^ "Video Greeting from Dwight Schultz". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  16. ^ "Tales of the Seventh Fleet". BBC. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  17. ^ Ross, Dalton (2001-09-10). "What To Watch". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  18. ^ "Sci-Fi Site of the Week". scifi.com. 2001-05-21. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  19. ^ "DEUX EX MACHIMINA – BORG WAR DOING TREK CON". Newsarama.com. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  20. ^ "See an Unauthorized Animated Star Trek Feature Film". IF Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  21. ^ "'Borg Wars' for next generation of movie makers". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  22. ^ "Let There Be Lights: "Of Gods and Men" Shoots". startrek.com. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  23. ^ "Scan of Star Trek Monthly article". Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  24. ^ Starr, Michael (2004-07-01). "Starr Report". New York Post.
  25. ^ a b Granick, Jennifer (1997-10-09). "Cyber Rights Now: 'Scotty, Beam Down the Lawyers!'". wired.com. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  26. ^ "Image of cease-and-desist letter sent by Viacom to some Star Trek site webmaster". scifi.com. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  27. ^ a b Jones, Colman (1997). "Trekkies orbit around copyright turbulence". NOW. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  28. ^ "Recent Changes to Copyright: Attacks Against the Public Interest". 1999. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  29. ^ "To Boldly Go Where No Fan Has Gone Before". Wired.com. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  30. ^ "Enterprising fans captain 'Trek' spinoffs". Variety.com. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  31. ^ "Roundup: TV Guide Online Awards". StarTrek.com. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  32. ^ "'Star Trek' cast member to appear in fan film". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
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