Star Trek Continues A Faithful Tribute To The Original

If you're like me, you weren't thrilled by the reboot of the Star Trek franchise on the big screen.  It has all of the fancy special effects, but it lacks that certain feel that the older movies or the five series had.  Call it the Gene Roddenberry vision.  Call it what you will, but there's a segment of fans of this franchise that want Star Trek to be Star Trek.

Fortunately, there is a man who has stepped in to make Star Trek happen in a way that most of us probably never anticipated with Star Trek Continues.  His name is Vic Mignogna, and he is a life long fan of the original Star Trek series.  In fact, if you've listened to him discuss what this show and William Shatner's portrayal of Captain Kirk meant to him as a kid, you know he is a man dedicated to creating a show faithful to the vision of series creator Gene Roddenberry.  The look, sound and feel of this show are on a level unseen since the original series ran in the 1960's.

Vic started the Star Trek Continues effort differently that most fan created endeavors.  He didn't start a crowd finding campaign for his first episode, Pilgrim Of Eternity.  He felt that he needed to prove to the fans that he could do it.  Therefore, he funded the first episode out of his own pocket.  This was an unofficial sequel to an original series episode titled Who Mourns For Adonis.  Vic even convinced Michael Forrest to reprise his role as Apollo.  The episode was a hit with the fans, and successful crowd funding campaigns have enabled the crew to make six more episodes since then.

If you've watched any of the first seven episodes created by Vic and the wonderful cast and crew, you would agree that these episodes could have run back when the original series ran.  Star Trek Continues picks up where the original show went off the air.  It was originally a five year mission, and these episodes are meant to be a continuation of that mission.  Officially, it is not seen as series cannon, but Rod Roddenberry, son of Gene, has said that if his father were alive today, he would approve.  Rod goes on to say that it's official cannon as far as he's concerned.

In the recently released episode titled Embracing The Winds, the subject of women getting a chance to be starship captains in Starfleet is part of the story, while Chekov has his skills put to the test.  This show tackles topics that would have fit right into the original series, such as slavery in an episode involving the Orions.  The episode is called Lolani, and it's a favorite with many fans.  They also return to the Mirror, Mirror universe for a really good episode called The Fairest Of Them All.

The climate for Star Trek fan created content is a bit rough as CBS and Paramount have taken legal action against some fan created projects.  Star Trek: Axanar is in limbo as the matter may end up in court next year.  The Star Trek: Renegades series, which included Trek alumni Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig and Tim Russ, removed Star Trek from their name in a concern over legal issues.  Mignogna has made it clear that they are not deriving any profit from this show, they claim no ownership of it and it's being created simply for fans to enjoy.

One reason it might be wise for Paramount to leave this show alone is there is still a segment of fans who do not like the new direction the franchise has taken in recent years.  Many of these fans turn to Star Trek Continues for their one or two new episodes a year.  Letting this continue would be a good public relations move on behalf of Paramount.  As long as the Star Trek Continues crew is not selling the content and profiting from it, it's not harming the franchise owners.  It's only helping grow the brand.

As of September, we've heard of no legal issues against the Star Trek Continues crew.  They debuted Embrace The Winds at the beginning of September.  Mignogna revealed that he himself has invested in the neighborhood of $150,000 of his own money to make this show a reality.  He likens it to a hobby.  After bills are paid, you have money to spend on entertainment.  This, he says, is his entertainment.

What might make Paramount feel threatened enough to shut down this amazing recreation of the original Star Trek is the fact that they are preparing to launch a brand new weekly TV series.  If they view these new episodes as a threat to that, they might act on it.  In all reality, most of the Star Trek fans who watch this show will watch anything officially Star Trek that is released.  One would hope that they will look at this show and see it for the loving tribute to the original that it is and let it continue.

Some have speculated that CBS could offer this show a TV deal.  It seems unlikely for a prime time spot to open up, but what if they put it some place in late night or got a syndication deal to air it on weekends?  Syndication was what relaunched Star Trek back in the 1980's with The Next Generation.  Some people bristle at this idea as it takes the creative freedom away from Vic and his crew.  On the other hand, such a deal could almost assure the five year mission would be seen to the end with a good enough budget to make it easier for them to do their thing.

When you think about it, the Star Trek Continues crew is working within the same sort of budget that the original series had.  They improvise when they have to and let the story keep you entertained.  It's not about the flashy special effects that so many of the science fiction efforts rely on these days.  It's good writing and the acting skills of Vic Mignogna (James T. Kirk), Todd Haberkorn (Spock), Chuck Huber (Leonard H. McCoy), Chris Doohan (Montgomery Scott), Grant Imahara (Hikaru Sulu), Kim Stinger (Nyota Uhura), Wyatt Lenhart (Pavel A. Chekov) and Michele Specht (Elise McKennah) that make Star Trek Continues so good.

Check Out The Episodes On The Star Trek Continues Website By Clicking HERE