When I think of the best Trek fan films to date, I think of the ones that have had a good story, a solid script, and good production values.
After that handful of episodes from various productions I would call ‘the best so far’, I find myself thinking of where to put the others. This one had an actor/actress from the original series, this one was first to do (*whatever*), this one was from an original script, etc, etc…
I was thinking about this for a while and finally realized that those episodes are not being judged on their quality, but their merit. For example, the fact that Phase II came first does not make it better than ‘Continues’. Sorry, that is a point of merit and not a point of quality.
Merit is relative; some people will appreciate having an script from the Original Series while others will think having one of the original actors to be of more merit, and thus rate the episode higher. It is just a difference of opinion, based on merit, or novelty…not quality. Moby appreciates when a production can pull off a ‘bottle show’, but that would not automatically make the episode ‘awesome’.
It is my opinion that too many fans of these films are becoming fanboys, and that is sad. So many of the people involved in fan Trek wear their hearts on their sleeves, taking offense easily. And more and more often we fans are becoming a society of opposing factions.
Factions of fanboy’s at that, in my opinion and observation.
I worry about pissing off someone for saying a nice thing about ‘Continues’ (for example) and I don’t even know the ‘why’ behind the minefield I am stepping into. Anymore when I read the word ‘awesome’ in ANY review of a Fan-Made Trek film I just imagine the trenches being dug and the flamethrowers at the ready.
Exeter’s “The Tressaurian Intersection” reminded us that it is possible to make a quality Trek adventure without the ol’ shoehorn (they used only the Tholians from the OS). It is not necessary to have any special script, voice, or actor. We don’t need a lot of location shooting with an original crew member guest starring, someone coming out of the closet, the death of a key crew member or so on to have a good quality fan film.
Sadly though, the ‘shoehorn’ has become the standard for Fan-Trek productions. From a review of Exeter’s TTI on TrekBBS:
I find myself rolling my eyes over and over again at how many “dots” are being connected in the Star Trek universe, as if it’s some sort of brilliant form of storytelling. Oh look, it’s Tasha Yar’s grandmother!
Being first is great, but having better music, acting, costumes, sets…production…wins the race, not being first. I appreciate the merit, but I appreciate the quality more. Much more.
And while I don’t like how some people I respect have been poorly treated in the past by a particular person…I don’t want to name and shame so I’ll call him ‘Dick’…that does not mean I am going to lie and say his production sucks if it does not.
At the end of the day, I am like so many others out there that are not so emotionally invested in how ‘awesome’ my favorite Fan-Made Trek production is, I’m just a consumer.
I like Trek, and these fan films allow us all a little taste of what could have been, to enjoy ‘strange new worlds’ once more. Can’t I just enjoy them all, and appreciate the quality of the productions without regard to how big a jerk the guy making it is, or who was first?
After all, by most accounts Shatner was a bit of a jerk…just like ‘Dick’! And Star Trek: The Original Series was first…just like Phase II! (see what I did there?) The only part missing from the Original Series is the part where we see past any differences and get along. How weird.
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