Of Gods and Men
Star Trek: Of Gods and Men
A Star Trek movie designed for Uhura, Chekhov, and Tuvok, done by the actors who play them. A romp in the mirror universe (erm, continuity optional) also starring Captain John Harriman of the Galactic Order and a whole host of minor Trek actors who have all volunteered to be a part of the effort. The special effects, cinematography, and costumes have been done by rabid fans, and the entire set of the old Enterprise and its Imperial counterpart has been built by a totally psycho devotee on the east coast.
You can see the relief pouring off of Nichelle Nichols as she finally gets a real movie all to herself and Uhura gets to do so much more than open hailing frequencies. Walter Koenig, who has been more involved in Trek writing and fan productions than any other actor, is totally in his element, as is Tim Russ, who directs and costars. Ancestors or counterparts of Harry Kim, Martok, a dopey human Neelix stand-in and an Orion slave Leeta are all capering around in Imperial cheesecake-wear, enjoying themselves like Lucius Malfoy at a Muggle convention.
Some sixteen-year-old boy deserves a teen Oscar for the writing. It's good. It's really good... For a sixteen-year-old boy. There's no question that this was NOT done by a professional screenwriter. The dialogue is stilted, moving in cliches rather than fluid human responses. The use of the Death Star in a Star Trek movie is... well, as I said, not bad for sixteen. I would have been proud to write a script like this when I was sixteen. It's a full movie, man! With Uhura and a lot of Vulcans! (P.S. Imperial Vulcans were not pacifists. We seem to have forgotten this. Oh well.)
More reviews forthcoming as I watch the second half+. It's... interesting. As a piece of fanfic, written and produced in Nichelle Nichols' spacious basement, I think I recommend it.
I'm touched by the number of Trek actors (from, I note, every show but NextGen) who came out of the woodwork to jump on board. Believe me, they are not getting paid for this! But there they are, Voyager guys, DS 9 guys, Jake Sisko as Uhura's well-adjusted half-Vulcan son, Charlie X and Stonn from the original series, all pitching enthusiastically. It's heartwarming to see the love they have for the show and for the fans. What was I saying about authentic Star Trek in the last post? These people know from authentic Star Trek. They can't write "like buttah," but they know what the result is supposed to look like.
Ignore all the YouTube trolls who complain about the special effects. Some weekend geeks at a LAN party did a really good job on them.
Oh, and thatnks to the birthday generosity of lilbakht and Audible.com, I have discovered a whole array of Trek audiobooks narrated by George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Jonathan Frakes, William Shatner, Robert Picardo, Nana Visitor, John deLancie, and other talented people. (Also Anthony Stewart Head, who does a very decent Picard.) So that's how they've been paying the bills this decade! Very nice, people. Very nice. Like peanut butter on pizza, B-writing and an overdramatic George Takei are a surprisingly good combination. He gets so excited when he gets to read for a badly-written Klingon! I am looking forward to A.C. Crispin's Sarek, narrated by Mark Lenard, as soon as the damn site manages to interface with my PC.
(Actually, my husband's PC. Honey, you may want to stay out of the basement for a bit. I've jerry-rigged some internet and it's not stable. Remind me to get the cord spaghetti off the floor before it rains.)
A Star Trek movie designed for Uhura, Chekhov, and Tuvok, done by the actors who play them. A romp in the mirror universe (erm, continuity optional) also starring Captain John Harriman of the Galactic Order and a whole host of minor Trek actors who have all volunteered to be a part of the effort. The special effects, cinematography, and costumes have been done by rabid fans, and the entire set of the old Enterprise and its Imperial counterpart has been built by a totally psycho devotee on the east coast.
You can see the relief pouring off of Nichelle Nichols as she finally gets a real movie all to herself and Uhura gets to do so much more than open hailing frequencies. Walter Koenig, who has been more involved in Trek writing and fan productions than any other actor, is totally in his element, as is Tim Russ, who directs and costars. Ancestors or counterparts of Harry Kim, Martok, a dopey human Neelix stand-in and an Orion slave Leeta are all capering around in Imperial cheesecake-wear, enjoying themselves like Lucius Malfoy at a Muggle convention.
Some sixteen-year-old boy deserves a teen Oscar for the writing. It's good. It's really good... For a sixteen-year-old boy. There's no question that this was NOT done by a professional screenwriter. The dialogue is stilted, moving in cliches rather than fluid human responses. The use of the Death Star in a Star Trek movie is... well, as I said, not bad for sixteen. I would have been proud to write a script like this when I was sixteen. It's a full movie, man! With Uhura and a lot of Vulcans! (P.S. Imperial Vulcans were not pacifists. We seem to have forgotten this. Oh well.)
More reviews forthcoming as I watch the second half+. It's... interesting. As a piece of fanfic, written and produced in Nichelle Nichols' spacious basement, I think I recommend it.
I'm touched by the number of Trek actors (from, I note, every show but NextGen) who came out of the woodwork to jump on board. Believe me, they are not getting paid for this! But there they are, Voyager guys, DS 9 guys, Jake Sisko as Uhura's well-adjusted half-Vulcan son, Charlie X and Stonn from the original series, all pitching enthusiastically. It's heartwarming to see the love they have for the show and for the fans. What was I saying about authentic Star Trek in the last post? These people know from authentic Star Trek. They can't write "like buttah," but they know what the result is supposed to look like.
Ignore all the YouTube trolls who complain about the special effects. Some weekend geeks at a LAN party did a really good job on them.
Oh, and thatnks to the birthday generosity of lilbakht and Audible.com, I have discovered a whole array of Trek audiobooks narrated by George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Jonathan Frakes, William Shatner, Robert Picardo, Nana Visitor, John deLancie, and other talented people. (Also Anthony Stewart Head, who does a very decent Picard.) So that's how they've been paying the bills this decade! Very nice, people. Very nice. Like peanut butter on pizza, B-writing and an overdramatic George Takei are a surprisingly good combination. He gets so excited when he gets to read for a badly-written Klingon! I am looking forward to A.C. Crispin's Sarek, narrated by Mark Lenard, as soon as the damn site manages to interface with my PC.
(Actually, my husband's PC. Honey, you may want to stay out of the basement for a bit. I've jerry-rigged some internet and it's not stable. Remind me to get the cord spaghetti off the floor before it rains.)