Trekkery

So, here's the YouTube trailer for the online Star Trek: New Voyages -- "World Enough, and Time."

And here's some of what I had to say about it to my collaborator, who gave me a bit part V.O. in it -- along with a couple of explanatory asides:

Okay, so the disk got here and I watched the three-hanky episode you did ...

It looks terrific. Nice effects, great sets, sound and graphics work well. It has the feel of the old Trek series as well as the appearance: Score one for the kids who went out to the barn to put on a show.

There are places where each of the main actors captures a gesture or look or even the voice cadence of the old actors. Lim's Sulu, and Quinn's Spock do that the best; Root's Scott was a little too burred, but not far behind them; even Cawley's Kirk has his moments. I didn't see much of that with Uhuru. Kelly's McCoy had the look, but none of the voice or mannerisms.

Chekov sounded like he should be chasing Moose and Squirrel ...

Christina Moses is gorgeous, but she made the rest of them look bad, and she stole every scene she was in.

And of course, the script was ... okay ...

Here, the obligatory comment about the peak moment being when the Shuttlecraft Pilot spoke, after which it all went way down in quality ...

(This is an old joke, based on a story about an actor with a bit part as an ambulance driver in Tennessee Williams's "A Streetcar Named Desire." When somebody asked him what the play was about, he said, "Well, it's about this ambulance driver who takes a crazy woman to the asylum ...")

But you know what? It was a hoot, and I enjoyed it. Yeah, I sometimes worried that the sets were going to collapse onto the crew, what with all the scenery they were chewing, but that was part of the old show, as well, which acting was more than a few times a tad over the top.

(And save for a couple of pros, all the actors here are doing it for love -- they have other jobs, don't get paid, and even have to pay their own way to the shoot, plus hotels and food, so that needs to be kept in mind when rating their performances.)

Trek fans will, I think, enjoy this when it comes out as a streaming vid on August 23rd.