I've found the facebook page to be the best source of info: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Starship-Saladin/133115763449352
Our VFX man, Mr. Tobias Richter weighed in on this issue in an earlier "Kitumba" thread on this board: "Re: STAR TREK: PHASE II 'Kitumba' Sneak Peek Sure - we did a lot of shots of the three ships circling K7, some where you can very clearly see those ships - but not all will probably end up in the final cut; nevertheless it was just fun to set them up. "The other Connie is the NCC-1700 Constitution and the destroyer is the NCC-500 Saladin."
In England that's called an 'in joke', yeah McCoy and Scotty sharing a look would have made it funnier, though Scotty cheated by sitting in a transporter beam for 76 years! I liked it a lot, one of the biggest Phase II have done, dare I say it Kitumba felt almost like a movie. The use of the location was good, nice to get out of the studio and there was some good acting. I know this is meant to be the 4th Season of TOS but I actually enjoy the throw-forwards to NextGen, The Movies, Even Enterprise (OK throw back but you get my drift!) etc, we know it is going to happen in the timeline so why ignore it? While the New Voyages were very much building up to making the perfect recreation of TOS, which culminated in 'World Enough and Time', I feel since BAF there has been very much an arc if you will about visually and narratively building up to The Motion Picture, with new costumes, Enterprise design, new characters etc. In the Phase II book the two stories that stood out for me were In Thy Image and Kitumba, which both now exist on screen. Special mention to James Cawley who really grew into the role of Kirk over time, and I'm saying that as someone who has followed the journey since Come What May, he has shaped Phase II into something very special and a benchmark for others to follow. While he is still Senior EP I will miss him on screen. I eagerly await how they take us forward, cannot waoit until Valentine's Day and THE HOLIEST THING!
I'd also like to compliment the fight scene. I believe that was Mr. Karrigan's (sp?) doing. Fight scenes usually stand out (and not in a good way) in fan productions, but this was well done and didn't break the spell!
The only draw back on this episode is the time it took to get it out. Filmed in 2009, ect..ect. I am sorry to see the "Drama" on making this episode. On question I have not seen posted yet. Was that the actor Christer Lloyd as a Klingon in the Taveren? I rate this episode 10 Starships out of 10. Thanks to all for your hard work.
I enjoyed it very much. It played great on YouTube on my 50" telly. I liked the story. The acting has improved a lot. I liked the Kruger character in the bar scene as well. It had great special effects and the outdoor shots were appreciated. When they've just beamed down and you see the ships in the background, flying, it shows how much the technology has progressed that the six is better than Enterprise. I'm looking forward to the next one. I really hope someone from CBs is loking at these and wants to take a low risk option aNd do a series for the 50th anniversary. I really miss Star Trek and this type of work is keeping it alive. More!
As someone who blasted Cawley's Kirk when "In Harm's Way" came out, the irony of missing him in future Phase II episodes is not lost on me at all. That sentiment alone tells me that everyone who's worked on New Voyages and Phase II have grown and contributed to something amazing. Bravo to everyone not just for this show, but for the work they've put into to get to this point. "Kitumba," along side "Blood and Fire" and "World and Enough Time" are episodes whose strengths actually come from what new material and ideas they bring to the table and how much they belong in a Star Trek production. A HUGE part of Cawley's success as Kirk is in his development and relationship with Peter. Both actors have great chemistry as well, which is hard even with "professional" productions. I've never had any issue in actors not looking the part, as looking like a character is only one part of being a character. This I know from my experience in public theater and musicals. Knight and Stacy are excellent here, and Pony Horton. Horton (and the script) did a great job with meshing TOS and TNG culture into something that gives them a sense of cultural evolution on par with the Federation (as opposed to being retconned almost entirely thru TNG and TUC, or kinda-sorta-really-didn't-make-any-sense-retconned with the ENT Augment arc.) The analogy with England is both well put and something that I'd expect from TOS. Despite having plenty of quibbles on how the CG elements and designs are done, I really can't complain on the story and acting side of things anymore... ...except for the Corvette line. That was just dumb, and kind of pointless given that AbramsDrek technically didn't happen here, but not even my contempt for that...motion picture diminishes how goddamn excellent this episode was. I just had to mention that before I punch a wall or something. Plus, did Cawley finally trim his sideburns for his last appearance in front of the camera? I've been praying for that for ages! (Yeah, he has them for his day job, but things like that really get to me after, what is this, a dozen episodes between NV and Phase II?)
I like the corvette line. Do Klingon ships operate within the atmosphere? One seemed to be circling the palace like a helicopter.
I've watched it once, using this link from Star Trek Reviewed. I intend to watch it again, but not sure when. I enjoyed it a great deal, so I consider it a success. A few thoughts and tidbits: - I liked how the light inside the scanner at the bridge engineering station is red, instead of the blue that comes out of Spock's scanner. So, I guess it's blue for science and red for engineering? - I really liked the corvette line. So, Kirk was a delinquent even in the original timeline. - One question I have. Some Klingons beam into the climactic fight using the Federation transporter effect. Shouldn't they have come in using the red-flashing effect used in "Day of the Dove"? - Overall a very nice blending of TOS and TNG Klingons. I can really see the love of all things Trek expressed in that. Thanks!
OK, I watched it again several times. Again, I used this link. The Federation beam-in is at 56:17 or so, and the Klingon beam-in is at 56:35 or so. The Kitumba beams-in around 57:50. The Klingon transporters use a sound effect very similar to the Federation transporter sound effect, is the thing. On "Day of the Dove", the Klingon transporters made no sound. That was part of the confusion, I think. Also, the swirling looks like a gold similar to the Federation effect. However, I do see that the swirling is horizontal, and I see some red in it now after repeated viewings, especially at the end of the cycle, but honestly it doesn't scream Klingon effect to me until the very end of the cycle. I think another element at work here is that the whole scene is in red light, which makes perceiving the actual color of things somewhat problematic, at least for me. Was this part shot in red light on stage, or was a red filter applied during post, or some combination of both? Thanks!