STC was what got me interested in fanfilms in the first place. In watching this and other fan projects (NV, Farragut, Horizon, etc), I feel like it's made me appreciate the entire franchise, and enriched my fandom.
STC Ep. 7: "Embrace The Winds" speculation and discussion....
- Thread starter Warped9
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STC was what got me interested in fanfilms in the first place. In watching this and other fan projects (NV, Farragut, Horizon, etc), I feel like it's made me appreciate the entire franchise, and enriched my fandom.
"Seems pretty clear" that nothing like that is even remotely true, considering the fact that van Citters said the opposite:
"The guidelines are guidelines, not laws."
"We will apply them on a case-by-case basis."
"If fan films choose to work outside the guidelines, that's their creative choice."
A message from STC:
"As many of you know, CBS has created a set of guidelines for fan films going forward. CBS's John Van Citters mentioned in a recent podcast that existing fan film productions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and that each production's intentions toward Star Trek is key in determining its future. We are hopeful that, because we at STC have shown the utmost respect for CBS and Star Trek all along, we will be allowed to bring a conclusion to our show as planned. We are waiting for further clarification and will update all of you as soon as we can. In the meantime, we are putting the finishing touches on episode 7 and are in the pre-production stages of episode 8.
We completely support CBS in this and will do our very best to comply with any and all requests from the copyright holders just as we have always done. We thank all of you for your continued support and for your patience as we await further information.
"As many of you know, CBS has created a set of guidelines for fan films going forward. CBS's John Van Citters mentioned in a recent podcast that existing fan film productions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and that each production's intentions toward Star Trek is key in determining its future. We are hopeful that, because we at STC have shown the utmost respect for CBS and Star Trek all along, we will be allowed to bring a conclusion to our show as planned. We are waiting for further clarification and will update all of you as soon as we can. In the meantime, we are putting the finishing touches on episode 7 and are in the pre-production stages of episode 8.
We completely support CBS in this and will do our very best to comply with any and all requests from the copyright holders just as we have always done. We thank all of you for your continued support and for your patience as we await further information.
STC allowed me to revisit the TOS universe much morseso than all the TOS based books and comics that have been printed over the past decades. It wasn't exactly like classic Trek, but it was damn close. It certainly far surpassed the failure of JJtrek to revisit the TOS universe. STC was a love letter to TOS while JJtrek pissed on it.
It was now possible to see new adventures of the original characters in their prime. Seeing Doug Drexler's model of the E was a joy and it was how a properly enhanced TOS would look like as opposed to TOS-R.
While I respect CBS/P's right to defend their IP I also think they are punishing folks who have done them no wrong and treated Star Trek with respect. They are also robbing fans of the continued joy of seeing a (close) continuation of the original series particularly given it will never be seen again in that form from CBS/P.
I don't care how many interesting one-off fanfilms come down the pike they can't replace a close replication of the show millions fell in love with so many years ago.
I think a poignant reminder of my point was made when the Smithsonian recently unveiled the newly restored 11 footer Enterprise.
THIS is the Enterprise. No bloody A, B, C, D, E, J, NX or JJ version.
There are other fans who enjoy The Next Generation era stuff as well as Enterprise and JJ. I grew up watching TNG and VOY with my dad, though I do love TOS, the movies, other iterations.
Please respect that.
I have a right to my opinion and I have the right to express it. I have enjoyed parts of TNG, but it's not TOS. The rest of it means nothing to me.
He also said "50 minute episodes are what WE do". That's a pretty strong statement and leads me to believe they won't bend/look the other way on the 15/30 minute & no series rule "case by case" or otherwise.
Based on what JVC said if you make a 30 minute film yet adhere to pretty much everything else they likely won't have a problem with it. If this is indeed the case then STC could conceivably go forward.
Furthermore getting two, three or even four small instalments a year isn't much of a threat in terms of competing for attention to CBS/P putting out top dollar full series and films.
As things stand I think the chances are good we will see Ep. 7 premiere in September as planned and in its intended form. After that becomes an open question even with Ep. 8 in pre-production. I'm confident Vic is talking with CBS to find a way forward. My gut feeling is that Ep. 8 could well be STC's final chapter in regard to this project.
There is also the matter of the funds STC collected during their Indiegogo drive. They will feel obligated to deliver on what they promised the fans and the donors who supported them.
Furthermore getting two, three or even four small instalments a year isn't much of a threat in terms of competing for attention to CBS/P putting out top dollar full series and films.
As things stand I think the chances are good we will see Ep. 7 premiere in September as planned and in its intended form. After that becomes an open question even with Ep. 8 in pre-production. I'm confident Vic is talking with CBS to find a way forward. My gut feeling is that Ep. 8 could well be STC's final chapter in regard to this project.
There is also the matter of the funds STC collected during their Indiegogo drive. They will feel obligated to deliver on what they promised the fans and the donors who supported them.
If CBS is going to look the way for anyone, its going to be STC.... just a gut feeling. They stand above the rest. The solid, scheduled delivery. The adherence to the philosophies. The non profit status. The full support of Rod Roddenberry. The use of Vic and Chris in official productions. If anyone has a chance of making this through or even becoming officially endorsed, its these guys right here. I pretty much agree with Warped in most ways. I may not be old enough to have watched TOS in its first run, but as a child in the 80s I grew up with the reruns, and was already a solid TOS fan at the tender age of 9 when TNG came out. It was *not* the same. Some of my earliest movie theater memories were a double feature dollar theater presentation of Final Frontier with Indy Last Crusade. That is my Trek, and they didn't give us a reunion before Nimoy passed, or an animated series where the proper voices could continue their voyages.... the least they can do is allow the wonderful simulation to complete its measly 6 more episodes.....
And then they need to hire Vic and Company to do a movie era, officially sanctioned season with budget on payroll, god dammit!!! Lol.
I wonder if this would be too sneaky.... stretch the STC episodes to 35 minute episodes (hey, its only 5 minutes) and don't include the credits. Fans on line can splice the intro back in from a previous episode to complete it for their home enjoyment.
I know the production is too classy to do it, but part of me just wishes they would keep on chugging, business as usual, until the other foot drops...
And then they need to hire Vic and Company to do a movie era, officially sanctioned season with budget on payroll, god dammit!!! Lol.
I wonder if this would be too sneaky.... stretch the STC episodes to 35 minute episodes (hey, its only 5 minutes) and don't include the credits. Fans on line can splice the intro back in from a previous episode to complete it for their home enjoyment.
I know the production is too classy to do it, but part of me just wishes they would keep on chugging, business as usual, until the other foot drops...
It's quite possible STC might get some sort of 'special arrangement' or hell a 'limited license' from CBS. Who knows. <<-- That being said, I DOUBT CBS would do something 'official' like until the Axanar case finishes or Is settled. They don't want to do anything that would affect the case - and any such 'relaxing' of the Guidelines just after they're released for one 'special' group wouldn't look good.
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I don't see CBS giving any licenses to anyone, whether before the lawsuit is settled or after.
STC's best bet, IMHO, is that they've been a good citizen in the past and actually went through the trouble of becoming an actual, charitable non-profit. Hopefully they can parlay that into CBS letting them have recurring characters, all the STC regulars (especially Vic!) continuing on the production (those are the two most important things), and an extra 10-15 min per self-contained story (that's nice, but less important).
I don't see CBS budging (nor do I think they should, for anyone) on the other stuff, especially the fundraising and compensation guidelines.
STC's best bet, IMHO, is that they've been a good citizen in the past and actually went through the trouble of becoming an actual, charitable non-profit. Hopefully they can parlay that into CBS letting them have recurring characters, all the STC regulars (especially Vic!) continuing on the production (those are the two most important things), and an extra 10-15 min per self-contained story (that's nice, but less important).
I don't see CBS budging (nor do I think they should, for anyone) on the other stuff, especially the fundraising and compensation guidelines.
I've seen this a few times now, and... I just have to ask, do people like TAS? I'm not one to denigrate a series (I enjoyed the first season of ENTERPRISE!), but, at least in my opinion, every single episode of TAS is worse than any single episode of TOS (with one exception: "Yesteryear"). Give me "The Way to Eden" over "Bem" and "Spock's Brain" instead of "How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth" any day of the week. Heck, give me "Divided We Stand" and "The White Iris" (my least favorite episodes of Continues) over "The Counter-Clock Incident" or "Beyond the Farthest Star." TAS is unable to develop interesting science fiction stories, and even failed stories like "Eden" or entirely unofficial, low-budget stories like "Iris" are more interesting than TAS's weekly fare.
And that's largely a function of TAS being so short: it tried to compress the TOS formula (which rarely used the strict A/B-plot separation common in the other series) into half the time by eliminating the Act II exploration of implications and the Act III complication. What you ended up with was flat, boring, predictable, and all at too fast a pace for the viewer to ever properly suspend disbelief.
So when people say that TAS is where fan filmmakers need to look for inspiration... well, that's what led me to my question: do the people who are saying this actually like TAS? Or are we just naming TAS because it's the only thing Official Trek has ever done that approximates the 30-minute guideline?
Who cares if it wouldn't look "good" or not? Isn't the whole point of this the fact that it is C/P IP, and they can literally do whatever they want with it? Even if it means playing favorites in their own sand box?
One doesn't need to use TAS as an example of a 30 minute story. There are a number of series from the 1950s onward that work just fine within a 30 minute framework. Indeed those productions were more like a 25 minute framework if you account for the opening and closing credits and the commercial breaks.
In particular I'm thinking of Have Gun Will Travel and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer as two productions that worked just fine within a 30 minute framework.
In particular I'm thinking of Have Gun Will Travel and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer as two productions that worked just fine within a 30 minute framework.
If the TAS comparison doesn't float your boat, how about The Twilight Zone? Would you argue that TZ wasn't able to develop interesting sci-fi stories within a short running time? ...And to that last point, partially yes.
TZ wasn't working with a big ensemble cast, though. Some of their best episodes only had one or two characters.
Consider the countless half-hour sitcoms we have had on television for decades. Some of those had decent sized casts and still managed to tell decent complete stories within their timeframe. And some of them (like M*A*S*H and All In The Family and others) also did drama.
A large ensemble also doesn't demand every character must have a speaking part every time or every character needs to be utilized for every story.
Looking at these guidelines there are only two I have issue with.
Runtimes. While interesting vignettes can be done in 15 minues (or less) I balk trying to fit the kinds of stories I'd like to see within that time frame. If I were intent on producing a fanfilm, and in a position to do so, I would aim for stories I could tell in 30 minutes. My reasoning is if all other criteria are met then I seriously doubt my story's 30 minute runtime would concern them.
If I wanted to do something like STC, NV, Starship Exeter, Starship Farragut or of that kind then it could still be done within a 30 minute time frame.
Which leads to my next issue: are consecutive stories with recurring characters actually prohibited even if every story is separate and self-contained? No arc based storytelling. This needs to be clarified. But again if the remaining criteria are met then recurring characters likely won't raise a red flag.
A final issue is actually an easy one to manage simply by adhering to it strictly: no Trek alumni can participate in fanfilms. You don't really need performers from official Trek productions to tell your story. You also don't really need any if those who have worked behind-the-scenes production. I can understand CBS/P being concerned with familiar main cast performers whose participation could conceivably be misconstrued as some sort of official endorsement of a fanfilm, but minor guest or background extra performers as well as some of those from behind-the-scenes could perhaps be given a pass. Again, it isn't necessary, but perhaps worth further discussion.
Setting that issue aside there is nothing in the guidelines that prohibits people from non Trek productions from participating. People like Gigi Edgely, Lou Ferrigno, Erin Gray and the like could still participate since they have never had anything to do with Trek.
And you've made your opinion well know, over and over and over and over and over again, in nearly every sub-forum on this board. We get it, you don't like JJ or any other Trek but the high holy TOS.
We get it.
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