So, what makes one fan-film production "better" than another, let alone the claim of "as good if not better than CBS can do"??
1) Better CGI scenes: Axanar's was pretty good, but that's a testament to the computer technology and artist. (Hint: he wasn't Alec Peters.)
2) Better sets & uniforms: Well, it's hard to judge Axanar's sets as we never saw good photos on the still-not completed sets, but to give the benefit of doubt, they would probably ended up being on-par with other good fan-film sets.
3) Better acting: Considering they hired all professionals (save one) to be in front of the camera, how could Axanar miss?
4) Better story plot: Some fans would be turned off by a straight up war story; others would love it. As a bit of a history buff, I had some problems with how they laid out the course of the war, but overall I think I'd give Axanar a passing grade.
5) Better script: Fans can forgive "issues" with items 1-2-3 above if the script is good. Even a boring story plot can be watchable with a well-written script and halfway decent acting. But all the great visuals are worthless if the script sucks, and even the best actors in the world can't make a bad script sound good. As we know, the Axanar script was re-written once, but rumor has it that even the re-write left a lot to be desired.
So, again, can someone tell me just how Axanar stands up to the claim of being the best fan-film ever, as good as anything CBS could do???