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Star Trek Continues - To Boldly Go (Parts I & II)

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I found the first part more interesting, personally. The script, the pacing, something about the finale didn't work as well for me. And one scene that's already been critiqued.

But I just want to recognize Vic and the gang for a remarkable accomplishment in these 11 episodes. Some solid stories, great guest stars, and wonderful fidelity to the look and feel of the original series.
 
It boggles that many of the same people who thrill at every tiny bit of continuity minutia can be so "who cares" about such a major detail as the makeup of the crew.

Done with this topic.
 
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It boggles my mind that someone can try to make such a big deal over a fabricated (minor) detail that has nothing to do with anything except honoring the many people who worked on the production (and then leave the conversation when people don't agree with him). Give me a break! The make-up of the "crew" was hard working people who deserve a chance to be on screen for a second. As I said before ANYONE could volunteer and there were people of color who worked on the crew who are not represented in the scene as I myself am not represented simply for the fact that the people in the scene were the people who happened to be there on that day of filming of that scene. Trying to turn this thank-you to the crew for 5 years of unpaid hard work into something else is pathetic. Good riddance!!
 
Just watched the finale and loved it. It certainly the way it would have ended in 1970/1971 but it works really well. I agree that McCoy should have played a bigger part or at least had a scene or two leading up to his decision a little more. Also like the idea of the Phase II model instead of the finished TMP model. That would have been a nice touch. Continues did a great job of recapturing the feel of Star Trek in a way that the new movies and Discovery haven't. It's been a pleasure to enjoy 11 new episodes of Star Trek over the last few years.
 
feek61 said:
It boggles my mind that someone can try to make such a big deal over a fabricated (minor) detail that has nothing to do with anything except honoring the many people who worked on the production (and then leave the conversation when people don't agree with him). !
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The negativity STC, the biggest fan love letter ever made, attracts shows the most vile aspects of Trek fandom.

Fortunately STC itself shows the best of fandom. That beats the naysayers, nitpickers, threadcounters and the rest of Trekdom's vomitus every time. People will still be watching, appreciating, and enjoying the volunteer work STC years from now when these hateful clowns are formaldehyde sponges.
 
alensatemybuick1 said:
Suggesting that a normally behind the scenes crew needs to apologize for their demographic makeup or somehow alter it when they are given a cameo (let's all imagine that casting call) is about the dumbest thing I've read on this site.
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I don't recall anyone suggesting that an apology was called for, and to frame it like that is about as disingenuous as suggesting that I was proposing that an acceptable compromise would have been to paint people up as different ethnicities.

Part of me wants to say I'm sorry for bringing up the lack of diversity in that penultimate scene in the first place, but I'm really not, because I think it's a valid criticism. If this were a lesser production, I'd probably let it slide, but I guess I hold Continues to a higher standard.

I'm not looking for any excuse to knock Continues. imho, Continues will most likely go down as the gold standard among Star Trek fan films. I've got very few criticisms of the series overall; while some never warmed to her, I even like Michele Specht as McKennah.

I get that it was supposed to be a nice thing for the people who worked on Continues to put them into some Starfleet uniforms and include them in the finale, so I am sorry if I'm sucking the fun out of that, but the visual just doesn't send a terrific message. It's unfortunate that apparently either nobody involved was conscious of that or cared. A 99.9999% white crew feels antithetical to the idea of the Enterprise representing "Starship Earth." And when Continues has striven so hard to feel like a professional and true continuation of TOS, it's uncomfortably noticeable when they do something that doesn't seem like it's in the best interests of the series or Gene's "vision." But maybe it's my mistake for expecting too much from them.
 
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XCV330 said:
The negativity STC, the biggest fan love letter ever made, attracts shows the most vile aspects of Trek fandom.

Fortunately STC itself shows the best of fandom. That beats the naysayers, nitpickers, threadcounters and the rest of Trekdom's vomitus every time. People will still be watching, appreciating, and enjoying the volunteer work STC years from now when these hateful clowns are formaldehyde sponges.
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So, people offering negative criticism (the "nitpickers") are "hateful clowns" and are among the "most vile aspects of Trek fandom?" 'Scuse me?
 
This is why I don't come here very much anymore. This is the hill you're choosing to plant your flag on, Maurice? REALLY? Sheesh.

I, for one, was delighted, dazzled, and heartbroken by this amazing finale. Heartbroken by the heroic but tragic fates of Drake, Dr. McKenna, and Lieutenant Smith. Dazzled by the entertaining story and the terrific production values--STC truly stepped up their game for their coda. And delighted by the unabashed fan service... I think I replayed the saucer separation sequence at least a dozen times.

My heartfelt thanks to Vic, the cast and crew for four years and 11 entertaining and often terrific episodes. You gave this old Trekkie the send off that TOS deserved. LLAP!
 
Warped9 said:
Sorry, but when you make assertions of “professionalism” as the STC crew has done since the beginning and put your work out in public then you are open to fair criticism.

Robert Sawyer is a good writer and a professional, and I have enjoyed much of his work, but this was plainly not good work on his part. STC’s past few episodes and particularly these last two are pretty much the fannish work I expect from enthusiastic fans but not professionals.

STC has already hit high notes in their productions, but evidently they couldn’t sustain it.
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One, you can critique anything. But without qualifiers, or, better yet, suggestions for improvement, you come off as "salty". Criticism like yours reminds me of the scene from Mel Brooke's "History of the World, Part 1", involving the world's first artist...and the world's first art critic. I could be a bit more colorful as to what I mean, but here is not the appropriate place to do so.

Two, the episode is not perfect, especially in regards to the motivation for Kirk and company moving on. But the final act did allow for the writers to come up with a reason for the separation. And considering the fact that fan film productions, even this one, do not have the rigorous standards of script editing that PROFESSIONAL production have, I have no problem allowing for the problematic plot details. Why? At the end of the day, STC is NOT a professional production.

Three, honestly, an era has passed, so there will be no more STC, New Voyages or other robust fan films for us to bicker over anyway. Thus, I rather see the positives, and celebrate the past decade as something WE FANS were able to pull off, when CBS/Paramount weren't too concern about our beloved franchise. And, in a way, the final scene when Vic's Kirk stepped off the bridge for the final time seems appropriate in a way: there were always be STAR TREK, even if the fans will no longer be a part of it. But that's just me.

Peace.
 
dswynne1 said:
One, you can critique anything. But without qualifiers, or, better yet, suggestions for improvement, you come off as "salty". Criticism like yours reminds me of the scene from Mel Brooke's "History of the World, Part 1", involving the world's first artist...and the world's first art critic. I could be a bit more colorful as to what I mean, but here is not the appropriate place to do so.

Two, the episode is not perfect, especially in regards to the motivation for Kirk and company moving on. But the final act did allow for the writers to come up with a reason for the separation. And considering the fact that fan film productions, even this one, do not have the rigorous standards of script editing that PROFESSIONAL production have, I have no problem allowing for the problematic plot details. Why? At the end of the day, STC is NOT a professional production.

Three, honestly, an era has passed, so there will be no more STC, New Voyages or other robust fan films for us to bicker over anyway. Thus, I rather see the positives, and celebrate the past decade as something WE FANS were able to pull off, when CBS/Paramount weren't too concern about our beloved franchise. And, in a way, the final scene when Vic's Kirk stepped off the bridge for the final time seems appropriate in a way: there were always be STAR TREK, even if the fans will no longer be a part of it. But that's just me.

Peace.
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There has been a lot of buildup for these last two episodes, including Sawyer’s own manner of hype on FB, but the end result doesn’t live up to the hype.

Previously I have mentioned where STC has mistepped as well as everything they have done right. I don’t have to retread all of that again in offering up my opinion. I have been one of STC’s staunchest supporters.

But this was a major disappointment and I make no bones in emphasizing that the degree of ridiculous connect-the-dots fanservice is a major component of the disappointment. It comes off as embarrassingly amateurish.

You can add that to the disappointments in how the major characters are mishandled and the sloppy storytelling.
 
I'll just let Dr. Malcolm comment for me:
"You did it. You crazy son of a bitch, you did it." I feel like I really just watched the last episodes of Star Trek.

Some things I didn't love but so many things I did.
(They made me cry at the death of a character I didn't like very much.)

I can go back, forth, and sideways about the details. But this was the wrap up of an amazing effort and I do not think we will see it's like again.
 
I watched Part II last night and really enjoyed it.

It created a suitably epic final mission for the crew as we finally got to see the end of their five-year mission. That is something I doubt we would have seen if the show had aired for five seasons given the nature of 60s television. Just seeing that image of the Enterprise returning home was goose bump inducing. I really liked the use of music and sound effects here from the first two Star Trek movies.

Terrific work by the cast and the guest stars. I liked the way Cas delivered that line to Spock “We both know that is not true.” Smith’s uplifting was a surprise twist that worked really well.

Again, if there’s a problem with this story (and at times this series), it’s the lack of emphasis on the Kirk, Spock and McCoy relationship. This was the heart of the show and if they had been given a proper series finale, it would have been this relationship that was front and center. The addition of the McKenna character (who I did like a great deal) took away from the Big Three and that is not the original series.

Also, Kirk is so damn passive in this episode. He doesn’t affect the outcome in any way. It’s Smith who convinces him to send her over the Kongo and it’s the Romulan Commander (who is almost an afterthought in Part II) who saves his ass at the end. That isn’t the Kirk from the TV series and this characterization has popped up too much on the series.

I also don’t buy Spock falling for the obvious Romulan rouse and beaming McKenna over to the ship. The idea of Spock being affected emotionally towards the end of the five-year-mission has always been around (that great DC Comics Star Trek Annual that shows the end of the five-year-mission has him act out violently over something that makes sense to his character). It makes sense that something happened that led him to making the decision to try and purge all emotions. But the McKenna relationship was shoehorned in and had him acting more out of character and foolishly.

I will say the McKenna death was suitably emotional and well-done.

This episode ripped off The Wrath of Khan quite a bit (JJ shouldn't be the only one criticized for doing that), with a little Best of Both Worlds thrown in as well.

Criticisms aside, I loved the last 15 minutes with the return of the crew (which again, we never would have seen on the original show) and the transition into The Motion Picture. Some striking visuals and the last Kirk/Spock/McCoy scene is a strong one (though I wish the rest of the crew would have gotten a final moment as well). The last scene with Kirk saying good-bye on the bridge was perfect.

My thanks and compliments to Vic and the entire cast and crew of Star Trek Continues. I’m going to miss this show a great deal. I never thought you could recapture the looks and magic of the original series and I’m glad that I was wrong.
 
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Ryan Thomas Riddle said:
Honestly, I don't get why holding a fan production to task for its lack of diversity is a bad thing considering that it's based on a show that prided itself on its diversity.

YMMV, obviously as it has already in this thread.
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Have you ever worked on a fan production? If so then, you know the time & money constraints and the limitations that imposes on production. There was no conscience effort not be be diverse; there was a conscience effort to honor the people who made this production. It is nobody's fault that more people of color didn't volunteer; all were certainly welcome and we certainly needed the help! This was an equal opportunity production. Too many times people volunteered but didn't last more than a day or two because they realized it was very hard work; not walking around the starship having fun. The people in the scene are the core group that stuck with STC and they deserved to have their moment without it being diluted for the sake of political correctness.

This is the reality of it, imagine flying a group of people from all over the country to south Georgia. Some of which have not worked together before and are there for only a week to film an entire episode. The schedule is unbelievably tight with filming sometimes lasting late into the night just to finish that days material. Now imagine that these people (strangers in the community) who have had very little sleep; in their spare time (late at night or very early in the morning) have to try to go out into a small community where STC was filmed and ask strangers to come spend a day filming a fan film. I am sure you can imagine the results; nobody comes and you have wasted valuable resources in personal for little to no results! If STC had the luxury of a huge budget and plenty of time to recruit people and were based locally in that community than perhaps we would have a different outcome but the fact is the STC cast & crew are there for only a week (some much less than that). STC did a nice thing by including in a scene those people who sacrificed so much for the production which could not have happened without them. Frankly, this whole argument and the fact that people can be so dogmatic about political correctness yet ignore the very real situation makes me sick.
 
Maybe some of you should be looking across all episodes of STC instead of hanging on a single scene lasting just a few seconds that represents a production crew cameo in the finale. I think there were more episodes with non-Caucasian actors (other than those who played Uhura, Spock and Sulu) in front of the camera and with speaking roles than not.. So my mileage does vary.

I hate to come across like "Leave Britney Alone":hugegrin:, because there are valid things to criticize about the finale. Since many spoilers seem to have already been revealed, I figure it's OK to mention my big beef with the script - namely, Spock's sending McKennah to the Kongo. My first question was "why do they want her"? OK, let's say for leverage, since she is someone Spock cares about particularly. But he was able to see through the deception with the Romulan Commander in his quarters. And surely must have suspected that the threat of killing the Kongo crew (that any of them were even still alive) was a ruse. When McKennah asked him what his "feelings told him" (or some variation of that), they should have told him that it was a trap. So I thought the whole thing with his sending her there was contrived to place her in a situation where "something bad could happen" so he would later blame himself. There had to have been a better way to accomplish that end without making him out to be a sucker.

As for the little ships, loved it. Seeing Nogura in the flesh, Loved it. The dialog about the Starfleet Delta, loved it (I had to look it up to make sure that was not lifted directly from "Federation" by the Reeves-Stevens writing team). Note that Nogura said it was once again being used at the emblem for the whole of Starfleet; a nice way of explaining why sometimes in TOS, Starfleet crew wore something otherwise. "Fan service" details like that went right past my wife, who is more of a "casual" Trek fan, and I suspect most people by far don't pick up on them. Some of us hardcorers love those kinds of details. To those who don't I say, "may you find your way as pleasant".
 
feek61 said:
Have you ever worked on a fan production? If so then, you know the time & money constraints and the limitations that imposes on production. There was no conscience effort not be be diverse; there was a conscience effort to honor the people who made this production. It is nobody's fault that more people of color didn't volunteer; all were certainly welcome and we certainly needed the help! This was an equal opportunity production. Too many times people volunteered but didn't last more than a day or two because they realized it was very hard work; not walking around the starship having fun. The people in the scene are the core group that stuck with STC and they deserved to have their moment without it being diluted for the sake of political correctness.

This is the reality of it, imagine flying a group of people from all over the country to south Georgia. Some of which have not worked together before and are there for only a week to film an entire episode. The schedule is unbelievably tight with filming sometimes lasting late into the night just to finish that days material. Now imagine that these people (strangers in the community) who have had very little sleep; in their spare time (late at night or very early in the morning) have to try to go out into a small community where STC was filmed and ask strangers to come spend a day filming a fan film. I am sure you can imagine the results; nobody comes and you have wasted valuable resources in personal for little to no results! If STC had the luxury of a huge budget and plenty of time to recruit people and were based locally in that community than perhaps we would have a different outcome but the fact is the STC cast & crew are there for only a week (some much less than that). STC did a nice thing by including in a scene those people who sacrificed so much for the production which could not have happened without them. Frankly, this whole argument and the fact that people can be so dogmatic about political correctness yet ignore the very real situation makes me sick.
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I don't think the criticism invalidates or takes away from the hard work of the crew who rightfully deserved to be spotlighted in that final gathering scene. And I don't think anyone was suggesting otherwise, rather pointing out something that stood out and calling it out.

Nor do I think anyone is being dogmatic about "political correctness," which isn't driving the critique at all. However, it is something to consider when you're aping a show that's known for having a diverse cast. Like I said, YMMV.

And as @alensatemybuick1 says above, STC has in the past given us more diversity. So maybe that's why it stands out here more.

In any case, I am familiar with the trials and tribulations that go into fan productions. The constraints. The time. The difficulties.

But experience or lack thereof in fan productions shouldn't negate, excuse or validate any critique. If that were the case, then no one could be a critic unless they had first-hand experience or knowledge. That'd put sportscasters, movie critics and a lot of bloggers out of a job.
 
Of course anything can be criticized and I understand the critique but I also am close to the situation so the comments rub me the wrong way. No harm no foul. It seems absurd to focus on such a seemingly insignificant thing considering the grand accomplishment that the conclusion of the STC fan film series represents. STC fulfilled all of it's stated commitments which seems uncommon in fan film circles. Perhaps I'm just mad because I was NOT in the scene myself, lol.
 
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