Whatever happened to Starship Exeter?

[Maurice]

To some people it's "torment" to see a teaser image, to others they're ready to give up if they don't see any progress. You can't please both camps, frankly.

Me, I'll err on the side of assuring people there is progress being made. In fact, that last tease I posted is a shot that didn't exist until recently, and that shot already looks different from when I posted it.

No, I'm just making an inquiry.

Pardon me, but an inquiry is the act of asking for information. When was it you did that? I don't see a single interrogative in your recent posts.

I want to see the final act as much as anyone (maybe more as my small efforts show up in that act). But I'm willing to wait patiently.

But while we are waiting, I photoshopped together a couple shots of the shuttlecraft interior under construction for Jimm and Josh a few years back (just for fun).

No shots of it finished though... but it looked great!

It looks good in the show, too.

 

[USS Intrepid]

That's all well and good. However, showing snippets to the fans is only going to increase their frustration and impatience ten-fold. And that won't help the situation at all.

I mean, it's rather uncooth, tormenting fans like that. Especially when this final act has been way overdue for some time, and all inquiring fans have gotten is very little to no response at all. Or if they have, all they have gotten is rude answers.

That's almost like poking and prodding a wasps nest. Or worse, like a feline tormenting a mouse(ala Tom and Jerry).

I say quit teasing the fans with snippets and just release it in time for the 45th Anniversary.

Oh, I know who you are now.

It'll be released when it's done, and there is nothing you, I or anyone else (bar the editor) can do or say to change that. So I suggest you go get a cup of coffee and relax in whatever safe harbor you call home while we all wait.

 

[Expo67]

FYI...Tennesee, San Francisco, or whatever your current place of residency is, the feud had started two years past when the delay in ACT IV began. It also started(escalated)when fans made general inquiries and were met with the following responses: Silence, 'When it gets done, it gets done', rude answers, and threads being locked out.

So, realistically speaking, the wasps(not hornet's)nest was already poked and prodded long before I ever made my post.

From what I have seen on other Star Trek BBS, fans have already made their thoughts known on posts such as this. I'm surprised that you haven't critcized them for their posts on this hot-button topic.

The same could be said for the 'bad blood' being stirred.

So, I hardly think that criticizing my post is going to resolve anything.

Oh, and USS Intrepid, your opinion has been duly noted, despite how liberal it is.

 

[Expo67]

So I suggest you go get a cup of coffee and relax in whatever safe harbor you call home while we all wait.

Actually, I drink English Tea. Preferably Earl Grey or English Breakfast. But, I thank you for the offer.

 

[USS Intrepid]

Seems to me you're the one who keeps stirring it Expo (or whatever you're calling yourself today). I'd suggest you simply let it go and move on, but it seems you enjoy the stirring too much.

I'm afraid I have no intention of rising to the bait though. So I shall simply wish you a good day. Enjoy your tea.

 

[Therin of Andor]

in the USA, we do.

Then please don't!

You complained that the Exeter staff were deliberating poking sticks into a wasps' nest because they were reacting to you deliberating poking sticks into their wasps' nest.

You're not paying for "Starship Exeter". They owe you nothing.

 

[Expo67]

With all due respect, Therin, I never said they owed me anything. And I never would make such an illogical(pardon the pun)statement. Anybody who is of that extreme viewpoint has a serious ego problem the size of, if you'll pardon the description, an Orpheus asteroid.

The arguments that I'm pointing out is that whenever fans have made general inquiries during the delay they have often been met with either silence or rude answers.

I can't really say what the fans inquiries have been(that is of their own affair), but if they have made courteous inquiries, then it is only common courtesy from the other end to respond with answers that are of the same and equal courtesy.

Responding with silence, 'when it gets done, it gets done', rudeness, and locking down threads after posting their views, is what led to this controversial issue in the first place. It is what started the problem and what led other fans to form their own opinions and speculations(be they conclusive or inconclusive). And because of this, it is what led to the escalation of this fan-film's conclusion for the past two years.

As to the recent snippets of ACT IV, I have already stated my view. Granted it could be looked at from a different view(satisfying the fans). But, it could also be looked at as what I had stated before.

People may not concur with other peoples views, but people can respect the other sides views.

 

[USS Intrepid]

At risk of rising to the bait.

When people have made polite enquiries, they've been met with polite answers, and what little information people had. It's unfortunate that one person in particular (under one of his many aliases) took the scarce information as an offense and an excuse to resort to rude and aggressive behaviour (while hypocritically accusing others of same). And yes, that individual rapidly received responses "of the same and equal courtesy". It's not right, but it's hard to stay polite when the other party refuses to do so. Discourtesy, unfortunately, breeds discourtesy.

Apparently it also breeds sockpuppets.

 

[Barbreader]

I would like to point out that Exeter is not the only fan film that has been started and then not finished for many years. Star Trek: Counterworlds also falls into that group, as does a film about Sulu, Yorktown II. (Both of these still intend to complete them, and Yorktown II has been open for over 20 years!) Star Trek Roddenbury created Part I of II, and never did the Part II. Part I was released about the same time as Exeter's first episode. Star Trek: The Way Back took a break of about a year, after releasing three of nine parts. Finally, Star Trek Phoenix appears to be relenting from their position, but after much ballyhooing about how professional their fan film would be, they then said they would not complete it (yes, it was Part I of II, not acts I through III of IV).

I include Phoenix because it was also a high-quality film, even though I classify it as a pitch for a professional pilot.

A simple majority of would-be fan filmmakers never complete any films.

My only quarrel with Exeter is that their website is misleading to a newbie who does not know their second film is incomplete. This could be fixed by adding a single sentance to the download page.

Clearly the best solution is to watch fan films not by going to each individual website but (here comes the pitch... watch several people hurl garbage at me ... pardon me as I duck...) at Star Trek Reviewed! http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/ . Links to over 400 completed Star Trek fan films, and over 200 Star Trek audio episodes, and reviews of any of these that I could locate. That's a lot of Fan Trek! In addition, I have links to other indexes of Fan productions, including one for Music Videos, several for Star Trek games, and dozens for Fan fiction.

If, like me, you've seen all the Pro Trek, there is a lot more fan Trek out there than Exeter. Just to make him REALLY MAD (Randy Landers is a great editor and a great filmmaker but let's just say he's going to hate this post) if you only want Star Trek Fan productions based on the TOS era, you can look at Orion Press! http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/ a much more professional website than mine! (Pardon me now, while I find a rock to hide under...)

 

[Shaw]

FYI...

...the feud had started two years past when the delay in ACT IV began. It also started(escalated)when fans made general inquiries and were met with the following responses: Silence, 'When it gets done, it gets done', rude answers, and threads being locked out.

Feud? I don't know anything about a feud.

But I did hear about one disgruntled member of the old Exeter forums who had a meltdown and Dennis was forced to ban him. After that I heard that the guy started ranting anywhere on the net where people would listen and covered the walls of his home with pictures of Dennis. From what I understood, there were a handful of people sympathetic to the guy's rants, but hardly anything that one would qualify as a feud.

Fortunately for all of us, the last I heard was that the guy was organizing a boycott (I also heard that he said he was going to start a Boycott Exeter site, but I couldn't find one)... so there is no way that he would be caught reading a thread like this one. Plus, it seemed (from what I heard) like the guy was more obsessed with Dennis than anything else.

With that guy out of the picture, I think the rest of us should just leave all that stuff in the past, and look forward to what the future holds.

I invite you to join in with the spirit of the thread... Exeter fans having fun talking about Exeter stuff. Nothing too serious or dire, just light hearted conversation.

But if you don't want to read about Exeter, you might want to consider skipping this thread in the future. No one is forcing you to read this stuff.

Edit: Expo67, I just realized that you recently joined... Dennis (one of our members here) was a major contributer to this last Exeter project in addition to having hosted the old Exeter forums a few years ago.

Thought that would be important for context.

No shots of it finished though... but it looked great!

It looks good in the show, too.

Yeah, I saw it in a (very) rough cut of Act IV a few years ago (just before Act III was released). I'm looking forward to seeing it all put together in the final form.

 

[Tallguy]

I'm just happy that it's all still being worked on. Hey, if they wait another four years they can match the time between third season TOS and TMP! Ummm... please don't...

Shaw, what was your contribution? I had no idea you were involved.

 

[Shaw]

Shaw, what was your contribution? I had no idea you were involved.

I reverse engineered the plans for the interior of the shuttlecraft that mnfx used for the episode. They gave me a ton of reference photos and I delivered a set of printed plans about a week later. At the time we thought we were fighting an upcoming deadline, so I rushed through them as fast as I could.

They said they wanted it to feel like the original series set (rather than something that would fit nicely into a shuttlecraft exterior). I was amazed at how quickly they got it together.

 

[USS Intrepid]

I'm just happy that it's all still being worked on.

Me too. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

 

[Robert Simmons]

I'm just happy that it's all still being worked on.

Me too. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Same here....and behind the scenes strongly trying to coax them into doing more.

 

[CaptainSerek]

As one of those foolish people who is in the embryonic stages of a fan project, I know all the blood, sweat, tears and very hard work it takes to create one. I have nothing but respect for the Exeter cast/crew as well as others who have undertaken these endeavors.

I would like to see Act IV myself, when the Exec Producer has signed off on it and it is ready for upload and enjoyment. I wholly respect their desire for their end product to be as good as they can get it, as it is their faces and names on screen and in the credits.

As I stated previously, I am willing to wait until they are done and happy with it. Signed, Sealed, Delivered. This is true of all fan productions, past, present and future.

/end RANT

 

[Maurice]

I'm as frustrated as anyone about the delays in the TTI release. I'm close enough to the production to understand why they happened. But there are people working to get it done, as I think the "tease" photos indicate.

I hope everyone notices that no one from the production goes out of their way to promote the thing at this time. What happens is people ask "is it coming?" and "is it dead?" and there will be reassurances that it's not dead, just moving much more slowly than anyone would have liked.

I respectfully suggest anyone who wants a definitive release date and nothing else to wait until there is an official "Tressaurian Intersection Release Date Announced" topic or news bulletin and don't bother with discussions like this.

 

[Robert Simmons]

Well...Thank you for coming to the rescue Maurice. Your volunteering to make it happen is most appreciated here on top of all the diffculties Jimm, Josh, Dennis, Joel, David, Scott, Micheal have had to overcome to get to this point. I personally wish it was smooth sailing for them and you in pulling all this together ,and regret they had their frustrations in trying their best to over come all the difficulties all together given the demands of the project. From our phone conversation last month I was especially encouraged after you covered all the details and marvel what all has had to be overcome to even make Act IV possible...and live up to you and Jimm's goals.

Here's one slightly overweight guy rooting for you waving the pom poms....

 

[Expo67]

Same here. I hope things do work out as far as the editing is concerned. Hopefully, we will see the fate of the U.S.S. Exeter and its crew unfold in a positive light this year.

And that year being none other than the 45th Anniversary of the original Star Trek.

 

[Tallguy]

So when this is all over will we find out what all of the difficulties were?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

At risk of rising to the bait.

When people have made polite enquiries, they've been met with polite answers, and what little information people had. It's unfortunate that one person in particular (under one of his many aliases) took the scarce information as an offense and an excuse to resort to rude and aggressive behaviour (while hypocritically accusing others of same). And yes, that individual rapidly received responses "of the same and equal courtesy". It's not right, but it's hard to stay polite when the other party refuses to do so. Discourtesy, unfortunately, breeds discourtesy.

Really, there's only one guy I've been rude to about the delay, over at my old board, and he was begging for it.

Apparently it also breeds sockpuppets.

Not using a name based in Greek or Roman mythology was supposed to be clever?