Exeter "The Tressaurian Intersection" Grading & Discussion Thread

[Maurice]

Since it had been so long since I'd seen the earlier installments, I figured I should watch it from the start again. I'll tell you, it felt like I was watching an episode of a spin-off series actually made in the late '60's.

That's what we were aiming for.

 

[HarryM]

Best ever. Great job, worth the wait!

 

[Maurice]

Not review-related, but here are a few images related to the production.

Spoiler: photos!

Screengrab marked up to show NEO f/x how to adjust the ship path and size after their first pass.

The complete death certificate. Doc Azato made a typo on her weight: it should read 108. One subtle thing I did was to make the fields for her relations just say "relation" as opposed to "father" and "mother", knowing that the Federation would be dealing with aliens and even humans who don't conform to a strict daddy and mum binary.

Michael Buford, who plays Mr. Cutty on Exeter, and friend Nancee dress in uniform correct colors for Mike's final looping session for "The Tressaurian Intersection". They survived the session despite their red shirts.

 

[wtriker1701]

Those 5 seconds were not too ling! ;-)

 

[USS Intrepid]

Denise. Ha!

(I did notice it earlier).

 

[doubleohfive]

Love the background information Maurice!

Now I want to watch "Tressaurian" all over again.

 

[Maurice]

Denise. Ha!

(I did notice it earlier).

I told Dennis he was a "real mother".

 

[USS Intrepid]

I told Dennis he was a "real mother".

He's been called worse.

 

[Maurice]

I told Dennis he was a "real mother".

He's been called worse.

By me! LOL

 

[starshipexeter]

I thought this might be interesting for some. It's my original "treatment" for TTI. Josh and I had about 10 of these. Each was an outline for a potential Exeter episode. When we asked Dennis to pen a script for us, he looked them all over and decided to work from this one:

STARSHIP EXETER
"The Tressaurian Intersection"
Story Premise
By Jimm Johnson

The Tressaurians, a mysterious reptilian race begin experimenting with forth dimensional technology. While on a data gathering mission to a collapsing star near Tressaurian space, the EXETER encounters a Tressaurian ship. The Tressaurian refuses to answer hails from the EXETER.

Suddenly the EXETER is probed by a tachyon scan. Ship’s sensors are unable to pinpoint the scan’s origin. Incredibly, it appears that the scan originates from inside the EXETER. Sensors also read tachyon energy in the Tressaurian vessel. This may indicate that the Tressaurian are also being scanned. The astrophysics department reports that the star’s rate of collapse has increased, but not dangerously so, although the reason for the increase is not clear.

Garrovick distrusts the Tressaurians-- they were responsible for the destruction of the S.S. MERRIMAC in the Tangaro incident-- and believes that they must be responsible for the probe, even though sensors show the scan to have originated from within the EXETER. He is convinced that the Tressaurians are up to no good, and calls on the ships science and astrophysics department to investigate.

It is discovered that the tachyon beam actually entered the ship from an outside source situated at a right angle to our three dimensional universe. In other words, it came from fourth dimensional space, travelling along the so-called ‘w’ axis.

Mr. Shelley explains that he may be able to project the transporter beam into forth dimensional space along the path of the detected tachyon beam. He warns, however, that research into forth dimensional phenomenon indicates that such procedures can create a temporary destabilization in local three dimensional space. This is probably what caused the star’s rate of collapse to increase.

Despite the danger, Garrovick opts to use Shelley’s plan in order to investigate the probe. He plans to personally beam out, but Harris talks him out of it, arguing that he is essential aboard the EXETER and that she is more qualified than him to take the necessary readings while in quadraxial space.

Harris suits up and beams into the fourth dimension. She finds herself floating in a vast space filled with swirling patterns and shifting colors. She also finds a strange angular device, about the size of a small refridgerator, with rotating mirrored panels on it. It appears to be of Tressaurian design. She takes what fragmentary readings she can on the object, for the device keeps shifting along the fourth dimensional axis and seeming to blink in and out.

When the safety margin has expired, Shelley beams her back. Her return beam-in weakens three dimensional space aroun the EXETER, and the nearby star’s rate of collapse begins to increase geometrically. Incredibly, the dying star begins to form a black hole, pulling the EXETER and the Tressaurian ship in.

After analyzing the data taken from the Tressaurian device, Harris believes it to be a fourth dimensional beam reflector. Using the readings she has obtained, she theorizes that they may be able to alter their warp engines in such a way as to allow the EXETER to pass into fourth dimensional space. Although risky, she believes this to be their only means of escape, since they would then be able to travel along the so-called ‘w’ axis, outside the gravitational influence of a three dimensional black hole.

Once in four dimensional space, the EXETER is able to travel along the ‘w’ axis and drop back into three dimensional space away from any large planetary bodies which might be disturbed by the spatial destabilization inherent in the dimensional transition.

The Tressaurian ship is detected on long range sensors still trying to escape the black hole. Garrovick orders the EXETER back to try to assist them, but when they arrive the matter/antimatter drive on the Tressaurian ship has ruptured, and the ship is rapidly being pulled back into the black hole. Once again Garrovick tries to hail the Tressaurians, but they do not respond even though their communications appear functional.

Garrovick orders Shelley to beam the survivors off the doomed ship before they are sucked into the black hole. Before Shelley can lock on to them, however, the Tressaurians use their own transporter to beam themselves aboard the EXETER. Three (or more) of the lizard-men materialize in a corridor on the lower decks of the ship and begin to attack the crew as they make their way to auxiliary control.

Garrovick orders security to intercept and stop them at all costs. He and Cutty rush to the scene where there is a massive phaser fight in progress. Phaser stun does not effect the powerful Tressaurians, and they refuse to surrender, so in the end they must all be killed.

Later, back on the bridge Garrovick expresses regret at having to destroy the Tressaurians since it was partially his fault that they were caught in the black hole. But Harris and Cutty remind him of the Tressaurians’ part in the whole affair, and that perhaps the massive failure of their fourth dimensional reflector will deter them from developing the device into a weapon.

The new black hole sucks in streams of starlight as the EXETER flys off.

 

[USS Intrepid]

I remember the story outlines you had on the old site. Thanks for posting that.

 

[BillJ]

It was fun to watch. Which is my highest grade when it comes to entertainment. It definitely "feels" more like the Star Trek I grew up with than any other fan film out there.

My hats off to the people who made this possible.

 

[wtriker1701]

Thanks for posting, Jimm. An incredibly ambitious outline.
But the script, Dennis delevoped out of this has the advantage of offering another enemy. A situation that offers chance of addressing prejudice more clearly.

But nevertheless - what you, your brother and all of the people involved have achieved is just remarkable, outstanding!

And the best fan film ever produced, yet!

Thank you for your efforts and Greetings from Platjenwerbe!

Per

 

[E-DUB]

And the very best part of having this completed is that the darned "Whatever Happened to Starship Exeter?" thread will eventually drop off the screen never to be seen again.

 

[Therin of Andor]

And the very best part of having this completed is that the darned "Whatever Happened to Starship Exeter?" thread will eventually drop off the screen never to be seen again.

Famous last words.

 

[MarsWeeps]

I LOVE the attention to detail! I don't know if anyone else caught this but these screenshots back up the opinion that the bridge is NOT offset.

First we see the bridge from the top (an homage to "The Cage") which shows the external shaft at the rear of the bridge does not line up with the internal bridge doors which indicates the bridge is not offset.



And now my favorite part, in the turbolift we see Cutty and Garrovick talking. If you notice the moving deck indicator, you will see the last vertical movement (from top to bottom) that shows the turbolift has reached the bridge level. Immediately after that, you see the indicator move once from right to left, which indicates that the turbolift slid from the shaft to the right in order to line up with the bridge doors. Excellent work whoever was responsible for that!

 

[BillJ]

I LOVE the attention to detail! I don't know if anyone else caught this but these screenshots back up the opinion that the bridge is NOT offset.

Not that I've ever had a dog in the "offset" fight. But how does this back up anything? It's a fan made episode. It has the same weight, officially speaking, as any other fan generated idea.

 

[MarsWeeps]

I LOVE the attention to detail! I don't know if anyone else caught this but these screenshots back up the opinion that the bridge is NOT offset.

Not that I've ever had a dog in the "offset" fight. But how does this back up anything? It's a fan made episode. It has the same weight, officially speaking, as any other fan generated idea.

As I stated, it backs up the OPINION that the bridge is not offset. It may be a fan made episode but it completely captures the look and feel of TOS during the 60's and that's good enough for me.

 

[Maurice]

The turbolift is also not lined up with the exterior...just like The Cage.

 

[Mudd]

Yeah, I did it that way to imitate "The Cage.". It's always looked to me like it was Jefferies intention that the turbolift fit into the cylinder in the back; rotated the way we have it, it would poke out through the hull.