STAR TREK: PHASE II "The Child" Teaser Sneak Peek
- Thread starter Ryan Thomas Riddle
- Start date
This intro is necessary.
Phase II may not be 'produced' by CBS, but CBS now owns 'Star Trek.' I see this intro as an acknowledgement of that and their allowing fanfilms to be made. It may even be something formally agreed on and/or mandated by CBS.
And why not? It's their property.
But, if not, it's a very smart move anyway by Phase II. It's a sign of respect and acknowledgement.
If I were to ever produce any of my stories in a fanfilm I'd have it - with their permission, of course.
I'm aware that CBS owns Star Trek. But until now I've never heard the argument that that particular intro was legally necessary. I have however heard the argument that that particular intro (ETA: or other archival ones like it) serves as a conceit that NV/P2 productions are like a "fourth season" of TOS, aired the 1970's in some alternate universe.
Some disclaimer is appropriate. My remarks were to address the use of that particular intro, primarily because it overtly asserts an apparent falsehood ("CBS presents..."). If I am mistaken, and it's not really a falsehood, then I withdraw my remarks on this point.
Last edited:
I think it's perfectly fine as an homage to the current franchise owners. Maybe that's why they haven't decided to issue a C&D? Leave well enough, I say...
CorporalCaptain: I see your point, but, I think Phase II is just using something 'as is' in a 'retro' nod. And, as for semantics, CBS could be seen, in a remote sense, as 'presenting' it merely by allowing it to be done in the first place.
IMHO, it's a cool way of acknowledging someone else's ownership of intellectual property.
IMHO, it's a cool way of acknowledging someone else's ownership of intellectual property.
I enjoyed it. 
Bald caps are trickier than some might think. It can often look really bad on an actor, and the last thing a filmmaker wants is something that looks unnatural. I'm starting work on a "Masters of the Universe" fan film with Anthony DeLongis, who played "Blade" in the original 1987 movie. In the original film, Anthony had his head shaved bald, but for our fan film, we decided that he would keep his hair because we didn't feel a bald cap would look right on him.
I must admit that I'm actually surprised they couldn't find a model/actress who was bald in the New York area (or Hollywood). They should have just looked over at Model Mayhem - probably a few pretty girls with shaved heads there that have some acting experience. If they ever want to cast someone as a "Deltan" in the future (as an actor, or as an extra), that would be a good place to look.
Last edited:
I'm not sure that all Deltans are bald, it's never been specifically cited.
Although it is not mentioned in the ST:II screenplay, some of the Regula I scientists were Deltan, as the story is relayed in Vonda N. McIntyre adaptation... and they all had hair. :-)
Although it is not mentioned in the ST:II screenplay, some of the Regula I scientists were Deltan, as the story is relayed in Vonda N. McIntyre adaptation... and they all had hair. :-)
We did screen test bald actresses, but it's not like baldness was a litmus test for this role—pushing out all other considerations. In addition to being bald, the actress would have to have a somewhat exotic look, be available at the right times for the shoot, perform for peanuts, fit the existing costumes, work well with others—including children, and be able to dance extremely well--well enough to perform the elaborate Deltan dance sequence.
In the end, it was just easier to decide that Lieutenant Isel is a bit more self-conscious about her Deltan looks than other Deltan women might be. She wears wigs (kept in her quarters like Lex Luthor does) to allow her to blend in a bit better among humans--so that humans would be less inclined to stumble and stammer and giggle pruriently whenever Isel is nearby. That’s Isel’s choice, since Deltans are not all homogenous.
In the end, it was just easier to decide that Lieutenant Isel is a bit more self-conscious about her Deltan looks than other Deltan women might be. She wears wigs (kept in her quarters like Lex Luthor does) to allow her to blend in a bit better among humans--so that humans would be less inclined to stumble and stammer and giggle pruriently whenever Isel is nearby. That’s Isel’s choice, since Deltans are not all homogenous.
Last edited:
Interestingly, we've had the NBC Laramie Peacock on all of our episodes up until "Enemy: Starfleet!" even though our episodes weren't made by or for NBC. I didn't hear anyone say "The 'NBC in color' intro is getting on my nerves. This isn't produced by NBC (is it)?" No one has batted an eye that even though the intro says "The following program is brought to you in living color--on NBC," our episodes weren't really "on NBC." (But maybe the Laramie Peacock really had been getting on people's nerves, too, and I just hadn't heard about it.)
For the record, we want the watchful eye of CBS to know that we at Phase II know who butters our bread nowadays--and we wanted to let them know in a properly '70s retro way.
Last edited:
This sounds like an interesting and reasonable way to handle the situation to me. And i like anything that strays from the monoculture syndrome that haunts a lot of the Trek canon.
While I am looking forward to seeing this, I feel that the (limited) resources of "New Voyages" are better put to new stories rather than rehashes of already aired material. I am really looking forward to "Mind Sifter". I know that that story is also not a "New Voyages" original but since its previous incarnation was in print media, I don't feel like I'm contradicting myself here.
Thanks for your input; it's valuable to us.
We at the production were all excited when we changed our moniker from New Voyages to Phase II--and we have been looking to see if we could get any mileage out of all the old unproduced scripts from the original, aborted Star Trek Phase II series. Initially, we hadn't been interested in doing "The Child" since it had already been done. But when original Star Trek Phase II producer (and writer of "The Child") Jon Povill approached us and expressed an interest in doing "The Child" the way he had originally intended, well, we were intrigued and it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. (Jon was never very happy with how his script had been changed for TNG, but, since he--like all writers--was on strike at the time, he wasn't allowed to offer any input into the TNG revisions to his original script.) I think Jon would argue that the story he wanted to tell has not, in fact, "already aired." His story is still waiting to be told--and I'm not so sure Jon considers this original version--written and directed by him--to be a "rehash."
When approached by Jon with the offer to direct "The Child" and do it in a way that would more closely follow his original Star Trek Phase II concept for the episode, we couldn't really say "No, we're sorry. We don't want to spend our limited resources to rehash that episode, even though the way it turned out for TNG is not how you intended and even though you really wish you had the chance to better realize your vision."
The beauty of it is that it's just one episode--and if this episode ends up being too much of a rehash for you, well, don't worry: we'll make more. The downside is that from a in-universe consistency standpoint, we will have an alien entity "impregnate" an Enterprise crewmember and then ninety years later, the exact same chain of events befall the crew of the Enterprise yet again. How weird is that!
Please remember to keep the donations coming. Your donations help us to stretch our limted resources.
Last edited:
It seems I'm always complaining about the hair on Phase II characters. Sorry about that. I'm a huge fan of the series, and I'm looking forward to watching "The Child" when it's released. Let us know when that might be.
Last edited:
And Klingon foreheads look natural?
There are lots of ways they could have handled it: a baldcap with a headband thing as seen in TMP, or something. It's not THAT hard to do well.
In any case, it's the least of my concerns, as it's a creative choice they made for their reasons. My real critique remains with the writing.
Yeah, stylistic choices are idiosyncratic to say the least. Let's say that in TOS days Deltans had hair and Klingons looked human - one change within an in-universe time frame of a few years is really no more unlikely than the other. 
Looks awesome! I have enjoyed their other produtions. They are doing a great job keeping TOS alive
Similar threads
