Star Trek Continues

I'm critical of 'fan-fiction' in general; the stuff can be hockey as sh!t and completely unbelievable and canon-breaking when the writers of those 'stories' want to see characters just f##k each other for no rhyme or reason. Star Trek Continues has NONE of those problems: I can assure you of that. This is a fan-created series that has stories to tell, not sh!t to spew. And this IS the continuation of The Original Series fan have been eagerly waiting for; if they weren't happy with the movies already.

The queerest thing about this series, though, is that Funimation voice-actor Vic Mignogna (FullMetal Alchemist, DragonBall Z and several other animes) created this show and plays Captain Kirk in all of the episodes. And... he's done a thorough job emulating William Shatner's character. Sure it's not perfect and some of the time Vic is just saying lines, but the guy CAN act in front of camera. He's no dialogue-robot. He's a fan of Gene Roddenberry's legacy and wants to do it absolute justice: both on and off the camera. I don't think many fan films can say that the director, producer and co-writer was ALSO the lead actor of the project.

Star Trek Continues: the best fan-made series ever. At least the best Star Trek fan-film series.

The show does exactly what it set out to do -- recreate the look and feel of the original Star Trek. There are obviously those who will be unable to get past the different actors in the same roles (even more so than with the JJ Abrams films, because the films move in a completely different direction. And therein lies the strength and weakness of this production: the fans.

For this fan, the show was a joy to watch. I don't want to see a parody of James Shatner and the original crew, but rather another take on the same characters. Some are more successful than others, but overall (and especially for a first episode) they did a great job. Heck, go back to the early Next Generation episodes and see how cardboard-thin some of the characters were and how stiff some of the acting ones. OK, so Riker was stiff throughout the season…but I digress.

The more versions of Start Trek there are, the more splintered the fan base will be. Some purists loathe the new films with their blockbuster dependence on CGI, quick cuts and explosions. Some who were raised on Next Generation think everything else inferior. Personally I couldn't stand Voyager. So, watch the episode and decide for yourself.

The original 1966 series lives on as if it never ended...however the actors are not the same.

An amazing attempt to bring a 50 year old TV series back to life! The sets, costumes, and scores match up so well with the old show.

Four words: give it a chance! The original 1966 series has been a lifelong partner to me so, at first, "Continues" bothered me because it seemed to be playing around with ideas and plots I had spent decades watching and re-watching. At first, I never liked the "Continues" cast, but after a few episodes I began to warm to them all.

At the time of the this review I really have only one issue with "Continues", the forced attempts at humour between Kirk/Spock/Bones. However, in time maybe even those bits will grow on me???

In a nutshell: this will never be as good as the 1966 original, but it makes a pleasing very well thought out copy.

A couple of brief points:

Continues episode, Pilgrim of Eternity, is a sequel to original series episode, Who Mourns For Adonais, and the Continues episode is actually better than the original.

Vic Mignogna plays Captain Kirk, but he did so much more on the show than just star in it - he WAS the show! He directed, edited and gave very interesting interviews (see Youtube) about what was going on. Perhaps his most relatable comment was how very important the music cues to the old show were. He goes into great detail about matching up the old music with Continues.

I am amazed. This is outstanding stuff. It succeeds thoroughly in its attempt to recreate the style and the substance of the original series from the 1960s. The love and respect for the original is obvious.

If you read the other reviews, you'll notice there seems to be a consensus: Star Trek Continues has outstanding production values. Productionwise, it is an absolutely wonderful, faithful recreation of the original series. It looks the same, it sounds the same, it feels the same. If you casually look at it without paying attention, you won't notice the difference: there is virtually none, apart from the main cast, obviously. A truly impressive achievement.

The general consensus also seems to be that the acting is slightly lacking. I tend to agree. But then again, the acting in the original series was also, quite frequently, rather lacking. And the other reviews here will tell you that while some are happy with say, the new Kirk and Spock, but dislike the new Scotty and Sulu, others feel just the opposite. So maybe it isn't all that bad, after all.

Like everyone else used to the original cast, I naturally felt the casting difference at first. But as everything else is so faithful to the model, it actually didn't take more than 15-20 minutes to accept this cast for what they are. Also, this is a first effort. As others have pointed out, none of the series quite hit the mark in the very first episode.

I especially liked Kirk, once I got used to him. Of course Mignogna isn't Shatner, but nobody is. Likewise, there is only one Nimoy. But if you want your actors to be exactly like the original ones, you can only be disappointed. Considering how excellent everything else is, I could certainly get used to this cast. And unlike a few others, I don't mind the addition of the new crew member at all.

What I feel should be emphasized, though, is the great script. It's a triumph of substance. The story is incredibly true to the original series. The theme, the pace, the dialogue, all of it rings true. This, combined with the amazing production values, means that if only we had the original cast here instead of the new actors, you wouldn't suspect that this was not an episode of the original series. That's how faithfully they've recreated Star Trek. Only in the very first scene ― an homage to future Star Trek series ― and in a particular exterior scene later do we sense that this is, after all, a 21st century production. And both cases, in my opinion, work rather well.

The negative reviews here so far seem to fall into two categories. A few criticize the fact that these actors don't look and act exactly like the original cast. If you're that demanding, of course, nothing will ever be good enough.

Other critics point out that this is just lame and old-fashioned: it looks and feels like something from the 1960s! Where is all the kewl stuff from the two latest films that modern technology makes possible? Well, I guess that is the point, isn't it?

So if you think the new films are great and the original series sucks, you probably won't like this. And if you think that the new films suck and the original series is nothing less than the Holy of Holies, you will possibly find this recreation blasphemous and sacrilegious. How dare they! Nimoy was 1½ in. taller than this guy!

But if you liked the original series for what it was, for better and for worse, and would like to see it recreated and continued in a thoroughly authentic and clearly respectful and loving fashion, chances are that you'll enjoy Star Trek Continues. Because I feel that it does just that: what its title says. In a time when precious little sci-fi deals with philosophical and ethical themes, and seems to be more concerned with fast pacing, constant action, and CGI effects, it's wonderful to see some refreshingly old-style focus on story, dialogue and characters, just like the original.

The bottom line is that overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this impressive first effort, and hope much more is to come in the future. If they keep up the good work, I wouldn't actually mind calling this Season 4. It's that close to the original ― not just in style, but also, and more importantly, in substance.

When a fan series does a franchise justice better than its owner you know that's bad.

Star Trek Continues is done by professional actors and voice actors who are sincere fans of Star Trek.

The series takes places following the storyline of the original series with original stories and characters along with paying homage to the original series

The sets look like it did in the original 1966 series along with giving the series a feel of watching the original Star Trek series.

The acting is very strong as the cast do a convincing job as the characters the fans have love throughout the years.

The music is very good as it helps move the series.

Overall out of all the fan series of Star Trek this one has done it right