Star Trek: New Voyages

I am an original fan of Star Trek having watched the original series as a boy on my parent's B&W TV. Star Trek: New Voyages has released several new episodes based on the original series with new actors reprising the now legendary roles.

The special effects are excellent for a not-for-profit production and the sound effects and music are dead on the original. These facets combine with some good "campy" script writing to accurately produce a plausible mirror of the original Trek. The story lines capture many of the cherished elements of the original series that helped propel it into cult status. I especially enjoyed the rather well done repartee between Spock, Bones and Kirk. This camaraderie was always a hallmark in the original.

I see that Gene Roddenberry's son Gene Roddenberry, Jr, has joined the production as a Consulting Producer. This reinforces my opinion that the "Great Bird of the Galaxy" would look favorably upon these endeavors. Roddenberry was an extraordinary man who lived an amazing life that helped form his vision of a possible future, that vision became Star Trek. I see much of that grand vision present in Star Trek: New Voyages and I look forward to future episodes.

This show is the reason I watched Star Trek in the first place. It definitely has its problems, but it has more good points than bad. The stories themselves are spot on, and "World enough and time" is one of the best written Trek episodes to date. The acting does seem to improve over time, but still, most of these people are doing a better job than many professional actors. The show also has a sincerity to it that has been missing from all of the other post-Roddenberry (post Next Generation) Treks. I hope they are able to continue, and that this project will at least lead to other money-making opportunities for them in the future. I am definitely looking forward to Blood & Fire and would recommend New Voyages to any Trek fan who's become jaded by the giant money-making soulless machine that Star Trek has become. It just might make you remember why Star Trek inspired you in the first place.

I happened to have stumbled onto to STNV totally by accident. I am a long time Star Trek fan and pride myself on my following of all of the series from beginning to end. I watched TOS as a boy from start to finish and then over the years watched each episode many many times. I am one of those fans that, if you were just a smidge MORE of a fan than I, you would have a closet full of federation uniforms and be able to speak conversational Klingon. I did attend a few conventions and I had fun, but never dressed up or anything.

This is all by way of saying STNV really surprised me. I found the stories and scripts to be excellent. Very much on a par with TOS and in some ways it is superior. I was thrilled to see Bill Windom make a final bow as Decker and I marveled at what I saw to be some nice direction and computer graphic work. The two episodes I have watched were far superior to ANY fan film I have ever encountered. As Tim Allen said in Galaxy Quest, "It's usually just some cardboard sets in a garage".

I do need to say a word or two about the acting though. It is, for the most part, patently bad. Some raw talent here and there, but with the exception of the young lady playing Uhura (an NYU Tisch School of the Arts grad) there is not a spec of training amongst the regulars and, for the most part, they are blocks of wood. This is the area in which you see the amateur "FAN" side of this fan film. All other aspects are pretty first rate.

Bravo to all who take part. 7 out of 10

Damn! With the faithful and impressive recreations of the sets and costumes, this effort was truly promising. At first, I just assumed it was supposed to be a new crew, complete with a Vulcan and Black female Communications officer, which was fine with me because the show is so visually pleasing. Then - wait - they're supposed to actually be the classic characters? In that case - with the amount of time and money that must've went into this, the creative forces behind it should have thrown the casting net wider - a lot wider. I almost feel bad saying it, but the lame performances and outright bad acting make this a wasted effort (with the exception of Chekov - he's a keeper). Also, the audio is too dry (or are the actors just that flat?) throw in a little reverb on that opening! Also the live action video is too crisp, isn't there an effect used to make digital look like film? Regardless I applaud the awesome resurrection of the Enterprise Bridge, the colorful uniforms - everything that isn't acting! Way to boldly go!

As an old ( and purist) fan of the Original Series, I must say that "The New Voyages" takes us back for what mattters. Pure and good Star Trek. Surely we don't have here Shatner, Nimoy playing Kirk and Spock, but the sets, the stories are so good that the only thing that we can feel is a great sense of satisfaction. In this "New Voyages", these talented people ( fans including) does not only invented a new way to tells stories, but to make them come true. And I really had tears in my eyes when I saw again William Window as Commodore Decker. This enterprise shows us that some fans can make better things than the producers of Paramount. Fans that really understands what Star Trek is.