XweAponX
On Twitter, I kept seeing little "Vignettes" from the episodes they had already made. Especially, Michael Forest from "To Morn for Adonis" (that's a pun) reprising his role. Then a green Orion Slave Girl played by Fiona Vroom. Then, I see the crew of the Enterprise wearing full accouterments from "Mirror Mirror".In those Vignettes, I saw the Bridge, the Hallways, the Transporter room, Sickbay all perfectly recreated. All original uniforms being worn, all original Tricorders, Phasers and Communicators (Thanks to the Wand company) being used.So then, I look up this crew who was bringing the original Star Trek back to life! And I watched the first episode, "Pilgrim or Eternity". And a rudimentary Holodeck, equipped with a Holo of Star Trek Artist Doug Drexler in "Paladin" outfit shoving a Colt 45 into "Kirk" (Vic Mignogna's) nose, in a set that looked a LOT like "Spectre of the Gun".So then I watched "Lolani", and along with Fiona Vroom, there was The Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) playing a HUGE Orion Slaver.So, that was it, I was hooked. Of course, I thought Todd Haberkorn looked like an Odd Spock, but he did in fact talk and act like Spock. And they did change Dr McCoys after Lolani, I don't know why Larry Nemecek dropped out of that role. But then again, I saw Chris Doohan playing the role his father played, and he looks SO much like his father. Marina Sirtis is the Ships Computer, like Luwaxana, like Daughter. I started seeing all kinds of familiar names from the cast and crew of Next Generation/DS9/Voyager/Enterprise in the credits.And the Music was perfect, the LIGHTING was perfect, the SOUNDS were perfect, the Props were perfect (Close-ups of the Phaser props show a slight difference from TOS Phasers, but not much). And I have a Wand Company Communicator, and those were being used (Hint: THEY WORK!).But my posterior was floored by the 3rd Episode "Fairest of them All", or, "What happened when Mirror Kirk, Scott, McCoy and Uhura returned to Mirror Enterprise?".Eventually I ran out of Episodes to watch, I was amazed that there were FIVE of these episodes (at the time). I left off at "Divided we Stand", which was a great Omega-Glory type of episode, which included BORG Nanites! And we met a Security Chief, "Drake", who had a Mechanical Arm.Not just Drake, but I met McKennah, Smith (who was holding Gary Mitchell's hand at the Barrier of the Galaxy), and these became as beloved to me as Kirk, Spock, Uhura, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov.It did not matter to me that I was not seeing Leonard Nimoy, Bill Shatner, George "It's OK to be" Takei. The SPIRIT of the characters they created was there. The chemistry was there, and, the Ship was there.For those of you who are just joining these voyages, watch the Featurette which shows the construction of the Engineering set. From a Huge, Empty Soundstage, to a perfect replica of the 1701's warp drive. The DILITHIUM Crystals even had that same shape (From "The Alternative factor").I feel that McKennah, Smith, Drake, and the other characters and actors that had recurring crew roles, had been there all the time.There are many things that hint toward things that would happen later in TNG and DS9.I just finished the final episode today, and in one scene, we see, on an Admirals desk, models of The Pheonix, NX-01, Kelvin, Discovery, and the 1701 as it appeared in TMP. And even that scene was a nod to a scene from "Into Darkness", the ships on Admiral Marcus' desk.I feel as close to the Actors and Crew who made this show as I do the whole franchise.This SHOULD be "Official Trek", CBS should buy this show and release it as part of the franchise. In my mind, it already is.Thank you, Vic, Todd, Thank you Kipleigh Brown for bringing "Smith" back, thank you Michele Specht for creating "McKennah", the original "Counselor Troi", not just the main characters but everyone who worked on this to make it a reality.I feel that Fan Productions like this should not be hindered by CBS, this one was not, but others were. Nobody is stealing Klingon by wanting to learn it, nobody who wants to help recreate something that we've loved for over 50 years should be discouraged, not sued. CBS may own the show now, but it does not really belong to them, it belongs to US.
sykespj
It is really hard to rate a fan production of any kind, let alone one that aims to recreate Trek's original series. It took me a couple of episodes to warm to the characters, but ultimately 'Continues' leaves all other fan series for dead. It is well written and generally well acted, and it is easy to mistake the meticulously crafted sets for the real thing.Vic Mignogna and Todd Haberkorn put in fine performances as Kirk and Spock. Grant Imahara is a capable Sulu, but looks a bit like he has gone to warp drive a few too many times. Chuck Huber's horrid hairpiece detracts from what is otherwise a very good performance as Dr. McCoy. The other main characters are a mixed lot, but none of them are in the 'total disaster' category (unlike other unnamed fan series). They even manage to nail the 'cornball corner' moments as well as any replicator out there. And there are 60s-looking babes aplenty (need I say more?).For mine it is the sets, costumes and production design that really distinguish this series from the others. A few CGI-FX tip that the series is well-and-truly beyond the 60s. Other than that, it would be pretty easy to pass the series off as the genuine item if it had of aired in 1970... and that's no mean feat.Don't expect great Trek, but if you are satisfied with a bit of nostalgic fun, this series is well worth checking out.
jayj-17577
I just stumbled across this on You Tube, but wow, awesome. I've watched the first two episodes.I'm not some huge "trekkie". I watched the original series when it aired (yes, I'm an old man) and liked it, but my opinion of subsequent Trek incarnations went steadily downhill.You have to understand that in may ways this series is a homage to the original series. It does not attempt to go in any new directions: quite the opposite, it appears to be a deliberate attempt at "more of the same".I was amazed at how well they reproduced the original sets. I didn't study pictures of the original series and this side by side to compare, but the bridge and the transporter room looked the same to me, and other places clearly had the same look and feel. I'd be interested to know how they produced the sets: did they get their hands on 50-year old sets from Desilu? Did they reproduce them by studying the old series? Etc. Similarly, the model of the Enterprise looks the same to me, the sound effects all sound the same, the background music is the same style, etc.The new Captain Kirk was clearly trying to imitate the style and mannerisms of the original Captain Kirk, and I think he does a very good job of this. The other actors don't seem to take reprising the roles quite so far. They're more what you'd expect of a new actor in a familiar role. The plots of these first two episodes clearly show the "homage" factor. The first episode is a sequel to an episode from the original series, "Who Mourns for Adonais?" (Much as "Wrath of Khan" was a sequel to an episode from the original series.) The second episode is a homage in two ways: the main character is an "Orion slave girl" a la the brief scene in the original pilot that apparently fascinated fans so much, and it carries on the Star Trek tradition of heavy-handed social messages. (Though at least this time it wasn't about racism.)I see there are, as of this writing, a total of 7 episodes made. I'll have to see how the other 5 fare.I'd score this as follows:Fidelity to the original sets, miniatures, costumes, and music: 9Recreating the original cast: Kirk 9, the rest average maybe 6 or 7.Fidelity to themes and writing style: 8Originality: 2
