Renegades: Will it Beat Of Gods and Men?

I'll get a massive amount of heckling for this I suspect but it's taken me until 2014 to watch the 2006 production Of Gods and Men.

Sorry, sorry, sorry I am not worthy to be called a True Fan and I'll be flogging myself ritually for months as penance. Why it's taken so long is a story in itself. However before I divert away to cause myself extreme pain, there's more to explain.

Like many fan projects, Of Gods and Men took an age to get made and released. At the time it came out my internet connection was one step away from dial-up and over the years I just forgot it existed until the Renegades movie machine powered up and thundered into life.

While Axanar might have the imaginative twist and flair to do something totally different, Renegades is the one that seems to get the airtime due to its heritage and cast. The release date is just getting closer and closer and gradually more information is starting to head our way. What's my point here? Well, both Of Gods and Men and Renegades are directed by one Tim Russ and are, perhaps, the closest thing to "real" Star Trek that you can get given that the characters on screen are being played by the same people who portrayed them in Voyager and the other televised series.

Right - quick memory jog for you on the show - set in a time after Voyager, Tuvok brings together a band of rogues, outcasts and criminals that can work outside of the rules and regulations of Starfleet to investigate the strange folding of space and time which has occurred around several planets, cutting them off from the rest of the universe. The trouble is these planets are the main suppliers of the vital dilithium. Tuvok will lead his assembled team to find out what is causing the folds while also having to deal with the conflicts within the group.

So far we've had two trailers which are, admittedly, unfinished tasters of the end product and very little else. There's more fundraising going on via Indegogo as we speak to raise cash for the visual effects and you have to wonder how much more is needed to get the movie finished. Does it seem to you that this keeps on going? I'm staying positive that this is to ensure the best Star Trek independent spin-off ever.

Ok, so it's going to cost a lot but the perks of donating are good and they're only about $3000 off the of $25,000 target. The continued support of fans through donations does show you how much faith the fan community has in Russ' work.

Almost as a bit of a thank you and a reminder that it is nearly finished, something new popped up on the Renegades YouTube channel last week; the first character trailer entitled Introducing Lexxa and starring not only Adrienne Wilkinson but also Tim Russ as Tuvok and Star Trek Continues' Captain Kirk himself, Vic Mignogna as her Cardassian opponent.

The fact is that it's the most complete footage we've had thus far and justifies the work and funds that are going into this project. The trailers were great but we can finally see some dialogue and action in sequence. So does it look any better than it's near-decade old predecessor? I think so and now is the time to talk about it.

Some fans are probably already ruing that we're getting cut-price spin offs from people who should know better and were involved with the "real" thing but this looks anything but cheap and I wouldn't expect the talent in front and behind the camera to be taking part if they didn't believe they could produce something of excellent quality.

As you'll have no doubt spotted, this little Renegades piece has been sprinkled with some screenshots from the snippet and we are geniunely impressed. I found Of Gods of Men a tad shoddy and at times overly cheesy with some truly wobbly sets that Blakes 7 would have distanced themselves from and horribly ill-fitting uniforms. This on the other hand is Star Trek with dirt under its nails and maybe a tooth missing for good measure.

Wilkinson and Mignogna are brilliant here in what is a particularly well choreographed fight scene. While Lexxa is more animalistic and raw, Mignogna's Cardassian prisoner Garis seems to be channelling some strains of Garak in his goading of the female Augment. He knows which buttons to press especially in relationship to her lineage. Also, does anyone else think that he bears a scarily close resemblance to one Dumar?

From a character perspective this gives us some basics on who Captain Lexxa Singh is (which makes sense when you consider this is an Introducing... video) while showing off just how good and serious this production is about making quality Star Trek for the fans.

The more I see of Vic Mignogna the more I'm impressed. His Kirk was a little too Kirk for me originally but after a couple more viewings I've appreciated his work a lot more and here as a Cardassian he's superb and the makeup is faultless. The set lighting and dressing are as equally impressive and for a moment you'd be forgiven for thinking you're watching an episode of Deep Space Nine or Voyager (whatever your fancy) - it's only when an older Tuvok shows up that you realise this is something new.

Russ hasn't lost any of the Tuvok charm (!) since leaving Voyager and his discourse with Lexxa confirms that he's working on something that's going to need a very specialised person to get the job done. While this scene isn't about Tuvok it is about Tim Russ in some respects because this is the first glimpses of his work - and it's a good job.

Certainly more adult in its use of language than your average Star Trek episode, whatever the something big that's going down is, I hope we get to see a bit of it in the next trailers that come forth from the Renegades stable. My other query is as to when we'll get to see our first look at some of the CGI for the pilot? We've seen stills of the Archer and the Icarus but let's see them out in the great blackness where they belong, in motion.


So will it beat Of Gods and Men? Unquestionably in everything from sets to script to costumes to score - nay, it has to beat it given the time elapsed since that movie premiered. The production here feels tighter and the acting certainly come across a darn sight more believable than in its predecessor. we have only seen a minimal amount of footage so I might be getting my hopes up too soon. Good news on that front is that we will be seeing a trailer entitled The Mission sometime in June which might answer a few more questions - and pose a few more at the same time. Fingers crossed this will introduce us to a few more of the motley crew that are aboard our Renegades starship, the Icarus (above).


Aside from the new trailer little else has been seen from the Renegades team recently as they work on this (potential) web-series pilot. There have been some cast shots but, like the Introducing spot they have focused on Lexxa, Garis and Tim Russ' Tuvok. Not a bad thing but it means there's still more to be drip-fed for our unquenchable thirst for Star Trek knowledge.

The more I do see the more I hope it goes beyond just the one adventure if only to flesh out the story and not leave too much unfinished business. If the reboot movies are going to be the ignition for a new TV series then there has to be something keeping the 24th Century Prime Universe alive and this is the best candidate to date - make that the only candidate. Fans out there might bitch and moan about it looking cheaper than the TV series we're used to but times have changed and keeping the vision alive has to be done with tighter purse strings.

Of Gods and Men marked a big turning point in the production of fan films and certainly raised awareness of their existence. It marked the 40th anniversary and demonstrated that Star Trek could be kept alive for a fraction of its original onscreen costs. Without it maybe a lot of fan-made movies wouldn't have even been conceived. For that we should be thankful and hope that the existing cast members of every generation keep wanting to produce new material featuring their characters, however it is made.

Images from startrekrenegades.com and the Renegades Facebook page.

You can head over to the official site HERE to learn more about Star Trek: Renegades

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Deep Space Nine: Season Two: Creation of the Legend

If the first season of Deep Space Nine introduced us to the characters and setting, the second year was nothing like we expected.

Season two (from 1993/94) stepped up the game. The standalone nature of the majority of the first season was almost swept aside in favour of utilising the stationary nature of Deep Space Nine and building a story around the setting. Indeed, a lot of the stories here would be continued and expanded through the following five years of the show although we wouldn't appreciate that at the time and there would even be a few that got unexpected sequels. Already we've touched on the Dominion's influence on this season so let's take a look at what else was going on out on the edge of the final frontier.

To some degree there was a degree of continuation from season one in the opening - and rule-breaking three-part story focusing on the Bajorans. It would take until season six for there to be another multi-part story but The Homecoming, The Circle and The Siege set the tone for the year; darker, treacherous and providing a greater prominence to the characters of Bareil and Winn who would become recurring characters to different levels of success. The opener with the arrival of former-terrorist-come-legend Li Nalas has some wonderful outdoor location filming during the prison break however easy it might seem to free him.

As openers go it's strong - something that every season of Deep Space Nine managed right through to Image in the Sand and truly emphasises the precarious nature of the Federation's relationship with the Bajoran populace. In true form there's no total happy ending - and no finite ending at all as the story of the vedeks would be a string to follow through the year. The middle part does get a little stale and that's more than likely due to inexperience in writing three-episode arcs but the overall result is still one of the best in the first couple of years. Everyone has at least something to do here and Kira's displacement at this point in the season does jar you a bit - had Visitor not intended to come back for another 26 episodes?!

The shame is that after evacuating the station for The Siege and having a wonderful game of cat and mouse through the access tubes, what bugs me is that they do it all over again in Invasive Procedures. Featuring John Glover and future Tuvok, Tim Russ, it's not bad, just average and from the off you know that the symbiont will be back inside Jadzia by the fifth act. It's more an exploration of Trill science and character than anything else but it's not a story I was thrilled by. Guess they must have needed a bottle show to recoup some of the cost from the episodes that kicked off the season.

Season two is full of peaks and troughs, making it the most uneven season of any of the series in my opinion. There are also times when we get "doubles" shoved together but I'll cover that as we go through the year. The highs are galactic while the lows leave a lot to be desired however considering this is the only Star Trek show set in one place and on a space station there was always going to be a lot of experimentation going on. Indeed, Necessary Evil is a prime example of just that.

The first time I saw a still from Necessary Evil I was instantly enthralled. Focusing on Odo and Kira - easily two of the most watchable characters in the show, it's almost a noir thriller. Shame the sequel, Things Past was nowhere near as strong. Just seeing Deep Space Nine in the Terok Nor days makes this a key segment in the series, visualising the much-talked about Occupation for the first time since it's introduction back in Ensign Ro from The Next Generation. The story itself is great all the way, unusually placing a main character in a less than favourable light which marked the show out against it's sister which was in its final year at this time. 

Deep Space Nine's cast were nowhere near the elite that we saw on the Enterprise with Picard. This wasn't exactly the plumb assignment in the fleet and in this year both this episode and the later Blood Oath certainly painted darker sides to these complex characters. In fact, looking further into the future none of the crew were even greyer than grey which made it even more essential Star Trek viewing for me.

The next high point took a while to come but it's one I remember because my Technology teacher at school found it rather fascinating - Armageddon Game. Coupling an engineered virus with the rocky O'Brien/Bashir relationship was always going to be a winner. I find myself more drawn to their conflict and predicament than the plot that puts them into the situation in the first place. Siddig and Meaney were a great double-team when they were placed together. The fact that this story is followed by the equally excellent Whispers only strengthens that relationship since we see the hostility that O'Brien receives when he returns to the station during the flashbacks. Whispers is a great piece of drama and highlights just why Meaney always ends up with these heavy stories to deal with as the Chief of Operations. The paranoia here is almost at a level where you can taste it. Once again Deep Space Nine proved it could take a fairly well-known story concept and then manage to turn it all inside out just when you thought you had seen everything.

Season Two also focused on Star Trek heritage more than The Next Generation ever attempted with not one but two episodes drawing on the past in Blood Oath and shortly thereafter Crossover. Both of which act to start off story arcs that would last through to the final year of Deep Space Nine but would be the strongest installments of their respective strands. For Blood Oath the fact that this would be the only time the three most prominent Klingons from The Original Series would be together makes it even more remarkable and memorable. Terry Farrell manages to hold her own with the three veteran actors but this is much more their episode than hers and it's evident from the opening scene with Kor. Dax's involvement is a little stretched and her return to the station with no reprimand and only a few hard stares doesn't stand up but as with all the best homage episodes it's all about seeing the pieces and characters come together to give a nod to the classics. 

Unusually - and something very noticable - is the action-heavy content of the episode after the half-way point. It's not gory, perhaps a little brutal but not something that The Next Generation would have handled. If they had a battle it was over distance with phasers; more often than not in Deep Space Nine it's hand-to-hand (The Search, Part I, The Way of the Warrior, To the Death...). Perhaps not what Gene would have liked but another piece that stands the series away from it's predecessors and successors.

In fact Crossover manages that with it's heritage firmly entrenched in The Original Series' Mirror Mirror but the creation of the alternative characters here is a master stroke. Garak becomes the cold, calculating military man we suspect lurks beneath the guise of a tailor in "our" universe while Kira transforms into one of Deep Space Nine's most memorable villains, overtly sexual, playful in her terrorising of Terrans and certainly not to be crossed in any way. She would be one of the few mirror universe characters to make it through the four episodes that continued the story. Crossover though is the best of the batch, echoing the feel of Terek Nor that we saw back in the Occupation during Necessary Evil's flashbacks but with a much nastier sense of oppression. I'd have liked to see a second appearance from the sadistic phaser-toting shapeshifter security chief but his existence was cut abruptly short thanks to Bashir. This is also my Dad's favourite second season episode - whether it's a Kira Thing or a homage to The Original Series Thing I'm not sure but I have to agree that it's one of the year's best and the first episode I bought on VHS. Everything about this episode is right; it's a lot of fun but dark and unsettling all in one go. None of the other Mirror Universe shows in Deep Space Nine did it as good.

Sandwiched somewhere between these two is the season's two-parter, The Maquis. Cal Hudson could well have been a recurring character within the Federation terrorist group (something Eddington later took up) however he only gets to step out here. As a side point note that both Hudson and Eddington had personal links to Sisko which makes their treachery even more hurtful. Could this have indicated that Hudson was slated to return and Eddington was subbed in season three?

I found this to be a great story and equally balanced across both parts but as with any Maquis episodes pre-1995 it all screams set-up for Voyager and once that happened, it got a lot more consistent and made much more sense. This was also one of my few early Deep Space Nine VHS purchases (straddling two tapes) and was watched very regularly. While there's not much action here, the story is solid and certainly better quality than the poor Journey's End from The Next Generation.

The Wire also manages to sneak in before Crossover and provides the first decent examination of exactly who Garak is or was. If you come away from watching this the first time without a headache you've done well. Twenty years on I loved this one - there are so many layers, lies, truths and suggestions that you have zero idea what to believe. After watching everything that follows, The Wire gives you a chunk of background that you never fully appreciate until years later. Most of the character bio that's established here would be the basis of the tailor for another five years. It works really well again after a few years of not seeing it as Andrew Robinson's portrayal of the tailor/spy just gets better and better.

Rounding off the year is the superb The Jem'Hadar and while I've talked over the Dominion's arrival before it still has to be noted. Great episode, great effects and a jaw-dropper of an ending that you would never expect although after some of the events from the year we've covered maybe we all should have seen it coming?!

But what of the rest I hear you cry? It's a funny old lot when we pick through it. Season Two has more peaks and troughs than any other year I can think of from any generation. Indeed, it goes from amazingly brilliant and engaging to the other end of the scale week on week with no consistency or sign of fluid improvement. The change in format from going anywhere must have taken quite a toll on the writers and watching these early show back can feel like arduous going at times.

For example, Cardassians and Melora are good ideas which tie more detail into the Occupation of Bajor (as well as revealing the station's former name) and recycle a main cast idea from the show's development in Daphne Ashbrook's gravity-restricted Ensign Pazlar. Nor am I a fan of lame Ferengi episodes especially Rules of Acquisition. After a Bashir love story we get a Quark one. Seems block ideas were common in 1993! I won't dwell on these as they do seem to give more background on the cast than the more popular installments. They just pace very slowly and let down the rhythm of the show. Over the following years the Ferengi shows would be my lower points of the year and usually indicated a really good episode would be following to make up for the squabbling and custard pie throwing.

Nor did I care much for the mediocrity of Second Sight, Sanctuary, Rivals or The Alternate. Actually, no I take that back - Rivals is truly a bad episode and even now it's just too cheesy for me. The whole betting premise leaves me wanting the end credits too quickly and Martus is annoying from the off. I know the writers want us to be siding with Quark and I do immediately. The change of allegiance of Rom however doesn't flow with the character nor how he develops 

Aside from the appearance of a Nebula Class starship, a mention of the Dominion or Odo's dad dropping by to mark them out in the history books they were all nice filler character stuff. It's not that I torridly hate these episodes but when you compare them to anything from season three and beyond the quality isn't quite there; Deep Space Nine was still taking baby steps and not able to walk on it's own. Having season three as a time when this show was truly on it's own for a time seems to have forced the hand a little with that year producing top drawer drama from the off. Even those Ferengi episodes were near-bearable and I include Family Business there but not Profit and Lace. 

Even the second half of the season has some uneven footing. Paradise is much better a few years later and the conflict between Sisko and Alixus is some of the best at this early stage in the show's development with the commander's continued resistance to accepting their fate being an incredibly powerful part of the story.  Shadowplay too had it's cool twist but this repeat viewing does highlight that it doesn't carry as much weight and ends up as a nice cute story about Odo and a child. The concept here is good but, while an episode like Future Imperfect delivers cool tweaks throughout that can be enjoyed on repeat, Shadowplay relies on you not knowing the outcome.

The weakest point of the year is probably the duo of Playing God and Profit and Loss which left me cold all over again. Very average stories focusing on Trill initiates and Cardassian scientists. Neither of which have any influence on the rest of the show but do act to flesh out Jadzia and Quark. If these episodes had been part of the previous year they would have been head and shoulders above but such a large step was taken from that year to this that they get swallowed up by all the other outstanding contributions. The same could well go for The Collaborator and Tribunal which suffer from being sandwiched right between some of the best shows of the second season in Crossover and The Jem'Hadar season finale.

I've documented my feelings on Bareil before. He straight bores me and his removal from the supporting cast mid-way through the third season was, for me, a breath of fresh air. I never believed the character and Philip Anglium never held my attention as the vedek seemed something of a wet lettuce. It's a nice whodunnit but its placement does make it suffer. Likewise Tribunal doesn't match up to the earlier O'Brien Hell story, Whispers. Colm Meaney does a good job but the conclusion still feels rushed after 20 years and we know it'll all work out. Getting to see the Cardassian judicial system in operation is fun and a distraction but it does come across as a late season filler before all the end of year explosions and exposition for season three.

Having watched the first two seasons back in full for the first time in nearly two decades I get restless to watch the remainder of Deep Space Nine knowing that the weaker shows are now behind me. There was a lot of work still to be done when The Homecoming aired but the series was a different beast by the end of the year. It had matured, implanted the threat of the Dominion and given every character the chance to be explored at least once. I enjoyed season two originally and watching it back now reminded me of how much those later season episodes hooked me in for the next five years. For me this is the year that finally got me obsessed with Star Trek and into serious fandom territory. The second season steadied the ship and started to add the depth to recurring plot threads but it would remain a stepping stone from the era of The Next Generation as that show ended. Season Three faced the challenge of going solo with no USS Enterprise-based show as backup.

The quality had to be there from the first episode and a couple of little, teeny tiny changes would make that happen...

You can read our first season rewatch review Part One and Part Two as well as our discussion regarding Emissary by clicking the links!

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@45 @30 @15

When I started out on this post there was but one thing on my mind; The Search for Spock; 1984 - 2014.

Thing is that sometimes a post doesn't end up where you expected and I'm kind of glad it didn't on this occasion. You see, this week is something special in Star Trek history - an alignment of the heavens if you will, with three important anniversaries all falling in the space of just THREE days.

First up and probably getting the most coverage is the 30th anniversary of everybody's favourite mid-trilogy Star Trek movie on June 1st. 

Coming off the back of The Wrath of Khan was never going to be easy and the third motion picture still does take some hack for being overly dark in light of the events which closed the previous movie. Indeed, the main plot is pretty obvious - hint - it's in the title.

I really like Star Trek III as there's a lot going for it and a lot does happen here. Christoper Lloyd isn't ground-breaking as Kruge and the Vulcan stuff at the end might drag just a little but overall it's a solid entry into the movie library. Stealing the Enterprise is a brilliant scene especially with their pursuit being captained by the pompous and over-confident Styles on the Excelsior. Returning home in battered glory, breaking McCoy out of prison, saving Spock are all excellent snippets from this sometimes shunned sequel. It's only real fault being that it lies in the middle of two Star Trek movie heavyweights in II and IV.

The Search for Spock is heaped with firsts believe it or not; both the Excelsior and Oberth Classes debuted here and would become a staple of the Star Trek universe most notably in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.  For those who want more of USS Grissom, have a look at this audio series which focuses on their mission in the two weeks before the events of Star Trek III.

The Bird of Prey decloaked for the first time over the Merchantman and has also been a staple of the franchise to this day. That freighter too was reused many times in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine  but made its debut here. Leonard Nimoy became the first Star Trek actor to helm a production; Saavik was the first character to be recast mid-series as Robin Curtis replaced Kirstie Alley; we got to see the officer's suede bomber jacket (ok, little stretched here but indulge me) and the Head of Starfleet too. It's jam-packed with stuff to keep going back to and finding. 

And at 45...

But while we've gone all hysterical over facts from The Search for Spock let's look back at what we said right at the start; three anniversaries over three days. June 2nd marks 15 years since the premiere of the final episode of Deep Space Nine while the 3rd is 45 years since the first airing of the last episode of The Original Series. While each of them merits a nod at least, it's more interesting to look at their positions within the franchise history. Standing at 1969, 1984 and 1999, these are anniversaries that also mark distinct snapshots of the different place Star Trek has had throughout it's near-50 year lifespan.

Turnabout Intruder marked the end of the original, curtailed, five year mission and 45 years later look where we are. Think about it - at that point it was all over, two fan campaigns had brought the show back but this time the network had cut the budget and buried the show in the Friday night Slot of Death to ensure that there would be no season four. For all intents and purposes Star Trek should have died that night - another short-lived show that would end up as a great pub quiz answer. You can imagine it; "Ok...question five; What space-based series starring William Shatner (what happened to him?) aired between 1966 and 1969 and had two pilot episodes?"

Lots of head scratching, murmours and some guy in the corner is the only one to get it right. Everyone else puts either Blakes 7, Lost in Space or The Outer Limits.

At this time all we had were those 79 episodes and the unaired pilot. That was it; your lot. This was Star Trek at its most pure and undiluted, untouched by anyone else but Roddenberry (and latterly Fred Freiberger). Turnabout Intruder also belays that splendid male-centric attitude of the 1960's - only men can command starships, something that would only be seen to have changed onscreen in the opening minutes of The Voyage Home and the USS Saratoga. Notably that would also be a female, black captain - and a black captain would also be helming a space station in later years.

Now, flash forward (again) to 1984 with the help of your Bajoran Orb. Off the back of $139,000,000 from The Motion Picture and $96,800,000 from The Wrath of Khan, the franchise is heading high. (Just a quick side-point too that this week (June 4th) is also the anniversary of the premiere of the second motion picture.) It's been revitalised thanks to Star Wars and also thanks to syndication which meant that many thousands were able to enjoy the 79 original episodes, leading to huge convention numbers, the naming of the space shuttle after the USS Enterprise and the possibility of a new series entitled Phase II.

The last bit didn't happen and we got The Motion Picture instead but with The Search for Spock it's a calm before a storm. While resolving a small matter of resurrecting Spock and tying up a few loose ends from it's illustrious predecessor, this was the time that Star Trek was on the way to some of its greatest successes. We were still two years away from  The Voyage Home and three away from the premiere of The Next Generation and yet there was genuine excitement about the show. This wasn't a cheap sequel, clocking in at $18,000,000 (six more than Star Trek II) and blowing up the Enterprise was a statement that things would be getting shaken up - and even the ending declared The Adventure Continues. There was no doubt there would be more to come.

If you look at this, the Harve Bennett era, you'll see the opulence of the sets, the grandiose entrance of the Enterprise to Spacedock, the "WTF" attitude to blowing up a screen icon and the ability to woo Christopher Lloyd to the film. It showed that Star Trek was accepted in the big time. People wanted to be linked to it and it was an important part of American culture and had been embraced by countries across the world too. By this point, 15 years after Turnabout Intruder, there had only been The Animated Series and two multi-million dollar motion pictures added to the library. This was Star Trek in the midst of its big screen era without a TV series to support it but that situation would be rectified very, very soon after.

Closer to...

Slingshot yourself around the sun again and take a trip to 1999. How different a moment in Star Trek history is this? 

Here we are at the final episode of the third series. What You Leave Behind isn't as good as All Good Things... (and I'm a HUGE Deep Space Nine fan) but it's probably the most final finale of the lot. Sisko is gone, Odo is gone, the war is over. Voyager still had two years to go and at the end of that series all the crew were still alive if not together (as Neelix was still in the Delta Quadrant).  Like The Next Generation it could have easily continued in some form and rumour has it that there had been considerations to bring her home earlier and have some episodes set in the Alpha Quadrant.

This story rounded out the story excellently although I'm still not sure how long Dukat and Winn are in the Fire Caves considering they're pottering around in them while Sisko goes all the way to Cardassia, fights a war and comes back.  I was sorry to see this show go because I felt that the quality and differences it brought to the franchise were not as strong in Voyager which was much more in the vain of The Next Generation.

I digress...back to Deep Space Nine. By this point in time we'd had 176 episodes of Picard and crew, 174 episodes of Sisko and his team, 79 episodes and an unaired pilot of The Original Series, 22 animated tales 120 episodes of Voyager and nine movies. That's a lot of material and most of it from after The Search for Spock. But What You Leave Behind also comes at a rather crucial point in the story - the start of the slope in popularity and ultimately the axing of Enterprise in 2005. For me this was the "golden age" coming to a close - we'd had a great run from 1987 on both small and big screen but the engine was starting to wind down and two years later with the finale of Voyager and the start of Enterprise it was even more evident.

The three anniversaries stake out three different takes and management eras too; Roddenberry, Bennett and Berman. Three very different styles and temperaments in control. Roddenberry's vision guided the two that followed but Bennett moulded his Star Trek into the classic "space opera", much more militaristic than his predecessor might have liked. Berman on the other hand, with input from Roddenberry in the earlier years of The Next Generation returned to the origins laid down by the Great Bird but once he passed, the doors opened to countless new possibilities and the finale of Deep Space Nine in 1999 for me is the culmination of all that. It was a closure, the most ceetain ending of any Star Trek series intended or not. The final frontier was safe once again and Berman's work was done - at least it maybe should have been.

What You Leave Behind mirrors the times just as the big bangs and OTT of The Search for Spock mark out the cash-rich '80's, Deep Space Nine's closer was dark, ominous and less than happy. Darker times were ahead and the future was uncertain but even then there was time for celebration. Not many were convinced this was going to work but it had and even managed to go out in true style with its head held proud.

It has been a few years since I last watched both Turnabout Intruder and What You Leave Behind but that doesn't mean I don't remember them as good quality segments of both series. I'll get to the latter in due course as I'm re-running Deep Space Nine currently (up to The Way of the Warrior at the moment). As reflections of their times we've seen here just how much a window into each era of the franchise they can be, spread evenly over 30 years from '69 to '99 - and what changes we saw in management, style and execution. 

If you're counting, don't worry, we've not forgotten and we'll be marking 25 years of The Final Frontier in due course!

Do you think that these three anniversaries mark out the differences in Star Trek over the years? Do you have a particular memory of Star Trek III? Turnabout Intruder? What You Leave Behind? Talk about them below!

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May Round Up: The Blagger's Top Six

May was a quiet month on the news front with only a few bits to choose from - but having said that, there were some strong contenders.

Orci Goes Alone for Star Tr3k

The top story of the month has to be that Robert Orci was confirmed as the director (and writer) of the third Star Trek outing based around JJ Abrams reboot vision. While there was much rejoicing on the announcement that Abrams would no longer be involved in the director's chair at least, opinions were muted when it came to the untried Orci calling the shots for what could be the 50th anniversary movie.

I think we have genuine concerns that now JJ has defected to Star Wars he has no thoughts about what will happen to the franchise he leaves behind. These may not be any safer hands and while Orci's credentials are decent (and much better with Kurtzman), this will be a big challenge and perhaps not the one to be playing with at the start of your directorial career.

Phase II and Continues

The two big hitters in the world of fan films both made announcements this month and neither was what we at SKoST expected.

Firstly Phase II was asking for more money to complete (yes, complete) The Holiest Thing which was supposed to have premiered in February and was pulled at the last minute. Some of the funding raised through the Kickstarter campaign is going into finishing off Bread and Savagery and Mind Sifter but the announcement that some was going towards a supposedly (near) completed episode was a shock. This need for cash might also have something to do with moving to new, larger premises which are costing a fair chunk. The quality of the show has improved since it's early beginnings but the issue is that long delays seems to come with the territory - hopefully not as long as Kitumba though. As we write, Phase II is now $10,000 off their stretch goal to produce Mind Sifter. Perks for donations include stickers, LCARS graphics, a Phase II uniform, signed Spock ears and more.

What makes it even worse for the Phase II guys is that Continues is chomping close at their heels. While the former has been around for a lot longer, fans are heaping a ton of praise on Continues which offered up a nice promo poster of its third episode which will be premiering in June. The last release, Lolani, was met with mainly positive reviews, citing the show as being the closest thing to The Original Series that it could possibly be. The stakes for episode three could not be higher and these guys have worked hard to make sure that the deadlines they set and announce are adhered to. 

In Your Price Range?

If you happen to have $35 million of disposable income then why not get yourself an eight-bedroomed mansion complete with USS Enterprise cinema? 

Former CEO of the FriendFinder Network, Marc Bell has been forced to put his eccentric property on the market after some, erm, less than positive financial results. The rest of the house barely gets a mention as all eyes are immediately trained on the one-off movie theatre which replicates the bridge of the Enterprise-D. The level of detail is superb as you can see. All the chairs recline  and the ceiling is dotted with stars for effect. The concession area on the way in is reported to resemble a transporter room guarded by a life-size Borg. 

For a gimmick this is amazing but you're going to need to be a serious fan with an equally serious amount of money to be able to move in. If you want to lend me the cash on a permanent basis then get in touch...(!)

Virtually There

...And if you can't afford the house, why not try on that Oculus Rift VR device again? 

Last month we talked about the reproduction of the USS Voyager bridge, well now in May someone brightspark has completed a replica of the Enterprise-D bridge. Definitely worth taking a look because Enda O'Connor's work is magnificent and having the Borg trash-talking on the main viewer is a nice addition to the ambience! The most criminal thing about this vid is that only 3500 people have seen his work. No excuses now, get over there on YouTube and take a good look.

Stranger Things Have Happened

The wonderous iO9 site dropped a bomb this week, sparking rumours of a new Star Trek series that would be launched after the third movie is released. Apparently it's going to be going down the reboot universe line and might have something to do with The Next Generation as (pinch of salt required) they're looking to cast a young Deanna Troi...We suspected any new show would be following the Abrams route but this is a big curve ball - are we ready to see the Picard era rebooted just yet?!

Sneaky Peaks

Ok - usually we'd wrap this up in the Eaglemoss monthly section but hey, it's been a slow month on the news front. The publishers of The Official Starships Collection posted a little video of a photo shoot this week but what really caught our eye were the two or three little glimpses of models that have yet to be released in the UK. For reference we got to see the Xindi-Insectoid ship, the Romulan Warbird from the 22nd Century (although we have a better shot below), Krenim Temporal Weapon ship (here, left in hand)  and the Nebula Class if only for a matter of seconds. 

Thanks also to +Ed Thomas who spotted the Valdore and the USS Prometheus in there too. The latter actually gets subbed for the Dauntless. This little tease trail also gives us an idea of the scale of these new ships - the Xindi ship looks huge while the Prometheus seems to be along the small and thin lines of the Excelsior.

For those of you on other soils it'll give you some good close ups of the range thus far although it does tend to focus more on the first ten issues than any others. We've included some more shots below if you missed the appearances of those ships yet to dock at your newsagent.

Xindi Insectoid ship (big!)

Romulan Bird of Prey (22nd Century) along with the USS Enterprise-E, a de-throned Dauntless, USS Voyager, Borg Sphere and Jem'Hadar Battlecruiser

Not-yet-released Nebula-class back row second from right - same width as the D and the Warbird?

Sideshot (sorry bit blurred) of the Nebula-class between the Warbird and the Galor class (back row)

Single shot of the USS Prometheus...before it's taken out - which is what they're probably discussing.

Blink and miss it - the Valdore shows it's wings from a distance

Oh and the official site has also dropped two new images of the Nebula Class and the Xindi ship on their upcoming ticker.

As if that's not enough, Entertainment Earth and Memory Alpha posted up some new images of the 22nd Century Romulan Warbird and the Maquis raider. 

The latter model will be the smallest ship produced so far and should be the most detailed given its size. From the shots below it looks like these might be two fantastic models with a lot of surface detail apparent on both. Here are the magazine covers (provisional) plus the model shots recently revealed.

Were there any other stories from May that got you interested? Is there one we've missed out on here? Drop a line below!