Saturday, June 27, 2009

(1) Quick Picks

1
Quick Picks
Don't want to waste time reading reviews? Just want to know which fan films to watch first? I've already found these Quick Pick Treasures:


The most viewed Star Trek  Fan Film is set at the time of Enterprise.  Try Star Trek Horizonhttp://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/15.html.  The film has been viewed over 13.5  million times as of December 2020!


For Golden Age Fan Film Star Trek,

The two most praised groups of all the Star Trek Fan Film producers, are Star Trek New Voyages aka Star Trek: Phase II and  Star Trek Continues.

Star Trek New Voyages aka Star Trek: Phase II   Although each of their episodes has much to recommend it, you might start with "World Enough and Time" which is their third episode.  Go to  (Blog 20) Star Trek Phase II or Star Trek New Voyages   for discussions and reviews, or directly to these websites, and download and watch their films:  http://www.startrekphase2.de/en/4x03_world_enough_and_time.php   http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/?page_id=378  Rating: 5.  Also, the best fan film I have seen. In one additional note, this Fan Film Group has such enthusiastic followers that it has a Fan Film about New Voyages/Phase II's Fan Films!

If you are very shy about taking on a full-length film, you could also start with their excellent short vignette, "Center Seat." It's here: http://stnv.de/en/401v_center_seat.php. Or, watch them both!

Also recreating TOS, Star Trek Continues, the second episode entitled, "Lolani".  It was filmed in late 2013 was released February 8, 2014.  View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mOpmIFTxkE (50:46) or here: https://vimeo.com/86215323 (50:47).  With Portuguese subtitles, here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKE-x5i8leo (50:46).  For their other offerings see http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/27.html

From The Federation Files, the second of their live-action films has won two awards at a film festival, Walking Bear Running Wolf, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqo9sMG0nqY (28:20). 

The Federation Files' fifth film, The Equinox Effect, won first prize in the IndeBOOM! contest on January 8, 2020.  You can find various releases of it on it's Star Trek Reviewed page or go directly to the form entered, here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KTOIQ__kWE&t=3s (25:22)

For more Live-Action films from the Federation Files, see https://startrekreviewed.com/series.php?id=28.

For an entire set of series of shorter films, check out the many productions from Potemkin Pictures.  Start with a film set aboard the Starship Tristen, "Sepulchre,"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s06KKk9Y6ek(10:30).   For another good film involving the crew of the Starship Tristan, try "Deception,"

T'Noshi infiltrates a renegade Vulcan cell,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jI7851yGQ0 (5:12).

  For all of Potemkin Pictures prior releases, including all those set aboard the Starship Tristen, see http://startrekreviewed.com/studio.php?id=5

Starship Exeter (Two Episodes,) See Blog 21 Starship Exeter, or click on http://www.starshipexeter.com// and watch, "The Savage Empire."  Rating: 5.  Then watch one of the greatest Star Trek Fan Films of all time, "The Tressaurian Intersection."


Also try: "Of Gods and Men" See Blog 24 Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, or click on
Star Trek: Of Gods and Men  Rating: 5

The first episode of Starship Farragut, Blog 22 Starship Farragut, "The Captaincy" Rating: 5
http://www.starshipfarragut.com//  Many more episodes follow.

For a very original but well-done take on Trek, follow the Merchant Ship, Aurora, and her two-woman crew as they make cargo runs and face the challenges of space without the help of a massive ship, weapons, or Starfleet.  Star Trek: AuroraBlog 25 Star Trek: Aurora.  Two episodes, beautiful 3D animation, well written, well-edited, good voice acting, Rating: 5

Ever wonder what Star Trek would look like if the guys who produced the Yogi Bear cartoon made a Star Trek movie?  Wonder no more: Check out the 2-hour animated film, "The Paradise Makers,"
http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/70.html.  Yep, they retired together and got bored, and this is what they did.

For an excellent series, with only very minor technical issues, The Multiverse Crisis, http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/34.html.  The second film as of 2/25/2018, Completely remasted from the original film, Incident at Beta 9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG6OtuFIXEw(54:08).  Much technically improved!

For Silver Age Fan Film Star Trek, "Star Trek: Intrepid." See Blog 109 Star Trek: Intrepid

OR click on:

Star Trek: Intrepid
but watch the episodes in this order:
Heavy Lies the Crown
Transitions and Lamentations
Confessions by Firelight
Machinations
Where There's a Sea
Turning Point
A Stone Unturned

Speak Czech? Or, if not, willing to handle subtitles? If so, I can recommend three fine films:
"Patriotka," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC_D939D7YY (13:56). (Also with Portuguese subtitles, here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe8Xfl3_jKg (13:56)  Rating: 5.  In full compliance with the Guidelines and Star Trek canon.  For more Star Trek Fan Films from the same film group, see http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/141.html.
"Star Trek: The Metrensky Incident". Rating: 5. See Blog 85, Star Trek: The Metrensky Incident for both download instructions and instructions on how to run the film with the subtitled language of your choice.  Easy subtitles on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvSNY8Nv9Wc (55:22)
"Elektricky hrad" aka "The Electric Castle," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDBdcF1y-x8 (12:18).  For more from FSFilm, see https://startrekreviewed.com/core/series.php?id=630


Also excellent: Audio Drama "Outpost" (formerly Star Trek: Outpost.)  You'll find links to that and dozens of other audio dramas here: http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/247.html

Set after Enterprise but before TNG, Prelude to Axanar was created as a fake documentary about the subject of what was to be a full-length film.  Due to a CBS lawsuit, it now seems highly unlikely the full-length film will ever be made, but Prelude to Axanar is still worth viewing.  Find it at http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/14.html.

Like Comedies?  I recommend "Stalled Trek: Amutt Time".   A friend of mine who is a comedy lover says this is the best of all Trek comedies/parodies.  For more information on this original series parody, see http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/50.html.

[proposed section]Other Quick Picks:  The following films are all very good, rated 4 or 4.5, but lack a single element that would move them up to a 5.  That element might be poor quality sound or picture at places that doesn't interfere with viewing enjoyment, or a great, well-told story with no 'message'.
For example,

Star Trek Deception.  (Adult fans, live action, sets, costumes, green screens, CGI, Silver Age, Cheshire, Northwich, UK) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALGLRd5RyA4 (8:30)  Exceptional short film. For more Star Trek Fan Films from this team see http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/157.html

Eleven choice recent Fan Films by Syfy (All fit the Guidelines released by CBS):  http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/11-star-trek-fan-films-ranked

 [This section is proposed, not yet developed!]

I have only begun going through the comedies and parodies, and do not expect to develop a system to rate them.  However,  I can strongly recommend the animated film, Stone Trek. Episode One, The Deadly Ears.

For a time there was an animated suite at Go!Animate which made it easy to create Star Trek Fan Films.  Most were not made with great finesse, but three of the best filmmakers called themselves RoTV, http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2011/10/rotv.html, Solarbaby, http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2011/10/solarbaby.html, and the still ongoing production which includes a recent live action film, The Federation Files by Glen Wolfe, http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2015/07/glen-wolfe.html.  Here is a Table of Contents for Go!Animate Star Trek Fan Films: http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2011/10/table-of-contents-for-goanimate.html

But, be Warned: I haven't watched most of the Star Trek fan films listed on this website.

I've sorted out websites that have films from ones that don't, and found films on You-Tube, Vimeo, and other video-hosting websites that have no websites of their own. I'm optimistic that much of what I've found but haven't watched yet is very good! However, know that I have removed a few films I have glanced at for sexual content. I have created a separate "Adults Only" website for Fan Films with explicit sex and violence.  Links to that website, rather than links to those fan films, are in the appropriate places in this website.  I'm trying to put links to every fan film which does not have that kind of problem which I can find below, organized in a useful way...   I have put aside plans to review most films until a later time.  If  I do more reviews, I want to inform you about what's good to watch... what's good to skip.... and enough about why I think so so that if your taste differs from mine, you can watch what will make you happy. Where I've found easy to access reviews or review threads on the fan films, I've included them.  Randy Hall of SciFiPulse did many reviews of Star Trek Fan Films, but sadly they have been taken down.

7 comments:

  1. Wow! I wish I had found this sooner! Fab stuff and thanks for your hard work. :D

    Madam CodXXXXXXX

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  2. Why don't you like Star Trek: Hidden Frontier? I'm shocked that they don't make your "Quick Picks."

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  3. I have not yet reviewed Star Trek: Hidden Frontier. When I started this website last June (less than a year ago) I was confronted with the following question: Do I spend the first year or two reviewing Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, and not get to anything else, or do I do the lower volume film makers first? In fact, my order has been to do those I have to watch just to catalogue because they are hard to follow, and I am now just starting to work on the well-organized films will small productions. You will not find a rating at the Hidden Frontier webpages of any of their films at this time. However, it is my plan to review all non-parody and non-comedy films, including Hidden Frontier, before starting to review parodies and comedies. No rating is just that... no rating. There are some items that have been reviewed negitively... some very negitively. I refer you to 'really really bad stuff' and 'Star Trek: A New Beginning". I state clearly just under my Quick Pick listings that I haven't watched most of the films myself yet.

    I did watch some of Hidden Frontier when developing my rating system, so I do have some comments. I also think that my reviews have gotten more precise and useful as I work on them. Finally, I do expect to do Hidden Frontier before I do Star Trek: Beyond, if that is any confort to you. Hidden Frontier provides for downloads, and Star Trek: Beyond claims to offer a DVD but more than six months after I requested one, has not sent one to me.

    Please notice that I have still reviewed far less than half of the non-parody Fan Films, and I may not get to Hidden Frontier in 2010, or possibly even in 2011. But rest assured I will be reviewing it before I touch anything in the Parody listings.

    In a perfect world, all would be reviewed. But when I tried to find that website, which listed and reviewed all the Star Trek Fan Films, I was told it didn't exist. It still doesn't... but I'm working on it!

    Meanwhile, if you look at my Hidden Frontier listing, you will find links to some other people's reviews, and if you know of more, please add them... or place a comment under the appropriate film series and write a review yourself!

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  4. I wanted to make a follow-up comment in light of those above. I had to give up reviewing in light of the huge number of fan films I have found. I invite and encourage others to write reviews and let me know about them. I will be happy to link to your reviews on your own blogs or other websites. Although I am doing some look-overs to find films I rate as 5s, for the most part, I am not reviewing films. I can barely find the time to just keep current my links to the hundreds of Star Trek fan films.

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  5. This site is a real treat. Thanks for all your great work. Keep it up!

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  6. I just finished watching the Hidden Frontier series, and all I can say is Bravo. These people spent an entire decade making this great ongoing adventure. You can see the productions get better as the series progresses and the characters and actors developing as time goes on.
    I could tell these folks put forth a lot of heart into the series and the other spinoffs, including Odyssey and the Helena chronicles.
    If you are into the star trek fan film productions, you do not want to miss these.

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  7. I actually started with the two full length films including 'Of Gods and Men'. I then went through all of the Pase II/New Voyages. I am now working my way through all of the Odyssey series, and have just started season 2. I am really loving all of their 'New' Star Trek to feed my Trekkie appetite!

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