Star Trek Continues wrapped three years ago, and I missed it. If you're looking for the heart of Trek, here it is. It's pure woo, pure romance, and pure love.
For those reading this and interested in watching, some of the information below is also in Steve's article - this is a standard post I make when I find someone interested in STC:
I think Star Trek Continues is the best fan production and continuation of TOS ever made. It finishes the 5-year mission of TOS and ends just before Star Trek The Motion Picture.
The continuity is exceptional, not only with story lines and characters. The series completes the original five-year mission and ends just before Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It ties up loose ends and answers questions that had been left unanswered.
There are a few episodes of TOS you should rewatch before you watch STC to refresh your memory so you will enjoy it more and be able to catch all the references. The TOS tie-in episodes are:
Episode 02. Where No Man Has Gone Before
Episode 28. City on the Edge of Forever
Episode 33. Who Mourns for Adonais
Episode 39. Mirror, Mirror
Episode 47. Obsession
Episode 58. Paradise Syndrome
Episode 59. The Enterprise Incident
Episode 64. The Tholian Web
Episode 76. Requiem for Methuselah
The guest stars are impressive. Marina Sirtis does the voice of the computer and Michael Dorn does the voice for the Mirror Universe. Amy Rydell, the daughter of JoAnne Linville (who played the Romulan Commander in "The Enterprise Incident", reprises her mother's role. John de Lancie, Michael Forest, Lou Ferrigno, Gigi Egdley, Erin Gray, Colin Baker, Diana Hale, Anne Lockhart and more.
James Doohan's son, Chris, does his father proud playing Scotty in the series.
The sets are a perfect recreation of the sets from the original series. The fabrics of the costumes are either original material or they had it recreated. They used the original Gallileo in one episode.
Maybe I'll check it out. Spock was my first and longest-lasting crush. None of the reboots or successive series matched TOS, and fanfic is generally considered to be lower quality for a reason. That said, I have read some extraordinary fanfic that could easily fit into canon.
It was some of the best fan fic I have seen. But that's what it is. You can tell these guys care about the whole of Trek lore and their slow production rate does allow them to produce higher quality work. But you won't find them growing or anything. It's just a nice bit of member berries for fans of TOS. And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, its one of the things I love about the internet of today. Things like this can survive on streaming and patreon backed budgets.
There’s a lesson in there for the studios. I am not sure that real fan service is dead. Even disasters that serve it up by the scoop do well. I’d rather take mine sans disaster (I’m talking to you, Disney/Lucasfilm).
I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed "Discovery" a couple of years after it premiered. I caught the premiere when they dropped it on YouTube when it was first released, but it was "Picard" that earned my Paramount Plus / CBS All Access subscription (which I also enjoyed quite a bit, even if the finale was a letdown). The thing that turned me off of "Discovery" was the gratuitous Klingon redesign, but they actually managed to tell a good story on that front. And it was Jason Isaac's Captain Lorca, where I'd already been spoiled on his twist, who made watching those early episodes even more fun than they would have been going in fresh.
However, where I fell in love with "Discovery" was when Michelle Yeoh's Georgiou really started playing the role she was meant to play. I couldn't get enough of her and hope her spin-off comes through. And once "Discovery" freed itself of its narrative prequel shackles, it really found its voice and could start telling fresh stories without all the canon weighing it down.
Also, Tig Notaro's Jett Reno is second only Scotty when it comes to starship engineers.
If you liked TOS, you'll enjoy the second season with Anson Mount playing Capt. Pike (Kirk's predecessor). Keep an eye open for "Strange New Worlds" next year, which should capture a good deal of that early-Trek spirit:
For those reading this and interested in watching, some of the information below is also in Steve's article - this is a standard post I make when I find someone interested in STC:
I think Star Trek Continues is the best fan production and continuation of TOS ever made. It finishes the 5-year mission of TOS and ends just before Star Trek The Motion Picture.
Here is a link to the episodes.
https://www.startrekcontinues.com/episodes.html
The continuity is exceptional, not only with story lines and characters. The series completes the original five-year mission and ends just before Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It ties up loose ends and answers questions that had been left unanswered.
There are a few episodes of TOS you should rewatch before you watch STC to refresh your memory so you will enjoy it more and be able to catch all the references. The TOS tie-in episodes are:
Episode 02. Where No Man Has Gone Before
Episode 28. City on the Edge of Forever
Episode 33. Who Mourns for Adonais
Episode 39. Mirror, Mirror
Episode 47. Obsession
Episode 58. Paradise Syndrome
Episode 59. The Enterprise Incident
Episode 64. The Tholian Web
Episode 76. Requiem for Methuselah
The guest stars are impressive. Marina Sirtis does the voice of the computer and Michael Dorn does the voice for the Mirror Universe. Amy Rydell, the daughter of JoAnne Linville (who played the Romulan Commander in "The Enterprise Incident", reprises her mother's role. John de Lancie, Michael Forest, Lou Ferrigno, Gigi Egdley, Erin Gray, Colin Baker, Diana Hale, Anne Lockhart and more.
James Doohan's son, Chris, does his father proud playing Scotty in the series.
The sets are a perfect recreation of the sets from the original series. The fabrics of the costumes are either original material or they had it recreated. They used the original Gallileo in one episode.
Seriously, I cannot praise this series enough.
Thanks Mandy! Totally agree.
Maybe I'll check it out. Spock was my first and longest-lasting crush. None of the reboots or successive series matched TOS, and fanfic is generally considered to be lower quality for a reason. That said, I have read some extraordinary fanfic that could easily fit into canon.
It was some of the best fan fic I have seen. But that's what it is. You can tell these guys care about the whole of Trek lore and their slow production rate does allow them to produce higher quality work. But you won't find them growing or anything. It's just a nice bit of member berries for fans of TOS. And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, its one of the things I love about the internet of today. Things like this can survive on streaming and patreon backed budgets.
There’s a lesson in there for the studios. I am not sure that real fan service is dead. Even disasters that serve it up by the scoop do well. I’d rather take mine sans disaster (I’m talking to you, Disney/Lucasfilm).
I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed "Discovery" a couple of years after it premiered. I caught the premiere when they dropped it on YouTube when it was first released, but it was "Picard" that earned my Paramount Plus / CBS All Access subscription (which I also enjoyed quite a bit, even if the finale was a letdown). The thing that turned me off of "Discovery" was the gratuitous Klingon redesign, but they actually managed to tell a good story on that front. And it was Jason Isaac's Captain Lorca, where I'd already been spoiled on his twist, who made watching those early episodes even more fun than they would have been going in fresh.
However, where I fell in love with "Discovery" was when Michelle Yeoh's Georgiou really started playing the role she was meant to play. I couldn't get enough of her and hope her spin-off comes through. And once "Discovery" freed itself of its narrative prequel shackles, it really found its voice and could start telling fresh stories without all the canon weighing it down.
Also, Tig Notaro's Jett Reno is second only Scotty when it comes to starship engineers.
Discovery is a good solid addition. I never got into it but believe it to be worthy.
If you liked TOS, you'll enjoy the second season with Anson Mount playing Capt. Pike (Kirk's predecessor). Keep an eye open for "Strange New Worlds" next year, which should capture a good deal of that early-Trek spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc7ZWdJY6ZY
i actually enjoy lower decks as well. It's actually a pretty good time to be a trekky.