Pug’s Place

I just watched the first episode of Star Trek: New Voyages titled “Come What May.” If you’ve not heard of New Voyages, it’s a fan-produced continuation of The Original Series, taking place between the end of TOS and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. They’re releasing episodes at a rate of around 1 per year at present, which is rather fast considering the amount of work which must have gone into producing these. Now, about “Come What May”:

The plot was very acceptable, very reminiscent of several TOS episodes. The special effects were, as one would expect, much better than those of The Original Series… the sets were about what I expected, most of them looking like the same room in someone’s house with different spray-painted plastic water containers taped to the walls. That’s not to say they failed to suspend disbelief! No, they worked despite being rather simple. The bridge set, though, looks rather good. Not quite Paramount’s standards, but the important blinky-lights are blinking, the captain’s chair looks uncomfortable and the view-screen has blue matting showing around its edges. Everything working as Trek should.
The acting… well, I’m not so sure on the acting. Some of the characters seemed more occupied with copying their predecessors’ mannerisms than delivering a believable performance. Kirk and Uhura were fairly believable, but I’m less impressed with Spock, Bones and Scotty. Interestingly, the only people I thought were poor were the support folks: the colony leader, the Admiral…

It’s worth watching, if only for the same reason that Pizza Delivery Jedi is worth watching: morbid curiosity. I’ll see if the second episode, “In Harm’s Way,” improves upon the ‘pilot’ and let you know once I get a chance. Considering my present state of health, I will likely have more than sufficient time to vegetate and watch shows. Mmm, Babylon 5….