Now I know that most of you are expecting me to start my new series, but I couldn't help but geek out a bit and review the latest New Voyages episode: World Enough And Time. For those of you not familiar with the New Voyages it's a fan made continuation of the original series of Star Trek of the highest possible caliber (these people get the original cast to do guest roles!). The CG is outstanding in all of their episodes, the acting is steadily improving, the story-lines are phenomenal and, most impressively, they use an exact museum quality replica of the entire bridge used in the original series. These people mean business, and it comes through in the quality of their work.
Now for my review of the latest episode. I'll try to keep this relatively spoiler free, but I will give a brief introduction to the basic storyline. In this episode the Enterprise is responding to the distress call of a freighter ship near the border of the Romulan Neutral Zone. To put things briefly, things go badly and the Enterprise ends up getting stuck in a dimensional rift of some sort. In the process of exploring the rift Sulu and another crew member need to be beamed back to the ship, but when he gets there he is 30 years older (as the honest to goodness Geroge Takei)... and has a daughter (played by an excelent young actress named Christina Moses). All of that happens in the first fifteen minutes of an episode that lasts just over an hour (and remember that because this is fan made there are no commercial breaks; that's a solid hour non-stop).
The story line and writing this time around continues NV's pattern of one-uping themselves. The story was emotionally deep and very compelling. If you have a pension for getting a lump in your throat when watching movies then this episode will likely leave you wanting to cry by the end, even if you've never watched an episode of Star Trek in your life (though you will get more out of it if you have some foreknowledge). I have to admit that I was left feeling a bit choked up, and I tend to be rather stoic when I see anything too emotional. Most of the characters had clear roles and help to add to the story in believable ways that fit them. We even get to see a few of the main characters explain and wrestle with issues appropriate to them that were rarely dealt with in the series. Yes, there was a bit of magic tech used to explain the storie's basic premise, but this is quickly glossed over (I presume because the writer knew that this storie's strength was in its use of the characters and not in its use Trek Tech). I'd have to say that all in all this was a story worthy of Trek Cannon (now I've really gone overboard on the Geekdom).
The acting this time around was quite solid with only a few exceptions. George Takei is simply astounding in his reprisal of Sulu. He's given quite a bit to work with in this episode and he runs with all of it without coming across as self indulgent or over acting. Christina Moses holds her own very well, especially considering that several of the most emotional scenes hinge on her acting. It's only too bad that she was a guest actress rather than a new permanent cast member. Cawley has abandoned the silly Elvis Curl in his hair and really sells himself as Kirk more than ever before. He seems to do a good job of balancing the serious down-to-business leadership side of Kirk with the less formal woman's-man. Quinn's Spock was especially good in my opinion (though sadly this will be his last appearance). Also leaving the show after doing an excellent job is Julienne Irons as Uhura. The two main weak points I'd have to say are with John Kelly as Bones and Charles Root as Scotty. Kelly lacks the Southern charm and slight accent of his predecessor and I never felt the chemistry between him, Kirk and Spock that helped sell their friendship in the series. As for Root, frankly a had such a hard time getting past his horrible accent that I can't give a fair assessment of his acting. His accent had a habit of bringing any scene he was in to a painful halt.
If their is one initial selling point to this episode that everyone will notice it's the CG. The New Voyages team wisely entrusted this episode to the Dave School, and it shows. After the impressive work in the previous episode I know that many people were unsure if the team could continue to step their effects up a notch. Well, you can add me to the list of people who're wondering how they're going to top themselves again after this! I read somewhere that this episode alone had over 700 effects shots crammed into its one hour. If for the eye candy alone I'd say this is well worth watching.
The New Voyages continues to show the world what is possible with a dedicated enough group of people and limited resources. I was one of the people that constantly laughed at other attempts at fan fiction (of all forms and for all IPs) but NVs has forced me to reevaluate all of that. World Enough And Time continues NV's proud climb upward and, as such, is well worth even the most casual of Trek fans' time (and even money if it wasn't FREE). If you're already a NV fan I probably had you convinced at "latest New Voyages episode," but if you're not this is the episode to see.
What are you waiting for? Go watch it! NOW! Oh, and thanks for reading!
-Fade2Gray