For Trekies Of All Ages

 

 

You may be wondering how a relatively new movie (2007-2008) ends up on this blog.    

 

While Star Trek: Of Gods and Men isn’t public domain, it is freely available for you to watch (or download) from the Internet.  

And it is surprisingly well done.

 

 

Why should it be surprising that it is well made, well written, and fun to watch?

Because this is essentially a `fan movie’, one made on a miniscule budget, and made possible by the contributions of cast members and myriad behind-the-scenes personnel.   Principal filming was done in just over 2 weeks, although post production took considerably longer.

 

It is . . . as they describe it . . . a 40th anniversary gift to their fans.

 

And half the fun is spotting the Trek Cast Alumni who volunteered their time to either reprise their old roles, or create new ones, for this movie.  

The stars are Walter `Chekov’ Koenig and Nichelle `Uhura’ Nichols of the original series, but they are joined by a stellar assemblage of Star Trek actors from the other Star Trek incarnations, including:

 

Alan Ruck as Captain John Harriman

Garrett Wang as Commander Garan

William Wellman as Charlie Evans

Tim Russ (Who also directs the movie) as Tuvok

Gary Graham as Ragnar

Chase Masterson as Xela

Daamen Krall as Gary Mitchell

Ethan Phillips as Data Clerk

Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand

 

The plot?

 

Years after the death of James T. Kirk, Uhura attends the dedication of the new  USS Enterprise  (NCC-1701-M), when a distress call is received from the planet where the Guardian of Forever (a time portal from the original series) is located.

 

There they find Charlies Evans  (Charlie X), grown up and bitter after having been turned over to the Thasians by Kirk 40 years earlier, who goes back in time and kills Kirk’s mother before he can be born.

This sets into motion a alternate timeline, where the Federation no longer exists, and Chekov is viewed as a renegade and a terrorist.

 

I won’t spoil it by saying any more. . . .

 

Throughout the movie (3 30-minute episodes), you’ll find a constant array of tributes to the cannon of Star Trek . . . up to, and including tribbles.

 

The special effects are better (by several orders of magnitude) than the original series, and rival a lot of what you see today on TV.  

 

This isn’t the only Internet revival of Star Trek, as James Cawley (who appears as Kirk’s nephew in this movie) and company have put together a remarkable project called Star Trek Phase II, which we will visit at a future date.

Of Gods And Men is a terrific example of what can be done by a group of dedicated fans.    

 

If you have a trekie bone in your body, you should enjoy it.