HOLY MUGATO!!!
Somehow I'm late to the party, as an acquaintance of mine turned me onto
Star Trek Continues just last week. I finished the 5th episode yesterday, and am literally in awe of what Vic et al have not only re-created, but also created!!
I knew nothing going in, save it was a fan-production of TOS, and when I saw the sets, props, lighting, camera-work, color-grading, et cetera...and the acting, I was kinda stunned for the first couple minutes of the first episode, to be honest. I had no idea something so true to TOS existed. But, I kept my excitement in check, thinking,
"Well, it looks amazing, and some of the actors have nailed the mannerisms and speech of the original actors they're paying homage to. But we'll see if the writing's any good. There's no way it'll come close to TOS in its writing.". So I continued watching "Pilgrim of Eternity", and realized I was wrong. The writing does stand up to TOS.
Over the next week, I watched the other 4 episodes, loving all of them. I daresay, I would rank each one better than the handful of my least favorite TOS episodes. I would much rather sit down and watch "Pilgrim of Eternity", "Lolani", or any of them, over "The Squire of Gothos", or "Miri", or "Wolf in the Fold", to name a few of the weakest TOS episodes. (IIRC, @
redshirt also said he'd rank the STC eps over his least favorite TOS eps.)
STC is not perfect. I agree with @
Michael Bergeron that the actor playing Spock would benefit from more gravitas. Nimoy's Spock always looked pensive, but there was a stern-ness to his pensiveness. He possessed an internalized intensity, that I'm not quite getting from the STC Spock. The new Bones is better than the first one, but he still could do more, IMO, to imbue his performance with some subtle but noticeable DeForrest Kelley mannerisms and expressions. I imagine both of these actors will improve over time. And even if they don't, they're both good enough, that they don't harm the show.
But now to STC's piece de resistance: Vic Mignogna's Kirk. The build, the posture, the gait, the hair, the mannerisms, the vocal inflections, delivery and pacing of his lines. He's darn near perfect. To be totally nitpicky, he could be a couple inches taller, less bowlegged, and have a deeper voice. But God, who the hell cares?! There are several moments in each episode in which I forget I'm not watching or listening to the real Shatner circa 1967. (@Bryancd, how you can say Vic is "terrible as Kirk" and "a horrible actor" is mind-boggling to me. Have you been beaten over the head by a Mugato?!)
After I finished the last episode, I searched on here for anything about STC and found this thread. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your comments and insights. I understand there is a new, 6th, episode in the works, so I'm stoked for that! I'd like to donate to it's production.
In the meantime, I'm going to re-watch the 5 episodes we're so fortunate to already have, beginning with "Pilgrim of Eternity" tonight! I absolutely love the creative follow-up to "Who Mourns for Adonis?", and having the original actor reprising his role as Apollo was fan-freaking-tastic!
The Wook