| Star Trek: Of Gods and Men | |
|---|---|
 A promotional poster forOf Gods and Men | |
| Directed by | Tim Russ |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by | Sky Conway |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Douglas Knapp |
| Music by | Justin R. Durban |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Language | English |
Star Trek: Of Gods and Men is anoncanonical and unofficialStar Trek fan film, which contains many cast members from theStar Trek TV series and movies.[1] Its backstory is "Charlie X", the second episode ofStar Trek: The Original Series. Described by the producers as a "40th-anniversary gift" fromStar Trek actors to their fans, it was filmed in 2006, but its release was delayed until 2007–08. It was not endorsed by the rights-holders ofStar Trek, but has been covered on the officialStar Trek website.
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Receiving a distress call CaptainNyota Uhura, Captain Kirk's nephew, Peter, CaptainPavel Chekov and USS Enterprise-B captain John Harriman land on theGuardian of Forever's planet, whereCharlie Evans uses the Guardian to erase Kirk from history, changing the timeline drastically. The galaxy becomes a militaristic state named the Galactic Order, headed by "Curate Prime". Harriman is a mass murderer commanding the G.S.S.Conqueror. He captures Chekov (under thenom de guerre "Kittrick") and his companion, the shape-shifter resistance leader, Ragnar.
On Vulcan, Uhura is married toStonn and has several children. Upon learning of theConqueror's arrival, the Vulcans begin to evacuate. Harriman destroys the planet.
Uhura and her friendTuvok are captured by theConqueror and put in the brig with Kittrick and Ragnar. With Tuvok's help, Uhura recovers memories of the old timeline, and convinces Kittrick and Ragnar to help them take the ship back to the Guardian to restore the timeline. Harriman is taken prisoner and transported to the surface with Kittrick and Uhura, where they encounter Charlie Evans who realized it was a mistake to remove Kirk from the timeline. He restores the three's memories while keeping the memories of the altered timeline as well.
Back on the ship Koval, theConqueror's Klingon first officer, orders their executions, believing Harriman to have turned traitor. As Commander Garan and his security officers take them to Curate Prime one of them shoots his comrade, revealing himself to be Ragnar.
Uhura recognizes Curate Prime asGary Mitchell who believes himself to be a living god. With Kirk not there to stop him in this timeline, Mitchell was able to kill the captain of theEnterprise – in this case,Christopher Pike – and take control of theUnited Federation of Planets, refounding it as the Galactic Order.
As they escape into the ship, a fleet of Kittrick's allies, led by Captain Galt of the free shipLiberty, engages theConqueror, with Curate Prime leading a fleet of his own to destroy Kittrick and his rebellion. While Chekov and Harriman take control of theConqueror, Uhura transports to the surface. Mitchell follows her, believing her to be Chekov/Kittrick, and tortures her, demanding his location. Charlie Evans steps in to protect her, using his Thasian-granted powers to battle the god-like Mitchell. Beaten, Mitchell transportsJanice Rand – the first woman Evans had ever met, when he was taken aboard theEnterprise – to distract him, letting off one last burst of energy before escaping to his flagship. Angered and weakened, Mitchell orders the firing of his ship's Omega device, which will destroy both the capturedConqueror and the planet.
On the surface, Uhura convinces Evans to set things right, while in orbit, theConqueror is severely damaged and about to be destroyed by a warp-core breach. Harriman sets the ship on a collision course, but helm control fails, and theConqueror begins to drift off course; Chekov separates the saucer, which would allow the warp-core explosion, to ram it into Mitchell's flagship. Reaching out to try to divert it, Mitchell finds his powers have disappeared, and as theConqueror's engineering section explodes, the shockwave sends the saucer right into the flagship; Mitchell screams Kittrick's name as his ship is destroyed. At the same moment, Evans goes through the Guardian and returns to the point where he visited the outpost and demanded to know where Kirk was. Waiting for Evans this time, instead of the data clerk, was his future self, who shoots him with a phaser. The timeline reverts to normal, and the landing party returns to the museum ship.
One year later, Uhura – motivated by her memories of the alternate timeline – marries Stonn on Vulcan. Chekov is at last promoted to admiral, while Harriman announces his intention to run for the Federation Council. Among the guests at the wedding is Janice Rand, who presents Chekov with a gift for his promotion – atribble, which Rand assures him has been neutered. Uhura toasts the last 40 years of adventure, while Chekov toasts to the next 40, remarking thatSpock always said there were possibilities.
The series was directed by Tim Russ and conceived and produced by Sky Conway. Best known for playing Tuvok onStar Trek: Voyager, Russ had directed one episode of that series. The series was shot on theStar Trek: New Voyages sets inPort Henry, New York.[4] Scenes were also shot around the Los Angeles area, including atVasquez Rocks, a popular site forStar Trek location footage.[5] Scenes set at the Vulcan Science Academy were filmed in theSan Fernando Valley.[6] Principal photography began July 12, 2006,[7] and finished in October 2006.[5][8]
The series was produced with a budget of $150,000. Actors were paid according toSAG guidelines, but others involved in the making of the miniseries helped to produce it with little or no pay as "a labor of love".[9]
The miniseries starred Nichelle Nichols as NyotaUhura, Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand, and Celeste Yarnall as Yeoman Martha Landon (here, as special wedding guest) from theoriginal series.[8] Alan Ruck also reprised his role as Captain Harriman fromStar Trek Generations, and Tim Russ appeared as Tuvok. Other regularStar Trek actors appeared in new roles, including Garrett Wang and Ethan Phillips (who respectively playedHarry Kim andNeelix fromVoyager),J. G. Hertzler,Cirroc Lofton, andChase Masterson (Martok,Jake Sisko, andLeeta fromStar Trek: Deep Space Nine), andGary Graham (AmbassadorSoval fromEnterprise). The series was written byDS9 writers Jack Treviño and Ethan H. Calk.Douglas Knapp, the director of photography, had worked onVoyager.[8]
Co-writer Jack Treviño explained how so many actors from the series had been willing to participate:
Trek actors have a special relationship with their fans ... they regarded the project, not only as the ultimate thank you toGene Roddenberry and the original stars of Trek, but [also] as a thank-you to [the fans] who supported the series over the last 40 years.
Executive producer Douglas Conway had tried to assemble more of the original series cast, but when George Takei (Hikaru Sulu) was not available, this led to the idea of including Ruck's character as captain.[10]
Three actors fromStar Trek: New Voyages,James Cawley, Jeff Quinn, and Bobby Quinn Rice (Kirk, Spock, and Peter Kirk), also featured.
The press releases in July and October 2006 anticipated a Christmas 2006 release.[8] On January 6, 2007, the first part of the series was announced as delayed until April. This was to allow the three parts of the miniseries to be released closer together, with the second part following in May, and the third in June.[11]
On April 15, 2007, the planned release date of part one, the official website announced that the release of the films had been delayed yet again. On October 31, 2007, the official website announced that part one would be released on December 22, 2007.[12] On February 20, 2008, part two was announced to be released on March 15, 2008.[13] On May 22, 2008, part three was announced to be released on June 15, 2008.[14]
In a May 2007 interview withHouston Chronicle blogger J. Kevin Tumlinson, director Tim Russ said the producers were attempting to distribute the project through currentStar Trek franchise ownerCBS, and if successful, they would sell the production as either a download or a DVD. The producers then clarified on the official forum that while "plans to release the series as a free download remain in place", licensing by CBS would be required for any versions for sale, e.g. DVDs.[15]
In November 2008, Renegade Studios began giving free DVDs of the film as thank-you gifts to their online customers. As of December 2009, a new edition of the DVD with pop-up commentary trivia was being offered.[citation needed]
The film won the 2008SyFy Portal Genre Award for Best Web Production.[16]
Star Trek: Renegades, a series directed by Russ and with many others of the series team, was released on a nonprofit basis in 2015.
