Quick Picks
Don’t want to waste time reading reviews? Just want to know which fan films to watch first? I’ve already found these Quick Pick Treasures:
The most viewed Star Trek Fan Film is set at the time of Enterprise. Try Star Trek Horizon, http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/15.html. The film has been viewed over 13.5 million times as of December 2020!
For Golden Age Fan Film Star Trek,
The two most praised groups of all the Star Trek Fan Film producers, are Star Trek New Voyages aka Star Trek: Phase II and Star Trek Continues.
Star Trek New Voyages aka Star Trek: Phase II Although each of their episodes has much to recommend it, you might start with “World Enough and Time” which is their third episode. Go to (Blog 20) Star Trek Phase II or Star Trek New Voyages for discussions and reviews, or directly to these websites, and download and watch their films: http://www.startrekphase2.de/en/4x03_world_enough_and_time.php http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/?page_id=378 Rating: 5. Also, the best fan film I have seen. In one additional note, this Fan Film Group has such enthusiastic followers that it has a Fan Film about New Voyages/Phase II’s Fan Films!
If you are very shy about taking on a full-length film, you could also start with their excellent short vignette, “Center Seat.” It’s here: http://stnv.de/en/401v_center_seat.php. Or, watch them both!
Also recreating TOS, Star Trek Continues, the second episode entitled, “Lolani”. It was filmed in late 2013 was released February 8, 2014. View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mOpmIFTxkE (50:46) or here: https://vimeo.com/86215323 (50:47). With Portuguese subtitles, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKE-x5i8leo (50:46). For their other offerings see http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/27.html
From The Federation Files, the second of their live-action films has won two awards at a film festival, Walking Bear Running Wolf, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqo9sMG0nqY (28:20).
The Federation Files’ fifth film, The Equinox Effect, won first prize in the IndeBOOM! contest on January 8, 2020. You can find various releases of it on it’s Star Trek Reviewed page or go directly to the form entered, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KTOIQ__kWE&t=3s (25:22)
For more Live-Action films from the Federation Files, see https://startrekreviewed.com/series.php?id=28.
For an entire set of series of shorter films, check out the many productions from Potemkin Pictures. Start with a film set aboard the Starship Tristen, “Sepulchre,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s06KKk9Y6ek(10:30). For another good film involving the crew of the Starship Tristan, try “Deception,”
T’Noshi infiltrates a renegade Vulcan cell, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jI7851yGQ0 (5:12).
For all of Potemkin Pictures prior releases, including all those set aboard the Starship Tristen, see http://startrekreviewed.com/studio.php?id=5
Starship Exeter (Two Episodes,) See Blog 21 Starship Exeter, or click on http://www.starshipexeter.com// and watch, “The Savage Empire.” Rating: 5. Then watch one of the greatest Star Trek Fan Films of all time, “The Tressaurian Intersection.”
Also try: “Of Gods and Men“ See Blog 24 Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, or click on
Star Trek: Of Gods and Men Rating: 5
The first episode of Starship Farragut, Blog 22 Starship Farragut, “The Captaincy” Rating: 5
http://www.starshipfarragut.com// Many more episodes follow.
For a very original but well-done take on Trek, follow the Merchant Ship, Aurora, and her two-woman crew as they make cargo runs and face the challenges of space without the help of a massive ship, weapons, or Starfleet. Star Trek: Aurora, Blog 25 Star Trek: Aurora. Two episodes, beautiful 3D animation, well written, well-edited, good voice acting, Rating: 5
Ever wonder what Star Trek would look like if the guys who produced the Yogi Bear cartoon made a Star Trek movie? Wonder no more: Check out the 2-hour animated film, “The Paradise Makers,”
http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/70.html. Yep, they retired together and got bored, and this is what they did.
For an excellent series, with only very minor technical issues, The Multiverse Crisis, http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/34.html. The second film as of 2/25/2018, Completely remasted from the original film, Incident at Beta 9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG6OtuFIXEw(54:08). Much technically improved!
Also excellent: Audio Drama “Outpost” (formerly Star Trek: Outpost.) You’ll find links to that and dozens of other audio dramas here: http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/247.html
Set after Enterprise but before TNG, Prelude to Axanar was created as a fake documentary about the subject of what was to be a full-length film. Due to a CBS lawsuit, it now seems highly unlikely the full-length film will ever be made, but Prelude to Axanar is still worth viewing. Find it at http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/14.html.
Like Comedies? I recommend “Stalled Trek: Amutt Time“. A friend of mine who is a comedy lover says this is the best of all Trek comedies/parodies. For more information on this original series parody, see http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/50.html.
[proposed section]Other Quick Picks: The following films are all very good, rated 4 or 4.5, but lack a single element that would move them up to a 5. That element might be poor quality sound or picture at places that doesn’t interfere with viewing enjoyment, or a great, well-told story with no ‘message’.
For example,
Star Trek Deception. (Adult fans, live action, sets, costumes, green screens, CGI, Silver Age, Cheshire, Northwich, UK) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALGLRd5RyA4 (8:30) Exceptional short film. For more Star Trek Fan Films from this team see http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/157.html
Eleven choice recent Fan Films by Syfy (All fit the Guidelines released by CBS): http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/11-star-trek-fan-films-ranked
[This section is proposed, not yet developed!]
I have only begun going through the comedies and parodies, and do not expect to develop a system to rate them. However, I can strongly recommend the animated film, Stone Trek. Episode One, The Deadly Ears.
For a time there was an animated suite at Go!Animate which made it easy to create Star Trek Fan Films. Most were not made with great finesse, but three of the best filmmakers called themselves RoTV, http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2011/10/rotv.html, Solarbaby, http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2011/10/solarbaby.html, and the still ongoing production which includes a recent live action film, The Federation Files by Glen Wolfe, http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2015/07/glen-wolfe.html. Here is a Table of Contents for Go!Animate Star Trek Fan Films: http://startrekreviewed-goanimate.blogspot.com/2011/10/table-of-contents-for-goanimate.html
But, be Warned: I haven’t watched most of the Star Trek fan films listed on this website.
I’ve sorted out websites that have films from ones that don’t, and found films on You-Tube, Vimeo, and other video-hosting websites that have no websites of their own. I’m optimistic that much of what I’ve found but haven’t watched yet is very good! However, know that I have removed a few films I have glanced at for sexual content. I have created a separate “Adults Only” website for Fan Films with explicit sex and violence. Links to that website, rather than links to those fan films, are in the appropriate places in this website. I’m trying to put links to every fan film which does not have that kind of problem which I can find below, organized in a useful way… I have put aside plans to review most films until a later time. If I do more reviews, I want to inform you about what’s good to watch… what’s good to skip…. and enough about why I think so so that if your taste differs from mine, you can watch what will make you happy. Where I’ve found easy to access reviews or review threads on the fan films, I’ve included them. Randy Hall of SciFiPulse did many reviews of Star Trek Fan Films, but sadly they have been taken down.
