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[REVIEW] STAR TREK: RENEGADES: Hits and Misses

Star Trek Renegades: Hits and Misses (REVIEW)
Star Trek Renegades: Hits and Misses (REVIEW)

“Star Trek: Renegades” Review

The fan-produced film “Star Trek: Renegades” makes a valiant effort to be a good movie. In some aspects it works, and in others it really doesn’t. Full disclosure: I went into the movie almost blind, having only watched the trailer and done minimal research, so my views are partially colored by that. I do not recommend this. Look up plot and character summaries before watching, or you’ll get lost.

Directed by Tim Russ, Voyager’s Tuvok, Renegades stars familiar faces like Walter Koenig as Admiral Chekov, Manu Intiraymi as Icheb, and Robert Picardo as Dr. Lewis Zimmerman. For a summary of the plot and to view the trailer, see our earlier article here.

Let’s break it down a bit by category. Some of the effects, particularly space shots and views of the ships, look amazing. The ship designs of the Icarus and the Archer are beautiful. The space battles in general look good, too. It does gradually become obvious that this is a fan film with a limited budget, which is important to keep in mind when judging this. A lot can be forgiven for that reason. Between the good effects with the ships, and some of the cringe-inducing smaller effects, it about evens out. It’s not a homerun, but not a disappointment.

"Star Trek: Renegades" Review

Set and character design, including wardrobe and make-up are pretty hit and miss as well. The interiors of the ships are mostly believable and consistent with the style of other Trek series. Some of the sets, like Chekov’s office, could use a bit more work. The villains’ design and make-up is well done and creative. With some characters, like the Romulan assassin T’Leah, they may have run out of time or money to do much other than slap on some pointy ears and eyebrows.

"Star Trek: Renegades" Review

The characters and execution of the plot are where this movie falters. This is where they had a chance to truly shine and say something meaningful. Good characters and a compelling story can overcome even the smallest of budgets. Much of the dialogue consists of the characters speaking almost entirely in exposition. While we do have a limited time to get everything we need from them, there are still better ways. The axiom “show, don’t tell” wasn’t foremost in the writers’ minds. Overall the ensemble cast is relatively diverse in age and is even by gender, which is a good move. Some of the dialogue is genuinely well written, but this is another instance when it vacillates back and forth between quality and amateurism.

"Star Trek: Renegades" Review

We don’t get a chance to learn much about even the main characters, like Captain Lexxa Singh. Lexxa is apparently a descendent or the daughter of Khan Noonien Singh, which… how? Presumably she must have been conceived at some time between “Space Seed” and “The Wrath of Khan,” but that’s still a fair number of years ago.

Some of the alien characters come across as caricatures of their race. The Bajoran, Jaro Ruk, is defined almost entirely by his hatred of Cardassians. He even offers to sell out the others if he can kill Garis, their Cardassian crewmember, himself.

"Star Trek: Renegades" Review

Walter Koenig’s acting skills make up partially for the absurdity of some of his lines. In the beginning of the movie he is literally just speaking the main premise out loud to Tuvok and outlining what their mission must be. The Federation must be saved from Borrada, who is destroying planets… somehow. How the portals work isn’t entirely clear, and Borrada’s sole motivation and characteristic is the desire for revenge on the Federation for destroying his people. It is never explained how or why the Federation sent them a portal. At one point a character mentions that the Federation didn’t exist when it supposedly happened, but that never really comes up again. The final half of the movie is a bit of a mess. I had to stop, look up plot points online, and even after that I don’t entirely understand how everything wrapped up. The basics are there, but maybe not in the right order. At its heart the plot is solid and makes sense, but it could have been executed more carefully.

There are some other issues, which may have resulted from carelessness rather than bad intentions. When Tuvok is recruiting Lexxa, she spits out a mention of the rape gangs she dealt with when Section 31 abandoned her. This is problematic because a traumatic experience like rape is used as shorthand to imply that she’s tough. We never see her mention it again or deal with it in a meaningful way. This minimizes the seriousness of the crime, and in a way dismisses it. It’s a plot device and nothing more.

"Star Trek: Renegades" Review

There are some racial issues with this movie, too. Roles that could have gone to actors of color, like captains Alvarez and Singh, are whitewashed. Think Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan in STID. Other than Tuvok, the only black actors are the villains, which has some troubling connotations. We do see significant alien diversity, true, which is good. The crew of the Icarus isn’t inexplicably mostly human.

Renegades had an excellent opportunity to push the envelope and step out in true Star Trek fashion. They could have been bolder with casting choices and with the plot. There isn’t really a central message to it. No themes of exploration or boldly going where no one has gone before. They had the chance to say something meaningful, which Star Trek excels at, but they didn’t. This plot could easily find a home in any sci-fi franchise. But, on the other hand, they are keeping the franchise in the forefront. Their efforts show the studios that we want a new series and are willing to put our time and money into it. So, in the end, Renegades is a positive thing. It reminds us of the world and characters we love, and will inspire others to keep going with their own projects.

Written By

Michelle lives in northern Minnesota, where she does normal things by day and nerdy things by weekend and night. Her interests range from Star Trek, to history, archaeology, languages, fantasy and sci-fi, politics, and cats.

63 Comments

63 Comments

  1. Aldo Rodriguez

    August 30, 2015 at 4:34 pm

    Alvarez “whitewashed”?!! Singh?
    For example, are you assuming that one with an Hispanic last name cannot be “white”, Ms. Toven? Not many Hispanics up where you live in Minnesota?
    Well, then I guess by your definition, I’m not Hispanic because I look “white”.
    And we’re in the 21st century where Hispanics cover ALL the “colors” and “races”
    And by the 24th century with more and more interracial marriages due to be abound with ease of going to country to country and more immigration, one cannot “judge a book by its cover”.
    Very poor assumption on your part and you lost me once you made it a “racial issue” where there was NONE to begin with.

    • Christopher Dalton

      November 22, 2015 at 10:48 pm

      Stormin 1775 makes a valid point and reflects my own on your post.

      Crude and borish is what I would describe your ‘colorful’ PC laced commentary.

      • Aldo Rodriguez

        January 20, 2016 at 11:43 pm

        Dalton (or Brent, or whatever name you are hiding behind this time, COWARD) STFU, you TROLL. I already called you out on Facebook, especially on your lame Star Trek Fan Art or whatever you called since you kept changing THAT too after you got CAUGHT AGAIN for your BUTTHURT against Farragut Films. You are SORE LOSER and you can’t get over the fact that you LOST AGAIN. NO ONE CARE ABOUT YOU.
        You will leave this Earth a LONELY and BITTER LOSER! @disqus_RSzGvuY1wN:disqus

        • Christopher Dalton

          March 19, 2016 at 12:29 am

          LOL! Lame Star Trek fan art? Jealous much? ISon, if it were lame, how do you explain the membership being WAY over the 1,000 mark?

          I’m beginning to see why your first name is Aldo. You rant and rave like that tragic character in Battle For The Planet Of The Apes. SMH.

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 12:33 am

            Keep trolling, LOSER, Star Trek fandom productions know all about you and your petty Butthurt

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 12:48 am

            To be honest, I could care less what you and other people think. If anybody is really TROLLING, it is you with your comments. You’re just proving your immaturity by constantly smarting off and making a fool out of yourself. Not me.

    • tandy299

      June 27, 2017 at 11:33 am

      Aldo, I have a multi-cultural background (Native American, Oriental and Irish) and look white, so I understand your comment. However, what she meant by whitewashed, is that Khan is supposed to be an exotic darker skinned person from the Middle East or similar, and even though I LOVE Benedict Cumberbach as an actor, he did not ‘look’ the part, because his heritage is not Middle Eastern, whereas Ricardo Montalban appeared to be a slightly darker skinned exotic heritage. However, I agree with you and
      let’s also keep in mind that it’s the HUMAN race.

  2. Stormin1775

    August 30, 2015 at 4:49 pm

    Making a racial issue out of casting is the same PC bull that is currently making our society going further and further from the Final Frontier. Stop injecting your own paranoid politics and social engineering into a freakin’ science fiction film. You demonstrate that you are just another idiot with an agenda when you make stupid comments. How do you know what the racial diversity is going to be in the 24th century? Wake the hell up and try and be more aware. You make yourself look like a moron with your stupid PC commentary.

    • TrekNews.net

      August 30, 2015 at 6:18 pm

      While I appreciate your opinion and contribution to the discussion. Personal attacks and name-calling will not be tolerated.

      • R. Turner

        August 30, 2015 at 8:49 pm

        But your “authors” personal interjections of racism are ok? Maybe she should create her own show and select the actors that meet her idea of acceptable diversity.

      • Stormin1775

        March 14, 2016 at 11:53 am

        I guess the truth hurts. Stop being so PC and paranoid. If you are going to call people racists then prepare to be countered.

  3. James

    August 30, 2015 at 7:17 pm

    Sadly, I agree with the reviewer. I think Renegades was weak and failed to offer anything new. I would recommend Star Trek Continues as the bwst example of fan films…

    • richelieu jr

      September 3, 2015 at 7:55 am

      I have not seen Renegades, but I must second the ‘ST Continues’ is very, very well-done.

      The stories are well-thought-through, and the look, not only of costumes, lighting and sets, but also of the direction, editing and camera-placement echoes TOS to a ‘T’.

      As a professional film-maker, I am quite impressed.

      • Caroline Mcclain

        October 30, 2015 at 6:17 pm

        Then I hope you have seen this episode 1 of Renegades, It does show promise and a great story line. TTim Russ was very good as actor and and director.

    • Christopher Dalton

      December 8, 2015 at 11:45 pm

      Star Trek Continues is nothing more than a petty, vindictive, and spiteful rip-off of Star trek-New Voyages/Phase II.

      • James

        December 9, 2015 at 4:23 am

        I enjoy New Voyages as well, just think Continues is better. Why would you say it’s petty, vindictive and spiteful? What is the story here?

        • Christopher Dalton

          December 16, 2015 at 10:53 pm

          It’s a long story.

          Some years past, Vic Mignogna tried, along with Alec Peters and John Kelly, to take over the New Voyages/Phase II production. An attempt that failed and got those three banned from the NV/P2 set. Mignogna’s antics had also set back P2 on a couple of episodes. One written by David ‘One Hit Wonder’ Gerrold that had to be scrapped.

          Because of this, Mignogna created STC just to be spiteful and compete with James Cawley in the worst way imagined. STC is pretty much Mignogna’s way of getting even with Cawley and the P2 production.

          He even illegally released the P2 episode ‘Kitumba’ in violation of a C and D order issued against him.

          SMH. Mignogna has a very controversial reputation, and he has done Star Trek film fandom more harm than anything else. His actions also harmed the Starship Farragut production and set back the Starship Ajax production severely. Mignogna was also responsible for the theft of some newly built setsthat he built for Ajax and later hijacked to Farragut Films then studio facilities in St. Mary’s, Georgia.

          If anything, STC is nothing more than wholesale vengeance and competition turned bad.

        • Aldo Rodriguez

          January 21, 2016 at 12:08 am

          Dalton is a TROLL and has known to be one to Farragut Films AND New Voyages. He has ingratiated himself so much against them that every time he lodged his winded and ignorant comments that he ends up being blocked and discarded. Over the past TEN YEARS, he had made it his personal mission or more likely his unyielding obsession to harass and annoy so much so, that he had to use different identities. However, being the ignorant butthurt that he is he couldn’t bring himself to change his first name (ALWAYS Christopher) and using the same stupid avatar (after figuring out years that using C, Thomas Howell’s Ponyboy likeness to easy to pick him off time and time again)!
          His story is NEVER to be taken seriously because BITTER TROLLS take themselves too seriously: @Christopher Dalton

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 12:44 am

            Juvenile and sophomoric as always. SMH.

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 12:46 am

            TROLL, TROLL, TROLL AWAY, little boy.

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 12:55 am

            Yeppers, Star Trek fandom has reached an all time low with Sandbox politics. Fans obviously cannot play nice with each other. For shame.

            Judging by Aldo’s childish remarks and what has been happening with Axanar, I would say that Star Trek fandom has reached an all time low. And the real rotten thing about this is the fact that it has happened on the show’s 50th Anniversary.

            It wouldn’t surprise me if ALL of the fan films were closed down by CBS/Paramount because of this issue. Probably just was well. Fans can’t seem to get along, find common ground, and attack those just because they differ with them.

            Gene Roddenberry must be appalled by this ignorance and stupidity coming from those who claim to enjoy Star Trek and practice what it preaches.

            Most distasteful and illogical.

            Oh, well…

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 1:01 am

            Gene Roddenberry would be appalled by a spoiled little Butthurt like you who spent the past DECADE trolling fan productions that made you cry.
            Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations never resonated with you because all you wanted that your Butthurt had to be addressed and NO ONE CARES.
            MAN UP, GROW UP, AND GET LOST.
            No one in the World of TREK would care if you disappeared. They would actually be RELIEVED.

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 1:04 am

            LOL! High school much?

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 1:09 am

            Judging by your responses, I would say you haven’t graduated from it.

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 1:25 pm

            LOL! Is that the best comeback you can come up with? Obviously, you haven’t graduated from it

      • Moshe Z. Matitya

        January 21, 2016 at 4:30 am

        @disqus_RSzGvuY1wN:disqus : “Star Trek Continues is nothing more than a petty, vindictive, and spiteful rip-off of Star trek-New Voyages/Phase II.”

        NV/P2 and Continues are both projects that continue TOS, so it makes no sense to call one of them a “rip-off” of the other. Unless one would also describe both series as “rip-offs” of TOS (which would be rather silly, of course, since they both openly acknowledge that they’re directly and deliberately based upon TOS).

        I’m also not sure I understand what it means to say that Continues is “petty, vindictive, and spiteful”. What I most certainly DO know is that Continues has produced some of the most creative, entertaining Star Trek episodes I have ever seen. In particular, “Lolani” and “Fairest of Them All” are nothing short of brilliant. I have encountered few Star Trek fans who saw them and weren’t incredibly impressed. Something that good does not come into being by accident; those shows were clearly and unquestionably an intense labor of love by the people involved in producing them. And if there was any “pettiness”, “vindictiveness”, or “spite” involved, they certainly do not show up in the final product.

  4. Ed

    August 31, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    I pretty much agree with the good parts and bad parts… it seemed they were trying to develop too many characters and ended up not really doing well with any (my wife was confused, as well). A good try, but not quite there, although they seem to want to make more so may be able to set some type of cohesive direction in future episodes (if they happen).

  5. Singels

    September 2, 2015 at 8:16 pm

    I enjoyed the movie for what it was.

  6. Dr Singh

    September 4, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    Why is it that people seem to get offended whenever somebody infers racism…forget the 24th century it is rife now stop sticking your head in the ground and deal it otherwise there may not be a bold future for any of us. When the muslims cry blasphemy we, the west, say freedom of speech but when our person or people suggest(s) racism well beat them with a stick… Btw statistically there are not alot of white Singhs or Khans

  7. Stuart Kerrigan

    September 4, 2015 at 8:06 pm

    “Other than Tuvok, the only black actors are the villains, which has some troubling connotations.”

    Sigh, political correctness…

    Unless my TV was broken the villains had bluish faces. Not sure what connotations you were thinking of without some significant mental gymnastics, and were it truly so “problematic” I’m sure these poor actors would have refused to perform.

    Also, there was a black Admiral played by the original Boomer from Battlestar Galactica, but that doesn’t feed into a white guilt narrative.

    • Moshe Z. Matitya

      January 21, 2016 at 4:44 am

      @stuartkerrigan:disqus: “Other than Tuvok”? Seriously? What, is Tuvok chopped liver?

  8. Warren Adams

    September 8, 2015 at 10:23 am

    Renegades has 99 problems but race ain’t one. And neither is rape. Please keep your SJW agenda out of Trek.

  9. rick oconnor

    September 15, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    first of all they tried a spin off of voyager some what which is good but heres what the story line should have done. they should have used the voyagers off spring not checkov you had admiral paris tuvok and ichab and go from there with your imagination this is why there was confusion espescially with khan intermixin withmovie and series not a good ideea

    • rick oconnor

      September 15, 2015 at 10:42 pm

      i truly believe if they could do that for a spinoff series instead of enterprise we would have an awesome show your opinions plz

  10. Nu Liform

    September 16, 2015 at 3:55 am

    oy.,..what a Hypercritical review!..one most of us fans do not share, thankfully…i think this movie is Great, just as is…and about that rape comment, of course it’s a plot device..for the character!..& quite enough was said about it…she is Strong..she Moved ON..this is part of life..to devote more of the movie to such a thing that happened in the past, btw..is just plain nuts…now i know ill probably be attacked for this stance, but so be it..just know i am also female and had my share of those..encounters..and i Survived..i Got Over them..and i do Not want to dwell in those experiences, especially in a movie..Forward On..discussing that stuiff to death helps no one..it stagnates you..& Above all else, This movie is a Sci Fi movie, not a touchy feely chick flick..if you want to wallow in the misery of the past skip this & go see one of those

    • RStorm

      November 1, 2015 at 11:25 pm

      what the author seems to forget is that as long as more episode can be funded, there is ample time and space for Lexxa to reflect on these dark shadows of her past further. but you are also correct. she could have since dealt with it and moved on.

  11. Nu Liform

    September 16, 2015 at 4:19 am

    oh, almost forgot..lol..this is exactly what the Romulans Should still look like..Very glad to see no wacky skeletal forehead changes were inexplicably applied like was done to the Kilingons of TOS.., they are after all originally from the Vulcan species..back in the beginning they were all one people..something terrible happened & then, Spock said, some chose to govern their emotions and some did not..those who chose to not squash emotion became the Romulans

  12. Charles Apperwhite

    September 20, 2015 at 3:21 pm

    I really wanted to like this, but with all the scenes of character exposition it just broke it for me.
    Still, it was nice to see some of the old ‘regulars’ in a Trek setting again (a 140+ year old Checkov? Excellent ^_^). Maybe if they make more of these ‘fan films’ they will get better with the writing, and bigger budgets (perhaps if they start a Kickstarter or Patreon for the next one [assuming they didn’t do so with this one]),

  13. Gullible Jones

    September 27, 2015 at 3:10 am

    You know, at this point, the only good news for Trek Renegades would be redoing it entirely. Sooo….

    Make the Borg the bizarrely changed
    descendents of members of a colony ship, sent into the Delta Quadrant
    through an artificial wormhole. Get rid of the Borg Queen and the Borg
    habit of assimilating people. Show corruption in the Federation, and
    revolution brewing among the Borg.

    Have characters, for once, who wouldn’t be all goodie-goodie or
    completely evil – somewhere in the gray areas in between. Sometimes the
    Federation would be the good guys; sometimes the Borg; sometimes no one
    would have what’s right and just in their mind, and sometimes the
    choices would all look bad, no matter how well-meaning one was.

    Perhaps bring back a few old characters. Picard, more machine than
    man, letting his Borg side creep back to ward off death; a disgraced
    hero, a coward in his own eyes, regretting his decision every hour of
    every day, and forced to live with it. Janeway, a withered corpse barely
    kept alive by the machines tending her, telling her story to her
    children and grandchildren and wishing for the light of better days.
    Worf: Klingon ex-admiral, white-haired and world-weary, no longer able
    to deal with the Federation’s web of lies, disenchanted with his life
    and his race. Seven of Nine, machine once more, a lonely aging starship
    with a human brain, roving the vast empty spaces in search of some
    answer and unable to decide which side she’s on, which path to choose.
    Spock, another brain in a tank, unwilling prophet to a people who have
    at long last, and against all hope, abandoned all pretense of reason.

    Redo the ships. No more smooth-ugly hulls and crazy Christmas-tree
    lights; smooth dull metal now, vast ominous dark shapes that slide
    through space like silent birds, sensors turning, sifting the emptiness.

    Try to hire Greg Egan and Stephen Baxter and Alastair Reynolds for
    writing the scripts, perhaps. Get some serious science consultation. Do
    time-travel stories without the damn reset button. No more noise in
    space, no more stupid technobabble. Have new characters that people
    actually care about, new alien races that are scientifically pluasible
    without having to resort to hokey genetic seeding hypotheses, genuinely
    interesting and innovative plots.

  14. TheRothOfKhan

    October 17, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    Any new Star Trek must be far removed from what came before if it is going to be a success. Stop relying on old characters to prop up a weak and confusing story. Jump forwards 200 years after Voyager where there is breathing room to be original and not be weighed down by the events of TNG, DS9, VOY, etc.

  15. RStorm

    November 1, 2015 at 11:22 pm

    “Some of the alien characters come across as caricatures of their race. The Bajoran, Jaro Ruk, is defined almost entirely by his hatred of Cardassians. He even offers to sell out the others if he can kill Garis, their Cardassian crewmember, himself.”

    with all due respect, you obviously know zero about the Bajoran-Cardassian tensions. it may be cliched, yes, but there are a LOT of Bajorans who would feel hat way, just like there are still a lot of Cardassians who view every Bajoran as beneath them. See 2/3 of DS9 for this “caricature”. also it’s not like this is 200 years in the future beyond where Voyager left off. it’s mere years later. Jaro Ruk looks plenty old enough to have been a survivor of the Occupation himself. which means he’s not gonna play nice with a Cardassian just because Lexxa tells him to.

  16. BridgetTheArtist

    November 3, 2015 at 9:05 pm

    I appreciate Ms. Toven’s review and it is a great starting point for a discussion. For a fan film, this is pretty darn awesome! It feels very much like a premiere episode from Next Gen or DS9: lots of characters and lots of stories. I agree that if more episodes are funded, each character can have their chance to develop. Now that there is a kickstarter for future episodes, I’m going to donate for sure! This is a valiant effort and I really enjoyed watching some fresh Star Trek!

  17. Christopher Dalton

    November 22, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    Star Trek Renegades – Star Trek’s own answer to both The Dirty Dozen and Blake’s Seven

    If E.M. Nathanson had seen his classic anti-war novel ‘The Dirty Dozen’ converted into a classic Star Trek adventure, he probably would have been flattered. But, if he had seen his classic story, or the concept thereof, turned into something like Star Trek Renegades, he would have been bored to death by it and fallen asleep during its showing.

    No doubt I did and I had to go through a second viewing. Or at the very least, picked up where I dozed off.

    Thankfully, MGM did a better job in 1967.

    All that aside, the plot of the Star Trek film is this.

    Set a decade after the return of the Starship Voyager, some strange phenomena is erupting in certain sectors of the galaxy.

    When a seemingly unstoppable new enemy threatens the very existence of the Earth, Admiral Pavel Chekov is forced to work outside the boundaries of Starfleet’s rules to combat this deadly new foe.

    When planet after planet winks out of existence, Starfleet refuses to act. As a result of the current intergalactic crisis, Chekov turns to Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ, who also directs), the new head of Starfleet’s covert operations division, Section 31. Together, they assemble a new elite strike-force, consisting of rogues, outcasts and criminals, led by the fearless yet haunted Lexxa Singh (Adrienne Wilkinson). A woman who is surprisingly the daughter of the ill-fated and Khan Noonian SIngh, himself.

    The Renegades’ mission is simple: take on an army and stop their leader, Borrada from destroying the Earth with his space-folding technology. Outnumbered and outgunned, the ragtag crew is in an adrenaline-pumping race against time. But they soon find their foes are the least of their concerns: the real trouble may be coming from within!

    The tag-line wasn’t kidding when it said boldly going where no Star Trek has gone before.

    And as our favorite Russian character(i.e. Pavel Chekov)points out in the film, ‘How far is too far?’

    Judging by the end results, Sky Conway, Tim Russ, and even Alec Peters, himself went too far.

    It is no wonder that CBS/Paramount rejected the idea of turning this pilot episode into a series. Assuming if you believe such a story.

    Honestly, this film almost makes Conway’s first effort(i.e. Star Trek – Of Gods And Men)tolerable, despite that film’s own shortcomings.

    Okay, here are my gripes about this latest fan funded endeavor.

    1. Walter Koenig once stated that his appearance as a much older Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek – New Voyages/Phase II episode ‘To Serve All My Days’ would be his last appearance as the stalwart
    Russian officer. That it was his way of saying good bye to the character of Chekov and bringing the character a sense of closure. If that was the case, then why did he decide to return as a 142 year old version of Chekov? Was he taking a cue from the late Leonard Nimoy? Who knows?

    2. Vic Mignogna. Seriously, does this man have to be in every Star Trek production or incarnation, thereof? Whoever said that Vic was The Doomsday Machine of Star Trek fan films was not joking. His performance in his P2 rip-off Star Trek Continues proves that point. His antics on the set of Star Trek-Phase II’s ‘Kitumba’ was so bad that it was one of the many factors that made james Cawley turn the role of Jim Kirk over to professional actor Brian Gross. Mignogna’s antics even caused David Gerrold’s P2 episode ‘The Protracted Man’ to be scrapped. Then his and certain other individuals involvement in the theft of the Starship Ajax production’s newly built sets caused Ajax to be set back to the point of no return, and give the Starship Farragut production’s own reputation a severe tarnishing and major ruining(i.e. a black eye). Anyone from those productions that will tell you any different is just trying to create a smokescreen and cover their tracks. The role of the ill-fated Cardassian Garis certainly fit Mignogna like a glove and the character’s death all the more refreshing. As well as the derogatory descriptions branded the character by some of the leads(i.e. blasphemor, coward, butcher, etc). I’m amazed that Michele Specht was not in this dud in some supporting role.

    3. When on Earth did Khan Noonian Singh have time to have a daughter? Seriously? A daughter? Unless this happened back in 1996 before Khan and his ill-fated folowers fled Earth in the Botany Bay, the very idea of Lexxa Singh’s existence is a pretty far fetched one. An idea that stretches credibility to the very breaking point. The late Ricardo Montalban and Benedict Cumberbatch must be wondering the same thing.

    4. The production design not only looked cheap, the CGI effects were not all that up to par. It is almost as if both Conway and Russ were trying to cheaply copy the CGI effects that was used in the science fiction classic Babylon 5(which also starred Walter Koenig in the recurring role of Psi-Cop Alfred Bester).

    5. Finally, some of the sound effects used in this episode were borrowed from the science fiction classics Space:1999 and the original Battlestar Galactica. Something that was done quite often on Phase II and Starship Farragut. Note to those involved in Star Trek fan productions, use your own sound effects or those from Star Trek instead of recycling others from different science fiction productions. You can do better than that.

    While I found the new Starfleet Uniforms a bit interesting and the idea that Starfleet’s own black ops department Section 31 has gone through a complete overhaul, plus the idea that a century old Pavel Chekov is now a great grandfather, those elements really did nothing much to save Sky Conway’s second independent Star Trek film from total boredom.

    While Star Trek Renegades boasted a cast from other Star Trek productions and those from other genre related productions(i.e. the latter being Louisville, Kentucky native Sean Young who starred in the classic Blade Runner and the surrealitic flop Dune, Corrin Nemec from Solar Crisis and Stargate SG-1, Edward Furlong from Terminator 2 – Judgement Day, and Herbert Jefferson, Jr from the original Battlestar Galactica), such a cast did little to make this Star Trek production an interesting one.

    The Dirty Dozen concept was already used successfully in the original Battlestar Galactica two-parter ‘The Gun On Ice Planet Zero’. The Blake’s 7 format had fit perfectly in that universe. Unless the production had some clever ways of writing such scenarios and making them unique, they don’t really fit into the Star Trek universe.

    If this is going to be a fan series, it is certainly not going to be an entertaining one.

    To Sky Conway and Tim Russ, better luck next time gentleman. You’re going to need it.

    Star Trek: Renegades stars Walter Koenig, Adrienne Wilkinson, Sean Young, Gary Graham, Robert Picardo, Corin Nemec, Tim Russ, Edward Furlong, John Corrigan, Richard Herd, Vic Mignogna, and Herbert Jefferson, Jr.

    • Aldo Rodriguez

      January 20, 2016 at 11:53 pm

      Shut up, TROLL! What a BITTER LITTLE BOY you are!
      EVERYONE is on to you for being a BITTER LOSER.
      Do the world a favor and eat a bullet!
      Star Trek; New Voyages have already disassociated from even acknowledging you and your attacks for the PAST TEN YEARS on Farragut Films and Vic Mignogna are sad and juvenile. So stop wasting everyone’s time.
      NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS and in that case YOU!
      If these good people here could see your past trolling of those people, then you would be regarded as borderline pathological. Especially since you had to change your identity SEVERAL TIMES on Facebook, iMdb, and other social media (and NOW HERE, but you still use your first name Christopher and the same STUPID AVATAR)!
      Get help, seriously, get psychiatric help @disqus_RSzGvuY1wN:disqus .

      • Christopher Dalton

        March 19, 2016 at 12:24 am

        Boy, with that insane rant you have just posted, you have obviously proven that you need serious psychiatric help. SMH.

        Once again, Sandbox politics poisons and pollutes Star Trek fandom.

        Most illogical and immature.

        • Aldo Rodriguez

          March 19, 2016 at 12:30 am

          Piss off, TROLL. I already called YOU out for being irrelevant Butthurt. Talk about illogical and immature? I am so glad that you FINALLY recognize yourself, especially with YOU polluting the Star Trek fandom with your trolling fan productions, like Star Trek Continues. James Cawley could care less about you, LOSER, so give it up!

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 12:34 am

            Junior, if you want polluting and poisoning, you need not look any further than what Alec Peters, David Gerrold, Robert Meyer Burnett, and those other foolish people did concerning Axanar.

            That is WAY much worse than any opinions that I have posted. Think about that.

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 12:35 am

            TROLL, TROLL, TROLL AWAY, Dalton. They regard you as much as a gnat.

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 12:41 am

            Man, you really are showing your true ‘man-child’ colors. I’ve seen teenagers throw insane fits like this. But a grown man?

            Well, Garth Of Izar threw a tantrum once, so i guess in STar Trek fandom it is not unheard of. Look at Alec Peters when he responds to fans asking legitimate questions.

            Oh, well. No matter how old a person gets, they still have the immaturity of a sixteen year old. Or younger, depending on the rantings of the individual in question.

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 12:45 am

            TROLL, TROLL, TROLL AWAY, Brent or Dalton or whatever name you had to change several times on social networks and blog because you are an immature child. But go ahead, TROLL, TROLL, TROLL AWAY, because that’s you only purpose in life.

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 12:58 am

            LOL! Actually, I have other purposes in life, but that is irrelevant to this discussion.

            Like I said before, if you don’t like what I post, then you don’t have to read it. You can always focus more on other productive endeavors than moaning and groaning about other fans’ opinions and posts.

            It is something to think about.

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 1:02 am

            Good, GET LOST then.

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 1:04 am

            LOL! The door is open, kid. You first. 🙂 Have a good night.

          • Aldo Rodriguez

            March 19, 2016 at 1:07 am

            BYE, TROLL.

          • Christopher Dalton

            March 19, 2016 at 2:20 pm

            Double, Double toil and trouble…Man, you sound like a parrot every time you speak the word TROLL. LOL!

  18. Toupee

    November 22, 2015 at 11:29 pm

    Well written review, Michelle! Thanks for writing it!

    I just watched the movie (or, first episode?…) last night, and I’m equal parts impressed and disappointed.

    On the impressed side: I was pleasantly surprised with the diversity of Lexxa’s crew (and I think Lexxa herself was pretty magnetic). The sets were mostly good, and the CG space battles were great, even. (And I’m harsh on CG, so kudos to that crew.) (Okay… now, real models would have really blown me out of the water, but that’s a pipe dream awaiting a LOT more money.) The tone was great. Classic. And there are some genuinely good lines in there.

    But for every genuinely good line, there’s a REALLY bad expository one, or a TERRIBLY delivered one. It’s like the director was just satisfied with the words coming out of the actor’s mouths; no nuance, no motivation, no interest necessary. Half the time it sounds like a fifth grade play!

    Getting pickier, now, but the cinematography is pretty weak, too. Yes, there are some very well lit shots! But more often than not, the characters are erratically framed without meaning, and the editing has little tempo, with too many shots not ending in suspense or reveal. It makes the whole thing feel like a marathon run to me, like, “How much longer can I keep hanging on!?” Honestly, the plot wouldn’t have mattered as much if the rhythm of the thing kept me going. Breaking Bad or Fargo this is not. (And I guess secretly, that’s kind of what I’m looking for in a new Star Trek series. And I think with a better director (sorry Tim Russ, you’ve really done a lot good here!), they could have pulled a LOT more out of the already-good work they have here with the actors and the sets. (although, to be honest, they probably should have cut out half of these characters. Like who was that one girl behind Chekov’s chair half the time?!)

    It’s cool to see old actors, I guess, but as a fan of mostly DS9 and TNG, I didn’t really recognize them. :/ It felt like a little too much weight was placed on the audience already knowing them.

    This is all very meandering… kind of like the movie. In general, I’m really glad I saw it and I’m really glad these people are making it. AND that CBS isn’t getting their panties in a bunch about it. And, who knows… the 2017 Star Trek series announcement sure came along awfully quickly after this was released. So it may be having more of an effect than we expected!

  19. MickinMD

    March 13, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    It’s so politically correct to complain about mostly White actors in a movie that it’s gotten ridiculous. Bette Midler complained about a recent Australian movie about ancient Egypt where the actors are White. If you spend time in Egypt – as I have – you’ll find that the Egyptians are primarily white to a much higher percentage than the USA. They will pull up their sleeves to reveal Mediterranean White Skin. For most of them, their faces are strongly suntanned.
    Consequently, where are the complaints when Richard Prior, Louis Gossett, Jr., etc. play Caucasian Egyptians?
    Personally, I have no problem with it, but the reverse-racism that people like this writer demonstrate (a Caucasian named “Singh” and a Hispanic can’t be White?) IS a problem. Today’s younger White people seem to have less trust in racial harmony and it’s reverse-redneckism like this that surely influence it.

  20. Lin Dane

    March 21, 2016 at 4:08 am

    If you have to look up plot and character summaries in order to watch a movie or tv show, it was poorly written, and I can tell you, this was poorly written. In fact, a viewer should never, and I do mean never ask themselves ‘Is there a point to all this?’ which is what I said after enduring 45 minutes of it.

    I can also tell you that it was a huge screwup not having someone who knows what they’re doing go through the pilot to at the very least make sure that the story/structure/plot were solid. As it stands, and especially in this regard, it’s pretty much unwatchable.

  21. tandy299

    June 27, 2017 at 11:38 am

    I agree with James: ST Continues is THE best thing since STTNG. I say this as a Trekker since 1966. Also, although dated, Infinite Chain Multiverse and New Voyages are pretty good too.

  22. tandy299

    June 27, 2017 at 11:45 am

    BTW: Is there no admin to this site to help regulate the arguments? It is one thing to be analytical or ‘critical’ in the sense of judging a movie or series, but it is entirely another thing to just be hateful because someone has a different opinion than you, or you just feel you know more than someone else (even if you do). Fandom is not gauged by a subjective opinion, it is gauged by love of a particular product (in this case Star Trek). How many people love Star Trek now? I would estimate probably over a Billion. Not a low, but a new high, daily, as our sons and daughters are introduced to it. (“Free you mind, and the rest will follow”).

  23. Richard Schiller

    August 22, 2019 at 8:31 pm

    YouTube has Star Trek Renegade and it sucks. Too dark, No lights. And no light character at all in it. You would think they would know this with great characters OBrian or Worf being unable to improve Deep Space 9 which was also dark, gloomy, and dragging, and serious etc. Having the character does nothing without the writers stories, or the set quality

  24. Coy Redic

    August 22, 2019 at 8:31 pm

    It was ok untill that lexxa person came on. That woman is corny. Chekovs great great granddaughter and her friend can’t act. It was nice seeing familiar faces, it lent credibility.. alot of the acting was panned and unbelievable. I like Tim Russ and Robert pacardo and Walter konig . There acting was good. And the older guy that was warning checkov about not violating orders, he acts well too. The aliens aside from the cardasians were totally unbelievable. The one guy looked like his mask could come off any minute. . It was cool for a fan film , but they need better acting out of 1 /3 of the cast

  25. Coy Redic

    August 22, 2019 at 8:31 pm

    Oh one more thing. Why did the one character with the helmet on looks like somebody from Star wars?

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