Star Trek: New Voyages, are not resting on their laurels after their latest, critically acclaimed Episode II, To Serve All My days. They have episode III's rough cut with the spfx crew, episode IV casting and episode V set for a drastic re-write that re-introduces a well-loved character from The Original Series. 

The fans who work on Star Trek: New Voyages have been working hard over the past month adding their own special brand of publicity to the group. Jeff Hayes, graphic artist extraordinaire, posted a 'faux' comic book cover on the New Voyages forum on Nov 5 of To Serve All My Days (TSAMD) in the style of the '70s GoldKey Comics. Priceless!

The controversy about the ending of To Serve All My Days got some definitive statements on the NV forum from Exec. Producer, James Cawley on Nov 24 and 25 (CAUTION: Spoilers In Links). Walter Koenig weighed into the argument with his own comments on Nov 24 regarding the interpretation that he had worked closely to bring to life …

…. I'm not sure I know how I feel. It's great that your following is so committed and loyal to Star Trek. The "controversy" is healthy and will certainly keep interest in the work going for a long time. It does bother me a bit, however, that for many people the ending overshadows what we were doing with the story. The "suspension of disbelief" is what every writer of fiction is about as well as actors when they approach a role. I think the most pertinent question your viewers should be asking is 'does this story work as an independent entity? If they didn't know the Star Trek canon could they enjoy the work on the screen, appreciate the intelligence with which it was written and feel the depth with which it was performed and be satisfied that their time had been well spent? If the answer is 'yes' then I think this is one time the audience of devoted Star Trek enthusiasts should also suspend their disbelief and go with the flow.

… If your fan base is upset that we have told a story that does not stand the test of Star Trek history shouldn't they also feel a bit unsettled that Chekov, among others, was a person who in forty years of story telling never had a 'personal voice', never truly came alive as an individual of depth and nuance...

On Nov 27, James Cawley announced that "D.C. Fontana is cooking up another voyage for us here at New Voyages! So get ready, for another classic ride from the Master herself! I am sure it will Grand." This seems to suggest that the lady who was one of the guiding influences on The Original Series is certainly comfortable with working on a fan produced film. It might never be considered canon, but it will certainly be a cut above

The announcements continued on Dec 5, when Mr Cawley announced that Meghan King Johnson is to return to New Voyages in her original role from the first & second episodes of Lt. Janice Rand. The character of Janice Rand, the eye-catching young Yeoman of The Original Series, was absent from their last episode, "To Serve All My Days", although the role had previously been announced as being taken by Katrina Kernodle. Meg is working on her interpretation of the role according to her posts on the NV Forum. Should she follow the common but superficial "eye candy" idea of Rand or, as she has been urged, develop the role and make the character her own? Certainly this is the philosophy that the other major players, Cawley and Quin, have followed and, after all, she is playing a lieutenant, not the young yeoman who we remember from the original series.

New Voyages is steadily picking up the pace of production, multi-tasking with separate task groups working on different parts of their productions at the same time.

For example on Dec 16 auditions were held for one of the Guest starring roles in Episode IV - "Blood And Fire" (written by David Gerrold and teleplay by Gerrold & Carlos Pedraza) in L.A. They had an amazing 270 submissions for the single role which was narrowed down to 65 who read for the part. A tape of the top three contenders for the part was sent to James Cawley on the other side of the country who, of course, had the ultimate say in the matter. The winning actor, Evan Fowler, was offered the pivotal part of Lt. Alex Freeman the next evening by Mr. Cawley and accepted.

Another noticeable addition to Blood And Fire is Nick Cook, one of the prime-movers behind Star Trek: Intrepid. As Nick said, "As a child, when others were playing cops and robbers, I was shooting phasers made of LEGO. Thirty years later, I'm thrilled to finally set foot aboard the Enterprise." This "cross-pollination" is in keeping with previous episodes, as Mr Cawley usually invites a number of major players from other Star Trek fan films to be a part of his production.

Meanwhile by Dec 18, even before James Cawley got to view it, the rough cut of episode III - "World Enough and Time" (written by Marc Zicree & Michael Reaves) had been delivered to the spfx team of Ron Thornton! The episode, which had been filmed at Gigapix Studios, Chatsworth, California as reported by Fred Shuster in the LA Times, is scheduled for completion roughly 8 weeks into the new year and is on track for a mid March premiere!

New Voyages will have two special effects teams working at the same time, One on World Enough and Time and the other on Blood And Fire. This will mean that Blood And Fire's cgi "will most likely be near completion BEFORE principal photography begins." Said Cawley, "So the goal of getting more episodes out faster is being met. What a Great team we have!"

Jack Trevino and Ethan Calk's teleplay, "The World Above, The Sky Below", which had already been relegated from episode 3 to episode 5, is to be re-worked into a vehicle for re-introducing one of the most beloved of the Star Trek, Original Series characters, Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Exec. Producer, James Cawley announced on the New Voyages forum on Dec 21 that the episode, billed as being written by Howard Weinstein, will be entitled, "The Sky Above, The Mudd Below".

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