Speaks for itself.

I tried way too hard to get a Star Trek joke in that title. Way too hard.

Fan films have existed since before the internet. Kids would make something remotely resembling the costumes and make their own little film for fun or to hone their skills; either way drawn by their love of a particular show, comic, game, or movie. Nowadays, where clothing patterns are easy to make and programs like After Effects have allowed people to up their game while the internet has given a home to fan productions (ranging from fanfic to fan comics to fan films), there’s a larger presence of programs as good or better than the original.

Star Trek is no stranger to this. Fans have gone so far as to recreate the original Enterprise set from the 1960s in full detail as well as replicating props and costumes. Here at BW Media Spotlight I’ve promoted a few of them as part of Saturday Night Showcase (formerly Saturday Night Theater before I added online comics). While a couple of shows have continued the original series, some have also created new shows set in that universe, which frankly I prefer. It lets the old shows be its own thing as well as the new shows, like Starship Farragut, or Intrepid, which actually takes place during the future time period of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. This is true with other shows and other media formats.

Now I do understand the point of view of the studios, in this case Paramount and CBS. It’s not a dead license by any means. Even when TV took a break the officially licensed comics were still going, and now they have a new movie franchise and I’ve heard talk of a new TV series. (I don’t know if it’s set in the TV or new movie continuity, though.) And while New Voyages/Phase 2 has gotten the approval of Gene Roddenberry’s son as well as the actual performers and prop makers taking part, and Lou Schimer aided in the animated episodes of the usually live-action Farragut, none of them hold the rights, but their also not seeing a penny. (Neither are the fan film makers, mind you.) But it’s a more recent incident that has caused CBS to break out official rules for creating a Star Trek fan film. And while some of them are actually understandable there are a few that will indeed negatively impact the community…as well as setting a bad precedent for all fan productions, including fanfic, fan comics, and fan art.

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