Starship Exeter (fan films)

You may be looking for the newsletter of the UK-based Starship Exeter Organisation.
Brainchild of brothers Jimm and Josh Johnson, Starship Exeter is an amateur Star Trek fan film project, the first to embrace the possibilities of the internet video scene. Set within the continuity of the original Star Trek TV series, the first episode introduces a new crew, of a sister-ship to the famous USS Enterprise, the titular USS Exeter. The previous crew perished in the Star Trek episode, "The Omega Glory" 'Star Trek' Fans, Deprived of a Show, Recreate the Franchise on Digital Video (Accessed 20 May 2019) and Captain John Garrovick is the cousin of Ensign Garrovick from the episode, "Obsession". The Johnsons were producers (and also starred in the episodes, acting under pseudonyms).Wikipedia (Accessed 20 May 2019)
==Main Cast==
* Captain John Quincy Garrovick, played by James Culhane (Jimm Johnson)
* First Officer Jo Harris, played by Holly Guess
* Security Officer Paul Cutty, played by Michael Buford
* Andorian Communications Officer B'fuselek, played by Joshua Caleb (Josh Johnson)
* Lieutenant Joseph D'Agosta, played by Patrick Scullin (Episode 1 only)
* Andorian Governor Kinthmus, played by Keith St. Louis (Episode 1 only)
* Ensign Vandi Richards, played by Elizabeth Wheat (Episode 2 only)
* Dr. Vincent Azato, played by Joe Azzato (Episode 2 only)
==Opening Narration==
Space. Endless. Silent. Waiting. This is the new odyssey of the Starship Exeter. Her five year mission: to guard the Federation frontier, to patrol uncharted space and scout alien worlds. To brave the darkness of the last, vast unknown... [John Quincy Garrovick, Episode 2.]
==Episodes==
Two episodes and one comedy vignette were released. There were also teaser trailers, a 2003 "Making of..." documentary, to accompany DVD-Rs of the first episode (supplied to cast members and supporters), and a "YouTube" version with a Directors' Commentary.Trailer and Directors' Commentary for Episode 1 ("Have Phaser, Will Travel", 11 July 2008)
===Episode 1: The Savage Empire===
Written and directed by Jimm & Josh Johnson. (35 mins.) Released as downloadable video files via the internet on December 19, 2002.The Savage Empire on IMDb Production and post production took several years, with shooting in Minnesota and Texas, mixed between exterior locations and custom-built sets. The producers strove to make the film using non-digital effects techniques, using miniatures and in-camera effects wherever practical. The story involves a visit to the Andorian homeworld. A young version of the Klingon Chang (of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), is featured, portrayed by Nathan Wolf. Andorian fan Ian McLean sent off his cameo appearance, as Senator Therin of the Andorian Planetary Council, on videotape from Sydney, Australia.
File:SavageEmpire1.png|Constitution ships, The Savage Empire, 2002 - Click here to view the trailer
File:SavageEmpire2.png|The Savage Empire, 2002 - Click here to view the episode
===Documentary: The Making of a Fan Film===
Produced by Joel Sarchet and Exeter Studio. (84 mins.) Released on DVD-R, 2003. This series of eight featurettes documents the creation and Internet release of "The Savage Empire". Contains extensive behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast, crew and creators, and information on how the props, costumes, sets and special effects were created:
* The Origin of "Starship Exeter"
* Filming Locations and Sets
* Costumes, Make Up and Props
* The Cast
* Shooting the Episode
* The Fight Scene
* Special Effects and Editing
* Capturing the Imagination and Looking to the Future.
File:MakingofExeter1.jpg|The Making of a Fan Film, 2003 - Click here to view "The Origin of Starship Exeter"
File:NightShift.png|Vignette: The Night Shift, 2005 - Click here to view
File:BridgeTour.png|Starship Exeter Bridge Tour, 2007 - Click here to view
===Vignette: The Night Shift===
Written by Dennis Russell Bailey. (Approx. 3.5 mins.) Shot as a trial run and as camera tests at the start of principal photography on Episode 2, it was released on the internet in August 2005.Fan review of The Night Shift (Accessed 20 May 2019)
===Starship Exeter Bridge Tour===
A behind-the-scenes look at the "Exeter" Bridge set. (Approx 5 mins.) Released 16 September 2007. Hosted by Jimm Johnson, this featurette Starship Exeter Bridge Tour featurette, (Released 16 September 2007) was directed and filmed by Dagoberto Patlan at Austin Studios during production of "The Tressaurian Intersection". Edited by Scott Cummins.
===Episode 2: The Tressaurian Intersection===
Written by Dennis Russell Bailey from a story by Jimm Johnson; directed by Scott Cummins; post-production by Maurice Molyneaux. (52 mins.) A more ambitious production, this episode was shot in mid-2004.The Tressaurian Intersection on IMDb Played primarily aboard the titular starship, the film used CGI and elaborate miniatures to realize the interiors of a shuttlecraft and the ruined sister starship, USS Kongo. Model work by Thomas Sasser and others. Stan Ginsel Stan Ginsel: Video Producer * Editor * Writer (Accessed 22 May 2019) composed an original theme for this episode.Theme to 'Starship Exeter' (Released 12 December 2008) Released in segments, the episode suffered a protracted post–production process, with the final complete episode being released via "YouTube" on May 1, 2014, almost ten years from the start of principal photography.Official Website: The Tressaurian Intersection (Accessed 20 May 2019) Maurice Molyneaux had ushered the project's last instalment to an April 1 (i.e. "April Fool's Day") debut of a final teaser trailer on "YouTube": Click here to view that last trailer. He also explained What Happened to Starship Exeter in a long, online thread at TrekBBS.What Happened to Starship Exeter - The Completion of a Fanfilm on TrekBBS (9 September 2014)
File:ExeterTheme.png|Theme to 'Starship Exeter' by Stan Ginsel, 2008 - Click here to hear the theme
File:Tressaurian1.png|Homage to The Cage in The Tressaurian Intersection, 2014 - Click here to view the original trailer
File:Tressaurian2.png|Ensign Vandi Richards, The Tressaurian Intersection, 2014 - Click here to view the episode
===Documentary: Behind the Scenes===
Produced by Exeter Studio. (40 mins.) Details the creation and Internet release of "The Tressaurian Intersection". Includes an interview Starship Exeter: Behind the Scenes, (Released 19 April 2010) with composer Stan Ginsel - Click here to view that section.
File:StanGinsel1.png
===Abandoned Episodes===
File:AtlantisInvaders.png|B'fuselek & Cutty in a test location shot.
* "The Atlantis Invaders","The Atlantis Invaders" - Annotated script extracts (Accessed 15 July 2020)] script was being developed by Maurice Molyneaux.
* "The Eagle and the Serpent",TrekBBS (Accessed 16 July 2020) a proposed Cutty and Harris story.
==Fannish Reactions==
A January 2, 2003 mention on SlashDot resulted in a deluge of traffic to the Starship Exeter website and exceeded 10,000 hits per hour. The bandwidth demands proved more than Mac.com could handle, forcing the film to be hosted on a private server.Update: Exeter Offline (Accessed 20 May 2019) The Sci-Fi Channel website listed the "Exeter" website as their Site of the Week for January 21, 2003, stating, "The end result is an episode that's actually better than some of the 'official' Trek that's been produced, and it just goes to show what fans can do with today's technology and a heck of a lot of determination." Site of the Week, Sci-Fi.com (Accessed 20 May 2019)
In 2006, Australian fan Ian McLean was asked to host a screening of Episode 1 during breaks in the evening banquet at Conquest (2006) in Brisbane. From his speech: 
Re "Starship Exeter: The Night Shift" vignette: "Still no word on the release of the oft-delayed finale of 'The Tressaurian Intersection', the second 'Starship Exeter' fanfilm episode, but in the meantime, the underlings had some fun with this..." Still waiting it out: Starship Exeter ("Have Phaser, Will Travel", 7 January 2010).
The purpose-built Starship Exeter bridge set was used to complete the fan film Yorktown: A Time to Heal, which had filmed its planet-based scenes in 1985, then went into a decades-long hiatus. A completed product is due in December 2020.
See also Star Trek Fan Films at startrek.com
File:ExeterFigures.png|Faux TV commercial: Starship Exeter action figures, 2006 - Click here to view
File:StarshipExetercomic.png|Online comic, Home is Not a Place by Kail Tescar, 2004 - Click here to view
File:Yorktown.jpeg|Starship Exeter bridge set used to complete Yorktown: A Time to Heal - Click here to view trailer
===Tie-in Comic===
In 2004, Kail Tescar created an online comic story in the style of Filmation's Star Trek: The Animated Series, featuring the "Starship Exeter" characters at http://startrekanimated.com/exetercomic.html Home is Not a Place online comic at startrekanimated.com (Released 2004)
===Faux ad: Exeter Action Figures===
A 2006 faux TV commercial by Church Tucker for "Starship Exeter" action figures, based on the old Mego toy commercials of the 1970s. (27 secs.) The "Wego Corp." customized figures are by Thomas Hudspeth and are modeled after the characters in the fan films. Voiceover: "Beefy".Exeter Action Figures (Released 17 December 2006)
===Fan Fiction===
On "TrekBBS" in 2008, Robert Simmons announced a twelve-part mini-series of fan fic stories based on "Starship Exeter" that take place right after the ship (from "The Omega Glory") was retrieved by Captain Garrovick, and leading up to the time before "The Savage Empire".Fan stories... Starship Exeter: Exeter Rising at TrekBBS (Announced 15 July 2008)
In an undated statement at Orion Press, a zine publisher, Randall Landers stated his frustration regarding the fic he submitted to Jimm and Josh Johnson: 
==Gallery==
File:SavageEmpire.jpg|DVD-R cover: The Savage Empire, 2002 - Click here to view
File:MakingofExeter2.jpg|Documentary: The Making of a Fan Film, 2003
File:Tressaurianposter.jpg|Poster for The Tressaurian Intersection. Artist: Mark Farinas
File:ExeterComic.jpg|Mock comic cover, The Army of the Alien Ants!
==References==
Category:Star Trek TOS Fan Films
Category:2002 Fan Films
Category:2000s Fan Films
Category:2010s Fan Films