What an interesting concept I hope they adopt it for Andromeda too.
It will soon be filled with Star Trek-related stories, written by fans all over the Internet. But yet, it's not fan-fiction. It simulates the very essence of television production, yet, this isn't a SIM.
In what probably will require yet a new name for fan adoration and displays of talent, the new Star Trek: Renaissance launches in September, just in time to bring 25th Century Star Trek to the fans that have spent the last 14 years in the 24th.
Renaissance came into existence last January by a Star Trek fan named Harri Tusa, better known by the Web name "Wizdoc." According to Yehuda Katz, the publicity coordinator and member of the REN creative team, the idea came from a simple thought -- could fans do a better job at producing Star Trek than the current guard helming the Gene Roddenberry-created phenomenon now?
"People were talking on (TrekNation's) TrekBBS about how Star Trek would be better if it were fan produced," Katz said. "Wizdoc came up with the idea of having just that, a fan-produced series. The idea, in order to meet the challenge set out, was to have the series essentially be the same as a real Star Trek series, to see if we were up for the task."
Unlike standard fanfiction, REN will present its series in a weekly, episodic script format. That means instead of getting a lengthy story, readers will have a one-hour screenplay that will serve as if they were actually watching the episode on television.
Episodes will not be written by just one person, either. They will be written by fans, and anyone who is interested in writing a story inside the REN universe is welcome to apply, Katz said.
The teleplays have to be formatted as if they were to appear on television. However, REN producers will not be demanding strict formatting specs as if it were a professional operation. And writers who have their scripts chosen by the producers will receive credit for their work, and will be a part of any rewrites large or small, Katz said. And before the final draft is posted online for that week's episode, the original author has the right to refuse publication.
Katz said it's a win-win situation for writers.
"In a way, it's better creatively than writing for the actual series," he said. "You retain full creative control of your work while still writing as part of a high quality medium."
Star Trek: Renaissance picks up nearly 25 years after the Federation-Dominion War featured in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The year is 2401, and a new starship Enterprise has been launched with the registry number NCC-1701-G.
Katz said the crewmembers of the new starship will be quite interesting, including the main character, Y'lan. Y'lan is a member of the Q'tami race, developed exclusively for the REN universe that will be introduced in the series pilot, "Aftermath." With Y'lan is a Gorn with a Trill symbiont named Narv Ozran.
"The pilot is perhaps the best Star Trek story written by a fan," Katz said. "It will lay the groundwork for the series, introduce the Renaissance aliens -- the Q'tami -- and lay bare our hero, Neil Cross. It is a 2-hour extravaganza."
The series launches Sept. 8, exactly 35 years to the day that Kirk and his crew first took the airwaves on NBC. While it will hold true to the original in some aspects, Katz said, REN will continue some of the trends established through Deep Space Nine.
"One of the first things the group tackled when we started the project was making sure that the project fit in with Gene's vision," Katz said. "The show gets back to the original exploration of themes and social commentary themes of the original Trek. It also gets back to excellent three-dimensional characters rather than the underdeveloped characters of Voyager.
"Renaissance veers a bit from canon Trek by introducing story arcs. It is a bit like the final seasons of Deep Space Nine. It is also a bit darker than the average Trek, as it begins to examine the very foundation of the Federation and the political situation in the Alpha Quadrant and the galaxy as a whole."
The Renaissance team, which besides Katz and Tusa includes co-executive producer Dan Carlson and writer Hadrian McKeggon among a current staff of 10, is planning seven seasons of 26 episodes. These episodes will be released on a weekly basis, at about the same frequency current Star Trek is released. According to Katz, the episodes also will include high-quality graphics, video and possibly some audio to augment the scripts.
Besides volunteer writers, Katz said that the production team also is in need of some of the Web's top graphic designers. Katz said there currently is a handful of artists working on some of the designs for the new series, but more are needed. Anyone interested can e-mail Katz at Outlookeic@aol.com.
The series will launch on Star Trek Day Sept. 8 at www.startrekrenaissance.com. The group also has a public message forum established at EZBoard.com.
It will soon be filled with Star Trek-related stories, written by fans all over the Internet. But yet, it's not fan-fiction. It simulates the very essence of television production, yet, this isn't a SIM.
In what probably will require yet a new name for fan adoration and displays of talent, the new Star Trek: Renaissance launches in September, just in time to bring 25th Century Star Trek to the fans that have spent the last 14 years in the 24th.
Renaissance came into existence last January by a Star Trek fan named Harri Tusa, better known by the Web name "Wizdoc." According to Yehuda Katz, the publicity coordinator and member of the REN creative team, the idea came from a simple thought -- could fans do a better job at producing Star Trek than the current guard helming the Gene Roddenberry-created phenomenon now?
"People were talking on (TrekNation's) TrekBBS about how Star Trek would be better if it were fan produced," Katz said. "Wizdoc came up with the idea of having just that, a fan-produced series. The idea, in order to meet the challenge set out, was to have the series essentially be the same as a real Star Trek series, to see if we were up for the task."
Unlike standard fanfiction, REN will present its series in a weekly, episodic script format. That means instead of getting a lengthy story, readers will have a one-hour screenplay that will serve as if they were actually watching the episode on television.
Episodes will not be written by just one person, either. They will be written by fans, and anyone who is interested in writing a story inside the REN universe is welcome to apply, Katz said.
The teleplays have to be formatted as if they were to appear on television. However, REN producers will not be demanding strict formatting specs as if it were a professional operation. And writers who have their scripts chosen by the producers will receive credit for their work, and will be a part of any rewrites large or small, Katz said. And before the final draft is posted online for that week's episode, the original author has the right to refuse publication.
Katz said it's a win-win situation for writers.
"In a way, it's better creatively than writing for the actual series," he said. "You retain full creative control of your work while still writing as part of a high quality medium."
Star Trek: Renaissance picks up nearly 25 years after the Federation-Dominion War featured in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The year is 2401, and a new starship Enterprise has been launched with the registry number NCC-1701-G.
Katz said the crewmembers of the new starship will be quite interesting, including the main character, Y'lan. Y'lan is a member of the Q'tami race, developed exclusively for the REN universe that will be introduced in the series pilot, "Aftermath." With Y'lan is a Gorn with a Trill symbiont named Narv Ozran.
"The pilot is perhaps the best Star Trek story written by a fan," Katz said. "It will lay the groundwork for the series, introduce the Renaissance aliens -- the Q'tami -- and lay bare our hero, Neil Cross. It is a 2-hour extravaganza."
The series launches Sept. 8, exactly 35 years to the day that Kirk and his crew first took the airwaves on NBC. While it will hold true to the original in some aspects, Katz said, REN will continue some of the trends established through Deep Space Nine.
"One of the first things the group tackled when we started the project was making sure that the project fit in with Gene's vision," Katz said. "The show gets back to the original exploration of themes and social commentary themes of the original Trek. It also gets back to excellent three-dimensional characters rather than the underdeveloped characters of Voyager.
"Renaissance veers a bit from canon Trek by introducing story arcs. It is a bit like the final seasons of Deep Space Nine. It is also a bit darker than the average Trek, as it begins to examine the very foundation of the Federation and the political situation in the Alpha Quadrant and the galaxy as a whole."
The Renaissance team, which besides Katz and Tusa includes co-executive producer Dan Carlson and writer Hadrian McKeggon among a current staff of 10, is planning seven seasons of 26 episodes. These episodes will be released on a weekly basis, at about the same frequency current Star Trek is released. According to Katz, the episodes also will include high-quality graphics, video and possibly some audio to augment the scripts.
Besides volunteer writers, Katz said that the production team also is in need of some of the Web's top graphic designers. Katz said there currently is a handful of artists working on some of the designs for the new series, but more are needed. Anyone interested can e-mail Katz at Outlookeic@aol.com.
The series will launch on Star Trek Day Sept. 8 at www.startrekrenaissance.com. The group also has a public message forum established at EZBoard.com.
