I’ve been a fan of the classic Sci-Fi series by Gene Roddenberry since my Uncle was a big fan and got me hooked on it. I can honestly say that I enjoyed both the original series and the Next Generation, and then later grew to like Deep Space Nine and Voyager. However, for some reason, I just couldn’t get into Enterprise since it didn’t really introduce many new ideas or concepts (it was a prequel to the original series).

Recently I heard about an online show project called Star Trek: New Voyages and I was completely blown away. I was assuming the whole production would look pretty “amateurish” with homemade special effects and volunteer actors, but I was absolutely WRONG! What is astounding is that the creators were able to recreate the whole set of the original series, as well as costumes and props. The series have also seen guest stars like George Takei (Mr. Sulu) and Pavel Andreievich (Mr. Chekov) from the actual original series! Here is a short snippet from the first episode, entitled, “In Harms Way”:

Apparently, the project has been so popular that they’ve received a lot of volunteers and even donations to fund it! The webseries is a non-profit show and is fully endorsed by Gene Roddenberry Jr. (the son of the late Gene Roddenberry). To watch more of New Voyages (which has recently been renamed “Star Trek: Phase II”), you can download the episodes on the site.

-Stephen