User Reviews

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OK.

So James Cawley spent $100000 to recreate the sets. Kudos. And seriously impressively dedicated. Then he actually started to film new episodes. Impressive. I have to admit I even enjoy his take on the Kirk character. He has his own style to be sure but it's his and his alone - much like Shat's own style back in the day.

I actually imagine James Cawley built in an apartment to the closed used car dealer he built the sets in. I would have.

The only thing I really have to say about it is this, and this is why I don't really understand this episode...

Pavel dies at the end. He obviously doesn't die in the real time line of Star Trek. He has to be around to say "Botany Bay? Botany Bay!" in Star Trek 2 - The Wrath of Khan. (Even though his character is no where to be found in the original Trek episode with Khan....) Should this episode have not been slightly rewritten to somehow save the character? Other than that - it's pretty cool to see new Trek episodes.

And James Cawley, if you read this - I'd love to work on the show. Keep me in mind. =D @yahoo.com

On the heels of seeing the impossible accomplished with JJ Abrams's blockbuster: Star Trek, I decided to do some research into TOS story lines/backstories, and found out about ST:NV. I, like many fellow Trekkers, was certainly curious to see what fan-films would look/feel like. I did watch the pilot "Come What May" and the 1st episode "In Harm's Way." I could say that for the most part they were horrible (and I say that with admiration for the effort). I thought the acting was forced, the plots were impossible to follow, and the action was unsteady. I felt nothing for the characters, and could barely hear them at times because the music soundtrack was so loud and penetrating under EVERY scene. I certainly don't remember TOS having distracting music. Movie music works best when it's not heard, but felt. Well, after this Strike 2, I didn't want to hear or see anymore of these so-called "New Voyages."

However, seeing that Walter Koenig himself was going to reprise the role of Chekov, I went ahead and downloaded "To Serve All My Days." I'm glad I did, because it was a 175 degree change in direction (not quite a complete turn-around, but a VAST improvement). Seeing what this team is truly capable of, I can (in hindsight) forgive them for the previous shoddy work. You see here on IMDb, many of them had never been involved in ANY film or program prior to volunteering for duty on ST:NV. The best way to learn anything is by actually doing it, so it appears those first 2 episodes were just getting their feet wet, for now they are fully in the water and starting to hit their stride.

I also watched "World Enough And Time," starring George Takei. I think having the original actors on the set was the best thing possible for this crew. Either Walter and George gave acting tips to the new actors, or simply by being in scenes with them, it raised the emotional commitment (and thus believability) of the "newbies." I had genuine interest in the characters, laughed at the appropriate humor and camaraderie, and even had tears in my eyes seeing the innocence and pain of Sulu's daughter. Production value has gone WAY up, the the only comment I have is they might need to throw a bit more lighting on some of the set pieces, or open the aperture of the camera a bit...seems kinda dark.

That being said, I can't wait to download "Blood And Fire" to see where this Trek goes next. Plus, they re-casted Uhura, and I know Kim Stinger personally, having worked together before...small world, I guess...which is perhaps one of the lessons of Star Trek afterall.

Bottomline: Congrats to James Cawley and the whole Team. You're making Trek live, and with the renewed interest in the Franchise, I'm sure internet viewers will keep tuning in to see what happens to our beloved characters.

From what I've heard here this is a Fan film, which means it's like a student film and it looks it. Dorothy Clara Fontana was a nice touch as writer, as was Walter Koneig as the older Chekov. The younger once wasn't bad at all. He played with his role. Uhuruh was also good, even though she didn't have much of a part, what she did she did well. The sets were great, the effects were great and even better than some of the STNG effects.

Overall, all the actors had no idea what to do with their bodies. They were like Gerry Anderson's puppets in Fireball XL-9.

The casting of Spock and Mr. Scott was not very good.

All the older performers were very good.

There were a lot of technical problems that just shouldn't have been in this production unless I saw a work in progress cut.

The exchanges in the room of the two Chekov's had gaps in the sound. Someone didn't run roomtone and didn't layer it across the entire scene.

That's a no-no. You run room tone or a loop of special sound effects and play that low enough to cover the edits in the sound track.

You don't break the spell. You are casting an illusion and to have sound edits you can hear as they go to dead space just ruins the experience.

I gave this a 6 out of 10 because it was a low budget effort and to be fair I give the original Star Trek pilot only an 8. There, too, the actors were all green except for Jeffrey Hunter, the Doctor and Number One.

Once again it was all the older ones that were relaxed.

I know it was supposed to be retro, but it's supposed to be the 1960s not the 1950's and this was no Space Patrol. Even Rocky Jones had quality production values.

My main issue here is with the filmmakers, especially the sound department. The DP was very good and I think he captured Jerry Finerman's lighting concepts nicely.

I've been watching Star Trek since walking several blocks in order to see the first televised episode, "Man Trap", on a color T.V. way back in 1966. I've watched the other versions of Star Trek come and go over the years, but the original series has been far and away the best of it all, motion pictures included.

Thus, upon discovery of the "New Voyages", for me it's been a breath of fresh air. I thoroughly enjoy these fan productions, and best I can tell, "New Voyages" are easily the best of them. I thought the earlier "New Voyages" episode, "In Harm's Way", was outstanding, and I feel the exact same way about "To Serve All My Days".

The production, for a fan film, is utterly fantastic. The quality of the Windows Media acts that I downloaded were superb, from the crisp video, special effects, and soundtrack, to the amazing attention to detail with respect to canon and continuity from the original series. But let's clear up one thing right off...nobody is going to replace William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, etc., and to their credit, this "New Voyages" crew doesn't attempt to. These versions of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy stand on their own. Another big plus is bringing in so many people from the original series' run. This episode was penned by none other than D.C. Fontana, and Walter Koenig reprises his role as Chekov. My only complaint would be that the new crew needs to develop some un-forced camaraderie as the original cast did, but as these episodes progress, that appears to be happening. The acting in this episode is a definite step forward from "In Harm's Way".

As a Star Trek fan, this episode was a thrill to watch, and without giving away spoilers, the way young Andy Bray evolves into an older Walter Koenig was, to me, very nicely done.

At last, we get to see the last 2 years of the 5-year mission. I now look forward eagerly to the next episode, bringing in George Takei as Sulu!

This is kinda spoilery.. but if anyone actually bothered to watch tot he end, PAST the credits, they would have learned that Checkov does NOT die.. I Won't reveal the final scene, but if those that complained had watched they would understand perfectly why it was never mentioned and why he appears later in episodes... As to the episode itself, I found it to be quite interesting.. Kirk working with a Klingon??.. The , what appeared to be, sexual tension of Checkov and a much older lady?

The only downside was the ancient visual effects (CGI) that even by the more recent episodes, pales in comparison...

all in all, great episode and love the series.. it and Star trek continues keep the ream alive!!

When I heard that DC Fontana would write for Classic Trek one more time, I was overjoyed. The woman who wrote "Journey to Babel" and "The Enterprise Incident" (among other) and served as Script consultant on so many of the classic episodes was returning to the fold.

It was sadly disappointing. Don't get me wrong; Koenig's performance was great, and those of the rest of the New Voyages cast were at their normal level.

What I found disappointing was Fontana's writing. It was utterly depressing - and pointlessly so. Sure, Koenig is given a death scene, and it's certainly meant to be his own personal farewell to the part that he's played for the last 40 years. But it is TOTALLY out of continuity with the rest of the Trek universe.

As one who's watched all 6 series over and over again, I can only say that I doubt I'll ever watch this again.

I have watched this series "Star Trek New Voyages" from the beginning and being a "Star Trek" fan for 40 years now, I find it to be delightful! This episode is by far the best they have done yet. The production values are fantastic and even the acting has gotten better for the normal cast.

Chekov's Death is done with dignity befitting Koenig's 40 year role as the young ensign and I shed tears much the same as I did when Spock died in "The Wrath of khan".

Considering that this production is done on roughly $64000 dollars and episode it is fantastic and deserves whatever accolades it gets! Every "Star Trek" fan should check this fan film out. It has garnered support from people who have worked on "Star Trek" in the past because it is done so very well. Although not perfect, and still not quite up to par with a production done by a major studio, remember that in 1987 "Star Trek The Next Generation" required over 1 million dollars and episode to produce. What these guys are doing with very little money is nothing short of miraculous.

When I first caught the pilot of New Voyages, needless to say it got my attention. It had many of the same qualities as the original series. But there was some want for better dialog and plot flow. The first episode, "In Harm's Way" brought a bit more of this to light, and even included a cameo by William Windom.

But it wasn't until I saw "To Serve All My Days" that I realized James Cawley and his cronies were really on to something. I had absolutely no disappointments in this episode. The plot was great, the acting was better, and Walter Koenig gracing the screen with his presence was an absolutely crowning touch.

The only true problem I saw was the death of Chekov, and then him mysteriously resurrected for the following episode, "World Enough and Time," without any explanation whatsoever. It's something that's semi-expected out of a trek series, but not very commonly placed.

All in all however, I feel like Cow Creek is bringing new life to the franchise, even though it's non-canonical. I hope to see many more from them in the coming months.

Great for sci-fi clueless Trek fans, insomniacs and for slackers. The reason people take a look at fan videos is because they are curious & often bored. No one in their right mind ever thinks this stuff is Trek. Those videos are right up there with the clever home video featuring the upside down "chin" puppet chewing, kitten in the bathtub, and boring people's personal travel videos. These Trek videos (New Voyages & Hidden Frontier)are not anything to boast about, except when it comes to the desperate video makers & their crews. These people have so little in their real lives that they act like this video stuff should be on Entertainment Tonight. When there is a slow news day, fan videos may get the ODD media 'local color' reporter reporting on these home videos much like the prize winning Spelling Bee champion or shark attack. Most times these Trek videos masquerade under the 3 billion dollar ViaCom/CBS (owned, trademarked, copyrighted) name of 'Star Trek: fan home video blank - kiddie blank'. That is the hook! A built in Trek gullible fan base that has not been legitimately won with pure video project watch ability. They use all sorts of tricks to gain some 'worth' from the sycophantic fans starved for any self-serving Trek boorish video Internet "fix".

ATTENTION: **I do NOT subscribe to the often professed idiotic fan notion that because there is currently no professional new Trek available to today's Trek impatient viewers, something (those tacky fan videos) is better than nothing. That statement reflects more about those childish fans who are too self-absorbed and want all things to IMMEDIATELY satisfy themselves much like a baby crying for it's mother teat. It's just demonstrates a lack of real maturity and adult grit. Also, these fan video makers call themselves, wrongly (seeking some more measure of false approval), "Films". They don't shoot on the film medium at all. They shoot on digital video tape, which increasingly everyone can do with mindless, non-creative ease (kittens in the bathtub!). And smart people know that film shooting is more involved, expensive, and less technically forgiving on lighting, editing, and many other production matters. Amateurs will not try film. They would fall even more flat. But by saying 'films', these rookies try to sound like film 'artists'. They are NOT.

Speaking of artists, these very rookies steal or 'borrow' countless amounts of stolen digital video bits and pieces (without permission) of other artist's digital video property. They steal music, green screen backgrounds for virtual sets, characters, other Trek things and many more or less. Even the good name of Star Trek. It's called copyright theft, plain and simple with these Trek pirated drama projects. And their piracy is not just from the other owner's Trek projects either. They pirate from ANYONE who has what they need to finished their tawdry patchwork stolen video projects. Fans and all. And the most ironic part of these fan videos are that many, if not most of these amateurs will crow loudly among their non - thinking unprincipled confrontational crews how their little home videos are so much better that people who make their everyday living doing TV and film production. The hypocrisy of their egotistic words are enough to have people falling down in side-ripping laughter. Some of these ridiculous small time home video makers become sick obsessive Internet trolls to follow & attack the reputation of legitimate Trek members of the TV & film production unions, who daily get paid for their project talents and artwork. Jealousy is the only reason for that. To make too much positive or seek too much personal fame about several of these Trek fan videos really is tragically self delusional but childishly quaint of them.