Starship Exeter

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Starship Exeter
Genre Science fiction
Creator(s) Jimm & Josh Johnson, based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
Starring James Culhane
Holly Guess
Michael Buford
Joshua Caleb
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 2
Production
Executive producer(s) Jimm Johnson
Broadcast
Original channel World Wide Web
Original run December 19, 2002
Links
[www.starshipexeter.com Official website]
IMDb profile

Starship Exeter is one of the earliest of the semi-professional fan film projects that have become an increasingly common fixture of the internet video scene. Although fan films have been produced for almost as long as there have been film fans, they were generally few and far between before the advent of home video. It is only with the two pronged revolution of digital video production/editing and the advent of internet distribution that they have become something more than a curiosity to be shared by a few intimates.

In the chronology of modern Star Trek fan films, Exeter was one of the first in producution, and the first of the video era to make extensive use of practical sets and locations. What makes the production notable is its fidelty to its source material. The show is produced to look and sound like a production circa 1969.

Starship Exeter is set within the continuity of the original Star Trek series. It takes place on one of the sister ships of the famous USS Enterprise, the titular USS Exeter, which appeared in the original Star Trek episode "The Omega Glory".

Produced by Jimm and Josh Johnson for the non-profit Exeter Studio, to date, there is one complete episode, and a second mid-way through its release in installments.

Contents

[edit] Episodes

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • "The Savage Empire" (2002)

Written & Directed by Jimm & Josh Johnson
STARDATE: 4943.5 - The U.S.S. Exeter, freshly recrewed and commanded by Captain John Garrovick, is on a mission to save a ship infected with the deadly Canopus Plague. The Exeter must travel to the homeworld of Andorian Lieutenant B'fuselek to find the cure. But Andorian rebels have other plans . . . and so do the Klingons!

    • Possible criticisms include mechanical dialog, unnecessarily long political debates, poorly-acted fight scenes where blows are not completed (to protect the actors), and lack of a science-fiction concept behind it. Many of these criticism do not seem to apply to the second episode, which appears to have learned from the first.
  • "The Tressaurian Intersection" (2005)

Teleplay by Dennis Russell Bailey, Story by Jimm & Josh Johnson, Dennis Russell Bailey and Maurice Molyneaux
Directed by Scott Cummins

The Bridge of Starship Exeter
The Bridge of Starship Exeter

STARDATE: 5013.1 - Starbase 16 is destroyed and Captain Garrovick's old ship, the U.S.S. Kongō, is missing. On a hunt for the perpetrators, the Exeter encounters a strange ghost out of Garrovick's past -- the Tressaurians: a savage race responsible for stranding Garrovick on planet Tangaro as a young cadet. Now, the Tressuarians are tampering with a deadly new technology. Can the crew of the Exeter uncover it's secrets in time, or will this discovery lead to an even greater threat?

  • "The Atlantis Invaders" (pre-production)

STARDATE 5792.8 - A code factor one call from the mining colony on Atlantis VI brings the U.S.S. Exeter speeding across the quadrant, but when Garrovick and his team beam down, all seems strangely quiet. One by one, miners are disappearing, while the colony director is trying every trick in the book to get the Exeter to leave. Indeed, a stealthy invasion has begun - but who are the real Atlantis Invaders?

[edit] Cast

[edit] Main characters

Picture Character Rank Actor Position
John Quincy Garrovick Captain James Culhane Garrovick is the cousin of Ensign Garrovick, who joined Captain Kirk in an attempt to destroy a mist-creature in the original Star Trek episode "Obsession". Both were nearly killed until Mr. Spock performed a brilliant transporter maneuver (cross-circuiting to "B") that saved both their lives.
Jo Harris Commander Holly Guess Harris is the Executive (First) Officer as well as the science officer of the ship, following the pattern of Spock from the original series. Harris is a human from Great Britain on Earth.
Paul Cutty Commander Michael Buford The ship's Chief Security Officer, he served with then-Commander Garrovick on-board the USS Kongō where the two became close friends. The Kongō was captained by an officer they both looked up to, Captain Kosnett (Garry Peters), who makes a cameo appearance in the second episode.
B'fuselek Lieutenant Joshua Caleb B'fuselek is the Exeter's Andorian communications officer. The makeup is patterned on designs seen in the original series episodes "Journey To Babel" and "Whom Gods Destroy". The character's background is derived from several Trek-based RPGs of the 1970s and 1980s.
Dr. Vincent Azato Lieutenant Commander Joe Azzato Exeter's Chief Medical Officer, Azato studied medicine at the University of Tharsis on Mars. After his residency, he joined the space service where he served aboard a number of small ships, eventually settling into a long term position at Starbase 11. He requested a transfer to the U.S.S. Exeter on Stardate 4773.4.
Vandi Richards Ensign Elizabeth Wheat Richards is the Captain's assistant (this position was referred to as "yeoman" in the original series, but the term hasn't been used in the parts of "The Tressaurian Intersection" that have been released). As a candidate for command training, her assignment to assist the Captain is described by Harris as a requirement for her career advancement.
Alexander Cray Lieutenant Cody Hammock Lt. Cray is the ship's Helm Officer. He is a model officer who has proven himself indispensible to Garrovick and the Exeter team.

NOTE: "James Culhane" and "Joshua Caleb" are pseudonyms, or stage names, for the Johnson brothers.

[edit] External links

Media

Official websites

Star Trek fan productions
Film Projects

New Voyages · Of Gods and Men · Hidden Frontier · Intrepid
The Pepsi Generation · Star Wreck · Starship Exeter · Stone Trek