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James Darren, "Gidget" actor, singer and director, dies at 88

September 3, 2024 / 12:28 AM EDT / CBS/AP

James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film "Gidget," died Monday at 88.

Darren died in his sleep at a Los Angeles hospital, his son Jim Moret confirmed to CBS News.

Moret told CBS News that Darren was admitted to the hospital last week for an aortic valve replacement, but he was unable to receive one due to his strength at the time. He was then rushed back to the hospital on Sunday.

"It was kind of a surprise to be quite honest with you," Moret told CBS News. "I mean, we knew that he was not well, but we didn't expect this." 

Moret said Darren wasn't in pain and that he "was able to express his love for his family."

In his long career, Darren acted, sang and built up a successful behind-the-scenes career as a television director, helming episodes of such well-known series as "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place." In the 1980s, he was Officer Jim Corrigan on the television cop show "T.J. Hooker."

But to young movie fans of the late 1950s, he would be remembered best as Moondoggie, the dark-haired surfer boy in the smash 1959 release "Gidget." Dee starred as the title character, a spunky Southern Californian who hits the beach and eventually falls in love with Moondoggie.

"I was in love with Sandra," Darren later recalled. "I thought that she was absolutely perfect as Gidget. She had tremendous charm."

The film was based on a novel that a California man, Frederick Kohner, had written about his own teenage daughter and helped spur interest in surfing — one that influenced pop music, slang and even fashion.

For Darren, his success with teen fans led to a recording contract, as it did with many young actors at the time, among them Tab Hunter and Annette Funicello. Two of Darren's singles, "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Her Royal Majesty," reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Goodbye Cruel World" also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 2022 semi-autobiographical film, "The Fabelmans."Other singles included "Gidget" and "Angel Face."

Darren was the only "Gidget" cast member who appeared in both its sequels, 1961's "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" and 1963's "Gidget Goes to Rome." Dee was replaced by Deborah Walley in the second film and Cindy Carol in the third. "Gidget" later became a television show, launching the career of Sally Field.

"They had me under contract; I was a prisoner," Darren told Entertainment Weekly in 2004. "But with those lovely young ladies, it was the best prison I think I'll ever be in."

As a contract player at Columbia Studios, Darren appeared in grown-up films, too, including "The Brothers Rico," "Operation Meatball" and "The Guns of Navarone."

By the mid-'60s, when Darren appeared in "For Those Who Think Young" and "The Lively Set," his big-screen acting career was almost over. He appeared in just a handful of movies after the 1960s ended, last appearing in 2017's "Lucky," directed by John Carroll Lynch.

But he remained active on television, appearing as a lead on the sci-fi show "The Time Tunnel" in the late 1960s, and doing guest spots and small recurring roles in TV shows such as "The Love Boat," "Hawaii Five-O" and "Fantasy Island."

Darren was a series regular for four seasons of the William Shatner-starrer "T.J. Hooker" in the 1980s. While appearing on the show, he noticed that no director was listed for an upcoming sequence and asked if he could try out for it.

"When it was shown, I got several offers to direct," he told the New York Daily News. "Soon I was getting so many offers to direct, I kind of gave up acting and singing."

For almost two years, Darren directed episodes of "Walker, Texas Ranger," "Hunter," "Melrose Place," "Beverly Hills 90210" and other series. He returned to acting in the 1990s with small roles in "Melrose Place" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Darren was born James Ercolani in 1936 and grew up in South Philadelphia, not far from such fellow teen idols of the 1950s and '60s as Fabian and Frankie Avalon. Singing came easy to him, and at 14 he was appearing in local nightclubs.

"From the age of 5 or 6 I knew I wanted to be an entertainer, or famous maybe," he said in a 2003 interview with the News-Press of Fort Myers, Florida. He noted that such luminaries as Eddie Fisher and Al Martino had lived in the same area as he did, "a real neighborhood. It made you feel you could be successful, too."

According to a 1958 Los Angeles Times profile, he got a break when he went to New York to get some pictures taken and the photographer's office put him in touch with a talent scout.

He was soon signed by Columbia Pictures, and the newspaper said that after a few appearances, his fan mail at the studio was running "second only to Kim Novak's. ... The studio now feels that the young man is ready to hit the jackpot."

Darren married his first wife, Gloria, in 1955 and together had Moret, an "Inside Edition" correspondent and former CNN anchorman. After a divorce he married Evy Norlund, who came to the U.S. as the Danish entry in the Miss Universe contest. They had two sons, Christian and Anthony.

He was also the godfather of Nancy Sinatra's daughter A.J. Lambert.

"One of my dearest, closest friends in all the world, of all my life has passed away," Sinatra wrote on social media. "Godfather to my daughter, AJ. Wishing him a fast & beautiful journey through the Universe & beyond. Godspeed, sweet Jimmy. My heart is torn but full of love for Evy, Christian, Anthony & Jimmy Jr."

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Den of Geek

The Star Trek Movies and TV Shows That Never Happened

We've had a lot of great Star Trek movies and TV shows over the years. But here are some interesting ideas that never trekked their way to the screen.

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Exploration. Discovery. Evolution.

These core concepts are not just at the center of Starfleet, but of Star Trek itself. The Original Series harnessed the optimism of the 1960s and projected it on screen. That ethos has allowed Star Trek to explore many new ideas through different series, films, spinoffs, and even a reboot on the big screen.

But as vast as the world of Star Trek already is, it could have been so much bigger. The story of Star Trek is, in part, the story of fits and starts. For every project that makes it to screen, there are two Trek projects that never came to fruition. Below is a list of some of the most interesting Star Trek ideas that never made it out of development.

Star Trek – The (Original) Original Series

Even non- Trekkies know that William Shatner’s James T. Kirk wasn’t the first choice as Captain of the USS Enterprise . Instead, Jeffrey Hunter plays Captain Christopher Pike in the first filmed episode, 1964’s “The Cage.” Compelled but not yet sold, NBC asked Gene Roddenberry to try again, which led to the show’s proper pilot (but not, strangely, the first episode aired), “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

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But before Pike took command of the Enterprise , the treatment Roddenberry shopped to networks was about Captain Robert April of the USS Yorktown . Aspects of this treatment did eventually make it into the show, as Admiral Robert April appears in both The Animated Series and Strange New Worlds . And the Yorktown did take flight, getting name dropped in Star Trek IV and Voyager .

Meanwhile, although Roddenberry later reworked it into the season one two-parter “The Menagerie,” “The Cage” is different enough from Star Trek proper that it feels like the pilot of a very different series. In addition to Pike, the Enterprise of “The Cage” was operated by first officer Number One (Majel Barrett, who would go on to play Laxwana Troi in The Next Generation and voice the ship’s computer), Pike got his physical not from Bones but from the even older and grouchier Doctor Boyce (John Hoyt), and trusts not in Sulu but in navigator Lt. José Taylor (Peter Duryea). Even Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, the one familiar face, feels very different, laughing in glee at the sight of alien flora.

Odd as “The Cage” was, its elements have been repurposed for books and comics, as well as plotlines in Strange New Worlds .

Assignment: Earth (TV)

With the help of none other than Lucille Ball, Star Trek made it to air and ran for two seasons. But Roddenberry could tell that NBC didn’t like the return they got on their effects budget. Sensing an imminent cancelation, Roddenberry developed a new series to pitch to studios. Assignment: Earth starred Robert Lansing as Gary Seven, a human descended from a line of people taken from prehistoric Earth and cultivated by well-meaning aliens.

The series would have followed Gary’s attempts to prevent changes in Earth’s history, ensuring that humanity reaches its full potential. But no network (by which I mean just CBS , NBC, and ABC ) bit, so Roddenberry reworked his pilot into the final episode of season two, appropriately called “Assignment Earth.”

That episode failed to launch a new series, and while Gary Seven and his sidekick Roberta Lincoln (Terri Garr) do live on in comics and novels, Roddenberry had to save Assignment: Earth ‘s benevolent alien ideas for a little-loved 1974 movie called The Questor Tapes .

Star Trek: Planet of the Titans (film)

“Assignment: Earth” was almost the final episode of Star Trek . But a letter writing campaign led by fan Bjo Trimble convinced NBC to pony up for one more season. Of course, in 1969, Star Trek was canceled for good.

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But then a funny thing happened in reruns. Star Trek became a smash in syndication, something that could finally be measured thanks to the newly-instituted Nielsen rating system. Then, fan conventions happened, bringing the cast back together and proving that an audience for Star Trek still existed.

Paramount wanted to capitalize on the hype, but couldn’t decide on a particular project. The studio considered a second animated show, a live-action series, and a TV movie before settling on a proper theatrical film.

Written by Chris Bryant and Allan Scott, and then re-written by potential director Phillip Kaufman, Planet of the Titans would have followed the Enterprise on an adventure to the dawn of history, with Kirk and crew meeting the first humans and even giving them the gift of fire.

Prime Directive violations aside, Planet of the Titans didn’t make it out of development. However, it did get far enough along for Paramount to commission concept art from Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie’s designs, which included an Enterprise refit, ended up in Star Trek III and in a few episodes of TNG .

Star Trek: Phase II (TV)

When Planet of the Titans stalled, Paramount saw an opportunity to launch their long-planned TV network (the unrealized Paramount Television Service) with a beloved series. The studio brought Roddenberry back on board for Star Trek: Phase II , to launch in 1978.

As its name suggests, Star Trek: Phase II would have been a legacy sequel to the Original Series . Kirk, Bones, Chekov, and Uhura were all slated to return, with promotions for their characters, as would Chapel and Rand. The only hold out was Leonard Nimoy, who was at that time so adamant that he wasn’t Spock that he wrote a whole book about it.

To take the place of Spock, Phase II planned for a full-Vulcan crew member named Xon. A recent Starfleet Academy grad, Xon struggled with a deep distrust for humans, which added an increased level of tension to the show.

The new crew also featured a Deltan called Ilia and Kirk’s new first officer Willard Decker, son of Commodore Matt Decker from “ The Doomsday Machine .” If those names sound familiar, it’s because the franchise kept them when Phase II evolved into Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

Well, mostly. The intended romance between the empath Ilia and the swashbuckling Decker doesn’t have much premise in The Motion Picture , but Roddenberry used those dynamics as the basis for Riker and Troi in The Next Generation . In fact, the TNG episodes “The Child” and “Devil’s Due” were initially Phase II scripts, rewritten for the new crew.

And what of Xon? Many of the ideas for Xon found expression in Data, and especially T’Pol from Enterprise , where Vulcan distaste for humans was a major plot point for the first couple seasons. Xon himself got his pon farr on with Saavik in a non-canon comic book, but outside of a placard in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Xon’s only in-canon name drop occurred when Boimler mentioned him in Lower Decks , because Lower Decks never forgets.

Star Trek II: War of the Generations

Even the most J.J. hating, “ Discovery is not real Trek ” insisting Trekkie has to admit that Wrath of Khan saved the franchise. By shifting from slow-moving awe and intellectual debates to naval combat, Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer made Trek a movie franchise that could compete during the blockbuster age.

But the first idea for Star Trek II would have gone even further. Star Trek II: War of the Generations imagined David Marcus leading anti-Federation rebels, a sort of forerunner to the Maquis. When Kirk goes to save Carol and confront his son, he discovers that the group’s true leader is Khan Noonien Singh.

Of course, a renegade member of the Marcus family and shady Starfleet dealings show up in the aptly-named Star Trek Into Darkness . Given the gap in quality between that film and Wrath of Khan , it’s clear that Bennett and Meyer made the right decision.

Star Trek: The First Adventure (film)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was originally intended as the end to the Original Series crew’s adventures. After sending the Enterprise to the center of the galaxy to meet God, Paramount decided to go back to the beginning to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Star Trek . A prequel film called Star Trek: The First Adventure— aka Star Trek: Academy or The Academy Years —went into production.

The story would have recast the main characters (as much as Shatner would have certainly argued that he could play young Kirk with the right hairpiece and girdle) to follow their first meetings. The film showed the early rivalry between Spock and Kirk and Kirk giving McCoy his famous nickname. The crew would have teamed up to save the first version of the Enterprise .

Fittingly enough, that version of the Enterprise became the NX-01 on the show Enterprise . And although Paramount shelved The First Adventure , the idea of a Starfleet Academy story stayed at the front of mind. Some of these aspects ended up in the 2009 Star Trek movie by J.J. Abrams , including Kirk’s rivalry with Spock and his friendship with McCoy. A new “origin” movie that could play with these ideas further is also currently in the works from director Toby Haynes and producer Simon Kinberg. Time will tell if that movie ends up on this list at a later date.

Star Trek and Babylon 5 (TV)

Star Trek: The Next Generation sparked a revival of sci-fi television, which led to the production of SeaQuest DSV , Farscape , and Babylon 5 . But before developing it into the TV show we now know, writer J. Michael Straczynski pitched Babylon 5 to Paramount as a Star Trek show. Some have speculated that producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller integrated parts of that pitch into Deep Space Nine , but Straczynski himself has dismissed such rumors, calling any similarities between the two shows pure coincidence.

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Paramount planned for Star Trek: The Next Generation to continue the tradition of TOS in more ways than one, with the crew of the Enterprise -D jumping to the big screen after the series ran its course. We know that the transition happened in Star Trek: Generations , in which the Nexus allows Captains Kirk and Picard to meet.

Originally, however, writer Maurice Hurley wanted to bring the Captains together by borrowing a page from Geordi’s Leah Brahms playbook. In that version of the movie, Picard would create a version of Kirk on the holodeck to help him deal with an inter-dimensional invasion.

Paramount passed on the idea and went with the Generations plot we know. However, with the revelation from Picard ‘s third season that Kirk’s remains currently reside in the Daystrom Institute, perhaps it won’t be too out of the question for a recreated Kirk to appear in the 25th century at some point, especially since Strange New Worlds has its own young Kirk in Paul Wesley.

Star Trek: IMAX (‘short’ film)

Given how much the movies love to show off the Enterprise , an IMAX Trek movie seems obvious. In 1997, Paramount wrote a script for a 40-minute IMAX short film that would have showed off state-of-the-art technology.

We don’t know much about the script at this point, other than the fact that it would have starred Chief Miles Edward O’Brien and Chancellor Gorkon, the Gorbachev-styled Klingon Chancellor who died in Star Trek VI . As much fun as it would have been to see that improbable pair hanging out together, the film never made it past the script stage.

Captain Sulu

George Takei has a famously rocky relationship with William Shatner. Surprisingly, he describes his time shooting the disastrous Star Trek V , directed by Shatner, as “surprisingly pleasant.” Still, Takei was reluctant to join up for one last run with the old crew, which is why Sulu gets promoted to Captain of the Excelsior sometime before Star Trek VI .

When the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Flashback” revisited Sulu’s actions on the Excelsior during that film, fan demand grew and producers began toying with the idea of a Sulu-focused TV movie. Some versions even considered teaming Sulu with his daughter Demora, first introduced in Generations .

However, the idea didn’t get farther than that, letting Takei go on to his true calling as elderly meme machine.

Star Trek: Enterprise Season 5+ (TV)

Even the show’s biggest defenders admit that it was a long road for Enterprise , going from hated (and unnecessarily horny) prequel show to compelling television. But by the time the series hit its fourth season and the Xindi arc really kicked in, Trekkies and casual viewers had come around to the voyages of the NX-01. Ultimately, it’s a shame the show never got to see its plans through.

According to initial plans, season five would have seen a major redesign for the Enterprise and a Romulan war. Other ideas included Alice Krige playing a human science officer who encounters a Borg (leading to her becoming the Borg Queen), and even a return to the Mirror Universe and the further adventures of Empress Sato.

Of course, the fourth season never happened and Trek disappeared from televisions until Star Trek: Discovery in 2017, which did go all in with the Mirror Universe and its evil Empress—but Philippa Georgiou ( Michelle Yeoh ) instead of Hoshi.

Star Trek: Lions of the Night

Before the franchise took the plunge with Star Trek: Prodigy , a different CG animated series was in development in 2003 and would have brought George Takei in as a voice actor. Jimmy Diggs, the writer who created the concept, referred to it as “Captain Sulu takes command of the USS Enterprise-B and must stop a Kzinti (as featured in Star Trek: The Animated Series ) invasion of Federation Space.”

Considering the warm reception of Voyager ‘s “ Flashback” and apparent interest for something Captain Sulu, it’s a massive shame this didn’t happen. Of course, Takei is still with us and could still do something like this. But even if he’s not in, we have Jon Cho’s Sulu waiting in the wings.

Star Trek 11 – Nemesis Sequel (film)

Yes, there could have been a “Justice League-style” team-up film starring all of your favorite Star Trek captains. Brent Spiner and Star Trek: Nemesis writer John Logan pitched a follow-up to the 10th Star Trek film in which Khan, the Borg, Shinzon, and lots of other baddies from Star Trek ‘s movie past return to wage war on the Federation. Of course that means Picard and his crew have to travel back in time to recruit Starfleet’s greatest heroes.

Picard saves Data just before he blows up in Nemesis and then goes even further back and saves Kirk from his death in Generations . Not enough for you? The pitch even brought back Spock and Captain Archer from Star Trek: Enterprise . Later the refitted and upgraded Federation flagship under Captain Picard’s command is joined by Admiral Janeway and the USS Voyager as well as Captain Sisko and the Defiant . A plot device or two results in the Enterprise , Voyager , and Defiant assisting Captain Riker’s USS Titan in Romulan space. Beyond the fact that this would have been the most expensive Trek movie ever made, the failure of Star Trek: Nemesis at the box office killed this all-star team-up completely.

Star Trek (11): The Beginning (film)

As much as we grouch about Star Trek prequels , the concept isn’t anything new. Back in 2005, the movie Star Trek: The Beginning was supposed to bridge the gap between Star Trek: Enterprise and the Original Series . The Beginning would have featured Tiberius Chase, Kirk’s ancestor and the man who originated his hated middle name. The series would have dealt with a war between Earth and the Romulans, which threatened to undo the young Federation.

Given the mixed reception to Enterprise , Paramount deemed it wiser to scrap all connections to that show, leaving space for the J.J. Abrams reboots.

Star Trek: Final Frontier (animated web series)

By the mid-2000s, networks were already experimenting with streaming by creating exclusive content for their websites. But instead of doing something like The Office: The Accountants —side stories from The Office streamed on NBC’s site—Paramount planned to make an entire Star Trek animated webseries for startrek.com.

Star Trek: Final Frontier took place in 2528, almost 200 years after Star Trek: Nemesis . A war with the Romulans has destroyed the Klingon Empire and badly crippled the Federation. Worse, humans have lost their major allies as Andoria was lost in the war and the Vulcans pulled out from the Federation. In this bleak future, Kirk’s descendent Alexander Chase would try to rebuild the Federation with his plucky crew.

Obviously, Final Frontier didn’t happen. But some of the ideas did get repurposed for other projects. One of Chase’s crew was to be an energy-based lifeform called Mr. Zero, who wore a containment suit. That sounds a lot like Zero from Prodigy , a Medusan who also lives in a containment suit.

Discovery ‘s later seasons also dealt with the crew trying to reestablish the Federation after it was decimated in the far future, while the destruction of Romulus resulted in the creation of Ni’Var, the new name for the planet Vulcan, on which Romulans and Vulcans now live together as one.

For those who want to know more about Final Frontier , however, there is a huge amount of archive for this particular lost Trek , with the development team behind it having made it available at www.startrekff.com .

Star Trek: Federation (TV)

The 2000s were a big decade for Bryan Singer, as his X-Men movies earned him a lot of acclaim and most did not yet know about his misdeeds. A massive Trekkie, Singer used his position to pitch a new television series, getting some help from writer Geoffrey Thorne and current Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie .

Star Trek: Federation took place in the year 3000, nearly 500 years after Nemesis , and also dealt with the dissolution of the Federation. Things get worse when a force called the Scourge wipes out several Starfleet ships and Federation colonies.

Alexander Kirk, a descendent of James T. and a survivor of the Scourge attacks, becomes the captain of the newest version of the Enterprise , who goes on a series of adventures, hoping to rebuild the Federation.

Paramount showed great interest in the idea and even penciled it in for a 2008 release. But the project didn’t get further than a full pitch document, and dropped from the calendar when the 2009 movie went into production. A lot of this pitch ended up in the latter seasons of Discovery instead.

Star Trek: The New Animated Series

After writing the screenplay for 2009’s Star Trek , Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman pitched an animated Star Trek to CBS. The duo had some success with the cartoon series Transformers: Prime , which spun out of the Transformers movies they had written, and hoped to replicate that again. But CBS worried that the movies would distract from any TV projects and passed on the show.

Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Worf Chronicles

Michael Dorn holds the record for the most appearances in Star Trek , having played Worf in TNG , the TNG movies, DS9 , Picard , and even playing Worf’s papa Mogh in Star Trek VI . And you know what? We still can’t get enough of our favorite Klingon/prune juice enthusiast.

Many Worf-focused pitches have been floated over the year, the most famous being a script by Dorn itself. Captain Worf would have seen the Bane of House Duras bringing the Federation and its old enemy the Klingon Empire closer together, while dealing with pressures from all sides. At the same time, Worf would deal with the fallout of the Dominion War and the sudden change in leadership among the Klingons, from Gowron to Martok.

Dorn’s return to the character in season three of Picard hinted at a slightly different version of events, as Worf left the Federation for a while after captaining the Enterprise . However, that run only whetted fans’ appetite for more Worf, hopefully in Star Trek: Legacy .

Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek

One of Quentin Tarantino ‘s most infamous movie ideas that never made it to the big screen involved his desire to make a Star Trek movie , a surprising possibility for the franchise-averse director. In 2017, Paramount announced that they had given a green light to Tarantino’s script, with Abrams set to produce.

Little is known about what Tarantino’s Star Trek would have been, outside of the fact that it would have been inspired by the TOS episode “A Piece of the Action,” in which Kirk and Spock land on a planet that resembled 1920s Chicago.

However, in 2023, co-writer Mark L. Smith shared a few aspects with Variety : “It was just a balls-out kind of thing,” Smith told the outlet. “But I think his vision was just to go hard. It was a hard R. It was going to be some Pulp Fiction violence,” he explained, while assuring readers that there was “[n]ot a lot of the language.”

Tarantino walked away from the film when he decided to do The Movie Critic as his 10th and final film. But since no one but him has said he can only make 10 movies, maybe he’ll boldly go back to Star Trek at some point.

Star Trek 4

Even before the release of Star Trek Beyond , Paramount began working on a sequel, which would have brought back Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk, the father of James, who died at the start of 2009. The film would have involved Kirk recovering his father from a pattern buffer, in the same way that Scotty arrived on the Enterprise -D in the TNG episode “Relics.”

In 2016, Abrams commissioned a script by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and S.J. Clarkson signed on to direct in 2018. The production hit snags because the studio could not come to terms with Chris Pine and Hemsworth about script, salary, schedule, or some combination of the three. Clarkson left the project in 2019 and was briefly replaced by Matt Shakman, who also left to helm the upcoming Fantastic Four movie.

As of this writing, a fourth Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movie is still in consideration, but there’s been no official progress.

Noah Hawley’s Star Trek

With both a Kelvin Timeline movie and Tarantino’s film stalled, Paramount hired Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley to begin work on a different Star Trek film. As with his well-known television series, Hawley planned to take creative liberties with the material, riffing on ideas from established Trek canon while finding his own interpretation.

Hawley’s film would have featured a new crew on a different ship, potentially played by Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek , encountering an alien virus that creates paranoia throughout the Federation. The COVID pandemic slowed the movie’s production and rendered its virus plot unsuitable. Hawley continued to discuss what could have been over the years, but has since moved on to make an Alien series for Hulu .

Star Trek: Legacy

Perhaps we should put an asterisk next to Star Trek: Legacy, because we still have hope that it will happen. The third season of Picard not only brought back together the crew of the Enterprise -D, but also checked in on other characters such as Tuvok from Voyager and ended with Seven of Nine as the captain of the Enterprise -G.

Picard season three showrunner Terry Matalas has been vocal on social media about wanting to continue the story with a new series dubbed Star Trek: Legacy . This show would focus on Seven’s adventures aboard the new Enterprise , while she encounters various people from the era, including looking in on members of Deep Space Nine and Voyager . While Trek heads Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman seem receptive to the idea of Legacy , nothing official has been announced. And with Matalas moving on to make a Vision series for Marvel , it seems like Picard season three is the end of the legacy.

James Darren, Teen Idol Actor in ‘Gidget,’ Singer and Director, Dies at 88

By Pat Saperstein

Pat Saperstein

Deputy Editor

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James Darren , who went from teen idol status acting in youth-oriented movies like “ Gidget ” to becoming an actor in TV shows such as “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “T.J. Hooker” and a singer and director, died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 88.

His son Jim Moret said that he had been able to express his love for his family while being treated in the cardiac unit. “He was a good man. He was very talented,” Moret said. “He was forever young.”

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The “Gidget” theme song launched a successful singer career for Darren, who had a gold record with “Goodbye Cruel World” in 1961 and released at least 14 albums. He continued to appear in feature films including “The Guns of Navarone,” “The Gene Krupa Story,” “All the Young Men” and “Because They’re Young.”

He reprised his role as Moondoggie in “Gidget Goes Hawaiian” and again in “Gidget Goes to Rome,” though he was tired of the typecasting by then.

Moving into television, he starred in the series “The Time Tunnel” and after a brief sojourn in Italy appearing in Jess Franco’s “Venus in Furs,” he went on to guest-star on numerous series including “Love, American Style,” “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat.”

Darren was a regular on “T.J. Hooker” from 1983 to 1986 and also moved into TV directing, working on series including “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Melrose Place.”

He found a new generation of fans in 1998 as Vic Fontaine, the holographic lounge singer on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

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Star Trek First Frontier

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Kenny Smith

Captain Robert April

Commander Sarah April

Mark Ashworth

Commander Young

Paul Telfer

Commander McCain

Vince Canlas

Lieutenant Commander Corbin

• August 30, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Star Trek Dances Through “Subspace Rhapsody” With Songwriters Kay Hanley and Tom Polce
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• August 28, 2024 | Interview: Nicholas Meyer On Why ‘The Wrath Of Khan’ Endures And His “Toxic” Memos With Gene Roddenberry
• August 27, 2024 | Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery – The Final Season’ On Blu-ray Comes To A Satisfying Conclusion
• August 27, 2024 | See Spock Imprisoned By Sela In Preview Of ‘Star Trek: Defiant’ #18

Fan Film Review: There’s A Lot Of Love In ‘Star Trek: First Frontier’

| October 27, 2020 | By: Dénes House 92 comments so far

Star Trek: First Frontier is an ambitious, full-length, fan-produced film focusing on Robert April, the first captain of the original USS Enterprise. The fan film, with over 900,000 views on YouTube since it was released month, strikes many of the notes that made Star Trek: The Original Series so special. And even though Star Trek: First Frontier is not exactly a bases-loaded home run, it swings for the fences with such gusto—including building an 11-foot model of the USS Enterprise for visual effects shots—that it’s impossible not to love it. This production was not crowdfunded, but it still breaks many of the fan film guidelines set out by CBS in recent years. However, as its principal photography was all completed before the guidelines were set in place, the team behind it hopes that the movie is “grandfathered” in as a result.

“Even when you were in diapers, you used to look at the night sky, and talk about those distant stars and galaxies, and tell me how far they were away. You read all about it in your science book. You’d say, when I’m grown up, they won’t be so far” – John April

Star Trek: First Frontier follows Captain Robert April as he returns from a dangerous mission in which he saved the lives of dozens of his crewmates, but all he can see in his mind’s eye are the people he was unable to save. The guilt of it manifests as a post-traumatic stress disorder, and though he puts up a strong front, he does not feel able to return to the stars that have drawn him onward since he was a child. “I am broken!” April says to his wife, Sarah. “I am not the man I once was! I have no idea how to be that man again.”

Robert Pralgo as Robert April and Tara Ochs as Sarah April

But April is pressed back into service by a series of attacks by the mysterious alien race, the Sa’ryn: bug-eyed, ’50s sci-fi-style monsters whose only motivation is destruction. “They have evolved to be cruel,” one character explains. “To become more vicious, to terrorize. That is what they do.” The Sa’ryn have been awakened from hibernation by Starfleet explorers and have taken some officers captive, including April’s sister. April is enlisted to take the newly built Enterprise out to find and rescue the hostages and to figure out how to stop the Sa’ryn’s deadly rampage through the galaxy.

There’s a lot to love in First Frontier . The project was the brainchild of director Kenneth Smith, who penned the story but instead of casting himself in a lead role, brought in a number of professionals. Robert Pralgo ( The Vampire Diaries ) plays Robert April as an intelligent but tormented man, learning to come to grips with his limitations. Tara Ochs ( Nashville ) is fantastic as Sarah April, a brilliant doctor who loves her husband but cannot figure out how to give him the help that he needs. The standout performance is by veteran character actor Barry Corbin ( Northern Exposure ). In the small role of April’s father John, he gives Robert the folksy inspirational speech that reignites his passion for space. However, other performances are on an uneven par, as with other fan productions.

Captain April (Robert Pralgo) on the bridge of the USS Enterprise in First Frontier

The costumes are superb, looking like a gentle upgrade to the uniforms from “The Cage” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before” without being a complete redesign. The sets are convincing, for the most part duplicating the pilot-era Enterprise interiors in excellent detail. The cinematography is solid with the exception of a few out-of-focus patches, taking a cue from Jerry Finnerman’s iconic imagery from TOS but dialing down some of the colors to suit a more modern palette. The score is borrowed directly from James Horner’s compositions for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , which at points seems to handcuff the action, as though the film was shot and cut to match the existing score rather than the other way around.

Some of the effects shots are fantastic. The 11-foot Enterprise model looks gorgeous, and even when Smith had to fall back on digital effects to speed up the production, many of the CG elements are quite convincing. In other spots, the film betrays its made-on-a-shoestring budget, with most of the matte effects feeling quite rough. There are a number of awkward edits, and at times characters and ships show up in places with little explanation, and April seems to make the same realization several times during a short stretch of story. The sound mix is annoyingly distracting, with the music and sound effects at times so overwhelming that you can’t hear the dialogue at all.

The USS Enterprise in First Frontier

But every fan film is a learning experience, and this one was made with a lot of love and a metric ton of ambition. I wish the Sa’ryn had more of a motivation than their “all will die” motto indicates. At its best, Star Trek shines by having alien races embody some aspect of human culture that Starfleet’s encounters with them can explore. The script includes a number of action set pieces, but resolving them doesn’t necessitate any growth on the protagonist’s part, making them feel episodic rather than integral.

Still, Star Trek: First Frontier captures a lot of the love of exploration and discovery that TOS built into the DNA of the Star Trek Universe from the very beginning. When Captain April invokes a blessing over the Enterprise in the film’s closing minutes and the ship heads out into the great unknown, any Star Trek fan will feel a sense of satisfaction and anticipation for what lies ahead. “The Good Lord has seen fit to provide us with plenty of stars to sail by. May he also see fit to provide a strong wind in our sails and safe passage on our journeys.”

Make it so.

Watch Star Trek: First Frontier

Behind the scenes on First Frontier

Ever since seeing the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode “The Counter-Clock Incident,” First Frontier producer Kenneth Smith has been fascinated with the character of Captain Robert April. Before Kirk, before Pike, April was the one who took the original USS Enterprise out of drydock for the very first time. What struck Smith so deeply about the character was his sense of deep satisfaction with his life. “When [he was] given the opportunity to relive that life, he turned it down. That always fascinated me,” Smith said. “I knew he must have had some amazing stories to tell to be that satisfied with his life with Sarah. He would be the first married Captain.”

First Frontier producer Kenny Smith (seated) with his team

His interest in the character led Smith to ultimately create this 80-minute fan film, detailing his version of April’s first voyage aboard the Enterprise. When his attempt at crowdfunding the movie failed, Smith decided to pay for the production himself, pursuing a seven-year journey step by step. Along the way, Smith collected some impressive talent for the production, including a moving opening narration by Nichelle Nichols.

Behind the scenes with actors Barry Corbin and Robert Pralgo

And his passion for The Original Series led Smith to attempt what no other fan production has done: construct a full-size, physical 11-foot model of the original Enterprise herself and shoot the visuals with old-school model photography techniques.

11-foot model of the USS Enterprise

For more on this project, visit the official Facebook Page .

Keep up with the news and analysis of Star Trek fan productions at TrekMovie.com .

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Watch: “The Bunny Incident” – A Star Trek Fan Film Starring Elementary School Kids

I guess there are no black or brown people in April’s world. Star Trek is a bout diversity, I guess they forgot that!

No need to bring up race but talk all you want.

Black lives matter

Haha I noticed that too but they do have a token Asian even though they make up nearly 40 percent of the earth’s population. Actually my comment is half tongue in cheek, because this is a fan film and I assume the makers are using their enthusiastic friends and family for the cast. Good work to actually get this off the ground and sincere congrats on the overall look and feel. I will have to check it out when I get a change. I enjoyed many of the other fan films based on TOS and I expect to do the same with this one.

The article notes they cast actual actors, not just their friends and family. Either way, could have brought in some non-white members of the fandom.

How do we know they didn’t try?

They didn’t

You didn’t even watch it. Some important characters are not white at all.

I would love to see a fan film where there’s only one token white guy. That’s way closer to what the real future will look like.

They’re on their own ship. Stupid comments beget stupid comments

Yeah, it’s a super-white cast, which is quite sad.

Is that really what you took away from this? No black or brown people? It must be exhausting going through life obsessed with the colour of someone’s skin or what’s between their legs. I pity you.

Now THAT was a stupid reply.

Came here to say this. Representation is important especially in Star Trek projects.

You must really hate when people talk about racism.

The first voice heard is that of a proud woman of color.

Sometimes you make a fan film with a group of friends, maybe just maybe you don’t have friends of every ethnicity (Hey maybe we should have a “Friends diversity act” and have quotas to full fill). My opinion is: If you need to bring up colour, … you are automatically racist or full of prejudice. Colour shouldn’t matter, no matter on which side of the colour spectrum you are. Also, SJW are known to draw the victim card when they run out of arguments.

But it’s Star Trek. Diversity is explicitly a mandate in casting. It’s a fan production, the alien is a non-white actor, there’s an African American playing a minor role as a crewman and Nichelle Nichols graces the opening in VO, but I feel zero shame for noticing halfway through that the rest of the cast is white. This reverse racism psychology some people try to pull to attack inclusion efforts is not productive.

For a production where they actually were able to cast many roles with professional actors, that has to be seen as an unfortunate misstep IMO. It’s not the end of the world, and not something we need to dwell on out of all the wonderful things they managed to do so passionately, but it’s a valid thing to note.

I agree. It seems like a very unfortunate example of unconscious bias based in who the creators know, their social circle.

I have to say that one of the first thoughts I had was “Where in the United States was this made?”

That cast doesn’t look like any crowd I see in urban Ontario where I live or where I grew up on the west coast – and I’m leaving aside the city of Toronto which is more than half BIPOC.

I expect someone from London, or Birmingham or Manchester would say the same.

So, it not just that it’s not reflecting Star Trek’s representation and values going back to TOS, it just doesn’t look like reality to me.

Star Trek is not solely about diversity. It’s about the human adventure. Don’t lose sight of the message just because there weren’t enough colored people to alleviate to satisfying your wokeness.

Yup, yikes.

I don’t think that wokeness has anything to do with my sense that this doesn’t even look like my suburban Canadian high school or university classes in the 70s and 80s, let alone the demographic of our kids’ schools today.

WOW. You must be a boomer.

“ Colour shouldn’t matter, no matter on which side of the colour spectrum you are.”

If you’re white, you are absolutely right. Your color does not matter as it is reflected everyday in nearly everything you see.

If you are not white, then color does matter because you seldom see persons of your color, and when you do many times these images are negative.

“Color not mattering” is a very convenient world view for those who are not people of color. For the rest of us color matters ALL THE TIME because it is the first thing people note about us.

Wrong person to reply to, but I agree!

LOL it never ceases to astound me that somebody can be the type of person to unironically use the term “SJW” and be a Trekkie.

Agreed. And for some reason the “Wrath of Khan” soundtrack which takes you out of the world on the first note.

Lt Tai is of latin decent and in a same sex relationship, there is the asian guy, and that one female is clearly Andorian. Get your shit straight before you start bitchin’

I’d like to take the Andorian and the counselor to Risa.

World War 3 (2026 – 2053)

https://www.reddit.com/r/DaystromInstitute/comments/9uq4ej/world_war_3_was_a_nuclear_exchange_mainly/

Asians and Black Africans were the highest percentage of races killed in Star Trek’s War World Three… This would explain the limited number of those races throughout the Star Trek universe.

Again, it’s a fan production, so they aren’t bound by canon to inform any decisions they make, but that’s not only not canon, but also suuuuch a stretch, especially in 2020.

We don’t need an in-universe explanation to justify why the TOS guest roster is almost entirely Caucasian. We know the unfortunate real world reasons but at least TOS had a groundbreaking regular cast, despite never giving Uhura and Sulu enough to do.

OH PLEASE. No one is buying that crap.

Perhaps similarly to the Klingons their appearance has somehow changed in this century, or they have self segregated to a distant corner of the Galaxy.

They always do. I never watch these crappy fan films, they always try to live in the past. Just looks horrible.

Would you have said the opposite if had been an all non-white cast?

This deserves to be canon.

I like what’s in here. Fan films are not like the real thing but this one shines on its own.

No. No fan films “deserve” to be canon. That’s not how this works.

I thought these things weren’t allowed beyond a certain length anymore.

It said it was made before CBS changed the guidelines.

It does say that, doesn’t it? Right there in the first paragraph. Not sure how I missed that!

Being filmed prior to the guidelines, doesn’t supersede it having to follow the current guidelines. I suspect this will start being pulled down pretty soon. How hard would it have been to break it up into 4 20 min episodes instead of skirting the guidelines Cbs/ paramount have instituted.

Actually I believe it does.

If ViacomCBS had any issues, they would have pulled it by now – it’s been 6-7 weeks. The “guidelines” are just that “guidelines” and every film is a case-by-case basis if it crosses any. This film was self funded, shot 5 years ago before the deadline,runs 90 or so minutes, and has several professional actors – there’s 4 points – but ViacomCBS has done nothing. Trust me, ViacomCBS knows about this film, and has for some time.

But then there are several active fan film series domestic and international that breaks the “series” rule in the guidelines and ViacomCBS has done nothing about them either. Again, “Case-by-Case”.

Remember, the guidelines were put in place by a CBS and Paramount THAT NO LONGER EXISTS – it’s now ViacomCBS with most of the people who were there when the guidelines were in place now gone.

Perhaps it’s time for the current ViacomCBS to clarify the status of the guidelines.

The guidelines would only allow two 15 minute episodes if I recall. Luckily, this was filmed before and they could release it as intended.

It was shot before the guidelines. If ViacomCBS wanted to do something about it, they would have by now.

Phase 2’s last episode was also filmed prior to the restrictions and that has yet to see the light of day. How are these people getting away with this?

Phase 2’s last ep still had work to be done on it that couldn’t be done after the hammer dropped. Even says so on their website

Actually, it was the last 3 in various states of completion.

P2 is run by a bunch of cowards who kowtowed to CBS in order to license their sets as a for profit museum attraction.

That was a childish, uninformed and stupid response.

Childishly expressed, perhaps, but their “museum” is a re-creation and NOT a curated institute acquiring 1960s era artifacts and restoring them.

Their license is pretty much the same commercial type Universal Studios got to sell tickets to watch select fans make and be in a Trek “episode”.

And now they are adding the TNG Bridge to the “museum”…

Not sure what the point of building a physical miniature is when you light and comp it in such a way that it LOOKS like it is whole-cloth CG. And that’s coming from a huge fan of miniatures. Really wish they had the TOS strong keylight look in the exteriors. I just spent a couple minutes skimming through, haven’t actually watched all of any single fan film in my life. The guy playing April seems to have some gravitas, that’s something anyway.

I suspect the poor lighting was done precisely for the look you fingered, as they likely anticipated eventually resorting to CGI which the article mentions?

Wow, pretty cool that some fans take their enthusiasm to an extreme and we get to watch the fruits of their hard work. I really liked many of the other TOS fan films on YT. The look of this fan film is great and I look forward to checking this one out sometime when I get the chance.

The one pet peeve I have with the fan films (and I know many will say it is ridiculous haha – guilty as charged) is that according to a network memo from the 1960s both TOS producers Gene and Bob Justman made it quite clear that the delta insignia was to be worn by all starfleet personnel regardless of the ship they served on. I know this was never corrected on the TOS shows and each ship and starbase had a unique insignia, but I am happy that the prequels like Discovery are adhering to that intent and going forward it would be nice to see the fan film prequels do the same.

A for effort, the review sums up my impressions from skimming it as well. Just a shame they couldn’t enlist an audio engineer to donate his time – sound mix is the biggest issue.

Yeah. The score is way too loud – and, maybe it’s just because I listened to the Horner scores so many times as a kid, but the music is distracting and doesn’t really fit here.

I know it’s a fan film with a limited budget, but everything else is so well-done that the sound/music really stand out.

Back when i was 12 or 13, i read Diane Carey’s classic ‘Final Frontier’. It remains perhaps my very favorite Star Trek novel, and defined my perception of April.

‘First Frontier’ offers a completely different take — but as regards the Enterprise family, it’s fully as convincing. I watched it once, and then again, about a month ago… It is actually a very satisfying view; not easy when all we’ve got is a TAS episode with the Aprils and few other canon references.

This felt like a feature-length pilot, and follows in the footsteps: the fresh-out-of-spacedock ship (‘Broken Bow’); the sensitive and mysterious mission as impetus (‘Caretaker’); the troubled, reluctant hero that has no desire for the job (‘Emissary’). With the Nichols voiceover, there’s even a sort of cameo from some preceding luminary.

But in many ways, it has the most to do with TMP and ST09. Both function primarily to introduce us to the ship and to get the crew together on the bridge at the end. In that regard, the central conflict — the story that gets the Enterprise family together — is really secondary.

And that’s fortunate, as the central conflict story is pretty nowhere. But, well, that too follows in the footsteps of TMP and ST09.

OK, the balancing of the sounds and music and dialogue are a mess. Ditto for some of the editing, visual effects, and so forth. It’s annoying, and the sound issues are a relatively simple fix.

When i realized that they were using just the Horner Trek scores, i worried that it would be too conspicuously ‘Horner-scored films’ derived. But that quit bothering me early, and overall they did a nice job. (On these fan-film productions, i always wish for fresh music — but low budgets force hard choices. They did a nice job with Horner here.)

But Star Trek is ultimately about people; and it does it best, accordingly, when it has a big heart. And ‘First Frontier’ has plenty of heart. The writing job on the characters was quite good.

And, in common with the feature-length pilots earlier, i found myself eager to see more of this crew…

… and, yes, that fabulous 11-foot Enterprise model!

Obviously we won’t get that (thanks very much, CBS), but it’s a satisfying trip.

Quick addendum RE feature-length pilots… April leaning forward and ‘Let’s see what’s out there,’ recalls (or anticipates) Picard at close of ‘Encounter at Farpoint’.

Oh just read your post, agreed on Final Frontier. That story flowed so well, it will always to be me the first mission of the Enterprise, granted as the unnamed Empress at the time. Even the discussion between George Kirk and April on naming the ship rang true. That story has such good flow…. wish someone would make it into a film!!

This film does have a few rough spots. But the script is good, the performances by the lead actors are top notch, and the film has heart. It’s clearly a labor of love and I very much enjoyed watching it.

I am going to watch and I am sure I am going to love it, but I got to say, why wouldn’t you make a fan film of Diane Carey’s Final Frontier?!?! That was easily among the best Trek stories ever that captures all the good in Trek in one amazing adventure. “Final Frontier is the story of a secret mission gone horribly wrong–and a moment in time when the galaxy stood poised on the brink of one final, destructive war. And it is the story of a legendary ship–and a man we know as the father of Star Fleet’s greatest captain.” Had Robert April as the pacifist explorer that knew he needed Kirk’s Dad aboard (security officer/military) in a universe before both could co-exist in a JTK type. And it had great situational comedy and amazing starship combat.

“I am going to watch and I am sure I am going to love it, but I got to say, why wouldn’t you make a fan film of Diane Carey’s Final Frontier?!?!”

Well that’s pretty simple, for copyright reasons. Making a fan film is one thing, using an official story can probably get you into real trouble with the company and probably cut you off from making future films.

You’d think you’d be able to get a free sign off given it would sell more novels I bet. My preference though – CBS uses that awesome 1701 set and does it officially.

Well you can say that about every Star Trek novel. ;)

And it doesn’t stop CBS or Paramount from making an OFFICIAL movies/shows dealing with novels, but never done it. Many fans thought Picard might be about the Destiny novels that fans seem to love but sadly didn’t happen. Those I heard a lot about as well.

incredible. thats passion and love for trek. love it.

Great review – absolutely hit the nail on the head from what I had noted while watching it. It’s good to enjoy a TrekMovie article thoroughly again.

The sound mix was very off at times, especially where music was concerned. Some of the effects appeared as if they still needed work here and there. My biggest gripe were the design of the aliens. They looked as if they should have been in season 2 of Lost in Space…

This is no way meant to detract from the overall of the film. The story and acting were stellar.

With what they had, the end result is a testament to what can be done with so few resources.

The Enterprise model looks gorgeous. I would love to see them take on a build of the TOS production version. The bridge was likewise amazing.

Does anyone know if they have plans for anything else Trek related?

Also, do they have anything other than Facebook page?

This was good, some scenes were a little fake,but still good only comments are the Men are too bulky for Starship personal & Captains.

Other than effects, seem correct,as too the people of color things, there was a few Granted ( Asian, Hispanic, black, and of course aliens (blue, black, yellowish, but no Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans.

Still guest, stars was very nice to see and hear(Beginning dialogue).

A well made efforts, for a independent Film feature, fascinating!!

This is what frustrates me with Star Trek cannon. I have read books on the series, listened to audio books and i have seen all the episodes and movies for the entire franchise. The story about first contact has been depicted and described several different ways… Johnathan Archer was depicted as the original captain in stories that claim that the first enterprise was a top secret project. This was enforced by the Enterprise series… I am a Trekkie at heart but I wish there was more control over the cannon like there is in Star wars.

Anything that is not in television and movies is generally considered “not canon”. The exception is some of the comics were considered Kelvinverse canon, but even that may not be the case if filmmakers or show runners decide to do different things in the shows or movies.

The reason for this is that there is `’fandom.” Star Trek was saved not necessarily by it’s creator – but by legions of fans who wrote their own stories and self-published them. That spirit of possibilities is what has always permitted different takes in the “official” published Star Trek literature. Now, 50 years later, it’s also true in fan made films and even in official “pocket universes” which give alternative takes on familiar stories.

Nx-01 was the first enterprise or did they forget there was already a series about that with Capt. Archer, which I might add, was quite fabulous!

While you are correct….Archer was the 1st captain of “an Enterprise” which was an NX class starship… in a non-federation state. Capt April was the 1st captain of the Constitution Class NCC class starship under the Federation…

A kind review for a well-intentioned attempt at Star Trek.

Got to respect their passion. Just can’t sit through these fan films though. But thats OK I guess lol

Star Trek Continues is worth a watch as a whole.

I would love to see another production with this cast and crew if they learn lessons from this one:

• Fix the sound mix, we’re all agreed there.
• A lot of it seemed like it needed more light on-set. It felt dark and cold – bring back some 10000w lamps with colored gels. As someone else mentioned, the high-key space lighting from TOS would have looked better than the deep shadows during the space sequences.
• The lead actors were great, but I think, like a lot of fan films, there’s a need to put more oomph and volume behind the lines. It’s a fine line between cinematic style and hammy stage acting, but it felt like there was a lot of low-key whispering. I rather wish Robert Pralgo had been encouraged to do ‘faster and more intensity,’ Lucas-style :) Even RSC-trained Patrick Stewart leans into his lines with more gusto. I think this is what sort of also led to the (typical for fan films, but manageable) difference between the pro and amateur actors’ delivery.
• Pacing was a problem. It’s the curse of the first-time director that they fall in love with every shot and want to keep every scene, but it could have had snappier energy and better edits. It could have easily been trimmed to 60 minutes or even a tight 45-minute pilot episode.
• Edits were a problem. A lot of cuts that left the viewer wondering what they were looking at or which ship they were on, particularly in the final battle sequence. Different lighting, reverse camera angles, or using quick glimpses of the ship exterior to hint to the viewers that we’re about to move locations would have helped. (Also, showcases why the Reliant had to look different to the Enterprise in TWOK, because two Constitution-class ships onscreen gets confusing quickly.)
• Cinematography was static and kind of boring. Needed more dynamic moves, dolly zooms, whip pans, Steadicam shots to tell the story.
• Barry Corbin in 20th-century clothes and in a 20th-century house felt odd (something that also didn’t work in Star Trek: Horizon ‘s Earth sequences), like someone had wandered onto the set from outside. Even small towns evolve in 300 years!
• Was a lesson learned? Where was the nice summation, the buttoner line that would have put things into perspective at the end? All good classic Trek needs an Aesop… :)

Boy you guys were right about the sound mixing, holy moly. Other than that, interesting story and overall looks pretty solid, except for those birds flying over San Fran 😂

It is a good film. Watched half and really enjoying it.

I Love this fan Star Trek episode! My only criticism was that Captain April needed to shave. But his acting was superb! (I did 22 years in the US Navy so seeing officers unshaven is taboo in my world!) Bravo Zulu.

I agree. April should have been clean shaven. I understand that the producers/creators were going for the “seasoned” , “battle weary” look. But an officer should always be clean shaven.

The production was really great for a fan film. Yes, things could have been better regarding special effects and such, but on their budget? Impressive.

The special effects explosions and such were very crude, like something I used to do in the mid-90’s on my own video editing. Outside of that, they made a darn good try, but the story was loose and the interpersonal relationship drama fell flat. I don’t blame the actors. I blame the writing. If the personal drama doesn’t aid the story, then don’t have it.

I think the whole essence of Star Trek was completely missed in this fan film.

With very, very poor special effects and some awful editing and camera work it is nothing short of cringe worthy. I had to stop watching it 3 times it was so bad and then continue at a later time or date to complete the agony.

The writers have attempted to create an all action, unknown aliens are evil, plot and yes most of the cast was white. Although there was one Asian, Hispanic and African American officers in the film this didn’t do enough to show how diverse the Star Trek universe is.

Even the title sequence was a bit of a nightmare, with the stuttering U.S.S Enterprise attempting to flash across the screen, reminiscent of The Original Series opening credits.

I guess this fan film is ideal for Halloween!

Is it me, r is the deflector dish too big?

Thoroughly enjoyed this!!I I really liked the plot and especially the actors..they did an outstanding job. I always wonder what it’s like, from the perspective of a young actor who didn’t grow up with TOS, to wear makeup and costumes and perform on sets that are all replicas of a 50 year old sci show. It’s got to be a hoot!

The not so good” Yeah, the STII music was distracting for me as well. Wish they would’ve gone with TOS and it yes, was a bit loud in parts. Even with the imperfections though, you can tell it was from made from the heart and that one heck of a lot of work went in to it.

Cheers mates! Thanks for entertaining me for a bit!

I really hope the production team would consider trying to find someone to properly score this fan film. It deserves as much. It looks really good. The current soundtrack though, I just can’t sit through the movie with the wrath of Khan soundtrack. :( It’s so overused. Surely there were other options.

Sorry, but even the opening credit sequence is horrible. All the ships look really bad and don’t know how to fly.

Well, it’s a fan film…..

Really impressive. Good “final” contribution to the fanon of TOS-inspired fan films that bridged the era between ENT and DSC. The use of the TWOK score is a tad off, they should have used 50s and 60s style scifi scores instead. The movie looks like a true TOS prequel with throwbacks to 50s invasion flicks. The score is off. But nonetheless really awesome…

OMG This is so highly unwatchable bad. It actually makes STD look good…which is not meant as a complement.

Star Trek First Frontier (2020)

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Cast of Star Trek: First Frontier

About star trek: first frontier, full cast of star trek: first frontier, robert pralgo plays captain robert april.

Robert Pralgo (born June 4, 1966) is an American actor. Pralgo was born in the Bronx in New York City. He graduated ...

Tara Ochs plays Commander Sarah April

Mark ashworth plays commander young.

Mark Ashworth (born 16 December 1976) is an English actor.

Paul Telfer plays Commander McCain

Paul Telfer (born 30 October 1979 in Paisley, Scotland) is a British actor, who has lived and worked in both his nati...

Vince Canlas plays Lieutenant Commander Corbin

Brianna ferris plays lieutenant lyra, brandon thane wilson plays ensign brooks, robert bryan davis plays admiral taylor, james smith plays lieutenant depriest, diany rodriguez plays lieutenant tai, stan harrington plays captain collins, autumn dawn nierode plays yeoman nichols, barry corbin plays john april.

Barry Corbin is an American film and television actor. His most well-known role came in the television series Norther...

Nichelle Nichols plays Nyota Uhura

Nichelle Nichols (born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 - July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer and vo...

Adam Minarovich plays Harry Mudd

Crew of star trek: first frontier.

The Mustache and The Beard

Two Grey Geeks changing the world, one post at a time

STAR TREK First Frontier

The Stars Are Not That Far

FIRST FRONTIER

STAR TREK FIRST FRONTIER (2020) is an American Star Trek fan film directed by Kenneth Smith and written by Keith Brooks, Chad Dowdy, Kenneth Smith, and Harold Stafford. It stars Robert Pralgo, Tara Ochs, Brianna Ferris, and Barry Corbin.

It tells the story of the initial launch of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE in the year 2245. In command is Captain Robert April. With him is his wife Sarah April as the ship’s Chief Medical Officer.

Captain Robert April is being honored as a hero and being given a medal. Only he doesn’t feel very heroic and too many people died in the mission they are applauding. For this reason he repeatedly turns down command of the new CONSTITUTION-class U.S.S. ENTERPRISE and wishes an Earth assignment.

The starship BONAVENTURE accidentally wakes up some nasty aliens whose biological mandate is to kill and destroy. They take some of the BONAVENTURE’s crew hostage – including April’s sister – and kill the rest. Meanwhile, at the award ceremony the aliens sabotage the starship ENDEAVOR and blow it up.

April accepts a promotion to Fleet Captain and uses the ENTERPRISE to go after the aliens. But he is then shocked to discover his wife Sarah is the ship’s chief medical officer. This never happened to Kirk.

April and the ENTERPRISE track the aliens to Jupiter where they manage to capture one of them. But the creature infects Captain Collins with a mutating virus and April is forced to take command of the ship.

Needless to say, with much daring do, April and the ENTERPRISE crew manage to thwart the aliens, rescue his sister, and save the Earth from that damned mutating virus. Just in time to catch a kiss from his wife. Ahhhh, true love. Oh, and he remains as Captain of the ENTERPRISE. Ya gotta love it!

This film is the brainchild of Kenneth Smith who wanted to do a movie about the ENTERPRISE’s first mission under her first Captain Robert April. It has been said this film was five years in the making but Mister Smith says he wrote the story ten years ago. An argument can be made that this movie was therefore ten years in the making. In either case it is obvious this film was a labor of love for those behind the camera as well as those in front.

Thumbs Down:

• The visual effects are cheesy. I have seen better even in fan fiction.
• The sound is often off. Sometimes it is too low and other times it is so loud I can’t hear what characters are saying.
• The acting is uneven. This is a common occurrence in fan films. In this case some of the performances are so good that perhaps they cancel out my thumbs down.
• The aliens are kind of cheesy looking as well. This may also be a thumbs down not worth mentioning. Let’s face it in the original series there were cheesy looking aliens as well – remember the Gorn?

I always like to list what I don’t like about a movie first and then say what I do like about it. In this way I end on a positive note. For this film I am happy to do it that way because I want everyone to be very clear about how I feel in regards to this movie.

• I love this story. If there is a complaint I can make about the writing it is that I was sorry to see it end and could have kept right on watching.
• I love Robert Pralgo as Captain April and Tara Ochs as his wife Sarah. The scenes with them together were riveting. The entire film I kept saying to myself, why doesn’t he kiss her?  Well the kiss came at the end and it was worth the wait.

• I loved the sets, I loved the props, and I loved the costumes. Yes they harken back to the time of the original series – they are supposed to. A story that takes place before the original series should look like it. This one does and it is on purpose and it is perfect.

• Damn fine characters and characterizations. Man did I feel for April and his wife Sarah and their struggle. I felt for Captain Collins. I felt for Lieutenant Lyra. I even felt for Ensign Brooks – I laughed but I felt for him as well. This movie gives you characters you want to see more of.

• I love the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE. For me the ship is one of the characters and I was happy to see it get the respect it deserves.
• All hands involved in this production know their Star Trek and it shows. There is a reason why the uniforms come in only two colors. There is a reason why April’s emblem is different form those of the crew and not the emblem everyone associates with Star Trek. There is a reason why the hand weapons look the way they do.
• So many professional actors and familiar faces are involved in this production. Take a look at their pictures and see if you can place where you have seen them before. I’ll give you a hint, CONSTANTINE, FURIOUS 7, STARGIRL, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., and NORTHERN EXPOSURE are just some of the answers.

I have long been a fan of Star Trek fan fiction. I faithfully followed STAR TREK CONTINUES and STAR TREK: PHASE II. I loved STAR TREK: HORIZONS (I should write a review of that film) and I adored both STARSHIP EXETER and STARSHIP FARRAGUT . Let me tell you something, as much as I love all those and more none of them excited me as much as STAR TREK FIRST FRONTIER. I fully recommend this movie for anyone who likes Star Trek, likes science fiction, and likes good storytelling. The film ends with a setup for more stories. I certainly hope so. I would love to see more Robert April, Sarah April, Lyra, McCain, and Brooks. Let me know and I’ll bring the popcorn.

In our rating scale I am happy to give this movie three and a half Gray Geeks.  

Well that is it for now gang. I thank you for letting me take the opportunity to write about what I think and how I feel. I want to ask all of you to be safe and continue vigilant. The danger is not over yet. Keep wearing that mask and keep putting on those gloves. Be the superhero you always knew you were. Hasta La Vista!

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3 thoughts on “ star trek first frontier ”.

Will there be a sequel? This has definitely tweaked an interest!

Like Liked by 1 person

I haven’t hear anything about a sequel but I promise to look into it. I would like a sequel myself. Hell – if left up to me a whole series of films. lol

I spoke with Kenny Smith. He told me there are no plans for a sequel. However, the interest is there and he would love to do more Star Trek so he is leaving the door open to the possibility.

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Published by The Beard

I’m Eliseo Figueroa Jr. and you’re not. I was born in Saint Francis hospital across the street from Saint Mary’s Park in the Bronx. I was born there because that was where my mother was and I wanted to be near her. My parents came from Puerto Rico and moved to New York City when they were kids. My dad spoke fluent English – with an accent – but he’d had a stint in the army and had mastered the language. However, he needed a little work on reading and so everyday on the way to work he would buy a comic book and read it on the subway. In those days they were ten cents, a quick read, you could fold them and put them in your pocket, and when you finished you threw them away. Back home my mom would tell my dad to read me a story to put me to sleep. My dad had no desire whatsoever to read me any of my baby books so he read me one of his comic books instead. While other kids dreamed of Mother Goose, the Old Lady who lived in a shoe, or Little Red Riding Hood, I dreamt of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. And this went on for years. When I got older I asked him to give me the comic books. At that point he stopped throwing them out and I had a comic book collection even though I still didn’t know how to read. During the day I would make my mom read me my comics over and over again. I was dying to learn how to read and had been told that you learn to read in first grade. I remember being so excited the first day of school for the first grade. I couldn’t contain myself. I thought it was like magic – poof! – I was going to come back home and be able to read all of my comics. My mom had to sit me down and explain that it was a process. That over time I would learn how to read and by the time I finished the first grade I would be reading. I must say I was disappointed but more determined than ever to master this thing called reading. Over the years my comic collection grew (my dad had to keep building bigger and better shelves) and so did my interests. I mastered reading and went on to read books. I discovered the library where they actually let you borrow books – what a concept! And my interests in literary science fiction and fantasy expanded to include television and movies. Yes, I was and still am a full-blown geek! By the way, I’m the beard in our little duet. I have a goatee and no moustache. In all that time while growing up my dad never once complained. How could he? This was all his fault and he knew it. One time we were in a store where I was purchasing some comics and it all came to twenty bucks. As my dad was paying the man the owner commented on how much I was spending on comic books. My dad’s reply was, “Well, at least he’s not on drugs!” Science fiction, fantasy, horror, secret agents, giant monsters, and more are my drug of choice. Anyone who has ever sat in a darkened theater and has had their heart start racing in excitement as the music to STAR WARS begins to play knows exactly what I mean. View all posts by The Beard

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Star trek: first frontier.

Directed by Kenneth Smith

The story of the initial launch of the Starship USS Enterprise in 2245 under the command of Captain Robert April with his wife, Commander Sarah April.

Robert Pralgo Tara Ochs Mark Ashworth Paul Telfer Vince Canlas Brianna Ferris Brandon Thane Wilson Robert Bryan Davis James Smith Diany Rodriguez Stan Harrington Autumn Dawn Nierode Barry Corbin Nichelle Nichols Adam Minarovich

Director Director

Kenneth Smith

Alternative Titles

Star Trek：First Frontier, Star Trek : First Frontier

Releases by Date

08 sep 2020, releases by country.

85 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Comrie ★★½

Not bad for a fan effort. Enough in here for Trekkies to get something out of.

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A new fan film called Star Trek: First Frontier has debuted online

By chad porto | sep 13, 2020.

Watch it while you can, a new free Star Trek fan film has hit YouTube.

Star Trek: First Frontier is an entirely new, original, and self-funded fan film that takes place in the time of the original show . Set in the same time-frame, with sets and uniforms dedicated to that era of Star Trek. It was directed by Kenneth Smith, with the entire film being self-funded by the director. It was released on Star Trek Day 2020 to add to the festivities.

Despite its production budget being very high for a Star Trek fan-film, there are issues that the director himself admits to. He attempted to fix everything but funds became scarce after Covid-19 hit, and the subsequent quarantining caused a financial issue in fixing some of the minor issues with the audio. Smith promises that the issues will be fixed in a special edition.

According to the director, you can find some special easter eggs in the film that were plucked from various science fiction films, that really does add a nice loving touch to the film. Smith also points out that this film isn’t meant to establish canon in the Star Trek universe, merely add something new to it. Hee also says that they spent special attention on following the canon that was given to them and was made in good faith, and with adoration for the original source material. It Clearly shows.

Despite admitted issues with some visual and audio stuff, the film looks well done and worthy of befitting a Star Trek name to the property. Of course, fan -made stuff used to be very common but ever since ViacomCBS started All Access, they’ve cracked down harder on fan-made content than ever before.

The director is encouraging everyone to download the video from YouTube just in case.

"This is the story of the initial launching of the Starship USS Enterprise NCC-1701 under the command of Captain Robert April with his wife, Commander Sarah April, the ship’s first Chief Medical Officer. It’s the story of a starship that needs a Captain, and a Captain that needs a starship.“The Stars Are Not That Far” – John April to Robert AprilCast:Robert Pralgo – Captain Robert AprilTara Ochs – Dr. Sarah AprilBarry Corbin – John AprilNichelle Nichols – Nyota UhuraMark Ashworth – Commander YoungPaul Telfer – Commander McCainVince Canlas – Lt. Commander CorbinBrianna Ferris – Lieutenant LyraBrandon Thane Wilson – Ensign BrooksAutumn Dawn Nierode – Yeoman NicholsDiany Rodriguez – Lieutenant TaiJames Smith – Lieutenant DePriestChristine Chaffee – Computer VocalsJoshua Reid-Davis – Nurse JacobsRhys Smith – Background VocalsStan Harrington – Captain CollinsRobert Bryan Davis – Admiral TaylorNatalie Pero – Grace AprilApril Billingsley – Counselor LynchDeborah Childs – Empress LysixAdditional crew credits:Lauren Hope Williams -Script Supervisor"

You can learn more about Star Trek: First Frontier on their Facebook page.

Next. A brand new, non-canon episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has debuted. dark

Fan Film Review: There’s A Lot of Love In Star Trek First Frontier

By: Author Brad Burnie

Posted on Published: April 7, 2021  - Last updated: August 26, 2022

Share the Universe!

The fan-favorite film Star Trek First Frontier’s release came as a massive relief to globally huge Star Trek fans. The film is set in a similar time frame and with the same uniform and sets linked to the Star Trek era. This film was directed and self-funded by Kenneth Smith.

One of its highlights was that it was released on Star trek day in 2020 to add it to the festivities. Covid-19 did not stop producing this masterpiece despite funds being scarce due to quarantine and other related issues. However, the movie was released with minor audio and visual problems that the director promised to fix in a future special edition.

The film is seventy minutes long, and the production crew built their own set when filming it. They also used professional actors and stuck to using non-CBS props and costumes. The director pointed out the existence of a few easter eggs in this film that were originally from other science fiction movies. This adds an exciting touch to the film as it builds our curiosity. He further states that the film was mainly put forward to add a new feel to the Star Trek universe.

This film has become one of the best fan-made films due to its immense effort to enable its shooting, editing, and release using fan preference. It is worth noting that its production budget was so high for a Star Trek film, majorly influenced by unrelated film factors. The director encouraged people to download the film from YouTube just in case Viacom CBS cracks it down.

Star Trek was filmed in a setting that is ten years before Kirk and his friends embarked on their mission that lasted five years. At this time, commander Robert April was lost in family issues.

Together with his wife, he was struggling to mend their differences and work on rebuilding their marriage. Commander April is given an offer to command a constitution class starship, his dream, but he turns it down.

Meanwhile, there is a deadly alien force that is murdering people up in the solar system. News has it that these deadly aliens are destined to land on earth with the sole purpose of killing everyone. This news brings fear and confusion to the entire world.

Out of bravery, as well as urgency, April’s close friend Captain Collins takes over the command of NCC- 1701 Enterprise and steers it out to space in an attempt to stop the deadly alien force from reaching the earth and killing people in space. As it is later known, April finds himself on board the same ship as Captain Colins. He came in at the last minute to help Colins get the Enterprise ship-shape.

The events in space involve heavy confrontation and fighting, and in the process, Captain Colins is incapacitated. Commander April takes charge. He steers the Enterprise together with its not-so-ready crew to fight the battle and save the earth.

The Good About Star Trek First Frontier

This film is a masterpiece, and it carries a lot of fun and enjoyable attributes. From the structure to the cast and set, there are many good aspects to draw from it.

Star Trek First Frontier is well-thought-out, just like Star Trek: The Original Series and, let’s say, a better version of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The film captured outstanding 22 nd generation technology and the general atmosphere, the philosophy, and the original pilots. One notable thing is the special effects were designed with a modern touch and still incorporated its originality.

The art of acting in this film was perfect because it matched with the initial 1960s Star Trek universe . There was keen attention to detail when coming up with the characters and defining their roles. For instance, gender issues and aspects of women being weaker than men were precisely upgraded and merged with the modern taste. This attribute is also seen in the design of the pilots’ costumes, which are less exploitive.

The production team made a giant step of designing and building their own set. The set was a modern version of the original Enterprise; however, it had a fresh and new look. The team made a great effort with lighting up the set, which made the bridge appear bright enough and not flashy.

More so, the film’s script used the same themes which pioneered Star Trek to be iconic. The film features a captain facing many conflicts and crises and the modern setting of the roles of women and men. We see both men and women work in the same office, which illustrates the changing gender roles in modern-day society.

The writer did an excellent job on the Star Trek First Frontier script by making it feel like the classic Trek. This is seen in the choice of words, the existing conflicts, and the characters. All these reflect the original series, giving the impression that someone from that era wrote it.

These are some of Star Trek First Frontier’s outstanding characteristics that made it scale heights since its release. These have made the film gather 1.5 million views on YouTube over a short period of 4 months only.

The Downside of Star Trek First Frontier

Despite having top-notch qualities, Star Trek First Frontier has had its share of complaints since its release. One of the biggest complaints I have is the audio problems. The film’s music is constantly on, even at the most unnecessary parts.

For instance, when silence and only engines are running, there is an annoying soundtrack and beeps that come up and stay throughout in dialogues. Another eye-catching problem with the film is audio is the overshadowing of dialogues with noise.

There are also incidences when some character’s voices are clearer than others despite them being together. This is probably a microphone problem, which should have been checked during editing. The entire audio of the film needs an overhaul in audio editing.

Some of Star Trek First Frontier’s interior-shot CGI was not good enough to be applauded. Many will agree that the set was well-thought-out, but minor issues came to the background. Some of the characters have a “halo” effect which often is a distraction when watching the film. Another similar problem was the aspect of scaling some of the scenes. It was rather funny watching some of the characters dwarfed by the shuttlecraft.

The aliens were well crafted, and the characters matched their looks. However, one would realize that the aliens’ eyes jiggled on the alien’s head with keen eyes. Some may find this normal, but I believe that is not how eyes work. The jiggling appeared to be a fault rather than intentional.

These issues are just a drop in the ocean because, overall, the film was a classic masterpiece. They did not deter the message from being passed across to the audience. A few more days of editing would have gone a long way in sorting these annoying yet straightforward issues.

Star Trek First Frontier came at the right time to revolutionize the Star Trek universe by bringing modern culture into play. This is an excellent fan-made film as it goes the extra mile of creating an original piece. For instance, the director created his own set, which was not a walk in the park.

Coming up with a shuttlecraft was an art. The characters selected were the right fit for the film. The film’s script was genius as it captures a lot of Star Trek originality as well as modernity infusion.

The biggest downside of this film was perhaps the audio problems. This issue was not just a minor problem because it affected my ability to comprehend the message and enjoy the surrounding sounds.

Audio is a critical component for any film, and it deserved to be refined to guarantee a quality film. The other problems were the background “halo” effect and the not-so-well-made alien costumes. However, these are assumable as they do not affect the originality and the fan film’s intended message.

Unlike the previous Star Trek films, First Frontier uses aliens as a mere prop. There is no meaningful interaction between the aliens and the humans; hence there are no relevant moral lessons. A lot more would have been added to the plot to make the film more interesting.

Every film has its upside and downside, and Star Trek First Frontier happens to be one. Its release in 2020 came as a huge relief for Star Wars fans as it was a unique film, fan-made. The film met and even surpassed most people’s expectations, thanks to the director’s interesting, unique, and captivating script.

Should you wish to see it to get the full feature, it is uploaded on YouTube here: Star Trek First Frontier , at 1.5 million views and counting!

Brad Burnie is the founder of Starships.com. He loves all video game genres. In his spare time, he loves reading, watching movies, and gaming

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Cast & Crew

Star trek: first frontier — cast & crew, sound director, kenneth smith.

Robert Pralgo

Mark Ashworth

Paul Telfer

Vince Canlas

Brianna Ferris

Brandon Thane Wilson

Robert Bryan Davis

James Smith

Diany Rodriguez

Stan Harrington

Autumn dawn nierode, barry corbin.

Nichelle Nichols

Adam Minarovich

Rebecca Barnes

April billingsley.

Athena Bitzis

Ruthe Boyce Blanton

Keith Brooks

Bricine Brown

Jeff Burdett

Stephen caudill.

Christine Chaffee

Deborah childs.

Chelsea Christopher

Steven cockings, anthony daniels, kelly dennison, anderson desouza, kelly frances.

T.J. Garland

Trevor Garner

Alicia glaser.

David Goodwin

Sean goulding.

Kimberly Hamilton

Kristina Nicole Harris

Courtney hogan.

John M. Johnson

Amber jones, richard kohberger.

Linda Latona

Taniesha latrice.

Thadeus Layton

Rosario Maria

Nick marinelli, kevin mcknight, jakoya mclean, shana melton, mike mepham, sarah mitchell, babacar ndiaye, joseph nichols, jennifer parris, dina peterson, jay peterson, lauren petz, paula pierceall, david plunkett.

Heather Pruner

Joshua reid-davis.

Kiera Robbins

Calvin ross, kim rudolph, natalie shaheen.

Skyler Simpson

J. todd smith.

Christian Snow

Roman weaver.

Harold Stafford

Zeke Flatten

Jessica Imoto Harney

Marie Elaine Smith

Eric fleming, john pruner.

Paul Frenczli

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Star Trek First Frontier

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Star Trek First Frontier (2020)