Not only did they somehow manage to make recreations of the original sets that rival the accuracy of the New Voyages sets...but they also found a better cast of volunteers, many of them voice actors and convention friends, and that adds a level of professionalism that New Voyages always lacked. Add in that they managed to get the cinematography pitch perfect, the music (they actually recorded some new music that feels like classic Trek scores too!), the costumes, both the recreations of the TOS uniforms as well as new aliens that manage to look like something that would come out of the 60s...and then they told stories that weren't just fannish shit that showcases how much they know and love every detail of Trek...but stories that felt like classic Star Trek morality plays, the kind of stories with message classic Trek reveled in. "Lolani" is a clear allegory about human trafficking, it's told in that way TOS would tell it's allegories, but it may be a subject matter that might not have even flown in the 60s. It's modern, yet classic...how do they pull that off so brilliantly?
I loved that even the episodes that are basically sequels to TOS episodes, don't just feel like continuity porn...they tend to have a real story, about the characters or with some deeper meaning. That's a trick far too many fan films fail to capture. They forget that Classic Trek was rarely about looking back at it's own details or filling in the gaps, but about looking forward and exploring moralities and issues in an entertaining action adventure veneer. Continues doesn't just bring back Apollo just because they met and convinced the original Actor to return, they told a moving story about what his character went through following his loss at the end of the original episode. They give him character growth. Their "Mirror, Mirror" sequel wasn't just an excuse to showcase their love of capturing the details, it wonderfully expanded on how that classic episode ended. That is the joy of Continues...despite that it maybe had a few more sequel episodes than the original show ever had, they explored deeper themes and character development in every episode, and they did it in an entertaining way that almost always felt like you were just watching TOS again.
And they wrapped up the original Five Year Mission beautifully, with their final set of episodes setting the characters towards their inevitable futures that took place during the TOS movie era, particularly how our main players ended up where they were at the start of the Motion Picture. And they bridged that gap in both a nice bookend from the second pilot of the show, and set up all the characters exits in a way that didn't just feel like filling in the gaps...it all somehow felt very natural to the story and characters. It is nothing short of a triumph.
For my money, Continues is the only fan film series I can consider 100% canon. It just feels so much like the original show, that I can end up calling this the fifth and final year of the Five Year Mission. And just like the Animated show is like the Fourth Year of the mission, this one continues on from that to give that show, and it's mission, some closure. Congratulations to Vic Mignogna and everyone of his team, who recreated TOS so painstakingly and out of nothing but love and the fun of it all...that they managed to get a fan film curmudgeon like myself to not only watch, but to fully embrace it as the final season of the original show.
NEXT TIME: Tilly's Secret Adventure