Star Trek: Hidden Frontier – 203 – Old Wound

2001 Official Site
Directed by Risha Denney

Captain Angry must face the fact that he is angry in this Very Special Episode of Star Trek: Hidden Frontier!

Captain Ian Quincy Knapp (David W. Dial) – Still Angry! His brother was killed by the Dominion, and left Captain Knapp angry! Had a mysterious encounter during the Dominion War (The Dominion who killed his brother) with mystery aliens that made him angry, and now that he commands Deep Space 12 and the USS Excelsior he can take out his anger over his brother’s death with flaming kill-lasers. Did I mention his brother was killed? Commander Elizabeth Shelby (Risha Denney) – Stop standing in Shelby’s way or I’ll kick your butt! Shelby’s back and being Shelby and stuff. This time, she’s prosecuting Captain Angry. That will learn him to stand in her way! Counselor Myra Elbrey (Barbara Clifford) – Betazoid, used to teach at the Academy. Survivor of the Grey attack on the USS Rutledge. Has a dog named Mr. Scott. Occasionally blonde. Lt. Cmd. Robin Lefler (Joanne Busch) – Chief Engineer, and still dating Wesley Crusher despite the fact he ran off after last season. You may remember Lefler when she was Ashley Judd on the actual The Next Generation show. Has a bunch of laws that she will recite until you pull out a gun and kill yourself. Lefler’s Law Number 244 is “Recite laws until everyone dies!” Ensign Jenna McFarland (Adrianne Lange) – Half-Trill, Half-Human, all Navigation. I still don’t know if she has a worm in her belly. Is always there if you need the ship steered. Has amusing stories that she never gets to finish due to the plots developing. Her uncle’s name is Rufus. Lt. John Martinez (Anthony Diaz) – Chief of Security who looks like a Chief of Security. Thus he is the Chief of Security. I know he does so on the USS Excelsior, but I don’t know if he does so on Deep Space 12 as well. Will eventually wander off in the middle of the season. Admiral Nechayev (Renee Huberstock) – The best admiral ever is now a semi-main character, appearing in pretty much every episode and yelling at everyone. Renee Huberstock was a day player in several episodes in Season 1, now she has a permanent role, so they’ll need another person to play random background women. Will Captain Angry and Admiral Angry yell at each other? Heck yeah! Lt. Toby Witczak (Matt Kruer) – Assistant chief engineer, was on the USS Devonshire during the Grey attack. Still putting it on a pedestal. Witczak enjoys reading The Hobbit and getting shot down for dates by his boss. And getting shot in the chest. Whoops!

Guest Star Roll Call

Commodore Cole (Jennifer Cole) – Commodore Cole is still hanging around, because Jennifer Cole is still around. Thus, she’s on the show from time to time, this time being a judge. Commander Cole pronounces you guilty. Andorian Admiral (Phillip Brickey) – This Andorian Admiral totally rocks the antennas! He presides over Captain Angry’s trial, because we need Andorian admirals to preside over angry dudes. Of course, now we got like a whole bunch of Admirals and Commodores in this section of space, which probably makes it very annoying if you are a renegade Starfleet Captain. Dominion Founder (Larry La Verne) – Odo’s brother here is another nameless Founder who is all gooey and stuff. He’s working with the Federation to help fight the Grey, except for fact he was secretly negotiating with the Grey to try to take over the Federation! And he get blown away by Captain Angry…or does he? You’ll have to read the synopsis or download the episode to find out!

Star Trek: Hidden Frontier – 202 – Yesterday’s Excelsior

2001 Official Site
Directed by Jennifer Cole

So we all love alternate timelines, and we all love Yesterday’s Enterprise, one of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation ever. So Hidden Frontier took that and now we got their own version, complete with their spin on it. A lot of effort went into this episode, changing things while still having them somewhat the same. My only major complaint is I think they did it too early in the life of the show, and it would have had more of an impact in like Season 5 or something. The minor quibble is that the episode follows Yesterday’s Enterprise almost to the letter. But besides that, it is pretty fun and you get to see characters get blown away, so that is always fun. Bring on my alternate timelines!

Part 1 of this episode is only a .pdf file because it used imaged from actual Paramount shows. So here is a synopsis: During Star Trek 6, the NCC-2000 USS Excelsior is trapped in time as Kronos explodes. Thus Kirk is killed by Chang, the president is assassinated, and the Federation goes to war with the Klingons, and wins. Then the Feds don’t have allies they need to defeat the Borg, who swoop in when they did in our time, except they win and the Enterprise is destroyed. I guess because Worf wasn’t there to be useless? Just go with it. Now, the USS Excelsior from this series leads a group of other ships as they flee the Borg and imitate Battlestar Galactica years before the reboot happened! Battlestar Excelsior!

Oh, new opening credits also!

Captain John Edward Knapp (David W. Dial) – Angry’s dead twin brother! In this universe, he is the non-dead one. Instead of being Captain Angry, he is Captain Drunk and Corrupted With Power. Wow, who knew Ian Quincy Knapp was the more level-headed of the Knapp twins? We can’t call him Captain Happy, how about Captain Knappy? Captain James Darwin (Cliff Gardner) – is the first officer in this alternate universe instead of a guy who just shows up in Season Two. That’s evolution for you! Not really, that’s more like Intelligent Design…SHOCKING! Admiral Nechayev (Renee Huberstock) – Commands what is left of the free people of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Except the So’na, who have their own planet still. She is just as angry in this universe and the real one, though she at least doesn’t resort to the bottle. Ensign Jenna McFarland (Adrianne Lange) – Half-Trill, Half-Human, all Navigation. This alternate reality caused her to wear different clothes! That bastard alternate reality! And she is going to be an Ambassador, at least she was until she probably died. Ensign Brad T. Rawling (Tristan Clark) – Ensign Rawling has frosted hair in this alternate timeline as well! The more things change… Rawling doesn’t do much but die. Dammit, Rawling, winners don’t die, they multiply. Lt. John Martinez (Anthony Diaz) – Chief of Security who is still Chief of Security in the alternate reality. Has more loyalty to Captain Darwin than Captain Knapp. That’s what you get, non-angry Knapp. Chief Melik (Larry Laverne) – Bajoran chief engineer who is a genius AND the best actor on the show. Of course he is a guy we have never seen before, and he goes on a ride back in time. Remember when suddenly there was a Bajoran guy in Star Trek 6? Ensign Ro Nevin (Arthur Bosserman) – Science officer and Ro Laren’s brother. He is in the command division despite hanging around in engineering most of the time, and conspiring against his Captain.

Guest Star Roll Call

Captain Sulu (Randall Mark) – Captain Sulu has arrive to Sulu the heck out of the future! Hikaru Sulu shows up a lot in fan films, George Takei even appeared as Old Sulu in a Star Trek: New Voyages episode. This Sulu is all enthused to go home and save the future. Borg Drones (Barbara Clifford and Anthony Diaz) – We are Borg. You will be assimila—* Urk!

Star Trek: Hidden Frontier – 201 – Refugees

2001 Official Site
Directed by Rob Caves

It’s Season 2! So don’t be blue. Because this ain’t Avatar. Welcome to season 2. This is the season where Hidden Frontier irons out a few of the kinks, cut down on the ginormous cast, and start streamlining the show into a better product. Just remember the differences of who you were freshman year of college vs. your sophomore year.

So after the review of Season 1, we are all set to go. But there are a few mysteries that happen between the transitions between seasons. First is the Mystery of Commander Joseph Johns, who vanishes. Was he killed by the Grey? Trapped on the Titanic? Locked in a stairwell by his aunt and uncle until he gets a letter from Hogwarts? Who knows!! Okay, I peeked at the Hidden Frontier Wiki and he pops back up a few seasons down the line, but that spoils all my jokes so we’re going to ignore that until he pops up again. There is also mystery of Ensign Amanda Hanley, who is no longer in the opening credits despite never appearing on the show. The Grey strike again! Several other cast members depart during Season 2 as well, and new people join.

We are going to proceed as if you are familiar with the show, as you should be by now. You should all be getting my Dr. Henglaar in-jokes. And if you are expecting video clips, forget it! I had a lot of trouble converting the .mov files into a format I could edit clips out of, because everything I tried either had corrupt frames or dropped audio. Just watch the whole freakin’ episodes, they’re pretty short and it is a better way to spend your time than looking up camel porn on the internet. Mmmm…shaved dromedaries…

Episodes of Hidden Frontier are available online at HiddenFrontier.com. You can also see their other series and participate in their forums.

A new season means we have a new opening credits sequence! Huzzah!

Captain Ian Quincy Knapp (David W. Dial) – Still Angry! His brother was killed by the Dominion, and left Captain Knapp angry! Had a mysterious encounter during the Dominion War (The Dominion who killed his brother) with mystery aliens that made him angry, and now that he commands Deep Space 12 and the USS Excelsior he can take out his anger over his brother’s death with flaming kill-lasers. Did I mention his brother was killed? Commander Elizabeth Shelby (Risha Denney) – Stop standing in Shelby’s way or I’ll kick your butt! Shelby’s back and being Shelby and stuff. Dr. Henglaar (John Whiting) – Medical Doctor, Tellarite, and an actual interesting character. Ignore the fact he is wearing a pig nose and Muppet gloves…for now! John Whiting rules. He’s really high on the hog. Counselor Myra Elbrey (Barbara Clifford) – Betazoid, used to teach at the Academy. Survivor of the Grey attack on the USS Rutledge. Has a dog named Mr. Scott. Occasionally blonde. Ensign Brad T. Rawling (Tristan Clark) – Ensign Ro’s best friend and lover of alien poontang. Communications officer. Makes bad jokes. Spends a lot of his time hanging out in his quarters with Ensign Ro and getting hammered. Ensign Jenna McFarland (Adrianne Lange) – Half-Trill, Half-Human, all Navigation. I still don’t know if she has a worm in her belly. Is always there if you need the ship steered. Has amusing stories that she never gets to finish due to the plots developing. Her uncle’s name is Rufus. Lt. John Martinez (Anthony Diaz) – Chief of Security who looks like a Chief of Security. Thus he is the Chief of Security. I know he does so on the USS Excelsior, but I don’t know if he does so on Deep Space 12 as well. Will eventually wander off in the middle of the season. Ensign Andrew Barrett (Tyler Bosserman) – Communications officer and brand new member of the third grade! Wooo!! A whole season later and he still has no character development. Ensign Artim Ibanya (Beau Christian Williams) – Because YOU demanded it, the kid from Star Trek: Insurrection with the CGI mouse is now a grown up main character! Wait, who demanded this? Someone did. And now we got it. His character is not as terrible as you might imagine, which is a shock to me. Lt. Cmd. James Darwin (Cliff Gardner) – Darwin replaces Joseph Johns in doing whatever the hell it was Joseph Johns did. He’s sort of like an extra first officer for Captain Angry. Darwin was on the old USS Angeles show, so he is another holdover. Admiral Nechayev (Renee Huberstock) – The best admiral ever is now a semi-main character, appearing in pretty much every episode and yelling at everyone. Renee Huberstock was a day player in several episodes in Season 1, now she has a permanent role, so they’ll need another person to play random background women. Will Captain Angry and Admiral Angry yell at each other? Heck yeah!

Guest Star Roll Call

Princess Illiana (Katie Moss) – Princess Illiana flees her homeworld which is under attack by the Grey, like they are every day for a million years or something. Then they want the Federation to send thousands of ships to defend their big ear culture in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, that will work! Illiana is a Tren’La, which is like a Cobra’La, except not at all. But she does have big ears, so big Spock gets all jealous. But Spock would never admit it, because he’s a Vulcan. Aris (John Reynolds) – Illiana’s son who becomes friends with Artim and they pal around and become tactical geniuses who save the day. He’s got extra brains in those big ears. Or extra ear wax. That he uses to throw at people. The Ferengi regularly mock his tiny ears. The Grey (Jason Munoz) – Evil Psychic Space Smurf Jawas. Etherials are the master race, and Jawas are used as foot soldiers. They have a Hive Mind. Remember, Hive Mind=Scary Villain. It’s true, just read any science fiction book ever written.

Star Trek: Hidden Frontier – 106 – Echoes

2001Official Website

Star Trek fan series have multiplied around the web like rabbits on Viagra. The pioneering series that showed fan films can have story arcs, recurring characters, and good computer graphics was Hidden Frontier. A spin-off of a private series known as Voyages of the USS Angeles, which you can only see if you know someone who worked on it or at a lucky screening, Hidden Frontier became an epic series on its own, and helped inspire many other fan productions. The production lasted seven seasons, and spawned several other Trek series and even an original science fiction series. Like all projects, there is improvement over time, one that mirrors the actual Star Trek series as well. Early episodes of The Next Generation are laughable, and Enterprise was almost unwatchable until season three. As TarsTarkas.NET will be covering the entire run of Hidden Frontier episodes, we have to start at the beginning. A beginning that will look pretty bad once we get to later productions. But a beginning never the less. There is no shame in these being not technologically sound. Judging the earlier episodes, we will keep in mind the technology of the time. The important thing is if the show is entertaining, not if the makeup is professional. That is the main criterion in which we will be making our judgments. Superb CGI effects cannot save a terrible script.

Episodes of Hidden Frontier are available online at HiddenFrontier.com. You can also see their other series and participate in their forums.

Things to know:
USS Excelsior – The USS Excelsior is a Galaxy-class dreadnought that looks suspiciously like the Future Enterprise from the episode All Good Things…. It is the flagship for Captain Knapp as he spreads his anger across the Briar Patch and gets into fights with Blue Space Jawas.
Deep Space 12 – Deep Space 12 is the new starbase built to deal with the Ba’ku stuff from Star Trek: Insurrection. Captain Knapp is in charge, and we don’t see much inside the station this season.
Briar Patch – The Briar Patch is a region in Sector 441 made of supernovae remains, false vacuum fluctuations, metaphasic radiation and planets including the Ba’ku planet. It was was seen in Star Trek: Insurrection. Most of the action takes place in this area, because fans demanded more information about the Ba’ku.

Star Trek: Hidden Frontier – 105 – Perihelion

2001Official Website

Star Trek fan series have multiplied around the web like rabbits on Viagra. The pioneering series that showed fan films can have story arcs, recurring characters, and good computer graphics was Hidden Frontier. A spin-off of a private series known as Voyages of the USS Angeles, which you can only see if you know someone who worked on it or at a lucky screening, Hidden Frontier became an epic series on its own, and helped inspire many other fan productions. The production lasted seven seasons, and spawned several other Trek series and even an original science fiction series. Like all projects, there is improvement over time, one that mirrors the actual Star Trek series as well. Early episodes of The Next Generation are laughable, and Enterprise was almost unwatchable until season three. As TarsTarkas.NET will be covering the entire run of Hidden Frontier episodes, we have to start at the beginning. A beginning that will look pretty bad once we get to later productions. But a beginning never the less. There is no shame in these being not technologically sound. Judging the earlier episodes, we will keep in mind the technology of the time. The important thing is if the show is entertaining, not if the makeup is professional. That is the main criterion in which we will be making our judgments. Superb CGI effects cannot save a terrible script.

Episodes of Hidden Frontier are available online at HiddenFrontier.com. You can also see their other series and participate in their forums.

Things to know:
USS Excelsior – The USS Excelsior is a Galaxy-class dreadnought that looks suspiciously like the Future Enterprise from the episode All Good Things…. It is the flagship for Captain Knapp as he spreads his anger across the Briar Patch and gets into fights with Blue Space Jawas.
Deep Space 12 – Deep Space 12 is the new starbase built to deal with the Ba’ku stuff from Star Trek: Insurrection. Captain Knapp is in charge, and we don’t see much inside the station this season.
Briar Patch – The Briar Patch is a region in Sector 441 made of supernovae remains, false vacuum fluctuations, metaphasic radiation and planets including the Ba’ku planet. It was was seen in Star Trek: Insurrection. Most of the action takes place in this area, because fans demanded more information about the Ba’ku.