STAR TREK First Frontier

Posted on by The Beard

The Stars Are Not That Far

STAR TREK

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.

Cast

Robert Pralgo as Captain Robert April
Tara Ochs as Doctor Sarah April
Mark Ashworth as Commander Young
Paul Telfer as Commander McCain
Vince Canlas as Lieutenant Commander Corbin
Brianna Ferris as Lieutenant Lyra
Brandon Thane Wilson as Ensign Brooks
Robert Bryan Davis as Admiral Taylor
James Smith as Lieutenant DePriest
Stan Harrington as Captain Collins
Barry Corbin as John April

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?

Thumbs Up:

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!

3 thoughts on “STAR TREK First Frontier”

    1. 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

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    2. 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.