Review of Star Trek Continues Episode 3: Fairest of Them All

       Episode 3 of  Star Trek Continues, Fairest of Them All, has been released.  I think it is by far the best of the  three, and much better than the multimillion dollar movies in the Star Trek series.

    Star Trek Continues is made on a shoestring rather than the multibazillion dollar movies from the parent franchise.  But what sets apart the show is the writing.  Kudos to James Kerwin and Vic Mignogna for this one.    This episode takes place just after Kirk, Scott, Uhuru and McCoy were displaced in an evil parallel universe (in the original show episode "Mirror Mirror").  In that 1967 episode, good Kirk suggests that evil Spock should realize that the Terran Empire (i.e., the evil Federation) is headed towards an inevitable end, and should do something about it.
   

     The new show follows evil Spock's dilemma to remain loyal to his evil Captain, while also recognizing the logic of good Kirk's admonition to resist.  

     It is a brilliant concept, and the script writing was excellent, avoiding some of the minor logical disconnects of the first two episodes. 

In the evil universe, Captain Kirk is an oversexed member of the futuristic Tea Party, whereas Mr. Spock is a closet Liberal, and perhaps the only Democrat in the universe.  How can Spock survive in a world in which the ruler of the Terran empire is a direct descendant of Sarah Palin?

     The cast has really jelled for this episode.  In particular, Todd Haberkorn gives an incredible performance as the evil Spock, while Vic Mignogna channels his evil Kirk side with equal intensity.  The chemistry (or clash) between Kirk and Spock is absolutely terrific and causes both actors to step it up from what we had seen previously. 

     This is the kind of experiment that the movie studio would be terrified to undertake.  Because the movies are now hundreds of millions of dollars, the studios abhor anything with an element of risk. Hence every Star Trek movie made in the future will have the same old bad guys, and the movie will end with a stock ending.  I about choked when in the rebooted movie, Kirk dropped a nuclear bomb into the heart of the Deathstar, stealing from Luke Skywalker.  Yech.  

 

    What's great about Star Trek Continues is that you have absolutely no idea what is going to happen next!  You don't know what the bad guys are going to do, or even who's on who's side in this episode.    

In the evil universe, Lt Smith (Kipleigh Brown) operates the helm and is forced to wear scanty clothing to please the males (exactly as in the good universe of 1967).   

Asia Demarcos plays Lt. Marlena Moreau.  In the evil universe, all beautiful women know how to navigate a Starship. Lt Moreau is also a Girlfriend for horny Kirk.  Come to think of it, good Kirk is also incredibly horny.  Maybe the two universes are closer than we think.