Hidden Frontier is better than Enterprise

[Dark Primus]

I consider the story arc in these fan made movies at http://www.hiddenfrontier.org/ to be better than what Enterprise has shown in the last two years.
Even though in the beginning the actors are a bit rusty (They are a little bit annoying) it does take time to get used to it. They do get better in the later episodes.
It is a little bit slow in the beginning but it is worth the download.

[Rhadamanthus]

Oh my god, a fat orion slave girl!!!

Actually it looks pretty interesting, if I ever get my own computer I may get some of the episodes And I'd watch just about anything over Enterprise.

[YT300000]

Hidden Fronteir is better than Enterprise

Not that that means much...

[HemlockGrey]

I'm not sure how they can have an 'action-adventure' with a captain that large...

[seanrobertson]

I consider the story arc in these fan made movies at http://www.hiddenfrontier.org/ to be better than what Enterprise has shown in the last two years.
Even though in the beginning the actors are a bit rusty (They are a little bit annoying) it does take time to get used to it. They do get better in the later episodes.
It is a little bit slow in the beginning but it is worth the download.

I watched a few of these fan-made movies.

I was fairly impressed with their ability to use the bluescreen the way they did. It's fake, but forgivably so.

I thought the space stuff is still too fake looking; you can get really high-res models in a Star Trek: Armada mod to look better than that.

But the show ITSELF? No offense, man, but comparing it to "Enterprise" is like comparing some old Hanna Barbera cartoon to the best films ever made. It is TERRIBLE.

The guy portraying the captain looks like he's always about to break out laughing, and almost everyone (save the Trill and Ashley Judd replacements, both of whom are pretty cute) are classic doughnut-inhaling Star Trek dorks.

Captain Doublechin, Counselor Geriatric, Commodore Blimp...when Conan O'Brien sent Triumph the Insult Dog to bash Wars nerds at an AOTC premiere, we might've seen slightly more hard-core dweebs. Then again, some of them had some pretty expensive Stormtrooper or Vader costumes. The people on "[Thankfully] Hidden Frontiers" are wearing black SWEATPANTS.

And I'd be only too happy to ignore what they look like if they could act...but they're all just plain wretched. I was a better actor as a sixth grader performing Shakespeare They all hesitate in going over their lines, and the dialogue is worse than something a young teenager could hash out. Ham-fisted efforts at their worst!

As a very amatuerish, tongue-in-cheek internet game, it's pretty neat. But when you hold it next to ENT, sorry...with all ENT's short-comings, its very worst episode, standing alone, is still better than these guys' entire concept.

[Oberleutnant]

A live action fan film works if it is a parody like Star Wreck series, but not if they try to make it serious, in which case the only humour you see is unintentional. Besides, Hidden Frontier episodes aren't technically even that great (for example, Star Wreck has superior effects, though it takes time from them to release anything), but I have to admit that I have only watched couple older episodes.

Just for comparison, the one year old teaser for Star Wreck VI (still not finished):
http://www.starwreck.com/downloads_teaser2.htm


Edit: Just wanted to say that Hidden Frontier's not-so-good CGI and bluescreen effects wouldn't matter that much if the show was otherwise good.

[seanrobertson]

A live action fan film works if it is a parody like Star Wreck series, but not if they try to make it serious, in which case the only humour you see is unintentional. Besides, Hidden Frontier episodes aren't technically even that great (for example, Star Wreck has superior effects, though it takes time from them to release anything), but I have to admit that I have only watched couple older episodes.

Just for comparison, the one year old teaser for Star Wreck VI (still not finished):
http://www.starwreck.com/downloads_teaser2.htm


Edit: Just wanted to say that Hidden Frontier's not-so-good CGI and bluescreen effects wouldn't matter that much if the show was otherwise good.

Exactly, oh me droogie.

Had any velocet or drancrum lately?

Anyway, my main gripe with HF is in comparing it directly to a "professional," albeit B&B driven, production like ENT, which HAS done some good episodes even if the series as a whole sucks eggs.

No matter how bad an actor someone thinks Bakula or Blalock is (I don't really agree there, anyway), the people in HF don't seem to be putting forth ANY kind of effort; they make Bakula look like fucking Robert DeNiro! I wouldn't care if they were standing in front of cardboard cut-outs if they could at least be as convincing as little kids playing G.I. Joe or Transformers.

No one on the HF "cast" is good. The doctor and the girl playing Ashley Judd/Lefler are probably the best, and the doctor guy still stumbles all over his lines. (What, no second takes?) Judd-honey is simply way over the top with the winking and gestures.

That captain, though...ROTF. Darth Fatass is probably better than him.

P.S.--I just saw Star Wrecked. BEAUTIFUL graphics, wow!

[Oberleutnant]

Exactly, oh me droogie.

Had any velocet or drancrum lately?

Thanks! You are the third person on this forum who has ever said something about my avatar!



Okay, I downloaded one Hidden Frontier episode, the Modus Operandi (305), to see if I had unfair prejudice towards the series…

They've been doing this for how long? Three years? And they still can't do decent looking greenscreen scenes? I'm a big fan of amateur movies myself, and I've seen several examples of better use of blue/greenscreen in productions where the creators are using the technique for the first time.

The lighting in Hidden Frontier episodes is horrible at times and always way too bright.

The audio environment is better than most areas. Yay. Although their mic could be much better, the dialogue is clear enough (though some actors should speak more clearly instead of mumbling their lines).

The directors of the Hidden Frontier should stop for a moment and think what they are doing wrong. Perhaps they could take a look at the work of the professionals or pay few bucks for a book that deals with the subject.

I want to see interesting camera angles! Closeups of the actors! Camera pans! Better dialogue! Better editing – the cut tool in Premiere is there for a reason! More tension to the scenes for god’s sake! Even Pokemon is more exciting to watch than this dribble. As I watched the Modus Operandi, I begged for it to end. Everything what is wrong in Hidden Frontier shows in the Son’a ambassador. The way she deliveres her EVIL and MENACING lines . . . eeeww!

If you can’t do a proper Son’a / Cardassian makeup, why even bother? Just use latex differently and create a new, more interesting race.

Is it just me, or do most Hidden Frontier actors seem a bit “bored” with the stuff they are acting? Where’s the enthusiasim that is usually so common in other fan productions?

If there was one question I could ask from the creators of Hidden Frontier it would be this: “Why Star Trek?”

The entire concept is ridicilous from the start. There’s no way they can compete with Paramount’s production values or professional actors, so why even bother? Because they are trying to do everything seriously so that it fits in with the canon Trek universe, they are faced with severe limitations. How can they expect their viewers to take it seriously, as part of the canon Trek? IMHO, the best possible option would have been an entirely own original sci-fi universe with plenty of room to use for creative purposes...


Am I being too rude? After all, these people have worked damn hard to get to where they are now. Even making a short, twenty minute long episode is harder than it sounds. Amateur filmmaking is one my hobbies and me and my friend haven’t managed to finish anything, except for my test movies. However, at least we understood for the most part where our limitations are, so we didn’t decide to try anything special: just a short 10-20 minute long fantasy parody (geez, how original) titled “Ritariässä” (the Finnish name for Knight Rider – everyone who grew up in the eighties/early nineties knows this one, right? – literally meaning “Ace Knight”).

In the film, the peaceful Kingdom of Day Mound is attacked by the evil Blackies (they wear black clothes, balaclavas and helmets made out plastic flower pots, hence the name). Unfortunately the King George the Obese refuses to send his men to war, because he fears that he can’t otherwise afford the annual food orgy with the Elves, so they choose to send Ritariässä, our protagonist, on a suicide mission. He gets a sidekick, a halfling whose name I don’t quite remember, and together they journey to face the evil leader of the blackies, the Lord Drahomir, who likes sleek leather clothes and that sort of things. Unfortunately we are now unable to complete the shooting this summer because my military service begins in July, so the project is postponed, perhaps indefinetely.

Yes, I know what those who didn’t skip over the OT babble are thinking right now: We both like Monty Pythons…



Now for the Enterprise

Unlike the overwhelming majority here, I think that the show has its fair share of good moments. Actually, I think it’s even good. Not brilliant, but good. Since I can't get Ent on any television channel, I try to download the episodes with P2P programs like KaZaa Lite, though I leave out obvious stinkers such as "A Night in Sickbay”.

Enterprise doesn't have the epic scale or memorable characters of Babylon 5, the wonderful atmosphere of Farscape or the great spirit of comradeship of the TOS crew. Sure, there would be potential for so much more and continuity is treated as gently as a 40-year old heroine addicted Ukranian prostitute gives blowjobs to her customers, but I like the show and can’t wait for the next season to begin. The new direction is promising and I can only hope that they can do it properly.


Opinions anyone?

[HemlockGrey]

Having viewed Act I of 'Modus Operandi'...

Son'a ambassador was horrible. Too soft. No emotion. Right. Makeup sucked.

That said, the graphics were passable, I thought. But the entire shot was boring.

Now, onto Act 2 soon...(love my DSL)

[HemlockGrey]

GAGH! ITS SO DAMN BRIGHT!

[Oberleutnant]

What did you think of the episode? Pretty bad, eh?

Anyhow, could someone point out me the "best" Hidden Frontier episode? I don't like the idea of going through every one of them to see if there actually is a gem among the not-so-good ones.

[Dark Primus]

The best? That would be up to the individual, what he/she thinks.

[Lord Poe]

I haven't downloaded an episode yet. These guys are in L.A.? Hmm.... maybe I should bruh up on my makeup skills and join! Sounds like they need a director too....

Hehehe! What are the chances that I can convince them to adapt my graphic novel "Maulrats" ?

[Oberleutnant]

The best? That would be up to the individual, what he/she thinks.

And that's the reason why I put quotation marks to best. So what's your fav?