By GustavoLeao / 11:13, 13 April 2008 / General Star Trek

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TrekWeb talks to Rob Caves, executive producer of fan series Star Trek Odyssey and Star Trek The Helena Chronicles, plus the upcoming Hidden Frontier/Starship Intrepid fan film Operation Beta Shield. This time, he talks about the upcoming Odyssey episode titled "Vile Gods", some fan controversy and other projects. Beware of minor spoilers.

1-Rob, what can you reveal about the upcoming Odyssey episode "Vile Gods" ?

"Vile Gods" will push the crews resolve and patience with each other to the breaking point.  New problems are introduced, and the crew will have to find a way to work together in ways they are not used to working.  And the Odyssey's fragile peace with the Kelvans will also be strained in the episode.  Ro will confront some of his demons in the episode that will culminate in a surprise guest appearance from Ro's past.

2- Hidden Frontier and its spin-offs fan series are known for its huge take on homosexuality in Star Trek, by featuring two openly gay main characters - Lt. Commander Corey Aster, and Lieutenant Commander Ro Nevin. I understand we get a re-union of sorts of Ro and Aster in "Vile Gods". Is this the first Odyssey / Helena Chronicles crossover ?

Helena and Odyssey are in many ways one show.  So there isn't really such a thing as a crossover between them, because nearly every episode features some sort of crossover, verbal, talent, or story-wise.  Helena is a show that is based around the idea of finding Odyssey and getting it home.  Odyssey is a show based on the idea of getting home to our galaxy where Helena is based and re-uniting with those characters.  Because the shows share the same writing staff and script writing process they are kept internally consistent.  But sometimes the challenge is to write a good stand-out story that doesn't use the interconnectivity as too much of a crutch.  So it can shine on its own.

3- Odyssey features state-of-art CGI special effects. Any major FX sequence in "Vile Gods" ?

Vile Gods is very character driven, and the A-plot which contains a space battle and action sequence feels more like a B or C plot.  Out of four shoots, we spent 3 on non-battle scenes.  That's how much time we spent on the interpersonal drama vs the traditional bridge and space battle scenes in this episode, and I think it's good because it advances the interpersonal relationships among the crew in a big way.  But the episode is far from slow or dull.  And we also have some exciting battle sequences and a dream-like sequence that will hopefully have people speculating for a long time.

4- What is your opinion about actor Brandon McConnell, the new Ro Nevin ? What is his role in "Vile Gods" ?

Brandon has done a fantastic job, especially shining in this episode.  If he hasn't become Ro yet for viewers, I think he will by the end of this episode.  We had fun filming a few sequences from past HF episodes to show as brief flashbacks and Brandon looked right at home as if he had always played Ro. 

In this episode Ro goes from relative hero, to struggling to survive in a short amount of time.  And he had a certain amount of time to earn his crews loyalty, and if they didn't want him as captain, they have a pretty good chance to get rid of him in this episode.  So it's a big reflection on his character what they do, and don't do to help him in his time of need.

5- You were the first to introduce gay characters in a Star Trek series, fan made or not, a fact that made a lot of controversy among fans. What is your opinion on this  and how this affects Odyssey storyline ?

There had been talk about a gay character in Trek for a number of years, and even though some of the writers wanted to do it, the studio would not.  So it was rather surprising to be doing one of the first Star Trek fan films in 2000 and also being unique in being the first to include a gay character.  But it stuck out like a sore thumb to me as something that hadn't been done, was long overdo, and should be done in a way that didn't yell and scream, "Hey, here's a gay character!  Look at this!"  We just put Corey Aster in there, made him obviously gay in his attraction to another ship mate, never used the word gay and let it stand on its own as just another normal part of what it means to be humanoid.Later we explored non-human gays, because frankly they were just interesting to see what they might be line, but it was still just shades of normal, which I think is really all that needed to be done.  To show that homosexuals are normal people, that they aren't hyper feminine, or other stereotypes, and that they weren't genetically written out of the gene pool. (Assuming that is even possible - current science suggests that it is not.)  That they have a value to society, and everybody can live together without fear or un-equality.

6- Odyssey premise is often compared to Star Trek Voyager. Do you think it is a fair comparassion ?

It is fair in that both are loosely based on Homer's Odyssey, Odyssey more-so than Voyager.  But I think that is where the similarity ends.  Odyssey is not running for home, it's trying to just stay alive.  There is no seasoned leader, it's trial by fire for someone who never wanted to command.  The first officer is not ex-Starfleet, she's a former enemy that is only there because of an un-easy alliance.  Those are just a few examples.  I think Voyager had a pretty good concept as concepts go, and I won't knock it, but where Voyager was structured for non-connected stories by and large, Odyssey aims to be one story flowing into the next.  Where the last episode left off (aside from a few months to advance the time clock) the next episode picks up taking the plot further along.  We're taking special care to have the characters develop their working relationships over time as realistically as possible.  I hope we've achieved that, but that's ultimately for the audience to decide.  We always welcome feedback on how we're doing.

7- The production values on Odyssey and Helena Chronicles are very high - state-of-the-art special effects, good acting and directing, beatiful musical scores. You and your production team have improved a lot since the early seasons of Hidden Frontier, and the episodes now look like proper Star Trek adventures. Still a lot of fans have a prejudice against fan films. Do you know why ?

Even the fan films with big bucks and big actors still can't match the visual scope and quality of Studio Trek.  (though some are very close and in some cases have nailed the studio look of the 1960's).  So there are some people who will probably not settle for something not up to the quality of the last Trek movie or TV show to air.  And then there are probably some that won't watch it if it doesn't come from the studio on principal.  And that's their call to make.  We started out making these things for us, and us only.  The original USS Angeles fan films I made with a club in LA were (and still) only made with and for club members.  It was basically a snazzy play time, that was a little bit better than anybody expected it would be.  And that pushed us to make it good enough to share with other fans.  Because it feels good to share something you worked hard on, and that you've become proud of.  As much for the positive feedback, as the feedback that encourages you to do better.  That definition of "good enough" is what varies so widely for so many fans.  For the Angeles it was deemed not good enough to share.  For early Hidden Frontier, it was just passable for a bit of fun and then proceeded to get better from there. 

For Odyssey and Helena it is something I am reasonably proud of, considering how it is made.  But what is "good enough" for fans not involved with its creation may be considerably different, so it's up to them to decide when a fan film looks good enough to check out.  I'd like to think I still do these for my own enjoyment first and foremost.  If people like the stories we are telling, that's awesome.  But I'm just a fan, I really don't have any greater aspiration than doing the best I can at whatever I am doing.

8- Can you give us a production update on the upcoming Hidden Frontier / Intrepid feature-length fan movie, Operation Beta Shield ?

We've just completed our first full day of filming.  It was fun working with people again I had not seen in a long time!  And it was also great to be filming on (virtual) sets we had never filmed on, and getting a chance of scenery from Odyssey and Helena scenery.  It was also fun to start using some of the new Federation One sets as well as some new costumes Nick Cook made for us.

9- Beta Shield will be filmed around the Excelsior Ball III convention on June, right ? What can you tell us about this event ?

The shoots wrap up just prior to the event, and fans can attend the shoots by signing up for them on the HF forums.  The event itself started as a cast/crew party for the end of the filming season.  But since it's not as much fun to watch episodes with ourselves we opened it up to anyone who wanted to come.  It's all free to come to any of the panels and screenings for the event.  It's basically episodes projected on a big screen and cast and crew answering questions in a panel setting about the different shows.  This year we invited several other fan films and fan audio dramas to join us to talk about their projects as well.  We've invited the ones that share continuity and some that are spinoffs of Hidden Frontier themselves.  More info on the event can be found at http://www.excelsiorball.com

10- Finally, Rob, what fans can look foward in the future episodes of Star Trek Odyssey and Star Trek The Helena Chronicles ?

As always, more plot twists than you can shake a warp core at.  We're always trying to mix things up, try new things, and just keep producing stuff.  With Hidden Frontier we knew we wouldn't hit it out of the ballpark every time, but the only way you get better is to keep doing it.  And have fun doing it!