Star Trek: ‘Blood and Fire’ Reviews

Randy Hall of SciFiPulse reviews “Blood and Fire,” Parts 1 and 2.

PART 2 of “Blood and Fire,” the Star Trek: Phase II episode I co-wrote with David Gerrold was released Nov. 21, nearly a year after Part 1. Part 2 features Star Trek: The Next Generation star Denise Crosby in a great guest-starring role. I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had time to track down all the reviews, but here are excerpts of some I’ve come across so far.

Part 2 doesn’t seem to have engendered the vitriol that Part 1 did with its depiction of a relationship between two male officers aboard the Enterprise (one of them Capt. Kirk’s nephew. Shocking!).

This episode features Star Trek: The Next Generation star Denise Crosby in a great guest-starring role and amazing visual effects by my dear friend Joël Bellucci. ¡Hire him! Dave Berry was the director of photography and Ben Alpi the second-unit director — all three are my partners in Runic Films and associates of the production company, Blue Seraph Productions, owned and operated by me and J.T. Tepnapa (who also debuts in the episode as the newest Mr. Sulu).

The Reviews

• SciFiPulse.net (Randy Hall) —

The “gold standard” of independent Trek productions. … I have to wonder how much longer Phase II can continue to be considered an “amateur” series.

• TrekMovie.com (Anthony Pascale) —

Director David Gerrold keeps an even better pace with part 2. … It flows like a Star Trek episode. … The script, by Gerrold and Carlos Pedraza (based on an unused TNG script by Gerrold) also (mostly) rings true for classic Trek, full of traditional themes like family and sacrifice. … The effects are top notch for a fan film (and even many ‘real’ TV shows).

• Treks in SciFi blog —

This series of fan films has always been my favorite and they do a great job of capturing the feel of the original series and also giving us things we never got to see in the past. The sets are incredible and detail is amazing. Each episode gets better and better in terms of production values and they have many more episodes planned.

• TheLogbook.com (Earl Green) —

Another outstanding entry for Phase II. … I guess my ambivalence about [Part 2] is the allegory went. For years, tales have circulated about “Blood and Fire” being an appropriately fiery criticism of the lack of forward motion on a cure for AIDS, with the bloodworms standing in for the disease; Part 2 really seems to drop that ball. I was ready – and rooting for – David Gerrold to tear into all sorts of social injustices, and somehow it just doesn’t happen. Maybe over the years the legend became bigger than the story itself. In any case, the script as written/rewritten is expertly executed.

That’s a really legitimate question: One I’ll take on when I get a chance. Meanwhile, the review and comments on the gay-themed AfterElton blog were a bit sharper, and make some good points. Here’s a snippet:

• AfterElton.com (Ed Kennedy) —

Don’t get me wrong – this is an amazing product for a fan production. It just didn’t strike the right emotional tone to feel like Star Trek. Star Trek doesn’t do romance, at least not like this. Swashbuckling style is what it does well. … And I can’t recall a family moment like the Kirks had, even between Picard and Wesley Crusher. This was more of a Lifetime movie set on the Enterprise. And as Lifetime movies go, it was pretty good. But it wasn’t Star Trek.

What did the fanboys think of it? Last time it was pretty harsh. This time, the forums seem to have quite a few gay men in them, who appreciate the story. As for the review? It’s pretty much the opposite of what I said. Don’t worry, I’m used to it.

Don’t forget to read the comments.