Saturday Night Showcase: Farragut animated

Back when I reviewed Star Trek: Starship Farragut in June, I mentioned that they were going to do a Filmation-style animated series. Well, that time has come, so I thought I’d give it a look-see, and it’s pretty darn good. Since there are four parts, rather than the seven of the live-action show, I’ll post them all here (past the “jump” for those of you coming via the homepage, with the trailer and links here) so you can get right to the watching.

Here is the YouTube home of Starship Farragut if you can’t get the videos up here. Just look for the episode “Power Source”. (You should also give the live series a shot as well. As I reported in June, it’s darn good. That goes double for J.J. Abrams. See, that’s how you do it. New cast. New world. It wasn’t a bad movie, but why not add to the Star Trek Universe rather than mess with the timeline just so you can have Spock and Uhura hook up, destroy a famous planet, and have a rather implausible way to put everyone in their classic spots?)

I’m not sure why they had to put this show into four parts, but…wait, is that who I think it is as Captain Glenn?

Holy crud! I know they ran the series itself past Mr. Scheimer, but he’s added a voice as well? (Something he did quite often at Filmation when he was running the place.) To a toon head like me, that’s just as good as the New Voyages/Phase II crew getting actual Star Trek actors and prop makers on their show.

The artwork and animation style are in keeping with the classic Filmation series (which CBS/Paramount has yet to put online to watch–a mistake, if you ask me), which was their intention. At times the computer assist is obvious, but who really cares? If Filmation were around today, I wouldn’t be surprised if they added computers into their style. In its day, Filmation were masters at using limited animation in ways that were amazing. (I direct you to last week’s entry of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.) Both Filmation and Farragut Films have learned to work a budget as well as telling great stories, so that’s all in place here.

If I were to make a slight critique, however, it’s that the voice acting needs some polish. It doesn’t come off as a dry read, mind you. (For an example of that, find the pilot episode of the ALF cartoon, and compare it with the later episodes. Paul Fusco must have had coaching between the pilot and the series.) However, more often than not the actors have all the emotion that they put into a log entry. There are moments that come off fine, so it’s not a lost cause. Just something they need to keep an eye on in the future. (I know Mr. Brougton might pop in again, but I still need to call it. It took a while for the original actors to get going on the animated Star Trek, too, but look at Leonard Nimoy today, and both James Doohan and George Takei shined, with Takei still doing the occasional animation.)

Taken as a whole, it is still a fantastic job. I only hope the Phase II team decides to take this route as well. These fan projects are all about bringing an old friend back, and these two constantly deliver. Speaking of projects, check this out (and note that doesn’t sound like the same voice actor for Glenn to me).