Redshirt Blues

Last updated

Redshirt Blues
Redshirt Blues.jpg
Erik Hill (Leeds) at left and Jack P. Dempsey (Averson) at right
Directed byDavid O. Rogers
Written byDavid O. Rogers
Produced byDavid O. Rogers
StarringJack P. Dempsey
Erik Hill
Release date
  • September 16, 2001 (2001-09-16)
Running time
9 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Redshirt Blues is a 2001 fan film that was made by fans of original Star Trek . It was written, directed and produced by David O. Rogers. It satirizes the use of redshirts on the television series as well as the show itself, its fans, and popular culture.

Contents

Plot

The disillusioned and disgruntled redshirt Crewman Averson is stuck on patrol on an unknown planet when he meets optimistic Crewman Leeds, who is new on board the USS Enterprise. As the two search for an energy field, Averson tells Leeds the true nature of redshirts as cannon fodder: "Redshirts die first" and goes on about his opinions on Captain Kirk, Spock, and other fixtures of the show. Leeds on the other hand says he is eager to serve in Starfleet, wants to learn to speak Klingon "just for fun" and his observation about how Qui-Gon Jinn doesn't disappear in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as does Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope . Eventually, the two encounter an alien resembling a floating orb. While Averson hides, Leeds is stuck admiring its beauty and is killed. Averson tries to contact the Enterprise with his communicator, which he finds is broken and replaces it with that of Leeds and moves on.

Reception

Redshirt Blues was first shown in the 2000 Boston Film Festival, which The Boston Phoenix reporter Mike Miliard reviewed as a "great Star Trek parody". [1] It was also screened at the 2000 Pacific Palisades Film Festival, [2] 2001 Nodance Film Festival, [3] and shown on a special Star Trek episode of Sci Fi Channel's short film television series Exposure on September 16, 2001. [4] [5] Entertainment Weekly reviews it as an "amusing riff on the hapless Starfleet crewmen whose uniforms invariably mark them for untimely deaths." [6] Overall, Wook Kim rated the Exposure episode as "B". [6]

Related Research Articles

Star Trek: Enterprise, originally titled simply Enterprise for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on United Paramount Network (UPN). The sixth series in the Star Trek franchise, it is a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 22nd century, a hundred years before the events of The Original Series, it follows the adventures of the Enterprise, Earth's first starship capable of traveling at warp five, as it explores the galaxy and encounters various alien species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deanna Troi</span> Fictional character from Star Trek

Deanna Troi is a main character in the science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and related TV series and films, portrayed by actress Marina Sirtis. Troi is half-human, half-Betazoid, and has the psionic ability to sense emotions. She serves as the ship's counsellor on USS Enterprise-D. Throughout most of the series, she holds the rank of lieutenant commander. In the seventh season, Troi takes the bridge officer's examination and is promoted to the rank of commander, but continues as counsellor.

Starfleet is a fictional organization in the Star Trek media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets as the principal means for conducting deep space exploration, research, defense, peacekeeping, and diplomacy. While most of Starfleet's members are human and it has been headquartered on Earth, hundreds of other species are also represented. Most of the franchise's protagonists are Starfleet commissioned officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spock</span> Fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise

Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He first appeared in the original Star Trek series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise as science officer and first officer and later as commanding officer of the vessel. Spock's mixed human–Vulcan heritage serves as an important plot element in many of the character's appearances. Along with Captain James T. Kirk and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, he is one of the three central characters in the original Star Trek series and its films. After retiring from active duty in Starfleet, Spock served as a Federation ambassador, and later became involved in the ill-fated attempt to save Romulus from a supernova, leading him to live out the rest of his life in a parallel universe.

Christopher Pike (<i>Star Trek</i>) Character in the Star Trek franchise

Captain Christopher "Chris" Pike is a fictional character in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. He is the immediate predecessor to James T. Kirk as captain of the starship USS Enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyota Uhura</span> Star Trek character

Nyota Uhura, or simply Uhura, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. In the original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six Star Trek feature films. A younger Uhura is portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding in the 2022 prequel series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, while an alternate timeline version of Uhura has been portrayed by actress Zoe Saldaña in the feature films Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek Beyond (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavel Chekov</span> Fictional Character in the Star Trek universe

Pavel Andreievich Chekov is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorn</span> Fictional humanoid reptilian species in the science fiction franchise Star Trek.

The Gorn are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid reptilian species in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They first appeared in a 1967 episode of the original series, "Arena", in which Captain Kirk fights an unnamed Gorn on a rocky planet. The fight scene has become one of the best-remembered scenes of the original series, in part due to the slow and lumbering movement of the Gorn, which some viewers have considered unintentionally comical.

Scotty (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional character in Star Trek

Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a fictional character in the science fiction franchise Star Trek. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, 10 Star Trek films, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous books, comics, and video games.

This article discusses the fictional timeline of the Star Trek franchise. The franchise is primarily set in the future, ranging from the mid-22nd century to the late 24th century, with the third season of Star Trek: Discovery jumping forward to the 32nd century. However the franchise has also outlined a fictional future history of Earth prior to this, and, primarily through time travel plots, explored both past and further-future settings.

<i>Enterprise</i> (NX-01) Fictional spacecraft from Star Trek: Enterprise

Enterprise (NX-01) is the fictional spaceship that serves as the primary setting of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. The ship predates the other Starfleet ships named Enterprise and was first seen in the pilot episode "Broken Bow". Its missions included an initial period of deep space exploration and a mission into the Delphic Expanse following the Xindi attack on Earth; it was also instrumental in the formation of the United Federation of Planets with the Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites.

"All Good Things..." is the series finale of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It comprises the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season and is the 177th and 178th episodes of the series overall. It aired on May 23, 1994. The title is derived from the expression "All good things must come to an end", a phrase used by the character Q during the episode itself.

Orion (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional alien race

The Orions are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek, making their first appearance in the initial pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage". Susan Oliver portrayed the first Orion seen on screen, when her human character Vina was transformed into one, although it was Majel Barrett who underwent the original makeup test. The footage was subsequently used in the two-part episode "The Menagerie". Yvonne Craig, who was considered for the role of Vina, later played an Orion in "Whom Gods Destroy".

Miles OBrien (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional character from the Star Trek universe

Miles Edward O'Brien is a character in the Star Trek franchise, portrayed by actor Colm Meaney. O'Brien appears occasionally in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and is a main cast member of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. O'Brien was originally the transporter chief of the USS Enterprise-D. He was later promoted to chief of operations of Deep Space Nine. Being portrayed in 225 episodes overall, O'Brien is the Star Trek character with the second most appearances in the Star Trek franchise, second only to Worf.

Star Trek fan productions are productions made by fans using elements of the Star Trek franchise. Paramount Pictures, CBS, and their licensees are the only organizations legally allowed to create commercial products with the Star Trek name and trademark. The fan film community has received some coverage from the mainstream media.

Star Trek uniforms are costumes worn by actors portraying personnel of a fictitious Starfleet in various television series and films in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. During the various series, the costume design has often changed to represent different time periods and for reasons of appearance and comfort. Sometimes different styles were deliberately mixed to enhance the sense of time travel or alternative universes.

Exposure is a short-film oriented science-fiction anthology series that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel between the years of 2000 and 2002. The series showcased the short sci-fi films of both unknown and known filmmakers, giving rise to the channel's own Exposure Studios. Hosted by actress Lisa Marie, the films presented a wide range of science fiction subject matter. The series received poor ratings and was canceled in the fall of 2002. The series was originally shown on Sundays at 10:00pm EST and was repeated the following Saturday at 2:00am EST, later on the time was changed to 11:00pm EST and still repeated the following Saturday well after Midnight, which probably is a major reason for the poor ratings this show received. The series also had two guest hosts. Terry Farrell would host the "Best of Season One" episode and director Kevin Smith hosted the "Star Wars Short Films Showcase".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Luc Picard</span> Fictional character from the Star Trek franchise

Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the premiere episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well as the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). He is also featured as the central character in the show Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borg</span> Fictional faction in Star Trek

The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the Star Trek fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "The Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge of other alien species to the Collective through the process of "assimilation": forcibly transforming individual beings into "drones" by injecting nanoprobes into their bodies and surgically augmenting them with cybernetic components. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection".

<i>Star Trek Continues</i> Fan-created web series set in Star Trek universe

Star Trek Continues is an American fan-made web series set in the Star Trek universe. Produced by the nonprofit Trek Continues, Inc. and Dracogen, and initially co-produced by Far from Home LLC and Farragut Films, Star Trek Continues consists of 11 episodes released between 2013 and 2017. The series is an unofficial direct continuation of Star Trek: The Original Series, and emulates its visual and storytelling features to achieve the same look and feel. The creators of Star Trek Continues intended to finish the original five-year mission of the show, which they do in the final two episodes.

References

  1. "The 2000 Boston Film Festival: Brief Encounters". The Boston Phoenix . Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  2. "Titles screened". FestivalFocus.org. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  3. "Year 4 Press Release". Archive.org. Archived from the original on December 14, 2002. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  4. "Redshirtblues.com". David O'Connor. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  5. "Redshirt Blues (2001) Release Dates". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Ross, Dalton (September 10, 2001). "What To Watch". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2007.