By GustavoLeao / 00:00, 13 February 2008 / General Star Trek

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Fan film productions Hidden Frontier and Starship Intrepid have teamed up for a second co-production: Operation: Beta Shield. What started out as a sequel to their original crossover feature "The Orphans of War" has ballooned into a feature-length epic that will also serve as the launching pad for a third Hidden Frontier production.

TrekWeb talks to Hidden Frontier executive producer Rob Caves about this new fan film and the future of the fan series.

1- What can you tell us about the next Hidden Frontier / Intrepid movie Operation Beta Shield ? Any major spoiler you can reveal ?

Back in October 2007 Nick Cook and some of the cast of Intrepid came over and we filmed a short film called Orphans of War. We had so much fun we wanted to do it again, only bigger!

What is so exciting about Beta Shield is that it's not just a continuing adventure for Orphans, but a continuation of the storyline of Hidden Frontier, Intrepid, Odyssey, Helena Chronicles, and even the Section 31 Files. And we've got cast from all those shows participating in Beta Shield. It really makes for an exciting crossover for all those fan productions. And it's allowed us to tel stories that we otherwise might not be able to. One thing that is fun about Beta Shield is that the scope of it is so big. You've got a threat from an empire in another galaxy, you've got Romulans, Klingons, new aliens. And they are all thrown into the mix. And you've got three Federation starships that the action in the movie is split between, as well as Romulus and other locations. There are fleets, there are massive debris fields from past wars, A plots, B plots, C plots... it's incredibly ambitious from a storytelling perspective. But that's what makes it so much fun.

We'll get to see some aspects of the Federation that Trek hasn't explored much and there are a couple of surprise promotions as well as a shocking death.

One of the main ships was designed by U.S.S. Titan designer, Sean Tourangeau. We also have the honor of including one of Titan's sister ships in a minor role in the film.

2- Is Beta Shield a sequel to the first Intrepid crossover Orphans of War ?

Ooops, sorry, I answered this one above. lol

3- How would you describe the script and screenplay by you and Brian S. Matthews for Beta Shield ?

The film feels very epic, and is vaguely reminiscent of Star Trek VI in it's scope and themes. But we also wanted it to be a commentary on Iraq, the Bush Administration, and the War on Terror. As this is also a setup for another spinoff series that will further explore those themes, Beta Shield is really just the tip of the iceberg. Brain S. Matthews has brought a wealth of experience as a sci-fi novelist to the script and overall story.

4- What is your opinion on the controversy of the introduction of a gay character in the series ?

Hidden Frontier had Trek's first gay character, and I guess we knew we had done the right thing when there was so much controversy about it. We found something that was timely and represented the next social issue that Trek could tackle in a tactful way. The point was to show a gay character that was just another member of the crew. There wasn't anything really remarkable about their sexuality, and it was not a big deal to anybody on the ship. They just were, and went about their duties like any other crew member.

We had everything from hate mail, to genuine thanks from people who changed their minds about the topic from seeing it in a Trek context.

5- With the next Star Trek movie set in the TOS era and other fan films (New Voyages, Farragut, etc) also taking place in the 23th Century, Hidden Frontier is the only fan series to explore the post-Dominion War era. How would you describe this period in Star Trek saga ?

Hidden Frontier and Intrepid were definitely the earliest fanfilms to tackle the difficult production values required for the post Dominion War era. And I've always loved this period, because it's not this perfect utopia. Bad stuff has happened, and continues to happen. But through the work of our heroes, they can make it a better place. And that's a message that is very appealing. We live in a similar world, post-9-11. People have lost faith. Government is corrupt, but we can still make a difference by working with our former enemies, celebrating our diversity, and reflecting inward on what is right and what is wrong. Things aren't black and white like they sometimes were in the original series. And that's a lot more interesting, at least to me as a film maker.

6- There is no TV series on production right now. Do you think this makes the fan films more important to fans ?

There is always room for new adventures that give us new perspectives, fresh ideas, or even new takes on old ideas. I think it's going to be even more important to have all the fanfilms on the internet keeping Star Trek alive in people's hearts and minds while there is no official show. Depriving the fans of the additional collective avenues of sharing new Trek stories would really be a shame, and detrimental to the franchise as a whole.

7- What is in the future for Hidden Frontier beyond Operation Beta Shield ?

When Hidden Frontier wrapped it's 50th and final episode last year, it spun off two shows, Odyssey and Helena Chronicles. A third mini-series is what Beta Shield will eventually evolve into. Each one is a different, but hopefully complimentary continuation of the Hidden Frontier storyline. Odyssey for example is a fresh take on Homer's classic with a lot of classical references. Helena is another side to that story, but has it's own unique feel. Beta Shield and it's progeny will also have a totally different feel and direction as we explore Star Trek in other genres. Since we don't make any money from these productions, we're also exploring a non-Trek original show using some of the HF family of cast and crew so that we can at least try to support all these productions that we do as labors of love.