Starship Farragut

Starship Farragut UPDATED

creator/executive producer: John Broughton

live action cast: John Broughton, Mike Bednar, Holly Bednar, Tonya Bacon, Amy McDonough and Bob McDonough
animated cast: John Broughton, Michael Bednar, Holly Bednar, Paul R. Sieber, Tonya Bacon, Bob McDonough, Jason LeBlanc, Amy McDonough, Hetoreyn, Ralph M. Miller, Chris Doohan, Chase Masterson, Vic Mignogna and Tim Russ
characters: original crew
characterizations: very good

sets: physical and digital
quality: very good
costuming: very good

special effects: outstanding work from NEO/fx (note: Neo f/x recently went so far as to create a wonderful animated version of the Star Trek XI trailer recently, and it can be found on YouTube.)

base of operations: greater Washington, D.C. area, and St. Mary's, Georgia

setting: U.S.S. Farragut, NCC-1647; series era time frame

music: the first episode featured a nice original composition from John Seguin; subsequent episodes feature a very nice original composition from Hetoreyn which can be purchased separately; the music scores for both JPT and RHP are available for free download at . There are links on the http://starshipintrepid.net/farragut/, http://www.pauley79.com/ and http://www.elvenmusic.com

website: always current
ease of navigation: excellent; this is the model all the others should aspire to; clean, straightforward and not too flashy
content: excellent, including links to DVD covers, posters, episodes, mirror sites, character bios; this is clearly the best website of all fan films.

notes: Comic book, "Dearly Departed," released on Kail Tescar's website; story details reasons behind Prescott's departure.

"Power Source" and the first two acts of "The Needs of the Many" are now on-line.

Some scenes from the unreleased episode, "Just Passing Through," were reshot this fall, leading to the planned release of the episode in Early Spring 2010.

John Broughton has created a blog site where he can relate what's going on with Farragut: my captainsblog.com. Some really interesting material here!

The www.farragut-animated.com web site has some new content on it, including Act III of "Power Source" and a DVD ISO file of the complete episode.

Other production notes:

The animated episode "The Needs of the Many" is now in production, and may be finished by the end of the year. A trailer for this episode can be found here.
Starship Farragut has completed and utilized its full-scale set of the shuttlecraft which was constructed for the vignette, "A Rock and a Hard Place."
Construction is underway for their bridge and transporter sets. Pictures are available in the forums of the Starship Farragut.
The fifth and sixth installments entitled "Damn the Torpedoes" and "Hair of the Dog" are scheduled to be filmed once construction on these new sets is complete.
Starship Farragut, in conjunction with NEO/fx and Kail Tescar of www.StarTrekAnimated.com, are working on a pair of animated Farragut episodes. (See below.) For more information, visit their joint site: http://www.farragut-animated.com/. Lou Scheimer, the co-founder of Filmation, has given his endorsement to this project and will be making a cameo voice appearance in the episodes.

episodes: (2) vignettes: (2) animated episodes: (1-1/4)
download here: http://starshipintrepid.net/farragut/ also http://www.pauley79.com/

Episode 01: The Captaincy (click on title to read Diane Doyle's review) Guest Starring: John Broughton, Sr., Larry Manzare, Mark Hildebrand writer: Paul R. Seiber and John Broughton Shortly after Captain John Carter of Mars arrives on board his new command, he is ordered to the planet Diotama III near the Klingon border. His mission is to investigate the disappearance of a missing starship and its irritating commodore, as well as determine the possibility of a secret and devastating Klingon weapon. Quality Rating: 75% The story is somewhat interesting, and the characters are realistically drawn. The major flaw in this episode is the never ending firefight on the planet as well as the Klingon base which looks more like my dead grandma's basement than something from the 23rd century. Even the Klingons would have to have something better than electrical wiring and painted cinder blocks for construction material. Still, the episode is quite watchable, and probably the best first episode of all productions listed in this article.
Episode 02: For Want of a Nail (click on title to read Diane Doyle's review) writer: Mark Hildebrand While beaming down to make first contact with a race of reclusive scientists, Captain Carter, Security Chief Prescott, Doctor Holley and two security guards suddenly find themselves in the midst of the American Revolutionary War. Despite their best efforts not to alter history, they run into none other than General George Washington. Back on the Farragut, First Officer Tacket and Chief Engineer Smithfield must work together in a race against time to rescue their missing comrades before they’re lost forever. Quality Rating: 85% The story is interesting, albeit filled with a few implausibilities, and bit of technojargon, and some other problems quite typical with fan fiction. I was a little put off by some of the acting, something I wasn't in the first episode. The actors looked as though their lines weren't as rehearsed as before, and sometimes the dialogue seems stilted as a result. Nice performance by the chap playing George Washington, and a really chilling post-script ending made this episode better than average. Farragut is becoming my favorite fan film series, and I'm looking forward to more!
Episode 03: Damn the Torpedoes *IN PRE-PRODUCTON* writer: Michael Steen, Jim Rockwell and Mark Hildebrand Now in pre-production. Filming should begin in 2010.	.
Starship Farragut -- The Crew Logs
Vignette 01: Just Passing Through (click on title to read Fred Dixon's review) writers: Holly Bednar and Dennis Bailey "Just Passing Through" depicts the flashback story of how the ship's engineer, Smithfield and the ship's first officer, Cdr. Tacket first met and is a humorous tale - going back five years in the past. This short film premiered November 22, 2008 at the University of Maryland's Hoff Theater, along with "A Rock and a Hard Place." Quality Rating: 78% At present, this vignette will not be released to the general public. The producers were not happy with the majority of the filming. After recently receiving the opportunity to view this vignette, it's clear that the story is a good one, and that there are several wonderful scenes there. Unfortunately, there's a number of glitches in this production, including a few scenes that are simply framed badly. It may be eventually re-filmed and released, and while certainly it's quite watchable, it's also clearly not up to the same level of quality as their other recent work has been.
Vignette 02: A Rock and a Hard Place (click on title to read Fred Dixon's review) writer: John Broughton Captain Carter, despite objections from his security chief, decides to go on a planetary survey mission with an old flame. Are they the only ones interested in the rocks? Noteworthy for this episode is that Starship Farragut personnel constructed an exact, full-scale interior shuttlecraft set. This short film premiered November 22, 2008 at the University of Maryland's Hoff Theater, along with "Just Passing Through." Quality Rating: 93% Overall, this vignette is a lightyear above and beyond "Just Passing Through." The direction is crisp, the acting is solid, and the story is not only wonderful but highly entertaining. The characters are very, very believable. If there's any flaw in the production, it has to be the audio when Carter's old flame is on the warpath. Some of her dialogue is barely audible, which may be the intent in that she's muttering under her breath, but I think it should've been mixed so that it was better heard. All in all, an excellent entry in the Farragut series.
Vignette 03: Hair of a Dog IN PRE-PRODUCTON Filming for this vignette is scheduled to begin in 2010.	.
Starship Farragut -- The Animated Series
Animated 01: Power Source (click on title to read Fred Dixon's review) writer: Thomas J. Scott a Neo/FX co-production The Farragut searches for the U.S.S. Azrael only to find its crew is under the influence of alien technology. Can Carter save the crew of the Azrael before the Farragut is infested as well? Quality Rating: 100% In all honesty, the first act of this episode has got to be one of the best produced animated entries I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Just the attention to detail, the sound work, the animations, it's all perfect, simply perfect. The attention to detail in order to recapture the entire feel of the animated series. Don't miss this one!
*Animated 02: The Needs of the Many IN PRODUCTON* (click on title to read Fred Dixon's review)** writer: Michael Struck with Jack Trevino a Neo/FX co-production The Farragut is sent to Cestus III. While at the base, the crew meets up with old friends and vile enemies. Can they solve all of the mysteries before they run out of time? Quality Rating: 93% Part One of this episode has been released, and it looks to be yet another winner. The production is technically flawless, and I'm amazed at the talent behind the endeavor. A few minor quibbles: the use of a Romulan cloaking device and a lot of technical dialogue draw attention away from the story. Two surprise guest stars added to my enjoyment and made up a little for those quibbles. I really am looking forward to the next installment of this episode. Part Two has more characterization than the first, and developes the premise of the episode further.