A Review of
Star Trek: Aurora
by Fred Dixon
Star
Trek: Aurora is an animated movie set just after the original Star Trek series
in "a lawless sector of space." The eponymous Aurora itself
is a small merchanter cargo ship. The crew consists entirely of two people: her shapely
captain, Kara Carpenter, and her taut Vulcan first mate, T'Ling. Tim Vining, the
show’s producer/director/writer, was fascinated with the civilians that Captain Kirk
and crew came across. He wondered where they came from and how they came to get there.
That’s the inspiration for Aurora, and as a result, we have a fresh approach
to Star Trek.
I
found the animation of Kara Carpenter to be intriguing. It appears most of the work is
concentrated on her. Vining has made this character quite physically attractive (like if
Russ Meyer or the guys who did Heavy Metal
made Star
Trek). T’Ling recalls T’Pol from Enterprise complete
with a form-fitting cat suit. T'Ling is not quite as successfully realized as Kara, but is
well done. The movement of some of the animated figures echoes Jar-Jar Binks; they sort of
shuffle along. The design of the Aurora is
consistent with standard Federation starships with two warp nacelles, a saucer section and
a lower hull. Voiceover work is good, especially Jeannette Vining’s. She does both
Kara and T’Ling.
Spoilers
Below
The
first two parts consisted of exposition. Part I sets up Kara’s origin. Her family was
in the merchant marine as she is now. They were killed when she was a child by an attack
from a Romulan Bird of Prey. Part II reveals that Kara survived alone on the crippled
freighter by cannibalism. If darkness is what you want, then darkness is what you get
here. I’m afraid to ask what may have brought T’Ling to the Aurora. We
are bound to find out in the later parts.
Part
III is a rather impressive display of animation. The characters are life-like. Kara is
especially comely (in her pj’s no less). I still think the voiceover work is great.
The Aurora has taken a job. Kara beat out a former flame on the work because she
figured out how to navigate through a nebula and beat out the competition. Ill advisedly,
a ship follows her into the nebula. The Aurora is
an older ship with radiation shielding. The newer ship’s shields fail in the nebula,
and they are forced to dump their warp core because of a breach. The resulting explosion
overtakes the Aurora,
and Kara winds up on a starship --- looking at herself on a transporter pad.
The
first section of Part IV finds Kara aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown,
but not in her universe and there is an alternate Kara Carpenter. She is surprised that
her counterpart’s life has diverged from her own. David Ault has a nice turn as
science officer Trang. Tim Vining’s technique has improved yet again. The alternate
universe storyline is a bit tried and true, but the new set of characters and situations
are keeping it fresh.
The
second half of Part IV maintains the enhanced qualities of the previous parts. It sets up
nicely the concluding Part V. Kara decides to take advantage of her doppelganger status in
the alternate universe and is attempting to visit her long deceased family. One wonders at
this point if Thomas Wolfe was right: "You can't go home again." (Note: Tim
changed the Yorktown
uniform insignia from the familiar Enterprise
swoop to a three corner design. It stylizes the three cornered hat from colonial times.
This shows thoughtfulness to concept and responsiveness to viewer feedback.)
In
the last part, Kara knocks out the alternate Kara and goes AWOL from the Yorktown
to see her family. She is shocked to learn that her counterpart is estranged from her
family as well as the rest of her relationships, Starfleet included. She learns from it.
Kara has been afforded what she may have become save for the tragedy that hit her family
in her universe. The Yorktown eventually catches up to her, and they help send
her back home.
As I
was viewing the fifth and final part, I started to feel that I had seen this all before
– An Alternate Universe – the original
show, TNG, Enterprise and especially DS9. Then I considered the storyline again.
The alternate universe Kara had fallen out with her family and just about everyone else.
The Kara of our universe was left to guess what may have come; however, she loved and
missed her family and was in desperate need of closure. Could it be that the two
Kara’s wound up in the same spot? They were both without their families, one by
choice and one by fate. Our Kara got her second chance and could finally move on with her
life. How many of us wish for the same thing?
I
give high marks to this production. Different characters, engaging voice talent, a good
story to tell, and top notch animation.
You
find it all at www.auroratrek.com. (Tim is also
kind enough to include helpful hints on how to do animated work.)
Again,
the efforts of fanfilm producers are appreciated. The hard work and the love of Trek are
evident. The different points of view are, well, fascinating…
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