Fan Series 02: Star Trek: New Voyages (Phase II)

Star Trek: New Voyages, later rebranded as Phase II, is among the most ambitious and enduring Star Trek fan productions ever created. Launched in 2004, this web series set out to continue the five-year mission of the original Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk, using recreated 1960s-style sets and costumes to evoke the spirit of TOS. Spearheaded by James Cawley and Jack Marshall, the series delivered several full-length episodes, including “To Serve All My Days” and the critically acclaimed “World Enough and Time,” featuring franchise alumni Walter Koenig and George Takei.

Unlike most amateur fan films, New Voyages achieved rare levels of professionalism. Its production involved industry veterans, official cooperation from CBS and Paramount, and women and men paid at industry rates—most notably for the episode “World Enough and Time,” which was filmed on the Universal lot and included actors cast by Marc Zicree’s production team. The episode even earned recognition from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America when its screenplay was nominated for a Nebula Award. Fans and critics alike praised it as “the first professional fan film,” demonstrating that passion projects can rival small-scale commercial offerings. 

Episodes like “To Serve All My Days,” scripted by Dorothy Fontana and starring Koenig as Chekov, demonstrated the series’ ambition to tell mature, character-driven stories consistent with the franchise’s values—often described as the unofficial fourth season of TOS. The production’s aesthetic attention to detail—from color grading and lighting to props and dialogue cadence—persistently mirrored the original series. It even featured reimagined Phase II starship designs that paid homage to scrapped 1970s concepts later seen in The Motion Picture. 

That level of fidelity, however, eventually collided with legal realities. In 2016, CBS issued firm fan film guidelines limiting projects to ultra-short runtime and forbidding involvement of any personnel who had worked professionally on Star Trek. Because New Voyages relied on former Trek staff and its episodes far exceeded the time limits, production ceased. Their large-scale sets were converted into the official CBS-licensed Original Series set tour in upstate New York. 

Today, New Voyages stands as a landmark example of what fan creators can achieve: an award-winning series that blurred the line between homage and original storytelling. While CBS stepped in to halt further episodes, the existing episodes and related eBooks (by Glenn E. Smith and others) preserve its narrative depth. New Voyages inspired later fan efforts—including Star Trek Continues, Exeter, and themed audio dramas—and helped shape fan expectations about what fan productions can achieve. 

Sources 

“About Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II.” Star Trek: New Voyages, Retro Film Studios, https://stnv.de/en/index.php. Accessed 27 July 2025.

Collura, Scott. “Star Trek Phase II: The First Professional Fan Film.” Den of Geek, 24 May 2016, https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-phase-ii-the-first-professional-fan-film/. Accessed 27 July 2025.

Zicree, Marc Scott. “World Enough and Time - A Star Trek Fan Film.” TrekMovie, 28 Aug. 2008, https://trekmovie.com/2008/08/28/fanmade-new-phase-ii-enterprsie-ogam-announce-dvd/. Accessed 27 July 2025.

“Two Phase II eBooks Released.” TrekBBS Forums, https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/two-phase-ii-ebooks-released.285632/. Accessed 27 July 2025.

“Fan Film Guidelines.” CBS and Paramount Legal Notices, 23 June 2016, https://www.startrek.com/fan-films. Accessed 27 July 2025.

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