In the wake of very strong reviews for the Star Trek: New Voyages episode "World Enough and Time", the internet series acquired so many viewers that it suffered a web site crash. Now, however, the episode is available again and the production team is looking ahead to future productions.

Producer and actor James Cawley (Kirk) told TrekMovie.com that the crew is already working on the next episode, "Blood and Fire", based on a script written by David Gerrold for Star Trek: The Next Generation but deemed too controversial because of its gay characters and AIDS content. New Voyages will produce it as a two-parter, with Denise Crosby playing Tasha Yar's forebear Dr. Jenna Yar. Cawley hopes to have both parts distributed by the end of 2007.

The episode following was originally slated to be "The Sky Above, The Mudd Below" with J.G. Hertzler (Martok) taking over actor Roger C. Carmel's role as Harry Mudd, but Hertzler's schedule has caused the postponement of that episode until at least 2009. Other changes are in the works as well, including new actors in the roles of Spock and Uhura: Ben Tolpin will replace Jeff Quinn as the Vulcan, while Kim Stinger will take over for Julienne Irons as the communications officer. Tolpin and Stinger are the first SAG members to sign on as regulars.

Cawley purchased the original wardrobe from the planned Star Trek: Phase II series that was never made and plans to use them in New Voyages, believing that the wardrobe that might have represented the later years of the original five-year mission "shows the progression" toward the era of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Vulcan character of Xon, created for Phase II, will be included as well.

Beginning with "Blood and Fire," Daren Dochterman will become a visual effects supervisor of New Voyages, working to make the effects more closely resemble those of the original series. Cawley hopes to produce episodes more quickly throughout 2008 and said that one possibility for a future episode is a script initially adapted for Star Trek Enterprise, co-written by Larry Niven, involving Niven’s Kzintim who appeared in the animated series episode "The Slaver Weapon."

The full article is here.

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