Steven L. wrote:

Part of it may be perhaps that this isn't a professional production with
professional goals and schedule. If you look at making a real series, the
aim is, after a pre-production period, to start a season, bang it out as
quickly as possible and within budget as possible, then get ready for the
next one; it's a rapid sausage factory. The aim is to get high ratings and
keep selling the show. For the individuals involved, the aim is to earn
their wages by performing a competent job.

None of that applies to a fan production. What are or were Cawley's aims?
Well, he wanted to play Captain Kirk in a Star Trek show. He's done that, as
much as possible. They apparently hoped early on that the series may
actually get picked up professionally by Paramount; that was never going to
happen and certainly isn't now. And he set out to make "the 4th (and even
possibly 5th) season". But they aren't shooting seasons, they're shooting
one at a time; compared to real TV painfully slowly. It's faster than
movies, but they're not getting movies at the end of it. Instead it's 6
months or a year for one TV "episode". That's a gruelling schedule and at
this rate by the end they'll be getting more "old men in space" jibes than
the real crew were. I think Cawley's looking down that long tunnel of hard
work and suddenly it doesn't look as appealing as it did. It's an immense
commitment of money and time and they've now hit a "more of the same" thing,
and with no real reward at the end of it.

It's a little like, somebody has an ambition to write a novel. So they spend
a year or maybe two writing their novel. They may have planned a trilogy, or
a series but, once they've written their novel, doing another is just more
of the same; they've accomplished their personal goal. If it got published,
if they've got a professional incentive, there's an incentive to write
sequels. If they're only writing for fun; well, they've achieved what
they've set out to do. More seem less appealing.

With World Enough And Time, Cawley has probably achieved as much as he ever
could. It's unlikely NV can do any better. So future episodes are just more
of the same without any greater bar to leap over. So now he's trying to
spice things up with a new challenge, and making "the series that never was"
probably seems like a step up as a goal. But I think that will quickly pall
for him too. Like I said, he's basically achieved all he set out to do. The
thing can't go any further. It's never going to be a professional show, he's
never going to get paid to be Captain Kirk, and I think he's at that stage
of trying to keep himself motivated but deep down inside the motivation is
ebbing away (as are his cast, notably).

I think the fanfilm thing has peaked and is going to fade away now. NV and
Exeter have done as much with it as can really be done. There's only so much
joy to be had from emulating something you can't by law ever truly own. The
Star Wreck (Pirkinning) team have for instance now jumped to the next stage
of making an effectively professional original movie (Iron Sky) and that's
real progress in their lives; if that comes out successfully it's their very
own thing that people will admire them for, which they can sell and make
careers out of. Cawley, for all his achievement, which we have to say is
immense, is stuck forever in a never-never land of imitation. He's
desperately trying to find ways to be more meaningful; and making the "the
series that never was" is an attempt to do that. But it still won't be
enough, if my understanding of human nature is correct :) Personal goals are
fine, but people need externalised goals too.

Ian