This is an episode of a fan-made series whose storyline may be invalidated by later official studio productions.
Stardate not given: Klingon Captain Kargh gathers his allies at a less-than-obvious location to lay out his final plans for an assault on Federation territory which will result in the deaths of millions of humans, a crippling blow to Starfleet’s morale and Federation security. But as far ahead as Kargh believes he has planned, someone else has outplanned him and is listening in.
written by Erik Korngold
directed by Erik J. Goodrich
music by Fred SteinerCast: John Carrigan (Kargh), Anne Carrigan (Le’ak), James Cawley (Captain Kirk), Paul R. Sieber (Klingon Ops), Larry Nemecek (Tellarite Grolst), Jeff Quinn (Mr. Spock), Julienne Irons (Lt. Uhura), Jeff Mailhotte (Klingon), Kent Schmidt (Klingon), Chris Lunderman (Klingon), Tanveer Naseer (Klingon), Mark Strock (Klingon), Jay Storey (Lt. Kyle), Andy Bray (Chekov)
Notes: Originally filmed in 2005 along with the already-released vignette Center Seat and other vignettes still not released to this day (Change Of Command and Auld Lang Syne), the raw footage shot for No Win Scenario was misplaced until actor John “Kargh” Carrigan provided his own copy and secretly edited and post-produced it himself, with FX provided by Tobias Richter of The Light Works (who also provided CGI FX for Enemy: Starfleet!). The completed episode was presented to Phase II star and showrunner James Cawley as a surprise, and was made available on October 8th, 2011 – 7 years to the day after the release of the first New Voyages episode, Come What May. As such, this episode is shot in letterboxed standard-definition video and features many actors who have not participated in Phase II’s more recent releases. It is still unknown if or when the other previously-shot vignettes may be released, especially since every Phase II production since World Enough And Time has been filmed in HD.
LogBook entry & review by Earl Green
Review: A compact morsel of story, No Win Scenario is a throwback to the early days of the Star Trek: New Voyages fan series, dating back before the reliance on big-name guest stars and guest writers. I remember enjoying the similarly short piece Center Seat tremendously, and I liked this one too.
Although time and technology have long since left this vignette behind, No Win Scenario plays to the original strengths of New Voyages: original stories played out and produced to the best of the abilities of those involved. The nighttime location shooting is effective simple (though lighting it was almost certainly anything but simple), and other than Kargh’s flashback to the Klingon equivalent of the Kobayashi Maru test, it’s practically a stage piece with close-ups.
Tobias Richter’s CGI visuals for the Klingon academy test are shocking, showing the destruction of the Enterprise by a fleet of Klingon ships (not a scenario we’re accustomed to seeing). Equally surprising is that Kargh basically squeaks by in the test by virtue of cowardice. Surely there’s something to be made of that down the road…
Not bad for nine minutes of video, even if the audience is almost certainly aware of the comeuppance long before it’s revealed in no uncertain terms. No Win Scenario is a fun way to spend ten minutes in the Kirk era.