New Version of 'Prelude' Redux Released

A new version of Prelude to Axanar: Redux, a pseudonymous fan edit that eliminates controversial OWC Studios head Alec Peters, was released on November 3, 2017, after the original was taken down from YouTube by Peters in February.

See also: Meet the Fan Editor Who Made 'Prelude: Redux' and Fan-Edit of 'Prelude' Eliminates Alec Peters

Prelude: Redux was edited by a fan under the pseudonym “Thomas Richardson.” This new version shaves off about four minutes from the official release’s 21 minutes, 9 seconds, for a total run time of 17 minutes, 1 second.

The release came the same week as Prelude‘s editor, Robert Meyer Burnett resigned as director of Axanar, following director Christian Gossett. Axanar‘s co-writer, Bill Hunt, also announced his departure from the project, though Peters had kept Hunt’s resignation from his donors since July.

NO MORE PETERS Alec Peters is removed from Prelude: Redux, replaced by the actor who originated the role of Garth (Steve Ihnat). Click to view full size

According to the YouTube description for the new fan-edit, “Richardson” wrote:

The following fan-edit of the Star Trek fan film, “Prelude to Axanar,” was made to honor the memory of Richard Hatch and Steve Ihnat. It is intended for critical and educational purposes only and involves no commercial interest.¹⁾

Hatch, who portrayed the Klingon commander in Prelude, Kharn the Undying, died of pancreatic cancer on February 7, just weeks after Axanar’s copyright infringement lawsuit was settled. Ihnat died in 1972.

Among the changes from the original version:

• All footage of Alec Peters as Captain Garth has been replaced with footage featuring original actor Steve Ihnat in the role.
• None of the Ihnat footage used in this fan-edit is from his work on Star Trek.
• Stock footage of Ihnat from the 1960s was used, and inserted into the film on a pre-TOS style bridge.
• The actor appears in a grey “Starfleet inspired” uniform somewhat reminiscent of the uniform jackets worn in the first Star Trek pilot, “The Cage.”
• Captain Garth has two lines of dialogue in the new footage, that are spoken during the battle with the Klingons.
• Ihnat’s actual voice was sampled to create the new lines of dialogue for the space battle with the Klingons.
• An unnamed actor wearing a gold shirt now appears at a station on the bridge across from Captain Garth.²⁾

NO MORE ‘WHORE’ One of Prelude‘s most controversial lines, about Captain Alexander (Kate Vernon), is removed in the fan edit.

A number of new starship visual effects (VFX) shots were added to this fan-edit. The additional shots come from previously released Axanar trailers, as well as footage recently made available online by former Axanar technologist Terry McIntosh. Additional sound effects were added to a few scenes.

Among the items cut from Prelude were lines by Captain Sonya Alexander (Kate Vernon):

• “It was like a Klingon maneuver!”
• “They called me ‘Queen Bitch Whore of the Federation’.”
• “Garth asked me, out of the blue, if we could have a drink?”

Also cut was Klingon commander Kharn’s dramatic slow-motion walk towards the camera, as the heroes talk about him being revered by the Klingons and a mystery to the Vulcans.

“Rather than single him out from the other interviewees on screen, he is now interviewed in the same natural manner as the other characters in the film,” “Richardson” said.³⁾

While a Constitution-class starship still appears on screen, no explicit mention of the U.S.S. Enterprise is made. The ship’s registry number, NCC-1701, never appears on screen in this new edit.

Prelude director Christian Gossett

The original director of Prelude, Christian Gossett found value in such a fan edit, telling AxaMonitor Peters should have learned from his last attempt to keep people from viewing it:

The most interesting thing to me about this cut is, it is a fascinating way to demonstrate one of the most important lessons anyone in entertainment has to learn: The work is bigger than you. The work is, ultimately, not about you at all. This edit, ultimately, is very powerful feedback. I would advise Alec to stop trying to deny its existence and learn from it instead.⁴⁾

Keywords