STAR TREK Wrath of the Augments

[bionicbob]

STAR TREK ENTERPRISE "WRATH OF THE AUGMENTS"

tagline: "THE ABILITY AND AMBITION EDITION"

Basic details: From the ashes of the Eugenics Wars a new threat arises. Captain Archer and the crew of the Enterprise race to stop Doctor Arik Soong and his genetically engineered Augments from starting a war between Earth and the Klingon Empire.

Bionic Bob edits the the 3 part Augment Arc into a faster paced action adventure by removing all commercial breaks, unneeded characters and filler subplots.

original film names: STAR TREK ENTERPRISE -- season four episodes BORDERLAND, COLD STATION 12 and THE AUGMENTS.

new film name : Star Trek Enterprise Wrath of the Augments
film studio name aramount Pictures and CBS Studios
edit crew name : Bionic Bob
persons involved: Me
Date Original Film Was Released : 2004
Date Edit Was Released : February 2014
Original Runtime : 125 minutes
New Runtime : 85 minutes
Cut/Add Time: cut 42 minutes
added 2 minutes


Fanedit details:
Intention: Just to recut three Trek episodes into a fun movie experience.

Editing Details:
Used iMac 10.5, Mac the Ripper, MPEG Streamclip, Final Cut Express, GarageBand, and iDVD

Cuts removed/added/extended (add list of what was changed):
--added footage from TOS "Space Seed"; resized and reframed
--created new opening credits
--trimmed Trip and T'Pol romance, remove all references to her wedding
--added scene transition music cue
--cut Ensign Pierce subplot, kept focus on T'Pol
--cut Peris and Raakin scene
--trimmed Phlox and Dr. Lewis backstory
--cut the character Smike
--zoomed, cropped and/or reframed shots with Smike in the background
--cut the two sneaking across the Klingon border scenes
--cut Malik returning from the dead to attack Archer and Soong on the Enterprise
--removed all commercials breaks
--lots of tiny trims here and there.... lol

Bonus Features:
THE EUGENICS WARS -- for some fanboy fun I tried to create an alternate history timeline exploring the origins of the Augments while explaining how Earth suffered through decades of world wars while still continuing to explore/colonize space using the dates given in TOS as "fact".
ABOUT THIS EDIT
TRAILER


DVD Art:

TRAILER:

password: fanedit.org

 

[Vultural]

Viewed this last night. Solid craftsmanship, typical of BBob.
Like the menu design, and really got into The Eugenics Wars. Great, great job there, and a reminder of all that went badly for the franchise. For Bob was fearless and inventive, whereas the folks helming TrekWorld were timid souls, locked in doctrine.

The audio editing was top notch. The opening credits were a hundredfold improvement over the original, warbling song that made me cringe every time I heard it.
The video editing was seamless, though there were some unexplained jump cuts that caused me to hit the REWIND button. Case in point @ 44:15 Archer is being advised about transporter range and masking frequencies, then at 47:57, Archer and his strike tear are led into the base control room as prisoners. How'd that happen? Not a biggee, but I noticed.
For the TrekWorld faithful, I can safely say they will enjoy this.
The narrative is brisk and holds together.
As Bob wrote in his About This Edit, there is much in the canon that got added into Enterprise - in Season 4.
Trekkies, go check this out.

 

[bionicbob]

The video editing was seamless, though there were some unexplained jump cuts that caused me to hit the REWIND button. Case in point @ 44:15 Archer is being advised about transporter range and masking frequencies, then at 47:57, Archer and his strike tear are led into the base control room as prisoners. How'd that happen? Not a biggee, but I noticed.

This was a tricky plot point to explain but I think it is all there on the screen....

The weaker augment Smike was a central character to the transporter scene and Archer's capture on Cold Station 12. Since Smike is completely removed from the story, the edit unfolds like this....

Reveal message

44:15 Archer prepares to transport secretly to Cold Station 12 and then we cut back to the station
45:18 We see Archer and Phlox on the Station tampering with the life support system
45:54 The Augment techie guy notices the life support is being tampered with my other forces, Malik dispatches Persis to deal with it.
47:33 Trip reports to T'Pol that Archer and his team com signal has been lost, suggesting they have been captured
47:55 We see Persis return with Archer captured.

It is all cut purposely fast to raise the level of tension. It is not perfect, but I think it plays out well.

Anyway, I am glad you enjoyed the edit overall. It means a lot since I know you are not a big Trek fan.
Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. It is very much appreciated.

 

[Vultural]

. . . Anyway, I am glad you enjoyed the edit overall. It means a lot since I know you are not a big Trek fan.
Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. It is very much appreciated.

You are correct. I watched this only because it was re-edited by you.
TrekWorld is difficult for me. I enjoyed the original series, but it was daring, innovative, and took risks.
As spin-offs continued, one no longer saw giants, such as Harlan Ellison, contributing.
Berman was ever a pod of miniscule concept and creativity.

Which makes your edit all the more remarkable, dragging pedestrian sh!t to a higher level than anyone on the original team would be remotely capable of.
Too bad you weren't part of the creative think tank when Enterprise launched.
Sets, effects, cast, budget - undermined by intellectually bankrupt writers.

Hope Bakula and Blalock somehow view your edit.
See what could have been, should have been.

 

[Nic]

I'm considering buying the original episodes on iTunes, but I want to know if this will be a satisfying way to introduce everyone and be a standalone film.

 

[Frantic Canadian]

I hate having occasional dyslexia. I first read this as "Star Trek: Wrath Of The Arguments". :lol:

 

[DANLAV05]

I am a big Trek fan as some of you will know since watching TNG as a kid, but I kind of fell out of it with Enterprise, and it was a certain fanshow that reeled me back in. Even though I haven't been able to invest in this Enterprise crew as much as Spock, The Doctor, Janeway, Picard to name but a few, I don't dislike the show, especially the fourth season, which as Bob says really became a bona-fide TOS prequel, setting up a few ideas for the future.

I have probably seen a dozen episodes of the series, most from that 4th Season. My favourite has to be the Vulcan's Forge arc followed by the fun, stand-alone Mirror Universe duo. I like how they bought original aliens Andorians back after a few cameos in TNG. Even though I own the box set I haven't seen the arc which was re-edited by Bob, so I am viewing it as he presents.

It's a lot of fun and I can see why he chose this storyline. Wrath of Khan is the most popular Trek movie, and this serves as almost a direct prequel to that and Space Seed. It's a fun, action-packed story where your really do not know how it will end. The scenes in the lab are gruesome, however in true Trek style there is a heart beating in the middle of it. I like the talk about Botany Bay and the end scene giving gentle nods to what Trek fans know.

Ironically today is Brent Spiner's birthday, Data was always a favourite in our house and even as this new villainous character prove that he's a fun guy to watch. I was mostly surprised to see Alec Newman, an actor I'd seen in a British drama called Waterloo Road.

I have to talk about the 'Eugenics Wars' timeline, which you can tell has been well put together. I confess I didn't follow all the development in the other thread - are these a compilation of your own ideas teamed with bits from TV, comics and books? It is seamless and several familiar characters pop up. i know Seven was in the Eugenics Wars novel alongside practically every character from any Trek 20th Century time travel episode/movie.

Overall another nice little package well put together by Bob. Really enjoyed it.

 

[bionicbob]

I'm considering buying the original episodes on iTunes, but I want to know if this will be a satisfying way to introduce everyone and be a standalone film.

That is a tricky question.

I think so long as you have some general familiarity with any of the various Star Trek series it will work for a new viewer, since they all follow a similar formula in terms of crew and plot structure.

Granted these are episodes from the fourth season, so there is a lot history already established that I did not touch. Most of the supporting characters do not get a proper introduction (I wanted to focus to be on Archer and T'Pol to drive the story forward) and there is no explanation why the ship is in space dock (being repaired after the Xindi arc and saving the Earth) but most of that I think is unnecessary to know in order to enjoy the actual story.

I have tried my best to remove most references to past episodes but at the same time keep it balanced in terms of character moments..... For example, while I cut all references to T'Pol's recent arranged marriage, I kept the obvious romantic attraction between T'Pol and Trip.


For viewers not familiar with the TOS material (Space Seed and Wrath of Khan) which this movie is built upon, I have incorporated footage from TOS as fun way to dump a lot exposition on the viewer and bring them up to speed.

But will it satisfy you? Only one way to find out...

 

[bionicbob]

I am a big Trek fan as some of you will know since watching TNG as a kid, but I kind of fell out of it with Enterprise, and it was a certain fanshow that reeled me back in.

Even though I own the box set I haven't seen the arc which was re-edited by Bob, so I am viewing it as he presents.

It's a lot of fun and I can see why he chose this storyline. Wrath of Khan is the most popular Trek movie, and this serves as almost a direct prequel to that and Space Seed. It's a fun, action-packed story where your really do not know how it will end. The scenes in the lab are gruesome, however in true Trek style there is a heart beating in the middle of it. I like the talk about Botany Bay and the end scene giving gentle nods to what Trek fans know.

Overall another nice little package well put together by Bob. Really enjoyed it.

Awesome sauce!!! Always great to hear from another long time Trekker and to know they enjoyed it.

I have to talk about the 'Eugenics Wars' timeline, which you can tell has been well put together. I confess I didn't follow all the development in the other thread - are these a compilation of your own ideas teamed with bits from TV, comics and books? It is seamless and several familiar characters pop up. i know Seven was in the Eugenics Wars novel alongside practically every character from any Trek 20th Century time travel episode/movie.

The Timeline was a fun, connect the dots project. Using the given historical dates from TOS (thank you to Michael and Denise Okuda's STAR TREK CHRONOLOGY), I tried to figure out how to fill the massive gaps in 20th Century history and explain how Earth could possibly suffer through decades of world wars in which hundreds of millions died and yet continued develop technology to explore and colonize space. In my mind, the only way this could work is if the majority of the wars were contained to Europe, Asia and Africa until the final years, leaving North America relatively unscathed by comparison. I also felt there had to be a greater driving force behind Earth's advanced technology and need to explore space. Thus, in their reality, the realization/proof of an alien threat happens early in their history and as with most advancements in civilization, is driven by fear.

Though how to tie it all together into some sort of narrative was a stumper for me.
Then it hit me.
FLINT vs. GARY SEVEN.

From there things fell in place very quickly. While I would say 90% of the timeline is my own creation, but I did borrow some names, dates, and concepts from Greg Cox's Khan Trilogy, IDW's Khan comic mini-series, David A. Goodman's Federation and alternatehistory.com (http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=931), which I put into the bionic blender to create something that made sense to me.

I like how it turned out. It made me think afterwards, ASSIGNMENT:EARTH would still make a great Star Trek prequel series... The adventures of Gary Seven battling future Trek villains, building up the Eugenics Wars, watching the rise of a young Khan while the Earth begins colonizing space..... I would so watch that!!!

 

[DANLAV05]

Awesome sauce!!! Always great to hear from another long time Trekker and to know they enjoyed it.



The Timeline was a fun, connect the dots project. Using the given historical dates from TOS (thank you to Michael and Denise Okuda's STAR TREK CHRONOLOGY), I tried to figure out how to fill the massive gaps in 20th Century history and explain how Earth could possibly suffer through decades of world wars in which hundreds of millions died and yet continued develop technology to explore and colonize space. In my mind, the only way this could work is if the majority of the wars were contained to Europe, Asia and Africa until the final years, leaving North America relatively unscathed by comparison. I also felt there had to be a greater driving force behind Earth's advanced technology and need to explore space. Thus, in their reality, the realization/proof of an alien threat happens early in their history and as with most advancements in civilization, is driven by fear.

Though how to tie it all together into some sort of narrative was a stumper for me.
Then it hit me.
FLINT vs. GARY SEVEN.

From there things fell in place very quickly. While I would say 90% of the timeline is my own creation, but I did borrow some names, dates, and concepts from Greg Cox's Khan Trilogy, IDW's Khan comic mini-series, David A. Goodman's Federation and alternatehistory.com (http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=931), which I put into the bionic blender to create something that made sense to me.

I like how it turned out. It made me think afterwards, ASSIGNMENT:EARTH would still make a great Star Trek prequel series... The adventures of Gary Seven battling future Trek villains, building up the Eugenics Wars, watching the rise of a young Khan while the Earth begins colonizing space..... I would so watch that!!!

Totally - your timeline proves the idea 'has legs' - I know there's the comic but I'm surprised an A:E fanfilm hasn't been made, as there is so much that can be done. Being 20th Century it wouldn't be Star Trek, however it would be so much fun.

 

[RollWave]

now that you've finally finished the edit, would you say it's been a long road, getting from there to here?

 

[Rogue-theX]

^

 

[TM2YC]

now that you've finally finished the edit, would you say it's been a long road, getting from there to here?

Bob always had faith of the heart and strength of the soul, so no edit was gonna bend or break him.

Reveal message

^

 

[bionicbob]

oy vey! :lol:

 

[bionicbob]

Well.... since we are now mocking the Enterprise original theme song, I present to you the new opening credits from the fan edit....

 

[darth_ender]

Beautiful, both visually and musically! Much better than the original. If I remember correctly, that piece is from Generations, no? I'll definitely be grabbing this one. The Khan storyline is by far my favorite, and I think I'd love the backstory it sounds like you've crafted.

 

[TV's Frink]

I thought this was going to be about an race of alien women who had botched breast enhancement surgery and come looking for revenge.

 

[bionicbob]

Beautiful, both visually and musically! Much better than the original. If I remember correctly, that piece is from Generations, no?

Yes, the music is from the GENERATIONS overture.

 

[bionicbob]

I thought this was going to be about an race of alien women who had botched breast enhancement surgery and come looking for revenge.

Well, it does feature an Orion Slave girl.... so close. :-D

 

[Menbailee]

Congratulations, BionicBob: you convinced me to pay money for Enterprise. This certainly wasn't managed by Berman & Braga.

I watched this together with my girlfriend; she commented, and I agreed, that its problems belonged to the direction and writing, not to the editing. Wrath of the Augments plays like a movie, or like a two-part episode skillfully edited into one contiguous piece for DVD. The pacing works surprisingly well considering how much of the source material was removed. Only at one or two points was an audio transition slightly awkward, and the extremely minor storytelling lacunae, like the one with Archer's capture mentioned above, do have reasonable explanations in dialogue.

The biggest problem is that the writing on Enterprise tended to be shallow and predictable, and there's only so much that Bob can do to fix that. I shudder to think of what this must have been like at over 2 hours--despite the fun of watching Brent Spiner, I would never have bothered to watch all three episodes all the way through.

Some thoughts:

1. Is there any reason the 1st and 2nd Orion attack couldn't be combined into the same event, thus skipping the entire annoying kidnapping subplot? It's ridiculous and feels out of place, and although it provides an explanation for the crew's mistrust of Soong and for the Augments knowing where to find him, these things don't actually need much explaining.

2. Soong's talk of his cybernetics work taking generations to complete was a little too ham-fisted, even for Enterprise. Could've done without it. We all already understood that this guy's descendant would create Data.

3. I think I'm the only person in the world who appreciated Enterprise's original intro sequence. I wouldn't say that I liked it, exactly, but I appreciated that they were trying to do something different and distinctive from the orchestral scores we were all accustomed to. It's one of the only things about Enterprise that even tried to be original. That said, I like Bob's reworked intro; it looks professional, as if it's supposed to be that way.

Good work, Bob, as always.