Skype fuels Star Trek: The Continuing Mission, original radio dramas telling the new adventures of the USS Montana, ten years before Star Trek: The Next Generation starts. The first episode, Ghost Ship, will be released on Christmas Day, 25 December 2007, a year before the next Star Trek movie. The producers plan a full season of episodes, five more are written already. 

Sebastian Prooth and Andrew Tyrer are producing the series.

When Andy approached Sebastian with the idea for a new Star Trek audio production, Prooth, a longtime Star Trek fan, says it was pretty much impossible to say no. Prooth, known in the Star Trek fan universe for his interviews with Star Trek production personnel on his blog, Seb’s Raw Takes, is also a published author and media producer.

This is a great example of a small team using Skype for project planning, communication, coordination, staffing, and operations.

This must be a labor of love because:

Star Trek® and all related trademarks are property of CBS/Paramount. Star Trek®, Star Trek: The Next Generation®, and all associated marks and characters are registered trademarks of CBS/Paramount. All rights reserved.

To keep in the clear, the show will be free to download. The producers are counting on stunning storytelling and professional production values to get them in Paramount's door.

How did Skype become TCM's dilithium crystal?

Writing. Sebastian Prooth and Andy Tyrer wrote the first episode, Ghost Ship, collaborating with each other via Skype chat and voice. Rapid iteration let Prooth adapt each episode to the strengths of cast members while staying true to the Star Trek canon and the story. 

Casting. Tyrer and Prooth cast the series using email and Skype, especially for on-air (on-mic?) talent. Volunteers responded to the casting call from all around the world. The final cast are mostly professional actors and radio performers, with a few amateurs and alumni from the Star Trek television shows.

Direction. Prooth directed Ghost Ship's talent by wire. No travel budget? Each actor worked from their computer or personal recording studio. Skype let Prooth talk with the cast in high fidelity, for long sessions, across thousands of miles. They prepped by exploring story lines, character development, and ensemble relationships. For each scene, they rehearsed and guided each actor through their performances. Most voices were recorded locally and sent to TCM headquarters by email or Skype file transfer. 

Editing. Sound editing is also collaborative. Andy Tyrer used Skype to share scene drafts, discuss cuts and scene designs with the team, and move large files. Tyrer puts the lines, effects and music for the show together. He uses Adobe Premiere, Sound Forge, Sony Vegas and other audio applications.

Spreading the Word. Andy and Sebastian hit the online talk show circuit. They've been interviewed for podcasts recorded on Skype (Deep Space 2, Treks in Sci Fi) and by bloggers using Skype. Prooth is responsible for marketing the show

The Collaboration. Tyrer lives in London and Prooth is an American in Yorkshire, about 200 miles and a 3.5 hour drive apart. Skype keeps them talking. Their free Skype calls can run for hours in as they work on their own parts of the project.

These folks are breaking new ground.

The last really big sci-fi event on radio was NPR's retelling of Star Wars episodes IV, V, and VI. Lots of added scenes, all your favorite sounds and music from the movies. The whole thing was about 14 hours long (29 episodes, each about 27 minutes long).

TCM is something else. It's not an adaptation (although that might be interesting too). TCM tells new stories, with new characters, in times and places not covered by previous tv or cinema.

Originality raises the difficulty level. Listeners can't recall visuals to paint scenes or draw characters. It also means the cultural context of the story, all the genre elements, are blank pages to start. So TCM's cast and crew must evoke the audience's imagination and bring them into the story.

See also:

• Star Trek: The Continuing Mission's Official Website
• Star Trek: TCM Official Wiki
• Star Trek: TCM's Official Podcasts
• Official Star Trek: TCM Myspace Page, TCM facebook group
• Official Star Trek: TCM Fan Forum