Star Trek: Hidden Frontier (HF) is a Star Trek fan film project. Produced on digital video, the show's sets are almost completely virtual, using a green-screen chroma keyed process to place performers into virtual settings.
The series is set after the era of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager series. In universe, it is set in the aftermath of the Dominion War. Episodes revolve around the starship USS Excelsior, and its home base, Deep Space 12, which is located in the Briar Patch, a region of space introduced in the film Star Trek: Insurrection.
Hidden Frontier has produced 50 episodes, and focuses on character relationships, including gay and lesbian characters and subplots.
Produced by Rob Caves, Hidden Frontier ran for seven seasons and was produced by volunteers in Southern California. The final episode of the series aired in May 2007. Two new spin-offs, Star Trek: Odyssey and Star Trek: The Helena Chronicles, also produced by Rob Caves, take place shortly after the end of Hidden Frontier.
Plot Based in the Briar Patch (Tikrit Expanse) introduced in Star Trek: Insurrection, on Deep Space 12, a space station in orbit of the planet Ba'ku. It follows the daily life of several officers serving on board the station and a few of the ships stationed there. Early in the series, an advanced species, the Grey, are introduced and become the primary villain, with a story arc that spans the entire series. Later, secondary villains are introduced including an Andorian trader and later the Tholians along with a man named Siroc. Mysterious ancient alien artifacts become a key focus of the series.
The crew interacts with many established species from Star Trek, including Andorians, Ba'ku, Klingons, Romulans, Son'a, and Tzenkethi.
Cast and crew
Main cast Character Actor(s) Rank Position Ian Quincy Knapp David Dial Rear Admiral Commanding Officer of Deep Space 12 (former Commanding Officer, USS Excelsior) Elizabeth Shelby Risha Denney Captain Commanding Officer (former executive officer), USS Excelsior Tolian Naros Larry LaVerne Captain Commanding Officer, USS Helena (formerly executive officer, USS Excelsior) Dr. Henglaar John Whiting Lieutenant Commander Chief Medical Officer, USS Excelsior Robin Lefler Kelly Jamison, Joanne Busch Commander Executive Officer (former chief engineer), USS Excelsior Matt McCabe Wayne Webb Lieutenant Tactical Officer/Security Chief, USS Excelsior Myra Elbrey Barbara Clifford Lieutenant Commander Counselor, USS Excelsior Ro Nevin Arthur Bosserman, Bobby Rice Lieutenant Chief Science Officer, USS Excelsior Corey Aster J. T. Tepnapa Lieutenant Commander Chief Engineer (former Assistant Chief Engineer), USS Excelsior Jorian Zen/Dao Adam Browne Lieutenant Tactical Officer, USS Helena (former Helmsman, USS Excelsior)
Notable recurring characters Character Actor(s) Rank Position Glinn Betras Rebecca Wood Glinn, Cardassian military Renegade Cardassian officer in Siroc's employ Jennifer Cole Jennifer Cole Rear Admiral Commanding Officer, USS Independence James Darwin Cliff Gardner Commander Executive Officer, Deep Space 12 Artim Ibanya Beau Christian Williams Ensign Junior Science Officer, USS Excelsior Joseph Johns Mike Johns Commander Executive Officer, USS Independence Traya Knapp Crystal Huerta, Noora Hadden, Leanna Spear, Jessica Lyons None Admiral Knapp's daughter Korg Karl Puder General, Klingon Defense Forces Commander of Klingon forces in the Briar Patch Malek Jonathan Connor-Foertsch, John Nelson, Travis Sentell Gul, Cardassian military Ambassador to the Federation Silan Kate Quigley William Martinez Anthony Diaz, Dan Crout Commander Head of the Grey Research FacilityJason Munoz Jason Munoz Lieutenant Commander Commanding Officer, USS Olympus (former executive officer, USS Excelsior) Jenna McFarland Adrianne Lange, Rebecca Wood Lieutenant Helmsman, USS Excelsior Alynna Nechayev Reneé Huberstock Admiral Commander of Operations in the Briar Patch Siroc Jim Davis None Enemy of Tolian Naros, instigator of the Tholian War Milo Surgant Brandon Stacy, Lorenzo Leonard Lieutenant Renegade Starfleet officer in Siroc's employ Vorina Suzy Kaplan, Julie Anne Gardner None Member of the Orion Syndicate in Siroc's employ
Background information Star Trek: Hidden Frontier premiered in 2000, an offshoot of the fan series Voyages of the USS Angeles, produced by the Star Trek fan club of the same name in Southern California. For legal reasons, copies are limited to the cast and crew. No earlier series episodes are available to the public and no reference to the show is made on the club's web site. Hidden Frontier inherited the setting, Deep Space 12, and several of the characters from the Angeles series, however it established its own identity. Two later HF episodes made usage of footage originally shot for Angeles that were never produced.
Due to production expense, the series is filmed in the executive producer's home utilizing a green screen matting technique to place actors into "virtual" sets. Often, a slight green halo appears around the actors, which some viewers decry. While technique and technical standpoints of the show may not be as advanced as other fan films, it shows progress in the milieu. This amateur web-based series contains a multi-arc plot, producing at least six episodes per year. Other productions are often one-offs or released at a much slower rate.
Most episodes are released in low resolution due to potential legal issues. Currently, only five (originally six) episodes have been released in high quality: A special edition of Season 1's fourth episode, "Two Hours", Season 6's premiere and finale, "Countermeasures", "Her Battle Lanterns Lit" (released in both low and high resolutions, modified into a single regular episode), Season 7's premiere, "Heavy Losses", and the two-part series finale.
Several key roles had replacements during the seven-year run. The character of Lefler was originally played by Kelly Jamison, later portrayed by Joanne Busch. The character of Ro Nevin was originally played by Arthur Bosserman who left the cast after five seasons to pursue professional interests in music. This role was resumed by Bobby Rice.
For Seasons 2 and 3, nine episodes were produced each. The later seasons were reduced to six episodes, as nine were too much work for the volunteer cast and crew. Season 7, the final season, consists of eight episodes. In Season 6, a short fan-fic author Steve Berman writings were adapted for a memorable scene in episode "Vigil".
Hidden Frontiers theme music is taken from the film Galaxy Quest. Because of the crew's short production schedule and low budget, the music for most of HF's episodes was inherited from Paramount-owned soundtracks (both Star Trek and non-Star Trek), thus confining potential copyright issues to a single studio. Original scores were created for the last four episodes, when several composer fans of the series volunteered to create the music.
Connection to Star Trek canon Elizabeth Shelby appeared in the TNG two part story "The Best of Both Worlds". She was also featured in the novel series Star Trek: New Frontier. Robin Lefler appeared in TNG episodes "Darmok" and "The Game". She was also featured in New Frontier. Ro Nevin is the brother of Ro Laren, who left Starfleet to join the Maquis. Captain Mackenzie Calhoun from New Frontier appears in "Vigil" portrayed by James Cawley. His ship, the USS Excalibur, appears briefly in "Perihelion" and "Vigil". Captain Hikaru Sulu and the USS Excelsior appear in "Yesterday's Excelsior". Wesley Crusher appears in "Echoes". The USS Defiant featured in the TOS episode "The Tholian Web" and Enterprise two part story "In a Mirror, Darkly" appears in "Voyage Of The Defiant". Artim Ibanya was introduced in Star Trek: Insurrection. Corey Aster is the cousin of Jeremy Aster, who appeared in the TNG episode "The Bonding". Alynna Nechayev made four appearances in TNG, and two appearances in DS9. Kira Nerys appears in "Countermeasures". Maya Stadi is the sister of Lieutenant Stadi who appeared the Star Trek: Voyagers premiere episode “Caretaker”.
Episode listing For a key to the abbreviations and additional notes, shown thus <1>, see the end of this section. The ratings for "Best of Season" come from a series of polls done on the Hidden Frontier forum in January 2006. A synopsis of each season is included, as well as a first air date, when known.
Season 1 From the ashes of the Dominion War, the Federation meets the Grey, a powerful confederacy of alien races. The USS Excelsior is assigned to a new starbase, Deep Space 12, which serves to protect the healing planet Ba'ku and the hidden frontier of the mysterious Briar Patch.
HF1.01 – 2000-01-01 "Enemy Unknown, Part 1" It is the year 2375 at the Battle of Lapolis; the Captain of the USS Devonshire, Ian Quincy Knapp is enjoying the chance to strike back at the Dominion. Under his command are his executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez; Communications Officer, Lieutenant Paul Brickey; Medical Officer, Lieutenant Henglaar; Engineer, Lieutenant Toby Witczak, and Ensign Mark Abney. HF1.02 – 2000-__-__ "Enemy Unknown, Part 2" The mysteries of the Briar Patch beckon to the crew of the USS Excelsior, under the command of Captain Ian Quincy Knapp and his new senior staff. Their first mission has them looking for an foe that Knapp already has some knowledge of, but what they will discover will shock them all. HF1.03 – 2000-__-__ "Enemy Unknown, Part 3" The Excelsior leads a task force after the Grey, but her crew quickly realizes they got more than what they bargained for! HF1.04 – 2000-__-__ "Two Hours" A deep space probe detects a spatial anomaly within the Briar Patch, and the USS Independence, under a skeleton crew, and led by Commander Joseph Johns, is dispatched to investigate. But, unbeknownst to them, they're about to discover that a legendary event that occurred in their past may have happened due to tampering with the timeline! HF1.05 – 2000-__-__ "Perihelion" - Voted best of season Captain Knapp briefly clashes with new XO Elizabeth Shelby's attitude, before the Excelsior heads off to investigate the disappearance of the Nova-class USS Perihelion. Arriving at the ship's last known coordinates, they discover the ship in an impossibly close orbit of a quantum singularity, alongside an unknown vessel that dwarfs the Excelsior. But when an investigation reveals the strange, deleterious effects that the singularity had on the Perihelion crew and now the Excelsior crew as well, they realize what the ramifications could be for the entire galaxy. HF1.06 – 2001-04-29 "Echoes" The Grey are back, but the only one who can stop them may not be willing to help.
Season 2 Conflicts with the Grey escalate as the Excelsior begins to explore the Briar Patch. Old enemies, like the Dominion, resurface and new enemies, like the Orion Syndicate, appear amid ancient mysteries.
HF2.01 – 2001-01-01 "Refugees" Captain Knapp welcomes two representatives of the planet Tren'La, who have had centuries of experiences with the Grey, Princess Illiana and her son, Aris. Fleeing a Grey attack, they appeal to the Federation for help, although Admiral Nechayev must turn down their request, despite the advantages their spatial fold drive may bring. But when Aris and recent Academy graduate Artim Ibanya discover Grey troops on Ba'ku, Knapp must take command of the fleet to fight off a Grey attack against Deep Space 12. HF2.02 – 2001-__-__ "Yesterday's Excelsior" - Voted best of season