Gay Star Trek Fan Fiction in LA TIMES

In Saturday's Los Angeles Times the above-the-fold picture and Column One story is about an openly gay Star Trek fan's creative homage to the science fiction television series. Rob Caves is "a diminutive 28-year old" who has created the longest-running series in fan fiction history. Star Trek: Hidden Frontier has been running for seven years and consists of 50 fan-created, free-for-download episodes.

ASK Caves why he started a fan series, why he has kept it going for seven years and why he opens his house to strangers each weekend, and he'll mention that he loves "Star Trek" and he wants to be part of its legacy.

[...]

Caves shoots seven episodes a year at $200 per episode, and he has never built an actual set. "Hidden Frontier" may not be the most professional-looking fan series, but in the world of "Star Trek" fan films it is known as the series with the most heart.


[...]

The wedding party, dressed in matching white jackets, looked like waiters from a 1940s drama. The guests were a mix of series actors, digital camera-toting fans dressed in "Star Trek" uniforms and a few members of a local Klingon club. The grooms (it was a gay marriage) were hopeless romantic Lt. Corey Astor (played by filmmaker J.T. Tepnapa) and Lt. Nevin. Their love story had been a continuing arc since Season 2, when Caves, who is gay, insisted that there be a gay story line.

(When questions arose about how people in the future will respond to gay relationships, Caves said they will be socially advanced enough that nobody will think twice about it — "Whatever powers your starship," as one of Nevin's friends tells him.)

Being a big science fiction fan myself I had heard about these fan films, especially Star Trek: New Voyages, which has been covered by National Public Radio, but had never seen any episode until today. I was actually reasonably impressed when I watched episode 1 of Season 6 of Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, and I look forward to experiencing the latest episode of New Voyages when it comes out in about a month. The Times article mentions that this fan film costs $40,000 per episode although only one new episode is made per year.



Another interesting aspect of Caves is that he lives and does his filming in South Pasadena, which is literally 2 miles from my house. I was also impressed that the Times allowed Deborah Netburn to include the gay aspect of the story in such a matter-of-fact fashion. Kudos!