A Plea to Trekkies . . .

 . . . or Trekkers.  Or Star Trek fans.  Or whatever you want to call yourselves.  Check out James Cawley's online series, alternately called Star Trek New Voyages and Star Trek Phase II.  You won't be disappointed.

Yes, the show is flawed.  But, for the most part,  it is flawed only in the same ways that the original series was flawed.  That's because, unlike J.J. Abrams's revisionist take on Star Trek, Cawley's vision is so traditionalist that you'll feel like you're watching episodes from the original series.  Now, I've trashed Abrams's first Star Trek movie, and since then I've changed my mind many times about whether or not I was too harsh.  I will say that Abrams's Star Trek fits in better with modern blockbuster entertainment, stylistically.  It's flash-bang action and special effects, with more major plot holes in Abrams's first Trek movie than the rest of all Trekdom combined, but every one of the actors and actresses is physically attractive (or at least more so than their original counterparts), the effects are snazzy and eye-catching, the action is breathlessly close to non-stop, and if that works for you, that's legit.  But regardless of whether you like Abrams's take on the franchise, it's almost inarguable that it's a million miles from Gene Roddenberry's original vision, or at least how that vision came to life.  Cawley's Phase II, on the other hand, plays as if the original series was never cancelled -- just re-cast.  I don't just mean he re-captures the feel of the Shatner days, I mean he even recruits original series actors and writers to lend a hand.  Episodes have been written by D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold.  George Takei and Walter Koenig have made appearances as older versions of Sulu and Chekov.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is what Star Trek is all about.  If you like the Abrams Trek movies, I'm glad.  But Abrams's Star Trek is a labor of commercial interests.  Cawley's Star Trek is a labor of love.  The difference shows.