Of Guardians and Men

The first 30 minute section of the online independent film, Star Trek: Of Gods and Men became available Saturday. Those of you who have seen it now know what I've been talking about, here, here and here: the rumored plot of the Paramount Star Trek XI movie now in production seems actually to be a botched version of the plot of "Of Gods and Men."

The basic idea seemed similar when I first read it, but then I wrote that I'd confirmed a key plot point that was in the rumor and also in "Of Gods and Men," but I'd promised not to divulge it. So now I will, so SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn't seen the first part of "Of Gods and Men:" stop reading now.

That story point was the Guardian of Forever, which the rumor stated was in Trek XI. I spotted the Guardian arch in an on-line promo for "Of Gods and Men," and was told that it is in the film but its presence in the promo was "a mistake" and the filmmakers wanted to keep this a secret until fans had a chance to see it.

Fans may also be aware of Harlan Ellison's reaction to the rumor of the Guardian's inclusion in Trek XI, to the effect that because he created it for the Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever," he owned the rights to it and Paramount had to come to him if they wanted to use it. When I asked about the Guardian being in OGAM, I was told that Harlan knew about it and "was cool with it."

Of course, it was barely possible that the Trek XI rumor was reasonably accurate, and the resemblance between it and OGAM was a fantastic coincidence. But at least in one regard that seems less likely, since Harlan Ellison has since said (in an interview during Star Trek day of the writers strike) that he's been assured that the Guardian is not in Trek XI.