I hesitated to watch "Renegades" for a few reasons: the infamously low budget, the fact that it isn't "canon," and the fact that none of the returning characters were on my list of favorites. When I finally did give it a shot though, I found that I loved it for exactly these reasons, as well as many others.
The budget is low, but no worse than a Scyfy Original movie's. Bad CGI notwithstanding, it's the good kind of low budget; "Renegades" has that unique look that many lower budget films have with their sets and costumes—fun to took at, and much more of a feeling of actually being "there."
The returning characters are used well. Icheb and Tuvok, who I always found quite bland, have both taken some interestingly dark turns between "Voyager" and this new adventure. Many of the new characters are even more intriguing. We meet an Andorian hacker, a Romulan bodyguard, a master of holo-disguise, a snarky Betazoid, and the outcast daughter of Khan.
Flaws include some not-so-good acting from a few performers, and an air of camp, neither of which is unusual for "Star Trek." Hell they're practically requirements. At this point my only real complaint is how long it's taking for episodes 2&3 to come out. With the actors of Chakotay, Jake Sisko, Nog, Molly O'Brian, and Jadzia Dax onboard, I'm going nuts waiting to see how "Renegades" will utilize their characters, and how the new ones we've met will develop.
Throwback to Old-School Sci-fi
I hesitated to watch "Renegades" for a few reasons: the infamously low budget, the fact that it isn't "canon," and the fact that none of the returning characters were on my list of favorites. When I finally did give it a shot though, I found that I loved it for exactly these reasons, as well as many others.
The budget is low, but no worse than a Scyfy Original movie's. Bad CGI notwithstanding, it's the good kind of low budget; "Renegades" has that unique look that many lower budget films have with their sets and costumes—fun to took at, and much more of a feeling of actually being "there."
The returning characters are used well. Icheb and Tuvok, who I always found quite bland, have both taken some interestingly dark turns between "Voyager" and this new adventure. Many of the new characters are even more intriguing. We meet an Andorian hacker, a Romulan bodyguard, a master of holo-disguise, a snarky Betazoid, and the outcast daughter of Khan.
The plot is cliché, but serves as a fine vehicle for what really makes "Renegades," the characters and the visuals. It's thrilling to finally get a cast of characters in the rich "Star Trek" universe who aren't bound by Starfleet regulations, and a captain who isn't another average-Earth-joe. The fact that this series isn't "canon" takes a lot of pressure off, so anything you dislike or have a hard time believing can be shrugged off as it can with the Relaunch Novels (which "Renegades" is disregarding).
Flaws include some not-so-good acting from a few performers, and an air of camp, neither of which is unusual for "Star Trek." Hell they're practically requirements. At this point my only real complaint is how long it's taking for episodes 2&3 to come out. With the actors of Chakotay, Jake Sisko, Nog, Molly O'Brian, and Jadzia Dax onboard, I'm going nuts waiting to see how "Renegades" will utilize their characters, and how the new ones we've met will develop.