Animated STAR TREK Short "The Element of Surprise"

[@aquariandawn4750]

Nowadays, fanmade Trek is light years better than official Trek material.

[@Mogget01]

The ‘they can see 48 minutes into the future’ joke took a minute to set in for me.

[@onkcuf]

I didn't get it so tell me please.

[@Mogget01]

@@onkcufthe actual length of a 1 hour tv show is about 48 minutes, 12-15 minutes of the time slot are allotted for commercials

[@theprpljypsy]

It was her husbands ship. Now she gets an insurance pay out, and no one even considered checking her story..They Just killed a bunch of people on her word alone.. :O

[@M.J.Conway]

We call her "Ambassador Spoilers" and she saved us a fortune in animation costs!

[@CHDanhauser]

Ha ha ha! Yes!

[@GraemeCree]

Looking at the comments, I can't believe that people aren't getting that this story is a joke. You'd think that the line about how they can only see 48 minutes into the future (not counting commercials), would be a dead giveaway. Maybe this should have been titled "Why Stories About Psychics Don't Work".

[@imkluu]

I completely understood the joke, but it is still not very Federation like to do what they did. It would have been more in character to open hailing frequencies and tell them, "We know your plan and how many are aboard. We have the capability of destroying your ship with one burst of our weapons. Surrender now and you will be transported to the proper authorities, alive, anything else will be counted as an hostile act and dealt with accordingly."

[@antonpercival1807]

@@imkluu Agreed

[@nickl5658]

No psychics. Precogs.

[@andyid7440]

Plot twist: It was actually an elaborate setup by the Pentaran ambassador to have the other ship, cargo, and crew be destroyed, and make the Federation be at fault for it.

[@franzschubertv2874]

Luckily 48 minutes is enough for any Star Trek episode.

[@CHDanhauser]

All new art would mean that I drew it. All new animation means I animated it frame by frame using many existing elements.

[@tsm688]

Someone slipped this into a playlist of original episodes and you had me for a solid minute XD Spock sounds wonky? ok, that can happen Kirk sounds wonky, hm, a bit odd. mress speaks WHAT THE HELL IS THIS LMAO Hilarious and well done. Oh, and merry xmas wherever you are.

[@jimhills1920]

“Enemy ship blown up. Okay, good night.” 👍🏾

[@PointyTailofSatan]

She missed the part about the intruders stealing and drinking all of Scotty's booze.

[@sartainja]

PointyTailofSatan Drink all a Scotch of a Scot is a killing offense.

[@bentonmarcum8924]

WHAT??? They drank Scotty's booze!!! Fire phasers

[@MarsofAritia]

'can only see 48 minutes into the future'. Lol I see what you did there.

[@LordTalax]

2:56 good thing she was there to foresee the whole plot of the ep.

[@tannedwillie1143]

Wow, she's a lot more long-winded than Troi. "Captain, I'm sensing... something."

[@TheDuckdodgers24]

I agree, she just cut 20 minutes off the show in her first very long analysis. There ability is able to see up to 48 minutes into the future.... Lucky for us the show is only 27 minutes long....minus the 20 minutes the 3 plus minutes of complete plot reveal speach took up Damnit Jim we only have less than 3 minutes to finish the show...

[@supercompooper]

Telepathetic lol

[@georgesenda1952]

Probably chocolate.

[@vincebataluna4607]

Fun!!! Okay, no dialogue with the enemy ship Full phaser fire!!! So not PC by todays standards Well done Sir

[@CHDanhauser]

@DrejStinger1986 Ambassador Trelling, the purple-skinned woman, is a new species I created. She is a Pentaran precog from the planet Vix Pentari.

[@countrycraftsman5110]

No criticism here. Just thanks its fun watching something i enjoyed from the early 70s. My folks only got one channel the neighbors about a 1/2 mile away got it. I would walk across the hay fields most saturdays to watch. It had a lot of what we called snow in the picture but the sound was clear. Now i just bring it up on my tricorder. GREAT JOB.

[@CHDanhauser]

This video is a brand new story, with new animation, new dialogue that reuses some elements from the Animated STAR TREK series that aired on Saturday mornings from 1974 to 1974. Clearly, this short film is presented with tongue firmly planted in cheek. It was not intended to be serious. It is a classic shaggy-dog story with the requisite long build-up to the joke's punch line. Part of the fun was that she talks so long that the bridge crew can only react to what she says. It is also a parody of the much-maligned limited animation technique where most of the story is conveyed with dialogue and little or no action. In reality, Kirk clearly would not destroy the ship after learning the future events, he would beam aboard a security team to commandeer the ship and then escort it back to the nearest Federation base. I just figured I'd have some fun with the short since it was only a proof-of-concept.

[@RandallHallKaizenReiki]

The 48 minutes part was the best.

[@CHDanhauser]

@jambec144 Not dubbed or re-dubbed. All new animation using the characters and backgrounds from the animated series speaking new lines telling a new story.

[@PaulScollon]

The ambassadors precognition is the most detailed I have ever seen!

[@ShrekWallBee]

i wish Captain Picard had one of her people on the enterprise D insted of Counceler Troy lol

[@SovereignStatesman]

"It is also a parody of the much-maligned limited animation technique where most of the story is conveyed with dialogue and little or no action." What do you expect with Filmation?

[@ericmadsen7470]

Man. She gave away the entire plot.

[@moeskido]

This is hilarious! If only every writer's room could have this playing on a loop!

[@tvance3234]

This should also be required showing at all Trek conventions! XD

[@christopheralthouse6378]

This is why Star Trek is not written to follow the sound logic of the fanbase... Because, if it did...this happens! 😅😅😅😅🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@georgesenda1952]

Every time they say “ Hail the vessel “ I keep waiting for golf ball sized hail to rain down.

[@BrooklynChivalry]

Very Good, in both style and content! I am impressed, You have successfully adapted the entire Filmation template in these productions, Lou Scheimer would be proud!

[@Haltech007]

I just cannot see Capt Kirk so flippantly murdering a ship full of bad guys like that and then just laughing about it with the crew. He'd disable the ship and take them into custody, or some other legal course of action.

[@antonioj123]

In part II he goes into his room and strangles a box of puppies.

[@onetruekeeper418]

Or worse sings in the sonic shower with the ship-wide intercom on.

[@bobspeigel9455]

Or maybe just ask them to surrender?

[@dupersuper1938]

Yeah: that's how it is in my head cannon.

[@Ricci813]

I was about to protest due to the moral followings of "Star fleet" when I realized; "Hell ya!" Just once we would love to see Kirk and the gang say "Fuck this shit" and blow the crap out of some bad guys. Very well done too I should add.

[@CitrianSnailBY]

32 people dead - and they all laugh and celebrate... not a very likely chain of events, not even for the TOS-TAS era.

[@AlexMartinez-me2yc]

Little know fact. The Ambassador also foresaw that no one on the Enterprise is a snitch & all records of this encounter would be wiped completely from the memory banks, as well as Memory Alpha.

[@georgesenda1952]

Insert slide during her longwinded explanation. “ 3 days later. “.

[@RockOfLions]

Additional animation would have taken a lot more effort but showing her narrative as a hypothetical flash forward would have played better than watching the ambassador deliver her exposition

[@willadeefriesland5107]

Thank the Great Bird the ambassador didn't travel often... We wouldn't have many stories, now would we?

[@atrociousconsequences4432]

"One form of paradox includes events that are prevented due to the actions of those that know of it through precognition. In this case, the event doesn't happen, which would prevent the viewer from seeing the event in the first place. "

[@caseyferrill8053]

The longest dialogue in cartoon history!

[@grokeffer6226]

Fascinating, and logical, too. If Spock had gotten his Vulcan hands on those baddies, he'd have messed them up.

[@CHDanhauser]

@Elephantintheroom01 Actually, they saved the ambassador's life by not falling into the ambush - so that he can live to usher in the reforms that include democracy.

[@bruceappleby6222]

6:17 i agree with scotty but as the saying goes "it is better to be safe than sorry"

[@raedwulf61]

Hey, Lady. Thanks for the spoilers!

[@aquariandawn4750]

When she rejects a mate... she has reasons.

[@RichardRitenour0522]

Very nice work CHDanhauser,keep it alive!Warp speed!

[@beharford]

As a few others have pointed out, this was not a historically (?) accurate TOS episode....I'm pretty sure the Captain of the USS Enterprise wouldn't summarily execute criminals....the ISS Enterprise...maybe. BUT...I have to applaud the work and talent that went into this...I loved the animated series as a kid, and I can certainly enjoy these vignettes. Once again, CHDanhauser, well done...and thank you.

[@SquirrelASMR]

1:04 i like his voice its cute

[@philiptite1082]

Hilarious! Thank you. So what does a Starfleet captain say after murdering over 30 people? "Good night". (Kirk: "Say good night, Mr. Spock"; Spock: "Good night, Mr. Spock")

[@FurryEskimo]

Wow, that’s a lot more useful than ‘“I’m sensing…. I don’t know.”

[@ScipioAfricanusI]

So they just killed them all!!! They couldn't ask them to surrender? Pretty cold-blooded Star Fleet.

[@kevingarrett8403]

+ScipioAfricanusI Guilty before proven innocent! Talk about Politically Incorrect behavior. In this time (our time) it's wrong to say something that might offend somebody else's sensibilities, but in their time, (the future time) it's not only wrong, you get killed for something that you didn't even do. You get killed for something that you are projected to do in a completely different time-line! And what if that purple alien was wrong?

[@mgtowmonger2729]

@@kevingarrett8403 Ask Black Lives Matter 'peaceful protesters' about that today... See what happens :D

[@TheNeonRabbit]

Bummer if she was lying

[@DesertBro]

Their tendancy to LIE is not well known due to their secretive nature. And because Starfleet routinely kills anyone who knows.

[@DrejStinger1986]

@supressorgrid LOL! Very humorous tea reference! Coincidentally, Jean-Luc Picard likes Earl Grey tea; hot, of course.

[@mec1]

Great fun. I didn't expect all this!

[@CHDanhauser]

Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you consider subscribing!

[@craigbrowning9448]

One thing the Fan Animated sequences get correct is the use of Spock's Scanner effects are used for that device, in TAS they used that effect for a Tricorder and the Astrogator.

[@ARMOROID5000]

Excellent!

[@euclideszoto997]

I posted in another group that these can be totally redone CGI animation. All the dialog is already done for you. It's the original voices! The entire series can be the highest level animation like Brave or The Incredibles. So much room for innovation and improv to work with.

[@KenLieck]

Assuming that you're talking about the original Star Trek animated series episodes, there were also books issued compiling the authors' actual intended versions of the tales, with greater exposition to provide a more full story as well as anything that was left out of the cartoons due to some element of it being considered unsuitable for 3 to 4-year-olds. So if you were to use the existing voice tracks as a template to teach AI -- or even some top of the line human voice actors perhaps -- you could then expand the storyline to fill a full 1 hour time slot and then animate that with your recommended CGI animation (although my own personal preference would be to produce them as high quality computer-assisted 2D cel cartoons). Presto Klingo! You've got yourself loads of brand new episodes of the original Star Trek series, written by the original Star Trek writers, coming from the decade they were made in originally!!! Now isn't *that* an original idea?!?

[@euclideszoto997]

@@KenLieck Wow! With the technology we have now it definitely can be redone. Like I said all the original voices are there. I hope they do it. I think it would be awesome.

[@mortarmopp3919]

Kirk would've never ordered the destruction of a ship, enemy or otherwise, without it being a direct threat to the Enterprise or crew.

[@Shanbo26]

Ah...that was a little murdery. Seems to me they could have just taken them into custody. Might have been nice to have some evidence on that alien prince guy.

[@runnerba]

GREAT!!!

[@randystegemann9990]

The whole time she was talking I wondered if it was a ruse. Was she lying to get them destroyed? Or was something else going on beyond her 48 minute precognition?

[@kevingarrett8403]

Very funny. Ambassador Trilling is one gabby purple female. She could have talked the enemy to death! I wonder if Pentarin males have protective earlids that they can close, so they don't have to listen to the females yapping about the future all day long. I can see it now. She says,"You forgot to take the trash out!" He says, "It's not trash-day." She says, "You forgot tomorrow." I bet the marriages on Pentar don't last too long!

[@sartainja]

Kevin Garrett Pentarin males have naturally formed pimp hands on the left side. “Shut that bitch up with the good hand” as James Brown would say.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

"I don't think the cartoon show ever realized it's potential. What was done on the show, could've been done on the live action show" George Takei

[@franzschubertv2874]

They can see 48 minutes into the future but take 48 minutes to explain it.

[@ninjabearpress2574]

Well that was messed up, thanks.

[@paulsarnik8506]

The Ambassador! Red eyes! Sees the future clearly! Deals only in absolute!; She's a SITH! 😮. 🤓😎🖖🏻

[@georgesenda1952]

The element of run on sentence.

[@Darkwintre]

Da*n! Sorry but that was jaw dropping! Thanks for this upload, now I wonder if they could do a new animated series?

[@supressorgrid]

@DrejStinger1986 That would be an Earlgray from the planet Darjeeling.

[@murraytoews5353]

Great stuff!

[@CHDanhauser]

Why thank you!

[@TheNoiseySpectator]

4:26 but, they still do not know if she is telling the truth, or deliberately lying. Or insane.

[@MagusHabilus]

Nice trek tribute!

[@smithwriter69]

If Ambassador Trelling had said that Spock was an imposter, would Kirk have just killed him, too? Trelling; "Oh, did I say 'imposter'? I meant to say 'impressive'. My bad. Oh, well. Good night."

[@ThePaleoJunkie]

I enjoyed this, but can’t believe you had them straight up kill everyone based on her word. Worse, she claimed knowledge of a lot of events more than 48 min in the future…which Spock said shouldn’t happen. …forgetting the paradox: the fact that the events never did occur-so how did she see them?

[@thomashill6347]

I think it looks ok as animation goes in the time period, Captain Kirk would never destroy a ship without being fired on first. Disable its weapons yes

[@skogga]

One night at the rescue squad during a search a psychic called to say the victim was in a certain situation. Turned out to be more-or-less correct. My captain responded that psychics were demonstrably correct 1 in 6 times which far outweighs a blind guess.

[@PShawtx]

Kirk would not have destroyed the ship. He would have tried to take the crew of it alive.

[@nathanseybold6679]

And then drop them off on an abandoned planet.

[@ShrekWallBee]

yeah thats what i would of tryed to do but haveing learned of what would of happened when takeing the 2 crew abord i would of done what kirk did and distroyed the ship better to be safe than sorry :D

[@arcticfox6808]

Well that was entertaining.

[@OtisRobinson-np3id]

I just have such a problem with a Federation vessel firing on a ship that has yet to announce that it was a threat. It would’ve been one thing to raise shields and lock phasers, but Kirk would have never fired first. Let alone destroy a vessel on suggested evidence.

[@stevejordan7275]

See what happens when a guest star gets hold of the entire script and blabs it in the opening? A whole 48-minute episode blown to smithereens. No gunplay, no tragic loss of ambassadorial or federation life, and a better, happier ending. To say nothing of the reduced production costs in trading all that stunt work and visual effects for 130 seconds of monologue. They could shoot and produce this in a single day! I'm sure the unions will file objections to the presence of Pentarans in any future episodes. Mr. Danhauser may even find himself the target of a civil action. Still, I'm with Kirk on this one: Henceforth, Pentarans are mission-critical bridge personnel.

[@Ratmus1]

When it cut to everyone listening to that woman speaking, I imagined everyone else's reaction on their face to be about 2 girls and a cup instead of what she was saying.

[@Scott__G]

Oh God ! It’s taken me 13 years (just guessing) to get that imagery out of my head, just thought I’d watch a harmless little animated Star Trek short, and then...BAM!!! You go and bring up “Two Girls, One Cup” !

[@Jon3067]

Regardless of what the ambassador told Kirk, Starfleet would have his head for just blowing another ship out of the sky like that. A more cannon Kirk would have hailed them and told them he detected the jammer and additional crew and invited them to bugger off.

[@CHDanhauser]

This captain is "cannon" enough to blow them up. (Wink) But I agree that the "canon" Kirk would've taken them alive.

[@minibot9503]

Kirk shot first.

[@ShrekWallBee]

thats what she said lol

[@seth8629]

I think she should have kept talking about the future for so long that Spock nerve-pinched her. End of episode.

[@ajmittendorf]

Ok, ALL the people aboard the enemy vessel died before committing any crime, and the scene ends with everyone on the Enterprise laughing. I'm not comfortable with that.

[@CHDanhauser]

Clearly, this short film is presented with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Several people have written to me wondering why Kirk acts so aggressively against the "cargo ship." I figured it was clear that it was not intended to be serious. It is a classic shaggy-dog story with the requisite long build-up to the joke's punch line. Part of the fun was that she talks so long that the bridge crew can only react to what she says. It is also a parody of limited animation where most of the story is conveyed with dialogue and little or no action. Kirk clearly would not destroy the ship after learning the future events, he would beam aboard a security team to commandeer the ship and then escort it back to the nearest Federation base. I simply created this short in 2008 out of several scene frame sets that I created for my then-upcoming 30-minute episode plus a dozen or so new scenes. I figured I'd have some fun with the short since it was only a proof-of-concept.

[@ethelredtheunready7006]

This appears to involve a bit of a paradox.....

[@crhu319]

Ambassadors outrank captains.

[@kenle2]

Spoiler alert. Give a plot synopsis and open fire. Why didn't they think of that in the regular episodes?

[@KenLieck]

"She is correct, captain. The people of Vix Pentari are one of the most remarkable precognitive species in the Federation -- this is not widely known due to the Pentarians reclusiveness and the soporific effect of their interminable expository speeches..." You shouldn't be so surprised that people are confused as to whether this was meant to be serious or not -- as soon as an ambassador shows up in anything related to Star Trek you know everything's going to shit!

[@wcresponder]

Captain you got some 'splaining to do. You are not going to get your next shore leave.

[@jamesaleman]

"''splaining to do" no longer exists, see mandela effect for "I love Lucy"

[@wcresponder]

@@jamesaleman I reject your reality and substitute my own.

[@jamesaleman]

@@wcresponder Well played, "Another fine mess, you've gotten me in"

[@wcresponder]

@@jamesaleman And that's why we can't have nice things.

[@onkcuf]

Purr,meow!

[@icollectstories5702]

Okay set-up, but I thought the ending was heavy-handed. Given a pre-cog, you could tweak the circumstances and get feedback on the new outcomes until you get something palatable or drive the pre-cog nuts. Watch "Back to the Future" and make note of the photograph.

[@CHDanhauser]

Clearly, this short film is presented with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Several people have written to me wondering why Kirk acts so aggressively against the "cargo ship." I figured it was clear that it was not intended to be serious. It is a classic shaggy-dog story with the requisite long build-up to the joke's punch line. Part of the fun was that she talks so long that the bridge crew can only react to what she says. It is also a parody of limited animation where most of the story is conveyed with dialogue and little or no action. Kirk clearly would not destroy the ship after learning the future events, he would beam aboard a security team to commandeer the ship and then escort it back to the nearest Federation base. I simply created this short out of several scene frame sets that I created for longer full 30-minute episode plus a dozen or so new scenes. I figured I'd have some fun with the short since it was only a proof-of-concept.

[@icollectstories5702]

@@CHDanhauser First, congratulations on completion. I think I agree with some of your other critics that the outcome (and the ambassador's story) was too grim to be taken lightheartedly. On re-watching, it looks like you altered the characters' personalities (Spock's "forty-eight minutes" is weirdly false; Kirk's decision to destroy the vessel) instead of remaining canon or exaggerating them for satire, and I found that jarring. Without an anchor to expectations, I can only compare it to itself, and I find it cruel. I hope you do more writing in the future, as you seem to have the back-end process down.

[@slingshothero8856]

Did you ever animate any of the original series scenes like the doomsday machine, the trouble with tribbles, or any of the other classic scenes? Cuz you are hitting this out of the park animation and voice acting wise!

[@tomgraham3612]

Beautiful buzzkill. To complete the thought, re-make the ALIENS movie but let's see what happens if they heed the warning from Ellen Ripley and turn back.

[@DrejStinger1986]

@CHDanhauser Oh...my mistake; thought she was gray. Pip-pip, carry on.

[@johnwang9914]

A bit extreme to just destroy the pirates/assassin's instead of disabling them and asking for their surrender.

[@randyzeitman1354]

2 Minutes of speech that was ridiculous.

[@kellyrayburn4093]

Any Starfleet captain worth his command would not use deadly force in such a situation when such force had not been used against his vessel. He would disable it and rescue the crew, posting armed security guards inside the medical bay to watch them and disarm them when they regained consciousness. What happened in this episode is murder and nothing else.

[@michaelweigel8253]

Are these gaseous anomalies near Uranus?

[@shguderjan7181]

Dare I say it...interstellar!

[@KennToomey]

Very faithful! Slow & stiff, just like the original cartoon--heheh.

[@sticksara]

I like it. It was told well. You did a great job. However (and I have to say this), to destroy the vessel outright isn’t what Kirk would have done. He would’ve ordered the ship to stand down from their attack because he knew what they were planning and order them to surrender. Then disable them further if necessary and if he had to. To kill 32 people outright without giving them the chance to surrender.... even Kirk wouldn’t do that.

[@jamesaleman]

"Lucky shot sir"

[@walterschivo9123]

You made Rez sound like Mr. Scott.

[@freedomwv]

This is the second Star Trek cartoon I have seen recently here on YT. I did not know these were even made. I wonder why these came about?

[@antoinettemims2907]

+Mark Baanstra I thought that the cartoon series wsd pretty good. I thought the stories were as well-written as the original series. Were the cartoon plots written for the series but not aired? Was this due to a perceived weakness? For what reason were they not used in the series?

[@mindcrimefilms5623]

The scripts were generated solely for the animated series ("TAS), which ran in 1973-1974. They were not rejected or unused scripts from the live action series. In addition to the fact that TAS used many of the same writers from the original series ("TOS"), the animateds also had several direct sequels to TOS episodes, including a story involving the Tribbles and an episode with Harry Mudd. Story elements from the TAS episode "Yesteryear" were used for live action episodes of the series "Enterprise" some 30 years later and also in the 2009 reboot film from JJ Abrams.

[@jamesaleman]

This is a fan film based on the animated series

[@shibolinemress8913]

48 minutes into the future? Why not 47? And what about having a Betazoid on the bridge? 🤣🤣 But seriously, if this story were not a joke I'd say it's a perfect example of why having full psychics as regular characters is usually a really bad idea.

[@CHDanhauser]

I used 48 because it is just short of the 50 minute length of the original series episodes when they first aired in the mid-1960s. Regarding precogs, you are correct. When Gene Roddenberry was first fleshing out the concept behind STAR TREK he stated that he did not want his science fiction show to feature robots or psychic phenomenon like mind readers or precognitives. This story was an explicit depiction of what would happen if psychic aliens were to be seen on STAR TREK. Gene didn't want psychics in STAR TREK because it made storytelling very difficult. What jeapordy could the crew find itself in if their resident precog could just tell them what dangers lay around each corner? By the way, Gene's admonition against robots obviously did not include androids.

[@shibolinemress8913]

@@CHDanhauser My thoughts exactly! A fully psychic character would be very difficult to write for, for all the reasons you mentioned. Spock's mind-meld was as far as they went with the regular cast. Babylon 5 did better with the PsyCorps, but Trek seemed to always struggle with psychic characters, even after Roddenberry. Concerning androids, in TOS they usually self-destructed when they developed emotions, or Kirk and crew talked them to death. The same went for supercomputers. TNG's Data was a rare exception, and even he had programmed limitations. Not till VOY did an AI in form of the Doctor begin to really become human imo.

[@bryanttillman]

pretty good, but Kirk wouldn't have whacked the whole ship.

[@blueeyes57X]

This is NOT from the animated series I remember... it's not even Shatner's voice...! LOL

[@marcusdudley7235]

The 'O' on your Captain Obvious costume has a little dirt on it.

[@jamesaleman]

Its a fan film

[@nicholasjanke3476]

CH could you do a two hour cartoon film of a Star Trek/Star Wars crossover? Think about: on the poster Kirk on the left side and Luke Skywalker on the right side. And in between the Enterprise and the Falcon! Opinions???? Will you do it??

[@altha-rf1et]

Kirk would had destroyed the ship... especially if he knew that if he did not that the Enterprise would be

[@kenlieck7756]

Hard to argue with that logic!