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The creators and stars of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine have launched an Indiegogo campaign to produce a documentary about the show. What We Left Behind will tell the story of the third fourth Star Trek series as told by (most of) the people who made it. More than that, however, the film has assembled the show's writing team (including Ronald D. Moore) to map out what a mythical eighth season of the show would look like. Sadly, the AV Club beat us two pointing out that this is basically that Portlandia sketch, but in real life.
In just over a day, the project has smashed through its original $150,000 target and is pushing toward $200,000. It's something of a vindication for the show that -- when it launched -- was treated as the red-headed stepchild of the Star Trek universe. Now, after living through Voyager and Enterprise, fans have come to appreciate the show for what it is. Backers can contribute $15 to be able to watch the show when it's available, which is expected to be around February 2018.
The team behind the documentary has plenty of experience producing Star Trek retrospectives. Director Adam Nimoy made For the Love of Spock, while producers 455 Films was behind Chaos on the Bridge, The Captains and Get a Life!. In addition to showing you what the eighth season of DS9 would have looked like, viewers will also be able to see how much the cast have changed in the last nearly two decades. Most notably, you'll be able to see Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) and Hana Hatae (Molly O'Brien) now that they're adults.
Of course, what's interesting here isn't the documentary itself, but the fact that we're inching ever closer to pop culture's nostalgia singularity. After all, online platforms have seen plenty of classic TV shows getting revivals, many of which were produced with cash from fans. Beyond the Star Trek fan films Veronica Mars, Reading Rainbow, Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Thunderbirds 1965 were all bankrolled by members of the public. In addition, online education site Masterclass hired Aaron Sorkin to re-break the fifth season opener of The West Wing for his screenwriting course.
Let's be honest, but for Joss Whedon's reluctance, it's only a matter of time before someone actually secures $50 million to make a second season of Firefly.