To make the episode, Gerrold teamed up with the fan crew behind Star Trek: Phase II, a web series that's intended to be the fourth season of the original series. He dusted off his gay-themed script, called "Blood and Fire," and also directed it. Originally, "Blood and Fire" was written for Star Trek: TNG, and approved by series creator Gene Roddenberry, but executives at the network balked. Gerrold says they told him they were worried they'd lose their advertisers because "mommies" would call in to complain that they'd seen gay people on Star Trek.

For the webisode, Gerrold re-wrote the script to bring it up to date with issues like gay marriage, and also to make the characters more openly gay. In the original, they were portrayed as friends - the only hint that they were gay was one character asking them how long they'd been together. In the new version, as you can see in the clip below, there's no question that they're lovers.

The episode is about the Enterprise responding to a distress call, and dealing with scary "bloodworms." It introduces a new character, Peter Kirk, the gay nephew of the captain.

According to AfterElton's Brent Hartinger, who has seen the full episode:

There’s tension between Peter and his famous uncle, who is determined to keep him out of harm’s way, even if it means treating him differently than the other crewmembers. Eventually, Peter reveals the real reason he requested a stint on the Enterprise: to be near his boyfriend, Alex Freeman (Evan Fowler). When the couple make plans to marry, Kirk agrees to officiate, but only “after the away mission” — which may or may not bode well for the future of this relationship . . . The portrayal of Peter and Alex's romantic relationship is treated no differently than any of the dozens of heterosexual relationships the various Star Trek incarnations have included over the decades. Indeed, the storyline is incorporated so naturally as to make the “official” Trek's inexcusable lack of gay characters even more obvious.

The first half of "Blood and Fire" goes online this Saturday on the Star Trek: Phase II website. The second half airs in February.

You can see more images and a longer clip at AfterElton.

Let's ignore the easy answer: Because there are lots of bloggers (like me) with too much time on our hands. The more complicated answers involve copyright law and the changing nature of TV/movie production.

First of all, copyright law. The latest twist in the kerfuffle comes from the makers of Phase II arguing amongst themselves. Marc Zicree, who had directed the Nebula-nominated episode, had issued a statement saying Phase II is a professional production. The scriptwriters were paid, and so were some of the cast and crew. And he says the show has tacit approval from Paramount, which owns the copyright to Star Trek.

But now, Phase II producer James Cawley has retorted that the production is definitely not professional, by any means. Apparently Cawley is worried that if Phase II starts claiming "professional" status (which is a vaguely worded requirement for Nebula inclusion) then Paramount will change its mind about approving of the production. He'd rather face the wrath of a few snippy science fiction writers than Paramount's hordes of blood-thirsty lawyers.

But then there's the issue of the changing nature TV/movie production. It's only going to get easier and cheaper, from here on out, to put "amateur" productions online that look almost as good as "professional" productions. In 20 years, the line between "real" TV shows and "fan-made" ones may be much, much thinner. And a fan-made movie, on the Internet, may be better than the latest Roland Emmerich disaster. So it's in the interest of the Nebulas, long term, to recognize productions which may not meet every requirement for "professional" ones. (I'm not saying we're there yet. But in another decade or two, we may well be.)

The real reason why people are so worked up about this issue? Because of the words "Star Trek" and "fan film." Either one of those phrases by themselves would be enough to get people tweaked. Together, they're like your serious writer person's worst nightmare. But just consider that past Nebula script nominees have included the first X-Men movie, Shrek, an episode of The Dead Zone, The Butterfly Effect and The Devil's Arithmetic. I think they'll survive one Trek fan film. Concept art from the original Star Trek: Phase II from TrekMania.net. [Den Of Geek, via SF Awards Watch]

The fan series, which streams online for free, boasts episodes written by original series writers DC Fontana and David Gerrold and guest-shots from original series actors George Takei and Walter Koenig. It used to be called Star Trek: New Voyages but changed its name to Star Trek: Phase II out of increased confidence, as executive producer James Cawley explains. And maybe a little fanboyish desire to fulfill another part of Gene Roddenberry's legacy:

New Voyages began as a fan film project, as a bunch of friends who love Star Trek working together to prove there was still plenty of creative life in Gene Roddenberry's original vision of Star Trek. With our recent Online Video Award from TV Guide for Best SciFi Webisodes, we think we've proven that. We're ready now to move to a higher level — Phase II, Gene's proposed title for a second Trek series that would've aired in the 1970s.