The first time I laid eyes on Kristi Lynn was on the big screen at a theater in Boston, MA. She had a role in a slasher film with Bernice Tremblay and I was truly impressed with her performance as a mother who got what she had coming to her. Bernice was excited about being in another film and I was angling on meeting new talent to bring into the web series we were currently working on entitled, STAR TREK BEYOND [STB].
After the slasher film ended, I got to meet several of the cast and crew, but more importantly, I was introduced to Kristi Lynn, who just seemed to light up the whole room with her big smile and muscular physique, reaching out to people and hugging them left and right. Quite honestly, the movie wasn't anything to brag about, but the cast and crew were full of smiles and pride of having their film up on the big screen. Shortly after that night, I asked Bernice to make contact with Kristi and see if she was interested in playing a part in our web series. According to Bernice, Kristi didn't hesitate to say "yes."
A few days later, we drove out to a farm in the middle of Massachusetts, where I got to meet Kristi and her pet monkey Deke. No need to go into deeper detail, but there were a lot of laughs and deep conversations. I explained to Kristi what I was looking for and immediately she went into how to costume up for the part. When I left the ranch, there was this wild fascination about Kristi that just lingered in my mind. I figured that her part in the series would either actually work or bomb out with the gaining fan-ship that was following the series at the time.
What isn't known about the development of the web series was that I spent lot of time designing the show to do everything "our way." We entered production making things up and trying to distance ourselves from everything every other fan production was doing, presenting certain uniforms, ships designs, story telling. I figured that by bringing in a female "Q" to the show, would certainly shake things up and force fans to watch the show to see how it all panned out in the end.
The day Kristi arrived on set to shoot her first scenes, she was fighting a migraine. Me knowing women very well, I didn't ask anything about it, except if she was still willing to get this thing started, and she nodded yes. About an hour later, she had her hair and makeup done. She came down the stairs and was wearing a dark black suit. I was in the kitchen with Jeremy Chubb, an actor and co-producer of the series, making pancakes and brewing coffee.
I'm not sure if STB fans know that we had converted the entire first floor of an apartment into the bridge and engineering spaces for the series, but that didn't stop Kristi from barreling through the apartment set looking for a hot cup of coffee and a fresh plate of pancakes to get her day started. That was when she revealed to us that she was fighting a major hangover and that Margaritas "weren't her thing." I sat in awe watching her eat and drink, all the time chirping out with that New Englander accent.. I found it pretty damn funny, to tell you the truth.
Later, Bernice showed up and we hopped into one car and drove all over the place shooting scene after scene. I had scripted the entire five-part episode of the Borg War that contained the Q in the series and we went through each scene in order. Most of the scenes wouldn’t be seen for over two months during that point, so the actors were performing blind, hoping I would edit everything together and it all made sense. Since much of the web series was shot in that same way, I had plenty of practice, so I wasn't worried. Bernice, who at this point entered the series also as a co-producer, just didn't want actors driving back and forth all the time for small stuff. But the web series was in good hands and with everyone keeping an eye on the scripts, we handled everything very well.
When we returned to the apartment [studio], I reviewed the footage, checking the sound as I went along. It was getting late, Kristi was hungry, but I found that there were two important spots that required Automated Dialog Replacement, or ADR, but Kristi was all for doing it right then and there. With so much practice and work in prior films, she nailed the ADR requirements on the first try, all from memory. I was floored with her talent and then took her out to dinner before she left for home.
Kristi made a huge impression on me and the crew that day. I called on her services one more time during the fourth season of the series and she again delivered a masterful performance. We took pictures on the cove in New London, CT that day. She was sexy, elegant, and just full of excitement of her wearing a formal white dress. I'll never forget that last day of shooting with her. She was funny, happy, and filled with so much energy. We went out drinking that night and she did a little karaoke with me. Kristi left the next day after I made her pancakes and coffee again. She was one hell of a lady.
A few months ago, I reached out to her about putting together a reunion of the entire cast from STB. Over the course of almost 20 years, the STB web series is a fan favorite with a huge following. Some of the cast and myself pondered the chance of shooting one more episode to tie everything together and maybe launch the old web series into another SciFi project. On the phone, Kristi was excited about replaying the role of "Q" in front of the camera again. From the photos I saw on Facebook, Kristi still looked the same to me, vibrant, sexy, happy. On the spot, I asked her is she was a vampire and she belted out a loud New Englander laugh...She will be missed.
Rest in Peace, Kristi. You were one hell of a lady!
David Quintana and the entire cast & crew of
STAR TREK BEYOND [2006-2008]
