Monday, July 24, 2006

Star Trek Fans "Finishing" the Original Series


No this guy wasn't in the original

These people are amazing:

On a sweltering Saturday afternoon in Port Henry, N.Y., James Cawley works on what looks like a Hollywood set. His life-sized replica of the USS Enterprise bridge sits in what used to be a used car dealership on the outskirts of town.

The attention to detail is remarkable, part studio set and part shrine. "We've matched everything just the way it was," says Cawley, who grew up near the set. "We found an original 1964 office chair that was the basis of Capt. Kirk's chair."

Cawley's goal is to finish the series' original five-year voyage, which was derailed not by Klingons but by network executives. CBS and Paramount, which now own the franchise, granted Cawley and crew to make new episodes for distribution on the Internet. The caveat: Cawley is not allowed to make any money from the project.

"My day job as [an Elvis impersonator] has paid for ninety percent of this," says Crawley.

Strangely enough, an Elvis impersonator with side-burns makes a perfect replacement for Shatner as James T. Kirk.

This is awesome. I'm serious. I think it's great that these people are spending their own time and money to bring back to life the show in as close to the original form as possible, and apparently they've gotten some attention from some big names as a result. Yeah, it's completely nerdy, but everybody's got to have a hobby right? Anyway I'll find one of their episodes online, watch it, and report back (there's a short preview on NPR's website also.)

3 comments:

Nat-Wu said...

There is such a thing as loving something too much.

adam said...

Who's going to do this for "Nowhere Man?"

Alexander Wolfe said...

Genius! Adam, get it started....