# Star Trek super-fan



## WaylanderToo (Mar 23, 2017)

William Shatner turns 86 today, and while the original Captain Kirk has probably met his fair share of Star Trek fans, James Cawley may be the biggest.

The 49-year-old Elvis impersonator from Ticonderoga, N.Y., has meticulously built a faithful reconstruction of the entire set from the original 1960s Star Trek television series.

Cawley says he grew up watching Star Trek reruns every afternoon on television and playing Star Trek with his friends around the neighborhood. 

A lot of people might have grown out of playing Star Trek, but Cawley says his love for the series only deepened with age. As he grew up, he realized he wanted to be an actor and became fascinated with the making of Star Trek. 

From the start, Cawley was committed to an authentic Star Trek experience. “I wanted the uniform,” he says. “I didn’t want the hokey one that, you know, they sold for Halloween that didn’t look like what you saw on television.”

And so, at the age of 18, Cawley reached out to Star Trek original series costume designer Bill Theiss. “I just picked up the phone and I called Paramount Pictures,” he says. “And they put the call through.”

Theiss saw in Cawley a kindred spirit, and he shared fabric samples and colors with him, eventually leaving him a set of blueprints for the entire soundstage.

Cawley began building the set in 1996, with help from other Star Trek fans, family, and friends. In 2003, he finally released the first of his Star Trek fan films. 

The series of fan-produced episodes, called Star Trek: New Voyages, gained traction on the Internet. Fans were asking for more episodes and even volunteering to work as crew members. Eventually, writers and even actors from the original series joined in, including George Takei, Walter Koenig, and Nichelle Nichols.

Cawley himself played Captain Kirk, although his Kirk looked a bit different than the original.

“People were like, well, why does he have Elvis hair?” he says. “And you’d have to explain, well, look, that’s my day job. You know, I’m not getting paid to play Star Trek. Elvis is paying for me to play Star Trek.”

Today Cawley is still playing Elvis by day, but he’s no longer playing Kirk. He gave up the role to another actor several years ago, and Star Trek: New Voyages recently ended production.

In the meantime, Cawley has turned the soundstage into the “Star Trek Original Series Set Tour” and is officially licensed by CBS Television. The tour closes for part of the frigid upstate New York winters, but it will be open for its second season from April 8, 2017 to Dec. 20, 2017.

Fans can tour the set, pose on the bridge, and in general play Star Trek — which,  Cawley emphasizes, is how this whole thing started.

“A lot of people say, how did this start?” he says. “And I explain to them, you know, I was playing Star Trek with my neighborhood buddies when I was a little kid, and I guess I still am — I just have better toys.”[/QUOTE]


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## Alexa (Mar 23, 2017)

I'm more a *Star Trek the Next Generation* fan, but I don't have the toys and money to play. *sigh*


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## Brian G Turner (Mar 23, 2017)

Here's the link, and more images. 
‘Star Trek’ Superfan Rebuilds Entire Set from Original Blueprints


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## SilentRoamer (Mar 23, 2017)

I think that is awesome.

Live the life you want to leave and ignore the haters. Haters are always gonna hate but who cares when you have a Bridge, and an Engine Room...


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## BAYLOR (Mar 24, 2017)

I think its impressive  the way he re created the look and feel of the classic series . But the problem is. You can't live in same continuity forever.


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## SilentRoamer (Mar 24, 2017)

BAYLOR said:


> I think its impressive  the way he re created the look and feel of the classic series . But the problem is. You can't live in same continuity forever.



I think set building for TOS would be a lot easier than for the more modern Treks. 

Now if someone can build a TNG ten forward I would be in awe.


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## Danny McG (Mar 24, 2017)

SilentRoamer said:


> Now if someone can build a TNG ten forward I would be in awe.



We want holo-decks. We want holo-decks. We want holo-decks.


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## Rodders (Mar 28, 2017)

Quite impressive. I wonder how he spends his time in there?


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## Foxbat (Mar 28, 2017)

Rodders said:


> Quite impressive. I wonder how he spends his time in there?


Maybe he invites girls to join him, paints them green and gets them to say: 'What is kiss, earthman?'


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## Danny McG (Mar 29, 2017)

T


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## Galactic Journey (Jul 6, 2017)

BAYLOR said:


> I think its impressive  the way he re created the look and feel of the classic series . But the problem is. You can't live in same continuity forever.



That's why you start with the Pike bridge and slowly remodel!


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## logan_run (Sep 3, 2017)

I was once a super trek fan but as time progressive I like space 1999 more. I still catch a trek clip on you tube.once and while.


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## Cathbad (Sep 4, 2017)

So, you chose a planetoid doing FTL speeds, over a ship doing so?


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## BAYLOR (Sep 4, 2017)

Cathbad said:


> So, you chose a planetoid doing FTL speeds, over a ship doing so?



But thats the problem, The moon was traveling at sunlight velocity. So visiting planets would have been a bit of a problem and then there the is  issue of why the moon didn't fall into orbit in any of the systems that it visited. And the disaster that knocked the moon out of orbit should have at the very least fried the inhabits of Moon base Alpha.


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## Cathbad (Sep 4, 2017)

BAYLOR said:


> But thats the problem, The moon was traveling at sunlight velocity. So visiting planets would have been a bit of a problem and then there the is  issue of why the moon didn't fall into orbit in any of the systems that it visited. And the disaster that knocked the moon out of orbit should have at the very least fried the inhabits of Moon base Alpha.



There was sooo much wrong with the science!

Why store nuclear waste/weapons on the moon anyway?  Why not just send it into the sun?


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## BAYLOR (Sep 4, 2017)

Cathbad said:


> There was sooo much wrong with the science!
> 
> Why store nuclear waste/weapons on the moon anyway?  Why not just send it into the sun?



That last bit is an an excellent point .


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