A Trekker's Dream Come True

Like many people around my age, I grew up on the original Star Trek series, or Star Trek TOS as it has come to be known. I didn't have many friends as a kid, which was okay with me because I've always valued quality over quantity. The few real friends that I did have and I were all fans of the show. We could discuss it for hours, talking about everything from James T. Kirk's exploits -- the ones they couldn't put on screen (snicker, snicker) -- to warp theory. I often imagined what it might be like to get just one opportunity to walk onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, knowing, of course, that that would never happen.

Or so I thought.

One day, many years into my adulthood, I was surfing the Internet and I stumbled across a website for something called Star Trek New Voyages. It was a fan film that had been shot somewhere in upstate New York. No, I soon discovered. It was actually two fan films. The filmmakers had done a second episode, and they were planning to do a third! I wanted to get involved! I had to get involved, and though it took a while, I finally got the opportunity.

It was the summer of 2007, and the episode was a two-part episode entitled Blood and Fire, written and directed by David Gerrold and guest starring Denise Crosby. What follows are a few photos from that shoot and an article I wrote about my experience there for the digital magazine that the production was releasing online at the time. I hope you enjoy it.

JUNE, 2007

All I can say is, what a phenomenal experience! My participation in the production of Star Trek: New Voyages' latest episode, "Blood and Fire" was so much more exciting than I ever expected it to be! I'm not sure where to begin. Don't get me wrong. I knew it was going to be fun. But I never dreamed that it would be as fun and as thrilling as it turned out to be.

After discovering that my digital camera was broken and realizing that my son still had my old Canon 35mm film camera, I left my home in West Chester, Pennsylvania at 9:00 AM on Thursday, May 31^st, 2007, expecting to be on the road for about six hours and hoping there would be photographers on the set whom I could persuade to take pictures for me. As I drove, I thought about what I might do when I arrive—how I might help the team. I decided that no matter what the task, I would do everything that might be asked of me. After all, I was going up there to help produce Star Trek!

Everything was going well until I made one wrong lane change somewhere near Albany, which sent me off to God knows where and ended up adding an additional three hours to my drive. After two hours of wondering if I was even traveling in the right direction, followed by an hour of feeling fairly confident that I was, I finally arrived at Retro Film Studios at 6:00 PM. Actually, I zipped right past the studio at first, but fortunately my eye caught a glimpse of the "RFS, Inc." sign as I passed and my brain registered it as the place I was looking for.

At first glimpse, the first thing to pop into my head was, "That's a production studio?" Now, keep in mind that I've never actually seen a film studio before, but I was pretty sure that the building I was looking at didn't qualify. But hey, who was I to judge? I parked my gas-guzzler and headed for the garage door.

Among the first people I met were Jeff Mailhotte (a.k.a. Lt. Sentell), who was hard at work at the circular saw, and Ron Gates, who was hard at work…watching him. Actually, as I soon found out, they were in the process of rearranging a small airlock to look like a short corridor. I introduced myself and asked where I could help. Turned out there was nothing for me to do at that moment, as filming had already begun and most of the crew were up the road at an old church on a closed set, so Ron offered to give me a tour of the studio sets.

The little airlock, the sickbay, the briefing room, the transporter room—all were great to see, but like everyone else, I'm sure, what I was really looking forward to seeing was the bridge. I only hoped, as Ron led me to it, that I wouldn't get all teary-eyed and make a fool of myself.

I followed Ron up a few steps and into the turbolift through its side. I turned left, and there she was—the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. My eyes did not tear up, but my mouth stretched into a grin that must have reached from one ear to the other. Even empty, unlit, and without power, the bridge was a sight to behold. As I stepped out of the lift, my grin grew even wider. Thirty-nine years after seeing it on television for the very first time, in black-and-white, I was actually standing on the full-color bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

Me in uniform, standing on the left during the filming of a scene on the bridge, with James Cawley (Kirk) getting a makeup touch up from Patty Wright, Ben Tolpin (Spock), Andy Bray (Chekov), Jay Storey (Kyle), Kim Stinger (Uhura), sound man Ralph Miller, and writer/director David Gerrold.

I stood there gawking for several moments, then returned to where Jeff was still working, still trying to process what I had just seen. I helped him and a few others move a couple of walls around—rearranging the sets for an upcoming scene, I learned. Had I just joined the Set Construction Department? Who knew? But I was there to help wherever I could, so if I had, I was fine with that.

Then came one of several company moves that would take place over the next ten days. I followed a couple of other vehicles up to the old church and helped load up all the lighting and camera equipment and take it all back down to the studio. I was amazed at how much equipment it took to produce a show such as this.

Discussion with writer/director David Gerrold inside the old church.

A little later that evening I had the opportunity to meet James "Captain Kirk" Cawley, who greeted me with a friendly smile, a hardy handshake, and an enthusiastic, "Sergeant." No inflated ego. Not even a little inflated. Just a warm, friendly, fellow fan who shares my love of Star Trek. A very down-to-Earth man. As the hours passed, I also met my distant cousin, Andy "Sarge" Grieb, Miss Kim Stinger (our lovely new Lieutenant Uhura), and Debbie (our lovely Nurse-Doctor-Nurse-Doctor-Nurse no-name eventually named Fontana). I also met a few others, including Ben Alpi, who'd been assigned to stay in the same cabin as me—my roommate for the next ten or eleven days.

And then, later that evening, I met David Gerrold. If there was one person I expected not even to get a chance to talk to while I was there, it was David Gerrold. I expected to meet a stereotypical, somewhat aloof Hollywood type with an over-inflated ego who would be so busy he'd barely have time to acknowledge my existence. I couldn't have been more wrong. When the time finally came that David—yes, David, not Mister Gerrold—appeared to be a little less busy, I took the opportunity to introduce myself. I found David to be one of the kindest and friendliest people I had ever met.

That was day one. It ended at about 2:00 in the morning. We went to the cabins, which I found to be… well… less than what I had expected, but after getting up at 7:00, driving for nine hours, and working until 2:00 AM, did I care? No. I was given a cot because there was only one bed and Ben had already made it his, but after almost 20 years of military service, a cot was not a problem at all. I made it my own, and fell asleep the moment I went horizontal.

The next morning, I went to the studio expecting to work with the construction crew, but upon arrival I learned that a couple of electrical wires needed to be run, so I jumped in and helped to run them. As I said, I was there to help wherever I could.

And then it happened. Some time around noon, I was sitting down and talking with some of the nicest people I had ever met when the call came. "We need extras." According to Einstein, had I jumped up any faster I would have been standing up before they made the call. James took me and a couple of other volunteers into the Costumes room to be fitted for uniforms—uniforms that included red shirts. I figured, "Okay, my character might not live long, but at least I'm going to be in the show." That was already much more than I ever expected.

My costume fit check.

I worked in one scene for a little while, but was eventually replaced by someone else before it was actually filmed. But hey, that's show biz. I didn't mind at all. The opportunity to watch and listen while the teams discussed lighting, camera angles, dialogue delivery, etc. made the whole thing worth while. I returned to the green room and sat and waited for my next call—a call that never came. We were released at 9:30. I figured, "Okay, I got to wear a Starfleet uniform. Cool. Tomorrow I'll get back to work behind the scenes." But to my surprise, David came to us—me and the others who had dressed—and told us that he wanted us back in costume the next morning. I was going to get another chance!

The next day was another long one. It went past midnight. John, another "atmosphere" actor, and I worked on the bridge, playing engineering technicians in a scene that I knew right from the first rehearsal would definitely not be cut out of the final product. So whatever was to come later, I knew that I had made it into the show, and I was content.

John and I on the bridge.

I mentioned above that I had found David Gerrold to be a kind man. One example of that kindness is this. Jeff Collinsworth, one of New Voyages' long-time contributors, had his son Joey there. David showed Joey so much kindness that I had to remark to several people about it. He invited him onto the bridge set, put him in the center seat, had the photographers take pictures of him with some of the cast. David had already shown us all his deliciously sarcastic sense of humor, and now he had shown us his softer side. Once again, I found myself in awe of just how "normal" a person David was.

One other thing that I took notice of that day was just how hard working the lighting and camera crews were. While "we" actors took breaks between scenes, those guys kept on working in the incredible heat to make sure they would get every shot lit and recorded as perfectly as possible. My hat's off to "camera Dave" Berry, "camera Alex," Jami from he land down under, and all the rest of the crew for a job extremely well done.

The highlight of the next day for me came soon after I had once again been replaced in a scene, when I learned that I was to have a speaking part in another scene on the bridge. Yes, a speaking part! I'd never expected to be in front of the cameras at all, and there I was being given dialogue—just a very short line, but dialogue nonetheless! On the bridge of all places! Talk about a dream come true! That made all the very long, long hours of sitting in costume and make-up, waiting and hoping for a call worthwhile. I reported to the bridge, we went through the scene, and filmed it. Actually, there was no film being used, but I digress. I had the distinct privilege of working alongside John "Kargh" Carrigan in that scene, literally—another extremely kind and friendly man, I assure you. At the end David called, "cut," and the scene was done. It was in the can, and I was in it! Two scenes on the bridge for a guy who'd never acted in his life! I couldn't believe it.

The next day, I was replaced in every scene that I was called for, except for one, but as I stated earlier, that's show-biz. I'd already spent more time in front of the camera than I had ever expected to, so how could I possibly be disappointed? What was the one scene I wasn't replaced in? I'm glad you asked. It was a scene where I sat at the helm. Yes, the helm. I don't believe I can be seen in the final shot—as David put it, "…in case the helm makes it into the edge of the shot."—but that's okay. I sat at the helm during the shooting of a scene!

Sitting at the helm.

I started day six feeling very tired of waiting around in costume for hours on end in the hopes that I might get called in to shoot a scene. Truth be told, after watching how incredibly hard the entire production crew was working day in and day out, I was also beginning to feel like I wasn't contributing to the effort as much as I should. After all, (co-producer) Gary Evans had been kind enough to invite me to participate. The least I could do would be to sweat for the cause like so many others had been doing all along. So I did something about it. After sitting at yet another bridge console for yet another scene, I changed out of costume and offered to help the lighting crew in whatever way I could.

That offer blossomed into several opportunities over the next few days to learn a little bit more about what goes on behind the scenes of a production such as this. Trust me, folks, this was no ordinary fan film. This was a professional production crewed by a lot of incredibly talented people. I learned a lot from many of them while I helped out. I helped the lighting crew some more by controlling a dimmer on a couple of occasions—a small contribution perhaps, but it freed someone up to do something else. I also helped with set construction again by assisting in the conversion of the corridor set into a cargo bay, and when "Sarge" Andy needed a break from the sound boom for a couple of days, I helped sound man Ralph Miller by taking over on one of those.

One more thing that all of this behind the scenes work did in addition to providing me with the opportunity to help the crew and learn was that it allowed other extras a few more opportunities to get in front of the cameras. Knowing how exciting it was to do that, I was happy to do my part in allowing others to enjoy it as well.

So, that's it in a nutshell. Ten days living a lifelong dream, all the while feeling amazed at what an awesome group of people I had found myself among. And then I left, but not before something happened to show me just how special a time it was. As I said my good-byes to those who remained, all was smiles and laughter and "see you next time." There wasn't a tear in the place as far as I could see. But then, as I passed the sets on my way out, I decided to take one more look at the bridge. Just as I had upon my arrival, I stepped up into the turbolift, turned left, and walked out into the nerve center of the Starship Enterprise. Once again empty, unlit, and without power, it looked just as it had on that very first day, but this time the emotions it invoked were quite different, for that emptiness reflected the emptiness that I was feeling in my heart over knowing that I had to leave. I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop it. The tears flowed freely. It was over.

Just a small portion of the crew.

I could have gone on and on and on in this account, writing out every detail of every day, but such an article would probably fill this entire publication. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't thank at least some of the wonderful people who make up the Star Trek New Voyages family.

To the principle cast as a whole—thank you for your warm acceptance and friendship.

James, as I have written elsewhere, by living your dream you have allowed me to live mine, and I thank you for that.

Ben "Spock" Tolpin, your professionalism and dedication are an inspiration.

Doc John and Charles "Scotty" Root, we didn't get a lot of opportunities to talk, but when we did, your warmth and willingness to engage this newbie extra in conversation was greatly appreciated.

Andy "Chekov" Bray, what can I say? "Entertaining" barely begins to describe you.

Kim "Uhura" Stinger, you dear lady are one of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met.

Bobby "Peter Kirk" Rice, your enthusiasm does you credit and will help you along your path. You have a bright future ahead of you.

Evan "Alex" Fowler, like John and Charles and me, you and I didn't get to talk much. But I did observe you while you worked, and I suspect the future holds great things for you as well.

To David Gerrold—thank you for helping to make my first ever experience on any set of any kind, working for any director, such an enjoyable one.

To Denise Crosby—thanks for your kindness. You are one classy lady.

To the rest of the supporting cast, my fellow extras, and all the members of the crew, from lighting and camera, to construction, to make-up, to photographers, to 5-0, to those who went on food and water runs and saved us all from starving and dehydrating—I thank you all. I will value your friendship forever. We are all truly members of a family, and I look forward to seeing you all again.

PRESENT DAY

I attended two more shoots after that one—2008's Enemy: Starfleet, in which the lovely BarBara Luna guest starred and for which I served as 2nd Assistant Director, and 2012's Bread and Savagery (as yet unreleased) for which we had use of some of the original costumes used in the TOS episode Bread and Circuses and I served as 1st Assistant Director. All three shoots were truly experiences of a lifetime.

Taking command during the filming of Enemy: Starfleet

On location for Bread and Savagery