Making Fake Star Trek: The True Story of a Star Trek Fan Film with The Real Walter Koenig

by Andy Bray, John Lim

Imagine sitting at the bridge of the Enterprise. Your yellow tunic is crisp, the captain is seated behind you, and your fingers hover over the multi-colored buttons, ready to fly the ship. You look up into a gigantic camera and deliver lines written by DC Fontana. That's when you wonder: is this real Star Trek?
Follow two young actors as they fly off on a runaway adventure with the sci-fi franchise they grew up loving. In 2005, Andy Bray and John Lim portrayed Chekov and Sulu in Star Trek: New Voyages, a fan film continuation of the original Star Trek. This is the behind the scenes, crazy, true story of making "To Serve All My Days," a fake Star Trek episode with Trekkies, professionals, Oscar-winners, an Elvis impersonator, and starring a real living legend: Walter Koenig. Will "To Serve All My Days" break out of orbit or stay dry docked? Find out in this rip-roaring voyage that's even more unbelievable than what's on the script. This may be fake Star Trek, but their stories are real and out of this world.
Featuring a foreword by Walter Koenig.

467 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2019

About the author

Andy is a husband, father and co-author of the bestselling "Making Fake Star Trek" (a book that Star Trek’s Chekov, Walter Koenig touts in his autobiography, "Beaming Up and Getting Off," and called “a delightful read!”). Andy followed up that success with a sequel "Making More Fake Star Trek," "2020: The Novel," and "A Collection of Happy Memories from...2020."

Andy grew up in Miami, Florida, where, at a young age, he developed an unhealthy obsession with Star Trek—an obsession that’s finally paying dividends. In 2000, Andy moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and was propelled into fan film stardom through his role as Chekov, first in the Paramount Pictures stage production of “Spock’s Brain” and, secondly, as a co-star to Walter Koenig, George Takei, and Denise Crosby in three episodes of "Star Trek: New Voyages." In the time since, Andy has studied improv and comedy writing at The Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade and cultivated a collection of obscure credits on IMDB; all while discovering his true calling as a writer. In addition to his books, Andy has written articles for StarTrek.com.

Andy resides in Los Angeles with his wife Kelli and their three kids. He is currently writing his first novel, "The Has-Been."

Facebook: AndyBrayStudios
Instagram: @AndyBrayAuthor
Twitter: @theAndyBray
Web: theAndyBray.com
For media inquiries: theAndyBray@gmail.com

Reviews

[Barbara Wolff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making Fake Star Trek is a well-written and engaging story. I thought the back and forth perspective of the two authors made it interesting and gives the reader the feeling that they are hearing the story while hanging out with friends. Finding out what goes on making a film and the adventures and misadventures that it entails was very interesting. I definitely recommend this book and look forward to more books by Andy Bray and John Lim.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remounting a famous 1960's TV series with a handful of hard core fans led by an errant Elvis impersonator with a vision to be as true to the original as possible may sound foolish, but 'Star Trek: New Voyages' happened and managed to garner a lot of genre attention.

Bray and Lam's book is warm, pleasant and replete in fannish geekery. A book about a fan film that is clearly mystified as to how the film ever got made, especially considering their co-star on this episode was Walter Koenig. For fans of 'Star Trek', this is a must read.

[Kevin Palm · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Star Trek New Voyages" was the first Star Trek fan series I encountered back in the day, and I was astounded that there were people with the imagination and ingenuity to create "new" episodes of the show I loved as a teenager! The actors (and acting) were different, but their love of the show came through! I've been a fan of New Voyages and subsequent shows, "Starship Farragut" and "Star Trek Continues" ever since, so I was gobsmacked when I found out that New Voyages' Chekov and Sulu, Andy Bray and John Lim, had written a book about the creation of one of their most ambitious episodes, "To Serve All My Days", featuring none other than the original Chekov, Walter Koenig!! Andy and John have written this book in a "back and forth" style which is very engaging, and it REALLY sheds light on just what goes into making a film like this! Through dysfunction, drama, bugs, bats and evenings around the campfire, you'll get a look into what dedicated fans (mixed with professionals) can create!

[Clint the Cool Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really well-written and the authors are both hilarious! It not only provides a nice behind-the-scenes, but also serves as an indie moviemaking primer. I’ve never had any interest in watching fan films - never seen the point really. But this book is excellent, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I look forward to reading John and Andy’s next book, and listening to their podcast. Recommended!

[Angelo G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a fan of New Voyages around the same time as the episode that this book describes so I was eager to get a behind-the-scenes peek of what really happened. Well, this book is definitely a tell-all and is full of some great stories with tons of details. I really enjoy how each of the authors provides their individual perspectives instead of combining everything into one Borg-like view. On a deeper level, it also raises the question of what fan fiction (or even reboots of great stories and movies) should be - a rehash if what’s been done or something that takes the stories and characters to a new place.