Trekkies 2

I believe Trekkies 2 is defiantly worth watching if you enjoyed the first Trekkies film. Some of the Trekkies interviewed in the first Trekkies film appear in Trekkies 2 so it is interesting to see how they have grown and how they have continued using Star Trek as part of their lives. But what I think is most interesting is seeing Star Trek fans and conventions in other countries. The first Trekkies film only had American fans, but Trekkies 2 takes you to Star Trek fans and conventions in France, England, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Serbia and of course my country: Australia.

I've attended three Star Trek Conventions in Sydney so far. Including the one in June of 2003. Denise Crosby was a guest at this convention, she was here in Sydney to film Trekkies 2, I even briefly chatted with one of Denise's cameramen. Some of the Trekkies attending this convention were interviewed for Trekkies 2 but I wasn't one of them. I've met several of the Australian people interviewed for this documentary. One of them is Peter the host for the Sydney Star Trek Conventions. He claims that he's been attending conventions for twelve years. I also know Tammy who you see briefly dressed as a Romulan. I've also seen the huge teddy bear which is dressed in a Starfleet uniform. I've also met this "Admiral". I've forgotten her name but she is wearing a red Admiral's uniform and has these two white tentacles on her head. She calls herself a Human/Andorian (She appears during the end credits).

So it was nice to see some of the people I've met in this documentary and I am surprised that I'm the first Star Trek Convention attendee who has commented about this film.

I am a big fan of the original star trek and the next generation, and I'm also a fan of the first film about trekkies but, this one was just beyond tedious, and slow. it wasn't as good as the first one. the first had funny, interesting, moments, and they always had great interviews with the trekkies. this one was more of a "hey, look at all the stuff i have", it was like watching antiques roadshow, except it was the fans themselves guessing how much everything was worth. it was interesting to see some of the people doing their own fan films and plays based on star trek but, aside from that the best part was the recaps on who we saw in the first film. it was interesting to see how they were now, and how they were effected by being featured in the film, widely regarded as one of the best documentaries ever made. this film is forgettable at best, and i wish they tried harder to make things a little more about the fans and not about how much money they have spent on star trek.

The original Trekkies was a raw, politically unconcerned look into the lives of followers of the greatest TV sci-fi franchise, and one of America's great marketing successes. It was fun, Trekkie/Trekker- friendly, and yet not entirely uncritical. Trekkies is much more of a fan movie, and despite the fact that some of the scenes are actually better than most of what appeared in the original, this isn't half the film the original was.

There are many directions Trekkies 2 could have gone in. It could have been a rebuttal of the Star Trek mythos - perhaps engaging some of the writings of Robert Justman and Herb Solow. It could have dealt with the themes of the series directly and engaged their commercialization and their near abandonment after the cancellation of DS9, or perhaps the hiring of sex symbols as a way to boost ratings once the writing team began to fall apart. It could have focused on sociological issues within Trek fandom - such as the somewhat schizophrenic politics of the older and newer generations of Trek fans, or the amazing marketing of the franchise. Instead, Trekkies 2 is mostly more of the same stuff we saw in Trekkies, with a few nice new stories (the segment on Trek-based punk rock and metal bands was the highlight of the film for me), and a lot of plugs for the now defunct Enterprise series.

Don't get me wrong, as one of the original Trek fans (from TOS in its original run to the present), I love this film. I just can't in good faith, recommend it to any non-fan. If you're not a Trekkie, see the original Trekkies. It's a lot more fun.

The follow-up to the hilarious 'Trekkies', that focuses on die hard Star Trek fans, a.k.a 'Trekkies' ('Trekkers' and 'Trekkons'), this time the world over. Glad to see the star of the first 'Trekkies' the great Gabriel Koorner, re-appear and his quest to loose his virginity; which turns out to be his most fruitful mission (to date). A heady mix of the 'very sad' and the 'really funny'.

Trekkies 2, like the first movie, is an endearing portrayal of the Star Trek fanbase. This time the producers go on the road and travel around the world to meet Star Trek fans from Australia, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany and even Serbia, documenting their experiences with Star Trek and going into the lives of several fans.

In between each segment of the travelogue are pieces that can be described simply as an open forum for fans to discuss issues relating to fandom, such as what makes a "Normal Fan", should you wear your uniform in public, etc. This helps give the fans more a of voice, which many found lacking in the first film.

One thing to note about the DVD is that it in fact features 2 documentaries, as the deleted scenes are cut together in a coherent way to complement the main film, raising issues that may not have fit well with the main film.

Of course, the film also features 'characters' from the first movie, like Gabe Koerner, Brian Dellis, Barbara Adams and Daryl Frazetti, making the movie feel like one of several other documentaries that have followed its subjects over the years, like 7-up.

Moments that stood out for me were the interview with Robert Burnett and the Sacramento segment that feature five Star Trek tribute bands. The Serbia segment was also quite effective because it felt more 'important', going a bit into the recent war and how some fans looked to Star Trek as a way of coping with the war. In fact, the film documents the first ever convention held in Serbia.

As a casual Star Trek fan, it was interesting to see that there was still a fanbase that existed given the current nature of Trek. Given that Star Trek: Nemesis pretty much flopped and Enterprise is on the verge of cancellation, it's kind of nice to see that there are still fans out there who are enthusiastic about Star Trek. It was also nice to see fans that were self-deprecating and could joke about the fact that they're fans. There are also poignant, philosophical moments that get to the heart of the film, such as when one of the fans says, "When reality stops being so lame, we'll stop doing this."

The film not only works because of its content, but also because of its style - irregardless of it's content, the film is just a great documentary. Given this, and the fact that you actually get two films on the DVD, I think everyone should pick this up.

8/10