Trekkies

"Trekkies" Two years ago, when I visited a Star Trek convention for the first time I was amazed by the dedication some people have made to this universe that was envisioned by the late Gene Roddenberry. The people I met and the creatures I saw evoked two reactions : awe and embarrassment. I am a very casual fan of the series and movies, and I would never consider learning how to speak Klingon or dressing up in uniform. "Trekkies" is a documentary about the dedicated fans of Star Trek and the lives they lead in support of it. After watching the film, I would like everybody to refer to me as "Captain" of the starship S.S. Ed Rooney. Thank you. Former cast member of "Star Trek : The Next Generation", Denise Crosby, hosts this look into the private lives of Trekkers. Her participation in this film ensures deadly accuracy and the involvement of the casts of all the Star Trek shows, who usually show restraint when the subject of fandom comes their way. Director Roger Nygaard takes us into the underworld of conventions, meeting the fanatics who dress up in Starfleet uniforms, Klingon attire, and each hold dearly in their hearts the mythology of Star Trek. We also go out of the conventions and meet some individuals who have taken the world of Trek into their normal lives. One man runs a Star Trek themed dentist office, another complains about a homemade costume's soul-flattening inaccuracies, each speak with a spooky insistence that this is normal for them. We see homes turned into shrines to the show, men slaving over blow-torches trying recreate props, and one gut-busting moment in which a man is shown rolling around city streets in a recreated wheelchair from the program, something that truly needs to be seen to be believed. This all adds up to a rich portrait of the ways and means Star trek fans go to prove their love. Often, the camerawork is too busy and MTVish for my tastes. The movie also has so much to say in 90 minutes that it sacrifices any real in depth look at this phenomenon. I could sit through 5 hours of this, but all we get here is 90 minutes. This documentary is long overdue and I hope it spawns more like it. This is a population with so much to show us and so many stories to tell. One film seems hardly enough. ------------ 8

Trekkies IS a very funny movie, whether you are a Star Trek fan or not. It shows a wide variety of fans in a variety of situations, and there are no voice-overs to tell you how to feel about the characters presented.

I notice that one prominent review is as horrified by Trekkies as one might be if one found a dead prostitute in their father's closet. The filmmakers may have been laughing at the people on the screen, but they weren't making fun of them. They were merely filming them. If I get in front of a camera and walk blindly into traffic, is it the fault of the person behind the camera if I get run over? No, because I would have been fully aware of my actions. So are the fans presented in Star Trek.

Trekkies won't make a non-fan like ST, nor will it make a rabid fan feel as though they've wasted their lives. This is a slice-of-life documentary. If you feel, like some people who have "tsk-tsked" this movie, that the filmmakers should be ashamed of themselves, I would contend that you protest too much; could it be that you pity the fans on the screen, yet find yourself compelled to laugh at them? Such a conflict may well cause you to feel shame, and you would naturally project that outrage onto the film itself. But documentaries, by definition, can only "tell" you so much. It's up to the viewer to evaluate the material; blaming the filmmakers for a poor interpretation is ridiculous.

These people ARE laughable. But so am I, sometimes. It's okay, because I don't take myself too seriously. And these fans take their hobby very seriously, but many, like the dentists, are aware that ST is a very geeky hobby. And no matter how many times I see James Doohan describe his encounters with the woman who wrote him those fan letters, I break down completely. How is that bad? How have the filmmakers presented him in a bad light?

I can't say for sure, but I believe the filmmakers ARE fans of ST, and I believe that they're aware of the absurd lengths to which some ST fans will go (paying $1500 for a piece of latex, drinking a sick man's water). So what? It's entertainment. And if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

(But that smarmy 14-year-old with the mullet still needs to be slapped....)

When I rented "Trekkies", I expected mostly to laugh at the weird and wild extremes to which Star Trek fans will go. (I myself a Trek fan, so I was also prepared to do a bit of laughing at myself as well!) But "Trekkies" also surprised me with its warm-hearted, caring look at Trek's most ardent devotees. It managed to tell both a funny story about Trek fans and pay gleeful tribute to their obsession of choice.

Humor-wise, "Trekkies" scores big. The Klingons eating Big Macs, the Borg from New Jersey, and the Voyager sex scripts received by the Trek producers were all riotously funny. The Trek cast members all had funny stories to tell as well, from DeForest Kelley's ardent female fan to Kate Mulgrew's marriage proposal.

But there were also some genuinely touching moments in "Trekkies" as well. James "Scotty" Doohan's story about the suicidal fan brought tears to my eyes. I know people who are fortunate enough to have met Mr. Doohan, and from all accounts he is a truly kind, compassionate individual. That really shows through in all of his comments about the Trek fandom. LeVar Burton tells how Gene Roddenberry named his character, Geordi LaForge, after a terminally ill Star Trek fan who passed away; John de Lancie (Q) speaks of another paralyzed patient who finds solace in Star Trek.

Although "Trekkies" seems to poke fun at its subject, it's clear that the spirit of the film shares the same love for Star Trek that motivates the fans. It pays tribute to the groundbreaking nature of the original Trek, and praises the spirit of progressiveness and harmony of the Star Trek universe as a whole. Trekkies never questions whether or not Star Trek was a good show. It only questions how far people will go to express their appreciation for it.

I've known a number of sci-fi geeks over the years, and it is fascinating to see a whole movie about them. I've never been able to develop that sort of all-encompassing passion for anything, be in the New York Mets or The Grateful Dead, but it's fascinating to see what this obsessiveness produces.

I think Trekkies and sci-fi fans in general consist of people who have been pushed so far out of mainstream society - these are almost invariably the people (like me) who were tortured and marginalized growing up - that they have an almost insane attracting to alternate societies. So they go to sci-fi conventions, joining the Society for Creative Anachronisms (you'll also find that there is a major overlap between fans of Lord of the Rings and Star Trek with people who are into S&M or polyamourous relationships. I wish someone would make a documentary about the whole alternate geek lifestyle thing).

Anyway, this movie is very funny and covers a lot of ground in a pleasantly chaotic fashion, jumping from merchandising to fan fiction to people making it through hard times via their obsession with the show. It is very much worth watching.

I've read many reviews before I actually saw Trekkies and I must admit that I was pleasingly surprised! It isn't as bad as many people want to make you believe... actually I find it very interesting and entertaining. True, there are some really weird people in it, but weird also means NOT boring. And I don't mean only in the film, I also mean in live!

I think, only StarTrek fans who take themselves too much serious, believe that the people who are shown in Trekkies were portrayed as freaks. I agree that they picked up some real extreme examples of StarTrek fandom, but as mentioned by Peanuthead before, that's what makes the film so interesting: "It's capacity to make you think!"

And anybody who thinks that they better had shown some "cooler" fans is missing the point! StarTrek fandom isn't about being cool or stylish, it's about enthusiasm, about devotion and about being what you want to be. It's about being yourself and enjoying it, to stay to yourself and not denying what you are or what you love. Not every fan has to live it out like that, but everybody who wants to, is free to do! Sometimes people actually want to be different, not necessarily to be someone special, just to be not like everyone else...

Sometimes this can cause extreme examples, but think about it, where does the term "fan" come from? ...right, it's the short form of fanatic! (And that's not necessarily always a negative term.)

At one or two occasions of the film I had to bear in mind the StarTrek/X-Men-Crossover-Novel "Planet X", where the character Archangel is pushing it over the edge with Captain Picard to test this unknown community of the future, which claims itself to be so liberal and tolerant...

Think about it and you probably think about yourself.

Greetings LoganSan

P.S.: Don't mind my bad English... :)