Trekkies (1997)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Roger Nygard

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (Hungary)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

A hilarious look at the universe's most fervent fans.

Plot:

A film about the fans of the various versions of "Star Trek".

Plot Keywords:

Star Trek | Fan | Dentist | TV Show | Obsession

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Denise Crosby	...	Herself
Barbara Adams	...	Herself
Denis Bourguignon	...	Himself (as The Denis Bourguignon Family)
David Greenstein	...	Himself
Laurel Greenstein	...	Herself
Gabriel Köerner	...	Himself
Richard Koerner	...	Himself
Rich Kronfeld	...	Himself
Joyce Mason	...	Herself
Evelyn De Biase	...	Herself
Anne Kathleen Murphy	...	Herself (as Anne Murphy)
Majel Barrett	...	Herself (as Majel Barrett Roddenberry)
James Doohan	...	Himself
DeForest Kelley	...	Himself
Walter Koenig	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild sexual and drug references.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | USA:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

NEO Motion Pictures

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: Crazy Customs (#6.5)" (2008)

infinite diversity in strange combinations

A documentary for Trekkies, made by Trekkies, about Trekkies. Trekkies are Star Trek fans, usually very obsessed fans (there is a brief segment on the debate between what are 'Trekkies' and 'Trekkers', but no conclusions are reached). The film, hosted by Crosby (who played Tasha Yar on the Next Generation TV series), who's also a producer, focuses on the whole gamut of far-flung Trek fans, including, famously, the juror who showed up in Trek uniform, and the dentist who converted his office into a Trek starbase. Then there's the guy who recreated a motorized life-support chair (from an early classic Trek episode) and rides around in it on his town's streets, only his head visible poking up from the top. Most of the fans come across as harmless eccentrics who are actually fairly intelligent (the one exception is a guy who, for some reason, seems to be wearing a female wig and lipstick - kinda creepy - I think he thinks he's Troi of the TNG series). The central message conveyed is a hope for a better future, without prejudices or other social problems. It that sense, these fans are, indeed, more advanced than the average citizen, who is still stuck with the 20th-century's petty squabbling and short-sightedness. There are also short interviews with several of the classic and Next Generation cast members,including (poignantly) DeForest Kelley, who died in '99, and Leonard Nimoy(Spock), Jimmy Doohan(Scotty), Walter Koenig(Chekov), Nichelle Nichols(Uhura), Brent Spiner(Data), Michael Dorn(Worf), Jonathan Frakes(Riker) and Kate Mulgrew(Capt.Janeway). Some relate very touching stories about how the show literally changed someone's life for the better, including a suicide prevention by Doohan, who died recently. It also touches briefly on the fringe element of Trek worship, the pornographic fantasy trade. The end credits contain clips from some stand-up comics doing Trek jokes, which are pretty funny. All in all, pretty comprehensive; it just fails to wrap it all up smoothly and almost seems to end with an unspoken question. Hm, but there was a sequel last year.