Trekkies (film)

Trekkies is a 1997 documentary film directed by Roger Nygard about the devoted fans of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek.[1] It is the first film released by Paramount Vantage, then known as Paramount Classics, and stars Denise Crosby (best known for her portrayal of Security Chief Tasha Yar on the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Trekkies
Original movie poster
Directed byRoger Nygard
Produced byW.K. Border (producer)
Denise Crosby (co-executive producer)
Michael Leahy (associated producer)
Scott Nimerfro (associate producer)
Joel Soisson (executive producer)
StarringDenise Crosby (interviewer)
Music byJ.J. Holiday
Billy Sullivan
Walter Wertzowa
Jimmie Wood
CinematographyHarris Done
Edited byRoger Nygard
Distributed byParamount Vantage[1]
Release date
October 18, 1997
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$375,000 (estimated)

Contents

The film contains interviews with Star Trek devotees, more commonly known as Trekkies. The fans range from people who dress as Klingons to members of Brent Spiner fan clubs and includes a club that is producing a Star Trek movie of their own. Trekkies includes many Star Trek actors and fans including Barbara Adams,[1] the Whitewater scandal trial juror who arrived in court in her Starfleet uniform.[1] Another prominent profilee was Gabriel Köerner, who attained minor celebrity status as a result of his role in the film.

Production

After she worked with director Roger Nygard in his television film High Strung (1991), former Star Trek: The Next Generation actress Denise Crosby suggested that they should work together on a documentary regarding Star Trek fandom.[lower-alpha 1] Nygard thought it was a good idea and was surprised that it had not been done before. The first filming session took place at the Fantasticon science fiction convention at the Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles organised by William Campbell.[lower-alpha 2] Nygard felt that the footage from this first convention was good enough to warrant continuing with the project.[5]

Release

Trekkies received a national release in the United States on May 21, 1999. It was in direct competition with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[6]

Reception

Colin Covert gave three and a half stars in his review for the Star Tribune, adding that it was likely to shake up the viewers opinions of Star Trek fans. He praised the structure of the film, with the initial "shock value" of each fan being followed up with further background to round out the portrait.[7] Renee Graham at the Boston Globe gave a similar opinion, saying that despite the expectation of the reviewer, none of the opinions put forward by Trekkies felt like a "put-down". She summed up the documentary by saying "The Trekkie phenomenon may fall short of common definitions of normalcy, but as a film, 'Trekkies' sure beats sleeping outside for days to see a mediocre movie about some galaxy far, far away."[8]

Bob Stauss, the film critic for the Los Angeles Daily News gave two and a half stars, saying that the documentary goes on too long and did not delve into the "real psychological issues raised by such obsessive interest". He added that the fans were "amusing for about 15 minutes, tops" and that the cumulative effect of watching the fans for that long was "numbing".[9] James Verniere for the Boston Herald gave three stars, suggesting that Nyland may have found his niche as the "Michael Moore of weirdness" with this and his following film, Six Days in Roswell. Verniere suggested that Trekkies wasn't as definitive as the film Free Enterprise (1999) but described it as an "interesting, often hilarious piece of sociological comedy".[6] Alicia Potter, also at the Boston Herald, described the film as "surreally funny".[10]

Sequels

In 2004, a sequel was released, titled Trekkies 2. This documentary travels throughout the world, mainly in Europe, to show fans of Star Trek from outside the United States. It also revisits memorable fans featured in the previous film.

Nygard sought to answer some of the criticism received from Trekkies in the sequel, in that he was accused of not showing "normal" fans. With this in mind, he attempted to include some degree of a description of what was normal fan behaviour and what was more unusual.[5]

In an interview with TrekNews.net at the Star Trek Mission: New York convention in September 2016, Crosby talked about the potential for another documentary about Star Trek:

We do want to make a Trekkies 3. In earnest, we’re hoping to get started in two more years. We have to time it with the rights and all the legal stuff. There’s a lot of politics involved. We approached CBS/Viacom/Paramount [who own various rights to Star Trek] already and there’s interest. So fingers crossed. When producing these documentaries, I’m always delighted by the surprise at something we didn’t expect, such as the stories people tell and interacting with the fans, hearing stories. I never get tired of it..."[11]

Notes
  1. Crosby portrayed season one main cast character Tasha Yar in The Next Generation.[2]
  2. Campbell appeared as Trelene in The Original Series episode "The Squire of Gothos" and as the Klingon captain Koloth in "The Trouble with Tribbles".[3][4] His final appearance in Star Trek was in the Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath", where he reprised the role of Koloth.[4]
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References
  1. Gleiberman, Owen (May 28, 1999). "Trekkies". Entertainment Weekly.
  2. Nemecek (2003): p. 18
  3. Gerrold (1973): p. 276
  4. Hoffman, Jordan (March 27, 2013). "One Trek Mind: Remembering "Blood Oath"". Star Trek.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  5. Brew, Simon (June 2, 2009). "Interview: Roger Nygard on Trekkies, Trekkies 2 and The Nature Of Existence". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  6. Verniere, James (May 21, 1999). "'Trekkies' Takes us to Space, the Final Frontier". Boston Herald. HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  7. Covert, Colin (May 21, 1999). "'Trekkies a Portrait of Die-Hard Life". Star Tribune. HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  8. Graham, Renee (May 21, 1999). "'Trekkies' Charts a Phenomenon's Course". Boston Globe. HighBeam Research. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  9. Strauss, Bob (May 21, 1999). "'Trekkies' Too Much, Not Enough". Los Angeles Daily News. HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  10. Potter, Alicia (May 23, 1999). "Phasers on Fun: 'Trekkies' Catalogs Fan Worship". Boston Herald. HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  11. "EXCLUSIVE: Denise Crosby Talks Trekkies 3, TNG, Star Trek Online". TrekNews.net. Retrieved 2017-07-09.

Bibliography
  • Gerrold, David (1973). The Trouble with Tribbles: The Birth, Sale and Final Production of one Episode (2004 BenBalla ed.). Dallas, TX: BenBalla Books.
  • Nemecek, Larry (2003). Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-5798-6.
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