A documentary about "Trekkies" or "Trekkers"
or whatever they call themselves, narrated/reported by Denise
Crosby (the blonde Security Chief chick on early ST: TNG),
featuring some interviews with ST cast members (Spock, Janeway,
Q, Data, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, Jordie, goofy
looking chef-alien on Deep Space 9; but no Kirk or Picard or even
Avery Brooks).
The documentary is reasonably enjoyable, especially early on.
It's like going to the zoo, or, more accurately, it's like going
to a human menagerie of dysfunctional persons. If the documentary
means to humanize these freaks, it usually fails; here sunshine
does not cut through the darkness of predjudice, but rather
illuminates these goofballs in a harsh and unforgiving light.
Here you'll see the jurist who attended a Whitewater trial
wearing her full Star Trek uniform every day, complete with
communicator and phaser. She tells you that just as actual
military officers are required to wear their uniforms every day (actually,
they're not, but whatever), so is she required as an Lieutennant
Commander of Starfleet. And people she works with call her "Commander,"
per her request.
And then there are scads of Klingons. Apparently plump women
with bursting bosoms are especially drawn to the Klingon way of
life; you'll see a lot of them.
The film runs out of steam towards the end; there's only so
long this sort of goofiness is enjoyable, and it begins to repeat
itself quite a bit. Oddly, this cheap little film doesn't manage
to snag long interviews with more than five or six Trekkies;
rather than seeing new freaks in the last hour, we just see more
and more footage of the same freaks from the first hour.
Annoying, that. It feels like padding because it IS padding.
But make sure you watch the comedians who perform as the
closing trailers run. There's one guy who does hilarious
imitations of Kirk and Worf, definitely worth watching.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
PS: I know there are quite a few famous Trekkies, including
Seinfeld's Jason Alexander. I'd have liked to have seen some of
them, and hear them talk about Trek; the only one shown is
somewhat-famous comic-book writer/artist Erik Larson, and even I
barely know who he is.
And if you've ever heard Jason Alexander explain his fixation
on Star Trek and Kirk, you'd know why. (When he auditioned for
Equus at college, he did his role as a perfect imitation of
William Shatner/Kirk. He says "I thought that's what good
acting was." The director told him, "Well, I don't know
if you're right for the role, but that's the best William Shatner
I've ever seen.")
