Eye Candy #458 - "Trekkies"

Trekkies: I’ve heard about this documentary for a great long while, but have never brought myself to actually rent it. Growing up in the household I did, my dad usually had control of what was shown on the TV most of the time, which meant my brothers and I grew up watching reruns of “Hill Street Blues”, “The Equalizer”, football, war movies, and the occasional re-run of “Star Trek”. My dad was a huge Star Trek fan. I remember one Halloween my brothers and I dressing up as Kirk, Bones, and Spock (though I remember my Spock ears being particularly lame in retrospect). It was also about the same time the first movie came out. It was a big deal in my house when “Star Trek The Next Generation” started (it’s the only TV show I can remember my mother being excited was premiering, since she is not a TV person). All that is to say, I know Star Trek.  ‘Trekkies’ takes a close look at Star Trek fans, conventions, their habits and idiosyncra-cies, and how the various stars of Star Trek deal with that kind of fame. These fans of Star Trek are MUCH more extreme in their devotion to the show, whether it be the 14-year-old kid obsessed with Star Trek uniforms, the people dressed up as Klingons ordering fast food, or the dentist who owns “Starbase Dental”, these people have an identification with the show much stronger than any I have. Seriously. And sure, there are a percentage of people who are obviously not socially well-adjusted, but there are others who just enjoy it for the fun of it.  We’ve got most of the original cast participating (William Shatner is featured in footage but has no direct interviews), but Koenig, Nimoy, Kelley, Nichols, Doohan, and Takei are present, as well as actors from the newer generation of shows (no Patrick Stewart or most of the DS9 cast, interestingly enough; it’s too old to feature anyone from “Enterprise”).  Denise Crosby, who didn’t have a career before or after ST:TNG, is the narrator and guide through this particular world of strangeness. Everything is approached with a great deal of humor, and while many of the people are portrayed are extremely strange, they are not insulted or portrayed in an unflattering manner.  An entertaining documentary (I understand there is also a sequel which I will probably check out as well).  Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”