Trekkies (1997)

Denise Crosby takes a first look at the huge fans of "Star Trek" and how the series from around America has affected and shaped their lives.

Director:

Roger Nygard

Stars:

Denise Crosby, Frank D'Amico, Barbara Adams

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denise Crosby	...	Herself
Barbara Adams	...	Herself - 'Star Trek' Fan
Denis Bourguignon	...	Himself - 'Star Trek' Fan (as The Denis Bourguignon Family)
David Greenstein	...	Himself - 'Star Trek' Fan
Laurel Greenstein	...	Herself - 'Star Trek' Fan
Gabriel Köerner	...	Himself - 'Star Trek' Fan
Richard Koerner	...	Himself - Gabriel's Father (as Richard Köerner)
Rich Kronfeld	...	Himself - 'Star Trek' Fan (as Richard Kronfeld)
Joyce Mason	...	Herself - 'Star Trek' Fan
Evelyn De Biase	...	Herself - 'Star Trek' Fan
Anne Kathleen Murphy	...	Herself - 'Star Trek' Fan (as Anne Murphy)
Majel Barrett	...	Herself (as Majel Barrett Roddenberry)
James Doohan	...	Himself
DeForest Kelley	...	Himself
Walter Koenig	...	Himself

Storyline

From a television series that barely lasted three seasons in the 1960s, Star Trek has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry involving several spin-off series, numerous movies, and countless merchandise items. This phenomenon is due to the series' legions of rabidly devoted fans, popularly known as "Trekkies". Star Trek actress Denise Crosby provides an affectionate and humorous look at some of these people, who demonstrate how Star Trek has affected and even shaped their lives. Several members of the series' cast and creative team also describe what the series and its fans mean to them.

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Plot Keywords:

star trek | autograph | dentist | geek culture | outer space | 

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Taglines:

There's one born every day.

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Genres:

Documentary | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild sexual and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Neo Motion Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

Trekkerek

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$375,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$125,636, 23 May 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$318,246, 20 June 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

NEO Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

DeForest Kelley: My favorite fan letter I received, I opened it up and there was a marijuana cigarette glued to a piece of cardboard and a photo of a very delightful-looking young girl, and she said, "you have turned me on so many times, I thought I would return the favor."
[laughs]
DeForest Kelley: I kept that one.

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated to the memory of "Bones" Frazetti - a Trekkie Cat.

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Connections

References Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)

User Reviews

no reason to get so upset

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....)