Subject: I saw TREKKIES last night Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 21:50:25 -0500 From: "The Seeker" <seeklots@midusa.net> Organization: Another Netscape Collabra Server User Newsgroups: startrek.filmtrekkies

We went and saw Trekkies last night. What a blast! This is one of the funniest movies to come out in a while. The documentary style approach to the film only serves to set you up for all of the tongue in cheek humor. I think that this movie really hits the nail on the head. Just like Star Trek in all of its many forms, this movie is just plain FUN.

There were a whopping 12 people in the small theater here in Lawrence, Kansas during the Friday night showing. The theater is only showing the film once a day, around 9:30 PM. I don't know if that is helping or hurting attendance, but everyone in the theater seemed to enjoy the film. There were lots of laughs. Toward the end of the film, just when James Doohan is summing things up, the film started to flutter in the projector, and then it got stuck and began to melt. A glob of melted celluloid began in the middle and quickly spread throughout the entire frame. Although this was, in a way, unfortunate, it just added to the experience of seeing TREKKIES. At first, I wasn't sure if it was a part of the movie. Someone shouted out, in true South Park form, "My God! They killed Scotty!"

Anyway, I got a kick out of the Dentist. Now there is a dentist who knows how to relieve dental anxiety! I also liked the story about the "Q Virus", the cat named "Bones", the "Spiner-Femmes", the inventor who rode around in his homemade "Captain Pike-mobile", Braga's examples of the kinds of things fans send to Paramount, and the differing distinctions between the terms "Trekkie" and Trekker". By the way, did anyone besides be think that Kate Mulgrew got it completely backwards?

Humor aside, I was genuinely impressed with the creative group of fans who were working on a production of their own, from creating a script, new uniforms, back-story, and their own CG effects. WOW !!! I would love to be associated with a group of fans like that. I hope that they complete their production, as I would like to see it!

To sum up my review of TREKKIES, I'll just say it is a fun movie that expertly portrays the fans as they are, from plain normal folks to the deeply weird and eccentric. It also portrays *fandom* from all angles. From convention merchandise dealers, from the actors involved, and from the fans themselves.

To quote a Trekism: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

Did I mention that there were even 5 girls in the theater? :-)

Craig