MSNBC, Joe Leydon,

"'Trekkies' an affectionate look at hard-core 'Star Trek' fans." "Perhaps you thought Barbara Adams, that prospective juror who showed up for a Whitewater trial in full Starfleet Commander regalia, seemed a little peculiar. If so, then "Trekkies," Roger Nygard's slight but likable documentary about "Star Trek" fanatics, will confirm that first impression. ... Adams' eccentricities are a source of considerable amusement for friends and strangers alike. But when you see her in the context that Nygard so vividly provides in "Trekkies," she seems normal. (Well, "normal" might be overstating the case.) But she's definitely restrained, comparatively speaking. ... Nygard's amusement never gives way to mean-spirited hectoring. "Trekkies" is a tricky piece of work. On one hand, Nygard obviously thinks the "Star Trek" fans are comical in their fanaticism. Yet Nygard's amusement never gives way to mean-spirited hectoring, and the documentarian is fair enough to reveal that the fans Ñ well, OK, many of the fans Ñ are in on the joke as they laugh at themselves. ... During one especially funny sequence, interviewees struggle to maintain straight faces as they none-too-seriously debate whether "Trekkie" or "Trekker" is the preferred nomenclature. (Kate Mulgrew, star of "Star Trek: Voyager," makes a strong case for the "Trekker" label: "To trek means to go some place.") ... "Trekkies," is surprisingly benign, even affectionate, as it gives us an up-close-and-personal look at "Star Trek" conventions and conventioneers, and examines how the hard-core devotees keep the faith while maneuvering through a universe of non-believers and jeering skeptics. To be sure, you might not want some of these people as next-door neighbors, or even as temporary traveling companions on long-distance airline flights. For example: Gabriel Koerner, a 14-year-old fanatic who often sounds like he's channeling Dan Aykroyd, has all the appeal of fingernails on a blackboard. But there is something positively wholesome about the cross-generational camaraderie that "Star Trek" inspires in true believers. As a precocious youngster says at an intimate gathering of the faithful, "This is the only place I know of where you can goof off, and grown-ups goof off the same way."

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