Monday, November 15, 2004

Trekkies 2: Electric Boogaloo

SPOILERLIKE....
If you can call commentary on a documentary spoilers.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I avoided watching this movie at first because the first Trekkies was so painful to watch. It seemed to make anyone who ever donned a Starfleet uniform look like a mentally unstable pariah with OCD. After watching Trekkies 2, I didn't feel so guilty for being a geek. Let's face it, the folks in the movie are cool and uncool at the same time. They are a wacky mirror universe version of almost every science fiction fan closet or otherwise.

Denise Crosby seemed like she could care less about the movie but was using this documentary as an excuse to travel the world. Or maybe it seemed that way because I'm jealous that I didn't get to travel the world. Yeah, that's it. I must admit that she handled herself well and she never once belittled anyone. She's very nice but she was noticeably creeped out at times. She did her job of making people feel comfortable talking about Star Trek. Good job!

I really enjoyed the revisit of Gabriel Koerner. After his appearance in the first Trekkies, he got a lot of flack for mispronouncing words like debacle. For some reason people loved it when he said, "This is the worst time you could have called. Go away!". I thought it was funny but I would never call the guy up and have him say it. We also find out that Gabe got laid. I'm glad he found love and all but when the couple started talking about sex, the human thing is to visualize the two together. I cringed at the thought and wanted to burn my brain. They are a cute couple but I'm issuing a mandate that they never talk about sex in public again.

I must admit that the Serbia visit was a surprise. We find out that Star Trek fans everywhere are arrogant elitists. Ahhh. My people. :) Seriously, it was very cute to see the guy in Serbia so proud that he got into a Trek magazine. It made him so happy. I like stories like these.

Germany was HOT! They looked like they have the most fun. The attendance is phenomenal. It seems as if there isn't such a bad stigma attached to being a Trekkie in Germany.

I was amused when I saw Stovokor, The Klingon Death Metal Band. I ragged on these guys costumes on my blog back in October and pInluH of Stovokor posted a comment to let me know what he thought about that. I felt bad that he was insulted. I was just messing around. To be fair, the pic that I saw of them was a small and blurry. The costumes actually looked better on camera. After listening to the guys and what they had to say, their costumes became unimportant. They don't take themselves that seriously and they are out to have fun. Stovokor is a hilarious bunch. They were yelling at an old man with a cane for looking at them. I was almost in tears from that skit. Of all the Trek musicians they had one of the best lines.
"When reality stops being so lame, we'll stop doing this". Amen brother!

I did NOT enjoy the folk or filk as they called it. I'm not into folk music it all. I like my music hard and aggressive. The Indispensable Guy Twins were very... distant. I got what they were saying though. It basically dedicated to the red- shirts. I was entertained to see the other bands dedicated to making music about Star Trek. No Kill I's plastic coated rat won me over. That bass player is wacky. (In a good way)
So there's No Kill I, No Kill I: The Next Generation and No Kill I: Deep Space 9; Clever in that funny way. Those guys all had a great sense of humor and looked like they had huge fun.

My favorite was Romeo and Juliete: The Last Battlefield. The Kirk character is phenomenal. This is a guy that went to the William Shatner School of Acting and it was a good thing. I'd love to see this.

We even get an appearance by the almighty Brannon Braga. He explained how some fan was going on about how crabs should be incorporated into the design of the Enterprise. He did it all with a straight face but the invisible smirk and John Stewart styled commentary about the crabs let you know that he has a sense of humor too. Honestly, I don't know how he puts up with us.

The crab guy doesn't seem serious but does appear to have a unique sense of humor. It seems like some of these people are just great pranksters. The guy calling Paramount in a New York gangster voice talking about the gold sounds like a Crank Yankers episode waiting to happen.

Let me do a 180 and mention that Brannon Braga is cute. After his scene, I was left with a desire to kiss him all over that cute little face of his. He should know by now that us Trekkie nerd girls think condescending men are hot.

I must admit, when I wore my Starfleet uniform, I wasn't serious. I totally went after the laughs. My friends thought it was hilarious and after Halloween was over, the uniform went back into the closet. I would never where the uniform to court, work, grocery store, etc. That's my opinion. I do agree that if you want to wear one, that you should be able to wear it wear ever you want. It's just a style of clothing. There are plenty people out there making way worse fashion decisions.

Some of the fans aren't so funny. My comfort zone borders are violated at the Trip poetry. It was funny but it bordered... pathetic is such a harsh word for a lady with such a great sense of humor. I'll just say it wasn't my thing and leave it at that. One lady's back had a huge Enterprise tattooed on her back. One lady had a tattoo of Conner Trineer on her back and showed him. That bordered creepy in my world but it made her happy.

There was a guy in England who transformed his entire flat into a starship. He focused on a piece that he was so obsessed with that his wife left him. The place was phenomenal though. I would have kept it confined to one room so I'd at least have a room to sleep in. The man sleeps on the floor. I'd also like to note that Gabe's dad's wife left him because he was obssessed withbuilding a Star Trek set. There were also a lot of people who had pains in their life who found relief in Star Trek as if it was a drug or therapy. On film it's something to point out and analyze but behind closed doors it's something we all relate to.

Star Trek is escapism, therapy, a creative outlet, social commentary, speculative thinking about the future, a venue for new technology and a bad ass show. Trekkies 2 does an excellent job this time around. I am annoyed at the exclusion of Asia, Africa and Russia. According to the site, if there is a Trekkies 3, they will be included.

So....
What is so embarrassing about a person who likes Star Trek? Where does the shame come in? Where does the weirdness come in? Where does lack of acceptance come in?
What is normal?
I guess that's a different study and documentary. Casey Biggs wrapped the film up nicely by saying, "In 50 years they won't be doing ER conventions or CSI conventions, but in 50 years they will still be doing Star Trek conventions."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You missed the most important line...

"A trekkie runs screaming down the isles shouting spock lines... a TREKKER WALKS DOWN THE ISLES"

I consider myself a Trekker..

I loved the movie... and have ordred some of the CD's from the bands... no filk... just great punk and death metal... Love it Love it Love it!!

Warren Harris
AlphaGeek and Dogsbody to the Kite Goddess Sandra.