Trekkies

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are among the stars who appear in this uproariously offbeat 1999 documentary that explores the phenomenon of obsessive fans of the “Star Trek” franchise. The film features footage from Trek conventions and anecdotes shared by actors and actresses. Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” hosts. Roger Nygard directed. Jonathan Frakes., Thirty years ago, science-fiction editor Art Saha coined the term “trekkies” when he saw a few fans of Star Trek’s first season wearing pointy ears. Today, the word is found in the Oxford dictionary, and aficionados of the long-run series have seen their subculture achieve stratospheric status. In this documentary on the fan mania surrounding Star Trek, Denise Crosby (Star Trek: the Next Generation) serves as tour guide, stopping off at a radio talkshow, visiting fans in their homes, interviewing actors of both the original and later series, and visiting fan clubs and conventions. Starbase Dental, a Trek-themed drilling station operated by dentist Dr. Denis Bourguignon, is only one of the unusual fan homages revealed here. World premiere at the 1997 Hamptons and AFI Los Angeles film festivals., Documentary on the illogical world of Star Trek fans, from the dentist whose surgery and employees’ uniforms recreate the Enterprise, to a horde of Klingons who take over a McDonalds restaurant., It may sound illogical, captain, but this oddly compelling documentary is all about the folk for whom Star Trek is not just great TV – it’s an obsession., A look at the phenomenon of obsessive Star Trek fans, featuring footage from Trek conventions and interviews.