Trekkie
Encyclopedia
A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan
of the Star Trek
franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.
In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W. Saha
applied the term "trekkies" when he saw a few fans of the first season of Star Trek: The Original Series
wearing pointy ears at the 25th World Science Fiction Convention
, on the day series creator Gene Roddenberry
showed a print of "Amok Time" to the convention. Saha used the term in an interview with Pete Hamill
that Hamill was conducting for TV Guide
concerning the phenomenon of science fiction.
The first Star Trek fanzine
, Spockanalia, appeared in September 1967, including the first published fan fiction
based on the show. Roddenberry, who was aware of and encouraged such activities, a year later estimated that 10,000 wrote or read fanzines. Many early Trekkies were also fans of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
(1964–1968), another show with science fiction elements and a devoted, "cult"-like audience. Perhaps the first large gathering of fans occurred in January 1968 when more than 200 Caltech students marched to NBC's Burbank, California
studio to support Star Treks renewal. The first fan convention
devoted to the show occurred on 1 March 1969 at the Newark Public Library
. Organized by a librarian who was one of the creators of Spockanalia, the "Star Trek Con" did not have celebrity guests but did have "slide shows of ‘Trek’ aliens, skits and a fan panel to discuss ‘The Star Trek Phenomenon.’" Some fans were so devoted that they complained to a Canadian TV station when it preempted the show in July 1969 for coverage of Apollo 11
.
The Trekkie phenomenon did not come to the attention of the general public, however, until after the show was cancelled in 1969 and rerun
s entered syndication
. The first widely publicized fan convention occurred in January 1972 at the Hotel Pennsylvania
in New York, featuring Roddenberry, Isaac Asimov
, and two tons of NASA
memorabilia. The organizers expected 500 attendees at the "First International Star Trek Convention" but more than 3,000 came, making it the largest science-fiction convention in history. By then more than 100 fanzines about the show existed, its reruns were syndicated to 125 American TV stations and 60 other countries, and news reports on the convention caused other fans, who had believed themselves to be alone, to organize. Major and minor cast members soon began attending conventions around the United States, which so grew in popularity that the media cited Beatlemania
and Trudeaumania
as examples to describe the emerging "cultural phenomenon". 6,000 attended the 1973 New York convention and 15,000 attended in 1974, much larger figures than at older events like the 4,500 at the 32nd Worldcon
in 1974. By then the demand from Trekkies was large enough that rival convention organizers began to sue each other.
Because Star Trek was set in the future the show did not become dated, and by airing during the late afternoon or early evening when other stations showed news programs it attracted a young audience. The reruns' great popularity—greater than when Star Trek originally aired in prime time—caused Paramount to receive thousands of letters each week demanding the show's return and promising that it would be profitable. (The fans were correct; by the mid-1990s Star Trek—now called within Paramount "the franchise
"—had become the studio's single most-important property, and Paramount sponsored its first convention in 1996.) The entire cast reunited for the first time at an August 1975 Chicago convention that 16,000 attended. "Star Trek" Lives!, an early history and exploration of Trekkie culture published that year, was the first mass-market book to introduce fan fiction and other aspects of fandom to a wide audience. By 1976 there were more than 250 Star Trek clubs, and at least three rival groups organized 25 conventions that attracted thousands to each. "Unprecedented" crowds visited a 1992 Star Trek exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution
's National Air and Space Museum
, and in 1994, when Star Trek reruns still aired in 94% of the United States, over 400,000 attended 130 conventions.
hosted an episode
of Saturday Night Live
. In one skit, he played himself as a guest at a Star Trek convention, where the audience focuses on trivial information about the show and Shatner's personal life. The annoyed actor advises them to "get a life". "For crying out loud," Shatner continues, "it's just a TV show!" He asks one Trekkie whether he has "ever kissed a girl". The embarrassed fans ask if, instead of the TV shows, they should focus on the Star Trek films instead. The angry Shatner leaves but because of his contract must return, and tells the Trekkies that they saw a "recreation of the evil
Captain Kirk from from episode 27, 'The Enemy Within.'"
The "much-discussed sketch" accurately portrayed Shatner's feelings about Star Trek fans, which the actor had previously discussed in interviews. He had met overenthusiastic fans as early as April 1968, when a group attempted to rip Shatner's clothes off as the actor left 30 Rockefeller Plaza. He was slower than others to begin attending conventions, and stopped attending for more than a decade during the 1970s and 1980s. In one of "so many instances over the years" of fan excess, police captured a man with a gun at a German event before he could find Shatner.
The Saturday Night Live segment mentioned many common stereotypes about Trekkies, including their willingness to buy any Star Trek-related merchandise, obsessive study of unimportant details of the show, and inability to have conventional social interactions with others or distinguish between fantasy and reality. As with all stereotypes, these views were not completely inaccurate; Brent Spiner
found that some could not accept that the actor who played Data
was human, and Roddenberry stated
A Newsweek
cover article, also in December 1986, also cited many such stereotypes, depicting Star Trek fans as overweight and socially maladjusted "kooks" and "crazies". Both the sketch and the article are representative of many media depictions of Trekkies, with fascination with Star Trek a common metaphor for useless, "fetishistic" obsession with a topic; fans thus often hide their devotion to avoid social stigma
. Such depictions have helped popularize a view of devoted fans, not just of Star Trek, as potential fanatics. Reinforced by the well-known acts of violence by John Hinckley, Jr.
and Mark David Chapman
, the sinister, obsessed "fan in the attic" has become a stock character
in works such as the films The Fan
(1981) and Misery
(1990).
and New Age
groups"—albeit more universal in its appeal and more organized—and civil religion
.
The religious devotion of Star Treks fans began almost immediately. When Roddenberry previewed the new show at a 1966 science-fiction convention, he and his creation received a rapturous response:
The showing divided the convention into two factions, the "enlightened" who had seen the preview and the "unenlightened" who had not. The humanist
Roddenberry, however, disliked his role as involuntary prophet of a religion. Although he depended on Trekkies to support future Star Trek projects, Roddenberry stated that
Religious aspects of Star Trek fandom nonetheless grew, according to Jindra, with the show's popularity. Conventions are an opportunity for fans to visit "another world...very much cut off from the real world...You can easily forget your own troubles as well as those of the world", with one convention holding an event in which a newborn baby was "baptized" into the "Temple of Trek" amid chanting. Star Trek museum exhibits, film studios, attractions, and other locations such as Vulcan, Alberta
offer opportunities to perform pilgrimages to "our Mecca
". A fan astounded Nimoy by asking him to lay his hands
on a friend's eyes to heal them
. Fandom does not necessarily take the place of preexisting faith, with Christian and New Age adherents both finding support for their worldviews.
Star Trek writer and director Nicholas Meyer
compares the show to the Catholic Mass:
He adds:
, many Trekkies identify with Roddenberry's idealism, and use their desire to bring such a future into reality as justification for their participation in and consumption of Star Trek media, activities, and merchandise, often citing the Vulcan philosophy of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Such fans view Star Trek as a way to be with "'my kind of people'" in "'a better world'" where they will not be scorned or mocked despite being part of "stigmatized social categories". Rather than "sit[ting] here and wait for the future to happen", local fan groups may serve as service club
s that volunteer at blood drive
s and food bank
s. For them,
Despite their common interests fans differ in their levels of—and willingness to display and discuss—their devotion because of the perceived social stigma, and "[o]vercoming the Trekkie stigma entails a form of freedom and self-acceptance that has been compared to homosexual uncloseting
." To outsiders the wearing of Starfleet uniforms
, usually devalued as "costumes", is a symbol of their preconceptions of and unease with Trekkies. Kozinets cites the example of a debate at a Star Trek fan club's board meeting on whether board members should be required to wear uniforms to public events as an example of "not only...the cultural tensions of acceptance and denial of stigmatized identity, but the articulation and intensification of group meanings that can serve to counterargue stigma."
Despite fans' stated vision of Star Trek as a way of celebrating diversity, however, Kozinets found that among the Trekkies he observed at clubs "most of the members were very similar in age, ethnic origin, and race. Out of about 30 people present at meetings, I noted only two visible minorities." Also, "the vast majority of the club’s time was spent discussing previous and upcoming television and movie products, related books, merchandise, and conventions", and club meetings and conventions focused on consumption rather than discussion of current affairs or societal improvement. (Perhaps appropriately, "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" originated in a third-season episode, "Is There in Truth No Beauty?", in which Roddenberry inserted a speech by Kirk praising the philosophy and associated medal. The "pointless" speech was, according to Shatner, a "thinly-veiled commercial" for replicas of the medal, which Roddenberry's company Lincoln Enterprises soon sold to fans.)
was among the leaders of the successful effort to persuade NBC to renew the show for a third season, and wrote the first edition of the important early work Star Trek Concordance
in 1969, while Joan Winston
organized the 1972 New York convention and several later ones, and was one of the authors of "Star Trek" Lives!. While men participate in many fandom activities such as writing articles for fan publications and organizing conventions, women comprise the large majority of fan club administrators, fanfiction authors, and fanzine editors, and the Mary Sue
-like "story premise of a female protagonist aboard the Enterprise who romances one of the Star Trek regulars, [became] very common in fanzine stories." So many single women left fan activities after getting married that one female fanzine editor speculated that the show was a substitute for sex. One scholar speculates that Kirk/Spock
slash fiction
is a way for women to "openly discuss sexuality in a non-judgmental manner."
By 1976, media reports on Star Trek conventions acknowledged the two types of fans:
In the 1991 TV show Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special, Leonard Nimoy
attempted to settle the issue by stating that the term 'Trekker' is a more preferred term; during an appearance on Saturday Night Live to promote the 2009 Star Trek film, Nimoy—seeking to assure Chris Pine
and Zachary Quinto
, the "new" Kirk and Spock, that most fans would embrace them—initially referred to "Trekkies" before correcting himself and saying "Trekkers", emphasizing the second syllable. In the documentary Trekkies, Kate Mulgrew
stated that Trekkers are the ones "walking with us" while the Trekkies are the ones content to simply sit and watch Star Trek. According to Patrick Stewart
, the actors dislike being called Trekkies and are careful to distinguish between themselves and the Trekkie audience. He objected, however, when an interviewer described Trekkies as "weird", calling it a "silly thing to say". Stewart added, "How many do you know personally? You couldn't be more wrong."
The issue is also shown in the film Trekkies 2
, in which a Star Trek fan recounts a supposed incident during a Star Trek convention where Gene Roddenberry
used the term "trekkies" to describe fans of the show, only to be corrected by a fan that stood up and yelled "Trekkers!" Gene Roddenberry allegedly responded with "No, it's 'Trekkies.' I should know — I invented the thing."
is the best series of the franchise adopted the title of Niner following the episode "Take Me Out to the Holosuite
", in which Captain Benjamin Sisko
formed a baseball team "The Niners".
(called "cons"). In 2003, STARFLEET was the world's largest Star Trek fan club; as of January 1, 2011, it claimed to have 4,145 members in 228 chapters around the world. Seventeen people have served as president of the association since 1975. Upon election, the president is promoted to the fictional rank of Fleet Admiral and is referred to as the "Commander, Starfleet". Since 2004, the president has served a term of three years. David Blaser became the association's president on January 1, 2011.
There is a persistent stereotype that amongst Trekkies there are many speakers of the constructed Klingon language
. The reality is less clear-cut, as some of its most fluent speakers are more language
aficionados than people obsessed with Star Trek. Most Trekkies have no more than a basic vocabulary of Klingon, perhaps consisting of a few common words heard innumerable times over the series, while not having much knowledge of Klingon's syntax
or precise phonetics
.
Another fan activity is filking
, that is playing or writing music about Star Trek.
, a bookbindery employee named Barbara Adams served as an alternate juror. During the trial Adams wore a Star Trek: The Next Generation
-style Star Fleet
Command Section uniform, including a commbadge, a phaser, and a tricorder
.
Adams was dismissed from the trial for conducting a sidewalk interview with the television program American Journal
. The major news media reported (wrongly) that she was dropped for wearing her Star Fleet uniform to the trial. However, Adams noted that she had been dropped because she had spoken to a reporter of American Journal about her Star Fleet uniform and not anything about the trial. Even though nothing she had said was deemed a trial-enclosure violation, the rule had been clearly stated: No juror was to communicate with the press in any manner whatsoever.
Adams stated that the judge at the trial was supportive of her. She said she believed in the principles expressed in Star Trek and found it an alternative to "mindless television" because it promoted tolerance, peace, and faith in mankind. Adams subsequently appeared in the documentaries Trekkies and Trekkies 2
.
. Actors such as Patrick Stewart
and Jonathan Frakes
have praised the accuracy of its satiric portrayal of a cancelled Star Trek-like show, its cast members, and their devoted fans known as "Questers". The main character Jason Nesmith, representing Shatner, repeats the actor's 1986 "Get a life!" statement when an avid fan asks him about the operation of the fictional vessel. Star Trek itself has satirized Trekkies' excessive obsession with imaginary characters, through Reginald Barclay
and his holodeck
addiction.
One episode of Futurama
called "Where No Fan Has Gone Before
" was dedicated to parodying Trekkies. It included a history whereby Star Trek's fandom had grown into a religion. Eventually the Church of Star Trek had grown so strong that it needed to be abolished from the Galaxy and even the words "Star Trek" were outlawed.
The 1999 film Free Enterprise
chronicled the lives of two men who grew up worshipping Star Trek and emulating Captain Kirk. Most of the movie centers on William Shatner, playing a parody of himself, and how the characters wrestle with their relationships to Star Trek.
The Broadway musical Avenue Q
partially parodies Trekkies through the inclusion of a character named Trekkie Monster
. This character is not a Trekkie, however, and is addicted to internet pornography
.
A Trekkie featured in one episode of the television show The West Wing
, during which Josh Lyman
confronts the temporary employee over her display of a Star Trek pin in the White House
.
The 2009 film Fanboys makes frequent references to Star Trek and the rivalry between Trekkies and Star Wars
fans. William Shatner makes a cameo appearance in the film.
The Family Guy
episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven
" features a Star Trek convention and many Trekkies. One Trekkie comes to the convention with the mumps
, and upon Peter Griffin
seeing him, he impulsively pushes his daughter Meg
into the Trekkie and forces her to take her picture with him (believing him to be in costume as an alien
from Star Trek). Since Meg was not immunised
, she catches the mumps from the Trekkie and ends up bedresting.
On the CBS-TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory
, the four main male characters are shown to be Trekkies, playing the game of "Klingon Boggle" and resolving disputes using the game of "rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock
." Wil Wheaton
of Star Trek: The Next Generation
fame has made multiple guest appearances playing an evil version of himself.
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
of the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.
History
Arthur W. Saha
Arthur William Saha was an American speculative fiction editor and anthologist, closely associated with publisher Donald A. Wollheim.-Life:...
applied the term "trekkies" when he saw a few fans of the first season of Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
wearing pointy ears at the 25th World Science Fiction Convention
25th World Science Fiction Convention
The 25th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as NyCon 3 or Nycon 3, was held August 31-September 4, 1967, at the Statler Hilton Hotel in New York, New York, USA....
, on the day series creator Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
showed a print of "Amok Time" to the convention. Saha used the term in an interview with Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
that Hamill was conducting for TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
concerning the phenomenon of science fiction.
The first Star Trek fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
, Spockanalia, appeared in September 1967, including the first published fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
based on the show. Roddenberry, who was aware of and encouraged such activities, a year later estimated that 10,000 wrote or read fanzines. Many early Trekkies were also fans of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
(1964–1968), another show with science fiction elements and a devoted, "cult"-like audience. Perhaps the first large gathering of fans occurred in January 1968 when more than 200 Caltech students marched to NBC's Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
studio to support Star Treks renewal. The first fan convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
devoted to the show occurred on 1 March 1969 at the Newark Public Library
Newark Public Library
The Newark Public Library is the public library system for the city of Newark, New Jersey.-History:In 1902 John Cotton Dana became employed at the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey from until his death in 1929. He established foreign language collections for immigrants and also developed...
. Organized by a librarian who was one of the creators of Spockanalia, the "Star Trek Con" did not have celebrity guests but did have "slide shows of ‘Trek’ aliens, skits and a fan panel to discuss ‘The Star Trek Phenomenon.’" Some fans were so devoted that they complained to a Canadian TV station when it preempted the show in July 1969 for coverage of Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
.
The Trekkie phenomenon did not come to the attention of the general public, however, until after the show was cancelled in 1969 and rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
s entered syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. The first widely publicized fan convention occurred in January 1972 at the Hotel Pennsylvania
Hotel Pennsylvania
The Hotel Pennsylvania is a hotel located at 401 7th Avenue in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City.- History :...
in New York, featuring Roddenberry, Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, and two tons of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
memorabilia. The organizers expected 500 attendees at the "First International Star Trek Convention" but more than 3,000 came, making it the largest science-fiction convention in history. By then more than 100 fanzines about the show existed, its reruns were syndicated to 125 American TV stations and 60 other countries, and news reports on the convention caused other fans, who had believed themselves to be alone, to organize. Major and minor cast members soon began attending conventions around the United States, which so grew in popularity that the media cited Beatlemania
Beatlemania
Beatlemania is a term that originated during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy directed toward The Beatles during the early years of their success...
and Trudeaumania
Trudeaumania
Trudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada...
as examples to describe the emerging "cultural phenomenon". 6,000 attended the 1973 New York convention and 15,000 attended in 1974, much larger figures than at older events like the 4,500 at the 32nd Worldcon
32nd World Science Fiction Convention
The 32nd World Science Fiction Convention, also known as Discon II, was held 29 August – 2 September 1974 at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., USA.The official co-chairmen were Jay and Alice Haldeman; Ron Bounds was the vice-chairman....
in 1974. By then the demand from Trekkies was large enough that rival convention organizers began to sue each other.
Because Star Trek was set in the future the show did not become dated, and by airing during the late afternoon or early evening when other stations showed news programs it attracted a young audience. The reruns' great popularity—greater than when Star Trek originally aired in prime time—caused Paramount to receive thousands of letters each week demanding the show's return and promising that it would be profitable. (The fans were correct; by the mid-1990s Star Trek—now called within Paramount "the franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
"—had become the studio's single most-important property, and Paramount sponsored its first convention in 1996.) The entire cast reunited for the first time at an August 1975 Chicago convention that 16,000 attended. "Star Trek" Lives!, an early history and exploration of Trekkie culture published that year, was the first mass-market book to introduce fan fiction and other aspects of fandom to a wide audience. By 1976 there were more than 250 Star Trek clubs, and at least three rival groups organized 25 conventions that attracted thousands to each. "Unprecedented" crowds visited a 1992 Star Trek exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, and in 1994, when Star Trek reruns still aired in 94% of the United States, over 400,000 attended 130 conventions.
Stereotypes
In December 1986, William ShatnerWilliam Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
hosted an episode
Saturday Night Live (Season 12)
Saturday Night Live aired its twelfth season during the 1986-1987 television season on NBC. The 12th season started on October 11, 1986, the 11th anniversary of the show's first episode, and ended on May 23, 1987....
of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. In one skit, he played himself as a guest at a Star Trek convention, where the audience focuses on trivial information about the show and Shatner's personal life. The annoyed actor advises them to "get a life". "For crying out loud," Shatner continues, "it's just a TV show!" He asks one Trekkie whether he has "ever kissed a girl". The embarrassed fans ask if, instead of the TV shows, they should focus on the Star Trek films instead. The angry Shatner leaves but because of his contract must return, and tells the Trekkies that they saw a "recreation of the evil
Evil twin
The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fictional genres. They are physical copies of protagonists, but with radically inverted moralities. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair, eyepatches, scars or distinctive...
Captain Kirk from from episode 27, 'The Enemy Within.'"
The "much-discussed sketch" accurately portrayed Shatner's feelings about Star Trek fans, which the actor had previously discussed in interviews. He had met overenthusiastic fans as early as April 1968, when a group attempted to rip Shatner's clothes off as the actor left 30 Rockefeller Plaza. He was slower than others to begin attending conventions, and stopped attending for more than a decade during the 1970s and 1980s. In one of "so many instances over the years" of fan excess, police captured a man with a gun at a German event before he could find Shatner.
The Saturday Night Live segment mentioned many common stereotypes about Trekkies, including their willingness to buy any Star Trek-related merchandise, obsessive study of unimportant details of the show, and inability to have conventional social interactions with others or distinguish between fantasy and reality. As with all stereotypes, these views were not completely inaccurate; Brent Spiner
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr...
found that some could not accept that the actor who played Data
Data (Star Trek)
Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...
was human, and Roddenberry stated
A Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
cover article, also in December 1986, also cited many such stereotypes, depicting Star Trek fans as overweight and socially maladjusted "kooks" and "crazies". Both the sketch and the article are representative of many media depictions of Trekkies, with fascination with Star Trek a common metaphor for useless, "fetishistic" obsession with a topic; fans thus often hide their devotion to avoid social stigma
Social stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...
. Such depictions have helped popularize a view of devoted fans, not just of Star Trek, as potential fanatics. Reinforced by the well-known acts of violence by John Hinckley, Jr.
John Hinckley, Jr.
John Warnock Hinckley, Jr., attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, as the culmination of an effort to impress teen actress Jodie Foster. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and has remained under institutional psychiatric care since...
and Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman is an American prison inmate who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He committed the crime as Lennon and Yoko Ono were outside of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman aimed five shots at Lennon, hitting him four times in his back...
, the sinister, obsessed "fan in the attic" has become a stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
in works such as the films The Fan
The Fan (1981 film)
The Fan is a 1981 thriller about a stalker menacing a movie star. It stars Lauren Bacall, Michael Biehn, James Garner and Maureen Stapleton. It was written by Priscilla Chapman and John Hartwell, based on the novel of the same name by Bob Randall, and directed by Edward Bianchi...
(1981) and Misery
Misery (film)
Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes...
(1990).
Religion
According to Michael Jindra of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the show's fandom "has strong affinities with a religious-type movement", with "an origin myth, a set of beliefs, an organization, and some of the most active and creative members to be found anywhere." While he distinguishes between Star Trek fandom and the traditional definition of religion that requires belief in divinity or the supernatural, Jindra compares Star Trek fandom to both "'quasi-religions,' such as Alcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
and New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
groups"—albeit more universal in its appeal and more organized—and civil religion
Civil religion
The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator...
.
The religious devotion of Star Treks fans began almost immediately. When Roddenberry previewed the new show at a 1966 science-fiction convention, he and his creation received a rapturous response:
The showing divided the convention into two factions, the "enlightened" who had seen the preview and the "unenlightened" who had not. The humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
Roddenberry, however, disliked his role as involuntary prophet of a religion. Although he depended on Trekkies to support future Star Trek projects, Roddenberry stated that
Religious aspects of Star Trek fandom nonetheless grew, according to Jindra, with the show's popularity. Conventions are an opportunity for fans to visit "another world...very much cut off from the real world...You can easily forget your own troubles as well as those of the world", with one convention holding an event in which a newborn baby was "baptized" into the "Temple of Trek" amid chanting. Star Trek museum exhibits, film studios, attractions, and other locations such as Vulcan, Alberta
Vulcan, Alberta
Vulcan is a town located midway between the cities of Calgary and Lethbridge on Highway 23, in the prairies of southern Alberta, Canada. The population of the town was 1,940 in 2006, and the population of the county, which is also named Vulcan, was 3,718. The town's economy is mainly tourism and...
offer opportunities to perform pilgrimages to "our Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
". A fan astounded Nimoy by asking him to lay his hands
Laying on of hands
The laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms....
on a friend's eyes to heal them
Faith healing
Faith healing is healing through spiritual means. The healing of a person is brought about by religious faith through prayer and/or rituals that, according to adherents, stimulate a divine presence and power toward correcting disease and disability. Belief in divine intervention in illness or...
. Fandom does not necessarily take the place of preexisting faith, with Christian and New Age adherents both finding support for their worldviews.
Star Trek writer and director Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer is an American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist, known best for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature film series, and the 1983 television movie The Day After.Meyer graduated from...
compares the show to the Catholic Mass:
He adds:
Anthropology
From before Star Treks television début, Roddenberry saw the show as a way of depicting his utopian, idealized vision of the future. According to Andrew V. Kozinets of Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, many Trekkies identify with Roddenberry's idealism, and use their desire to bring such a future into reality as justification for their participation in and consumption of Star Trek media, activities, and merchandise, often citing the Vulcan philosophy of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Such fans view Star Trek as a way to be with "'my kind of people'" in "'a better world'" where they will not be scorned or mocked despite being part of "stigmatized social categories". Rather than "sit[ting] here and wait for the future to happen", local fan groups may serve as service club
Service club
A service club or service organization is a voluntary non-profit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined first by its service mission...
s that volunteer at blood drive
Blood donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation....
s and food bank
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
s. For them,
Despite their common interests fans differ in their levels of—and willingness to display and discuss—their devotion because of the perceived social stigma, and "[o]vercoming the Trekkie stigma entails a form of freedom and self-acceptance that has been compared to homosexual uncloseting
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
." To outsiders the wearing of Starfleet uniforms
Starfleet uniforms
In the fictional Star Trek universe enlisted personnel and officers in the United Earth Starfleet and, later, the United Federation of Planets' Starfleet wear a variety of uniforms.-Star Trek: The Original Series:...
, usually devalued as "costumes", is a symbol of their preconceptions of and unease with Trekkies. Kozinets cites the example of a debate at a Star Trek fan club's board meeting on whether board members should be required to wear uniforms to public events as an example of "not only...the cultural tensions of acceptance and denial of stigmatized identity, but the articulation and intensification of group meanings that can serve to counterargue stigma."
Despite fans' stated vision of Star Trek as a way of celebrating diversity, however, Kozinets found that among the Trekkies he observed at clubs "most of the members were very similar in age, ethnic origin, and race. Out of about 30 people present at meetings, I noted only two visible minorities." Also, "the vast majority of the club’s time was spent discussing previous and upcoming television and movie products, related books, merchandise, and conventions", and club meetings and conventions focused on consumption rather than discussion of current affairs or societal improvement. (Perhaps appropriately, "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" originated in a third-season episode, "Is There in Truth No Beauty?", in which Roddenberry inserted a speech by Kirk praising the philosophy and associated medal. The "pointless" speech was, according to Shatner, a "thinly-veiled commercial" for replicas of the medal, which Roddenberry's company Lincoln Enterprises soon sold to fans.)
Women
While many stereotype Star Trek fandom as being mostly young males and more men than women watch Star Trek TV shows, female fans have been important members since the franchise's beginning. The majority of attendees at early conventions were women over the age of 21, which attracted more men to later ones. The two most important early members of fandom were women: Bjo TrimbleBjo Trimble
Betty Jo Trimble , universally known as Bjo ,is a significant figure in the history of science fiction fandom...
was among the leaders of the successful effort to persuade NBC to renew the show for a third season, and wrote the first edition of the important early work Star Trek Concordance
Star Trek Concordance
The Star Trek Concordance is a reference book by Bjo Trimble about the television series Star Trek. It contains summaries from episodes of The Original Series and The Animated Series, as well as an encyclopedia of characters and technology from the series...
in 1969, while Joan Winston
Joan Winston
Joan Winston was an American Trekker who helped organize the first Star Trek fan convention and became a key figure in the subculture.-Life and career:...
organized the 1972 New York convention and several later ones, and was one of the authors of "Star Trek" Lives!. While men participate in many fandom activities such as writing articles for fan publications and organizing conventions, women comprise the large majority of fan club administrators, fanfiction authors, and fanzine editors, and the Mary Sue
Mary Sue
A Mary Sue , in literary criticism and particularly in fanfiction, is a fictional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as a wish-fulfillment fantasy for the author or reader...
-like "story premise of a female protagonist aboard the Enterprise who romances one of the Star Trek regulars, [became] very common in fanzine stories." So many single women left fan activities after getting married that one female fanzine editor speculated that the show was a substitute for sex. One scholar speculates that Kirk/Spock
Kirk/Spock
Kirk/Spock, also commonly referred to as "K/S" and referring to James T. Kirk and Spock from Star Trek, is a pairing popular in slash fiction, possibly the first slash pairing according to Henry Jenkins. Early on, a few fan writers started speculating about the possibility of a sexual relationship...
slash fiction
Slash fiction
Slash fiction is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on the depiction of romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters of the same sex...
is a way for women to "openly discuss sexuality in a non-judgmental manner."
Trekkie vs. Trekker
Trekkie is "frequently depreciative" and is thus "not an acceptable term to serious fans", who prefer Trekker. The distinction existed as early as May 1970, when the editor of fanzine Deck 6 wrote:By 1976, media reports on Star Trek conventions acknowledged the two types of fans:
In the 1991 TV show Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special, Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
attempted to settle the issue by stating that the term 'Trekker' is a more preferred term; during an appearance on Saturday Night Live to promote the 2009 Star Trek film, Nimoy—seeking to assure Chris Pine
Chris Pine
Christopher Whitelaw "Chris" Pine is an American actor. He has appeared in the romantic comedies The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and Just My Luck , as well as the action films Smokin' Aces and Unstoppable . In 2009, he portrayed James T...
and Zachary Quinto
Zachary Quinto
Zachary John Quinto is an American actor and producer. Quinto grew up in Pennsylvania and was active in high school musical theater. In the early 2000s he guest starred in television series and appeared in a recurring role in the serial drama 24 from 2003 to 2004...
, the "new" Kirk and Spock, that most fans would embrace them—initially referred to "Trekkies" before correcting himself and saying "Trekkers", emphasizing the second syllable. In the documentary Trekkies, Kate Mulgrew
Kate Mulgrew
Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...
stated that Trekkers are the ones "walking with us" while the Trekkies are the ones content to simply sit and watch Star Trek. According to Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
, the actors dislike being called Trekkies and are careful to distinguish between themselves and the Trekkie audience. He objected, however, when an interviewer described Trekkies as "weird", calling it a "silly thing to say". Stewart added, "How many do you know personally? You couldn't be more wrong."
The issue is also shown in the film Trekkies 2
Trekkies 2
Trekkies 2 is the sequel to the 1997 documentary film Trekkies.In 2003, a sequel to Trekkies was launched, titled Trekkies 2. This documentary film travels throughout the world, mainly in Europe, to show fans of Star Trek, commonly known as Trekkies, who do not live in the United States...
, in which a Star Trek fan recounts a supposed incident during a Star Trek convention where Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
used the term "trekkies" to describe fans of the show, only to be corrected by a fan that stood up and yelled "Trekkers!" Gene Roddenberry allegedly responded with "No, it's 'Trekkies.' I should know — I invented the thing."
Other names
Star Trek fans who believe Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
is the best series of the franchise adopted the title of Niner following the episode "Take Me Out to the Holosuite
Take Me Out to the Holosuite (DS9 episode)
"Take Me Out to the Holosuite" is a seventh season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine first broadcast on October 21, 1998. The episode has an average rating of 4.5/5 on the official Star Trek website, as of November 21, 2007....
", in which Captain Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
formed a baseball team "The Niners".
Activities
There are many Star Trek fan clubs, among the largest currently being STARFLEET International and the International Federation of Trekkers. Some Trekkies regularly attend Star Trek conventionsScience fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
(called "cons"). In 2003, STARFLEET was the world's largest Star Trek fan club; as of January 1, 2011, it claimed to have 4,145 members in 228 chapters around the world. Seventeen people have served as president of the association since 1975. Upon election, the president is promoted to the fictional rank of Fleet Admiral and is referred to as the "Commander, Starfleet". Since 2004, the president has served a term of three years. David Blaser became the association's president on January 1, 2011.
There is a persistent stereotype that amongst Trekkies there are many speakers of the constructed Klingon language
Klingon language
The Klingon language is the constructed language spoken by the fictional Klingons in the Star Trek universe....
. The reality is less clear-cut, as some of its most fluent speakers are more language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
aficionados than people obsessed with Star Trek. Most Trekkies have no more than a basic vocabulary of Klingon, perhaps consisting of a few common words heard innumerable times over the series, while not having much knowledge of Klingon's syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
or precise phonetics
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
.
Another fan activity is filking
Filk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
, that is playing or writing music about Star Trek.
Whitewater jury
During the 1996 Whitewater controversyWhitewater (controversy)
The Whitewater controversy was an American politics controversy that began with the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a failed business venture in the 1970s and 1980s.A New York...
, a bookbindery employee named Barbara Adams served as an alternate juror. During the trial Adams wore a Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
-style Star Fleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
Command Section uniform, including a commbadge, a phaser, and a tricorder
Tricorder
In the fictional Star Trek universe, a tricorder is a multifunction handheld device used for sensor scanning, data analysis, and recording data.Three primary variants of the tricorder are issued in Star Trek's Starfleet...
.
Adams was dismissed from the trial for conducting a sidewalk interview with the television program American Journal
American Journal
American Journal was a syndicated television newsmagazine program that ran from 1993 to 1998. The series was distributed by King World Productions...
. The major news media reported (wrongly) that she was dropped for wearing her Star Fleet uniform to the trial. However, Adams noted that she had been dropped because she had spoken to a reporter of American Journal about her Star Fleet uniform and not anything about the trial. Even though nothing she had said was deemed a trial-enclosure violation, the rule had been clearly stated: No juror was to communicate with the press in any manner whatsoever.
Adams stated that the judge at the trial was supportive of her. She said she believed in the principles expressed in Star Trek and found it an alternative to "mindless television" because it promoted tolerance, peace, and faith in mankind. Adams subsequently appeared in the documentaries Trekkies and Trekkies 2
Trekkies 2
Trekkies 2 is the sequel to the 1997 documentary film Trekkies.In 2003, a sequel to Trekkies was launched, titled Trekkies 2. This documentary film travels throughout the world, mainly in Europe, to show fans of Star Trek, commonly known as Trekkies, who do not live in the United States...
.
In popular culture
Trekkies have been parodied in several films, notably the science fiction comedy Galaxy QuestGalaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science-fiction comedy parody about a troupe of human actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. It was directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth produced the film for DreamWorks, and David...
. Actors such as Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
and Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
have praised the accuracy of its satiric portrayal of a cancelled Star Trek-like show, its cast members, and their devoted fans known as "Questers". The main character Jason Nesmith, representing Shatner, repeats the actor's 1986 "Get a life!" statement when an avid fan asks him about the operation of the fictional vessel. Star Trek itself has satirized Trekkies' excessive obsession with imaginary characters, through Reginald Barclay
Reginald Barclay
Lieutenant Reginald Endicott "Broccoli" Barclay III, played by Dwight Schultz, is a recurring character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation...
and his holodeck
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
addiction.
One episode of Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
called "Where No Fan Has Gone Before
Where No Fan Has Gone Before
"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the animated series Futurama. It originally aired in the United States on April 21, 2002...
" was dedicated to parodying Trekkies. It included a history whereby Star Trek's fandom had grown into a religion. Eventually the Church of Star Trek had grown so strong that it needed to be abolished from the Galaxy and even the words "Star Trek" were outlawed.
The 1999 film Free Enterprise
Free Enterprise (film)
Free Enterprise is a 1999 romantic comedy film starring Eric McCormack and Rafer Weigel, and featuring William Shatner, directed by Robert Meyer Burnett and written by Mark A...
chronicled the lives of two men who grew up worshipping Star Trek and emulating Captain Kirk. Most of the movie centers on William Shatner, playing a parody of himself, and how the characters wrestle with their relationships to Star Trek.
The Broadway musical Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
partially parodies Trekkies through the inclusion of a character named Trekkie Monster
Trekkie Monster
Trekkie Monster is a fictional character in the Broadway musical Avenue Q.-Character overview:In the play, he lives in a second-floor apartment in a building on Avenue Q, a run-down street situated somewhere in a borough of New York City outside Manhattan...
. This character is not a Trekkie, however, and is addicted to internet pornography
Internet pornography
Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups...
.
A Trekkie featured in one episode of the television show The West Wing
The West Wing (TV series)
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
, during which Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
confronts the temporary employee over her display of a Star Trek pin in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
The 2009 film Fanboys makes frequent references to Star Trek and the rivalry between Trekkies and Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
fans. William Shatner makes a cameo appearance in the film.
The Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven
Not All Dogs Go to Heaven
"Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox television network in the United States on March 29, 2009. The episode was directed by Greg Colton and written by Danny Smith...
" features a Star Trek convention and many Trekkies. One Trekkie comes to the convention with the mumps
Mumps
Mumps is a viral disease of the human species, caused by the mumps virus. Before the development of vaccination and the introduction of a vaccine, it was a common childhood disease worldwide...
, and upon Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
seeing him, he impulsively pushes his daughter Meg
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
into the Trekkie and forces her to take her picture with him (believing him to be in costume as an alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
from Star Trek). Since Meg was not immunised
Mumps vaccine
Several varieties of mumps vaccine have been used since 1949, and at least 10 strains were in use in 2006:The first vaccine was a killed mumps virus vaccine developed in 1948 and used in the United States from 1950-1978. This vaccine produced little immune memory, thus had a short duration of...
, she catches the mumps from the Trekkie and ends up bedresting.
On the CBS-TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
, the four main male characters are shown to be Trekkies, playing the game of "Klingon Boggle" and resolving disputes using the game of "rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock
Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock
Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock is a five-gesture expansion of the classic selection method game rock-paper-scissors. It operates on the same basic principle, but includes two additional weapons: the lizard and Spock...
." Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
fame has made multiple guest appearances playing an evil version of himself.
Fans
Notable individual trekkies/trekkers/Trek fans:Actors/Comedians
- Freema AgyemanFreema AgyemanFreema Agyeman is a British actress who is best known for playing Martha Jones, former companion of the Tenth Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and itsspin-off series Torchwood...
(Martha JonesMartha JonesMartha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
in Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
) watched Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
and Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
and at least once attended a convention. - John BarrowmanJohn BarrowmanJohn Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
, TorchwoodTorchwoodTorchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
and Doctor Who star is a fan of Deep Space Nine. - Bill BaileyBill BaileyBill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
, comedian, named his child after the Deep Space Nine character DaxDax (Star Trek)Dax is the name of a fictional being in the Star Trek universe, a Trill symbiont. It's a very long-lived slug-shaped sentient worm-like life form that lives inside the bodies of a succession of Trills, a race of humanoid aliens. The symbiont merges with its host by a process called "joining" after...
. "I may just have given him too much baggage," Bailey has joked. "I'll tell him he’s named after the German stock exchangeDAXThe DAX is a blue chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Prices are taken from the electronic Xetra trading system...
." - Candice BergenCandice BergenCandice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
, actress, attended at least one convention in 1976. - Robert CarlyleRobert CarlyleRobert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
, who portrayed Dr. Nicholas RushNicholas RushDr. Nicholas Rush is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-Syfy television series Stargate Universe, a military science fiction serial drama about the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team unable to return to Earth after an evacuation to the...
on Stargate UniverseStargate UniverseStargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
, has admitted to being a fan of Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
as a child. - Daniel CraigDaniel CraigDaniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
, actor, the sixth actor to play James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, stated in a 2007 interview that he would like to appear in Star Trek. - Rosario DawsonRosario DawsonRosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Unstoppable.-Early...
actress, claimed that Star Trek is "one of [her] favorite things in the world." - Megan FoxMegan FoxMegan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
, actress - Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
specifically requested a role in Star Trek: The Next Generation because the character of UhuraUhuraNyota Uhura is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and the 2009 film Star Trek...
inspired her early acting career. She played the recurring role of an alien named Guinan on the TV show and in the film Star Trek: GenerationsStar Trek: GenerationsStar Trek Generations is a 1994 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. Generations is the seventh feature film based on the Star Trek television series and the first film in the series to star the cast of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.Parts of the film...
. She also had an uncredited appearance in Star Trek: NemesisStar Trek: NemesisStar Trek Nemesis is a 2002 science fiction film directed by Stuart Baird, written by John Logan , and with music composed by Jerry Goldsmith. It is the tenth feature film in the Star Trek franchise, and the fourth and final film to star the cast from the television series Star Trek: The Next...
during the wedding scene towards the beginning of the movie. - Angelina JolieAngelina JolieAngelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
, actress, confesses to having a childhood crush on Mr. Spock. - Gabriel KöernerGabriel KöernerGabriel Köerner is a visual effects artist and well-known Star Trek fan . Köerner appeared as a profilee in the 1997 documentary Trekkies and its 2003 sequel Trekkies 2, and went on to make guest appearances on The Drew Carey Show and as the "Star Trek Geek" on Beat the Geeks...
, a profilee in Trekkies who went on to guest star on The Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
and as the "Star Trek Geek" on the game showGame showA game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Beat the GeeksBeat the GeeksBeat the Geeks is an American comedy game show that aired on Comedy Central from 2001 to 2002. The show was rerun on The Comedy Network in Canada and reruns currently air on G4techTV Canada and Prime in New Zealand....
. - Kelsey GrammerKelsey GrammerAllen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
is a Star Trek fan. He guest starred on the Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect" and had Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
and Brent SpinerBrent SpinerBrent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr...
each guest star in two episodes of his show FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
. Furthermore, he speaks Klingon in the Frasier episode "Star Mitzvah". - Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, a fan since childhood. He is purported to know the name of every Next Generation episode. He was considered for the role of Zefram CochraneZefram CochraneZefram Cochrane is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Created by writer Gene L. Coon, the character first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis", in which he was played by Glenn Corbett. James Cromwell later played Cochrane in the 1996 feature film Star Trek: First...
in Star Trek: First ContactStar Trek: First ContactStar Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996, by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to feature no cast members from the original Star Trek television series of the 1960s...
, but had to turn it down due to a scheduling conflict. - Eddie MurphyEddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
, who nearly starred in Star Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
. When his million-dollar contract with Paramount PicturesParamount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
arrived to be signed, Murphy delayed signing it for nearly an hour because he was so engrossed with an episode of the original series. - Mira SorvinoMira SorvinoMira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
, Academy award-winning actress, stated on the Conan O'Brien show that she was a big fan of The Original Series. Her father, Paul SorvinoPaul SorvinoPaul Anthony Sorvino is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law...
, appeared in the Next Generation episode "Homeward" as the biological child of WorfWorfWorf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
's human foster parents. - Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
has been a huge Trek fan since he was a kid. Stiller's production company, "Red Hour Films", is named after an alien riot featured in the Original Series episode "The Return of the Archons". A clip of "Arena" was shown in his film, Tropic ThunderTropic ThunderTropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...
. In the movie ZoolanderZoolanderZoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
, Stiller named the villain "Mugatu", after a similarly named creature in the original series episode "A Private Little War". Stiller's 1996 film The Cable GuyThe Cable GuyThe Cable Guy is a 1996 black comedy film, directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. The film also features Leslie Mann, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson...
features a scene where Chip and Steven duel at Medieval times, Chip chants the battle music from the episode "Amok Time" and quotes several lines from the same episode. - Karl UrbanKarl UrbanKarl-Heinz Urban is a New Zealand actor.He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Julius Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess...
has been a fan of the show since he was seven years old and was cast in the role of Leonard McCoyLeonard McCoyLeonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
in the 2009 film. He actively pursued the role after rediscovering the series on DVD with his son. In his DVD commentary, director J.J. Abrams stated that a line in the film explaining the character's nickname, "Bones", had not been scripted and instead was thought up by Urban while filming the scene. - Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, actor and comedian. According to Walter KoenigWalter KoenigWalter Marvin Koenig is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.-Early life:...
's book Chekov's Enterprise, Williams visited the set during filming of Star Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
and admitted he was a big fan of the series. He was originally considered for the role of a time traveling con-man in the Next Generation episode A Matter of Time but was unable to star due to a scheduling conflict with HookHook (film)Hook is a 1991 American fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, and features Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo, Amber Scott, and Dante Basco. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing...
. Williams made reference to Seven of NineSeven of NineSeven of Nine is a fictional character on Star Trek: Voyager, portrayed by actress Jeri Ryan. Born human, she was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six. Eighteen years later, Voyager left Borg space with Seven on board, after attempts to negotiate passage through Borg space proved only...
in his "Weapons of Self-Destruction" comedy special. - Finally, some of the principal actors in second-generation Star Trek productions were fans of the franchise at the time of their selection, including Jolene BlalockJolene BlalockJolene K. Blalock is an American film and television actress and model, perhaps best known for playing the Vulcan T'Pol on the UPN science fiction series Star Trek: Enterprise. The star of several feature films, she is a regular guest star in television films and series.- Early career :A popular...
, Wil WheatonWil WheatonRichard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
and (according to Wheaton), LeVar BurtonLeVar BurtonLevardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. , professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer and author who first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley...
.
Hollywood movie and TV directors and producers
- Family Guy executive producer, David A. GoodmanDavid A. GoodmanDavid A. Goodman is an American writer and producer and a graduate of the University of Chicago, earning an BA in 1984. He was one of the executive producers of Family Guy, beginning its fourth season, joining the show as a co-executive producer in season three...
, is a major Star Trek fan. He has written an episode of Futurama entirely devoted to Star Trek, and later four episodes of EnterpriseStar Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
. He even paid tribute to the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
by spoofing the cliffhanger ending of "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" and using it as the cliffhanger ending of the 100th episode of Family Guy, "Stewie Kills Lois". - Seth MacFarlaneSeth MacFarlaneSeth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
, the creator of Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, American Dad!American Dad!American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, and The Cleveland ShowThe Cleveland ShowThe Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
, is an avid fan. He has embedded dozens of Star Trek references onto his shows, and twice guest starred on Enterprise. He says his favorite Star Trek series is The Next Generation and he reunited the cast of that show for the Family Guy episode, "Not All Dogs Go to HeavenNot All Dogs Go to Heaven"Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox television network in the United States on March 29, 2009. The episode was directed by Greg Colton and written by Danny Smith...
". - Matt StoneMatt StoneMatthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
and Trey ParkerTrey ParkerTrey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
are Star Trek fans and have put many references to the franchise in South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. - According to Brent SpinerBrent SpinerBrent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr...
in the film TrekkiesTrekkiesTrekkies is a 1997 documentary film directed by Roger Nygard about the devoted fans of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek franchise. Starring Denise Crosby , the movie contains interviews with Star Trek devotees, more commonly known as Trekkies...
, Mel BrooksMel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
is a fan.
Musicians
- Welsh rock group LostprophetsLostprophetsLostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...
are fans of the show. - Mike OldfieldMike OldfieldMichael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
, musician. - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
"never missed" The Next Generation. - D'arcy WretzkyD'arcy WretzkyD'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky is an American musician. She is best known for her work as the original bass player of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins...
, former bassist of The Smashing PumpkinsThe Smashing PumpkinsThe Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, said she was "a big 'Star Trek' fan, but I'm not into the conventions or the ears or anything like that." - Zakk WyldeZakk WyldeZachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...
former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of Black Label SocietyBlack Label SocietyBlack Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde, with nine studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums released since formation of the band.-Formation and Sonic Brew :...
.
Politicians and world leaders
- King Abdullah II of Jordan is a Star Trek fan, and appeared in an episode of Star Trek Voyager.
- Al GoreAl GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, forty-fifth Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
from 1993 to 2001. He watched the show more than he studied, according to his Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
roommate Tommy Lee JonesTommy Lee JonesTommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
. - American conservative Alan KeyesAlan KeyesAlan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
(known best for his career runs for president) has stated his favorite television program is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He once said about Star Trek, "There's something basically clean and decent and all-American about the respect for human dignity that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry showed." - Lewis "Scooter" LibbyLewis LibbyI. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, later disbarred and convicted of a felony....
: Yale classmate Donald Hindle said Libby had the "decidedly nonpolitical talent" of remembering all 79 Star Trek episodes and "knew all the titles, too." - Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, Leonard Nimoy hinted that Obama greeted him with the Vulcan saluteVulcan saluteThe Vulcan salute is a hand gesture consisting of a raised hand, palm forward with the fingers parted between the middle and ring finger, and the thumb extended. Often, the famous line, "Live long and prosper", is said after it. The salute was devised and popularised by Leonard Nimoy, who...
. Obama further requested a screening of the new Star Trek film at the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical... - Congressman Dan MaffeiDan MaffeiDaniel Benjamin "Dan" Maffei is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011, and currently a senior adviser at law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. He is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for his old seat in 2012.-Early life, education and career:Maffei was born in...
(DDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-NY-25) participated in Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
's "Better Know a District" segment on The Colbert Report. In the interview, Maffei and Colbert donned goatees in reference to Spock in the Original Series episode Mirror, Mirror. At the end of the interview, Maffei and Colbert exchanged the Vulcan SaluteVulcan saluteThe Vulcan salute is a hand gesture consisting of a raised hand, palm forward with the fingers parted between the middle and ring finger, and the thumb extended. Often, the famous line, "Live long and prosper", is said after it. The salute was devised and popularised by Leonard Nimoy, who...
. - Colin PowellColin PowellColin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, United States Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
from 2001–2005, visited The Next Generation set. - Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
visited the set of The Next Generation in 1991 during filming of "Redemption". He remarked "I like them [the Klingons]. They remind me of Congress." - Oregon Congressional Representative David WuDavid WuDavid Wu is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes most of Portland west of the Willamette River, as well as all of Yamhill, Columbia, Clatsop, and Washington Counties...
delivered a heavily Trek-infused speech to the House of Representatives on January 10, 2007. - Alex SalmondAlex SalmondAlexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, Scotland's First Minister.
Science fiction writers
- Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, a close personal friend of Gene Roddenberry. He attended the first public screening of "Where No Man Has Gone BeforeWhere No Man Has Gone Before"Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the second pilot episode of the television series Star Trek: The Original Series. It was produced in 1965 after the first pilot, "The Cage", had been rejected by NBC. The episode was eventually broadcast third in sequence on September 22, 1966, and was re-aired on...
" and attended numerous conventions during the 1970s. - Bjo TrimbleBjo TrimbleBetty Jo Trimble , universally known as Bjo ,is a significant figure in the history of science fiction fandom...
, who helped spearhead the letter writing campaign that convinced NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
to continue Star Trek for a third season.
Scientists, engineers and inventors
- Stephen HawkingStephen HawkingStephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
, who played himself (as a computer reconstruction) on the Next Generation episode "Descent". While on the set he wanted to see the Enterprise's warp engine room set. After seeing it he commented, "I am working on that." - Randy PauschRandy PauschRandolph Frederick "Randy" Pausch was an American professor of computer science and human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
, late Carnegie Mellon professor who gave the Last Lecture has a cameo in the 2009 Star Trek film.
Others
- Sir Richard Branson, founder of the VirginVirgin GroupVirgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
brand. He named the first spacecraft of his Virgin GalacticVirgin GalacticVirgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public, along with suborbital space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites...
venture VSS EnterpriseVSS EnterpriseThe VSS Enterprise is the first of five commercial suborbital spacecraft being constructed for Virgin Galactic by Scaled Composites....
and the second one VSS VoyagerVSS VoyagerVSS Voyager is to be the second ship built and used as part of the Virgin Galactic Fleet. It is a SpaceShipTwo-class suborbital manned spaceplane...
. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is reported by Nichelle Nichols to have been a fan of the Original Series, for the message (controversial at the time) that it sent about white people and black people working together as equals.
- Timothy McVeighTimothy McVeighTimothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
, bomber, became fascinated with The Next Generation, admiring Jean-Luc Picard for his knowledge and diplomacy; Worf for being the consummate warrior; Data for his logic; and Geordi La Forge for his proficiency.