Connor Trinneer Books

I love Star Trek in all it's various incarnations, and I have to admit...I love making fun of Trekkies (who doesn't...really?). I loved the first movie for the focus on the extreme fandom (makes me feel just a little less geeky)...but this movie is even better for the great balance. It shows the funny and bizarre side of extreme fandom, but it also shows the the human side of being Trekkies - and what happens when you're a fan in a war torn country.

While not as side-splittingly funny as the first one, it can be argued that this is a better movie because of the way it highlights the Trek fandom throughout the world. The chapter on the Trekkies from Serbia is simply heartbreaking, and makes you realize how lucky we are to have all that we have.

I knew that this movie was going to be my new favorite when it highlighted the Star Trek tribute bands (you'll love No Kill I). However, for me, the best part of this DVD, are the EXTRAS. Included are FAN MADE TREK MOVIES. Get the popcorn ready, because this will entertain you for hours on end!

If you watched the first movie for the humor (let's face it, it really was hysterical), you'll love this movie too...the extras are really priceless. However, if you wanted a little more from the first film - a more balanced view - this sequel definitely delivers.

Trekkie is an insult and is akin to nerd or geek. Trekker is a more respectable term to apply to one who is a Star Trek fan. So I'm surprised that the sequel to "Trekkies", a film that took a certain amount of pleasure in debasing Star Trek fans for their obsession, didn't call their next film "Trekkers" a film that takes a little more care in their treatment of these sweet but kinda' crazy enthusiasts.

In the first film, Denise Crosby, explored the unusual relationship Star Trek fans have with the show and subsequently with the actors from the series. The result is one very funny movie that shows people not only obsessing over the realistic nature of their Star Trek costumes, but other fans who would turn their cars into shuttle crafts or their dental offices into the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. In the squeal the goals seem two fold, the filmmakers want to explore Star Trek fans around the globe and show that their obsession can also be a positive thing. The best part about this squeal however is its nod to the original movie. We catch up with some of the more memorable interviewees from the first "Trekkies". We learn that space shuttle van just disappeared one day and that it's owner, though still a huge fan, has other things on his plate...like his new wife. It's a pleasure to hear him laugh at his own fixation. Other past fans are highlighted as well and all are show in a much more positive light. The clips from Europe, Australia, South America, etc. are interesting but get a little monotonous as the film progresses. The extras actually seem a little more compelling as some clips explore the extremes a few fans go to. I also liked watching the two fan films, which are also included on the DVD. They're not very good, but the sheer joy that went into them is exhilarating.

This documentary trumps the first one in a major way by ignoring the main Star Trek actors. We don't have the millionth interview with Uhuru telling her Martin Luther King story and we don't have to watch the cast of the original series looking sicker and sicker (Rest in Peace Bones and Scotty) but we do still have the "Star Trek=World Peace" argument, but surprisingly less noxious as the Yugoslavian Trekkies talk about Star Trek as their relief from the rampant nationalism that led to some of the worst genocides of the 1990s.

The international Trekkies are delightful. The addition of Filk music (don't ask) and fan-made movies are great. And the kid from the first movie is there, supremely embarrassed by his screen presence in the first movie but ready and willing to make more gaffs (when he's not apologizing for the first movie mistakes) but he's definitely more entertaining in the second movie sitting next to his wife and wondering how he could have been so obnoxious at 17. (We all were. We all were. Just most of us didn't have a camera crew filming us.)

Like the first one, the main strengths come from the fact that these people are funny in their own right (and most of them know that they are funny) and the director never condescends to them. There are slow parts but they don't impede the movie.

Second to last note - the erotic poetry is worth the purchase price alone. It's hilarious.

Last Note - those Star Trek theme bands rock. I'm not talking about the filk singers (eh, never my thing) but the San Diego based bands whose lyrics might be silly but they play some solid sets.

The first "Trekkies" film managed to dig up some rather odd characters to give the average person an idea of what makes up a fan of "Star Trek" and all of its offspring. It gave us a cross-dressing dude who explains and performs a little "filk" for everyone. We were introduced to the lady in Arkansas who was made famous by attending Whitewater scandal jury duty in her Starfleet uniform and, alas, who could forget Gabriel Koerner. He was perhaps the uber-geek out of the whole bunch. The film also showed how the fans are very involved in their communities and world.

More of the same is offered up in "Trekkies 2," though this one was a little more emotional than the first. Denise Crosby bounces across the globe in search of more Trek fans. Once again we visit some pretty strange folks, but we are also shown how something as simple as "Star Trek" can have so much meaning to a group of people when Crosby goes to Serbia. Those people were so touched and amazed at how the characters in "Star Trek" lived amongst each other in relative peace even though they were pretty much all from different races, religions, etc. It was heartwarming to listen to these people talk about how their newfound freedom took on a special meaning through "Star Trek." I also noticed that out of all of people in this film, the Serbians seemed to be the least to play "dress up" as their favorite characters, holding more to the ideals of "Trek" and not so much the whiz-bangs and Klingons of it all.

There's one fellow who converts his house into a replica of the Enterprise. We get a better and perhaps more disturbing look into the world of "Filk" music and some of the bands in that genre. We also get a few nice clips featuring stars of the later "Trek" series and how many of their fans reacted to meeting them, funny letters, tattoos, etc.

The most fun part of this flick was when we get to look back on some of the more popular characters from the original film. We catch up with the guy who dresses his dog up in "Trek" costumes. We see Whitewater juror Barbara Adams interact with a group of people who question her about her motives for dressing up in a Starfleet uniform for court, and one individual gets pretty rough with her. Finally, we get to catch up with Gabriel Koerner, and learn that he is married, has steady work as a digital model builder for such shows as the new "Battlestar Galactica" and seems to have stepped back from, just a little, his love for "Trek."

In the end, if you enjoyed the original "Trekkies," you'll like this second helping. It might go overboard with a few of the fans, especially with the "Filk" singers, but we are shown that most Trekkies, Trekkers, etc. are primarily good folks with very big hearts(and many have graduate degrees).

Some folks collect baseball cards, some collect CDs, these folks just love their "Trek." Is that so wrong?

After loving Trekkies I, we ordered Trekkies 2, an obviously PC response to fan backlash from the hilarious portrayal of Trek fans in Trekkies I. Trekkies 2 is a yawn...slow and boring with very few colorful fans other than updates on megafans featured in Trekkies I.

What gives?! The product listing for Unbox said you'd deliver videos with DVD quality. They look more like YouTube quality videos. Seriously, they're not even as good as plain old standard TV. They would have looked pretty OK on my iPod, but they weren't much fun to look at on my 42" LCD screen. Everything was soft and fuzzy in most scenes and the tonal scale was very limited. Just so you know, DVD quality isn't an arbitrary standard-- it's 480P, not 240x160.
To make things even less enjoyable, your servers delivered the product at an excruciating pace. Ready to watch in 15 minutes?! No. More like three hours. There was the occasional burst of data at 1500 Kbps, but it was generally around 400 Kbps. I ordered eight 42 minute episodes more than 24 hours ago and am still downloading the last one. Not impressive.

When I first tried to watch "Enterprise" I honestly didn't think I'd like it. When it was on T.V. I missed several episodes because they had a bad time slot. But now, that I'm able to watch them when I have the time, I truly feel this is one of the best Star Trek series made. Scott Bakula is great! I know some think he was the weakest or worst of the captains, but I thought for this role of one of the first captains to represent mankind to the galaxy, Bakula was the best choice. He already held a persona at least in my mind of being an very moral convicted and passionate man. Most of that probably came from the role he played as Dr. Sam Beckette on Quantum Leap (of which I was also a huge fan). When you think about how Gene Rodenberry portrayed TOS, with a high standard for moral conduct, very little character conflict, and a strong sense of family - you need all those things in Starfleets first captain to show us how it got to that point. And Scott Bakula fits that bill. This first season is packed with exciting stories, real adventure, and thought provoking writing. This series is well worth every penny you'll spend and it will answer many questions about the beginnings of this wonderful, positive and adventuresome world we call Star Trek!!!

The downloads offered here seem to come up short. I don't see "Carbon Creek" anywhere, and the first season doesn't have a discount. Enterprise is a great show that was canceled before its time, but the downloads don't seem to do it justice.

"Fallen Hero" very good (excellent for 1st season of ST:E)! However, the Amazon summary "stars" *** is based on reviews of which only TWO out of TEN (currently) discuss "Fallen Hero." I'm giving it ***** rather than the **** which it deserves to compensate a little.
The preview, albeit the lead-in to the episode, is followed immediately by orders from Star Fleet Command directing Enterprise to retrieve a Vulcan ambassador being recalled in disgrace. I suppose Amazon is bound by contract only to show the lead-in, but this one gives absolutely NO feeling for the actual content. I suspect the downloads on this one would increase greatly if Amazon were able to show, for example, what follows immediately after the 1st commercial would have been.

Too many bugs in the system, just fully downloaded only two of episodes the rest getting error x&80bblahblahblah. No matter how apt you are with computers the system is just not user friendly..Love the episodes after watching them on DVD but wished this system would work.