Scott Kimball
Screenwriter
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Trekkies 2
Studio: Paramount
Year: 2004
Rated: PG
Length: 93 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English; English Dolby Surround, Commentary track
English subtitles; Closed Captioned in English
Special Features: Commentary by Roger Nygard, Denise Crosby and Michael Leahy, Deleted Scenes, Fan Films
SRP: $19.99 USD
Release Date: August 31, 2004
What can the average Trekkie say about the movie Trekkies, aside from “...and I thought I was crazy...”?
For you Trek fans who missed the original Trekkies documentary, the film followed extreme Trek fans from around the USA. The extreme fan isn’t just the one who has seen every episode of every incarnation of Star Trek 6 or more times - if that were the case, I would be an extreme fan.
The extreme fans are those whose very lives revolve around Star Trek. These are the people who go to Star Trek conventions (I admit to going to one, but I didn’t wear (nor do I own) a Starfleet uniform). The extreme fan will also go about daily life in full uniform. The extreme fan will decorate their home or apartment to resemble (sometimes replicate) a starship. The extreme fan has thousands of dollars worth of rare Star Trek memorabilia.
Trekkies is about this type of fan.
Trekkies 2 takes the show on the road and visits countries in Europe and South America to see how crazy the fans are abroad. And I mean that in the most respectful way... It also revisits some of the “stars” of the original Trekkies.
These are funny films, but they don’t directly poke fun at the fans of Star Trek. In fact, the people in these films are treated with great respect. This is about fandom in the extreme.
I won’t spoil the ride for you and tell you about these people. Words really don’t do justice, here. If you’re a Star Trek fan and haven’t seen the original Trekkies, you’ll want to track that one down before viewing the sequel, to put everything into perspective. Both films feature clips of interviews from not only fans, but some of the creators and actors of the various series.
These films have little appeal to non-Trekkies, but for the true fan, they are required viewing.
Video
Trekkies 2 is presented in it’s original full-screen aspect ratio. The film was shot with various DV-CAM models, most often with available light, so this has a documentary feel to the video throughout - appropriate, given that this is a documentary.
The image is sharp enough, given the source, and has good dynamic range and color saturation.
The overall picture quality is variable, depending on the camera used during a particular segment, as well as the available light at the locations.
This is everything I’d expect in terms of quality, given the source and shooting style.
Audio
There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, as well as a 2 channel English track, and the commentary track.
Music has excellent dynamic range, offering impressive bass response and clear highs. The occasional sound effects used in the film have a good deal of punch as well.
Dialog is variable, depending on the room dynamics were the participants were recorded. This is not soundstage quality footage.
This isn’t the type of film that is designed to give your 5.1 system a real workout, but it is impressive for a documentary.
Special Features
Commentary with Filmmakers
Director Roger Nygard, host Denise Crosby and Producer Michael Leahy provide commentary on the film.
Comment is made immediately of Gabriel Koerner’s (one of the “stars” of Trekkies and Trekkies 2) digital effects for the opening of the film. Themselves Trekkies, Fred Schneider and Pat Irwin of the B-52’s provided music for the film.
This is a rare film where watching it with the commentary is every bit as interesting as watching without. We get to hear the “behind-the-story” stories of all the characters we meet in the film. It’s “fascinating.”
Deleted Scenes
An amazing 56 minutes of deleted scenes, with a “Play All” option, add up to what is essentially a second feature. While all the “A list” material went into the final cut of the feature, there is much of interest in this “B” material. This is a great special feature, well worth a look. Director Nygard had over 150 hours of raw footage from their tour around the world, so it’s nice to see such an extended array of footage that didn’t make the final cut.
Fan Films
Brian Dellis’ “Final Frontier Revisited” (6:54)
with optional audio commentary by Brian Dellis (and two other members of the production team / cast)
A silly little film involving a starship crew who go back in time to the old American West. Lot’s of heart and enthusiasm, combined with low budget and not much talent add up to an amusing 6+ minutes.
Gabriel Koerner’s “Really Bad Star Trek” Clip (8:31)
You may remember Gabriel Koerner from the first Trekkies movie. He also appears in the sequel, and has a chance to show off a clip from his very tongue-in-cheek Star Trek film. Impressive CGI effects, and pretty good set design combine with bad photography for an okay short film worth a few laughs.
Roger Nygard’s Previous Works
Includes a trailer for Six Days in Roswell and a clip from Suckers.
Final Thoughts
Next time somebody tells you that you take your fandom too far, what with buying all these Star Trek DVD’s, just point them to this film. Here, they will see the definition of fandom expanded beyond what they thought possible.
Trekkies 2 is an interesting documentary, by Trekkies, for Trekkies, about Trekkies. A good commentary and extensive deleted scenes round out an above average documentary on DVD.
Studio: Paramount
Year: 2004
Rated: PG
Length: 93 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English; English Dolby Surround, Commentary track
English subtitles; Closed Captioned in English
Special Features: Commentary by Roger Nygard, Denise Crosby and Michael Leahy, Deleted Scenes, Fan Films
SRP: $19.99 USD
Release Date: August 31, 2004
What can the average Trekkie say about the movie Trekkies, aside from “...and I thought I was crazy...”?
For you Trek fans who missed the original Trekkies documentary, the film followed extreme Trek fans from around the USA. The extreme fan isn’t just the one who has seen every episode of every incarnation of Star Trek 6 or more times - if that were the case, I would be an extreme fan.
The extreme fans are those whose very lives revolve around Star Trek. These are the people who go to Star Trek conventions (I admit to going to one, but I didn’t wear (nor do I own) a Starfleet uniform). The extreme fan will also go about daily life in full uniform. The extreme fan will decorate their home or apartment to resemble (sometimes replicate) a starship. The extreme fan has thousands of dollars worth of rare Star Trek memorabilia.
Trekkies is about this type of fan.
Trekkies 2 takes the show on the road and visits countries in Europe and South America to see how crazy the fans are abroad. And I mean that in the most respectful way... It also revisits some of the “stars” of the original Trekkies.
These are funny films, but they don’t directly poke fun at the fans of Star Trek. In fact, the people in these films are treated with great respect. This is about fandom in the extreme.
I won’t spoil the ride for you and tell you about these people. Words really don’t do justice, here. If you’re a Star Trek fan and haven’t seen the original Trekkies, you’ll want to track that one down before viewing the sequel, to put everything into perspective. Both films feature clips of interviews from not only fans, but some of the creators and actors of the various series.
These films have little appeal to non-Trekkies, but for the true fan, they are required viewing.
Video
Trekkies 2 is presented in it’s original full-screen aspect ratio. The film was shot with various DV-CAM models, most often with available light, so this has a documentary feel to the video throughout - appropriate, given that this is a documentary.
The image is sharp enough, given the source, and has good dynamic range and color saturation.
The overall picture quality is variable, depending on the camera used during a particular segment, as well as the available light at the locations.
This is everything I’d expect in terms of quality, given the source and shooting style.
Audio
There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, as well as a 2 channel English track, and the commentary track.
Music has excellent dynamic range, offering impressive bass response and clear highs. The occasional sound effects used in the film have a good deal of punch as well.
Dialog is variable, depending on the room dynamics were the participants were recorded. This is not soundstage quality footage.
This isn’t the type of film that is designed to give your 5.1 system a real workout, but it is impressive for a documentary.
Special Features
Commentary with Filmmakers
Director Roger Nygard, host Denise Crosby and Producer Michael Leahy provide commentary on the film.
Comment is made immediately of Gabriel Koerner’s (one of the “stars” of Trekkies and Trekkies 2) digital effects for the opening of the film. Themselves Trekkies, Fred Schneider and Pat Irwin of the B-52’s provided music for the film.
This is a rare film where watching it with the commentary is every bit as interesting as watching without. We get to hear the “behind-the-story” stories of all the characters we meet in the film. It’s “fascinating.”
Deleted Scenes
An amazing 56 minutes of deleted scenes, with a “Play All” option, add up to what is essentially a second feature. While all the “A list” material went into the final cut of the feature, there is much of interest in this “B” material. This is a great special feature, well worth a look. Director Nygard had over 150 hours of raw footage from their tour around the world, so it’s nice to see such an extended array of footage that didn’t make the final cut.
Fan Films
Brian Dellis’ “Final Frontier Revisited” (6:54)
with optional audio commentary by Brian Dellis (and two other members of the production team / cast)
A silly little film involving a starship crew who go back in time to the old American West. Lot’s of heart and enthusiasm, combined with low budget and not much talent add up to an amusing 6+ minutes.
Gabriel Koerner’s “Really Bad Star Trek” Clip (8:31)
You may remember Gabriel Koerner from the first Trekkies movie. He also appears in the sequel, and has a chance to show off a clip from his very tongue-in-cheek Star Trek film. Impressive CGI effects, and pretty good set design combine with bad photography for an okay short film worth a few laughs.
Roger Nygard’s Previous Works
Includes a trailer for Six Days in Roswell and a clip from Suckers.
Final Thoughts
Next time somebody tells you that you take your fandom too far, what with buying all these Star Trek DVD’s, just point them to this film. Here, they will see the definition of fandom expanded beyond what they thought possible.
Trekkies 2 is an interesting documentary, by Trekkies, for Trekkies, about Trekkies. A good commentary and extensive deleted scenes round out an above average documentary on DVD.
My tiny collection of stuff has nothin' on these folks. 
