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Trekkies Still at It
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You can push them around, cancel their shows and laugh at their outfits until your face turns red... they just keep on Trekking. In the pantheon of rabid fan bases, you'd be hard-pressed to find a legion of fans as loyal as the Trekkies (excepting, of course, the Star Wars crowd). Notwithstanding the one above, you've probably already seen your fair share of Trekkie cosplay pictures, whether from Star Trek conventions, movie openings or otherwise, and, if you've had the stomach for it, read your fair share of put-downs and absurdist cover stories.
But did you know that Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, the longest-running series in fan film history (and available for free download), was being made right in South Pasadena? Rob Caves, the series' creator and executive producer, has for the past seven years spent the better part of his weekends wearing several hats, those of actor, director, audio technician and costume designer, with a cast and crew numbering in the 30s to film episodes of the show.
Fifty episodes later, and he's just getting started: "A lot of people talk about wanting to start up a fan film, but there is so much work involved, 99% of them don't get past an idea. But once you reach a certain point and you have an episode out there, it is like crack. You just want to do more and get more response and keep telling new and interesting stories. It is really addictive, but not dangerously addictive. I'm not driving myself into the financial ruin column yet."
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Having wrapped up Hidden Frontier after seven elaborate seasons, Caves now plans on moving on to a new series in the fall, dubbed Star Trek: Odyssey. While some of us may never understand the appeal of going to such lengths to craft a loving paean to a TV series, one can't help but feel at least some respect for the amount of dedication and persistence it takes to get there. Godspeed, Trekkies. Godspeed.
photo by feastoffools via flickr
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