# Why are people so obsessed with Star Trek? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381 "2008-06-18T18:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/41 "2008-06-19T22:43:17Z")
Also you have the background details that suggest an entire civilization, culture, history and technology. The Star Trek universe was more than any other telecast SF at the time a real place. Just the technology alone you had: warp drive, phasers, deflector shields, tricorders, transporters, medical scanners, hypo sprays, matter anti-matter reactors, universal translator, tractor beams, sensors, computers. Every aspect of these were digested and discussed by fans for the remote future possibilities that such devices would bring. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/42 "2008-06-19T23:28:14Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] The irony here is that this pretty much sums up the greater literary world’s attitude toward the SF genre. I also suspect that merely reading SF does not automatically convey any understanding of the SF fandom phenomenon. [/QUOTE] Well, I thought I understood back when the trufan prayed to Ghu for guidance while pubbing his ish on a mimeo, believing that FIAWOL. (I leaned more toward FIJAGH.) That’s back when being even a casual fan put you outside the mainstream. Now it _is_ mainstream, but way more sci-fi than sf. Star Trek and Star Wars were a big part of that. ETA: I watched “Star Trek” the first time it ever came on tv, and never missed an episode. Sometimes I wonder what the rumored Gary Seven spinoff might have been like. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/43 "2008-06-19T23:44:57Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Well I wouldn’t want to be accused of judging it harshly. I’ve always loved the show regardless of the now-primitive FX, or maybe even partly because of them. They add to the charm. [/quote] 2001 has the best special effects that will ever be done without CGI, and the original Ep. IV of SW looks a bit primitive now. But I think we need to judge on the technology of the time, and TOS was damn good for 1966 TV. > [@](#): > > Though I wouldn’t defend _every_ episode. I’m sure every fan has their list of the worst ones, as most shows do. Some I knew sucked the first time I saw them, quite true. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/44 "2008-06-20T00:40:51Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Well, I thought I understood back when the trufan prayed to Ghu for guidance while pubbing his ish on a mimeo, believing that FIAWOL. (I leaned more toward FIJAGH.) That’s back when being even a casual fan put you outside the mainstream. Now it _is_ mainstream, but way more sci-fi than sf. Star Trek and Star Wars were a big part of that. ETA: I watched “Star Trek” the first time it ever came on tv, and never missed an episode. Sometimes I wonder what the rumored Gary Seven spinoff might have been like. [/QUOTE] Ah, a SMOF eh? Apologies from this humble neo fringer. I herebly retract any implications regarding your fanac credentials. Of course, SF was right on the cusp of becoming a legitimate, respected mainstream literary genre, before _Star Trek_ and the sci-fi media fen came along. Chastened, I abase myself and retreat to seek out these things you might call ‘books.’ I would hazard a guess that the Gary Seven spinoff would likely have had much the same enduring quality as any other Gene Roddenberry property that wasn’t _Star Trek_. Two words: _space hippies._ ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/45 "2008-06-20T01:31:15Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Ah, a SMOF eh? Apologies from this humble neo fringer. I herebly retract any implications regarding your fanac credentials. Of course, SF was right on the cusp of becoming a legitimate, respected mainstream literary genre, before _Star Trek_ and the sci-fi media fen came along. Chastened, I abase myself and retreat to seek out these things you might call ‘books.’ I would hazard a guess that the Gary Seven spinoff would likely have had much the same enduring quality as any other Gene Roddenberry property that wasn’t _Star Trek_. Two words: _space hippies._ [/QUOTE] I was way too snarky before. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’d say I get Star Trek fandom, for reasons others have pointed out here – the way it’s gradually built a whole background, with a future history of several hundred years, providing a canvas for all sorts of characters and stories while still having a kind of comfortable stability. Never really got into Star Wars, though. The first two movies (Ep. IV and V, I guess) were great; that’s about it for me, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/46 "2008-06-20T02:08:20Z")
N.B.: [SF Fandom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Prince) was around long before _Star Trek,_ and has always been something fundamentally different from the fandoms of other, lesser literary genres. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/47 "2008-06-20T06:45:42Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Ah, a SMOF eh? Apologies from this humble neo fringer. I herebly retract any implications regarding your fanac credentials. Of course, SF was right on the cusp of becoming a legitimate, respected mainstream literary genre, before _Star Trek_ and the sci-fi media fen came along. Chastened, I abase myself and retreat to seek out these things you might call ‘books.’ I would hazard a guess that the Gary Seven spinoff would likely have had much the same enduring quality as any other Gene Roddenberry property that wasn’t _Star Trek_. Two words: _space hippies._ [/QUOTE] The fate of the Gary Seven pilot showed that, amazingly enough, there were some execs at NBC with taste. Though I guess we’ll never find out how many breasts the cat who turned into a hot woman had. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/48 "2008-06-20T11:24:15Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Well, I thought I understood back when the trufan prayed to Ghu for guidance while pubbing his ish on a mimeo, believing that FIAWOL. (I leaned more toward FIJAGH.) [/QUOTE] Stop speaking Klingon, ya Trekkie! …actually. I got most of that (all except the Ghu ref), but that kind of fandom was never very visible here. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/49 "2008-06-20T12:16:40Z")
I’ve always been interested in the very early days of sf fandom, back in the 1930s, when the world of sf in the U.S. consisted mostly of some pulp magazines and their devoted followers. Guys (almost entirely guys) at the first conventions must have felt for the first time like they were in a group that spoke the same language. Maybe I’ll actually go to DragonCon some time. I’ve lived in Atlanta twenty years, and think about it every year. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/50 "2008-06-20T16:31:04Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] I’ve always been interested in the very early days of sf fandom, back in the 1930s, when the world of sf in the U.S. consisted mostly of some pulp magazines and their devoted followers. Guys (almost entirely guys) at the first conventions must have felt for the first time like they were in a group that spoke the same language. Maybe I’ll actually go to DragonCon some time. I’ve lived in Atlanta twenty years, and think about it every year. [/QUOTE] I assume you have “The Immortal Storm” and “The Futurians” and all those. Looking at the lettercols in '30s magazines is great fun, full of letters from future bnfs and pros. Long before my time. My closest connection is that I’ve been to the Ackermansion. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/51 "2008-06-20T23:14:28Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] N.B.: [SF Fandom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Prince) was around long before _Star Trek,_ and has always been something fundamentally different from the fandoms of other, lesser literary genres. [/QUOTE] I’ve always thought this aspect of it was rather interesting. SF fan “cons” certainly go back way beyond Star Trek, and in 1966 Roddenberry screened a few completed episodes at “Worldcon” in Cleveland. The fan reaction, predictably enough, was rapturous. Additionally, some props were on display, accompanied by a couple of models in the female android costume from “What Are Little Girls Made Of”. It’s almost as if this Worldcon was the first ST convention, before the series even aired. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/52 "2008-06-20T23:23:58Z")
I find it odd that a guy can wear a sports jersey everywhere and that’s considered normal. (Like this guy in my office who wears one every friday). If I showed up to work in a Starfleet uniform, I would be considered the strange one. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/53 "2008-06-23T23:39:20Z")
At the risk of making enemies… …The guy in the sports jersey and the guy in the Klingon uniform. Which of them will have the hotter girlfriend? Why? (And please spare me the narrative about how you find girls at SF conventions smokin’ hot, and you can’t stand the usual societal image of a hot girl anyway. Let’s accept an ordinary vieww of reality here and speak plainly; if you posted pics and asked an ordianry cross-section of people to rate them, what would the result be?) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/54 "2008-06-23T23:51:34Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] At the risk of making enemies… …The guy in the sports jersey and the guy in the Klingon uniform. Which of them will have the hotter girlfriend? Why? [/QUOTE] The guy in the sports jersey, usually. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381/55 "2008-06-24T01:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] …The guy in the sports jersey and the guy in the Klingon uniform. Which of them will have the hotter girlfriend? [/QUOTE] Let’s push it a bit farther. There’s a 22 year old guy in a sports jersey, and a 22 year old guy in a Klingon uniform. Which one is less likely to _be a virgin_? Why? How about this … 22 year old guy who plays fantasy sports, and a 22 year old guy who plays Magic The Gathering, D&D, or a MMORPG. Which one is less likely to be a virgin? Why? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-star-trek/453381.md?page=2)