TrekMovie.com Comments Being Taken A Bit Too Seriously May 27, 2008
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Fandom, TrekMovie.com , trackback
On Sunday TrekMovie.com shared some exclusive preview pics of a Star Trek themed cake to be featured in an upcoming episode of the Food Network show “Ace of Cakes.” The article spawned many comments here and some sites and blogs picked up the story (as per usual). But then some other sites decided to focus on the comments and took one in particular way too seriously.
In the comments thread of that article, TrekMovie.com community member Sean wrote in all caps…
THIS IS A DISASTER I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY PUT SCOTTY IN THE NAVIGATOR’S POSITION I CAN’T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE ARE SO CLUELESS ABOUT THE BASICS OF STAR TREK THIS IS A DISASTER
Some here took him seriously, but most assumed he was joking. Nitpicking is of course a Trekkie tradition and Sean was just playing along. However some other websites saw his comment and took it seriously, really seriously. That and other comments spawned a number of articles, here are some examples:
io9.com: Star Trek Cake Upsets Nerds
LA Times: Star Trek cake sours on some Trekkies
FoodNetworkAddict.com: Nerd Alert: An Ace of Cakes Star Trek Slip Up
GrinningSkull.com: Nerds Up In Arms!
Humor…an alien concept to some
So to make it clear to those sites and to everyone else: IT WAS A JOKE.
In fact, Sean has blogged about how his joke spawned all this attention.
It is pretty common here at TrekMovie.com for comments threads to get heated, and some have grown up to a thousand comments. But this was an article about a cake….A CAKE! No one was really taking it that seriously (well there was one guy who seemed really concerned that the cake had too much fondant in it, but I guess he was being more of a ‘Bakkie’ and not a ‘Trekkie’). Nitpicking is part part of Trekkie tradition. There have been books written on it, but it is all part of the fun of Trek. No one was actually upset, or ‘up in arms’ and it is a bit disturbing that some other sites thought that. The supreme irony here is that all these sites mocked Sean and Trek fans for taking a cake too seriously, when it was they themselves who were taking his joke and the other comments too seriously. Perhaps it just shows that there is a way to go to educate the world that Trekkies are not the kinds of stereotypes that some people hold.
So in the future, as you make your comments here at TrekMovie.com, remember: the world is watching.
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Comments»
geeze, did everyone just decide it was a slow news day and to pick on Trekkers? The press/blogosphere needs to just chill out.
Oh man. It is difficult to believe that a casual joke on Trekmovie would cause such a stupid stir. Non-trekkers need to get a life.
RED ALERT !
SHEILDS UP,,
Captain, sensors show a complete lack of humor our in this area of cyberspace.
Its amazing ,,,,,its humor Captain,but not as we know it.
RED ALERT !
SHEILDS UP,,
Captain, sensors show a complete lack of humor in this area of cyberspace.
Its amazing ,,,,,its humor Captain,but not as we know it.
It’s a disaster! These so-called news sites wouldn’t know a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ remark if bit them on the a** (cheek).
Well, I guess everyone now realizes that we need those annoying, putrid little smiley-face things so no one can mistake a tongue-in-cheek dead-pan sarcastic joke for a serious nerd Trekkie geek melt-down.
Do we need to put a disclaimer on every post? Maybe we should, like after saying:
“THIS IS A DISASTER I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY PUT SCOTTY IN THE NAVIGATOR’S POSITION I CAN’T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE ARE SO CLUELESS ABOUT THE BASICS OF STAR TREK THIS IS A DISASTER”
put something like [kidding...].
Well, they had narration in Blade Runner to more completely explain things didn’t they? (Yeah, then they made a version without it for the purists.)
And yeah, Matt, I guess it was a slow news day. Wow. This is hilarious. Look what Harry missed!!
kg
Trying…hard…not…to read…the “details on Star Trek XI ships” article
RE: 7
speaking of taking things seriously….one thing I am serious about is that what happens in spoiler articles, stays in spoiler articles. Many like 7 here dont read them.
#6
“Well, they had narration in Blade Runner to more completely explain things didn’t they? (Yeah, then they made a version without it for the purists.)”
Let’s hope no one makes a Blade Runner cake. Man, the fondant would really hit the fan!
BTW – did anyone check any confectioners or bakers forums? I wonder if the “cakkies” over there got caught-up in the hullabaloo like we did.
Holy cow, what a difference a smiley makes! This is one of the best laughs I’ve had in a while. I’ll look at it again when I’m out of wine.
Ha ha ha… nice.
I agree with Anthony Pascale Re # 8
I have no-idea whats going on in the spoiler articles because I refuse to read them.
theres no point in seeing the next Trek if you know whats going to happen, and besides,,,its going to be great fun sitting there and saying,,,WOW
A true Trek fan will stay away from Spoilers !!!
I heard that the cake is based on leaked footage of the new movie, and that Scotty will actually be the helmsman in the new film.
The cake knows all.
In a related note, using scientific methods and a divining rod, I have determined the true plot of the new film, and I will gladly sell my exclusive to any media outlet after negotiating my fee up front.
Any takers?
Rob+
I did my best to breake some clichés last month in a late night TV interview that you can see here:
http://www.paramountcomedy.es/pc.es/especiales/lastnst/video4.html
It is in Spanish.
My fellow spanish fans say I made them look good (although, I must recognize it, I used you crazy americans to make my point.)
;P
It’s pretty funny that an innocent joke on the comments page caused such a stir!
#7 and #11 I admire your will power in not reading the spoiler articles. Unfortunately I just can’t resist. I respect your choice and agree no comments should be made about spoliers outside those articles!
#8: This is why we who hide from spoilers love you. Thanks, Tony.
This article only reinforces my long-held belief that the cake is a lie.
we’re nerds?
Well when people make comments like that it is for the most part “Not a joke” Including such crap as follows:
Shatner in the new move, the spark plugs just won’t let it go.
Stupid new universe/3rd dimension/Mirror/Uranis or WTF ever to explain a “diffrent timelene” for the new movie.
Retarded “cannon” comments.
Just some example’s of why people make fun of Trek fans, they think that they should “Get a life” and some of us should!
Darth “There’s not 79 levels on the Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) like in Star Trek: V” The final Frountier (1989)”Ballz
P.S. This was a joke!
Haha I love Trekkies and I am damned proud to be one. Cheers mates!
Well, they overreact to our comments because most of the times we really take Star Trek too seriously. Come on, you know it’s true :-)
I guess I’ll have to say it.
Hey, non-fan types!
GET A LIFE!
:D
re: “So in the future, as you make your comments here at TrekMovie.com, remember: the world is watching.”
Can they really see me with my hand in my boxer briefs?
Cool.
=h=
THIS IS A DISASTER I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY PUT TREKMOVIE.COM INTO THIS POSITION I CAN’T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE ARE SO CLUELESS ABOUT THE BASICS OF FANDOM THIS IS A DISASTER
Am I nerd? Do I not bleed?
It’s what I’ve said along! People love to mock science fiction fans, so you have to be careful about what you say. I’m well known for my dislike of the nerd element of Trek fans: the sort of people who turn up in TNG uniforms to watch Patrick Stewart in Macbeth. Sadly, the dweebs get all the publicity and ruin it for the rest of us.
On the other hand, the articles linked here are just plain bitchy, so I guess this time any comment would have been used to create a fuss. My question is: what’s the writer’s childhood trauma with regard to Star Trek that makes them want to be so mean to Star Trek fans?
How would one go about EATING that cake tho?
25
I certainly wouldn’t be able to do so. Imagine biting Uhura’s head off.
Nope. No eating it.
The thing that bugged me about the cake is that if the guy could re-create the Enterprise bridge with so much detail, why couldn’t he get stuff like the crew right?
I don’t care how much people call me a nerd for nitpicking the cake. Star Trek is the one thing where I 100% geek out. (I’m a different Sean, btw, post #12 on the cake article, but I still agreed with the cake critique)
I think the cake was cool. Scotty was at the helm in Where No Man Has Gone Before. Scotty is cross trained. Lighten up!
Wow, im surprised everyone isnt getting all worked up over how every article title called us Nerds. WHat the hay? I dont think we are nerds just b/c we like to watch fantasy and not reality tv and movies. Star Trek isnt for the weak minded like most shows and movies these days.
You should have seen what Fark was saying commenting on one of the articles. It was hilarious.
Well, I guess I will drag my Nerd butt to my Nerd-Mobile and go out and buy a Nerd Cake of my own!
The sad thing is, you won’t see those same sites do a blog on how they can’t recognize humor and how they seem to all selectively seek out the comments that would validate their desire to use “Nerd” in their headline.
…by the way, has the figure at the helm ever been possitively identified as Scotty? Perhaps it’s Mr. Leslie wearing his hair differently?
Well, the word “nerd” has kind of lost its sting, hasn’t it? I know I don’t mind being called one.
Well, I took it seriously, and have begun a petition to get the cakemakers to correct the mistake. Star Trek is too important to let such things go.
That was a joke, by the way.
This is so utterly bizzare, guys.
C’mon, we’ve only got two undeclared wars going, a financial collapse, a devaluing dollar, and a growing police state going on. The media should only have to worry about what people reading a Star Trek site are talking about.
Guess even ST fans can’t have their cake and eat it too….
….the adventure continues…
THIS IS A DISASTER NERDS!
UHURA IS OVER THERE, ALL UP IN SCOTTY’S BUSINESS.
SCOTTY IS ALL UP IN CHEKHOV’S BUSINESS.
SPOCK IS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
YOU ALL EVERYBODY NERDS!
2 CRAIGS
Ok so the cake has hit the warp coil.Wow i madea joke. But watch out here comes the cake we can eat it in 6 minutes. Ok im not makeing any sense but it is more sense then getting all caked out over the cake. As the shat said on sat night live. Get a life. But lets change that to the non trekkies for them to get a life. Hell im a huge trek fan and i have read pretty much evey star trek novel and own all the dvds.(not the remasterd yet as im waiting for for the bluray) and i am not a nerd but just a blue collar redneck who likes to GIT R DONE! But realy how can they have scotty in the wrong chair. lol.
I really hope that my longtime contribution to this blog (and Trek fandom in general) is the repeated use of “THIS IS A DISASTER.” I’d be really happy with that.
Boycott the LA Times!!!
Well, that’s one of the working principles of the internet we have to put up with. Someone who has no idea of a topic (maybe except for preconceptions) picks up a random bit and comments on it. Someone else picks up the comment and effortlessly re-publishes it, caring even less about its authenticity.
I know too well how many people out there loathe nerds and take every opportunity to misunderstand us and ridicule us (perhaps for not caring about serious stuff like wrestling and pimped cars?).
And since someone mentioned Fark: While the people over there at least have a grasp of humor, they customarily engage in nerd bashing, not caring at all about the nerdy stuff that has been posted in the first place. Just try to find one comment page about a Trek topic without the words “mother’s basement” and “get laid”.
Hey, I like pimped cars. And cakes. And shuttlecraft.
It’s sad that the media is focused on this when our brave astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station can’t pee for lack of a plumber. Oh, and I’d eat Uhura any day… :-)
Can someone please contact Simon Pegg’s agent and determine if he’s really going to be the new bridge navigator? Orci, can you clear this up?!?!
THIS IS A DiSASTER!
THEY CALLED US TREKIES AND NERDS.
WE ARE CALLED TREKKERS!
OK. I know. These “THIS IS A DISASTER” jokes are going to get tired soon, but I just couldn’t resist. Also, I hate typing in upper case–even in jest–but I did it anyway because I’m a rebel. I even have a leather jacket to prove it.
Here’s the solution: Bake a second cake, this time a really big cake, with a main bridge AND a main engineering room with Scotty in it!
Shows a great deal of bias. Also shows that those morons, as smart as they think they are, still don’t know the difference between a nerd and a geek.
[sarcasm]
Someone with a website called “foodnetworkaddict” is calling US nerds? *LMAO*
[/sarcasm]
I thnk all you nerds need to get out of your mama’s basement and get laid. Chill out at your midtown apartment. Drink a nice single malt scotch and relax to Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Enjoy a fine Montecristo Media Noche while whispering sweet nothings in each others’ ears.
Not to sound like the sophisticated man-about-town nerd, mind you ;-)
#48: How true!!
I didn’t even assume that was Scotty. I could have sworn I’ve seen other red shirts in that chair. Hell, the second Lt. Hawk was shot off into space, he became a red shirt, technically, and he sat at the conn.
I did get that the comment was a joke following in the tradition of some serious hard-core Trekkers complaining about things like what order the colors of the buttons are in on a panel and s**t like that. I’ve always found it funny.
I…don’t believe it! :p
Decloaking . . .
Now that our posts are being quoted by other sites and the mainstream media, do we get residuals? Maybe we should go on strike!
oh, and . . . };-)>
Recloaking.
As I said over in the cake thread at #44- this is a classic!!
LOLOL!!!
I don’t suppose it’s occurred to anyone that the Cake Incident would not have been taken so seriously if it wasn’t the kind of reaction people have come to expect from Star Trek fans.
I refer any doubters to any of the threads on this site having anything to do with the new Abrams movie, canonical issues relating to it, Bill Shatner’s absence from same, etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseam…
Sorry, people; you might as well own up. We are the Fandom Who Hysterically Cried DISASTER! once too often, and we’re getting the reputation we deserve.
Not only do the other sites on the web follow this sites lead, they follow this sites comments and members. We own the web. Geeks arise! We are the driving force of all the internet! Bow before us, puny mortals!
You cannot begin to imagine our power!!
(I like cake)
OMG!!
DOES TREKKIES=NERDS?!?!
THIS IS A DISASTER! DOESN’T THE WORLD KNOW THAT ANYONE WHO ATTEMPTS TO RE-CREATE STAR TREK WHETHER IN CAKE FORM OR NOT MUST GET IT RIGHT?!
WE MUST LEAD THE ‘INSURRECTION’ AGAINST THESE OTHER SITES!
ACE OF CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKES!!!!!!!
Mr Leslie. It’s Mr Leslie! Or Kyle.
Scotty is down in engineering of course!
congrats sean,
I it is good to see the impact this site is having. We need more things like this to happen. Also it must be really cool to have a comment blogged about.
Wow, I just thought it was a bit of a laugh……
Oh well.
NERDS UNITE!!!!! WE WILL NOT BE MARGINALIZED!!!!! ;-)
Captain Pike says: “Let Them Eat Cake.”
WE’RE NERDS?!
8 (Anthony), thank you for reminding folks to please note post spoilers. I am among the many here who, despite our interest in Trek, do not want to know too much about this upcoming movie.
As for this whole cake business, I find it interesting that the misinterpretation of the cake thread commentary may bespeak a certain lack of humor that is often mistakenly attributed to Trek fans themselves. Contrary to public perception, it is my belief that fans of Trek are often far more centered than many people in the general population.
I haven’t read this thread for fear of reading spoilers about the new ships (forewarned having been forearmed, so to speak), but surely someone has said it by now: Humor — it is a difficult concept!
Good work as usual, TrekMovie.com.
(Correction: I meant, “please not post spoilers.”)
#64
Weren’t you on the Starfleet Academy set awhile back? You, sir, are a walking spoiler!
(Should I let folks know that I am just kidding here? I wouldn’t want AICN to misinterpret my intent.)
“The cake is a lie!” -Portal
Think of it this way, TrekMovie is at least fairly well-known if they are picking up on this cake issue. Since I’m the one who has a habit of ticking people off, I’ll probably take a leave of absence. Or a vow of silence.
But I also have to agree that it must have been a slow news day. I remember not too long ago, the news was so slow that they had a 10 minute segment on how Mary Poppins lied to us by saying that “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is said backwards “dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupes.” Sometimes such things do happen.
And as for the “Nerd” comment:
Just because I frequently work with DNA and find that my professor drew Adenine with Cytosine instead of Thymine funny, does NOT make me a nerd. I prefer the word “geek,” thank you. Nerd is often derogatory. As we have seen, there are plenty of non-stereotypical Star Trek fans out there.
LEAVE TREKMOVIE ALONE!!!! YOU KNOW THEY’RE PEOPLE TOO! IT’S GOING THROUGH A REALLY HARD TIME RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE NEW MOVIE COMING OUT AND ALL THE ATTENTION! AND HOW DARE ANYONE MAKE FUN OF TREKMOVIE! bastards…
Surprisingly, we are not all Vulcans. That would be… illogical.
#63. I know. I’m shocked, too.
:O
Sarcasm is difficult to convey I suppose…..
See what happens when journalists don’t do their due diligence and make assumptions? A good journalist would have requested to interview the person and confirm what they stated was in fact a fact and not a joke. Shame on the media for being into sensationalism and not the truth. They are all Romulan Dogs without honor. I recommend barring them from all future Starfleet official Press Conferences. LOL
Well, that takes the cake!
Amazing. Just amazing.
I appologize to Sean for getting the joke. I was however attempting to be sarcastic myself with all the BSG references. Win some and lose some!
I am a long-time Trek fan. It’s disappointing that Trek “fandom” continually is looked upon by “mainstream” people as “nerdy people living in their parents basement.” It’s ridiculous. If other groups of individuals were judged as unfairly, there would probably be lawsuits or something. At any rate, what I have found is that most of the people who degrade or berate Trek fans haven’t A CLUE about what they are bashing. Most have never seen an episode and are simply on some type of “bullying bandwagon.”
I say to all of you, as Shatner said to us at one time: “Get a life.” (Yes, I know the skit, and I’m not a nerd.) The people who make such negative comments certainly don’t live in a positive realm, and their comments are not only rude, but unjustified. It might help to know what you’re talking about, and more importantly who you are personally degrading, before you bash an entire fanbase.
Trekmovie.com is where I go EVERYDAY for some belly laughs.
Seacrest OUT!
so i was the only one who was really annoyed about the cake . :)
#75 – I agree. Let’s take a look at all the Star Trek fans that t have admitted publicly to being influenced by Star Trek:
Bill Gates
Paul Allen
Martin Cooper (invented the cell phone)
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Hawking
The majority of technology we use today was developed by a Star Trek fan. Steve Wozniak talks about whenever he hit a mental block while developing a little thing known as the personal computer, he would watch Star Trek episodes to see how the computer looked and he would get inspired. The world would be a technology deficient place if it wasn’t for all the Star Trek fans. I recommend that all those that bash us fans, be banned from using any technology developed or influenced by Star Trek. Let’s see how long they last without their laptops and cell phones.
66, you do have a point. Perhaps that’s why I want to avoid further spoilers — I already know too much!
:-)
(Ironically, I cannot know enough about the Phoenix mission, which I am following on my blog as well as during every possible waking moment. With respect to the good ship Phoenix (NSSDC ID 2007-034A) , spoilers are more than welcomed!)
# 79
Well if you know TOO much, for the love of God, share!!
#77
No. I understand it tasted like feet. It was so bad that Spock jumped in his time ship to try to stop it from being made. Or to at least make a little Chekov out of fondant.
[...] of all, Trekmovie felt the need to clarify that, yes, it was a joke, and graciously linked to my previous blog [...]
Sometimes a Cake is just a cake.
and some people think we need to get a life…
#83
What?!
And give up the fun?
eh.. I hadn’t even noticed Scotty at the helm, till I read some comments on the original article.
I was more interested in why Uhura was standing at Scotty’s engineering station. ;-)
Weirdness, sign of da pocylypse….
They should have had cellular peptide cake, but then again, sometimes a cake is just a cake!
This is just one more piece of evidence that the media is more interested in ratings than the truth. Every time they sacrifice journalistic integrity for money, they put one more nail in their own coffin. Television news is a dinosaur.