TrekMovie is helping out some people who are looking to find Trek fans who are ready for their close-up. First up, a UK documentary is coming to coming to Los Angeles and the producers want some Trekkies to help them as they get the cast of TOS together. Plus a photo-journalist in Jacksonville Florida wants meet some Trekkies in their natural habitat.
SoCal Fans needed to help ‘Bring Back’ Star Trek
Channel 4’s Bring Back is a UK documentary series which dedicates each episode to visiting celebrities of a specific show and ‘bringing them back together.’ They have done this for some British classics as well as Dallas and The A-Team. In September they are coming to LA to do ‘Bring Back Star Trek.’ They are looking for fans in the area to join them for a special event paying tribute to Star Trek. The idea is to have a gathering of Trek fans that the host of the show (Justin Lee Collins, who is a big sci-fi fan) will ‘drop in on’ and he will ‘pick their brains’ about Star Trek and what makes it special. Then armed with this info he will go around Los Angeles and interview the various Original Series stars.
The gathering of Trek fans will probably be shot September 27th. If you are a dedicated fan in the LA County area and would like to take part then they would love to hear from you soon. They are also looking for groups and fan clubs to help out. For more information please contact Matt Green at So Television at mattgr@sotelevision.co.uk .
To give you an idea what the show is like, here is the opening clip of their A-Team show, where Bring Back host Justin Lee Collins drops in on Dwight Schultz (A-Team’s Howling Mad Murdock and Next Generation’s Reginald Barclay)
Looking For A Few Good Floridian Trekkies
Back in July TrekMovie reported on a UK photographer who did a photo essay on British fans of American pop culture, with many shots of Star Trek and Star Wars fans. The photos were all taken with the fans (usually in costume) in their homes. Jon Fletcher, a photographer for the the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union was inspired by that essay and wants to do the same, but just for Trek fans in Florida. He is interested in showing the contrast between fantastical sci-fi outfits and every-day life. He is also interested getting photos of Trek collectors with their collections. The photos will run in the paper and online, alongside a feature story on the new Star Trek film. If you live in north-east or central Florida or even southern Georgia, contact Jon Fletcher at jon.fletcher@jacksonville.com or call him at (904) 359-4687. More info at jacksonville.com.
Photos from UK Photo Essay by Steve Schofield
NOTE: I have spoken to both Matt Green and Jon Fletcher, and both have the highest respect for Trek fans. Both hope to show Trek fans in the best light possible and neither buy into the mainstream media stereotypes. Both of these projects sound interesting and TrekMovie encourages SoCal and Florida fans to get involved.
CBS Wants More Fan Club Feedback
As TrekMovie reported from Vegas Con, CBS has announced a new official Star Trek fan club, and they are looking for feedback. The official feedback site has been updated recently with some new questions. The new list focuses on what how much you value events like Film Festivals, Gallery Shows, Concerts, etc. Goto StarTrekCountdown.com to help them out.
I’m a trekkie who lives in central florida! yippie!
first?…
I never thought I would want to live in Florida, but all of a sudden…
I never knew that Barclay was in the A-team. But then again, I’ve never seen an episode.
And I’m a Trekkie who lives in L.A. Make it so.
I am a Southern California long time Star Trek fan. Steady as she goes.
Excuse me if I am skeptical of these productions showing Trek fans in a positive light. I have yet to see a show or documentary that doesn’t focus on the stereotypical fan that is usually shown (made fun of) by the mainstream media.
I hope that my fears are unfounded. There are so many fans out there that are doing a lot of charity & community service work and it would be great to see these fans featured.
Splurch
As noted in the column I did some due diligence on these people, hence the note (which was there to discourage comments like yours which have the effect of discouraging involvement). If fans don’t participate, then there wont be an opportunity to show them in that more positive light.
I haven’t actually seen “Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water” since it’s only a UK release, but from what I hear, it isn’t negative at all.
(Oh, it’s about Klingonists)
Justin Lee Collins is a legend and will completely respect the Star Trek, he’s so enthusiastic about all of these cult classics!
his bring back series is awesome!
I live in the L.A. area, so I might get in touch with the UK guys. I don’t know, I might not be die-hard enough for them.
From what I can tell, most people involved in documentaries of this kind haved ended up only depicting the most extreme Trek fans, and ignoring the fact that the overwhelming majority of us wouldn’t stand out very much in a crowd (most people I know would have no idea that I am a Star Trek fan).
I would like very much to see a feature which erases some of the stereotypes. Anthony Pascale has demonstrated nothing but integrity in all of his work I have seen on this site, and it appears that he is willing to vouch for the intent of the filmmakers. I hope that some Trek fans who are actually productive contributors to society will participate, and that their segments will not end up on the cutting room floor in favor of the more extreme and stereotypical types normally featured.
This could be a good thing, particularly just prior to a ST film intended to draw more mainstream audiences into the fold . Who knows? Could it ultimately bring Closettrekker out of the walk-in? J/K…
Good luck to these guys…
Bring Back is good. Collins hypes his Britgeek persona a little to bring the celebs (or used to be celebs) along, but generally the show is fond of its subject and the folk it reunites seem the same. My only problem is that Star Trek is back. Most of TOS cast don’t live in obscurity. I fear the reunion will be the one line extras with Grace Lee Whitney as the headliner…
I want to see a reunion of Shatner and Takei, with lots of hugging!
#1. Jimmy
Look out for the Xindi then.
If JLC does as good a job with Star Trek as he did with the A-Team then we are in for a massive treat
I want to know what happened with the A-team JLC show! Did they do the reunion?
TK, just do a you tube search for ‘bring back the a-team’ and you should find what you are looking for… :-)
It’s a lot of fun.
I hear Denise Crosby needs work.
i dont know if you guys have seen any of these British shows but they are terrific and great fun.
Justin lee collins is very funny indeed and i enjoyed his attempts to bring back the A team and Bring back dallas. really looking forward to this.
TK #16 – he did meet all the stars (except peppard fo obvious reasons) individually including BA. however BA failed to show for the reunion party.
he did get all the others there though i think.
this star trek one will be a hoot.
cheers
Greg UK
I’m currently a SoCal man, I think I might check this out. Sounds interesting to say the least.
#14 The Last Maquis
Yeah, no kidding, lol. I remember watching that episode and thinking “Oh sh*t… that was right over top of my house.” ;-)
16. “If JLC does as good a job with Star Trek as he did with the A-Team then we are in for a massive treat”
He got everybody together but no Mr T, he refused but gladly gave an interview in private. Loads of the original cast came together in the end, even regular minor characters and peppards son. It’s worth watching as it’s funny as F#@K!!!
Anthony,
I agree with Closettrekker, you have demonstrated nothing but integrity in everything on this site, to which I am extremely grateful. If you feel confident in these productions then I will remain optimistic as well.
I did not mean to appear negative, it’s just that after 40 years of having to endure the comments and scorn that one gets when you say that you are a Trek fan, you just expect to get more of the same.
Multiple attempts to email these folks at the addy provided here bounced ?????
if you cant get through, then send in your email via the tipline (see ‘got tips’ link on the right column) and we will forward them. Note if it is for the FL or the LA thing
I watched the A-Team episode on YT a few days ago…really funny. I’m a bit shocked and stunned that Mr. T wasn’t able to join the rest of the cast. i didn’t know he would be that busy…oh well.
Sign me up I live in Riverside and I can get about 5 or six Klingons to help out!
I live in Yucaipa caI might be able to being a group of about ten or more
Jlc is hilarious.”Good times”are ahead.