Star Trek remains a blockbuster Hollywood franchise with some of the biggest and most loyal Superfans around.  There are always competitors, of course, vying for pop culture attention.  For Trek, it’s usually been the sci-fi saga created by George Lucas.  Though Star Wars may post a bigger profit margin, Gene Roddenberry’s space spanning Wagon Train To The Stars was first on the space spanning scene.

First broadcast on NBC from 1966 to 1969, the show was one of the first to find new life and success in syndication repeats.  A cult like following developed and Trek’s fans – known as Trekkies or Trekkers – sprouted around the world, holding their own specialized conventions in hotels and in vast auditoriums.

Laugh Trek is chronicling Trek’s Superfans – those who go beyond just merely watching.  These loyal devotees know episode dialogue by heart, purchase a wide range of related merchandise, and many even cosplay – or dress up as their favorite Trek characters.

Here’s my chat with Superfan, Eddie Steak, a man who’s Netflix viewing may as well be called Trekflix viewing.

Why do you love Star Trek so much?  What does it mean to you?

Aside from great characters, and fun stories, Star Trek has always been interesting to me because it’s such a positive view of the future.

That’s very rare in sci-fi and I’ve always loved how optimistic it is. I also like how thought provoking it can be when it works. I’m a big fan of sci-fi that makes you think and Star Trek was always really good at that.

When did you first watch Trek – can you remember clearly?

My first exposure to Star Trek was the motion picture on VHS tape in the 90s. not a great starting point, but after I saw Wrath of Khan,

I was interested. then the old sci-fi channel started airing all the original series episodes hosted by William Shatner. I was hooked from there. I’m a fan of every series from TOS-ENT.

What makes you a Superfan?  Is there a unique criteria to be one?

I think you have to have a certain amount of passion to be a super fan. Really caring about the quality and wanting more

Do you enjoy the new Star Trek movies or the CBS All Access show, Star Trek: Discovery?  If you like it, why? If you don’t, why don’t you enjoy the new show?

Well, this won’t surprise anybody that knows me…… but no, I don’t enjoy the new movies or Discovery.

Unfortunately, it seems like Star Trek has turned into mindless sci-fi action.  It’s flashy and the special effects look great, but there’s no substance. it’s clearly trying to appeal to a broader audience, but I think it’s losing its core fan base in the process.

Characters are just poorly written and hollow, and the show just doesn’t have any respect for canon. and that might seem like a minor issue because Star Trek has always had its fair share of canonical inconsistencies, but there was always an effort to provide at least some sense of continuity. It just doesn’t seem like the people involved with Discovery truly care about Star Trek. it’s just a paycheck to them.

Then again, I guess everything is a let down once you’ve heard a good Picard speech