Tuesday Geek Girls Guide: Make It So

Let’s travel to the stars this Tuesday geek girls guide (GGG)! Today we’re going to take a look at Star Trek! I am in this fandom because of my mother. She introduced me to the wonderful world of TNG. We used to watch it together, which was cool. This is one of the most gratifying fandoms that you can enjoy alone or with company. You will find aliens, awesome humans, and incredible situations!

This is a great fandom to be in. Star Trek not only has a gorgeous Universe in which you can dive in comfortably, you can also enjoy it with friends and family. If you are starting from zero, don’t worry. You can make friends with Star Trek fans, Cosplay whoever you want and become an alien if you wish to do so.

Star Trek has many different generations already, and many fans have different favorite shows and movies. Some fans call themselves Trekkies, and others Trekkers. However the word Trekkie has a negative halo because of stereotypes on the fandom. They’ve been defined as the irrational fans, while Trekkers have been defined as the rational ones. A little bit like what mainstream considers to be pop culture and high culture. Regardless of this dichotomy, you can use the word that you feel more comfortable with. I won’t lie to you though: the Trekkie vs. Trekker controversy has been long and still looms on fans today.

I personally use any of them as my mood swings. Though I must admit that I use Trekker more times than Trekkie. Though many fans do care about the distinction, many others like me don’t care so much about it. Thus, my personal advice is: do what you feel is right for you.

Star Trek is a very rich fandom which offers you a great Universe. You get philosophical topics to debate, romances to ship, and a great array of aliens you can cosplay. Possibilities are almost endless! Though it might seem like something challenging at first, the number of shows and movies available guarantee you extremely long hours of binge watching, entertainment and fangirling.

So, if you are interested in this diverse and incredible fandom, you might start with one or many of the following options:

1. Watch the TV shows.

It’s hours of entertainment! And if you like them, you’ll never have enough episodes! I list here in chronological order the shows, but you can start with the one that enchants you the most (seriously: do what you feel is better for you).

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-69)

The Animated Series (1973–74)

The Next Generation (1987–1994) [This is where I started 😀 ]

Deep Space Nine (1993–99)

Voyager (1995–2001)

Enterprise (2001–05)

2. Watch the movies!

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Star Trek Generations (1994)

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Star Trek Beyond (2016, so, guess who is going to the cinema!) There’s no trailer at the moment, so stay tuned 😉

4. Watch fan-made/fan-sponsored movies.

There are actually many independent movies about Star Trek. If you had not enough with the above, you can search for them. Some are really impressive! Like this film/documentary below (you’ll love it)!

Star Trek: Axanar – Prelude to Axanar – Full Film

5. Read the comics and the books!

Oh yes! There are comics and books about Star Trek: tons of them! So, if you like the shows and the movies, you might also like the comics and the books 😉

Here you have a list of comics, and another list of books. (Yes, almost never ending entertainment!)

6. Play Star Trek Games!

There are tons of games: board games, video games, card games, role-playing games… Click here to get the list of all Star Trek games out there.

7. Learn Klingon!

Yes, you can actually learn how to speak Klingon. It can come in handy when you start thinking about cosplaying Klingon characters or having your Star Trek basement.

8. See all the Star Trek x Star Wars fun videos you can find in Youtube.

I know: it’s crazy, right? There is a long and deep struggle between Star Trek fans and Star War fans to see which fandom is better than the other. Though you’ll find that many fans like both, some take it very seriously. I highly recommend to child out and not to take things seriously. Thanks to this fandom war, we have hilarious videos on the net. Don’t miss them! Here you have some:

Which is Nerdier: Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Trek’s Tim Russ Explains Star Wars Day

Star Wars vs Star Trek epic battle trailer

9. Familiarize yourself with ships.

If you think that Star Trek fan fiction might have started recently, you’re wrong. One of the first couples to hit it was Kirk x Spock. There are tons of fan fiction about them. Literally talking: tons of it! You have Star Trek the Original Series Fan Fiction, Star Trek TNG fan fiction… I think that whichever combination you might come up with, is already going around in fan fiction forums. (By the way, Reboot Kirk and Khan make an awesome couple.)

[Side note: ships are relationships that fans make with canon (official) couples and fan fiction ones. Not all ships are slash or yaoi (homosexual relationships), some are het (heterosexual ones). You might like or not slash. Some fans are shippers, really dedicated to these relationships. Some really like some ships, and despise others. The best way to proceed here is with an open mind and being kind with everyone.]

10. Start following and taking part in fan pages (and groups if you want) in Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr; or join forums.

There are so many groups, pages and forums that the best way is to Google it, or explore Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr in the search of suitable communities for us. It is something that will depend on which show you liked the most, or which movie you liked the most, or even which characters you liked the most. There are obviously general communities, but inside them you can easily find niches.

Take your time here, because there is a lot!

11. Wear some Star Trek fashion!

Star Trek is the realm to become penniless when it comes to fashion and all types of geeky stuff. Seriously. There are endless possibilities in an almost never-ending list of shops out there. You can find cool Star Trek fashion on Thinkgeek, Hot Topic and Star Trek Shop. (There are many other shops with many other goodies, so, my advice: make your own search on Google, and decide which sites have the best goodies for you!)

12. Get yourself a Star Trek Toy!

Get yourself an Original Series Funko Pop toy, or a Star Trek TNG Funko Pop one! I love these tiny toys. There are also the characters of the Big Bang Theory dressed with Star Trek uniforms! They’re really cute. You can also find action figures! (There are tons of them!)

You can find them in Popcultcha and Thinkgeek.

13. Create your own Star Trek basement in your house!

Even if you thought it was a joke, some fans do re-create Star Trek into their home’s basements. Though I still don’t have mine, you might think about having a room at home dedicated to Star Trek. You only need to decorate it on the fashion, or, if you want to walk around your own Enterprise or Voyager, you can recreate them 😉 You can get some ideas here.

14. Join the Cosplay club, and go to some Star Trek Cons!

You can decide to create your own Cosplay, or buy your set, practice with make-up, and decide if you’d like to be a human or an alien. In any case: just remember that red shirts in the original series had a very short life span (unless they were Scotty).

The cool thing about cosplaying Star Trek characters is that you can create your own. You can base it on the series, but you don’t need to cosplay Kirk, Spock or Uhura. You can come up with a cool alien species from the show, create your own alien name, etc. Just be creative!

Here you have a list of the upcoming Star Trek Cons.

15. Write fan fiction or draw some fan art!

If you like writing or drawing, you could decide to write Star Trek fan fiction or draw the entire Universe. It is a great motivation to get better in writing and drawing. You can choose slash, but you don’t need to. Simply write the stories that you feel more comfortable with. Draws can be cute as well. Just do what you want!

16. Learn about some defining Trekker/Trekkie identity traits.

For starters: red shirts are a no go. Mainly because if you were a red shirt in the series you had your time on screen limited till you’d disappear forever. (You’ll understand this part when you start watching the shows.)

Second: you find it easy to start yelling ‘KHAAAAAaaaaan’ every time you’re frustrated. You can find some ‘Khan-yelling lessons’ in the video below.

Third: you need to learn how to salute in Vulcan with your hand, and say: “live long and prosper.”

Fourth: starting to argue who was the best captain (which is a difficult choice). Kirk? Picard? Janeway? Sisko? Archer? Does even Archer count? Who had the best quotes? Or starting to feel the creeps when you realize that J.J.Abrams did both Star Trek and Star Wars. Or, does it really matter?

And above all: have loads of fun!

Star Trek is a great fandom. You will have the opportunity to meet whole Trekker families, enjoy your time creating your own Star Trek character, and have a lot of fun, which is virtually endless! It is a cool ride!

Let’s go boldly where no one has gone before!

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