On Trek and Fan Fiction
Curtis, whose work I’ve mentioned before, saw the new Star Trek and calls it “awesome fan fiction.” A few others have made this comment, and I think it’s pretty dead on.
I’m not a real Trekker anymore, but there was a time when I lived and breathed the original series. Since my only access to the show was through unreliable syndicated reruns, I spent a lot of time reading (and re-reading) the licensed novels and the Best of Trek series. Best of Trek was an anthology series that collected fan articles from Trek Magazine. Each volume contained interviews, critical analyses, and some fan fiction.
Since this was before I’d ever even heard of “being online”, it was my first encounter with the idea of fan fiction. One of the stories, a piece called Visit To A Strange Planet Revisited told the story of a transporter accident that accidentally beamed the William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley from the set of Star Trek to the actual starship Enterprise. Granted, I haven’t read the story in 20 years, but I remember wishing it could be made into an episode.
My point is that I don’t think its an insult to call something fan fiction. Star Trek was a product of its time, not only because of its 60s idealism and trippy production values, but also because of the pool of talent that contributed to it (Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson, and David Gerrold to name a few). Even if someone had the foresight to cryogenically freeze the actors upon the show’s cancellation, it would be impossible to recreate the energy and creativity of the original show. The diminishing returns of its many sequels testify to this.
I think the only way for Star Trek to live on is through fan fiction, and of course big-budget movies can be a part of that, but there has to be more. A single film, or even a series of films, can’t capture the nuances of a television series. Consider three consecutive episodes from the second season of the show: Wolf in the Fold, The Trouble with Tribbles, and The Gamesters of Triskelion. The first is almost a horror story, while the second is pure comedy, and the last is action adventure. While a single film may contain all of those elements, it can’t possibly be all three.
Fan fiction can do all of these things, and more. Like the story I mentioned above, fan fiction concerns itself with corners of the fictional universe that are rarely explored in big budget popcorn movies. From the minutiae of minor characters to the erotic dalliances of (and between) main characters, fan fiction turns the obsessions and creativity of a works’ audience against it. In the same way that stories of Robin Hood or King Arthur have been adapted to the tastes and interests of every generation, Star Trek lives on to meet the needs of 21st century fans.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that the reason we have an ongoing Star Trek franchise is because fans began writing their own fiction after the show was cancelled, and incredibly, the rights holders allowed it. As fan publications became more successful, Paramount took notice and decided there was a commercial market for new Trek stories.
Star Trek isn’t alone in this. Star Wars has a huge fan fiction community, as does Harry Potter, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I just wish someone would make a really good X-files fan film.
