Trekkies 2

***1/2 – When I first started watching this follow-up to 1997’s documentary “Trekkies” I got the feeling that this was one of the uniquely nerdy things that occur when a large number of superfans who feel slighted that they weren’t included in something demand that the group responsible for creating that something make some sort of reparations to them. In this case, the reparation is a sequel in which all those people who were denied entry into the first film are featured. And that feeling seems to last about 15 or 20 minutes as Denise Crosby wanders around Europe aimlessly attending some rather low-budget sci-fi conventions. But after that the documentary gets much better as it follows up on some of the more eccentric characters who were introduced in the first film, and also concentrates on some of the more interesting and uplifting people who call themselves “Trekkies”. An example of that would be the group of Serbian fans who have a devout fascination for Trek due to its message of unity and peace which helps them to have hope for the future in their war torn nation where they witness hatred and genocide on a daily basis. I’d gladly trade modern society for a peaceful tomorrow even if it meant having to deal with people wearing poorly-fitting Federation uniforms and pointy Vulcan ears. Okay, so maybe that is not your typical “Star Trek” fanatic, but I found it interesting to see that it does exist out there alongside the more prominent basement-dwelling jobless losers who argue with each other over the obscure minutiae of the shows.