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I found your Trekkies site and would love to see the documentary sometime.
Anyhow, just in case you are still reading Trekkies email...
I think the original series was popular because the main characters were so lonely.
The heroes of most TV shows are strong, happy people who solve all their problems by the end of the episode.
Gene Roddenberry claimed he created an optimistic vision of the future. A lot of people seem to believe him. But, the truth is, Kirk, Spock and McCoy were three single guys who seemed to be suffering from mild depression. McCoy was probably an alcoholic.
The main characters were as obsessive about their search for strange new worlds as Trekkies are about their search for action figures. Trekkies need a show like Star Trek, but Kirk, Spock and McCoy seem to need help from us Trekkies.
It seems to me that that's a lesson for anyone who wants to create a show with a cult following. A series that features depressed, lonely, needy main characters may not attract a large audience, but the viewers it does attract will be unusually faithful.
Al Bell
allbell@vnet.net