OUT IN FORCE AS 2 BELOVED SCI-FI FRANCHISES FADE AWAY, FANS HAVE SEIZED THE SPOTLIGHT LIKE NEVER BEFORE.Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer It was supposed to be a cozy affair. Eugene ``Rod'' Roddenberry, son of the ``Star Trek'' series creator, Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry, (August 19, 1921 - October 24, 1991) was an American screenwriter and producer. He became best known as the creator of what would become the science fiction universe of Star Trek. , watching the final episode of ``Star Trek  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. : Enterprise'' with some 50 of his friends. If they couldn't save ``Enterprise'' from cancellation, the forces behind TrekUnited.com and Save Enterprise at least wanted the series to have a festive send-off. Instead, and to nobody's surprise, more than 200 people bought tickets - at $18 a pop - to attend the May 13 ``Enterprise'' send-off at the LAX Embassy Suites hotel, where they would mix with fellow fans, watch outtakes and view a trailer of Rod Roddenberry's upcoming documentary, ``Trek Nation.'' Where science-fiction franchises go, fans follow. Often in great numbers. Long passed are the days when ``underground'' sci-fi and fantasy fans could only find each other through specialized fanzines. The Internet has brought world-wide fans - and numerous galaxies - together. And there's safety and power in numbers in numbered parts; as, a book published in numbers. See also: Number , even among those who, throughout history, frequently have been labeled geeks. You may also have noticed a homemade light-saber or two in your midst - or on the news - over the past several weeks. Rallying around ``Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith,'' fans of ``Star Wars'' have been pouring out of the woodwork practically since the beginning of the year. An estimated 30,000 fans attended a three-day ``Star Wars'' convention in Indianapolis at the end of April. Author Matt Stover For the science fiction and fantasy author, see Matthew Stover John Matthew (Matt) Stover (born January 27, 1968 in Dallas, Texas, U.S.) is a kicker for the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League. , who, as the author of the ``Revenge of the Sith'' novel, has bumped into a few, considers the ``Wars'' devotees the upper echelon of fandom. `` 'Star Wars' fans just seem like kinder, gentler, more well-adjusted, grown-up grown-up adj. 1. Of, characteristic of, or intended for adults: grown-up movies; a grown-up discussion. 2. people than you find in the general run of (science-fiction) conventions,'' says Stover stover stalks of maize plants from which mature corn cobs have been harvested as grain, or grain sorghum plants from which heads have also been removed. The stover is usually fed by turning the cattle into the field and is subject to fungal infection, sometimes causing mycotoxicosis. . ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what it is. It's the Force.'' ``Trek'' fans would make a similar claim to being well-adjusted. Among the guests at the ``Enterprise'' event: ``pilots, Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. scientists, a lot of people who worked on the show, everything from janitors to lawyers,'' says Roddenberry. ``People who are hard-core Trekkies, people who admire the show, people who admired my father and those who thought it was a cool outlook on life. ``I don't think we have any of the nut cases here. I haven't seen anyone in a Klingon outfit,'' Roddenberry adds, ``but anyone's welcome to wear one.'' (Note the hastily inserted ``not that there's anything wrong with that'' remark about ``Trek''-inspired costumes. Given that a grassroots campaign by fans of the original ``Star Trek'' is largely responsible for reviving the franchise after it had been canceled, you tick off the fans at your peril.) Many fans contend that documentarian doc·u·men·tar·i·an also doc·u·men·ta·rist n. One that makes documentaries or a documentary. Roger Nygard did science-fiction fandom no favors with ``Trekkies,'' his 1999 documentary about hard-core ``Trek'' devotees. Ditto William (Capt. Kirk) Shatner, who implored conventioneers to ``get a life!'' on a ``Saturday Night Live'' skit. Not too funny, say those who take their fandom and conventioneering seriously. ``The Whole 'Trek' phenomenon, with people dressing up and wearing pointy point·y adj. point·i·er, point·i·est Having an end tapering to a point. ears, it was that upswelling that caught the public's and the media's attention,'' says Deborah Geisler, graduate program director of the department of communication and journalism at Suffolk University During the 1990s Suffolk University constructed its first residence halls, began satellite programs with other colleges in Massachusetts, and opened campuses in both Madrid, Spain, and Dakar, Senegal, (the Suffolk University Dakar Campus). in Boston. ``These were the fans people knew about. They didn't know about the ones who go to conventions, talk about stuff and go back to their jobs teaching journalists or being librarians.'' Derision notwithstanding, with the double whammy double whammy Noun informal a devastating setback made up of two elements double whammy n (col) → palo doble double whammy n (inf wrap-up of both ``Star Wars'' and ``Star Trek'' - arguably science fiction's most influential and lucrative franchises - sci fi Sci fi may refer to:
UPN United Paramount Network UPN Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Navarrese People Union) UPN Umgekehrte Polnische Notation , but they certainly made sure that ``Enterprise'' (and previous ``Star Trek'' spin-offs ``The Next Generation,'' ``Deep Space Nine'' and ``Voyager'') existed in the first place. Paramount has also announced a new ``Star Trek'' movie with a new cast. ``Star Wars'' fans aren't likely to simply disband dis·band v. dis·band·ed, dis·band·ing, dis·bands v.tr. To dissolve the organization of (a corporation, for example). v.intr. 1. even with the second trilogy having ended. There is material coming from what is called the ``expanded universe
The term Expanded Universe (sometimes called an Extended Universe) is generally used to denote the 'extension' of a media franchise (i.e. ,'' which is material not directly related to the movies, such as some of the other books Stover wrote and the upcoming animated and live television shows George Lucas Noun 1. George Lucas - United States screenwriter and filmmaker (born in 1944) Lucas has announced. Want to hook up with other fans? There are certainly regular conventions devoted to science fiction, fantasy and anime. Look no further than Internet chat rooms devoted to any show you can imagine. Or, these days, at the lines at your local multiplex on premiere nights or the weeks leading up to premiere dates. More than 340 fans logged hours in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre  The of this article or section may be compromised by "peacock terms".You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. in the six weeks prior to the opening of ``Sith.'' The organization LiningUp.net pitched their tents on Hollywood Boulevard For uses other than the original street, see Hollywood Boulevard (disambiguation). Hollywood Boulevard is a boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest to Vermont Avenue, where it straightens out to raise money for the Starlight Starbright foundation and, yes, to be among the first audience for ``Episode III's'' premiere - which didn't even take place at the Chinese. Assorted LiningUp queuers did wear costumes, and the top line-sitter, Bryan Lee, had clocked in more than 900 hours on Hollywood between April 2 and when John Williams' overture rang out at the 12:01 a.m. ``Sith'' screening last Thursday at the Pacific ArcLight. Nathan Clukey, 33, a dancer recovering from a sprained ankle (``which,'' he notes ``is very well-timed'') isn't quite in that league. His total line time: more than 400 hours, during which he told more than a few bantering passers-by, ``You wish you were us right now.'' Will it matter whether ``Revenge of the Sith'' is actually any good? Not especially, as long as it's intelligent, says Clukey. ``It's more mature, and if you grew up with 'Star Wars,' you loved it because it was made at a kid's level,'' he says. ``We loved 'Empire Strikes Back' because it was dark, and then we grew up and wanted 'Star Wars' to be made on an adult level. It's not at that level, and that's why we're always complaining about it. We could use intense out-of-sequence dialogue. We could use excellent directing. Make us figure it out. Make us want to watch it 100 times to figure out all the intricacies.'' ``Everybody shows their fandom in different ways,'' adds the Jedi-robed Capn Sid, 36 (200 hours in line). ``This is the last time I'm ever going to see a 'Star Wars' movie in its first run in the theater. So why not? It's a lot of fun. ``I'm a temp. I came down here to be an actor, like so many. I'm trying to make the rent, and I'm barely managing,'' he continues. ``So I come here (to the line) every day, pretty much. This is a big community going up, kind of like a family situation.'' ``Family'' and ``community'' are a couple of terms tossed liberally around on Burbank Boulevard, where the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society or LASFS (pron: "Loss-Fuss") is a membership fan club in North Hollywood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest continuously operating science fiction club in the world, helped considerably in that record by has been holding weekly meetings since 1934. The society's 70th anniversary was attended by original member Forrest J. Ackerman, the man credited with coining the term ``sci fi.'' LASFS LASFS Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society members include authors and illustrators, teachers, industry types, librarians and readers. You won't find many people under age 30 at the regular Thursday-night meetings, but second and third generations of longtime members convene for Friday night gaming and socializing. Not simply convention attendees, regular LASFS members are the people who have organized events like the annual World Science Fiction Convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of the community of fans (called science fiction fandom) of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. (Worldcon) and the more local Los Angeles Science Fantasy Convention (Loscon). ``You get a lot of people from a lot of different walks of life and people migrating between clubs,'' says John Amato, one of the librarians to LASFS' 60,000-volume, wall-bursting archive. ``I don't know if you can just call it fandom in general toward 'Star Wars,' 'Star Trek' and all that. You have people here who hate 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' but love anime.'' Suffolk University's Geisler, who chaired the 2004 Worldcon convention, maintains that there's no significant difference between a hard-core science-fiction fan and the person who is heavily invested in some non- science interest. In fact, she says, science-fiction fans might even possess certain advantages. ``You can't judge any community by its most extreme members,'' Geisler says. ``There are always going to be folks who have 14 Harleys in their back yard. Fortunately, science-fiction books don't take up as much space. ``Unfortunately, science-fiction fans often don't know when to throw them away.'' Evan Henerson, (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) THE REAL FORCE Hard-core fanatics keep sci-fi franchises like `Star Wars' alive (2) Imperial stormtroopers march down Franklin Avenue in Hollywood to escort ``Star Wars'' fans from the Chinese Theatre to the ArcLight for the May 19 premiere of ``Revenge of the Sith.'' Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer (3) Eugene ``Rod'' Roddenberry, phaser rifle at the ready, on the viewing party he hosted for the final episode of ``Star Trek: Enterprise'' Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer (4) David LaSalla, left, and Mike Villanova entertain ``Star Wars'' fans at the ArcLight in Hollywood with a light-saber duel before the 12:01 a.m. premiere of ``Revenge of the Sith'' on May 19. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion