Apr 16 2009
CSI’s “Star Trek” Episode - Insulting Fans One Moment, Defending Fans the Next (A Review)
Every time I hear a major television series will be doing a Star Trek episode, or a fandom convention episode, I cringe a little on the inside. I know how this works. A bunch of overweight pale basement dwellers dressed in latex foreheads and crazy outfits. There’s no way that we normal fans are coming out of these episodes without feeling at least a little insulted. I had hoped that maybe CSI’s “Star Trek” episode (officially called “A Space Oddity”), would be different, and well…I was right…sorta.
What was odd about this episode, was how at one point it could be insulting and stereotypical in its portrayal of con goers, and then turn around and seemingly defend the fans. For example (and stop reading now if you DVRed it and haven’t watched it yet), two of the suspects are living in their mom’s house with a replica of the set and living in their uniforms. On the other hand, a scarred war veteran dressed as a character shows one of the CSI knuckle heads that not every fan of Star Trek … er “Astro Quest” … is an awkward 40 year-old virgin, and that the vision of the future the show presents might not be such a bad thing. Then they throw in a ton of homages to Star Trek, perhaps hoping the fans they just insulted may forgive and forget while they are laughing.
While I did enjoy a good chuckle at how frighteningly accurate the portrayal of Star Trek was in the first 30 seconds of CSI’s opening, the convention depiction was all wrong, and there were plenty of unnecessary potshots taken at sci-fi con goers. If anything, I guess I just find these portrayals frustrating, because I think it gives people the wrong idea, and turns them off to the whole convention thing. Not everyone who attends a con is a jobless nerd with pimples and the inability to talk to women. Most con attendees have jobs (how else would we afford to go, eh?), and they have regular lives, a regular wardrobe, and do not have a replica of the ship’s bridge for the living room. I wonder if casual fans see these portrayals of conventions, and decide not to go because they don’t want to be considered one of those “nerds” (I’m looking at you, Jay)? How unfortunate for them, because cons are a ton of fun, and attract a wonderfully diverse group of people from all walks of life.
What do YOU think? Do these types of episodes create a negative impression of conventions on casual fans (or to outsides)? Or do people realize that these shows play on stereotypes and that they aren’t truly accurate portrayals?
(P.S. Anyone else think the whole plot element about the producer redoing the series with a more violent and gritty reality was more a depiction of what happened with Battlestar Galactica and not Star Trek at all?)
I believe you may be right about the Battlestar Galactica connection and seeing how the producer of BSG and Sharon/Boomer/Athena both had cameos and one of the final 5 was the murderer, I think it’s obvious. But with the reinvention of Star Trek out next month, they may have been killing two birds with one asteroid.
I actually loved the CSI episode last night. The whole idea of the convention actually increased my interest and yes I was thinking of this blog when I was watching it. Convention fans just seem more secure with themselves, they have to be to wear some of the costumes that I have seen.
The whole bar scene really touched me emotionally.
This isn’t the first time that CSI has had a crime scene at a convention. I think they did one about Furries. Now that was insulting.
I think you protest too much. There were normal fans there AND over-the-top ones — just like at every real con I’ve been to. Actually, I thought it was a fair (and at least honest) depiction of a typical convention experience.
Of *course* the reference was to the redoing of BSG — through the lens of of a Trek analogue. The old BSG didn’t have the name recognition or familiarity with the non-fan that Trek would, so Trek is the one that we have as our visual reference, the one that connects with the non-fans.
Did you just call me out on your blog? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!