Why So Blu?

Trekkies: 25th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)

When it was released 25 year ago, Trekkies was somewhat of a revelation and a look into a fan culture like you’ve never seen before. Things you’d only heard about “nerds” actually had bigger and better stories than you could’ve possibly imagined. Flash forward, their interests and convention lifestyle has now become the norm, though this film remains a time capsule and to see how far fandom and events have come. One might be more fond of a more genuine time when things felt like you were coming together for something special with a group of people you didn’t have in your regular life as opposed to just being sold things off the shelves. Shout Factory is celebrating the film at 25 years with its first Blu-ray release that has a 4K transfer, lossless audio and a new featurette with Denise Crosby and Roger Nygard looking back on it. It comes out on May 24th, but you can pre-order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.

Film

Denise Crosby of Star Trek: The Next Generation hosts this often-hilarious documentary about the Star Trek “fan-nomenon.” Featuring interviews with hundreds of devoted fans and such Star Trek cast members as James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, Kate Mulgrew, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner and George Takei, the film creates an entertaining and endearing portrait of the landmark series that has touched the lives of people around the world.

Back in 2019, for my old podcast, we did a live episode at the Starbase Indy convention covering this documentary in plenty of detail. You can listen to that recording here.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: Trekkies: 25th Anniversary Edition features a brand new 4K scan in its Blu-ray debut. The film was shot in 16mm so restoring it up to 1080p definitely makes the grain structure more apparent, but it also gives it more character and a terrific, artful look. Colors and depth improve and are quite strong here. There is a nice texture and detail showcased here that has never been more apparent than it has on this new Blu-ray.

Depth:  Depth of field is rather solid here, showcasing big convention halls as well as smaller workshop interiors with good lay of the land and spacing. Movements are filmic and smooth and no real issues occur from jitter or blur when the camera or people move more rapidly.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and close to natural levels. The darker moments carry a noticeably heavier grain to them but that helps keep the details and depth looking good. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors have a nice rich, bold appearance to them. Many of the starfleet uniforms have deep, strong display to them. Reds and blues come really good in this transfer.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish of the film. Facial features and textures come on strong in close ups and most medium shots.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: Trekkies comes with a 5.1 track that seems a little more than this film would require, but in the end it helps space out the room and distribute things in a more looser fashion. Vocals are king and they have good clarity. Sounds and music are woven in and sound quite good, natural and balance out the mix.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: There’s not a whole lot from the subwoofer, though some show clips, loud convention moments and music beats help produce a solid bump for your subwoofer to stay honest.

Surround Sound Presentation: This is a rather front-heavy mix, but there are some nice touches to the back channels in the way of unique sounds on the convention hall floor and in the dentist office. Movements are natural and accurate to their onscreen counterparts.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

A Trek Back with Denise Crosby and Roger Nygard (HD, 20:05) – A Retrospective Look at the Making of this Iconic Documentary. The two give a nice introspective look on the genesis of the production, the difficulties and surprisingly easy points of making it. There’s a neat bit where they talk about Denise negotiating a guaranteed theatrical release of the film.

Original Trailer (HD, 1:57)

Summary

After 25 years, Trekkies still remains a charming look into the passion and livelihood of fandom from a Star Trek slant. While perhaps marketed in almost a negative way then, that sheen has worn off and it can be enjoyed for what it is and a neat time capsule of how much more innocent and less marketing opportunities these events used to be. Shout Factory debuts the film on Blu-ray with a lovely transfer, a nice lossless audio experience and a very nice retrospective with the film’s creators. Trekkies is a must have for those Trek fans and a neat curiosity for anyone who once to see the look and feel of fandom from the 90s.

This is a paid Amazon Associates link